Saturday Morning RPG

As a loving tribute to JRPGs and '80s pop culture, Saturday Morning RPG has rough edges a-plenty and even more bright ideas. It can frustrate and baffle, particularly if you're not au fait with the period, but it's always keen to invite you into its world.

Saturday Morning RPG has a few issues, but none are glaring. The writing occasionally falls flat, and at several points a glitch caused my view to be obstructed while using a timed button-press attack in combat, but the game remains wholesomely charming and fun throughout. The jokes may not have draw a guffaw, but the pure innocence of the writing and the world does exactly what it intends to: remind you of those great lost Saturday mornings. And at that, Saturday Morning RPG is quite successful.

All in all, Saturday Morning RPG provides a memorable jaunt down RPG paths with solid role-playing mechanics that are as effective as they are zany.

Although Saturday Morning RPG certainly captures the feelings of playing a Saturday morning cartoon, that quality may very well be its downfall. The episodic format, coupled with the fairly involved battle system, make for a breath of fresh air in the early game, but they quickly become repetitive and rather dull, much like a typical '80s cartoon. The aesthetic is plenty pleasant and the writing has its moments of charm, but Saturday Morning RPG is ultimately a JRPG not meant to be played powered through. In small bursts, its combat and episodic story structure might shine, but they fall apart quite hastily when played all at once. It's best to take each episode a week at a time, like a proper Saturday morning cartoon.

Saturday Morning RPG offers a short-but-sweet RPG experience that doesn’t break boundaries within the genre, but still offers plenty of fun. It’s quirky and neat, whilst the constant 80s pop culture references kept a smile on my face from start to end. Whilst it can start to grow a little repetitive with time, its short length ensures that it never outstays it’s welcome. Add to that the bonus of a fairly low price point, and it’s easy to see that Saturday Morning RPG is a worthy addition to anyone’s Nintendo Switch library.

Despite its repetitive qualities, Saturday Morning RPG did keep me entertained for quite a few hours.

While the game is the same on, say, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the Switch version does have the advantage of allowing you to play the game at home or on the go, and you can also use the touchscreen to play the game when in Portable or Tabletop mode. So if you're looking for a new way to play Saturday Morning RPG, or if you still haven't played the game before, then this is definitely the version you can should try today!

Saturday Morning RPG has a lot to like. The presentation is top notch, the gameplay is excellent, and the vast amount of ‘80s references sprinkled throughout the episodes are fun, promoting a positive vibe. I wish the world had a bit more depth, and the difficulty spikes get annoying fast. But with Saturday Morning RPG, the positives end up outweighing the negatives.

If you’d like a trip down the 80s memory lane with some decent RPG gameplay layered on top you probably will enjoy Saturday Morning RPG, warts and all. The jokes are punny, some of the renaming to protect the innocent is clever, but the experience really hinges on how you react to this. If you reject it there’s pretty well no chance it will be fun, but if you embrace it there’s just enough there to keep it consistently entertaining. This feels like an experience that hit its target objectives well, just by its nature it’s a thoroughly niche experience so enjoyment is in the eye of the beholder.

Saturday Morning RPG is a trip down memory lane, if you grew up in the 80's you might enjoy this casual JRPG featuring an excellent soundtrack. On the other hand if you are after a deep and rewarding game then this won't be for you.