Switch version of Super Mario RPG completed. This was one of my favorite games from my childhood and I played the original several times so I had a pretty good memory of everything, and what took me by surprise is how faithful the developers were to the original. 99% of everything was the same. For example, I don't think they changed the 90s translation at all, except for a few lines about the modernity of autosaving and Culex musing about how the party is 3D rendered whereas he's still a pixel. Even the choreography for the cutscenes were exact, down to how many times Mario would jump or Bowser would weep. Not a single dungeon was changed down to the layout or the positioning of the enemies. The game is basically as it was first published thirty years ago but for upgraded graphics.

However there are two parts they tweaked and it does affect gameplay: The first is the introduction of team attacks, and they are very powerful. The second and more important is you can switch your party members out midbattle. Oh Geno is now a mushroom? We'll just replace him with Peach. The boss is weak to lightning? Time for Bowser to bow out in favor of Mallow. Instead of bringing only three people to the fight, you have the whole party.

Honestly I think Super Mario RPG has stood up to the test of time as a good game. If you want to relive your childhood, I'd say try this out. And if you've never played before and want to see what we had in the 90s, plop it into your Switch.

(Also, can I just say I'm blown away Yoko Shimomura made the track for this? Comparing it to Street Fighter II, Parasite Eve, and Final Fantasy XV, it's a completely different tone. I had her sign my original SNES cartridge, I think she was a bit surprised someone brought it.)