1/12/2024 0 Comments Happy mario dayIt went from a childhood toy simply meant for entertainment (and there's nothing wrong with that), to a real appreciation for game design, craftsmanship, and the power of ideas. But when Wii came along and Super Mario Galaxy arrived shortly after, it was another paradigm shift in how I saw video games. All my other friends were playing Call of Duty, Halo, or Madden anyways. Mario this, Mario that, I was getting a bit over it. All incredible games, with unique upgrades (or downgrades in the case of Yoshi) fit for a handheld.īy the time the GameCube came and went, I was feeling a bit grown out of Mario. Super Mario World (again), 2, 3, and Yoshi's Island. The GameBoy Advance got me all caught up on the Mario games I missed in the days before I was a Nintendo nerd. Mario Party was iterative at this point, and I wasn't really interested (although I was amused) in Mario playing street hoops against NBA legends or shredding slopes. Double Dash was fun, but I actually wasn't a fan of the gimmicks, nor of how they adjusted the Kart's controls (Kart hopping ftw!). Melee was an incredible game, but by then Smash was becoming its own behemoth. Super Mario Sunshine was cool, but something just felt off about it (maybe the 30 fps, maybe the jank, maybe the lack of regional diversity). GameCube was a weird generation for the portly plumber, the first time a Nintendo console didn't launch with a new Mario adventure (Luigi's Mansion was still a lot of fun, but it wasn't the same). making Mario the name which brought so many friends and family on the couch with me. But Mario was more than a solo adventure, with Mario Kart 64, Mario Party, and Super Smash Bros. Nintendo 64 was such a paradigm shift in how I interacted with games, with Super Mario 64 being a huge part of that. So when Sega decided to leave Sonic behind when they unveiled the Saturn, well that made my next console choice an easy one. Sonic will always be my first gaming hero, but Mario games were just so much fun and filled with so many ideas that it was impossible to ignore. Perhaps it was the expansiveness of the entire world, or the myriad of secrets, shortcuts, and hidden paths to uncover. but there was something magical about that Super Nintendo game I just couldn't put my finger on. Sure, he was less "cool", and a bit less athletic than the Blue Blur. Now, Sonic was fast, colorful, and truly had adventures of epic proportions. I was a Genesis kid growing up, but that didn't stop me of being enthralled by Mario. I returned the console that night, (when it was due back,) and didn't play video games for a couple of weeks after. I jumped and looked around, convinced I'd played too long and I was losing my mind. A bird trilled nearby, and it sounded exactly like the noise when Yoshi's tongue goes out to snag an enemy. By mid-day, I turned off the game to take a break and walked out into my backyard in a haze, just letting the sun hit me. On one such occaision, I rented the console and Mario World and stayed up all night playing it. My parents wouldn't let me buy a Super Nintendo for several years after, but sometimes they would let me rent one from Blockbuster video. My neighbor had gotten a Super Nintendo for Christmas and he showed off Mario World by making his way through the star road to Bowser's castle and beating the game. The neighbors across the street had a New Years Eve party every year, and the adults would mingle in the main house while the kids would play games in the finished basement. My first experience with Super Mario World was New Years Eve, 1990. (I just remember my mother rolling her eyes at my father and saying, "We're not going to get to watch TV tonight, are we?") I slammed down my food as fast as I could and got back to playing all through the night. My parents practically dragged me away from the TV at some point to force me to eat some dinner, but the whole time I had my eyes glued to the TV where my brother and sister were still playing. He pushed the power button, the red curtain came up, and I lost my goddamn seven year old mind. He calls me into our living room and says, "Hey Retro, want to play some Nintendo?" So we're getting ready for dinner, my brother comes in from work and fiddles with the Nintendo. At some point we talked about how we were costing the guy a bunch in late fees but my brother just shrugged it off and said his friend said it was okay.) (This was super weird in retrospect, but I have no reason to believe that isn't what happened. Turns out a guy my older brother was friends with rented it, finished it and then lent the game to my brother. So Super Mario Brothers 3 came out and was IMPOSSIBLE to find in my town.
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