Oh my god, Super Mario RPG is one of my favourite games ever and I haven't played a game that scratched the same spot it did since. Elephantasy is damn good. The music is charming, the visuals are deeply satisfying, the map is intricate and rewards exploration. It has so much going on for it and I could not put it down when I started.

That being said,

The game is also hard as ####. There's times where it felt like Celeste—you have infinite lives for each room, and each room is 7x7 (how hard can it be really?). Some of the rooms are super technical, requiring wall-jumps, temporary item boosts and precise timing to overcome. Getting 100% is a chore... and does actually require what I consider to be "abuse" of its own gimmicks, but its not the worst because the game does have cheat codes!

A lot of the frustration that may come from its retro-esque challenge is mitigated if you play the game with the game manual open. Indeed, this game comes with a super cute manual and you SHOULD use it while playing (its on the store page). The manual makes the game kinda feel like Tunic too! It tells you what all the items do, how they get better when upgraded and has a map to aid with familiarizing yourself with the world! Really adds to the experience in a nostalgic way.

Now would I recommend this game to everyone... no... but if you like any of the games I mentioned in this review, you gotta give it an honest try, its really good.