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We all know who he is. If you don’t, where have you been over the last 20 years? Mario is the most recognised icon in the gaming industry. Miyamoto’s creation has captivated audiences from children to adults alike, and has appeared in more video games than Michael Schumacher has won F1 races. But as we enter the next generation of console gaming, is Mario still that character who stars in such fantastic titles, or has Mario had his day, and is desperately trying to stay in the industry for the sake of it?
When the arcade game of Donkey Kong came out, people looked at that low-res character on the screen, wearing a cap and dungarees and though to themselves ‘Will this guy become a star?’ And sure enough, it only took Mario a few years to star in some of the greatest video games ever created. Hitting the big time on the NES, Mario was the subject of the Super Mario Bros. series. When people played Mario Bros. for the first time, they knew that it was a masterpiece.
Then, as the years rolled on, Mario left the platforming and started to explore more of the industry. People today claim that Super Mario Kart is one of the best racers ever, and sure enough Mario’s racing title would inspire every ‘kids racer’ for the next 10 years and beyond. It then didn’t take Mario long to enter the world of sport either, with his Mario Golf and Tennis titles, which brought all the trademark of Mario to these everyday sports.
But we all know Mario for his platforming adventures, and that’s where he astonished us the most. Super Mario World on the SNES was pure magic, introducing characters such as Yoshi to the series and acclaimed as the greatest 2D game ever by many people. And sure enough, it was the little Italian who would again change the face of the gaming industry by going 3D in Super Mario 64. Was there any stopping this guy? He had starred in some of the greatest video games ever made, made more cameo appearances than any other gaming icon, had hundreds of games with his name in the title and basically revolutionised the gaming industry.
But now, in 2004, is Mario the character he once was? It now seems Mario is running out of ideas fast. His Gamecube debut, Super Mario Sunshine, was full of originality but lacked the greatness the likes of Super Mario 64 possessed. And now when we buy a Mario title, it’s a case of ‘Been there, seen it, got the T-shirt’. Look at how many re-makes of his classic games are on the GBA, and his Gamecube titles just seem to be updates of his classic titles. Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, it just seems a case of ‘Take an old Mario game, chuck in a few new features and add a bit on the end of the name.’
Mario 128 will be the acid test for Mario. Titles such as Paper Mario 2, Mario Tennis and Mario vs. DK for example will be very good, but not ground-breaking, like we have come to expect of Mario from the last few years. Miyamoto has promised Mario 128 will be a revolution in gaming, but is keeping the lid on his latest creation. If Mario 128 fails to impress, then maybe Link or Samus will have to take over Mario’s roll, and make their own golf and karting games for us. If Mario is to keep his status, he needs to star in new and original titles that can live up to his great games in the past, and not star games by the name of Mario Kart: The Ultimate Karting Simulator and Mario Golf: Mushroom Kingdom Tour 2010. They say the Big N never let us down - well they need to do something for Mario very soon.
When the arcade game of Donkey Kong came out, people looked at that low-res character on the screen, wearing a cap and dungarees and though to themselves ‘Will this guy become a star?’ And sure enough, it only took Mario a few years to star in some of the greatest video games ever created. Hitting the big time on the NES, Mario was the subject of the Super Mario Bros. series. When people played Mario Bros. for the first time, they knew that it was a masterpiece.
Then, as the years rolled on, Mario left the platforming and started to explore more of the industry. People today claim that Super Mario Kart is one of the best racers ever, and sure enough Mario’s racing title would inspire every ‘kids racer’ for the next 10 years and beyond. It then didn’t take Mario long to enter the world of sport either, with his Mario Golf and Tennis titles, which brought all the trademark of Mario to these everyday sports.
But we all know Mario for his platforming adventures, and that’s where he astonished us the most. Super Mario World on the SNES was pure magic, introducing characters such as Yoshi to the series and acclaimed as the greatest 2D game ever by many people. And sure enough, it was the little Italian who would again change the face of the gaming industry by going 3D in Super Mario 64. Was there any stopping this guy? He had starred in some of the greatest video games ever made, made more cameo appearances than any other gaming icon, had hundreds of games with his name in the title and basically revolutionised the gaming industry.
But now, in 2004, is Mario the character he once was? It now seems Mario is running out of ideas fast. His Gamecube debut, Super Mario Sunshine, was full of originality but lacked the greatness the likes of Super Mario 64 possessed. And now when we buy a Mario title, it’s a case of ‘Been there, seen it, got the T-shirt’. Look at how many re-makes of his classic games are on the GBA, and his Gamecube titles just seem to be updates of his classic titles. Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, it just seems a case of ‘Take an old Mario game, chuck in a few new features and add a bit on the end of the name.’
Mario 128 will be the acid test for Mario. Titles such as Paper Mario 2, Mario Tennis and Mario vs. DK for example will be very good, but not ground-breaking, like we have come to expect of Mario from the last few years. Miyamoto has promised Mario 128 will be a revolution in gaming, but is keeping the lid on his latest creation. If Mario 128 fails to impress, then maybe Link or Samus will have to take over Mario’s roll, and make their own golf and karting games for us. If Mario is to keep his status, he needs to star in new and original titles that can live up to his great games in the past, and not star games by the name of Mario Kart: The Ultimate Karting Simulator and Mario Golf: Mushroom Kingdom Tour 2010. They say the Big N never let us down - well they need to do something for Mario very soon.
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Whats up with the Mario sports these days?
Golf, kart racing and Tennis?
Sounds like Nintendo are running out of ideas...
Golf, kart racing and Tennis?
Sounds like Nintendo are running out of ideas...
UrkiE-UK wrote:
> Super Mario World was the last mario game I ever played.
Well how would you know that 3D broke him then? eh?
And Mario is still as genius now as the series was 'back in the day'.
> Super Mario World was the last mario game I ever played.
Well how would you know that 3D broke him then? eh?
And Mario is still as genius now as the series was 'back in the day'.
Super Mario World was the last mario game I ever played.
Kicked ass, too.
Kicked ass, too.
Bring on the "shooting hookers" elements that's what i say. ;D
UrkiE-UK wrote:
> I reckon 3D broke him. It was never simple fun after it abandoned 2D.
pftt
Mario 64 is easily the best Mario game.
He hasn't had his day, but Nintendo need to start making his games decent again.
> I reckon 3D broke him. It was never simple fun after it abandoned 2D.
pftt
Mario 64 is easily the best Mario game.
He hasn't had his day, but Nintendo need to start making his games decent again.
Mario had his day?
no
no
Mario platformers are the best ones IMO.
I finished Mario 64 despite actively hating platforming games.
I finished Mario 64 despite actively hating platforming games.
They haven't abandoned 2D yet (GBA) but they will when the DS comes out.
:-(
:-(
I reckon 3D broke him. It was never simple fun after it abandoned 2D.
LSD wrote:
> Mario is probably the most recognisesable characters in videogames
> ever... I wouldn't say it will die. It will still be popular for the
> next generation of gamers.
It's so popular that almost everyone know him, even those who have never played games before.
My mum knows Mario because she always used to watch the series they used to do on TV.
> Mario is probably the most recognisesable characters in videogames
> ever... I wouldn't say it will die. It will still be popular for the
> next generation of gamers.
It's so popular that almost everyone know him, even those who have never played games before.
My mum knows Mario because she always used to watch the series they used to do on TV.
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