Although I’d class myself as a Nintendo and Super Mario fanboy nowadays, my gaming origins and mascot opinions before the predictable fall of SEGA’s console business tell a different story.
Before I could enjoy a game in my youth, I had to really buy into a character. An overweight plumber that can jump really high never really sat right with me, mostly because I was fascinated with making a certain blue hedgehog nearly fly off the right-hand side of our family’s TV.
My interests fell into the edgy ‘WWF Attitude era’ of video games. I wanted fast and sometimes brutal design aesthetics. Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe were right up my street. This campy, hairy ode to Danny de Vito wasn’t my thing at all.
Until One Day…
Then I got a GameBoy and my world was turned upside down. I was suddenly thrown into this world of innocent, almost child-like aesthetics and character designs. From a platforming, enemy-eating balloon to a cross-dressing, egg-spitting dinosaur, this chubby little outcast was thrown down a rabbit hole i’d never return from. Whilst I still love the Blue Blur, gameplay and level design became more important to me than character design.
Mario should be classed as the not so much hidden wonder of the world. Someone designed quite possibly the worst character on paper and quickly turned him into a household name. And this is all down to stellar level and audio design. Look at a power-up mushroom and tell me you can’t hear the corresponding sound effect? Lies!
This article is in no way out to tarnish the addictions or styles of this mushroom eating Italian man-child. Nor it is my place to question why he would want to continuously save a princess who has absolutely no intention of increasing her security detail or forming any kind of backup plan. I am simply basking in the glory of Nintendo’s ability to turn water into wine.
The main hook for Mario and, indeed, most Nintendo classic is that the series is easy to play but difficult to master. This is why so many of their games are a speedrunner’s wet dream. Anyone can jump from Platform to Platform, but not everyone can do it whilst running, grabbing one of three giant coins and taking out five Goombas in a row. The chase of a good challenge is the sweet nectar of this franchise, and that translates into Mario’s 3D outings.
His Other Dimension
Galaxy 1 and 2, Sunshine, 64 and 3D World are all amazing games in their own right, and it would be an absolute pleasure to replay these titles simply ported to the Nintendo Switch. I’m going to go out on a whim here and expect full remakes of Galaxy 1 and 2 as a collection and Sunshine as a stand alone eShop title, although I might be wrong.
Every 2D or 3D platformer fan owes their allegiance to the Super Mario franchise in one way or another, and Nintendo is going to make sure no one forgets that. I mean, that LEGO set is literally the best toy-to-game concept I’ve seen in a long time. Mario is a unique product that can travel to various mediums, in gaming alone he’s appeared in tennis, association football, the Olympic Games, RPGs and beat-em-ups to name a few. Some of these spin offs have become massive franchises in their own right.
If it was any other IP, Nintendo would be crucified for ‘diluting’ and ‘milking’ the franchise. But for some magical reason, Mario is just applicable to so many ideas and creations.
