- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- ESRB Rating
- E (Everyone)
- Genre
- Plartformer, RPG
- Release date
- November 23, 2023
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Gameplay/Controls
Graphics/Visuals
Sound and Music
Story and Narrative
Replayability
Performance / Tech Issues
Non-Wokeness
Rating Summary
Super Mario RPG faithfully preserves the original's graphics and iconic Yoko Shimomura music, with added animated cutscenes and quality-of-life improvements. Despite occasional technical hiccups, this faithful remake reintroduces a JRPG gem to a new generation while maintaining the timeless enjoyment of the classic.
With a billion-dollar hit movie and multiple original titles being released, 2023 has been the year of Mario. Now, the Nintendo and Square masterpiece, Super Mario RPG, originally released in 1996 and spawned two Mario RPG series for a total of eleven spiritual sequels, gets a remake that gives it the respect it deserves.
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Simon Westen
Simon is a science fiction author, tech blogger and retro gaming enthusiast. He lives in the US Midwest with his two sons and wife of 26 years. Though he doesn't consider it a religion, he is unabashedly Christian. His heritage is primarily Native American and Scott/Irish. He is an outspoken libertarian (in belief, not necessarily in party) and values the principles of freedom and individual sovereignty above all else.
5 comments
Misteranthrope
December 13, 2023 at 5:05 pm
They DID change a few lines of dialogue and nouns from the original SNES translation, which is otherwise presented unedited. I wouldn’t consider it exactly woke, but there’s a line altered from an NPC in the Mushroom Kingdom that certainly kicks the line. A little girl running back and forth outside of her home tells Mario she hopes to join him as his fighting partner when she gets older, but in the original translation she asks Mario if he’d marry her when she grows up.
James Carrick
December 13, 2023 at 5:36 pm
Thanks for the heads up. This is exactly why we keep the comments section open.
Misteranthrope
December 13, 2023 at 5:49 pm
I also think you should’ve mentioned the additions made to the battle system that make this RPG that was designed as an entry level first for an entire generation of kids in a time when RPGs didn’t sell in the west even easier than it already was. The multi-attack for better timing, ally buffs tied to chaining, and limit break style attacks make combat almost entirely inconsequential until the game is over. “Woke” can manifest itself in game design as well, not just in the narrative elements, and the gradual elimination of challenge in mainstream video games is becoming another one of those issues nobody seems to be allowed to talk about.
MBII
December 23, 2023 at 3:15 am
I played the game recently and loved it. But one element you forgot to mention: they removed the boob jiggle from Valentina. Got to dock a few points for that.
MBII
December 23, 2023 at 3:16 am
Getting 100 super jumps and Culex 3D are still plenty hard. Was able to beat the latter but I gave up on the former.