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journeytalkzsp · 1 year

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie: From the POV of a fangirl (Spoilers. Duh.)

So my friends asked for this and I adore that they actually care so I made it!

I needed at least a day to relax and collect my thoughts. I don’t normally do movie reviews as South Park is the only thing I talk about on here but Mario has taken over my life this year and it’s somewhat thanks to this movie! Again beware of spoilers! I have a lot to say, some good, some bad. But just know I warned you.

Just to give a little background, I’ve played Mario games since I was a kid, with my main two being Mario Kart Wii and New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. I’ve always enjoyed the games and I became an even bigger fan after playing Mario Odyssey (which to this day is my favorite Mario game… actually my favorite game of all time right behind Bully). I’ll admit I was worried the first time I heard about a movie, especially considering it was being made by Illumination. But after seeing the trailer I was HOOKED LIKE A FISH and reeled into the fanbase! I knew the promos and trailers would spoil a lot of the movie but there was nothing stopping me at that point.

And unlike most movies, I really enjoyed the months of hype leading up to it! I had so much fun over-analyzing the promos and discovering new fan artists… and read some incredible fanfics imma be honest. And of course catching up on all the games I missed out on as a kid! All this to say that as much as I enjoyed the movie, the outside effect of it was even better.

Now for the movie itself! Let me start off saying that it was clearly made with love. This wasn’t something made to market more games or advertise Nintendo. This was a thank you gift to the fans, new and old. They also went HARD with the promo! Being able to actually call Super Mario Bros. Plumbing? Genius.

The animation was beautiful. The attention to detail—like Bowser’s scales, the decor on Peach's crown and the highlights in the characters' eyes. So pretty. I also really loved how expressive every character was! It was so easy to tell what emotions they were feeling without the dialogue needed to express it. When y’all rewatch it, please pay attention to the beginning of the movie when Luigi finally gets his plate of food. His reaction is so freaking adorable and I wanna draw it. The action scenes were so fluid and Mario and Luigi’s bond was shown through touch alone. I loved that!

Don’t even get me started on the soundtrack. They really put their all into it and I recognized so many subtle melodies and themes that took me right back to playing the games! The end credits music legit made my friend cry, hehe yeah I’m calling you out. Even the few pop culture songs that were added were very well timed and not overused! Also the Plummer Rap from “Super Mario Brothers Super Show” was a brilliant start, even if I already listened to it a thousand times after it was released in the promo. That song even got me to check out the show itself. Only episode one though. Watching ghosts lick Bowser’s feet wasn’t it for me. Speaking of Bowser, his ballad to Peach was absolutely amazing. Wonderful performance from Jack Black and he even wrote it too! Please watch the end credits if you haven't, there’s MORE!

But I’d say my favorite part of the movie was the characterization. I know Miyamoto oversaw the whole thing but I’m still impressed with how accurate the characters’ personalities were. Luigi was perfectly anxious, Mario was protective and charismatic, Peach was agreeable and assertive and Bowser was tough yet insecure. The dynamics were also great! I loved how genuine Luigi and Mario’s bond was. I also enjoyed Mario and Peach's subtle flirting that never gets addressed in the end (which is exactly like the games, I seriously love it!). I’m also super glad that it showed a bit of Bowser and Kamek interaction. Although I would’ve loved them to explore their “father and son” bond. GIMME FOUND FAMILY DAMN IT. Oh yeah and Toad wasn’t annoying! He was definitely the comedic relief but they didn’t overdo it! Him and his huge kart was my favorite thing. He’s just a silly little guy.

They definitely made it their mission to absolutely fill the movie with references and it was much appreciated! My personal favorites being the game cube ringtone, blue shell, cheep cheeps and the environments as a whole. I enjoyed the appearances of side characters like Kamek, Spike and Pauline. But I was honestly hoping for a few more like Daisy, Rosalina, Toadette and JUNIOR AND KOOPALINGS, DANG IT! You’re telling me they put so much emphasis on Bowser's sentimental side but didn’t include him being a father??? (Yes I know the koopalings aren’t technically his kids but Junior is and I was really disappointed at the lack of his presence).

But that brings me to the few problems I did have with this movie. And they all stem from the runtime length. It was WAY too short. And not in the way of “omg I loved it so much I need more!” No. It actually needed to be longer. I even heard it was supposed to be but things were cut? The pacing was too fast and there wasn’t enough time for individual character arcs. Don’t get me wrong there were conflicts, but they were resolved almost as soon as they began.

I’m also disappointed in the lack of Luigi content once they left Brooklyn. He really was just put in a cage for most of it, which is what everyone was worried about. It was cool to see him confront his fears to save his brother in the end but it would’ve felt more emotional and deserved if we got to see his internal struggles during his capture. I really loved that hot air balloon scene where he recalls a childhood memory of him and Mario. That! That’s what I wanted more of! I know there wasn’t much he could do in a cage but I was really hoping he’d be involved in attempting to convince Bowser to not go through with his plans. Or maybe even a scene where he tries to encourage the others that were captured to work as a team to escape or something. Idk man, I’m sure they could’ve come up with something good if they were just GIVEN A LONGER RUN TIME. They could’ve done a lot with an extra 20 minutes. I promise for the animators sake I would’ve waited months longer for this movie. Or they could’ve cut the dog and eel scenes honestly.

And as much as I appreciated them showing Bowser’s sentimental side (seriously it was one of the things I was hoping for the most). I really wish they could’ve done something with it other than just comedy. Don’t get me wrong, Bowser was so cute trying to woo Peach. He made me smile till my face hurt. But it’s clear he’s really lonely and rejected, and they could’ve done something a little deeper with that. When he told Mario that he ruined his chance to “finally be happy” the whole theater went “awww”. In the end he could’ve learned love from his subjects or his FAMILY. Sorry I’m still pretty peeved about that. Even something as simple as him befriending Luigi would’ve been a really nice touch but I guess I ask for too much. But nope they just shrunk him, put him in a jar and left him like that. Even main antagonists deserve good endings at times. I was kinda hoping they’d pull a “Lego Batman Movie” and force him to see that he’s hurting his kingdom in the process of his pursuit and he’d need to help in order to get everyone back home. Kinda corny I know but Lego Batman managed to do it with Joker in a way that wasn’t OOC. I was just missing the complexity. Still, I can’t complain about Bowser getting the shit beaten out of him and the classic tail spin move. I’ll admit I’ve always found Bowser’s defeats hilarious in the games. Please look up the ending of Bowsers Fury if you haven’t played it. I laughed for hours. I’m sorry Bowser but your pain is my gain at times. Also the large group of people who sat behind us had the exact same opinions, which felt validating. THEY ALSO WANTED JUNIOR DAMN IT!

The merging between the two worlds at the end was pretty unexpected. I honestly think they added that in there so that Mario and Luigi could see their family again. But the concept of them being thrown into a magical world and not knowing how to get back home brings so much mystery and excitement. Kind of like how it felt watching The Owl House and Amphibia. But I appreciate that it’s implied they now live in the mushroom kingdom and can probably visit their family from time to time. Now that I think of it… going back to Luigi… why on earth would he want to stay?? He was sent straight to hell the moment he got there and was put in a cage for the rest of the movie and almost died a gruesome death. If Luigi had more screen time where he befriended someone, ANYONE, it would’ve given him an incentive to actually stay, other than just sticking with Mario.

Overall I’d say the movie did what it was set out to do. Which was to give fans a fun, nostalgic adventure. I’m not too sure if one would enjoy it if they’ve never played a single Mario game. It went hard on the animation and soundtrack, the voice actors did a good job (especially Jack Black and Charlie Day. Hell, even Chris Pratt did a good job). It wasn’t perfect. It was definitely too rushed for my taste and I would’ve appreciated it if they had slowed things down a bit. Luigi is currently my favorite character, so naturally I’m disappointed we couldn’t get more of him. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it more on the rewatch.

I suppose I should format this like my South Park reviews for the sake of consistency.

So that means it’s time for the ratings!

Things I liked:

• Bowser. Every moment he was on screen made me happy. I love him so much.

• The characters' personalities were spot on!

• The facial expressions and character designs. Very pretty movie to look at fr!

Things I disliked:

• Too fast paced. Needed room to breathe.

• Kept asking “where’s Luigi?”

• A general lack of my favorite trope “found family” when they easily could’ve used it with Bowser

Should I do ship of the day too? Eh, may as well. Congratulations Bowuigi! That damn trailer spawned a bunch of y’all even though the ship is a decade old. Hope y’all didn’t go into the movie expecting too much. It’s alright, we’ll get ‘em next time boys.

Final rating:

8/10

A good movie that was loyal to the games but the wait for it was better. I’m gonna go play Mario Galaxy now.

…peaches, peaches, peaches peaches peaches 🎶

#mario movie #supermariobrothers #super mario

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snakeeyesdraws · 8 months

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What version of Mario is your favourite? Is it the new movie or the game verse?

This is a great question!! Truthfully, there's very few Mario versions I don't enjoy - I can get entertainment value out of all of them!

Cards on the table, I'm always gonna cherish the Mario & Luigi series above all else - I think this series really captures what I love about this world/these characters the most. It really nails the vibe of "two brothers going on crazy adventures with whacky but memorable characters" that I always look for in my Mario content! Making Mario and Luigi both the heroes and emphasizing how well they work together with gameplay mechanics is mwah, chefs kisses, no notes.

Of course, I love all of the Mario series! Mario Odyssey, Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros, all great and enjoyable games. Paper Mario especially is near to my heart. I think while I take most of my inspiration from the Mario & Luigi series (especially art wise - I'm still learning how to draw in that style!) all of the series are wonderful in their own way.

Now as for the movie... I did enjoy it! I'm so grateful that its release got so many people, including myself, either into this franchise for the first time or got them to revisit it. Mario hasn't been a main hyperfixation for me since I was little, but now it's my main one and it's given me so much joy, so I'm super thankful for the movie existing!

That said, I do agree with a lot of the criticisms with the movie, mostly around the plot and pacing. I don't like how much it speeds past all the potential development for the characters, I don't like that fan favourites like Bowser and Luigi barely appear in it, I don't like that no one gets any real development for their characters. Even something simple as "Mario learns the wonders of this new world" and "Luigi learns he can be brave" really don't come across when the film is RUSHING to get to the next plot point.

This keeps the movie verse from being my favourite, BUT. What did I really enjoy in this film?

These goobers and their dynamic, oh my god. My favourite parts of the movie are when they're on screen together and we get to see them interact, they REALLY nailed the sibling dynamic!! I love what they set up; Mario is the over protective big brother (places himself in front of Luigi when confronting danger, makes traversing the construction site easier and safer for Luigi), Luigi is his emotional support, they work together and LIKE working together, they tease each other, they worry about each other when they're not together, it's everything I want out of these characters!

The movie may not be my favourite VERSION, but it def has one of my favourite portrayals of the bros' dynamic. This is exactly how I envision their relationship whenever I draw/write/daydream! And the fact that so many fans have incorporated their "nothing can hurt us as long as we're together" theme and dynamic into fan works has made me just, so happy

TL;DR because I kinda rambled all over the place; M&L series is my favourite version of Mario if I had to pick, but the movie versions of Mario and Luigi as characters are also very dear to me, even if I tend to only rewatch their scenes together as opposed to the whole movie haha

#snake talks #smb #SORRY AGAIN THIS IS KINDA ALL OVER THE PLACE I saw an opportunity to ramble and by god I took it #I hope this answers the question! ty for the ask I like talking about these silly characters

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gorematchala · 7 months

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Mario Wonder is Wonderful. The new Mario and Luigi voices are weird to hear but they're not bad by any means

I dont wanna be that guy literally all the time but like, its impossible to not compare this to Sonic Superstars. In terms of how this is just like genius tier perfect level design top to bottom, and its referencing Mario 1 and 3 a lot in its level design, and theres lots of enemy variety and all of the enemies are great, compared to, again Sonic fans overjoyed that they finally got the physics right for the first time since like Sonic CD. And then at the same time comparing how this new Mario voice actor is doing a great job while Sonics old voice actor is getting fucked over by the voice director. Its so frustrating

But like for real, having only beaten two castles like perfect game 10/10 no flaws amazing, the fucking Death Stranding mechanic is great I love it so much, hearing ghost Mario begging you to save him and then being able to free him is the best. For some reason they made it so that when you jump on enemies they look up at you in horror as you fall on them. Its so good. The elephant is really fun and the Bubble Bobble power is cool cuz its basically just like Cappy from Odyssey. This game has Shmovement. There's a badge that gives you a single wall hike before you wall jump off normally and its all just so fuck. I love it I love Mario

Look at this guy

#mario wonder

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tokiro07 · 11 months

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Something I never quite understood is what it is with people and Daisy from the Mario games. Why is there always so much talk about wanting her in the games and hype when she actually is? What exactly is so special about her that gets people like this? I don't think this is a bad thing or anything like that, It is just something that confuses me.

Are you a fan of Dragon Ball? If so, you've surely noticed that the power creep has rendered a majority of the cast irrelevant, with Goku and Vegeta being tantamount to the only ones that really matter in most scenarios, with characters like Yamcha literally not being allowed to participate in fate-deciding battles anymore

You may also have noticed that Dragon Ball Super has more recently been trying to remedy this. Super Hero hardly had Goku or Vegeta in it at all, focusing on how to bring Gohan and Piccolo up to speed, while there was a mini-arc in the manga tying into Super Hero establishing Goten and Trunks as more relevant characters

Fans love that. They love seeing characters who either exist entirely on or who have been pushed to the fringe being brought to the centerstage. There are all kinds of reasons for this, but in the case of Dragon Ball, I think it's a matter of variety vs. stagnation. "Looks like Goku got another power-up that'll serve to elevate him above the rest of the cast and render them useless again"

Daisy is in a pretty similar boat. She's appeared in dozens of Mario titles, but how many of them are the Kart, Party or Sports titles? How many times has Daisy appeared in an actual Mario game?

Once

Daisy first appeared in Super Mario Land for the GameBoy, a spinoff not even made by Shigeru Miyamoto, and even there she was the damsel in distress who didn't actually appear until the end of the game. A very common event for video game characters, especially at the time, but the point is that her involvement in the main Mario franchise is as minimal as it gets

Since then, though, her appearances in the non-platformers have given her a lot of opportunity to flesh out her personality, most notably with how energetic and tomboyish she is in Mario Strikers compared to the more bubbly and girlish Peach

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With their differences highlighted, it was natural that some fans would gravitate more to one side than the other, but Peach is still the main heroine of the franchise. She appears in most if not all mainline Mario games in some capacity, either as the damsel or a playable character, and now has two games to call her own

Aside from Mario and Peach, who else has gotten to be playable alongside Mario? Obviously Luigi as the original player 2, three colors of Toad across Mario 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii and U, Captain Toad in the 3D World minigames, Yoshi and Wario in 64 DS, Toadette and Nabbit in U Deluxe, Rosalina in 3D World, and most recently Bowser Jr. in Bowser's Fury

That's 13 playable characters (9 if you count all of the Toads together and don't count Captain Toad since he's in a minigame), with Daisy notably absent despite being a fan favorite. Toadette being playable was especially egregious because they gave her a power-up that effectively just turned her into Peach with a different outfit. Rosalina was also "just another Princess" same as Daisy, but introduced much more recently, so it felt like they were acknowledging they could bring in any character they wanted, but who would want boring old Daisy when there's a shiny new Princess right here? Not knocking on Rosalina, I love her too, but I've wanted to see more Daisy content since I was a child

Do you remember how excited people were about Pauline showing up in Odyssey? Sure she'd shown up in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, but again, those were spinoffs that most people didn't play. This was direct acknowledgment of her character in the main story, and now she's showing up in the Sports titles! Further awareness of the character means more opportunities for something new!

Even if Wonder just took place in Sarasaland and Daisy was a background character, that would have been shocking because it would have been her first time back in 34 years! But no! They skipped straight to her being playable!! This means that she has a much greater chance of coming back to be playable in future mainline games or even spinoffs like the new Peach game or the more story-driven RPGs

Even better, though? This sets a precedent. Who knows who could be playable next?? We could see Pauline be playable for the first time in a mainline game! We could see Wario come back as a Wario Land crossover! We could even see Waluigi actually be acknowledged by the canon for once!!!

Daisy is beloved because of her personality and was wanted as a playable character because of her absence. Her inclusion is a huge deal because it means that Nintendo has actually been listening to us and knows how to give us what we want. It shows growth on Nintendo's part, and serves as a sign that they will continue to give us more of it going forward

#super mario #super mario bros wonder #princess daisy #long post

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nintooner · 11 months

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Finally watched the Nintendo Direct (it was at midnight in my time zone 😭)

Insert Rihanna Super Fucking Mario!!!!! tweet here

I've actually never played Super Mario RPG (partially because it was never released in Australia until the Wii Virtual Console 😔) So this is kinda gonna be like a brand new game to me (And then I can go and play the original version too 😎)

Princess Peach game 😭😭😭 I have no idea what you actually do in the game but I'm still excited – it's been way too long since Peach starred in a game on her own! It's interesting that it isn't related to Super Princess Peach at all

Luigi's Mansion 2 remaster! A few years ago my parents watched me play through Luigi's Mansion 3 and they wanted to see 2 as well but there's no way to get a 3DS game on the TV screen... Now I can finally show them Luigi's Mansion 2 😌

I've still gotta play Mario + Rabbids at some point, I've heard pretty good things about it

That bathroom Mario Kart course??? Hello??? It looks so cool??? It really reminds me of the Ribbon Road glow-up from the OG MK8 DLC (That's a lot of acronyms)

Petey Piranha and Wiggler! And FINALLY JUSTICE FOR KAMEK after being cut from Mario Kart 64 all those years ago... He finally made it back in guys 😭😭 (Aside from Tour but they've got everyone in that)

Also Wiggler is so hunched-over lol

Me hunched over my computer all day 😔

I was hoping they'd eventually do a brand new 2D Mario game!!! I knew it wouldn't be in the NSMB style because it might feel redundant when you can just go make your own NSMB levels in Mario Maker 2

I love how wacky and weird it is??? It's nice to see Mario embrace its weirdness haha

And playable Daisy is pretty big!! She was playable in Mario Run so it makes sense but it's still cool to see her in a mainline Mario game for the first time since like... her debut 😆 I just hope you can play as other Toad colours besides yellow

The only thing I didn't like was the voice used for the talking flowers, it sounded kinda annoying to me. That's why I don't get everyone clamouring for full voice acting in Nintendo games – the American voices they use are always so annoying 😆 Hopefully they change that, or have an option to turn it off or something. Or maybe the talking flowers are only in the tutorial level

It's kinda annoying to see people commenting like "Finally, an original Mario game, everything's been so safe and samey lately!!!" And it's like... did you all forget about Odyssey 😆 That game was super unique! Though I guess the sentiment is fitting for 2D Mario specifically

With all of this plus the movie, it's a good time to be a Mario fan 😎😎😎

#letsa go #nintendo direct #Also Detective Pikachu Returns was a pleasant surprise #Sonic Superstars looks great #I love the atmosphere of Pikmin but suck at the gameplay so I probably won't play Pikmin 4 but just admire it from a distance #WarioWare was funny. Big Wii vibes I love it #Gotta get us lazy gamers up and moving #Scarlet/Violet DLC looks cool too #There's usually only a handful of things I care about in a Nintendo Direct but there was a lot of stuff for me this time around!!

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kitchfit · 3 months

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Year In Review: Viddy Game Pt 4 (Happy Mario Day!!!)

Oops! All Mario! To prepare for the release of Super Mario Wonder, I wanted to play through as many of the Mario games I never played before as I could. There are a few wayward titles I missed, but I’m sure I’ll end up playing those sometime in the distant year of 2024. Damn that sounds like a fake year. I hinted in earlier reviews that this was something of a nightmare to accomplish, but that was just me being silly. They’re Mario games! All of these were pretty fun.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

I started out my Mariothon with the story-driven series I had never actually touched. I’ve played all the (good) Paper Mario games, but I’ve never touched the other side of the plumber’s rpgs. The combat was a refreshing change of pace after all those Final Fantasy games. It’s almost as much of a rhythm game as it is turn based, which makes it very engaging. I also like what it adds to the Mario World. Luigi has been characterized in several of the RPGs and his own spin off series, but having him along for the entire ride in this story driven game makes him somehow more endearing to me than he was before. I like to imagine this takes place right after Super Paper Mario, and Mario is making sure his best bro is safely right next to him after the shit he went through.

The Bean Bean Kingdom feels like a suitable alternative to the Mushroom one we’ve grown familiar with. A lot of the older games had introduced other Themed Kingdoms, like the Jewelry Kingdom in Yoshi’s Safari or Sarasaland in Mario Land, which is based on types of tea. And Mario Odyssey would assert the entire world being organized into these Kingdoms, so Bean Bean fits right in! It’s super fun to explore the fresh areas with a familiar aesthetic. I only wish these Bean characters would make more appearances outside of this game. I guess they show up in the other Mario and Luigis, but Reggie knows what I mean. Put Prince Peasley in Mario Kart, coward!

New Super Mario Bros

When this game released I had no idea that 2D Mario had been put on hold for ten whole years. From my perspective Super Mario World had only been released earlier that year in 2006, on Nintendo’s brand new console, the hand-me-down Game Boy Advance I got from my cousin. So when my friend showed me New Super Mario Bros. on his Fancy DS Lite in 2009, I wasn’t that impressed. This one didn’t even have the cape, or the Tanooki suit from Mario 3! I was not impressed. What it did have was a fun as hell competitive mode that I could play with my friend via DS download play (which is an awesome system they should bring back), so I never felt the need to seek out a copy.

Playing it now, the game is a lot more distinctive than I gave it credit for. While the world themes are based around the generic grass, ice, fire, etc. themes the Mario games always recycle in some way, the level designs give a good sense of cohesiveness, and the new power-ups: the tiny mushroom, Mega Mushroom, and Blue Shell significantly alter how you approach the level. When you’re tiny, you get a higher jump and can get into hidden paths, but touching Anything Will You, while Mega Mario can ignore everything and cause as much carnage as possible. The Blue Shell lets Mario continuously slide and kill anything in your path provided you keep whatever initial momentum you started with, making this game the singular moment the red plumber stole something from the blue hedgehog. The low-res 3D artstyle felt dated when I first saw this game, since I wasn’t enjoying the industry norm of changing every franchise to 3D. “Give me my pixels, damn you!” said 8-year-old Kitch. I now find it really charming, especially compared to the later entries in the “New” series. There are a lot of original enemies in this game that never show up again. I need everyone to look at the Snailicorn immediately.

Super Mario 64 DS

I was always told this was the inferior version of Mario 64 due to the limited control scheme. Instead of full 360 movement, you are now cut down to 8 directional movements cycled on the d-pad. However, I played this game on the 3DS, and the analogue stick made those 8 directions flow seamlessly. The other change is the addition of a Run Button, one that I was not aware of until futilely trying to race against Koopa the Quick. That’s right, for the entire fight against King Bob-omb, I had just assumed this game ran like shit, or that Yoshi was intentionally designed to be extremely slow until I happened to hold down the b-button as if this was some kind of. 2D MARIO GAME? In 3D??? It’s a sensible change, but one that is only communicated by experimenting with the controls, which someone who has already beaten the original game 3 times wouldn’t really think to try. And since there’s little need to ever Not Run, holding that button down for the ENTIRE GAME started to get annoying towards the end.

Otherwise, it was really nice returning to this classic. The calm atmosphere in exploring the Mushroom Castle and revealing its little secrets makes it genuinely unmatched as a hubworld, and the levels, while mostly generically themed, cram tons of personality into such small areas. Realizing how tiny levels like Cool, Cool Mountain and Big Boo’s Haunt are actually startled me, since I spent so much time as a kid exploring the nooks and crannies of those areas. There are also a lot of new stuff hidden across these levels that either unlock or are accessed by the new playable characters. Each of them have their own movement speeds and abilities, but none of them really play as well as the Mario Himself, so changing into them was mostly situational. I loved the new boss fights that unlocked them, though. Adding Goomboss from Paper Mario into the OG 3D Mario made me really happy. I’ve still never 100% this game, but if I go back, I might actually make sure it’s this version I complete.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

The awaited sequel to the GBA game, I hear absolute jackshit about this game when people talk about the Mario and Luigi series. I assumed it was the runt that came between the beloved classics of Superstar and Bowser’s Inside Story, but that isn’t true at all. In fact, I think I like this game more than Superstar. Since it’s on the DS, there’s a naturally higher fidelity with the pixel art, the premise is more interesting, and it adds a new layer to both the combat and overworld movement in the form of the BA-BIES. Since there are two new X and Y buttons, you get Baby Mario and Baby Luigi as additions to your playable characters, meaning at any one time you are juggling Four Whole Mario Bros. all for the price of One! The game is noticeably more difficult than Superstars, nothing too crazy, but I did die a lot more. Or I am just Bad At Games.

Like the previous entry, this game is oozing charm out of every bodily orifice it has. Mario and Luigi are characterized extremely well as they step up as babysitters. It warmed my heart everytime Luigi purposefully goofed up to make the babies laugh or whenever Mario shouted “BA-BIES” in concern whenever they were in trouble. It may be the most overt personality he’s ever really shown. The time travel mechanic isn’t super in-depth, the present time basically acts as a hub world, but we get some more of that Sweet Mario Lore as they explore the Days of Mushroom Past. Autocorrect wants me to say Pasta. We get to see Baby Peach and Younger Toadsworth at some point after Yoshi’s Island, an E Gad pre-ghost fascination, and also these alien freaks who look suspiciously like Fucked Up Toads. What does this mean for them? Are Toads themselves descended from aliens, or vice versa? Will we ever get to see “Toads In Space?!” Some kind of… “MARIO GALAXY???” Only the future can tell.

Super Mario 3D Land

Nintendo was able to put a 3D Mario on a handheld in the last generation, so I guess the new hurdle was an ORIGINAL 3D Mario on the Three Dee Ess. This serves that purpose well. I could honestly end it there. The level design is well executed around the controls that are based on Galaxy, and it translates really well. They brought back the Highly Acclaimed Tanooki Suit that lends itself nicely to 3D platforming, and also seemed to be a selling point of the game? A lot of the Goombas and Koopas are now wearing the tanooki suit, and even Peach gets to show off the fit at the end of the game. You can’t play as her though, it’s just there to tease you. Luigi is an unlockable character with his own set of remixed levels, but that’s really it.

And that’s the thing, this game is fun, but it’s also kind of… Nothing? If you’ve played 3D Land, tell me: Where does it take place? The Mushroom Kingdom? That’s probably a good guess, but there’s nothing that really shows that, is there? There’s little to no cohesion between the levels. The level select is a linear screen with a multicolor background. You’ll be playing a water level immediately following some weird toy-themed level with absolutely zero context. Where are we? What’s happening? No one really looks for a story in a Super Mario game, but the lack of any real context makes this game super forgettable to me. It’s just a selection of random levels, and a Lot of the levels are repeated with slight differences. Why? TELL ME REGGIE. At the very least we get these cute letters from Peach showing her own adventure escaping Bowser. That would’ve been a fun to play, but this game won’t let you go Girl Mode. Oh well.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

This is one of those “underrated Mario gems.” Maybe the only one. Super Mario Land is pretty mediocre, so I’m not surprised its sequel fell by the wayside. It’s super creative for a GB game, and because of the power of Cool Internet People, I got to play this in color! Lucky me :) The whole game takes place in a magical theme park that was maybe created at the end of one of the Mario Parties. Did anyone else make that connection? I know one guy did. They go ham on the level designs: an area that makes you tiny so Mario is battling ants, a bubble ride that takes you into space to fight Pig Creatures, a mechanical Mario; at one point you go inside a whale. It’s wacky! The enemy design reflects this too, there’s a bunch of Weirdos, like the Pig Creature:

The goal is to find those 6 Golden Coins in each world to unlock the Mario Castle, with the caveat that Mario will lose all his coins upon a game over and have to track them down again. You only have to repeat the boss fights however, so it’s not a complete wipe. My Boy Wario is introduced in this game, and he really does come across as this supernatural, corrupted parody of our portly performer that the commercials for this game made him out to be. But the official word is he’s just Mario’s childhood rival that was upset they didn’t name a castle after him. Don’t worry, Wario! I’m sure you’ll get yours soon.

Super Mario 3D World pt 1

This one is just stellar all around. It makes 3D Land look like a tech demo in comparison. Every level showcases a degree of creativity on par with Galaxy while keeping 3D Land’s linear design. Every part of this experience is just so damn satisfying, the new power ups, targeting the tops of the flagpoles, riding on Yobbo the Swimming Yoshi, and you can go GIRL MODE. My biggest complaint about 3D land is that they teased a playable Princess Peach without actually ever giving it to you, and now I refuse to play this game as any other character. Except when the game makes me play as Mario or Toad to get all the Green Stars. Also the GREEN STARS.

The secondary collectables have never felt as necessary as it does in 3D World. They add an incentive to explore the levels or find an extra challenge that are actually Worth searching for. I don’t remember if they really gave you anything, but I still liked finding them.

Also the MUSIC, the ost slaps so hard in this game. We’re moved to a new setting in 3D World, and the soundtrack and aesthetics match that vibe. It’s unique, it’s bOMBASTIC. There are two new power ups in the form of CAT and CHERRIES. The cat can run up walls, while the cherries can make a double of your character. The former is generally the best playstyle for most of the game a la the Tanooki suit, while the latter works as a fun challenge that gets really creative with its limits as you control two or three or six characters with one controller. There’s even a bonus mode at the end based on Galaxy where you can. Guess What? GO GIRL MODE EVEN HARDER. I haven’t done it yet but hey. I Am Going To.

Bowser’s Fury

This is one of the few I actually 100% completed. I was on a Dollywood trip with some friends and after the festivities ended at Guy Fieri’s Shitty Arcade and Ripley’s Wacky Wonderworks we stayed in the cabin and chilled out. I didn’t have a ton else to do while everyone was resting so I got really into Bowser’s Fury. Our first taste of what may be Open World Mario. It’s fun! Mario is stranded in the middle of a lake with wildly clashing aesthetics that somehow just works. Light blue dominates the eyes hampered by the slimy black of the magic ink polluting the water around you. There are small yellow islands dotting the lake and floating in the air. And when you get to these islands? Cats! They’re all cats! There are cats on the ground, cat ears on the goombas, Cat Koopas, Kitty Boombooms, everything is a cat!! Even the grass is cat fur! You have cat to be kitten me, right meow! It’s a place so suitably weird for the Mario universe, I could easily see Lake Lapcat being introduced in one of the earlier Paper Marios.

Gameplay wise this is just a big Mario Oddysey world with more… direction? The lack of a real swimming mechanic in Bowser’s Fury makes the ocean a fun place for movement and little else, though there are occasional challenges for Yobbo the Swimming Yoshi to run through. It makes Lapcat feel like a massive hubworld of sorts, with no divide between it and the level, It’s as if in Mario Galaxy you could walk straight from Rosalina’s Observatory directly onto a new planet without going through the Domes, if that makes sense. It’s short, but super fun for what it is. You get all the power ups from 3D World to play around in less linearly designed levels, and it lets you stock up on them through an inventory system. Bowser Jr. follows you around and acts cute! Mario and Bowser turn into Kaijus and you have a Godzilla vs King Kong style boss fight. I guess Mario would be King Kong in that analogy… Nintendo may need the help of John Kirby once more…

Super Mario Sunshine

I had never heard about this game’s existence until I was like 15. My friend told me it was one of her favorite Gamecube games growing up, and I did not believe her. Every description she gave about Super Mario Sunshine sounded like she was messing with me. “Oh yea it’s the game where Mario goes on vacation and he like, gets framed for vandalism? And you have a water gun and you clean paint.” Fuck off with that, you’re not getting me! I thought it was a running joke she had until I looked closely at Mario's trophy in Brawl that referenced the same name. Huh!

Anyways this is my first time actually playing it on the 3D All-Stars collection. I started it when it was released, but I reached a point where I had no idea what I was supposed to do until my cousin who grew up with it told me I needed almost every shinesprite to beat the game. ALSO WEIRD. The other 3D Marios let you go at your own pace and pick and choose which levels you want, but here all but the last levels are required. I guess this is because Sunshine is more “narratively driven” and they want you to watch how each world changes through your actions. I can appreciate that! Mario 64 experimented with that a bit, like the tower appearing at the top of Whomp fortress in Star 2 or King Bo-bomb’s corpse appearing at the bottom of his battlefield after you coup de tated that fucker. Sunshine, however, has levels like Noki Bay where each level has Mario tackle the source of the pollution, or Gelato beach where you make sure a hotel is suitable for reopening and even get to celebrate at the end.

The controls on the other hand. My cousin described them as “lovably janky.” Mario no longer has the long jump, which startled me every time I tried to long jump, which was a lot cause I have the memory of a housefly. Wall jumping is harder to pull off as Mario does not automatically turn towards the wall like other Mario games, so you have to time it perfectly, and Mario’s overall movement is very awkward. I never felt like he jumps the exact distance I expect him to go. This is probably to make the player more reliant on Fludd, the aforementioned water gun that can let you hover as well as two other fun, but useless abilities. Fludd is very fun to use, but they take it away from you during the platform challenges and it reveals just how janky Mario is in this game. I guess it also makes them more satisfying to complete. Still, since these levels are required, I probably would have given up ever beating the game if I played it as a kid.

New Super Mario Bros 2

This is a similar case to 3D Land. It seems the goal of this entry was “put a 2D Mario on the 3DS,” which was a less impressive goal given the OG New Super Mario was already playable on the 3DS. It’s much prettier, I guess. The big name of this game is “Coins.” Coins are everywhere in this game. There’s a new power-up, the Golden Flower, that lets you turn blocks and enemies into coins. Another power-up that gives Mario a coin every step he makes. There are Golden Koopas that produce coins when thrown. There’s a counter on the home screen that shows how many total coins you’ve got, and the game notifies you every time you reach a “Coin milestone.”

Yea I’ve never cared about collecting coins in Mario games. It’s not like they unlock anything that matters in this one, they just congratulate you every three minutes and if you get One Million coins you get a new title screen. That’s kind of cool, but not something I would actually care to try and get. What I’m left with is the most standard 2D Mario game to exist. The Tanooki suit is here, but like 3D Land, you still can’t go Girl Mode. Unless you count Luigi. Genderfluïd King. Despite this, I do find myself coming back to this one quite a bit to carve out some of the bonus worlds. It’s slightly harder than the other games in the “New” series. Maybe if they leaned into that, like the OG Mario 2, it would be more memorable. Wait, this is the 3rd New Super Mario game. Why is it called 2? The hell?

New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe

As the final entry in the “New” series, it makes sense that this is the most polished version of that game style. The world designs are still based on the tried and exhausted Grass, Desert, Snow, etc. aesthetics, but here there are a lot more unique level designs or some that are SO COOL aesthetically, like the level based around a Van Gogh painting. I wish there were more levels like that, but in THE LEAST, this is the first New Super Mario game to introduce CONTEXTUALIZATION. This is something I’ve been complaining about with these new mario games. Super Mario World (the best one) has a beautiful map level-select. When you’re in Donut Plains on the map, the level reflects that design, taking place on a field, and when you go in a cave, THE LEVEL TAKES PLACE IN A CAVE. Imagine that. It’s such a simple thing that adds so much to the experience. You are actually traveling through a world, not just choosing random shit off a menu. U Deluxe’s map isn’t as cool as World’s, but it was still immensely fun to discover all its little secrets, and made me realize how much I missed World’s map design. Maybe I should play that game instead.

There is one unforgivable sin in Mario U specific to Deluxe. There’s an original playable female character in the form of Toadette! Girl Mode! Finally! And it SUCKS! It’s not actually that bad, but playing as Toadette gives you access to Peachette, whose existence replaces all power-ups in the game while playing as her. So Girl Mode is actively worse to play than any other mode, except funny rabbit mode. But that’s only if you want to be a funny rabbit. She’s meant to be “easy mode,” which is a bit demeaning given she’s the only female character, but I get the desire for an easier way for kids to play the game, I just wish it didn’t lock you out of all of the power-ups. Speaking of which, there are a Lot of power-ups in this game, but a lot of them are hidden for some reason, like the Propellor Hat and Penguin suit, which I found 1 and None of, respectively. Why are they in the game if I can’t use them? These aren’t collectors items, they’re funny little costumes that are supposed to be FUN. WE’RE ALL HAVING FUN HERE.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

FINALLY they’re letting Mario be WEIRD AGAIN. The artstyle of the New Super Mario Bros. games got heavily criticized after this one was announced for being “soulless” and “boring,” but I wouldn’t say that. Because I don’t think it’s true! They’re vibrant and colorful games with an obvious ton of talent and heart put into them. I would, however, describe them more as “corporate.” Homogenized and Marketable. Mario and Gang have been kept to their models in every game since the DS and everyone has clearly been exhausted by it. Wonder is breaking the trend, and Mario looks fucking Weird.

He’s so much rounder, his clothes have a different texture, and his eyes are bigger and brighter. His eyebrows are clipping through his hat! He looks like a plastic toy brought to life, which is not an insult. All of the characters are brilliantly animated to pull off this new look, and I refuse to try out embedding videos in Tumblr so you just have to trust me. It’s not that I want Mario to stay like this, but I DEFINITELY want them to Keep Being Weird Like This.

The weirdness doesn’t end at the artstyle. There are three new power-ups, the Elephant Apple, Bubble Flower, and the Drill Shroom, the last of which is carried over from Mario Galaxy 2’s Spin Drill in terms of gameplay. The Bubble Flower lets you capture things in Bubbles and lets you jump on them for extra air time, and the Elephant Flower turns you into a Fucking Ele Phant. Twice as big, can swipe things with your trunk, can carry WATER in your trunk. Truly the Mario experience we’ve been missing. There are also the most playable characters than there have ever been in a mainline Mario game. Peach, Toadette, AND Daisy in her first playable appearance. THREE FORMS OF GIRL MODE. Nintendo knew what my main Mario complaint was before I ever thought of it.

The main draw of this game, however, are the additions of the Wonder Flowers. There are no levels that stand out against the other, more standard levels like the New Super games, because literally every level in this game is FANTASTIC. The Wonder Flowers are an extra challenge midway through any level that changes it into something WEIRD AS HELL. Maybe the level speeds up and slows down rapidly, maybe you have to dodge walking Piranha Plants as they sing an acapella stage performance, maybe you turn into a Goomba yourself and have to avoid being eaten by a predator. It can be literally ANYTHING. Every level is exciting to go through because you want to see what NONSENSE those crazy bastards have come up with.

Not to mention the world design. The Flower Kingdom is BEAUTIFUL and similar to the Beanbean Kingdom in terms of cohesion. There’s another country right next to the Mushroom Kingdom with a new botanical aesthetic we’ve never heard of before? That makes sense! It feels perfectly natural for it to be part of this universe. This is another of the three I went to the effort of 100% completing, and some of those last levels are HARD. I gave myself a migraine on the final badge challenge. Also BADGES. They’re cool. Some provide an extra movement option and others make movement actively worse as a way to challenge yourself. Some are just fun! It adds a neat level of replayability to the game as you experiment with them all.

You also get a fantastic reward for completing all the levels. It is. SO Stupid. Extremely dumb. And I have never been more satisfied with a completion reward in a Mario game.

Super Mario Galaxy

To end out my Mariothon, I celebrated with another playthrough of my favorite game featuring a space-faring plumber, Super Mario Galaxy. This was the game that made me fall in love with the series, and in my eyes, still has not been beaten by other Mario titles in terms of atmosphere (PUN). It is just so fun to exist in the levels in these games in a way I can’t say about other Mario titles, except maybe Odyssey and 64. I could follow the objective, climb on the honey walls as Bee Mario, or hop across apples and pears so large they’ve become planetoids and have a great time, fantastic even. But I could also walk around Honeyhive and Deep Dark and look around the scenery and play around with the controls, which are restrained, but refined compared to the previous 3D Marios. Most of the purple coin levels are designed to do exactly that. Galaxy is by no means a sandbox game, but it retains those elements from Sunshine and 64.

Maybe that feeling just comes out of nostalgia. This was at one point the only game I would play on my wii for months on end. It’s like comfort food to me. One time I heard a local cafe play the Galaxy main theme on the speaker as I was walking by and I just. Paused for a bit, leaned against the brick exterior and soaked in the vibes. Listening to that pristine orchestral track whilst watching people come home from a full day of work, or following the actions of a cat decided whether or not to eat a bug running for its life. There’s probably a copyright issue they were violating, but who cares, Fuck Nintendo.

There is one thing that I know isn’t just nostalgia. The older I get the more I appreciate the storybook section of Galaxy. Every few worlds you complete, you’ll get a notification that Rosalina has a story to tell you, and you’ll hear a chapter out of her children’s book detailing her past. It has a melancholy vibe and it’s a genuinely beautiful and heartfelt story with a gorgeous handpainted artstyle:

Supposedly, Koizumi (co-director on the game) snuck this feature in without Miyomoto’s knowledge, and he hated it. When he discovered it after the game was released, he was upset enough that to this day Nintendo has not let Koizumi direct a big release. Apparently, he thought it ruined the game’s tone. I don’t know if I believe that, and I don’t feel like fact checking that shit, but if so, I’m glad Koizumi got it past the guy. It elevates the game’s overall story to an absurd degree in my eyes, providing Galaxy with one of the best endings in any video game I have played.

My ONE criticism. MY singular gripe. Is the title itself. “Galaxy” has always bothered me. “Battlerock GALAXY?” “Loop de Loop GALAXY???” Miyomoto sir, those are SOLAR SYSTEMS. And tiny ass solar systems at best. Sometimes just singular planetoids. But obviously Super Mario System or Super Mario Tiny Ass Planet isn’t as Marketable as- What the fuck was that? Wait, hold on. Sorry guys. Computer, ENHANCE.

What the fuck is this? I’ve always noticed it there in the background, but… I’ve never considered… is this Earth??? The surface of the Mario Planet? Are you telling me all of these “galaxies” are simply a collection of stylized MOONS??? Do we ever actually leave the outer atmosphere? Well, maybe. Looking at the skyboxes of a few more worlds, it seems we do actually bounce around a few other planets, but they’re nearly always there, holding our bee-themed satellites in rotation of itself. That makes more cosmological sense, I suppose, but I’ll stand by that Super Mario Satellite wouldn’t have been too horrible of a name if Nintendo wanted some fucKING ACCURACY WITH THEIR TITLES. HAPPY MARIO DAY EVERYONE. The big MAR10. I totally planned for this to release exactly today, and it’s not just because I put this whole project on the backburner while I focused on my Real Life Job. Thank you to everyone who has been reading these (I see you). I’ve repeated before that these reviews are mostly for me, but the few people that have been leaving likes did motivate me to keep going. I’ll be posting more things on this blog in the future, but I’m not sure I’ll do the Year in Review thing in this manner again. Look forward to more of my ramblings! Or don’t! Skim them in mild interest! Don’t read them at all! Either way, wahoo! Yippee! Yahaha! And Have A Blessed Mario Day.

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 7 months

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The Dream World of SPYRO THE DRAGON

SPYRO THE DRAGON, developed by Insomniac Games, debuted on the PlayStation in fall 1998. It's a 25-year-old game. How about that? The titular purple dragon endures today, despite no new game being made since - not counting 2018's remaster pack SPYRO: REIGNITED TRILOGY - 2008.

And in true form, I think of the original PlayStation trilogy games made by Insomniac before they went off to pursue endeavors like RATCHET & CLANK and SPIDER-MAN... A lot...

The original SPYRO THE DRAGON is often thought to pale in comparison to its expanded sequels, which feature much more characters, more interesting storylines, and a lot more variety in what to do on your collect-a-thon quest. Like it's SUPER MARIO BROS. vs. its later installments. The first go, with much more room to explore the second time around.

Admittedly, there isn't much to do in the original SPYRO other than collect the gems, free the dragons that have to go into hiding within seconds of release, and collect dragon eggs from mischievous thieves... It's kind of a lonely game once you defeat all the enemies in any given level, and free all the dragons... Sometimes, there will be a fairy to kiss you and grant you powers, or create a whirlwind (like in the level Lofty Castle, seen above), but they never speak. Sometimes there's text, when you approach one on a dragon's base to save your game. But that's about it, really...

SPYRO 2: RIPTO'S RAGE and SPYRO: YEAR OF THE DRAGON are the exact opposite in this regard. Characters talk a lot more, you meet all kinds of characters and small communities within the different levels (and many of them with dilemmas that you need to help them overcome), there's much more interactions between Spyro and his main enemies (unlike the stock brute - Gnasty Gnorc - in the first game), they're a lot more focused. Insomniac's team of developers seemed to nail what they wanted this series to be in both sequels, RIPTO'S RAGE being the experimental sequel, and YEAR OF THE DRAGON tying - arguably - the best aspects of 1 & 2 into a satisfying whole...

But there's something about that first game that continues to fascinate me all these years later, and I always felt this, even back to when I was a kid. I love SPYRO 2 and YEAR AND THE DRAGON to the moon and back, but SPYRO THE DRAGON always hits differently... I probably waxed about this before on an older post about me wanting to see a Spyro movie done in the style of PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, but I'll go over it here...

The relative sparseness of the first SPYRO, in addition to the often airy almost psuedo-prog rock odyssey soundtrack done by Stewart Copeland... Really makes SPYRO THE DRAGON feel like a classic fairy tale in video game form. Whether intentionally or not, it feels like it operates on a dream-like logic. It's a basic fantasy set-up, really: Fairies, dragons, magical whirlwinds that take you places, all kinds of weird monsters as enemies, big castles throughout, with a few very contrasting themes like militaristic deserts (the "Peace Keepers" world) and the seemingly modern tech-age coldness of Gnasty Gnorc's world. Is the latter some sort of subtle "war, bad technology, and menacing machines vs. the raw wonders of our natural world" metaphor?

But really, I feel this simple story plays out like a dream. And it even seems to be making nods to classic fairy tales and fantasy stories. Some levels, such as Dark Passage, give me a real ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND/THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS vibe. I feel it also rings a bit similar to the more lyrical storytelling of early Disney animation... With the sequels, I feel they're more Saturday morning cartoon (I don't mean this in a bad way, SPYRO 2 - for example - gives me *heavy* Disney TV Animation 1987-1991 era vibes) with a somewhat different tone, but this game was always kind of unique.

I kind of imagine a scenario where SPYRO THE DRAGON wasn't the big hit that it was in late 1998... And went down as an initial flop turned cult favorite, without any sequels solidifying what this series and concept is... And I wonder if one would interpret that first game as a dream-like scenario, on a storytelling level that's something else. And not just this game about a dragon collecting gems and freeing a bunch of dragons who disappear shortly thereafter. And while the game's opening and ending cutscenes would indicate otherwise, seeing this adventure as just that is interesting to me. As some ethereal fairy tale dreamscape. Whether this was all the dev team's intentions or not, I definitely see it and feel it in the game, to this day.

And it's also why I've really come around on YEAR OF THE DRAGON, lately. Parts of YEAR OF THE DRAGON kind of ring more like this game, the more I think about it. There are even levels, like Charmed Ridge and Crystal Islands, that feel like intentional callbacks to the worlds of the first game, and their music tracks have such a SPYRO 1 feel and vibe to them. SPYRO 2, not so much, but it does have its moments. Autumn Plain, one of the hub worlds, kind of gives off that vibe. Again, not a bad thing, SPYRO 2 had welcome changes and brought in more aesthetics, vibes, and themes... And I think SPYRO 3 combined the two quite nicely.

But again, the first SPYRO THE DRAGON... It just hits different!

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monsters-conquer-the-world · 1 year

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So with Birdo joining Mario Kart 8 this month, we also found out that there are FIVE MORE characters getting added alongside future track packs. Awesome. Fucking radical.

BUT WHO!?! The only hint Nintendo has given is a quote that states: “Two upcoming waves of DLC are still to come, featuring more returning courses and characters from across the Mario Kart series”.

With that in mind, here is my baseless speculation, hopes, dreams, and armchair IP management.

Diddy Kong - After appearing in Double Dash!! and MK Wii, I was surprised he wasn't in 8 from the get-go. He's also in MK Tour! He's a 3-timer! He has cachet and cred, but he's not my favorite potential Kong addition. I'd be happy to see him, but I'd rather see Funky Kong or Dixie Kong.

Paratroopa - Nothing against Paratroopa, but I think we have Koopas covered with Koopa Troopa and Dry Bones. If we're getting a new low-level mook driver, it really, REALLY should be Goomba. Yeah he hasn't been playable in a Kart yet, but the track packs have included plenty of brand-new courses.... who's to say a newbie or two can't slip in?

Petey Piranha - Nintendo loves this big dumbass. He's not my top choice, but he's funny and weird. More Mario Sunshine/Double Dash!! representation is fun too.

Pac-Man - Yeah here's a wildcard. MK8 already has Link, Animal Crossing Villagers, Splatooners, and Miis... who's to say they couldn't branch out to Namco? He's already shown up in two different Mario Kart arcade games!

R.O.B. - Another longshot, but he was playable in MK DS! My personal R.O.B.-stalgia has come and gone, but I wouldn't kick the funky little robot out of kart either.

Honey Queen - She's only been in MK7, but a little more Galaxy representation would be cool. I also love that she's a heavyweight. A big cute fluffy bee is a charming alternative to the beefy lunkheads and villains that usually dominate that weight class.

Wiggler - Wiggler was also only playable in MK7, but he's also been a staple of the Mario franchise since his debut in Super Mario World 100 billion years ago. Another big cute bug, but with a little more cachet and cred. Bonus points for forcing Wiggler to drive the car shaped like him.

Pauline - The mayor of New Donk City and Mario's first damsel in distress is already playable in MK Tour! Her whole sultry singer thing would set her apart, and MK8 could REALLY use some Odyssey representation.

Hammer Bro - Another Tour driver! Yeah I know I said that the next mook should be Goomba, but have you considered the fact that I really like Hammer Bros??

Captain Toad - He's in Tour too! I don't know if he's different enough from Toad and Toadette to be worth it... but it'd be cool to see him. If we're getting a third Toad I think Toadsworth would be a lot more fun. Like Goomba, Toadsworth hasn't been playable in a previous Kart, but maaaayybe?

Nabbit - New Super Mario Bros. U's prankish bandit is also playable in Tour. Nabbit's popped up in plenty of spin-off titles since his debut, and who doesn't love a little klepto bunny? At the same time, I think the Koopa Kids have the "fun mischievous little shithead" archetype covered and then some.

King Bob-omb - The iconic first boss of Super Mario 64 made his driving debut in Tour. I would absolutely love to drive around as this big stupid idiot. Hilarious. He a orb with a mustache and a king hat. GIMME

SWEET BABY PRINCE KAMEK THEY DONE YOU SO DIRTY FOR LIKE 25 FUCKIN' YEARS - Bowser's wicked man-witch, advisor, babysitter and punching bag was ALMOST in Mario Kart 64. You can look up screenshots! He got dropped at the last second for Donkey Kong, which is totally fair, but then he didn't get another chance until Tour?! Tour IMO doesn't really count. It's just not as fun. My wishful thinking brain is gonna just hope that the Yoshi's Island track that was added is a hint that Kamek's on the way.

Chargin' Chuck - Another ridiculous Tour dude. Football Koopa! Fuck it, why not! His hamburger car kicks ass too. Look he's just more interesting than Paratroopa, okay?

And then it is fun to go full bluesky. If they want to add more guest characters, Kirby and Captain Falcon would both be perfect for wildly different reasons. Some Wario Ware representation would be insanely welcome, especially athletic disco-man Jimmy T. or the scooter-driving Mona. We could use some Luigi-love too! E. Gadd from the Luigi's Mansion games would make sense, but Kitsune Luigi from Super Mario 3D World would also be a delight! He'd fit right in with Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach!

Whoever ends up joining the race, I'm excited to see 'em! I love this friggin' game!

#mario kart 8 #mario #nintendo

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tyrorexdmzapp · 2 years

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What are your opinions on the recent rise of Paper Mario-like games like Bug Fables? And have you played any of them?

I'd say it's a good thing in some ways, a bad thing in others. Good, in that it keeps that style of game alive and vindicates it as a great foundation. Bad, in that it might galvanize or incite...certain people... on the current Paper Mario team to go "oh, since those games exist, we don't need to do classic Paper Mario anymore!"

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I've played two so far- the aforementioned Bug Fables and Outbound Ghost.

The former, Bug Fables, is very good, surprisingly sticking much closer to classic Paper Mario than even I would expect or try in a similar situation. The game has two great leads in Vivi and Leif, as well as the straightman lead Kabbu who does get a few cool moments later on. As a way to make up for only getting these three in the main party, the three learn a plethora of field moves and battle abilities. The game also offers a plethora of content and ways to play, especially when it comes to bonus bosses.

The only three issues I have are that the party's base ATK stays low for the adventure, with only some special items able to increase it, unlike how Paper Mario had base ATK increase with the Jump and Hammer upgrades. In addition, health doesn't seem to increase much per character. I get that it would get complicated to regulate things if HP increased by 5...but only 1 seems too low. Last, one thing I wish they didn't copy verbatim from Paper Mario 64 specifically was the lower than expected level cap. If there's a Bug Fables 2 and those three issues were fixed, though, it'd be great.

As for Outbound Ghost, I appreciate how the ghost idea was picked at all, as a pragmatic way to save development time. It's also impressive how someone as young as Conrad was able to do all this (with help, of course, but still). Shirley really stuck out to me as a fun, yet punky character. I liked how you get a bigger selection of battle ghosts to form differing parties a la Pokemon and Etrian Odyssey (moreso the latter), and can unlock more by fighting the EX boss ghosts at crypts. I like how, despite there only being one kind of action command, it is used in a lot of ways for different moves to make up the difference. As someone playing the PC version and who's been making 3D models, I was stunned in a good way how the game runs good with all that billowing grass.

On the other hand, battles seem kind of slow. While there is a way to adjust battle damage in options, the way the damage parameters are set at the intended x1 multipliers makes fights drag on. I also don't like how only the first battle ghost you get and one other much later gets their own scene, while the rest just...show up. There's also only story, non-battle characters following the leading character on the field, despite not battling. I get that the rules of the story means if the regular ghosts DID battle, yet still "left", you'd have new holes in the team composition, making them as battling teammates unreliable.

There's also not many moments of levity in the story. ...I mean, considering what causes the game's story to happen, it's understandable, and it's not dour all the time, but I feel there should have been more lighthearted moments. The story also drags, despite there only being 4...actually 3...chapters, and most of one of the chapters is going through past locations with some new areas. Part of this is the dialogue doesn't catch my attention for some reason- I kept getting my attention drawn away from the screen despite playing the game being the only thing I was doing. And the postgame...so grindy, with one other spoiler detail that puts it at odds with the main story.

I'm kind of saddened that I'm so hard on Outbound Ghost on review, since I wish for Conrad to keep trying, and understand this was his and his team's first rodeo in making a game of such scale. On the other hand, as long as those indies push themselves and don't rest on their laurels or take customers/players for granted, they're in a much better place.

Oh, and the music in both games is great!

#paper mario #bug fables #outbound ghost #the outbound ghost

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weirdmarioenemies · 2 years

Photo

Name: Twister

Debut: Super Mario Maker 2

No, we’re not talking about the popular party game! I was going to call it a board game but I realized that doesn’t really apply. What is it, a mat game? That doesn’t matter. We’re not talking about it! We’re talking about Twister, from Mario Maker! There it is, in the picture! I had to crop Boom Boom out of this picture, because we’re not talking about him either.

We’ve established what we are not talking about today, so now let’s talk about this! Twister is something I can only describe as a little guy- not quite an enemy, not quite a character, but it’s definitely alive! Is it weird? I guess a Mario Maker original entity is always weird to see, much less one added in the second game!

What is even weirder then, is that they weren’t always the Twister we all love today- Twisters were there in Mario Maker 2′s very first reveal trailer, but with a very different design! They look wispy and cloud-like... don’t they remind you of someone?

See, there they are again, and it’s more obvious this time- that’s a Foo! There’s no Foo-ling me! Or is it? They’ve got a wispy bit of hair that looks more like a Ty-Foo... I think that it’s something entirely new! And it wasn’t quite me and it wasn’t quite Foo... er, anyway! A new member of the Foo Family! We should celebrate!

Well, Nintendo must’ve called the Foo Fighters or something, because when the game released, Twister looked nothing like that! I guess there could still be a connection, but it’s a lot less apparent- this is just a white orb! Not that I have anything against white orbs, I think this design is very cute! It definitely is practicality over style, because the previous one looked a bit too much like an enemy... and as previously stated, Twister is not an enemy! According to the game, they’re a gizmo!

It’s tough to say exactly why they added Twister, but my personal theory is that they’re the most like those sand tornadoes from Super Mario Bros. 3! Remember those? They were in the same level as the Angry Sun, and since SMM2 added the Angry Sun, they might’ve been inspired? Twisters move back and forth, creating a little tornado that will push up Mario or any enemies caught in them. They’re a fun addition, and they even added them to the 3D World theme! They never add anything to the 3D World theme!

The Wiki has this quote from the game’s story mode and it like, gets me thinking. A Twister spell? What does that entail? Are Twisters magical entities? Or does a Twister spell just summon Twisters? Maybe it is like slathering honey on a tree, and it attracts Twisters. Yeah?

And the story of Twister coulda easily ended there... except it didn’t! They were in Mario Kart! Wowza!

Well... it was Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, which isn’t exactly a proper Mario Kart, but we take those! It’s so rare to see something from Mario Maker appearing in another title! Remember when Odyssey had the SMB1 Airship theme in its intro? That was also cool! They show up here in the Tornado Tundra theme, making them sort of snow enemies, maybe?

Now allow me to engage in a bit of speculation, cause it’s time for Mod F Boy’s Yokai Corner! This is the Kesaran Pasaran, and it’s... Well, I’m not clear on what it is exactly, and neither is anyone else! Some say it’s an animal, some say it’s a plant, or it might just be an unidentified sort of thing, but these white fluffballs have been present in Japanese folklore since at least the Edo period!

Now they’re really just nondescript balls of hair said to bring people luck, and they’ve got nothing to do with wind or tornadoes... but their appearance just reminds me of Twisters! Of course, it could be a total coincidence, but it wouldn’t be the first time Mario referenced these things: the Li’l Sparky and Hothead enemies from Super Mario World are called “Kesaran” and “Pasaran” respectively, in Japanese! You can’t disprove it! Hee hee!

Ok fine. Here is the full artwork with Boom Boom in it. Are you happy?

And here is a Twister playing Twister. Thank you

#mario #mario entities #mario gizmos #super mario maker 2 #twister #mod f boy #TWISTER? I BARELY KN

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tco-old · 1 year

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Sparks of Hope Thoughts - Beacon Beach

My progress in Sparks of Hope has brought me to the point that there's nothing left to do in Beacon Beach that doesn't require going to the next area and coming back. So I figure now's a good point for my initial thoughts on the game! ☆

I'll probably be doing one of these as I complete each area in full, though this one will likely be the longest (except whenever the final one happens) since it's covering my thoughts on the gameplay itself and such.

This will be very in-depth, and therefore will have very clear spoilers for everything you can do up to leaving Beacon Beach.

So, the best place to start would be...

Gameplay

One of the things I was not expecting was the feel of the game in terms of familiarity to other games.

Obviously, it's still mostly Kingdom Battle, but what else is there to expect from a sequel game? A lot of the core mechanics are still there.

But, while I obviously knew there would be Galaxy influences going into it, I didn't expect space-travel to be involved so heavily. I assumed space was coming to them more than the other way around, y'know? (More talk of the Galaxy influences will be down in the Story and Lore section below.)

But what I really didn't expect... was that this has Odyssey in it. Very clearly. The world is more open, you can do pretty much everything—except the main story—in whatever order you please, there's decent helping of lore if you stop to look for it, checkpoints, and level maps! It's all there, and it honestly floored me a bit.

Combat

The combat is very streamlined, which I'm a big fan of.

I audibly reacted when I was dropped into combat for the first time and discovered I was able to move freely. The grid system is gone—more or less. It's really awesome, it's definitely helped me out when it comes to planning my course of action.

I don't remember elemental attacks and strengths/weakness from the original game, so I think that's new as well? I do remember fire from the Kingdom Battle, but I think that was it.

The combat is largely the same in a broader sense though, with the skill trees and unique character abilities and whatnot. Having the different weapons swapped out for being able to give everyone different Sparks is a pretty good substitute, in my opinion.

Story and Lore

I don't remember there being much concrete lore in Kingdom Battle past 'Real-World Mario Fan made a fusion machine' or something? It was never too set in stone, so this game's story being much more concrete did catch me off-guard (in a good way)!

"Sparks" being the name of the Luma-Rabbid hybrids was a very fun reveal for where the name came from. At the current point I'm at story-wise, there are a lot of questions currently left open about them, though;

The fusion of Rabbids and Lumas is making me wonder what's gone on with Spawny since the last game. I think he's gotten one mention—in a Jeanie memory—but that makes Spawny out to be a strictly ally character now.

In another one of Jeanie's memories, she mentions that the Sparks have retained two instincts from their original parts; Calling Rosalina "Mama" and fearing Cursa. It's not clear whether this is part of the Rabbid side or the Luma side, though I'm figuring the latter. Either way, I'm curious to find out why the Sparks are apparently familiar with Cursa.

Where's Rosalina??? She's been mentioned a couple times now and she's very blatantly implied to be in danger. I do know that Rabbid Rosalina is one of the characters from the original teaser(?), and she's yet to appear either.

I also wonder if all the lore given on Augie and Perfectus is gonna become relevant later. It did turn out to be related to a puzzle in the temple, sure, but I feel like they gave far more lore than they would've needed for how simple the riddle was.

After finishing the available 96% of Beacon Beach, I am a little surprised to see that this area alone is 18% of the story's entire progression. Though, to be fair, that math does come out to 5 areas + a bit more, which would mirror the original game.

Theories

Currently, my theories are few and far between, just by nature of the point I'm at, though there are a couple I'm going to present now.

When it comes to what might be up with Rosalina, I see two possible options; Either she's Cursa or she's Rabbid Rosalina.

With Cursa, her eye looks quite similar, though red, and her general silhouette is quite similar as well. It would also explain why the Sparks already seem to fear Cursa—if it's Rosalina in some way, the and Lumas might have experienced something like this before.

With Rabbid Rosalina, this is pretty much just assuming that whatever caused the fusion to create the Sparks also got ahold of Rosalina in the same way.

I also have a small theory that Twinkle, the Spark that lights up the lighthouse, is created from Baby Luma, just based on them both being the only two apricot-colored Lumas known to exist.

Characters

I will say, when the voice acting started at the beginning, it honestly spooked me a bit. I wasn't too sure if I even liked it, but it's grown on me quite quickly.

First we'll speed through the main cast, since they're all recurring characters from the last game;

Mario is Mario. I love that he's the only one who has no dialogue. Nintendo deciding Mario is mute is always fun (that's not meant to be a drag at the mario movie, but it kind of is.)

Luigi's always great—all the little hums and noises he makes are great. I think I have several of them recorded on my Switch already.

Peach is kind of terrifying. The way she just goes "Ha ha!" when firing at someone is haunting in the best way. Polite Badass Peach will always be one of my favorite characterizations of her.

The three main Rabbids; Rabbid Mario, Rabbid Luigi, and Rabbid Peach. I'm grouping them because I mostly have the same major comment; I love the way they're all different ways of knocking-off their source characters. Rabbid Mario is reminiscent of when Mario is over-characterized—the strong accent and arrogant confidence especially. Rabbid Luigi honestly kind of reminds me of Luigi from the 1993 Mario Movie, even the voice feels similar. And Rabbid Peach just straight up isn't Peach, she's closer to being Peach's foil.

Beep-0 is still pretty much the same as he was before. His voice is very good.

With them out of the way, the new (to this specific series) characters!

I can't tell which exact story trope Edge is playing here. They're either meant to very obviously be an antagonist for dramatic irony, or you're just meant to assume they are so the reveal that they aren't throws you off later. I can't determine which.

Jeanie is a very fun character, though there's a deep sadness in her memories—she wants to know her place in the galaxy, she feels a bit unregarded, she sees the WM ARC as her home, etc. I feel like she's gonna have a character arc. (Also, the lore of 'Beep-0 created an AI that's smarter than himself' is wild if you really think about it.)

Cursa remains as mostly an enigma at this point, though that—and the purple-blue color theme—are very typical for story-heavy Mario games.

Again, Rosalina is mostly absent so far, though the fact that she's been mentioned (plus the Galaxy themes in general) make me certain she'll show up at some point.

Augie is a mood and a half. That's all I have to say about him.

Conclusion

All-in-all, I'm very happy with how things are going so far! I hope the game can keep itself up. Very excited to move onto the next location—Pristine Peaks, I believe was the name?

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