Super Mario RPG Review

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Fast Facts

After Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach for the umpteenth, Mario will once again confront the giant lizard to rescue the princess. However, things go from bad to worst. Once Mario deals with Bowser, a new threat emerges: Exor the Giant Sword. As he crashes into Bowser’s castle, Exor destroys Star Road and takes Peach. Now, it’s up to Mario and his pals to rescue the princess once more and rebuild the Star Road by recovering Stars scattered across the world.

As a remaster of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, this game is a new genre for our little plumber. Instead of the typical 2D platformer, it’s an RPG, Role Playing Game, although it’s like a hybrid of turn-based and real time. While the core battle is turn-based, where characters have to wait their turn, there’s also a little manual subtlety that allows for bonus damage. After the automated attack, when you see ‘!’, pressing the attack button will allow for extra damage and/or an additional hit. The same applies when enemies attack; pressing the B button in a timely manner as the ‘!’ appears over the character’s head, and you’ll be able to mitigate the damage straight down to 0 if your timing is perfect.

Unlikely partners

One of the most interesting features is that there are a few twists and turns during and after a battle. Sometimes, you’ll get a bonus after a perfect attack, such as a temporary attack boost or refilling your health. Each character has their own special attacks that consume FP (Flower Point; think of it as Magic points). However, you have to be mindful because all party members share the same pool of FP. As you attack and conquer enemies, a special meter in the bottom left corner of the screen fills up, and once it is at 100%, it will allow you to unleash a super powerful team attack on your enemies.

After winning a battle, you’ll earn coins and XP. Levelling up allows your characters to improve their stats and learn new tricks. Once in a while, you’ll earn chances to double your XP or coins earned. After each new level is earned, you can choose between extra physical damage/defence, extra health, or magic damage/defence. When someone says RPG, you can expect the same staples that come with the genre. You can pick up items to refill your health and flower points. Also, each of the party members has their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Bowser will be more of a tank-like character, whereas Mallo and Princess Peach will offer supporting roles.

Turn-based battles with a twist

Another fun mechanic with this RPG is that the battles aren’t random. You can decide to engage with enemies (it’s beneficial as it allows you to level up and get stronger). Akin to past Mario games, you can also use find ‘?’ blocks, which will give you coins, mushrooms, or even invincibility stars. You can still run around and beat enemies that way without going into battle mode and still earn XP. And there are also hidden ‘?’ boxes across each area and a bevvy of side-quests for completionists.

Nintendo did a great job with remastering this classic Super NES classic. The game looks great, and the visuals are really bright and colourful, a staple of the most recent Mario games. Each area and dungeon is uniquely designed based on a specific theme/environment. Dungeon design is also, more often than not, pretty straightforward and simplistic. There’s also a decent variety in terms of enemies. I played most of it in handheld mode, and I could see a bit of pixelated visuals when looking up close. I’m just disappointed we weren’t given the option to switch between visuals. The soundtrack is as upbeat and cutesy as you’d expect for a Mario game; you can switch to the original soundtrack for those familiar with the original (I sadly missed out on it).

Visual remaster rarely equates gameplay update

As much as Mario games are revered, Super Mario RPG is not without its faults. First off, the timing for the combat can be off at times. This causes you to be on the receiving end of extra damage or inflicting less damage on enemies. The game’s balancing is quite problematic. Some encounters will be fine and easy, but the next one with new enemies will cause problems. I’ve seen situations where an enemy, on the first time encountering them, felt like a mini-boss; yet the next battle with the said enemy, they’d go down in a matter of 2-3 hits. The overall balancing is also out of whack. Normal mode is surprisingly tough during the first two hours, requiring a bit of grinding, which is tedious in and of itself, given that the XP gained hovers around 1-3 XP *per battle*. Whereas Easy mode is fine to enjoy the story, some attacks, more often those that can’t be blocked, cause an insane amount of damage to the point you can lose a character in 2-3 turns.

Super Mario RPG is another great addition to the Nintendo Switch game library. While true that it is a remaster instead of a new entry or sequel to the 16-bit classic, it allows for a new generation of gamers to experience this little gem or even older gamers who might’ve missed it. Some gameplay features might feel a bit outdated, and the game does feel unbalanced at times, but it won’t deter your enjoyment of this game. Whether you’ve enjoyed the original back in the or are looking to dive into a short RPG (under 20 hours), Super Mario RPG is definitely one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of 2023.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4 out of 5

4

Super Mario RPG can be purchased on the Nintendo eShop.