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The original Paper Mario on the N64 was one of my favourite games on the platform. This was a sequel of sorts to the SNES game Super Mario RPG. I never got a chance to play that due to it being really expensive to pick up 2nd hand. It was a shame as I’d heard a lot of good things about it. But now, there is a faithful remake out on the Switch so I’ve finally had a chance to play it. But was it worth the wait?
Star Power
The Super Mario RPG story starts out with Peach being captured by Bowser and Mario legging it to the castle to get her back. So far, so Mario. Then, without spoiling too much, a bigger baddie appears and scatters everyone to the 4 winds. Its then up to Mario to try and find where Peach has landed and try and deal with this new big bad while collecting 7 stars along the way.
The game plays as a turn based RPG. Similar to the kind of thing Pokémon still does to this day. Do an attack, a special move, use an item or run away. While you’re on the road you’ll get to meet new characters, some of whom will join you on their adventure. You can then put together your battle team with a selection of 3 of the available characters.
The different characters each have their own strengths and abilities. The main differential is their special moves. These will often relate to one or more of the elements in the game. Different enemies may be weak to these elements which will help inform how to form your team when you go into battle. That’s the idea anyways.
Knowledge Is Half The Battle
The truth is the battles never really get too difficult. I only saw the game over screen once during my playthrough and this was arguably because the game threw something at me I couldn’t have expected. After a retry I knew what was coming and breezed through. And I feel like I need to say this, I am not good at video games. I enjoy them, sure, but I am bad at them. This is not a difficult game, to the point where you don’t need to engage with some of the systems. Why bother switching your teams about if you can beat the enemy with whoever you send out?
The battles themselves are fine. They’re generally quite simple and not too long at all. No several hour-long boss battles here. There is a system where if you can tap the ‘A’ button at the right time you can perform an upgraded attack or block. You’ll also fill up a special gauge. When this gauge is full you can unleash a big special attack which will be different depending on which 3 characters you have in your team. You also start getting bonuses to attack and defence and the like which is really useful.
The story of the game is sort of non-existent too. Each location you go to will point you to the next place one of the games titular 7 stars is located. You’ll do a travel location then reach the next town, something will be happening, and you’ll fix it and move on. There is very little in the ways of an overarching story beyond getting the big bad. You never have to go back to any place and there aren’t really any big decisions to make either.
Polished To A Starry Finish
I feel like I’m being a bit of a downer, so let’s look at some positive things. The music is great. Nintendo have really brought life back into these older tunes. I do wish there was more in the ways of battle music than ‘battle fight’ and ‘boss fight’, but hey they are good tunes and the music outside of the battles has a lot of variety.
There is a nice variety of puzzles on show here too. You may have to solve some riddles, answer quizzes. You’ve got agility based problems to solve as well as battles and races. A lot of these systems are only used once, but you can go back and play again for high scores and fun if you’d like.
The visuals are also brilliant. There are a few cut scenes, especially the special move cut scenes, that really stand out. With Mario being a non-speaking protagonist, there are also a few really funny sections where he sort of acts out and mimes the story so far. This is a game that was lauded for its whimsy and humour. There were a few moments that made me crack a smile and maybe once I did a proper laugh out loud. But it’s not laugh a minute, which is a shame.
A (Classic) Star Is Reborn
I still can’t shake the fact that this feels like a nearly 30 year old game though. Not in a rough way, Mario RPG feels like a modern game in many ways. But it’s design is definitely still in 1996. I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy my time playing, because I did. But it felt like I was doing it more out of nostalgia for a game I never played rather than because I was hooked. There didn’t seem to be any important decisions for me to make. No way to leave a mark on the world other than the ones the designers had already mapped out in a linear fashion.
It’s a weird thing to describe. I’ve said in other reviews I’ve written here that there are several older games I go back and play every few years. Metroid Prime and Pikmin are 2 I’ve mentioned before. Paper Mario is another one of these games. It still holds up all these years later. That too, is pretty linear but I have forgiven it because the writing was good. The characters feel more realised and the combat system more varied.
That’s one thing actually, whenever you find a new weapon or clothing item, there is never really a trade-off. You’re never left thinking, ‘Oh this has more damage but is less likely to crit’ or ‘Ooo, this has this effect on it, but it might miss more often’. Nope, each iteration has bigger numbers and it’s a simple as that. There aren’t really any decisions to make with regards to kitting out your heroes. You just get the newest stuff you can find.
That’s where I’m landing on Super Mario RPG. It’s a modern game that feels dated in its design. I enjoyed it, but it wouldn’t be my first choice of RPG to play. If I wanted a Mario RPG/Strategy game, I’d probably go with Mario and Rabbids or the original Paper Mario, (It’s available on Switch online with the expansion pak thing). If I really wanted a classic feeling RPG with a modern touch, the two Octopath Traveller games are fantastic old school romps with plenty of polish. Mario RPG just wouldn’t be my go to recommendation to anybody unless they loved the original or were really curious about it. And if that is you, if you missed out on the SNES classic and wanted to give it a try, then this is a fantastic package to do it in. There are no bugs, a few enhancements to bring the game into modern times, like autosaving, but still unapologetically old school in its approach.
If that sounds like you, I’d say go for it. Super Mario RPG may be just what you’re after.
