What is Super Mario RPG, the plumber's other big comeback?

The recent Nintendo Direct showcased the latest instalment of Mario's 2D adventure, but it also brought back one of its beloved cult episodes, which was a pleasant surprise.

After the future of the 2D platform proposed by Super Mario Bros. Wonder, place in the past and nostalgia. Some players were probably not born at that time... In 1996, when Super Nintendo ended its brilliant career, it welcomed the swan song of its faithful mascot in a most original form. In a collaboration with RPG developer Square Soft (Square Enix today), the manufacturer left the role-playing specialist free hands to bring an exceptional Mario to life in more ways than one.

Here is a promotional poster featuring Nintendo characters.

First, it took over many elements of the best licenses of the Japanese studio, from Chrono Trigger to Final Fantasy, inevitably. Then, it was then based on graphics in imitation 3D, like Donkey Kong Country (1994), in a superb isometric representation.

Super Mario RPG - Nintendo Direct 6.21.2023

No Europe for Old Games

Its game system, its graphic qualities and even its original scenario which changes the usual confrontations with Bowser – the latter not being the major antagonist here – have ensured his success all over the world… or almost. Indeed, if Super Mario RPG was released in Japan in March 1996, then in August of the same year in the United States, it never had the honours of a European version.

Few players were able to discover at the time, in the UK, the ancestor of Paper Mario therefore, and it was necessary to wait for its arrival on virtual console in 2008 to remedy this. Fortunately, Nintendo has the good idea to concoct a remake for us, with a spectacular transformation.

Play online, and enjoy a growing library of classic

Super Glow-Up

If on its principles of play and mechanics Super Mario RPG will not change little, graphically the evolution is impressive. A bit like the remake of Zelda Link's Awakening, the original sees its plastic sublimated, going into real 3D and set with the most beautiful effects to make everything even more spectacular.

Far from the remastered versions in HD, often lazy, the result promises to be crisp and irresistible. Set for release on November 17, barely a month after the arrival of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it will allow plumber fans to continue their adventures in good company. To (re)discover urgently!