You probably don't need me to tell you that Super Mario RPG is good. It's one of the best SNES games ever made, and while it never got the direct sequel it deserved, it did lay the foundations for series like Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi to continue offering colorfully charming takes on the RPG formula in the Mushroom Kingdom for decades to come. That's why, after an early look at the upcoming Switch remake, I don't really want to talk about the game in general terms - I want to show you just how well it compares against that original classic.
There are points where I've simply been astounded by just how faithful the new Super Mario RPG remake is to the original 1996 JRPG. The dialog, the level design, and the minigames are all virtually identical, to the point where it often feels like the Switch remake could simply be a lavish skin laid over the Super NES classic. But after spending a few hours comparing both versions of Super Mario RPG, it's clear that the remake is a lovingly crafted adaptation that offers so many wonderful quality-of-life improvements that it's tough to ever imagine going back.
