Super Mario RPG Remake Needs a Hard Mode

The upcoming Super Mario RPG Remake is shaping up to be a faithful adaptation of our SNES favorite, but there is one change we want to see. The game really needs a hard mode. Read on to learn more about our ideas and theories on the matter.

The Super Mario RPG Remake Needs a Hard Mode And Here’s Why

The Original Super Mario RPG Was Too Easy

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was undoubtedly one of the most legendary titles from the SNES era. Unfortunately, the game was, for lack of a better description, somewhat forgiving once you figured out a reliable team composition. Combined with the fact that almost every overworld fight is optional, you’ve got a game that many hardcore RPG enthusiasts would consider too easy.

Even casual players have noticed this, as many of them have taken to the internet to inquire about the existence of a hard mode over the years. ROM hacks, which works to modify the game's data, have allowed players to experience community-developed hard modes, satisfying at least some of the demand. Others were content to handicap themselves during a playthrough by avoiding specific team compositions and imposing other limitations to raise the difficulty.

However, these are nothing but stopgaps. With the remake on the way, many are hopeful that those band-aid solutions of yesteryear could finally be replaced by a proper hard mode built into the game.

The Remake Kinda Already Has One

The option to replay boss fights at a harder difficulty was revealed as a new gameplay feature for Super Mario RPG Remake, alongside Triple Moves. This is likely to address the same issue that fans have been complaining about for decades, which was the original game’s difficulty balancing. This bodes well for RPG fans who prefer a challenge, but it’s still far from an all-encompassing hard mode, as it only applies to the game’s boss fights.

From what information they’ve released through trailers and announcements, this is seems to be the extent of Nintendo’s attempts at making the game harder than the original. I still think that a game mode akin to New Game+ would be better, but it’s still good to see that baby steps have been taken to meet fan expectations for the remake.

It Would Boost Replayability to New Heights

The original Super Mario RPG already had amazing replayability, and I expect the remake to be the same even without a hard mode. However, adding a New Game+ mode would boost this aspect to new heights. This would pair well with the new Triple Move feature, and, assuming that NG+ would implement more than a simple difficulty tweak, it would also force players to think outside the box when approaching every fight. Assuming that overworld battles still function similarly to how they did in the original game, this would also justify their optionality, as picking your battles and situational awareness becomes more essential.

Viable as it is, a hard mode doesn’t seem to be in the books for Super Mario RPG Remake, at least from what we know so far. It could be a possibility in the future, but Nintendo seems to have addressed the issue already with their new option to replay boss fights. We hope they'll surprise us at launch, but in any case, it will have to do for the time being.

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Aaron Bruce Albert..

A massive fan of roguelikes, turn-based RPGs, and open world adventure games. His gold standard games include The Binding of Isaac, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker.