The director behind the originalSuper Mario RPGon SNES gives his thoughts on the upcoming remake for the Nintendo Switch. Fans were given a very big surprise during the June 2023 Nintendo Direct, where a litany ofSuper Mario-related projects was announced. The one that had taken many by surprise would likely be thereveal ofSuper Mario RPG’s remake on the Switch. Shortly after the game’s reveal, plenty of details were given about the RPG and to what extent things would be remade.Alongside overhauling the graphics, the soundtrack would also be re-arranged to fit the remake’s new modernized look. LongtimeMarioRPG andKingdom HeartscomposerYoko Shimomura will be returning to re-arrangeSuper Mario RPG’s soundtrack, with some of the music being heard in the trailer itself. However, the original SNES game’s director, Chihiro Fujioka, confirmed that he will not be a part of the remake.RELATED:Super Mario RPG Fans Debate Whether a Final Fantasy-Themed Superboss Will Return in RemakeFujioka was a video game designer who had worked at a variety of companies, taking on many different roles, such as director, composer, and field designer. In the case ofSuper Mario RPG, he was the game’s director and would continue assisting in otherMarioRPGs developed by AlphaDreamyears later. Fujioka tweeted about his reaction to the trailer, where he expressed his excitement at the upgraded graphics and music. When he was asked if he’d be involved in the remake over Twitter, he flatly said no.
Follow-up tweets from other fans ofSuper Mario RPGthanked him for his direction on the original game, many stating that it was one of their personal favorite games. Other fans were saddened that Fujioka wasn’t consulted into being brought on board for development, but were still glad to see that his opinions on the remake were positive. Fujioka confirmed that the news was a big surprise to him as well, and was looking forward to the game releasing later in November.
Previously in 2022,Fujioka commented that he’d love to make a sequel toSuper Mario RPG, hoping that it would also be his “final” game before he retired. Fujioka was working on the otherMarioRPGs at AlphaDream, including the final one put out by the developer before its collapse,Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey. Regardless, the former director is very excited to see what the remake will bring, even commenting that he wonders how the game’s minigames and field design will be handled.
