The Mario history thread

[a7xoff]

Mario Kart (Snes): Easily one of the best selling SNES games of all time. I remember renting that game before I bought it and spent hours on end. The original Rainbow Road made me want to punch a baby sort to speak with it having no barriers, but having flashing thowmps that blocked the road at times. Loved the Ghost Valleys and Bowser Castle levels.

Mario Kart 64: Probably the best in the series. I still play it alot even to this day. In fact me and my g/f were playin it earlier. Again loved Bowser's Castle, and the fact that Rainbow Road became so ridiculously long made it possible to sit for 1/2 a lap and still be able to win. I was saddened that they removed Koopa Troopa from the game since he was my favorite in the original.

Mario Kart Super Circut (GBA): Featured all new tracks as one would expect, but also offered the SNES tracks as unlockables. My Nintendo DS often times has this game and Mario Kart DS for the reason that I can play the original SNES courses as well as the ones DS has to offer. I also liked the fact that Nintendo also brought back the coin system from the SNES for this game.

Mario Kart Double Dash (GCN): Not my favorite by any means, I didn't like the two person per kart deal, but I did like the individual special items as well as the diversity in karts and drivers. Newcomers like Baby Bowser and even King Boo really added a nice touch over the eight drivers from 64 and Super Circut. The tracks were all new, and offered plenty of close races with the abundance of item boxes.

Mario Kart DS: I didn't like many of the tracks that the game had to offer as far as new tracks go. I do however LOVE the retro cups that offer tracks from all of the previous Mario Kart titles. A few character additions and changes were also nice. Dry Bones probably turned out to be my fav. and Rob 64... WTF... Multiplayer over the WIFI is always fun, and for the first time you could do single player Battle mode.

Mario Kart Wii: *sigh* I don't own a Wii and for that reason this game will be the first Mario Kart game that I will probably not own. All I can say is that it does look very good, and that's to be expected.

Mario Kart series: Easily the best spinoff, with Mario Tennis coming in second. Mario Kart (all of them) still provide me with hours of entertainment

 

[Bernkastel]

Personally, in a group setting, I like Mario Kart 64 the best, but for playing the game by yourself, nothing beats Mario Golf 64 (I haven't played Mario Golf for Game Cube, although it looked badass) I got every character in the game (including the characters you import from Game Boy Color) I Birdied every hole in the game (thats 108 different holes, not including the 36 different putt putt holes) yet every time I played the game, any course on any difficulty, I learned that I couldn't get it perfect every time, as the game consistently presented me with a challenge.

 

[Lee]

The story

Not much of a story here, save some Yoshis and the princess! The following's from Wikipedia;

his is a side-scroller as in previous Mario games, and it takes advantage of the Super Nintendo's 16-bit graphics and stereo sound. The game consists of a journey through levels in seven worlds: Yoshi's Island, Donut Plains, Vanilla Dome, Twin Bridges Area (including the Cheese & Butter Bridges and Soda Lake) terminating in Cookie Mountain, Forest of Illusion, Chocolate Island, and the Valley of Bowser. There are also two secret worlds - Star Road and Special Zone (accessed via the Star World) - which can be found by finding a key and a key hole in certain levels. Experienced players can utilize the Star Road to reach the end of the game in only 12 levels.
Super Mario rides a Yoshi in one of the first levels of World 1.
Super Mario rides a Yoshi in one of the first levels of World 1.

Super Mario World contains a "world map" screen, which provides a passive overview of all the game's levels; each level is accessed individually from the world map. The concept was previously seen in Super Mario Bros. 3, and World's execution is similar but more elaborate. The game features 72 courses laid out across the seven worlds, and 96 exits (some levels have more than one exit; these levels are usually marked red). Secret exits open up new routes on the overworld map, often leading to secret levels. When a player reaches the completion of the 96 "goals," the beginning screen will display a star next to the number "96" beside the file the goals were completed on. Something to consider, however, is the fact that the game cover states that it contains "96 levels," implying that the number of stages and exits are equal when in reality there are only 72 true levels.

The Yoshis appear in four different colors (green, yellow, red, and blue), each with different abilities. Upon eating a shell of any color, blue Yoshis can fly, red Yoshis can spit fire, and yellow Yoshis stomp the ground, hurting nearby enemies. A yellow shell that has been entered by a Koopa becomes multicolored, allowing Yoshis of any color to fly, stomp, and spit fire all in one. There are also Baby Yoshis in the Star World levels which can be picked up by Mario. After eating five enemies, three berries, or any power-up, they will become a fully grown Yoshi of the same color.

The history
Again Nintendo wanted a Mario for the SNES, cue Super Mario World...


My opinion
I love this game. As the Nintendo magazine put it it has more hidden bits than a chameleon farm! It brought in Yoshi, it has easy gameplay to finish the game yet difficult gameplay to find all. A true masterpiece

Next game

Well next it's spin off game time withSuper Mario Tennis and the next Mario game will be the one Ech has been waiting for *drum roll*Super Mario 64

 

[a7xoff]

FlameLee I guess your not considering Yoshi's Island Mario World 2 even though it's in the title? Anyways I liked this game alot. I got it for the GBA as well. Tons of hidden stuff, and it's a pretty nice challenge to find it all. Also with the introduction of Yoshi came the introduction of several different colored Yoshi's with their own abilities.

 

[Lee]

FlameLee I guess your not considering Yoshi's Island Mario World 2 even though it's in the title? Anyways I liked this game alot. I got it for the GBA as well. Tons of hidden stuff, and it's a pretty nice challenge to find it all. Also with the introduction of Yoshi came the introduction of several different colored Yoshi's with their own abilities.

Ah no how did I forget that, I remember before hand thinking that I will do Yoshis Island, just got caught in the moment...I will do Mario tennis Yoshis Island THEN Mario 64 then Mario Golf or something...thanks for reminding me...silly mistake!

 

[a7xoff]

Anytime, I figured even though it realy doesn't have that much to do with Mario, that it should be at least mentioned since technically it is Mario World 2 for some unknown reason. Anyway. Lookin forward to Mario Tennis tomorrow

 

[Bernkastel]

Mario Tennis 64 is the only one i've played. IMO it was the hardest to beat out of the Mario spin off games for N64. I beat all the cups, including the rainbow, Moonlight, and Planet cups on Expert. But I failed to beat all of them on Super Expert, I beat every cup on Super Expert except the Planet cup.

 

[Lee]

The story

It's a tennis game no need of a plot!

The history

1. Mario's Tennis — (Virtual Boy, August, 1995)...chances of many playing this are slim...It was never released in Europe.

2. Mario Tennis — (Nintendo 64, August 28, 2000).

3. Mario Tennis — (Game Boy Color, January 16, 2001).

4. Mario Power Tennis — (GameCube, November 8, 2004).

5. Mario Tennis: Power Tour — (Game Boy Advance, December 5, 2005).


My opinion

In some circles people have this as the greatest Mario spin off, I think they're highly mistaken but they are great games. Having only played the 64 and GC version, they're great although I never owned them which means I can't do a proper analysis. The only downside of the games are they brought us Waluigi...what's the point in him?!

Next game

Well the next Mario game will be Super Mario World 2; Yoshis Island which I will update tonigh and the next spin off game will beSuper Mario Golf

 

[a7xoff]

Mario Tennis for Virtual Boy I must say was probably the best sports game that the system had. It was realitivly easy though compared to it's N64 counterpart. Mario Tennis (N64) was probably the most frustrating out of the whole series. Not in a bad way, but the level of diffuculty when facing Mario in the Star Cup with max. diffuculty was a real pain in the ass to say the least. Mario Power Tennis was fun and added all sorts of gimmick games that could go along with the classic tennis. Most annoying was Pirahna plants spewing gunk all over the court drasticly cutting speed. Also liked the addition of characters like Koopa Troopa and Wiggler. Never got a chance to play much of the GBA game, but it seemed to follow the classic style.

 

[Lee]

The story

A stork carries two babies across the sea, but the evil Magikoopa Kamek emerges, and steals baby Luigi, and baby Mario falls into an island in the middle of the sea, called Yoshi's Island, home to all Yoshis. He lands on a green Yoshi, and Mario and the rest of the Yoshi clan successfully rescue Baby Luigi and the stork back from Baby Bowser and Kamek.

The history

I don't know if this is true or an urban myth but meh...

While Yoshi's Island was in development, Rare released Donkey Kong country Although the 3D graphics got world wide acclaim Miyamoto was a bit pissed off and said in an interview that it was proof that video game players would put up with mediocre gameplay as long as it looked good. the success of the game meant that Nintendo pushed Miyamoto to render Yoshi's Island the same. Frustrated Miyamoto did the opposite, took some crayons drew the pictures and ta da Yoshi's Island was born!


My opinion
Sorry but I've not actually played this...I will download it on Virtual console once I have finished Mario World again!

Next game

Well the next Mario game will be Super Mario 64but before that we have the next spin off game which will beSuper Mario Golf

 

[a7xoff]

Yoshi's Island. In my opinion a far better game then Yoshi's Story. The game introduced baby bowser, mario, and luigi, all of which are now popular characters in games like Mario Kart. Anyway, this game though really looking like it came out of some five year olds imagination was actually a very enjoyable game. For those who have not played it, and do not own an SNES I strongly suggest picking up the GBA remake of it. If you have a DS the sequal is pretty challenging in itself.

 

[Lee]

The story

It's a golf game no need of a plot!

The history

1. Mario Golf - Nintendo 64 - 1999

2. Mario Golf - Game Boy Color - 1999

3. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour - Nintendo GameCube - 2003

4. Mario Golf: Advance Tour - Game Boy Advance - 2004



My opinion

Can any a game be so addictive yet frustrating at once? Maybe because my friend was the best at the game, and I wasn't. I loved the Mario Golf game for both the 64 and GC [haven't played the others]. I don't hold it down as one I'd miss if I'd never played it, but still enjoyable!

Next game

Well the next Mario game will be Suer Mario 64 and the next spin off game will beSuper Smash Bros

 

[a7xoff]

Mario Golf. I only played the N64 and it was ok I guess. I really am not a golf fan, so Mario Golf didn't appeal to me to begin with, but I did enjoy it for a little while it added nice little twist to golf.

 

[Bernkastel]

Awesome game, like I stated before, this was my favorite Mario Spin off game, when I played by myself, for the N64. I had all the characters, including the ones you import from Game Boy Color. I Birdied all 108 regular holes and I beat the 2 mini golf courses with a score of Par or better. Yet every time I played each course with the same, or a different character, I always expected a different outcome. This was one of those games were it was impossible to be perfect at, even if you were really good at it, because even the best players in the world did horrible at it at times, thats how random the game play was. And thats what I loved most about it, the game ALWAYS presented a challenge, no matter how good I was. Truly awesome game.

 

[Lee]

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...IT'S A ME A MARIO

The story

Ah wiki one again covers the plot nicely...

Super Mario 64 begins with a letter from Princess Peach inviting Mario to come to her castle for a cake she has baked for him. When he arrives, Mario hears a voice saying, "Welcome. No one's home. Now Scram! ...And don't come back!! Gwa! ha! ha!" At that time, Mario finds out that Bowser has invaded the castle and imprisoned the Princess and her servants within it using the power of 105 of the castle's 120 power stars. Many of the castle's paintings are portals to other realms, in which Bowser's minions keep watch over the stars.

Mario searches the castle for these portals to enter the worlds and recover the stars. He gains access to more rooms as he recovers more stars, and will have to tackle three obstacle courses leading to a battle with Bowser. Defeating Bowser the first two times earns Mario a key for opening another level of the castle, while the final battle releases Peach and rolls the credits. Peach rewards Mario by baking the cake that she had promised him.When the credits are done rolling, Mario says off screen, "Thank you so much for playing my game."

The history
The development of Super Mario 64 took less than two years, but producer/director Shigeru Miyamoto had conceived of a 3D Mario game over five years before, while working on Star Fox. Miyamoto developed most of the concepts during the era of the SNES and considered making it a SNES game (making use of the Super FX chip), but decided to develop it for the Nintendo 64 due to the earlier system's technical limitations

When announced along with the 64, people thought a 3D platformer wouldn't work, that an analogue stick would be stupid. Twelve years later and who's laughing now?!

My opinion

Can anyone say one of the most revolutionary games of all time? I can and just have.

Why? It brought Mario from 2D to 3D, brought in a free roaming camera, the game play was excellent, it was a huge game, so much to find and do while still keeping that Mario Magic.

And who tried to find Luigi? I did!

Next game

Well next it's spin off game time withSuper Smash Bros. and the next Mario game will beSuper Mario Sunshine

 

[Bernkastel]

I tried to find Luigi... tried and failed.... he's not in the game..... but If you have a Gameshark, you can turn Mario's red outfit green.

Whats your guy's best times for this game?

For getting all 120 stars, cheat free, my best over time is 2 hours and 30 minutes

For getting just 70 stars, my best time is a little over an hour, like, 1: 06 somthing

My best overall time beating the game and getting to Bowser 3, is 38 minutes, using the rapid backwards long jump glitch, the bunny glitch, and the trees outside the castle glitch

 

[Lee]

I tried to find Luigi... tried and failed.... he's not in the game..... but If you have a Gameshark, you can turn Mario's red outfit green.

Whats your guy's best times for this game?

For getting all 120 stars, cheat free, my best over time is 2 hours and 30 minutes

For getting just 70 stars, my best time is a little over an hour, like, 1: 06 somthing

My best overall time beating the game and getting to Bowser 3, is 38 minutes, using the rapid backwards long jump glitch, the bunny glitch, and the trees outside the castle glitch

I can't say I ever timed it to be honest, but those are incredible times! Luigi was a sad miss from the game, something which has been lacking on the main consoles since Super Mario World which is a shame as he was always my favourite character. Although Yoshi has a cameo.

 

[Bernkastel]

The world record for beating this game is only 19 minutes... Thats getting to and beating Bowser 3... in 19 minutes. I could only do it in 38, all i'm going to say is that the backwards long long jump was both a blessing and a bitch at the same time. You could pass right through the double doors with numbers on them and you could bypass the Never ending Staircase using it. Awesome glitch.

 

[a7xoff]

Mario 64... Some say it's the "birth of video games as we know them today" In a sense those people are absolutley correct. Mario 64 took the hits from prior Mario titles such as the princess being captured and the enemy's from prior games. Great game, provided tons of entertainment. However it did nopt provide me with as much entertainment as another Mario game that was released for the SNES called Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars.

 

[Lee]

Mario 64... Some say it's the "birth of video games as we know them today" In a sense those people are absolutley correct. Mario 64 took the hits from prior Mario titles such as the princess being captured and the enemy's from prior games. Great game, provided tons of entertainment. However it did nopt provide me with as much entertainment as another Mario game that was released for the SNES called Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars.

Apologies for not mentioning Mario RPG I will do at the end of the thread with a list of other games. This is because I have never played it, and it was never released in Europe.

Also a change in Schedule, I said Super Mario Sunshine would be the next main Mario game...I lied, it's Paper Mario (after the Smash Bros. series)

 

[Bernkastel]

I never played paper mario 64, to be honest it looked rather weak. Plus switching back and forth from a 3D environment to a 2D environment seemed like too much work.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I've only scammed through the last couple of pages.. but to give my take on everything, it'd basically be to glorify Super Mario 64. I loved the regular Mario games for nintendo, & even Mario all-stars (which I think was all the originals, plus a new one?) on the Super NES. But Super Mario 64 takes everything for me, as it was (in my opinion) the best Mario game to date.

I haven't attempted any other Mario game since, but games like Paper Mario, & Mario Sunshine don't even look worthy of playing. Sometimes its like a franchise is taken, made into something great.. then destroyed by millions of spin-offs.

Super Mario 64: The 3D world was amazing. The interaction you had with everything, was brilliant. Sometimes the camera angles were hard to deal with, & the controls could be tricky.. but overall, nothing will ever beat this game. Luigi is a miss, but when they gave him his own game.. on the gamecube, (I think it was) did it really live up to any hype?

My personal favorite sections on Super Mario 64 were the ice world, where you built the snowman, & could run, holding the penguin. And the liquid world, where you could turn silver. (like the Surfer)

The Ice world that I just mentioned gave me all I ever needed in that game. I could spend hours in that little section, alone, & completely enjoy myself. That penguin took so much abuse from me, I loved that little guy. (Just to review, he did, in time, find his Mother.. while it took dropping him off the edge several times, & sliding him down the hill a few more, just for cheap laughs.. he finally got what he wanted.)

 

[Lee]

I never played paper mario 64, to be honest it looked rather weak. Plus switching back and forth from a 3D environment to a 2D environment seemed like too much work.

Paper Mario didn't switch from 2D to 3D until the wii version.

. I loved the regular Mario games for nintendo, & even Mario all-stars (which I think was all the originals, plus a new one?) on the Super NES. But Super Mario 64 takes everything for me, as it was (in my opinion) the best Mario game to date.

All the originals plus an unrealised (in western world) Super MArio Bros. 2 the lost levels.

I haven't attempted any other Mario game since, but games like Paper Mario, & Mario Sunshine don't even look worthy of playing.

Why have you not played any Mario game in the past twelve years? Super Mario Sunshine was good, not as good as Mario 64 but still good. Paper Mario has been mentioned by both of you now that you haven't played it, yet you still knock it. If you've noticed I've refused to pass judgment on a game unless I have played it.

Sometimes its like a franchise is taken, made into something great.. then destroyed by millions of spin-offs.

On the contrary I think Mario was helped severely by spin-offs, can you imagine Mario without Mario Kart, Smash Bros. heck even Mario Tennis? No, I don't think the spin offs have spoilt it, they opened up the character to a whole new audience and succeeded in doing so as it's quite easy to muck up spin offs and bringing in new cvharacters. Prime example is Sonic the Hedgehog.

 

[a7xoff]

Have spin offs butchered Mario? I think as far as spin offs go there are some that really worked and some that just should not have even been attempted. Mario Kart, Golf, and Tennis all in all are fantastic spinoffs, and that shows. Super Smash Bros. I don't consider a Mario spin off since it really combines many Nintendo characters from many different series. As far as poor spinoffs. The Mario basketball game that came out recently I did not like at all, and Super Mario Strikers (soccer) was mediocre and really let me down as far as a Mario spinoff is consirned. I haven't gotten a chance to play the Strikers for the Wii yet, but I'm hoping that they fixed whatever problems were present in the first. To answer the question. No spin offs do not butcher a series. Espically when they work to the calibur that games like Mario Kart.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Why have you not played any Mario game in the past twelve years? Super Mario Sunshine was good, not as good as Mario 64 but still good. Paper Mario has been mentioned by both of you now that you haven't played it, yet you still knock it. If you've noticed I've refused to pass judgment on a game unless I have played it.

I haven't played any Mario game since the 64 version, because I fell in love with that version. I've attempted demos are retail stores, such as Luigi's Hunted House, or whatever it was called.. & that "demo" really annoyed me. I'll admit fairly, I have never tried Paper Mario, simply because on the t.v. commercials, it looked kinda corny.

As for Sunshine, I didn't do it, because while it looked similar to 64's graphics, & I'm sure it was even better.. the fact that it was based on a bubble-blowing type gun, was horrid. I never gave either game a fair chance, but I will tell you this much.. I'll try them both before writing them off completely. (The only bad part is my general, first impression, of what I feel they'd be like.. as that may corrupt my overall thoughts on them)

On the contrary I think Mario was helped severely by spin-offs, can you imagine Mario without Mario Kart, Smash Bros. heck even Mario Tennis? No, I don't think the spin offs have spoilt it, they opened up the character to a whole new audience and succeeded in doing so as it's quite easy to muck up spin offs and bringing in new cvharacters. Prime example is Sonic the Hedgehog.

I suppose my choice of wording is bad here. By spin-off, I meant "I" felt the Mario franchise was hurt by the silly games such as Sunshine & Paper. The Mario sports games are kinda dorky, but expected.

I agree with what someone else said on the understanding that Smash Bros. shouldn't be considered a Mario game, as it is more a "Nintendo Characters" game in general.

Finally, I would NEVER, EVER, bad mouth Mario Kart. I lived on Mario Kart for years, upon, years. I loved it beyond anything I could ever love, regarding a racing style game. It has shown me fun & excitment with friends the likes no other game, until Goldeneye had shown. lol