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Reviews Super Mario RPG | Review Thread

mazi

mazi

picross pundit
Metacritic (83)
OpenCritic (83)


Player 2 (A):
Super Mario RPG is a delightful remake of an underappreciated classic that will thrill new and old fans alike. It’s filled with wonder, whimsy, and wit, and respects its origins while easily carving a new place in Nintendo’s current line-up
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Daily Mirror (5/5):
While more seasoned players may find the experience a bit too easy until the post-game, Super Mario RPG is a great introduction to the RPG genre for newcomers. It’s also just an incredibly charming game, and it's a joy to look at from start to finish.
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Stevivor (9.5/10):
Super Mario RPG is made in reverence to the original, bringing it to a new audience while also reminding returning players what was so great about it in the first place.
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Destructoid (9/10):
Super Mario RPG is an all-time classic game that both RPG lovers and Mario fans alike owe it to themselves to play. This Switch remake brilliantly preserves the spirit of the original SNES game, with some great quality-of-life enhancements and a phenomenally redone soundtrack. Longtime fans looking for a more transformative remake may feel disappointed, but when the core game itself has aged this well, it doesn’t suffer in the ways a lesser title would. If you’ve never played Super Mario RPG, or if you simply want an excuse to revisit it, this remake is for you.
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Press Start (9/10):
Super Mario RPG is a strong remake of an already stellar game. It successfully focuses on improving the original in all the right places: a faster and snappier battle system, strong quality-of-life improvements and more difficult optional content. These improvements combine with the game's already quirky charm to offer an experience that easily eclipses the original. While it's overly simplistic compared to other RPGs, that's ostensibly the point. Super Mario RPG is an oddball piece of Nintendo's history like no other, and that alone makes it worth experiencing.
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Siliconera (9/10):
In 1996, Square teamed up with Nintendo to make Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Nearly three decades later, the SNES classic is getting a much-deserved second chance with the excellent Super Mario RPG remake on the Nintendo Switch.
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God is a Geek (9/10):
Super Mario RPG is a carefully crafted remake of a classic, shining new light on a game that many will have missed, adding only when necessary and taking nothing away in the process.
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Nintendo Life (9/10):
Super Mario RPG is here in all of its weird, wonderful glory for a new generation to experience, and sets a new standard for how to do a faithful remake right. Delivering a beautifully preserved, pure experience for fans of the original and an accessible entry-point for genre newcomers, the game's infectious charm, writing, and polished gameplay do so much to elevate this beyond what might have been merely a simple RPG starring Mario.
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Eurogamer (4/5):
The game that kicked off Mario's RPG adventures retains its charm in this cheerful remake.
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TheSixthAxis (8/10):
There is a lot to love in the Super Mario RPG remake. An adorable art style, deceptively deep combat, an excellent updated soundtrack, and genuinely funny skits and writing all make this game as much of a joy to play as the SNES original. If you can look past the simplicity of the game overall, and the occasionally frustrating experience that is the jumping puzzles, this is a stellar addition to the Switch's already stacked library.
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ComicBook.com (4/5):
Super Mario RPG has aged fantastically well, with great gameplay, a terrific story, and some excellent characterization. Developer ArtePiazza has added just enough quality of life improvements to refine the experience, while still maintaining the elements that made it a classic in the first place. For those that have never played it before, Super Mario RPG is a very easy recommendation, but those that have played through it a number of times over the last 27 years might find that there isn't enough new content to rationalize the $60.
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WellPlayed (8/10):
Super Mario RPG is a gorgeously realised remake that brings the classic turn-based adventure to modern audiences but stops just short of recapturing the magical uniqueness of the original.
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Checkpoint Gaming (8/10):
Maintaining what made the original so special, Super Mario RPG provides a glow-up to an absolute classic RPG experience, with smart tweaks to combat bringing it firmly into the modern era. It's an utterly charming experience that sucks you into its gorgeous, colourful world. Still, in sticking firmly to its roots, it just doesn't provide the challenge or open-world gameplay to elevate it to the next level. If you're keen on a breezy nostalgic RPG with simple yet satisfying combat, the iconic Italian in a red hat has you covered.
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Daily Star (4/5):
Overall, this is a great introduction to RPG games and offers a challenge as you push through the title.It’s got a lovely modern Switch sheen to it but still keeps all the core values of the original, classic game.
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IGN (8/10):
Super Mario RPG is considered a classic for a reason, and this wonderfully faithful remake makes it easy for anyone who missed it in the SNES era to see why. It’s unabashedly odd, reveling in the unexpected with writing that constantly had me bursting out laughing at jokes I’d heard a dozen times before. Its turn-based combat is fairly simple outside of its very clever boss fights, but it’s also ultra satisfying to keep your timing string going even when you’re plowing through pushovers. And while the updated graphics are equal parts pretty and sort of unambitious when it comes to interpreting the original’s style (with some unfortunate menu lag), the new takes on its excellent music are truly exceptional. Super Mario RPG already held up pretty well if you didn’t mind a bit of dust on its different systems, but now there’s no excuse not to see why Mario’s most unexpected adventure is still so beloved.
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Digital Trends (3.5/5):
Super Mario RPG isn't necessarily an improvement over the 1996 version, but it's at least a more approachable experience for kids.
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Paper Mario has been mentioned

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Pretty good scores. It’s also what I’d have rated the original back when it came out (except for the soundtrack, that’s a 10/10).
 
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The Enemy (6/10);

Even without some necessary changes, Super Mario RPG remains one of the plumber's most charming and eccentric adventures. The remake faithfully maintains it's quirkyness while expanding the magic with one of the Switch's most impressive graphic treatments.
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The remake looks really charming and the re-recorded music is great. But as someone that has played the original many times over the years it does seem steep to pay the equivalent of $55 for this. Alas that’s the nature of remakes I guess. I do think this should be priced at $40 like Metroid prime Remastered though.
 
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I thought the Polygon review was pretty good, other than the A.I. slander (the movie, cool your jets). As someone who has started the original 3 times but has never been able to get into it, I found the review gratifying. Basically, I doubt the quality of life improvements will do enough to make the game my thing. Ah well.
 
well... that is lower than i predicted. it's even fallen to 83 now.

some of these scores don't even make sense based off the synopsis at least - i.e. The Enemy's "so charming!" ... 6/10.
 
Sounds about right, I feel like Mario RPG is one of those games that gets a ton of hype from people who played it as kids but I completed it for the first time a couple years ago and it's like a solid 7.5 or 8.
 
Truno said:
They're really consistent about giving you very easy and ridiculously easy modes nowadays
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Yeah it's disappointing. Nintendo does a great job offering difficulty options for beginners while leaving enthusiasts high and dry. No reason there can't be both. Even Mario Wonder suffers from this. Cool you gave people invincible characters from the start, that means the levels are going to be harder, right? Nope.

Yavga said:
...

...eh?
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well... that is lower than i predicted. it's even fallen to 83 now.
some of these scores don't even make sense based off the synopsis at least - i.e. The Enemy's "so charming!" ... 6/10.
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Probably an outlet with a unconventional view of the review score where 5/10 is the average and not 7/10.
 
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Only 3 points above Origami King, one of the worst games of all time according to RPG Mario fans? RPG Mario Bros....

In all seriousness, good scores for an SNES remake
Yamanoi said:
Looks like Mario Wonder was a fluke for Nintendo. We are back sub 90.
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See you in the TTYD review thread
 
This thread is not about Paper Mario. Stop bringing it up, especially in the context of demeaning other games. - meatbag, MissingNo, Dragoncaine, Volcanic Dynamo, Tangerine Cookie
AngryAlchemist said:
Only 3 points above Origami King, one of the worst games of all time according to RPG Mario fans? Bros....


See you in the TTYD review thread
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I mean, a near one-to-one remake of a 27 year old game scoring better than a 2020 game is pretty telling lol.

especially when TOK was the critical peak of that formula which took 3 iterations to get to.
 
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Dizzle said:
I thought the Polygon review was pretty good, other than the A.I. slander (the movie, cool your jets). As someone who has started the original 3 times but has never been able to get into it, I found the review gratifying. Basically, I doubt the quality of life improvements will do enough to make the game my thing. Ah well.
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Super enjoyable review. I'll be playing the game for the first time, whenever I get around to it.
 
Pretty much what I expected score wise. I'll be glad to finally play an rpg this year after avoiding all the great ones released cause I can't commit to 50+ hour rpgs nowadays lol.
 
Something a bit interesting that I noticed is that the day 1 number of registered reviews for Super Mario Bros Wonder in MC capped at 70, whilst Super Mario RPG already has 73 reviews registered in just over 2 hours after the embargo lifted.

Is Nintendo sending out more review copies? Both of these games are similar in length, so I doubt that was an influence
 
I have never played this game, so I am really excited to jump in. Mid-80's was where I was hoping it would land. It sounds like a faithful remake.

Two more days!
 
Reviews mentioning the new combat mechanics make the game ridiculously easy is disappointing to hear. SMRPG was never a highly challenging game, but it becoming a total breeze is discouraging. The splash damage strikes, triple moves, free party swaps, etc, it's a lot and not rebalancing the difficulty around those abilities is bone-headed. At least offer difficulty modes.

I know there are post-game battles that are harder, I'm looking forward to those. But the main adventure needlessly becoming a cakewalk is dumb.
 
Lower than I expected tbh. Guess this range is kind of just the norm for 1:1 remakes.

Still excited to play this weekend, though.
 
Disappointing that they seemingly didn’t re-balance the difficulty for the new mechanics, but still looking forward to this. Hopefully the postgame bosses offer a decent challenge.
 
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Mario RPG original is a subjective 10/10 for me, so a one to one remake is also a 10/10 and IDGAF what any reviewers have to say about it. All they had to do was not screw it up, which appears to be achieved. It's on my Switch ready to go at 10 PM tomorrow night, let's goooo.
 
Truno said:
The Enemy (6/10);
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I read the review, and some of their criticisms were:
  • More of a remaster than a remake
  • Lack of challenge, no hard mode
  • Balancing issues from the original weren't addressed
  • Didn't implement significant quality-of-life measures
  • Platforming remains slippery and clumsy, even more so with the isometric camera
  • Lack of new content
  • Minigames aren't in a easy-to-access menu
  • No voiceovers
 
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Reviews look pretty good to me. I would say in line with what I was expecting. I'm excited to play this for the first time. :)
 
Evil Lucario said:
Damn, that's lower than I expected. SMRPG is my least favorite Mario RPG, but I didn't expect my problems with it to actually reflect these scores because by and large, people loved SMRPG.
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The Superstar Saga remake got an 81 and the Bowser's Inside Story remake got an 84, so this is about in line with them.
 
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Yavga said:
...

...eh?
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The Metro's review blurb is even funnier:
"An excellent remake of a historically important game, that often gets forgotten.
The price is off-putting but beyond that this is a breezy and charming adventure that’s perfect for RPG neophytes."

Shove it with compliments then proceed to say it's not worth your money.
 
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Evil Lucario said:
Damn, that's lower than I expected. SMRPG is my least favorite Mario RPG, but I didn't expect my problems with it to actually reflect these scores because by and large, people loved SMRPG.
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At the end of the day, it's an at times maybe too-faithful remake of a game from 27 years ago, and today's reviewers aren't obligated to approach it with nostalgia for the original. So reviews are largely what I'd have expected.
 
Battles being trivialized by the new perfect timed hits and triple moves is something I’ve been worried about since the September direct, kind of a shame there isn’t an option to turn them off (especially when the game is totally faithful to the original in all other aspects).

I’m still excited to pick up my preorder on Friday though; I played the original for maybe half an hour when the SNES Mini came out but getting my first real experience with the game with these beautiful visuals will be quite a treat :)
 
I've been skeptical of the claims/concerns that the new mechanics really trivialize the combat to a notable extent. Admittedly, I've seen some gameplay of early copies and the splash damage looks piddly - like 20% of your base damage, in most battles it won't make a difference in the number of hits to finish the battle. Even the damage from the triple techs looks the same as any FP consuming move and they take forever to fill up.

Though swapping out party members on the fly even if they're dead/immobilized by a status does sort of get into a murky territory between QoL improvements to modernize the game vs. making things too easy. That one I can sort of understand.
 
Reviews are as expecred. Doesn’t diminish from my excitement over this remake!
 
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Evil Lucario said:
Damn, that's lower than I expected. SMRPG is my least favorite Mario RPG, but I didn't expect my problems with it to actually reflect these scores because by and large, people loved SMRPG.
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Yeah, I'm in the camp of "Mario RPG hype is nostalgia" as someone who's tried multiple times but never been engaged enough by it to even finish. It seems blatantly inferior to the games it inspired in pretty much every way, but I wasn't expecting reviews to reflect any of that because everyone seems to love it. The Enemy reviewer calls out the isometric platforming? A woman after my own heart!

Not that I think the aggregate scores really reflect a more critical reception though, just some individual reviews. This is definitely about what I'd expect any Mario RPG to get, they've never felt like very prestigious games and all of them tend to have obvious issues with balance or pacing to drag them down for anyone who isn't going to dismiss them as silly little things inherently unworthy of a higher score.
 
Solid reviews for a solid game, looking forward to playing this again. SMRPG isn't my favourite of the Mario RPGs, but it's at least a top fiver.
 
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The reviews seem solid. I just hope it sells well enough that Nintendo continues to put out these types of remasters. I can’t be alone in that I am 100x more likely to dabble with old games when they’re give a fresh coat of paint and QOL features.
 
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