 SOOOOOOOH ITS DRUNK! I first made a video about Super Mario RPG for this channel about 10 years ago, and it started by saying, Super Mario RPG is exactly what you'd think a Mario Role-Playing game would be. And sure enough, with the new Mario RPG remake for Switch, this is, uh, pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a remake. In fact, this is probably the most faithful remake I've ever played. It's as close of a one-for-one update as you could reasonably expect. Now, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide. Some folks might scoff at the fact that it's a reasonably quick playthrough that's not offering anything particularly new, and some other folks might enjoy revisiting what still is a great game. It's long been my pick as one of the top five role-playing games on the Super Nintendo, so it's not like they needed to change much, other than add all the usual quality of life enhancements that you're used to seeing. Like, for example, there's an option to Switch to and from the original soundtrack. Or you can just leave it on the original like I did. There's a couple other new wrinkles, like perfectly timed attacks doing damage to surrounding enemies, as well as a meter that's built from successful timed attacks that eventually unleashes triple attacks that do a crazy amount of damage. But by and large, Mario RPG remains mostly the same. So what's the big deal? Why remake this game, and why are old people like me so excited? Well, because this was a collaboration between Nintendo and Square, which was just unheard of at the time. Some of the best games ever made were created by these two companies, and even by 1996 we could safely say that. Square was cranking out at least one huge must-play role-playing game a year, whether it was Secret of Mana in 1993, Final Fantasy 6 in 94, Chrono Trigger in 95, and then Mario RPG in 96. I remember the attitude some of my friends had at the time was that it was a step backward for Square, but Mario RPG really stood out among other games of its kind as something completely different, and it's great that a new generation of fans get to experience that for the first time. On the front end, I'll say that Mario RPG isn't the most strategic, challenging, detail-oriented game, and it was never meant to be. Instead, it's a streamlined, easy-going playthrough with a lot of charm and a lot of humor. Some folks might be put off by the fact that it's just another turn-based role-playing game, but there's plenty going on here outside of that. The game isn't just going from one battle to the next. There's puzzles, mini-games, small side quests, and one infamous optional boss battle. Here's one example where you're in a sunken ship and you have to solve a series of puzzles in order to figure out the password to get to the next mini-boss fight. Like here, you have to position these springs a certain way to make sure the cannonball can bounce up and hit that switch, which drops a clue. You have to piece together five clues and five different puzzles like that to get the password. The point is, sometimes turn-based RPGs can kind of feel dull because all you're doing is mashing the A button, but Mario RPG features a lot of different points of engagement that you don't normally find in the genre. But hey, even the regular combat here is well done. Everything is simplified, so you're not going to be worrying too much about armor or weapons or items or strategy or whatever. Instead, your priority is to time your attacks appropriately for maximum damage and to time your defenses to avoid damage. This really works to the game's advantage because it makes it that much easier to just get into a groove. This game has a certain rhythm to it that can be kind of addictive. But if you want to avoid most battles, the game lets you do that too. You can actually jump over enemies to get by, but if you come in contact, you'll be sucked into battle. So, whether you want to grind for levels or just crank through the game, either way will do just fine. I will say it's very easy to get over-leveled in this game, and there's not much need to grind at all. Your party consists of five characters, the usual suspects, but it also introduces Malo, who's adept with magic but unfortunately thinks he's a tadpole for some reason, and Gino, a spirit that inhabits a wooden doll so he can restore the star road which has been smashed by Exor, that giant sword you see sticking out of Bowser's castle, as well as the Smithy Gang, who are made up of all sorts of oddball characters, like Boyer, who indiscriminately launches arrows that paralyze people, or a giant cake that somehow comes alive, or the Axum Rangers, which is some kind of send-up of Sentai TV shows like Power Rangers. This game is absolutely filled with goofy stuff like this start to finish, and the humor throughout goes a long way towards making this such an entertaining playthrough. Maybe you won't laugh out loud or anything, but it seems like every time I sat down to play this one, I ended up with a big stupid grin on my face because of some of the silly nonsense going on. The running gag of Mario only being able to jump and not talk always gets me. So yeah, I think the Mario RPG remake is well worth checking out. I mean, it's Nintendo collaborating with Square. That alone should get your attention at the very least. Sure, the game has that cheerful, colorful Nintendo vibe throughout, but Square vibes sneak in there from time to time, especially in that aforementioned hidden optional boss battle. It's clear that this game was made as kind of a gateway to turn-based role-playing games, like if you've never played a game like this, Mario RPG would be a perfect starting point, especially with all the quality of life stuff added. There's no random battles, the game cuts a quick pace, and even if you put this one down for a while, there's a scrapbook that helps you revisit the game so it's easy to remember where you left off. But even if you've played a million of these games like I have, Mario RPG still stands out as something completely different. It's easy to see why this was chosen to get the remake treatment, not just because it's Mario and Square, but because it's a clean, cut-and-dried playthrough. It's not gonna ask for dozens of hours of your time, like so many other games out there. So if nothing else, it's really cool to see the remake has proven that Mario RPG still stands out as something totally unique. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.