Alrighty, here comes a beeeeeg update:
The man... the myth... the legend...
SUPE-ah Mario Brothahs 2! [via Super Mario All-Stars] (SNES) - 1/1
I've never been a huge fan of this game. It's a pretty good game, but it's always been a high 7, low 8 kind of Mario game to me. The visuals and music are absolutely on-point, and the overall game concept is solid. But I've never been a huge fan of the level design, nor the pick-up-and-throw mechanics. That being said, it's always a refreshing playthrough just because it is so different. Huh... it's almost as if this wasn't originally a Mario game or something...
Worth playing, and neat on the SNES, but ultimately a
Super Mario Bros. 3 [via Super Mario All-Stars] (SNES) - 1/2
Oh BABY!
NOW we're talkin'! I've long declared that SMB3 is the greatest game of all-time, all aspects considered. (Things like overall innovation for the platformer genre, absolutely PERFECT controls, the fact that it's an NES game, the music and visuals... etc. etc.) I beat this game probably 10 times a year, granted most of the time I'm either speedrunning it, or using warps.
But still. SMB3 just can't be topped in my opinion. This is a rare example of what I would call a perfect game, again, all things considered.
It's the GOAT. But it's technically not my favorite Mario game ever... we'll get to that, though.
Super Mario Land (Game Boy via Analogue Pocket) - 1/2
Alright, here's where I start getting controversial. For anyone actually taking the time to read these mini reviews, here's something you should know about me. When it comes to Mario games, nostalgia affects my bias usually +/- a point. And while that might play a factor in my review for Mario Land (and the upcoming barrage of ridiculously high scores...), I stand by my rankings.
I'll just get this out of the way right now. Super Mario Land is a 9/10, and it's a better game than Super Mario Land 2.
First off, the reduced size of Mario allows for more real estate on screen at once, which ultimately allows for more complex and enjoyable level design, especially when compared to Mario Land 2. But this game is short. I mean REALLY short. This game only has 12 total levels, and you can easily crunch through the whole game in under an hour, even playing casually.
But that's one of the reasons why I love it so much. This is the absolute definition of pick-up-and-play. And I do. A lot. I play through this game at least 2 or 3 times a year. Maybe I'm about to go to bed, but want a quick Mario game to blitz through without using warps. SML, baby.
The biggest flaw in this game are the physics, though. Similar to Super Mario Bros, aerial directional influence just feels weird in SML. And even when you get used to it, there will still be little gameplay niggles that trip you up here and there. But, overall, the design and creativity are just so wildly good for an early Game Boy release. Even the shmup sections are great.
And while I would normally give the game an 8/10, the OST bumps it up to a solid 9. It ain't much, but what's there is phenomenal. And easily some of the best Mario music of any game, period.
A must-play, and the perfect portable comfort food.
Super Mario World (SNES) 1/2
You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. This game slaps HARD. Super Mario World is a wonderful sequel and evolution of the SMB3 formula, now with a much more rich and explorable overworld, and ridiculously cool gameplay concepts that simply wouldn't be possible on an NES. (I mean, Miyamoto said it himself... the NES simply could not handle Yoshi.)
But SMW suffers from one fatal flaw, in my opinion. It's so easy and cheese-able. I have very little self-control when I play a video game. If there's an exploit or mechanic that makes me better at the game, I will use and abuse it. And in SMW's case, it's the almighty cape.
As much as I LOVE the cape (and, oh boy, I do love it), it breaks more than half of the levels in SMW. I legit probably haven't even seen a few levels' actual design before, as I just fly over the entire stage to the end.
Now, obviously, that's on me and how I'm playing the game. And if I were doing a 100% run, it would probably be a lot more fun. But for this challenge, I'm just trying to crunch through every game.
But even with my unbridled cape abuse, this is still an obvious
Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins DX (Game Boy via Analogue Pocket) - 1/2
First, can we just take a second to acknowledge that at this point in the challenge, I've taken down SEVEN Mario games in a mere two days? Damn I love these games! But Mario Land 2 is a bit of a black sheep for me. I do enjoy the game, but it never really "clicked" with me. At least, this time, I decided to spice it up a bit by playing the fan-colored DX version, which was really nice.
But something about this game just begs me not to play it. It's like it
looks like a Mario game, and a lot of the gameplay even
feels like a Mario game, but there's just something
off about it. I feel like this game is suffering an identity crisis. It so badly wants to be Mario World, even though it's nowhere near as creative or mechanically-satisfying. (Though, it does have SMW's cheeseability in common, with that stupid Rabbit Ear powerup.)
Plus, the OST is also such a gigantic step down from Super Mario Land (no offense, Totaka, but you kinda phoned it in... Especially compared to Hip Tanaka's masterpiece in SML). It just misses the mark on a lot of things for me.
That being said, for whatever reason, I actually really enjoyed my playthrough this time. Maybe the color helped? In the past I've given this game a 7/10 but...
It's still a Mario game, and it's definitely very good.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) 1/4
Man, this game is just so good. Much like other Mario spinoffs, the gameplay isn't like-for-like to your standard Mario game. But it still feels great, and the egg-chucking mechanic is mostly enjoyable.
But dude... the art?? The MUSIC?? This game OOZES charm, moreso than every other 2D Mario game out there. It's so unique, and the extreme use of Mode 7 and the Super FX chip make this game feel more like something that would only be possible on a Neo Geo.
The level design is definitely more puzzle-y than platform-y, but I don't really hold that against it. You know what I DO hold against it? "WAAAH!! WAAAH!!! WAAAH!!! WAAAH!!!" holy shit baby Mario SHUT UP.
But other than Mario's annoying cry, this game is a true classic. It took me years to truly appreciate it, but I'm so glad I got there.
Would WAAAH again,
Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land (Game Boy via Analogue Pocket) - 1/4
See, now compared to Mario Land 2, Wario Land absolutely DOES have an identity. And I am HERE for it. I love Wario's chunky-yet-agile moveset, I love the emphasis on collecting money, I love the weird way he grabs and disposes of enemies, and I love the intentionally off-putting and discordant soundtrack.
I also have a LOT of nostalgia for this game, as it was one of the very first video games that was
just mine. I played the shit out of this game as a kid, to the point where a lot of what others would consider flaws (like his movement mechanics), I view as unique pros.
But this game feels more pure than even later Wario Land games. (Note: I still have not played Wario Land 4 to this day, and I know it's very highly regarded.) Instead of being a giant collect-a-thon, you're primarily just trying to get to the exit of each stage. I will say that if you're able to hold on to the Jet Pot powerup, you can definitely cheese a lot of this game too. But it's also much easier to lose it and never get it back.
Which I guess brings me to his powerups. I like that they're classic Mario-style, instead of the sort of weird way it's done in later Wario games (where they can be time-based, or drastically alter the movement gameplay, or more puzzle-y). I like that Wario can actually die in this game, and he becomes small and useless after hit.
I dunno. I just love this game.
Super Mario 64 (N64) 1/4
Super Mario 64 is my favorite game of all time. It's literally perfect to me. Even the imperfect camera controls. I've legitimately beaten this game almost 500 times, not joking. (Though most of those were speedruns.)
This game was and still is a masterpiece. Every single 3D platformer after this was heavily influenced by Mario 64, and always for the better. I don't even feel like talking about how incredible this game is anymore. If you actually haven't played it before, go do it right now. And give a little leeway for the camera.
It's my favorite game ever. Go play it!
Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube) - 1/5
One step forward, two steps back. As much as I love the traversal mechanics and even FLUDD in general, Sunshine just has too much bullshit. It somehow feels jankier than Mario 64, and (even with FLUDD) you somehow have less mechanical control over Mario.
It's gorgeous, with a remarkable soundtrack. But the game suffers from pacing issues, artificial difficulty, and sometimes just frustrating bullshit.
Still, it's a wonderful game and absolutely worth playing. Last year I played through Super Mario Eclipse, which adds 120 more shine sprites and a bunch of new, decent stages. But what it really does is refines the controls. It makes things like the jet dash a lot snappier, it adds a spurting double jump mechanic, and (at long last) returns the almighty long jump. It was this increase is Mario's moveset that made me realize how much the original Sunshine was missing. And juxtaposed to playing Eclipse (at 60fps, btw), Sunshine just feels like they left so much refinement on the table.
A great game, but a weaker 3D Mario.
Wario Land II (Game Boy Color) - 1/6
This game isn't part of my Mario challenge, as I don't consider it a part of the mainline series, of course. However, I had never beaten the game before, and I decided to play it until I wanted to stop. And guess what, I didn't want to stop!
Is it an incredible game? No. Is it better than Wario Land 1? Nope. But it has some great ideas, and some nice refinement from the first game. It's more of a collect-a-thon (though nowhere near Wario Land 3) than the first game, but it's still pretty fun.
The level design isn't as good, and I really dislike his new powerup and "not-dying" system. But, hey, it wasn't bad.
Worth giving a try.
New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS) - 1/6
New Supe gets a lot of hate, primarily because they recycled and (sometimes) refined this formula to death over the next decade. We're ALL sick of looking at it.
But if you view this game for what it was at the time of its release, it's actually quite good. The level design is excellent, especially for a portable game. The mixture of 2D spritework with 3D character models works surprisingly well on the small screen. And none of the powerups feel broken or out of place—in fact, some of them even make the game harder (like the mini mushroom and the blue shell).
Plus, this game is just fun to explore. You basically can't 100% on your first playthrough (actually, of course you can, but the game sort of leads you away from that). There are a lot of hidden exits that are rewarding to find, and the overall challenge of the game is right in line with games like SMB3.
It's a good game, and I feel like it's underrated, mainly because we're all so sick of this design style. I still haven't decided if this is an 8 or a 9, but seeing as how I gave SMW a 9, I better give this one an 8 before I get banned.
So, yeah, a really solid
WHEW. That was a lot of games. I still have more I need to type up, but company just arrived, so I'll have to do it later!
