Super Mario RPG Is Finally Getting The Remake It Deserves
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is getting a remake on the Nintendo Switch.
The legendary 1996 Super Mario RPG, Mario’s first role-playing adventure, is getting a remake for Nintendo Switch. The new version of the game will feature updated graphics, but the overall game will remain faithful to the 1996 original.
According to Kotaku, the rumors leading up to the Nintendo Direct stated that Nintendo is most likely going to reveal a remake of a beloved Super Nintendo classic, but now the rumors have been confirmed; Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is getting a remake on Nintendo Switch. It would seem that Nintendo is pushing its classics next to its new releases to boost the handheld’s sales and potentially even depose PlayStation 2 from being the world’s best-selling console.
The upcoming Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars initially stemmed from a collaboration between Nintendo and Square—in an era in which Nintendo pursued partnerships with prominent third-party developers. Square, as all of those who played the original Kingdom Hearts know, became Square Soft before becoming the company that develops NFT games in an era in which NFTs became obsolete—Square Enix.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars launched on the iconic Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and it was a blast.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars exceeded Nintendo’s sales expectations in the US, gaining a massive following. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, it never received a sequel or any kind of follow-up.
Instead, it served as an inspiration and a building block for two long-running Mario RPG gaming series, Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, both of which borrowed the Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars gameplay mechanics and humorous approach to storytelling. But the main game, the beloved classic, was left to wither.
Admittedly, the game was re-released on Wii Virtual Console service in 2008. But it never really caught on. Even a subsequent Wii U re-release on a virtual console didn’t live up due to the console’s poor performance on the market.
Luckily, the emulation scene is strong with this one, and true fans of the SNES continued to play Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars game on an emulator—a big “no-no” in Nintendo’s book. So, the company finally decided to do the right thing and remake the game for its popular handheld.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is now bound to launch on Nintendo Switch in November, and its visual makeover looks as expected. However, this also begs the question of how the game’s mechanics and storytelling have aged, considering that it was among the first release in the Mario franchise to have gameplay within an isometric 3D environment.
This admittedly allowed for more exploration and platforming, and Nintendo obviously perfected its formula for Mario in 3D since then, but it would still be interesting to see how the game plays nowadays.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is scheduled to release on November 17, 2023, on Nintendo Switch.
