Positives:
- Faithfully recaptures the spirit and humor of the original game.
- Writing is loaded with charm and joy.
- Mario's partners are plenty enjoyable to follow, and the villains are compelling as well.
- Visual design is vibrant and colorful, and the updated design is fantastic.
- Overworlds are content-packed without feeling overwhelming.
- Combat mechanics are gripping and fun to experience.
- As someone who doesn't tend to play many turn-based RPGs, it's nice how accessible this one is.
- Enemy variety is strong, and the boss fights definitely pack a punch.
- Some of the new content is very nice; being able to refight bosses with a bit more difficulty is great.
Negatives:
- Some of the minigames were huge pace-breakers to me.
Consensus: Being that this was my first experience with "Super Mario RPG" in any capacity, this remake was fantastic. It's a loving re-creation of the original game, and it scratched the itch that I'd been having for a game similar to the style of old-school "Paper Mario" games (which isn't surprising, given that this game essentially laid the foundation of what "Paper Mario" would go on to be). It's nice to see how much they respected the original game, while also adding some nice new content to make it more accessible for new players. It may have taken 27 years, but I'm glad to see "Super Mario RPG" return, and I'm even happier it's returning in such a great way. As the closer to Nintendo's 2023, what a great way to go out. Can't wait to play the "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door" remake now.
Final rating: 9 out of 10 "Awesome"