The legendary composer behind Super Mario RPG, Yoko Shimomura, has confirmed that she will be a part of the game's development and will be rearranging the songs for the remake. The June 2023 Nintendo Direct featured a number of incredible reveals that took fans by surprise. While a lot of the focus was on the Super Mario IP, the company's flagship franchise was justifiably bringing in the big guns in terms of games present. Alongside a new 2D platformer known as Super Mario Bros. Wonder, many fans were taken in immediately right out of the gate with the reveal of a Super Mario RPG remake.This is an official remake of the original Super Mario RPG that was originally released on the SNES, complete with a number of overhauls that bring the game to the modern era. This includes remade models of the cast and auxiliary characters from the original. This remake translates the RPG's original elements faithfully into the modern era, giving a fresh and revitalized look to the game. This doesn't just apply to the graphics, as the music will also be faithfully rearranged by its original composer, Yoko Shimomura.Shortly after Super Mario RPG was announced at the Nintendo Direct, the composer confirmed her role via her Twitter account. Roughly translated from Japanese, she states that she was putting her heart and soul into arranging the songs, hoping that fans of the original and newcomers would enjoy it. Some of the arranged songs can be heard in the trailer, with one being a more orchestra-filled version of the opening theme, along with a jazzy battle theme.
Yoko Shimomura's resume is extensive, composing music for a number of video games and companies over the years. This includes Street Fighter 2, Live a Live, and other RPGs developed by Square Enix. Fans consider her most recognizable compositions to be from Kingdom Hearts and the Mario and Luigi RPG series. Many were excited to see the composer return, along with seeing what new compositions that would be brought to the remake.
This remake of Super Mario RPG has been very positively received, with many being glad to see the game make a comeback after a long absence. Many believed that a remake would be difficult, considering Square Enix was the original developer of the game and there might have been issues with re-releasing the game in general. This was apparent when the game didn't come onto the SNES Switch Online service, with Nintendo likely having been developing this in the background for a while. Regardless, many are excited to return to this RPG with the remake.
Super Mario RPG will release on November 17 for Nintendo Switch.
