Super Mario RPG: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more

Super Mario RPG is set to arrive on November 11, 2023.

As you would expect from a Mario title, Super Mario RPG will be a Nintendo Switch exclusive.

Super Mario RPG was revealed at the June Nintendo Direct as a surprise announcement. The trailer opens with the exact opening from the SNES version, with music and graphics all as they were, which some may have taken as a sign that a mere port was on the way. However, after the screen settles on Peach, a light washes over the screen and reveals a completely updated visual style. The game still has that toy-like appearance, only not in full 3D and with much more color and detail.

The trailer goes on with a montage of clips that show this will be a very faithful remake in terms of plot. We see the main antagonist, Smithy, and his minions take over Bowser’s castle, all the new and familiar faces (Geno, Mallow, Bowser, and Peach) back in action, plus all the locations visited the first time around. The plotline of the original was set on Mario and friends attempting to recover the seven stars Smithy shattered in order to repair a Star Rod that grants wishes. This takes them through various locations in the Mushroom Kingdom, never seen before or since, as they face off against tons of new and dangerous foes.

The second look at Super Mario RPG came at the September 2023 Direct and was heavily focused on gameplay features, but it did show a few bits of cutscenes and familiar areas from the story.

What made Super Mario RPG so special back on the SNES and influenced all future Mario RPGs going forward are the action-commands. In a typical turn-based RPG, especially at the time, you would simply select your command and watch the results. In this game, by timing a button press correctly, either during an attack or when being attacked, you could activate an action-command for greater effects. This keeps you more engaged in the combat, and would be a massive miss had it not been brought back. Not satisfied with simply including the same combat systems, Nintendo has further expanded the action-command system for the remake. To start, perfectly timed attacks not only deal more damage, but can also damage all enemies on the field instead of just your target.

The real major addition is a new gauge tied to action-commands that fills up as you land them. Once full, you can trigger a new Triple Move that has your current party of three unleash one massive combined attack. This move will vary based on your current party composition, so there will be even more reason to change up your team to see all the cinematics.

Another brand new option is the ability to repeat key boss fights after you’ve beaten them once in the story, which was impossible before. This isn’t a simple rematch, however, as these post-game rematches boost the boss’s power to become a true challenge to your team.

Outside of turn-based combat, you will explore the overworld as Mario, collecting items, exploring towns, and jumping on enemies to get the advantage when shifting over to combat.

The only new thing that fans of the originals should be on the lookout for are cutscenes. We see a few examples of these, such as Mallow and Geno’s introduction, which now are much more cinematic and are shown from various camera angles, whereas the original always stuck to its isometric perspective.