But his rescue attempt is thwarted by a giant sword splitting the sky, crashing into Bowser’s Keep. The story of Super Mario RPG is pretty simple: Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, and Mario attempts to rescue her and dukes it out with Bowser. Does the 2023 remake of this beloved game hold up? Let’s find out. Super Mario RPG became one of my absolute favorites of all time thanks to its unique platforming outside of combat and requiring the player to be reactive to action while in battle. Back then I was a massive fan of Mario, but also only nine years old so I didn’t quite understand JRPGs yet. I played Super Mario RPG back when it released in 1996, renting it multiple times from a local store until my grandparents gave up and just bought me a copy to save on the rental fees.

The original Super Mario RPG was a Super Nintendo RPG classic title that featured an unlikely cast of Mario, his greatest nemesis Bowser, Princess Peach, a marshmallow, and a wooden doll that should totally be the next newcomer for Super Smash Bros.