27 years after the game’s original SNES release, Super Mario RPG has re-entered the spotlight on Nintendo Switch. Reviews are flowing in for the remade classic, and so far critics are enjoying this trip in Nintendo’s time machine.
The game originally released in 1996 as a collaboration between Nintendo and Squaresoft–which later merged with Enix to become Square Enix. ArtePiazza is the main developer for Super Mario RPG on Switch, though this isn’t its first time restoring classic RPGs; this is also the team behind multiple revivals in another Square Enix franchise: Dragon Quest.
GameSpot’s 8/10 Super Mario RPG review said that “[o]utside of a few minor quality-of-life improvements, Super Mario RPG is mostly a remastered product of its time–and an utterly fascinating one, at that. With its heartfelt humor, standout personalities, satisfyingly straightforward combat, and an expeditious mindset devoid of the bloat that regularly plagues modern RPGs, Super Mario RPG is timeless.”