Super Mario RPG Remake sought to fix the buggy code of the original, but how did this affect the speedrunning community that depended on it? Read on to learn how the remake's removal of well-known glitches and exploits affected speedrunners.
Gone Are The Exploits and Glitches of Yesteryear
Among the many improvements that the Super Mario RPG Remake implemented, the removal and patching of old exploits, glitches, and oversights was one that likely flew under the radar for most players. While some of these could have been encountered in normal runs, speedrunners in particular made use of said glitches and exploits to lower their run times and become a part of Super Mario RPG's speedrunning history. But that's all in the past now. What's become of the speedrunning scene for this game now that there are no glitches and exploits to utilize?
"Skill Swap" Was First on The Chopping Block
Before we discuss what's become of the speedrunning scene, let's talk about what they lost in the remake first. "Skill Swap" was a beloved glitch that all the top runners used. It involved finagling with Stars, Level-ups, and level transitions to give characters skills they shouldn't have, effectively letting them "Swap" with a teammate.
Needless to say, this glitch was way too strong and would have saved run minutes if executed well. It really comes as no surprise that it was the first to get axed in the remake. No amount of frame-perfect inputs is going to swap your party's skills around anymore, not on Nintendo's watch. And just like that, the sound of a thousand pained speedrunners rang out and was thusly silenced.
Mack Skip Was Completely Removed
Another well-used, well-loved glitch from the original game was the aptly named "Mack Skip", which let you skip the Mack boss fight early in the game by jumping on a Shyster in the background. It was a forgiving glitch that was easily exploited by the greenest of runners, but boy did it pay off.
The original "Mack Skip" was doable as long as you didn't go through the middle of the boss arena before the Mack fight, letting you jump past the boss fight's trigger and save the Chancellor. Try that in the remake, and the game will take control of your character and forcibly move you to the center of the room, starting the fight.
The worst part of it all is that you can't even call it the "Mack Skip" anymore since Nintendo renamed this boss among many others for the remake. Something about "Claymorton Skip" just doesn't sound right.
The Geno Whirl Glitch Stays
Bafflingly, Nintendo opted to keep a well-known exploit in the game with "Geno Whirl", one of Geno's aptly named special moves. The move involved Geno throwing a disc of light at a single enemy, dealing unimpressive damage if the Action Command misses and 9999 critical damage if it does. This is an instant kill tool that speedrunners use often, though it does come with a caveat - it can't be used on bosses. Well...except for one.
"Geno Whirl" can instantly kill Exor, the massive sword that pierced Bowser's Castle in the game's intro and one of the harder bosses in the game. You'd think that Nintendo would patch this out along with the above-mentioned glitches, but no, they kept it in as a feature. You won't find any in-game tips or prompts alluding to it, but it'll work if you can time it right.
It seems rather unfair that this gets to stay while the other glitches get axed, but at least speedrunners have something to work with.
What Does This Mean for The Game's Speedrunning Community?
Honestly, Not Much
Despite the cries of agony from the original game's speedrunning community, these patches and updates don't really affect it all that much. The remake is...well...a remake. It's a separate game that could be enjoyed apart from the original. Although you shouldn't expect record-topping times anymore if you try to speedrun the remake, nothing's stopping you from just speedrunning the original instead.
If it really does become a problem, the community can simply make its own category for speedruns of the Super Mario RPG Remake, complete with its own set of strategies and optimizations to exploit. I think the combat mechanics added to the remake separate it enough from the original to justify its distinction. Who knows? Maybe there are exploitable bugs and glitches in the Super Mario RPG Remake; we just haven't found them yet.
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