I just rolled credits on this bad boy. Pretty satisfying!
As a lifelong RPG hater, this was a big, conspicuous hole in my Nintendo history. It always looked cool in magazines, though.
When Super Mario RPG game came to Virtual Console, I grabbed it and enjoyed it somewhat, but I fell off after a star or two. (Partially because I started having system memory problems after playing it?)
So I was pretty excited for this remake. And, I've gotta say, it delivered! In some ways, it's a product of its time. Particularly with that goddamned isometric platforming. I'm sure it looked mind-blowing on the SNES, but what the fuckkkk. Have we learned nothing from Congo Bongo?? Still, in more ways, it felt like a product that was way ahead of its time. The timing bonuses during both offense and defense were an absolute masterstroke in making the game appeal to action junkies (even if the timing windows seemed kind of inconsistent). Being able to see and control enemy encounters was great. And the bite-sized worlds worked really well. A great RPG for people who don't like RPGs.
I also appreciated the varied gameplay: The platforming, the Mario-esque hidden secrets, the mini-games (even though most were kind of mediocre). The balance was well-tuned, too. The bosses rarely killed me, but they always kept me on the edge of my seat and felt satisfying to beat. Peach kind of trivializes the boss encounters, but she was, at least, a late addition. I never felt like I was low on cash, but I did voluntarily murder LOTS of enemies. And there were so many optional, missable items, many of them satisfyingly powerful. I didn't really go out of my way to do all of the side quests, but I'm sure they would've had a nice payoff, because almost everything in this game did. The varied and imaginative locales kept me engaged throughout my playtime. And the game was long enough to satisfy without wearing out its welcome.
The remake was nicely done, too. Even though they kept the isometric perspective, I really appreciate how the developers respectfully modernized the original, adding only presentational sheen, QoL updates, and post-game content. I love that the character designs are in the spirit of the original, even though they don't match the current style guide for the series. The visuals are beautiful, although, oddly, a bit framey on occasion. Most of the music is good, as well (Standout Track: the Cloud Village). The Original Characters are amusingly bizarre, and the writing was super-charming, overall. I think the charming characterization of the Mario gang probably originated here. Bowser was just a sinister turtle dragon before Super Mario RPG, but he became a lovable lout afterward in serieseses like Paper Mario and Mario Party. The platforming games generally ignore this characterization, but it's still important for the side projects.
So, yeah. Super Mario RPG. A pretty neat little game! Hole filled.
Now if I could only fill the hole in my heart... |
