The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!
I’m going on a trip to Italy, so no better time to discuss my favorite fictional Italian plumber: Mario!
Let’s discuss the Super Mario series. What is your favorite game in the series? What aspects do you like about it? What doesn’t work for you? Are there other games that gave you similar feelings? Feel free to share any thoughts that come up, or react to other peoples comments. Let’s get the conversation going!
If you have any recommendations for games or series for the next post(s), please feel free to DM me or add it in a comment here (no guarantees of course).
Previous entries: Deus Ex, Stardew Valley, The Sims, Half-Life, Earthbound / Mother, Mass Effect, Metroid, Journey, Resident Evil, Polybius, Tetris, Telltale Games, Kirby, LEGO Games, DOOM, Ori, Metal Gear, Slay the Spire
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Does anyone remember the Super Mario Land series for Gameboy? This series was so strange, but I still loved playing them on car rides.
The games felt surreal, it seemed so novel playing a mario game where you pilot a submarine and shoot at enemies, or when giant easter island heads are enemies in the game.
It’s kind of funny how Mario has evolved over the years, it doesn’t sound so out of place anymore. I’m pretty sure there are Moai statue enemies in Mario Odyssey funny enough.
Super Mario Land also gave birth to Wario as an enemy and then eventually his own gameboy Spin-off Warioland (subheaded as ‘Super Mario Land 3’), which went on to have more installments than Super Mario Land itself!
Wario is one of Nintendo’s best characters and deeply underutilized (along with Waluigi).
Yes! I loved Warioland as well, what wonderful strange little games lol. I never got a chance to play Warioland Shake it, but I’ve played all the rest!
I agree I always want more Wario games, we hardly get any! And I can’t believe how little they’ve done with Waluigi. I thought for sure he would get a Smash invite :(
I don’t remember much about Wario Land on the gamecube… but if captain toad can have his own adventure game on the switch that’s actually pretty good, than so can Wario!
I remember my first time finding the ceiling path in the Pyramids in SML1. I just decided to try to see if I could jump up to the ceiling tiles, skip passed the enemies.
It blew my little mind when it worked. I could do that. Where else could I do that‽ The entire game just changed! I lost hours trying to make the stupidest jumps, just to see if I had found another one.
mario level design is just so good that way
Hahaha that brings back memories. I definitely remember trying all sorts of jumps that got me killed just to see if there were more secrets like that.
The first game kinda falls flat, but they put out a pretty solid sequel with the second game.
The second game feels like where they found their footing before leaning into wario with the third game, but I still enjoyed the first because of how unique it felt at the time.
Mario being such a big part of my childhood makes it sad that stuff takes like 100 years to enter public domain.
I wish it was 20 years.
Imagine how much easier fan games, modding, and emulation/preservation would be!Galaxy was amazing!
Super Mario is today what Mickey Mouse wishes it still was: a joyful, universally recognizable character deeply entrenched in the childhood of millions.
There is a special place in my heart for the infamously strange Super Mario Bros 2. Many connoisseurs will justly mention that it is merely a reskin of the lesser known Doki Doki Panic. What is often left out is that Doki Doki Panic was created as well by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and that it originally contained references to its previous work on Mario, such as the POW blocks. In the long run, I feel that Nintendo of America’s decision to adapt DDP as SMB2 for the occidental plebs boosted the series with several charming monsters, a more interactive world, as well as multiple playable characters. We owe Bobombs, Shyguys and Ninjis to this very title.
super mario advance was my first mario. looking back, its good when sequels try new things. and the mario franchise is better for what doki doki brought in
It’s time Nintendo brings back the scary flying mask enemies. Love SMB2!
Misread a word 😭
Super Mario Bros. 3 was the first game I ever played, waaaay back in the early 90s. That hooked me into gaming for life, and every few years, I do a no warp playthrough of the game that started it all for me.
Then, a few years later, I tried Super Mario 64 in a Toys R Us. It blew my mind and I absolutely had to have an N64.
I despise Nintendo’s business practices, but there’s no doubt they had a formative influence on my childhood.
SMB 3 was a big deal when it came out. Not only was the game a delight to play, but they had a whole ass movie where they “debuted” the game at the end of it. The whole movie was pretty much a long Nintendo commercial showing different games and the power glove and all. The end was a video game competition and SMB 3 was the surprise game. They even showed where to get the first warp whistle.
I liked that movie.
“Califooooooorniaaaaaaa.”
Also didn’t the girl go on to be the singer in Rilo Kiley?
I’m a 2D Mario guy. Everything 8 and 16 bit is awesome, except the crying baby island simulator one.
64 was of course amazing. Sunshine I like only because they tried something different. I never finished it though.
Imma get some hate for this: Galaxy and Odyssey aren’t that good. I did like Galaxy 2 a little though. I did finish Odyssey but man it has to be one of the most gimmick driven games in the series. Crap ton of one use only power ups.
New Super on Wii, and especially newER on Wii are a lot of fun (which is cheating but whatever lol). The WiiU game though? Oof huge fail.
The catsuite 3D land game is interesting to me. It has a ton of really great ideas, and lots of fun sections. But it falls flat overall somehow. I can’t put my finger on it. Good memories with it though.
Honorable mention: Yoshi Story on the 64. That game was great.
Super Mario World 2 is a really amazing game in both the mechanics and graphics. The game did some awesome stuff with both. It really set the way for Yoshi being a main character instead of a side character as well. Don’t sleep on it because the baby crying is annoying.
crying baby island simulator
I understand the hate but that game was so damn good, if you could ignore the baby cries.
My favorite game in the series was Super Mario 3. I first played it on the SNES when it was part of the Super Mario All Stars cartridge. I really liked the levels, especially the variety of landscapes and the secrets you could find if you had the right powerup.
Super Mario World is just as good imo. Everything I liked about 3 and more, plus the star road levels, that was a good game.
The most recent game I loved was Yoshi’s Wooly World on the WiiU. Excellent art style and super fun levels, especially the unlockable bonus levels.
Oh and let’s not forget Legend of the Seven Stars. That was a fun and bizarre story.
That being said, does anyone else think the Mario universe is just fucking weird? How did the creators come up with Italian plumbers who can jump really high saving a Princess from an oversized turtle in a fantasy land with walking mushrooms? Who thought that was a good idea? What inspired them? I think the only reason it became popular was because Super Mario on the NES was one of the first decent games, and most players were kids who didn’t care about the game’s universe and narrative beyond saving the princess.
If Mario wasn’t the first popular platformer in the 80s and was instead introduced today, nobody would take it seriously. Since we all grew up with Mario, it’s a thing we accept as is. Of course high jumping Italian plumbers discovered the mushroom kingdom and rescued their princess from Bowser, again and again and again. Of course little dudes with mushroom heads are ruled by a blond haired human. Of course giant pipes are a normal mode of transit. Of course goombas and koopa troopas are the baddies.
Seriously, how did this universe come about?
This universe came about because they would design fun gameplay first and then write an absurd story around it.
The “reasons” for things were usually dictated by gameplay and the stories reflected that.
It’s why Katamari Damacy is one of my favorite games, because it took that notion and really ran with it. It’s story is as absurd and over-the-top as the gameplay of rolling up objects to make stars in the sky. The gameplay is absurd and not in any way reflective of any reality except the reality of the game world itself.
The Mario series has always kept that ethos as well. The stories have grown and changed as long as the Mario gameplay has, each a response to a new set of moves, and at one point the move from 2D to 3D, all of it forever changing the path forward and the details of the canon Mario universe.
That makes a lot of sense. Katamari Damacy is also an excellent game with such a bizarre story. I’m guess I’m a fan of absurdity.
My favorite Mario game is the original Donkey Kong.
I am a late fan of this series. I used to have a Gameboy color as my first gaming device, but never actually sat down to play a Mario game fully until Super Mario Odyssey on the Switch. I really liked it, but it wasn’t a 10/10 for me like for other people.
For me the unexpected match came in the form of Super Mario 3D World. Something about the simplicity of the level design (short levels with 3 collectibles each) combined with the amazing coop make this an all time favorite game of mine. I also adore the music and general tone and creativity. It really had an almost therapeutic effect on me, I’ve seen more immediate effect on my mood than any of the anti depressants I’ve tried :D.
I have Wonder but it’s a bit to strange at times for my tastes (even though it is incredibly creative it isn’t as relaxing as 3D World was for me)
Long time fans of the 2d games really enjoy Wonder as the movement mechanics moved back to a faster feel from pre-New Super Mario Bros. My favorite will probably always be Super Mario World because the movement is the most responsive in that game and I also like to play ROM hacks for it and that community is wild.
New Super Mario Bros ended up with a sluggish movement by comparison and dominated 2d Mario for decades.
The big draw for many people in Mario is movement mechanics and that’s why Odyssey is so popular as well. The 3d platforming with Cappy just feels right. Like a missing extension that we never new we didn’t have.
3D World is one of my favourites. Really chilled game. Apart from Champions Road. Fuck that level!
That is the last level I still have to beat. Every o once in a while I’ll play it with a friend for a few hours, I’m sure we’ll make it one day!
Super mario 2 and those spitting eggs, I loved it.
Birdo is even trans!
I was pleasantly surprised by Super Mario Wonder. It had the same feel of fun and variety that the older games did.
Died to the very first goomba. Have been getting my revenge ever since.
Obligatory video on what counts as a super Mario game
https://youtu.be/XejJ6PzPtEw?si=UUMS7t97Y2dfu5kP
And the sequel
It’s a series where a dragon kidnaps a princess, and a plumber from New York must save her. To do so, he must gather mushrooms by hitting bricks while jumping with his fist, jump on turtles to make them hide in their shell, and dodge fire breathing plants.
In the most recent 2d incarnation, the fire breathing plants will sing at you.
The people who made this were on a lot of drugs.
Super Mario 64 has to be my favourite (and is also the most recent one I’ve tried). When that came out it rocked my world, and I didn’t even have my own N64 at the time. I would play at friends’ houses or Toys R Us.
There was a Canadian TV show called Video and Arcade Top 10 and they would frequently give games away. I wrote to them explicitly requesting SM64, and a year later it just showed up in the mail.
Wow I love this story, I used to watch that show all the time! I can still hear the theme song as if I just watched it yesterday. That was super cool of them to send you a copy. I hope you still have it!
Still got it! Agreed, the music is iconic. Nicholas Picholas was a great host too. I just looked him up and apparently he’s a radio host now.
I highly recommend Mario Maker 2 to everyone who hasn’t tried it, especially if you have kids with an interest in learning game design. It’s a great tool.
