Highlights

  • Super Mario RPG's new Switch remake proves that turn-based RPGs still have a dedicated fan base, despite the genre's overall decline in popularity.
  • The game features a bestiary with a variety of enemies to fight, including the classic Mimics, known for their deceptive treasure chest disguises.
  • The names of the Mimics in Super Mario RPG perfectly capture the frustration and surprise that players feel when encountering them, adding a humorous element to the game.

As the years have gone by, players have had to watch as turn-based RPGs have fallen into obscurity. While some titles of the sub-genre are still releasing, most of the more prominent RPGs have either adopted gimmicks that alter the formula as seen in the Paper Mario series, or have adapted to being more about real-time action than turn-based gameplay. However, Super Mario RPG has a brand-new Switch remake out now that's proving that the back-and-forth strategy still has its fans. Despite how long it's been, plenty of loyal players are enjoying the return of Super Mario RPG.

Super Mario RPG, like other turn-based adventures before it, has plenty of enemies to fight in Mushroom Way, Land's End, and beyond. The Switch remake even adds a bestiary featuring all the monsters, allowing most of the entries to be revealed once players beat the game. Amid Mario enemies and more standard RPG monsters, a classic enemy makes its appearance in SMRPG in a way that may make players frustrated, but will then cause them to stop and laugh. These foes would be the Mimics, whose names are jokes about the very mechanic of their enemy archetype.

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How the Mimics in Super Mario RPG Perfectly Represent Player Frustration

The Nature of Mimics in Role-Playing Games

Mimics in RPGs are typically seen in the form of fake treasure chests, aiming to lure unsuspecting victims into their grasp by making them think they'll get a rare item to help them out on their journey, only for it to spring out and attack them instead. If one isn't prepared for a Mimic in place of the chest, players could easily end up losing the fight because they tried their luck. Because of this, finding a Mimic is often more frustrating than not, but they're so important to the genre that they're found all over in games like Dragon Quest, Dark Souls, Shovel Knight, and more.

Super Mario RPG Lets the Names of the Mimic Speak For Itself

While players level up throughout Super Mario RPG, it won't be long until one of the game's many treasure chests turns out to be a Mimic in disguise. Truthfully, Mimics in SMRPG are very rare. However, their names will likely stay with players for a long time as the Mimic jumps out and starts a battle to only reveal themselves with the names "Huhwhat," "Whuhoh," "Pleaseno," and "Comeon." Each name fits the general reaction that players have to Mimics, which most likely will make fans laugh once the name is read.

In the original SNES game, these Mimics were known as Pandorite, Hidon, Box Boy, and Chester. The new names are made to match the original Japanese names for these monsters, which are different variations of the phrase "nandaro", meaning "what is this." In Japanese, "nandaro" can be meant curiously, like a question, but can also be yelled in surprise when something isn't as it seems, befitting the nature of Mimics.

These cleverly named enemies are truly surprise encounters in Super Mario RPG, as three of the four Mimics can only be fought a few times and then never again, with the other being the last part of one of the six trial doors in Bowser's Keep. Luckily for those who enjoy SMRPG's Final Fantasy elements, this would be Comeon; the very fake treasure chest that apparently holds Bahamutt, a parody version of FF's Bahamut dragon, inside of it. After helping themselves to a difficult battle, they sadly won't get any drops for their efforts, but at the very least, if a player manages to shout the same name of one of these monsters before the fight starts, it's certain to make them laugh and smile despite the lack of proper treasure.