Highlights

  • Super Mario RPG has made a comeback on the Switch with a fresh new look, but the gameplay and story remain true to the classic game that is loved by fans.
  • The Action Commands mechanic, a staple of Mario RPGs, has evolved over the years but continues to be a key gameplay element in the Super Mario RPG remake, providing strategic depth and excitement in battles.
  • The remake offers quality of life features, such as visual cues for button timing, that make the game more accessible without compromising its difficulty, ensuring an enjoyable experience for both new and old players.

Super Mario RPG is officially back on a brand-new console with a complete overhaul of its classic look on the Switch. With Bowser, Peach, Mallow, and Geno by his side, Mario needs to defeat the Smithy Gang to help restore Star Road and bring order back to the Mushroom Kingdom in the timeless story dating all the way back to the original Super Mario RPG for SNES. Not much has changed since the last time the classic title was re-released in 2017, which is great for those who enjoyed SMRPG as it stands.

For the many fans who have remained loyal to the RPG for so many years, a faithful remake such as the Super Mario RPG remake for Switch is quite literally the best thing they could have ever hoped for. While many comparisons between the new Switch version and the original Super Mario RPG will be made for quite some time, fans will be glad that one Mario RPG staple has withstood the test of time. Action Commands make a full circle re-appearance in the remake after being seen in other important adventures found in the Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi spin-offs.

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How Action Commands Have Evolved Between Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, and the Mario & Luigi Series

If players haven't been able to experience SMRPG before trying out any of the Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi games, they may not be aware that the ever-helpful Action Commands mechanic dates all the way back to Mario's first ever role-playing game experience. Indeed, the button press that has saved Mario, his partners, and even his brother Luigi's HP many a time dates back to 1996. Back then, however, fans had to rely on using audio cues alongside trial and error in order to understand when the best time to attack Super Mario RPG enemies was.

This is where Paper Mario comes in, as while it gets rid of the sliding scale of damage fans could get in SMRPG depending on how well they timed their button presses, it opted to make all the moves much more visually telegraphed along with the audio cues. This exists in almost every Paper Mario game, with some variations to match specific entry's gimmicks and changes to the formula. No matter what, Paper Mario and its sequel The Thousand-Year Door helped round out the mechanic and make it easier for many players.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga once again changes the game, though, and serves as the start of Alphadream's RPG series adding variety and complexity to the mechanic. As the big theme of these games is the bond and teamwork between the Mario brothers, players control them both at the same time with the A and B buttons at all points. This translates back into Action Commands, which grow even more detailed in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time as Baby Mario and Luigi are added to the mix with the X and Y buttons. While the Action Commands remain relatively simple with button presses, the speed and rate at which players need to respond changes with every enemy and attack, making the battles in the M&L games fresh and exciting every time.

Finally, after 27 years, the Super Mario RPG remake brings the original Action Command concept full circle, presented in the way fans remember, albeat with a few quality of life features from other iterations such as the ones found in Paper Mario and its sequel. Now, instead of relying on only audio cues, a small exclamation point will appear to tell players when to time their button presses. For those concerned about how this new feature affects the game's difficulty, it only serves as a hint, and it will even vanish once players memorize the timing for themselves.