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Kingdom on his quests. Here, Mario and<br />
his allies, the toad(??), Mallow, and the<br />
doll brought to life, Geno, will duke it<br />
out against foes who stand in your way.<br />
A staple of Mario RPGs has been button<br />
inputs to enhance your attack to bring<br />
some more damage to enemies and player<br />
agency to the turn-based combat system.<br />
It originated in Super Mario RPG and with<br />
the remake it’s more satisfying than ever.<br />
Every character requires different timing,<br />
which can also change depending on the<br />
equipped weapon, and even magic attacks<br />
have button inputs which can add to the<br />
damage or healing. You can also time your<br />
defense, and potentially negate all damage.<br />
However, the remake goes an additional<br />
mile and if you time your attack perfectly<br />
not only will the primary target take<br />
damage, but also all the other enemies,<br />
albeit the others will receive only a<br />
fraction of the original damage. This<br />
makes battles go quicker and you never<br />
feel battles drawing out or that they’re a<br />
tedious annoyance in your quest to grow<br />
ever stronger. Another addition to the<br />
remake’s battle system is the action gauge<br />
which is filled based on correctly timed<br />
button-inputs for either defense or attack.<br />
When filled, you can use a powerful Triple<br />
Move! Depending on the characters in your<br />
current party the cutscene and effect will<br />
differ They feel right at home and gives the<br />
game additional charm and encourages you<br />
to experiment with party set-up. It should<br />
be noted that the remake seems like it<br />
didn’t quite balance around these additions<br />
as some battles feel a bit too easy, especially<br />
boss battles where their main gimmick is<br />
summoning tiny swarms of enemies to aid<br />
them or uses powerful effects to mess with<br />
your party. The game has a “breezy” mode<br />
which is good for those that just want to<br />
chill while playing, but it is a bit puzzling<br />
that the developers didn’t add a “hard”<br />
mode too.<br />
Something that goes hard is 100% the<br />
soundtrack. Every track from the original<br />
has been remastered by the original<br />
composer, Yoko Shimomura (best known<br />
for Kingdom Hearts) and it’s utterly jaw<br />
dropping how she modernizes the music<br />
while retaining the magic of the originals.<br />
There’s not a single dud here, and it speaks<br />
volumes to her talent and skill. And even if<br />
you prefer the originals, the game allows<br />
you to swap back and forth between the<br />
original renditions and the remade ones.<br />
Another aspect that<br />
serves as a doubleedged<br />
sword is the<br />
length of the game. It<br />
is very short by RPG<br />
standard, clocking in<br />
between 10-15 hours<br />
depending on whether<br />
you try to find all the<br />
secrets and easters<br />
eggs or complete every<br />
sidequest there is. It<br />
is a relatively short<br />
adventure, but on<br />
the bright side, the<br />
pacing of the game<br />
is incredible. The experience may not be<br />
long, but it’s tight pacing makes sure that<br />
it never feels like you’re experiencing any<br />
padding or that you level up too slowly<br />
simply to extend your game time. There’s<br />
not much post-game content either, the<br />
remake adds some boss rematches, but<br />
that’s about it, however, since it’s a short<br />
and enjoyable experience, I’m much more<br />
inclined to replay something like this than<br />
the behemoth Xenoblade Chronicles for<br />
example (which can be between 60-100<br />
hours).<br />
Verdict<br />
Everything about Super Mario RPG screams<br />
“baby’s first RPG” from the combat to the<br />
story. Luckily, the game is fully aware<br />
of what it is, and never tries to be more<br />
grandiose in its storytelling or deep in its<br />
gameplay mechanics, instead refining the<br />
elements it has to a brilliant shine. The story<br />
is silly and goofy, laying the foundation<br />
for that brilliant Mario RPG humor that<br />
its spiritual successors would use after<br />
it. With a masterful graphical overhaul<br />
and an excellent soundtrack to boot, the<br />
remake invites you into its sprawling and<br />
wonderful world. The gameplay is a finely<br />
tuned clockwork that, even though it’s a<br />
bit on the easier side, is engrossing to play<br />
and master. Albeit it’s a shorter adventure<br />
than most RPGs, every second is a delightful<br />
marvel. Old fans will find this a worthy<br />
remake of one of their favorite games, and<br />
new players will definitely fall in love with<br />
it. Super Mario RPG is an incredible blast<br />
from the past, and still proves that it stands<br />
as one of Nintendo’s and Square’s most<br />
successful and brilliant ventures in the<br />
library of Mario spin-offs.<br />
<strong>DESEMBER</strong> 2023 <strong>UNIKUM</strong> NR 10 39
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