Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Super Mario RPG is considered a classic for a reason, and this faithful remake makes it easy for anyone who missed it in the SNES era to see why.

Super Mario RPG is an overtly faithful recreation of the Super Nintendo hit, and this charming adventure has aged quite well.

The game that kicked off Mario's RPG adventures retains its charm in this cheerful remake.

It's maybe the most Mario has ever felt like a psychedelic dream sequence

Much of what has changed about Super Mario RPG for the remake beyond the visuals is behind the scenes. The pace is brisker, and my hour count (even after beating the big optional boss) came in lower than the average playtime of the original. The game has been tweaked only slightly to add some new mechanics and make the adventure even more welcoming than it already was. The result is an experience that only shows its age slightly and rewards longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Switch’s Mario RPG feels like a love letter to the original game. Fans of the 1996 version will be delighted by the care that’s gone into recreating the SNES title scene-for-scene. For everyone else, this remains a charming RPG adventure well worth discovering.

Though it can be a little easy, the Super Mario RPG remake scratches all the right itches – even a few decades on.

Super Mario RPG is an all-time classic game that both RPG lovers and Mario fans alike owe it to themselves to play. This Switch remake brilliantly preserves the spirit of the original SNES game, with some great quality-of-life enhancements and a phenomenally redone soundtrack. Longtime fans looking for a more transformative remake may feel disappointed, but when the core game itself has aged this well, it doesn’t suffer in the ways a lesser title would. If you’ve never played Super Mario RPG, or if you simply want an excuse to revisit it, this remake is for you.

Super Mario RPG is here in all of its weird, wonderful glory for a new generation to experience, and sets a new standard for how to do a faithful remake right. Delivering a beautifully preserved, pure experience for fans of the original and an accessible entry-point for genre newcomers, the game's infectious charm, writing, and polished gameplay do so much to elevate this beyond what might have been merely a simple RPG starring Mario.

This brand new remake of the 1996 classic recaptures a lot of what made the original game great while infusing it with modern updates that will be great for new players but may turn off fans of the original.