Super Mario RPG remake

Play it on: Switch
Current goal: Get out of the sewers

My dad bought me Super Mario RPG for my birthday the year it came out. He took me to Toys “R” Us (RIP) and let me pick out anything I wanted. As a kid I thought this was great. As an adult I now know they forgot to buy me presents (which as an adult I also get: My birthday is right after Christmas).

I ended up picking the Gold City Junction Lego set and Super Mario RPG. It was $20 over the allotted budget ($100) but I think he felt bad. The game has lived with me ever since, making replaying the remake on Switch a strange emotional journey, like coming back to your childhood home after someone else has been living in it. The kitchen’s been remodeled. The walls have all been repainted. It’s comforting but alien, a reminder of where you came from and how you can never go back. Super Mario RPG on Switch has already pulled me back under the original’s spell, and I’m excited to see whether I eventually wake up enchanted or disillusioned. For now I’m just excited to get Mallow back to Tadpole Pond once again. — Ethan Gach