It's been awhile since I've been able to binge a game like I did with Super Mario RPG. I played the original on Virtual Console back in the day. I remembered liking it and thinking that it had this great charm. Because of Square Enix being a developer on the original, I never expected it to get a full on remake. But here we are! And I couldn't put this game down. I'm not sure how hardcore fans of the original feel, but I think that Super Mario RPG Remake is even better than the original.
For starters, the game looks fantastic. It maintains the SNES level design and layout, but modernize it more to where it doesn't just constantly look like you're on floating squares. The cutscenes are a major highlight here as well. Visually they look incredible. Anytime there is a fully rendered cutscene or animation, the game is almost jaw dropping. This game makes me really want Nintendo to finally get with the program and make a 4k capable console already.
The gameplay is largely similar to the original, but with some added goodies. For starters, well timed attacks affect all enemies in a battle. I thought this would be OP, but its balanced out pretty well. They added Triple Moves as well, which are basically these super moves that you can pull off when your meter is filled up to 100%. These moves have great fully rendered scenes to them and are incredibly charming. Which move you perform is based on who you have in your active party during the battle, making team composition all the more important. Although you can just switch out a character during their turn to use the move you want.
The writing and characters hold up pretty well also. I would've liked to have seen a little more added story or lore elements though, since this is one of the most unique Mario universes we've ever seen. The world is just so charming, as are the many unique characters that we've only really seen in this game.
I only have a couple gripes with this game. For one, I did find the experience really, really easy. I only had trouble with the post game bosses, which are designed to be really difficult. The base game is just extremely easy, so much so that I'm shocked that theres a mode to make the game even easier. This could just be because I am very well versed in the RPG genre, and SMRPG is more so targeting RPG newbies, but I think the game could've had a little more of a difficulty curve. My second complaint is that the game could've updated more of the experience. While I loved this remake, it honestly rides the line between remake and remaster. Some of the issues of the SNES version are still here, such as issues with depth perception and the camera angle(s) being a bit off when it comes to some of the platforming challenges that they require you to do. There could've been more of an effort to at least update a little aspects of the game that did not age well.
Even still, I found this to be the definitive way to experience Super Mario RPG. It's extremely fun and addictive. I couldn't believe that I finished the game as quickly as I did. It's been a long time since I have been able to sit down and binge a game like I did this one. And I don't regret it for one second.
For starters, the game looks fantastic. It maintains the SNES level design and layout, but modernize it more to where it doesn't just constantly look like you're on floating squares. The cutscenes are a major highlight here as well. Visually they look incredible. Anytime there is a fully rendered cutscene or animation, the game is almost jaw dropping. This game makes me really want Nintendo to finally get with the program and make a 4k capable console already.
The gameplay is largely similar to the original, but with some added goodies. For starters, well timed attacks affect all enemies in a battle. I thought this would be OP, but its balanced out pretty well. They added Triple Moves as well, which are basically these super moves that you can pull off when your meter is filled up to 100%. These moves have great fully rendered scenes to them and are incredibly charming. Which move you perform is based on who you have in your active party during the battle, making team composition all the more important. Although you can just switch out a character during their turn to use the move you want.
The writing and characters hold up pretty well also. I would've liked to have seen a little more added story or lore elements though, since this is one of the most unique Mario universes we've ever seen. The world is just so charming, as are the many unique characters that we've only really seen in this game.
I only have a couple gripes with this game. For one, I did find the experience really, really easy. I only had trouble with the post game bosses, which are designed to be really difficult. The base game is just extremely easy, so much so that I'm shocked that theres a mode to make the game even easier. This could just be because I am very well versed in the RPG genre, and SMRPG is more so targeting RPG newbies, but I think the game could've had a little more of a difficulty curve. My second complaint is that the game could've updated more of the experience. While I loved this remake, it honestly rides the line between remake and remaster. Some of the issues of the SNES version are still here, such as issues with depth perception and the camera angle(s) being a bit off when it comes to some of the platforming challenges that they require you to do. There could've been more of an effort to at least update a little aspects of the game that did not age well.
Even still, I found this to be the definitive way to experience Super Mario RPG. It's extremely fun and addictive. I couldn't believe that I finished the game as quickly as I did. It's been a long time since I have been able to sit down and binge a game like I did this one. And I don't regret it for one second.