As it has every year for almost a decade, Nintendo held a Nintendo Direct at the beginning of summer to announce the games coming to Nintendo Switch in the second half of the year. It was on this occasion that we learned of the existence of titles of the likes of Super Mario Bros. Marvel and, above all, a remake of the Super Mario RPG. Well, if these revelations were leaked some time ago on social networks, these formalizations have pleased many Nintendo fans. Without too many surprises, it’s mostly Super Mario Bros. It makes me wonder who stole the show with its dazzling universe and weird transformations. But just behind There’s been a lot of talk about Super Mario RPG, and rightly so, as it’s an excellent game that serves Nintendo well.i tell you why
Super Mario RPG, a jewel of its time
Never released in Europe However, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is a Super NES classic alongside other titles of the same genre such as Final Fantasy VI, Secret of Mana or Chrono Trigger. And if you’re a fan of RPGs, you’ll have noticed that I only mentioned Squaresoft titles, Square Enix’s former name, and that’s no coincidence. To represent the Mario universe in an RPG for the first time, Nintendo turned to the experts of the genre at the time, namely Squaresoft. At the time, there was a good relationship between the manufacturer and the Japanese publisher given the success of Final Fantasy and its derivatives on the Kyoto company’s consoles. Obviously, that all changed with the arrival of the PlayStation and the decision to develop Final Fantasy VII on PS1, cooling the relationship between these two video game players, but that’s another story.
In 1996, therefore Nintendo entrusts Squaresoft with its flagship license to produce an RPG set in the Mario universe, and this will be the last Mario game on Super NES. In the project we find Chihiro Fujioka in the role of director, who has worked on Final Fantasy Legend III and Mystic Quest in the past, but above all Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario’s father, as producer. As icing on the cake, composer Yoko Shimomura is in charge of the soundtrack, known at the time for her work on Street Fighter II and Live a Live, and later on the Kingdom Hearts saga and Final Fantasy XV. If this team doesn’t look like a dream team like the one that’s also taking care of Chrono Trigger, the latter will still produce one of the Super NES’ classics in more ways than one.
A cult game with great legacy for Mario
Super Mario RPG takes the Final Fantasy formula by alternating phases of exploration and turn-based combat. However, unlike in the iconic Squaresoft saga, the clashes are more dynamic since the player can increase the damage of his attacks by pressing a button at the right moment. This feature ties in with the origins of Mario, best known for its real-time experiences. Being an RPG, the title offers an opportunity to explore more deeply than ever the universe of Mario, which until then was limited to platform games. Largely thanks to the then-revolutionary 3D isometric graphics, players were able to experience the Mushroom Kingdom in a new light. But especially It’s the humor of the Super Mario RPG that has made it a cult game over time
Humour, timing gameplay, turn-based battles… If you’re a Mario fan, these elements must have reminded you of other games starring the famous mustachioed Italian plumber. Well, let’s not beat around the bush, but you understood that while the Super Mario RPG never had a direct sequel, it did have spiritual heirs who were heavily inspired by it. Whether it’s Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi, these two sagas wouldn’t exist if Super Mario RPG hadn’t paved the way in the 90s. Thanks to him, some of the best role-playing games on Nintendo consoles were born, but also significant adventures for players like Paper Mario: The Millennium Gate on the Gamecube or Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the Game Boy Forward. Unfortunately, today these two spin-off series do not have the prestige that they had in the past and this is where Super Mario RPG Remake comes into such great importance and brings great news.
A remake that paves the way to a new horizon?
In 2019 AlphaDream, the studio behind Mario & Luigi, has closed after filing for bankruptcy and the company ceased to exist in 2020. A very sad fate for developers who had created seven Mario RPGs and several Hamtaro titles. As for Paper Mario, the saga still exists and is still being developed by Intelligent Systems, which we also know for Fire Emblem and Wario Ware. Unfortunately, despite fairly good reviews, the series struggles to convince its players for several episodes. After Paper Mario: Sticker Star on the 3DS and Paper Mario: Color Splash on the Wii U, Paper Mario: The Origami King on the Switch is far from unanimous, especially given the combat that pushes the RPG dimension to the background move. You will understand, but Mario role-playing games have not enjoyed much popularity for several years.
For several years it has been clear to gamers that publishers develop remakes to gauge the popularity of certain franchises with the general public and to decide if there is potential to revive a license and produce new episodes. We recall that this is what the producer of Live a Live said just recently after the modest success of the remake originally released on Nintendo Switch. As part of this remake If Super Mario RPG gets rave reviews from both critics and gamers, it could prompt Nintendo to give Mario RPGs a second chance. We already recall that Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is available in the Game Boy Advance emulator for Nintendo Switch Online + Additional Pack subscribers. With that in mind, we can hope that the Paper Mario franchise returns to solid foundations and that the excitement for the Super Mario RPG Mario & Luigi is brought back to life… or a whole new spin-off series. In any case, we can’t wait to get our hands on this Super Mario RPG remake slated for November 17th on Nintendo Switch for the first time.
