Tag Archives: Peach

Mario Kart World Review

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Mario Kart is one of those titles that is so famous because you can have unlimited fun with it. It’s the game that keeps on going. Well the new one for the Nintendo Switch was certainly getting a lot of hype. Nintendo was so confident in it that they basically were not coming out with any other titles for the Switch 2. It was this or nothing. Well, after playing the game I can say that it’s pretty good. I’m not going to call it amazing or anything like that but I do think they put in a solid amount of effort here. I can definitely see people playing this one for a very long time yet.

The game doesn’t have a story mode so you’ll probably jump right into the races. You can do the classic cups, knockout races, or jump straight online. I went for the cups first of course and they were definitely fun. The kind of races that you never forget because of the hype graphics and everything. At this point some of the items have been nerfed to the point where they are no longer a huge threat (Blue shell) but it’s still nostalgic to see them. Mario Kart is one of those games that is really easy to pick up and play even if it is hard to master.

A new mechanic in this game is the ability to grind off rails and different objects to get aerial boosts. I’ve seen people do some really crazy stunts with these jumps so it’s safe to say that this may have actually raised the bar for overall technical ability. I’m certainly a rookie when it comes to that so I will need to do a whole lot more training. Still, the online races are so chaotic that you can absolutely win or lose even without knowing the mechanic. With how many racers there are at once, you can even say that it is near pure RNG for the first lap or so.

As with most Mario Kart games, you probably want to stick to 2nd place for most of the race online so you dodge the worst of the items and then rocket your way to 1st at the end. Of course it is much harder to pull off that strategy than it sounds. Misplay your timing and you are basically asking to be crushed. All it takes is one wrong hit and you will fall to 8th or even lower. That is what you really need to watch out for.

As expected the graphics are really quite impressive here. The game looks like a Switch 2 title without a doubt. I enjoy the really big character roster here even if most of the characters are basically palette swaps. Yeah it can be a bit on the lazy side, but as long as it inflates the count then I’m good. We have over 140 characters in the game which is crazy and a lot of people think we will eventually have over 200 with DLC. Now that would really be a sight to see. I’ve unlocked most of them, I’ll definitely go back to get even more once they start releasing new characters. It’s definitely the benefit of being a pick up and play title.

The soundtrack is also pretty good, in fact I would say it’s a bit better than I expected it would be. One of the tracks even sounds like something out of a Sonic game which is real impressive. So Nintendo definitely showed up for this one and I would expect no less considering that this was their big flagship game. There is infinite replay value with the whole online play and everything. You never have to stop racing. I also appreciate that they keep track of some details like your race score online.

The stickers are around here as collectibles but I didn’t think they were all that good. My main problem with the implementation is that you don’t know how many are left before picking them up and additionally you can’t really show them off. We still need something more like a formal leaderboard some day to really get things rolling. The new Free Roam map is fun but definitely missing some key essentials like a map that lets you keep track of everything. The basic map we have now doesn’t do a whole lot of good.

All in all, there’s nothing to really dislike about the game. So you may wonder why it’s not a bit higher? Well, as fun as the game is, it just doesn’t feel like it’s a must play. It doesn’t quite have the style and flash that Sonic Crossworlds represents or the really cool story mode of F Zero. So this one has to rely purely on the racing gameplay which is fun, but inherently not quite as impressive. I would still play this for hours and hours if I didn’t have other games to play but otherwise it definitely tends to hit the shelf a bit quicker. It really needed a good story mode or some kind of feature that would blow you away.

Overall, Mario Kart World is definitely a really fun game. Nintendo did good here as expected. Now technically speaking it’s probably not something you need to buy a whole console for, but considering that you save $30 by getting the bundle, it’s certainly worth it if you ever plan to buy the game eventually. I’ll find myself returning to that game from time to time an right now is probably when the community will be at its best. There’s no rush since people will still be playing the game in droves for years to come but if you enjoy the racing then you should jump in. Allow yourself to be sucked into the hype and enjoy this 2025 Mario experience. It’s certainly taking Nintendo a long while to give us the next big 3D platformer after all. I suppose DK might end up being the next big Switch 2 title in the meantime.

Overall 7/10

Super Mario Party Review

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Mario Party is one of those really long running series that just keeps on going and it’s always impressive. It did hit a bit of a slump for a while there starting with Mario Party 8 but this one is getting on the right track. My main problem with it is just that the control scheme isn’t great. The fact that you can only use the single Joy Con and can’t use any of the actual controllers is rather puzzling to say the least. Why would you even do that? The only explanation I could think of it that maybe it would be slightly easier for 4 people to be in the same room playing buttttt I’m not sold on this because in theory if you had more standard controllers you could use the 2 Joy Cons and two wireless for an instant 4 player session. So yeah that was a little too bad.

When you boot up the game, you get the brief intro cutscene which is pretty much a remake of the first Mario Party at least in terms of the concept. Everyone is fighting to be recognized as the greatest superstar on the planet. To prove this, they will all compete in a bunch of minigames and so that sets the stage for all of the modes. There are a decently large amount of options to be had here outside of the normal party mode and it’s all connected within the hub world. You can quick travel to any area once you have unlocked it as well.

Interestingly the intro movie plays every time you boot up the game but you can skip it so that’s not a big deal. I suppose the first place you will likely go to is Party Mode which is always a safe bet. You are able to set each stage to 10 turns which is nice. That may sound like a given but believe it or not this isn’t the case. After playing through the original Mario Party titles I was reminded that you used to have to choose 15 turns. 10 turns is fairly long anyway so don’t worry about that. There are a ton of unskippable cutscenes on every turn and of course you can’t skip the CPU’s turns so that’s a lot of waiting time anyway. It’s why this is a game that is really meant to be played with friends.

There are 3 main maps and then a 4th one that you unlock by playing the first 3. A key thing to note is that you don’t have to beat these levels, just playing them is enough to unlock everything. By playing the 4th level you unlock a jewel. Gather all of the jewels to unlock the true ending. You do this by completing each mode. So aside from the party mode you also have co-op party mode. I’m not exactly sure what that entails but maybe if it’s a 2 v 2 the whole time, any stars and coins you obtain are merged? That means you need to hope you have a good teammate.

Another mode is music based. All of the minigames that you play in this one are build around timing and rhythm. So feel the beat as best you can and then you will be fine. This mode is the quickest by far and only has 3 levels to play through in order to unlock the gem. This time I think you do have to win but the games are fairly easy so you shouldn’t have a problem. Then there is the water-raft mode. This one feels the most pointless to me so far. Basically everyone is stuck on a boat as you try to maneuver your way to the end. Completing minigames adds more seconds to your timer so just keep on playing and you’ll make it to the end. I think part of what holds this one back is everyone is stuck together anyway so there’s no real competitive aspect to the game. It also feels really hard to lose. There’s just not much to it.

Outside of that you have the classic minigame modes, mini, minigames in Toad World, and you can check out the shop to buy advice. There’s a fairly large variety of content to be found within the game so I give the title a lot of respect there. There were still a lot of question marks within the game by the time I finished it. In terms of minigames, I unlocked nearly all of them, there are just 2 left. A great quality of life update is that the game prioritizes minigames that you haven’t unlocked yet when playing. The curser will intentionally stop on the question marked ones for any area where I was missing a game.

I can’t stress enough what a big deal that is. It saves an incredible amount of time and makes unlocking the games no chore at all. It could be rough in older games if the RNG wasn’t just right. There are also unlockable characters here which feels nostalgic since you don’t get to go through that process nearly as much anymore. Each character has different unlock criteria so I recommend looking that up online. Once you fulfill the criteria, just run around the hub world until you find that character. I ended up unlocking Dry Bones so I have 3 characters left to go through.

In terms of graphics, the game definitely looks nice and modern. I definitely have no issues there, no corners were cut here. Of course without much of a story it’s not like there is much to really test the game with either. For the soundtrack, it’s a bit more forgettable. I can’t say that any of the stage tunes really stood out to me. Fortunately this game really just needs fun minigames in order to succeed and those were good. I may not have been all that thrilled with the Wii tier motion controls running around but the traditional games were fun. There’s a really good soccer game and a lot of fun platforming ones. Running through a maze filled with bananas for example made for a very memorable stage. I certainly won’t forget it any time soon.

Overall, There are enough minigames here to keep you busy. So mix that in with the general replay value and you have a lot of bang for your buck. The fact that the game has a lot of unlockable content here is a pretty good trick to keep you interested for a long while. None of the unlockables are particularly grueling in terms of time to unlock either. So since you’ll be having a good time, it will fly by as you play through the next levels. Throw in the online modes and that’s pretty nice since it’s still a fairly new concept to be able to challenge people online. I’m not sure if it’s quite $60 good, but if you can get a bit of a deal on this game then I definitely recommend buying it.

Overall 7/10

Super Mario RPG Review

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This is a Mario game that I’ve wanted to play for many years. It’s not every day that you get a big Mario RPG after all and with both the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi titles at a bit of a standstill right now, it was the perfect timing for a remake of this game to get out. It definitely lives up to the hype without a doubt. The only knock against it would be the short duration as it’s noticeably shorter than all of the other Mario RPGs I’ve played but it’s a lot of fun.

The story starts with Bowser kidnapping Peach so Mario goes in to save her. Unfortunately his rescue attempt is cut short when a mysterious villain known as Smithy shows up and ends up taking her. Mario must now grab the legendary stars in order to save the cosmos and also rescue Peach once more. He is assisted by a legendary cosmic being inhabiting the body of a toy named Geno. Bowser even decides to help a bit and Mario has another being helping out with his magical abilities. Mario has assembled quite the squad at this point so that’s pretty impressive but will it be enough?

Right off the bat the game feels a lot more like a classic RPG than most of the other Mario titles. You actually have to equip weapons/armor/accessories like a Final Fantasy title and so you will be switching these out constantly. A cool little element they added here is also that your gameplay will change a bit on the timing depending on what you equip. For example when you are attacking in this game you have to press the A button at a specific time in order to deal maximum damage. If you mess up on the timing then you will dish out less damage and you will also take more when an opponent hits you. The instant where you have to press A will change depending on what weapon you have equipped. So the increase in attack power is slightly countered by having to adjust your timing.

Each successful hit gives an extra boost to your energy meter as well. Once you reach 100% then you are able to use a super attack which does tremendous amounts of damage. Trust me it’s a really good thing to have because those abilities even deal tons of damage to the bosses. This element of timing also does help to make the game a little more skill based. If you can nail the timing each time then you will naturally find the game to be a lot easier than most because you’ll literally be dealing 50% more damage and taking 50% less so it’s a huge ripple effect. If you’re a more casual player not able to hit the timings then that ramps the difficulty up as well.

As for the length, the game is around 10 hours give or take a bit. That sounds a lot more like a platformer than an RPG right? Well yeah that’s definitely true, this is pretty short and apparently it’s quite a bit shorter than the original game. I’m guessing certain areas were cut out, loading screens were optimized and in general the game is supposed to be a bit easier. Unless anything significant was cut out, I’m fairly okay with this. For example even just speeding up the animations during battle can shave off significant amount of time away from a game so if that’s something that was focused on then it was well worth it.

The game has auto save enabled as well as quick travel. There are a ton of quality of life features that this game has and I thought that was pretty impressive. You never feel like you’re wasting time sifting through menus or anything like that. The only part that can be long is the celebration when getting a level up and I can let that slide since leveling up is always fun. The enemies may not give you a ton of EXP but you don’t need a lot to level up either so it ends up balancing out really well.

Another token to how much fun this game is, is that it’s easy to binge. I played the game for 7 hours straight yesterday which is part of how I managed to beat it in the span of a day. (Friday-Saturday) Playing for that long at one time will definitely do that to you but it wouldn’t be possible with a weaker experience. The story is definitely compelling and the script is good. I’d really like to see more Mario games like this that actually have a full comprehensive plot. There’s a lot to enjoy all the way around.

The graphics are definitely really good and I was always glad to see the full cinematic cutscenes. The game really shines there and it also does a good job of giving everyone something to do. In a way it’s a shame that Luigi missed out on this adventure because I’m confident that they could have actually made him a compelling character here. We really need more Mario RPGs like this so I hope one day they make a return. The Paper series is starting to make a comeback so that’s a good series to have as well but a non paper dynamic would also be really nice to have.

The soundtrack is a little more on the forgettable side though. While the game excels with its colorful cast of characters and a bunch of really fun new villains to the series, the music that appears isn’t nearly as memorable. You just tend to forget the tracks right away. They aren’t bad by any means but the Mario series has everything set to a super high standard and it just couldn’t match that. Ah well, we got the Axem Rangers here which is enough for me to overlook anything like that.

Overall, This was definitely a great game all the way through. I’d have loved it to have been longer but ultimately it’s about how much fun you had during the experience and this one was on point. There is also some kind of post game adventure to be had here which adds onto the replay value. It’s good enough where you get a solid bang for your buck either way. This was really the biggest hole in my Mario collection up til now so it’s good to finally have that closed. I’m not even sure what the next biggest title I’m missing would be at this point, maybe one of the Olympic crossovers.

Overall 8/10

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review

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It’s finally time to review the Mario movie. Right when the trailers came out I had a feeling that this one would be a winner because it just looked like a lot of fun. Now granted, I am one of the few supporters of the 90s film from the start and I don’t intend to reverse course now but even I have to say that it was surpassed by this one. The new Mario movie really does justice to the franchise and has a ton of great easter egg and character moments for all to enjoy. It’s definitely one of the top gaming movies out there really just after the first two Mortal Kombat films and the second Sonic movie. If we start to get technical like with the animated Tekken and Final Fantasy VII films then things get a little dicey so lets not count those for now.

The movie starts off with Mario and Luigi finally getting their commercial to appear over the news. They’re excited since now they can expand their plumbing business. Unfortunately their family members aren’t very supportive and it’s really been tough. When they end up messing up on their first job, all seems lost but they won’t give up! When trying to stop a big disaster in the city they end up getting transported to the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi is kidnapped by Bowser’s forces. Mario will now have to team up with Princess Peach in order to save his bro, but will he be able to do this? Bowser is known far and wide as being immensely powerful.

Of course in the games you always beat Bowser but in the 2D ones that is only because of his fatal weakness to fire and in 3D you typically use bombs to beat him or throw in a black hole. This time Mario has to try going mano and mano and it’s tough since he can’t even beat the local work bully back home. Still, where there’s a will there’s a way and Mario puts in a lot of work to improve his skills and get ready for the challenges that are to come. He makes for a solid main character who never gives up and always stays true to himself. It was always great seeing him defend Luigi from the bullies both in the past and then in the present at the café.

If I have one little complaint about Mario it’s that he is a bit too weak physically at the beginning though. He should absolutely be able to handle Spike and just about any normal human he comes across. I mean Mario is a human too I suppose and I guess it’s actually a legit plot point that he’s smaller than most but you figure he makes up for that with agility and power. Later on in the mushroom kingdom he is pulling off some good jumps and acrobatics so I assume that any human is capable of this unless there is a twist that Mario is not human. I wouldn’t even mind that twist to be honest since it could be interesting but having him lose to a random guy was a bit much. I’m guessing they were going with a parallel to the first Sonic movie where he lost to a random punk but it just didn’t work out.

Back to the positives, the animation here is definitely top notch. It really looks just like the games. The colors are vibrant the whole time and everything has a fast paced energy to it. Things are always happening and that’s part of what makes the movie so exciting. You aren’t given a lot of time to rest or anything like that, it’s just all full speed ahead! As a result the movie seems to really end in a snap but the benefit of this is that there is no wasted time. Something is always happening here and all of the story beats work.

One of the most significant changes here is Peach who has turned from being a damsel in distress to a real fighter. It’s about time that they updated her character to be honest and this is easily the best version of her yet. I love the confidence and she does a whole lot of damage to Bowser’s kingdom. I dare say the film could have even gone just a little bit further here and had her get into a one on one battle with Bowser. The way she wielded her axe/trident type weapon I think she could have done a good job. Would have gone something like Yamato vs Kaido where Mario then steps in to finish the fight. Still, I was more than satisfied with what we got here.

Now the movie seems to be setting up a bit of a romance with Mario and Peach here which I’m not really buying into. They barely know each other at all here and DK teasing them about it doesn’t make much sense because they were having a completely normal conversation. Much like the games I expect this romance to not go anywhere and they stay in the permanent friend zone but we’ll see how it goes. Right now I’d much rather we keep the friendship dynamic with a lot of good banter to go along with it. Now that Mario has saved the world I see him having a lot more confidence and really keeping up with the banter on his side. So that’ll just make the dynamic even better than it was here.

Toad was also way better than I expected. For starters he wasn’t annoying and he wasn’t all talk either. This was a Toad who could actually defend himself and fight back. Needless to say I was not expecting that since it’s super rare for a Toad to do anything except get bullied and crushed all the time. This Toad knew what he was doing and ended up helping out when it counted. I look forward to seeing more of him in the sequel. Luigi doesn’t do a lot here and he’s mostly scared the whole time so I wouldn’t say he was great. I look forward to him getting some more development and really helping out in the future. Now that will be a real credit to his character and then he can team up with Mario on an even playing field.

The worst character by far was the Luma though. The gimmick of always being depressed about everything and thinking they were all going to die stopped being funny after about 1 second. Eh, definitely a swing and a miss from the film in terms of having a gimmick character. I much preferred the work bully because at least that guy had confidence and wouldn’t just give up like that. Meanwhile DK was also a really solid character here. They did a good job of showing off his strength but maybe too much in a way because nobody’s going to buy into Mario taking him on. DK was landing combo after combo on him so a comeback would just be impossible. The difference in their abilities was just too much and I would have had Mario take a hard loss but DK decide to help anyway.

The fight was fun though as we get a lot of back and forth there with some good Super Smash moves. As a slight missed opportunity I think we should have had a proper DK vs Bowser fight though. It could have been like Hulk vs Thanos in showing just how strong Bowser is. He’s always a decent amount ahead of DK after all and this would establish him as even more of a threat. The climax still works due to the circumstances there so that would be good.

Now, I do have to say Bowser wasn’t quite as solid as he could have been though. They focus a bit too much on how he’s in love with Peach and it comes at the expense of him being a true threat. His song wasn’t very good either so that was unfortunate. I know it’s getting a lot of buzz but it wasn’t really my thing. I like Bowser as the antagonist who looks out for his troops and is generally a wholesome guy. His not even knowing the name of some of his minions felt a bit out of character there. This is probably one of Bowser’s weakest incarnations as a result and I hope he improves in the sequel since I would like to see him be a threat again. Surely this isn’t the end of the road for him so lets get him back into the swing of things right away!

While I didn’t really care for the Bowser song, I did enjoy the soundtrack a lot overall. When the hero song started to play I knew that things were getting real. That song is always excellent and really gets you feeling the hype. It worked out well during Mario’s trial attempts and I dare say it would have worked really well in the climax as well. Then you also have the actual Mario game tunes which are solid as always. The movie definitely paid attention to the details here.

At the end of the day the most important thing here is that the movie is a lot of fun. That’s absolutely what you are hoping for with a title like this because if the movie was even slightly boring then something went dreadfully wrong. This is not the kind of movie that should ever be boring. That just wouldn’t make any sense. It’s also always nice to see all of the little cameos like King Bob Omb and King Boo running around. Definitely big villains from the classic days and acknowledging their existence was a great move. One of the best things you can say about the movie is that it really had no glaring weaknesses. It’s just a lot of fun all around.

Overall, The Super Mario Bros movie is a great title. There is a whole lot to love here and it has a ton of replay value. The adventure is great and the movie has an excellent cast of characters. We’ve already set up a whole lot of world building. I’m hoping the sequel adapts Super Mario Sunshine since I think that’s a very organic adventure to deal with next. Of course there are a lot of options so we’ll have to see how it goes. The final after credits scene is a lot weaker than expected though so don’t expect anything too hype there. It was definitely a questionable decision ending with that scene but hey I’m still glad it did have an after credits scene overall. Hopefully they don’t wait too long before releasing that film because I don’t want to wait.

Overall 8/10

Mario Kart Tour Review

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It’s time to look at Nintendo’s latest venture into the mobile world. Despite their rhetoric about not jumping into the pay to win biz it was always just a matter of time. Mario Kart Tour does take this to an extreme level with how many pay to win mechanics there are though. You don’t need any of them to I want to stress that you can still play this game at a satisfactory level without paying any money at all. You will be at a distinct disadvantage, but that is typically the case with almost any mobile game.

The main gameplay revolves around driving and trying to reach the end. Most of the levels are fairly straight forward so you shouldn’t have a difficult time getting to the end. There aren’t many areas where you can fall either. However, this means that more than ever you will need to make sure that your driving skills are polished so you can make the right twists and turns. Every second saved is quite important and also because the score makes a big difference here. Your score is ultimately what decides how many Grand Stars you earn in a race. Obtaining first place gives you a lot of points but it is totally possible to ace a level without coming in first depending on how well you do.

There are a lot of items at play here though so doing well doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win. I had quite a few races where I lost due to a lot of cheesy circumstances at the last second. A Paratroopa slammed me near the end and then there was also the Red Shells that would get me. There’s a considerable amount of RNG here, but that’s always at play in a Mario Kart game. If anything you really need that or this would become just another racing game right?

The graphics are very nice. You can tell that this is a 2019 game with how vibrant all of the character models are. The stages are incredibly nostalgic and have also aged well with the graphical enhancements. There’s nothing to complain about on a technical level. The stage themes are also really good. I feel like for most mobile games the developers spend a ton of time on presentation since that’s what will really attract players and ideally get them to stay.

The gameplay is quite good. At the end of the day that part holds up pretty well. There’s quite a bit of auto assist so you can even play while you’re not by your phone, but don’t expect to get a good placing. This is actually discouraged compared to other games as well since there is an energy limit that you will hit very quickly. Once that happens your karts and characters won’t get EXP with each win which is a big drawback. You can keep playing, but it will feel like you’re losing out quite a bit.

That’s one limitation that holds the game back and another is how tough it is to get the characters you want. That’s true for many Gatcha games, but some are better than others. One problem with this one is that Karts and Gliders are included as opposed to it just being Drivers like in most other games. I’d really rather not get another car when I could just get more characters. You’ll also get a lot of duplicates since right now the pool is very small. Getting a duplicate feels like a waste because it takes multiple duplicates to get a single rank up so you’ll be here for a while.

The game’s definitely got quite a grind behind it which isn’t too surprising, but it could have definitely been handled better. Then the game also has a Gold Pass option which doubles your rewards for each box but it is quite pricey. I believe it’s around 5-6 a month which is absolutely crazy for a game like this. Honestly, there are almost 0 games I would even pay something like that for. Even Super Smash would have to get declined on this one. I get paying for a console’s online, but individual games?

I got Daisy near the end so that was good, but I wish I could have gotten her a little earlier. I can’t complain much on that end though. Then you’ve got the Cups and by-weekly challenges. I cleared a good chunk of them and apparently new ones are cycled in. It hasn’t happened yet so it’s speculation, but I’ve heard that they might all cycle in and out which would be annoying. I like to be able to play any level at any given time. All mobile games have the themed events which leave, but there should always be a good chunk of permanent ones.

Mario Kart Tour definitely makes a lot of odd decisions. It’s a good game and I think you can get a lot of mileage out of it, but you’ll need to really like the racing. You’ll also have to accept that it will be difficult to be at the top of the rankings for any month since the only way to increase your score on the gliders/karts/drivers is to level them up and it’s tough to get the resources for that without spending money. You will level up, but slower than the others. At the time of this review there isn’t even an option to race against other players which is crazy since that’s what Mario Kart is known for. The game is supposedly adding it in a day or two, but that’s a day or two too late.

Overall, Mario Kart Tour is a good game despite having a lot of negatives. At the end of the day it does succeed in being a good way to drive on the go and to hone your Mario Kart skills. It’s just not good enough for me to keep it long term. These kind of games are addicting for a little while, but you definitely end up burning out after a while. It’s rare that a mobile game will hit the big times and I don’t think this one will have what it takes for me at least. If you do stick around, then just have a blast and enjoy the features!

Overall 7/10

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Review

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It’s time to look at a Mario game that came out quite a while ago. This was back during the first days of the Switch. I nearly got the game back then, but ultimately Fire Emblem Warriors won out and so this one took the backseat for a long time. After finally playing it I can definitely confirm that this game is a lot of fun. The plot may not be all that solid, but as every other aspect of the game is on point it's definitely easy to get into this one. There aren't a whole lot of strategy games quite like this one.

The main plot is that the Rabbids have infected Mario's world. They are contaminating everything and in particular this can be traced back to one Rabbid who has on a pair of glasses that allows him to manipulate reality. It'll be tough for Mario and pals to deal with this, but they are ready nonetheless. Bowser Jr. wants this rabbid for his own purposes as well though so the heroes will have to contend with him. Fortunately Mario and the gang have arm cannons now so they can blast away at any who would dare oppose them. It's definitely handy to have a long range weapon like this.

So in this game you control 3 characters at a time. You're put on an overhead map much like Fire Emblem and the goal is to strike at the enemies. Well, most levels are about defeating all of the enemies but some are simply about getting to the goal at the end. It's a turn based system and when it's your turn you are able to make a movement, launch an attack, and use a special ability. Once you've finished moving all 3 of your fighters then the opponent gets to have their turn. The villains can sometimes have up to 8 people on a team so they get a lot of turns in a row. Ideally you want to always be hiding behind a rock or something as otherwise they'll finish you off very quickly.

You always want to be thinking one or more turns ahead of the match. You also have to take into account that there are some variable features to look out for like critical hits or moves that have a special element to them. Usually it will work in your favor, but that won't always be the case. I hadn't played an Xcom game quite as advanced as this one before. The one I had played previously was on the GBA and it's definitely not as intricate. I can definitely confirm that I like this system. It's pretty fun and definitely challenging. You won't be fast blasting through this game so easily.

That said, as long as you patiently look at the enemy patterns then you'll be okay. I certainly did die a few times along the way, but after a loss you will always have a better idea of what to expect the second time around. Usually my plan was to keep my 3 members pretty close to each other so we'd overwhelm the opponents when they got close. My go to team was Mario, Peach, and Rabbid Peach. With two healers on your team you're ready to go for the win. Not to mention that the healers can also survive on their own for a while. There are multiple battles where 2 of my teammates died and I was fighting 2v1 or 3v1.

One of the most hype moments came during the final boss battle as rabbid Peach was the only one left against 4 of the big bruisers and the final boss. It was intense and it took me 22 turns because I had to rely on running and gunning it, but it all worked out. It was definitely a pretty intense boss battle. I did manage to beat it in one try, but it's no walk in the park. Going slow was really all I could do in order to ensure that I got the victory.

I also tried other characters along the way like Luigi and Yoshi. Luigi's pretty handy, but he feels like a glass cannon. Often times he would be the first one to be defeated. Then you've got Yoshi who is pretty good and a nice power hitter, but I just really needed two healers on my team. Only having one made things tricky. That's also because Peach tends to hit people with collateral damage a lot. I really love her high attack power, but with her eagle eye skill she would end up hitting me pretty much as often as she would hit the villains. The damage adds up very quickly and she is partially why Mario died after 1-2 turns in the final boss level. Gotta keep an eye on her cannon.

The graphics are definitely pretty sharp here. The colors are vibrant and the cutscenes that we get look really good. I can't say that I'm surprised since Ubisoft always runs a pretty tight ship. The same can be said for Mario games in general so there was no way this one wasn't going to look good. The soundtrack isn't quite as good as most Mario games, but maybe that's the Rabbid influence. It works well enough I suppose.

There's definitely a lot of replay value here as beating the story is just the beginning. There are many challenges to conquer and new areas to explore. There are also a lot of collectibles scattered across the levels so getting those will take a while. The main story is also pretty long. It's hard to say how long it took me to complete this one but it was at least 10 hours and likely quite a bit more. My Switch won't show the play time yet since it's still too new, but it'll show soon and then I'll upload that stat to the rankings. The game has also had quite a bit of DLC so you've got a good amount of content to work through once you play this title.

While the plot is still "Mario" I do appreciate the fact that there is a lot more dialogue than usual here. It gives the characters more personality and I'd like to see more of this in an actual Mario platformer title. The extra story details and such would definitely help and without the Rabbids to distract you it could really go far. Fans of Bowser may be a little sad at his portrayal here, but while he doesn't look tough it was nice to see him as the considerate father figure to Bowser Jr. In general Bowser always seems like a nice guy aside from the whole kidnapping Peach thing. Not really something you can overlook though.

Overall, Mario + Rabbids is definitely a successful experiment. Of course, that's mainly attributed to the gameplay. I'd definitely like to see more Mario games adopt this style. I can see how it would be a little tough for kids, but they do have an assist built into all of the levels where you can start the match with extra health for all of the characters. I think that should help the kids get through it a little easier. I definitely recommend not using that feature though because it will take away from your ability to adapt to the level. If you've got a crutch like extra health then you simply won't see the point in honing your skills. If you haven't played this game yet then you should change that. It'll give you a run for your money.

Overall 8/10

New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Play Time 15h

Mario Mode

Coins Collected 17590
Star Coins Collected 208
Goombas Stomped 94
Items Collected 742
3-Up Moons 0
Times Companion Lifted 3
Synchronized Ground Pounds 1
Goal Poles Reached 161
Goals Reached with Yoshi 6
Goals Reached with Baby Yoshi 11
1-Ups Earned at Goal 62
Fireworks at Goal 66
Times Applauded 216
Nabbits Caught 5

Level Stats (Gold Coins

Acorn Plains
Level 1 3/3
Level 2 3/3
Level Mini Castle 3/3
Level 3 3/3
Level 4 3/3
Level 5 3/3
Level Castle 3/3
Level Blooper 0/3

Layer-Cake Dessert
Level 1 3/3
Level 2 3/3
Level 3 3/3
Level Mini Castle 3/3
Level 4 2/3
Level 5 3/3
Level 6 3/3
Level Castle 3/3
Level Ice 0/3

Sparkling Waters
Level 1 3/3
Level 2 3/3
Level Mini Castle 3/3
Level Boo’s House 3/3
Level 3 3/3
Level 4 3/3
Level 5 3/3
Level Castle 3/3
Level Leaf 0/3

Frosted Glaciers
Level 1 3/3
Level 2 3/3
Level Mini Castle 2/3
Level 3 3/3
Level 4 3/3
Level 5 3/3
Level Boo’s House 1/3
Level Castle 3/3
Level Slug 0/3

Soda Jungle
Level 1 3/3
Level 2 3/3
Level 3 3/3
Level Mini Castle 3/3
Level Boo’s House 3/3
Level 4 3/3
Level 5 3/3
Level 6 3/3
Level 7 2/3
Level Castle 3/3
Level Airship 3/3
Level Shells 2/3

Rock-Candy Mines
Level 1 3/3
Level 2 2/3
Level Mini Castle 3/3
Level 3 3/3
Level 4 3/3
Level 5 0/3
Level 6 2/3
Level Mini Castle 2 2/3
Level 7 3/3
Level Castle 2/3

Meringue Clouds
Level 1 2/3
Level 2 3/3
Level 3 3/3
Level Mini Castle 3/3
Level Boo’s Castle 2/3
Level 4 2/3
Level 5 3/3
Level 6 2/3
Level Castle 2/3
Level Airship 2/3

Peach’s Castle
Level 1 3/3
Level 2 3/3
Level 3 1/3
Level 4 0/3
Level Castle 2/3
Level Castle 2 0/3

Luigi Mode

Coins Collected 2579
Star Coins Collected 37
Goombas Stomped 10
Items Collected 212
3-Up Moons 0
Times Companion Lifted 3
Synchronized Ground Pounds 0
Goal Poles Reached 53
Goals Reached with Yoshi 0
Goals Reached with Baby Yoshi 0
1-Ups Earned at Goal 22
Fireworks at Goal 9
Times Applauded 66
Nabbits Caught 0

Level Stats (Gold Coins

Acorn Plains
Level 1 1/3
Level 2 1/3
Level Mini Castle 0/3
Level 3 0/3
Level 4 0/3
Level 5 0/3
Level Castle 0/3
Level Cheep Cheep 0/3

Layer-Cake Dessert
Level 1 2/3
Level 2 0/3
Level 3 1/3
Level Mini Castle 1/3
Level 4 0/3
Level 5 1/3
Level 6 0/3
Level Castle 0/3
Level Piranha Plant 0/3

Frosted Glaciers
Level 1 1/3
Level 2 1/3
Level Mini Castle 1/3
Level 3 0/3
Level 4 1/3
Level 5 0/3
Level Boo’s House 0/3
Level Castle 1/3
Level Slug 0/3

Soda Jungle
Level 1 0/3
Level 2 0/3
Level 3 1/3
Level Mini Castle 0/3
Level Boo’s House 0/3
Level 4 1/3
Level 5 0/3
Level 6 0/3
Level 7 1/3
Level Castle 1/3
Level Airship 1/3
Level Shells 0/3

Rock-Candy Mines
Level 1 0/3
Level 2 3/3
Level Mini Castle 0/3
Level 3 2/3
Level 4 0/3
Level 5 1/3
Level 6 0/3
Level Mini Castle 2 0/3
Level 7 0/3
Level Castle 0/3

Meringue Clouds
Level 1 1/3
Level 2 0/3
Level 3 1/3
Level Mini Castle 2/3
Level Boo’s Castle 0/3
Level 4 0/3
Level 5 1/3
Level 6 1/3
Level Castle 1/3
Level Airship 1/3

Peach’s Castle
Level 1 0/3
Level 2 1/3
Level 3 1/3
Level 4 0/3
Level Castle 0/3
Level Castle 2 0/3

New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe Review

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It’s time to look at the next big Mario Adventure. This one technically came out a while ago but it ended up being worth waiting for since the Switch title game with both games in one rather than having to buy both Mario and Luigi versions. The New Super Mario Bros series has definitely had a good run and I expect it’ll return with a new game at some point. The gameplay is just too solid to pass up. Of course with the existence of Mario Maker it will have to do something to stay at the top.

The plot is fairly basic as Peach is kidnapped once more by Bowser. Unfortunately, Mario and Luigi were unable to prevent him from doing this and are now forced to play catch up. In order to face off against Bowser the plumbers will first need to take down the 7 Koopa Kids and Bowser Jr. Only then will they be able to challenge the King of the Koopas. It’s definitely a nostalgic plot or at least that’s probably what Nintendo is hoping your reaction will be. At the same time you can’t help but think that Nintendo could have done something a little more original right? This plot really has been done over and over again.

As always the graphics are definitely excellent. The NSMB series does a good job of making all the characters and levels exciting and colorful without making it too simplified. It does feel like the natural progression of the Mario series and it will be hard to get any better with this art style. Nintendo is at the absolute front here with this game leading the charge. It’s hard to find a better looking Switch game.

As for the soundtrack that is naturally pretty hype as well. You’ve got a lot of classic Mario tunes here and a bunch of remixes. Throw them all together with the multitude of levels in the game and you’ll find yourself listening to good music constantly. In a lot of video games you’d be forgiven for forgetting the tunes because they sound so similar, but that’s definitely not going to be a problem with this one. Each world’s array of tunes really help capture the atmosphere that the game is going for.

As expected the level designs are also on point. They are created well so you can fast blast through the levels with a lot of cool acrobatics or you can explore and find all of the collectibles. There are a lot of them to find after all, but they are put in places that makes sense. If you are looking carefully then you’ll find the ones that you’re looking for. Meanwhile the gameplay is just as solid. The movements are all very fluid and you won’t have a problem making tight maneuvers. It really is a world of difference playing the NSMB games compared to the really old ones where even the simplest of jumps was very difficult.

There’s definitely a lot of content in this game as well. Between the many levels and collectibles you’ve got enough content to last you around 10 hours. Then you’ve got Luigi mode which almost doubles the amount of content that you have access to. The way they handle it is pretty cool as they don’t just reuse the levels. They’re all altered to fit in the space of half the timer so you can’t take a break to check out the scenery. You’ll want to run your way to the end to beat the timer. Getting used to the physics also means that you’ll need some time to adjust. The game never gets all that difficult and you’ll beat all of the levels after attempting them a few times, but it does add a little spice to the usual formula.

The best item in the game is definitely the flying variation where you get an extra jump. You can use that to get really far in just about every level. Watch as the villains turn away in fear when you just jump over em! This even works against Bowser’s first form as you can just jump over him and hit the Axe. Otherwise you can just run in when he jumps so either way you should be all set for action. Watch out for the final boss as well, you’ll want to bring your A game for that one.

While Mario Maker seems to have probably ended this series I’m glad that it still got another hurrah. There will always be room for more Mario games and what style can possible be better than New Super Mario Bros? Mario does tend to take many styles over the years so I am actually looking forward to what’s next. The recent Yoshi and Kirby artstyles do have me a little worried as well, but I have to trust in Nintendo and their passion to improve.

Overall, New Super Mario Bros Deluxe is definitely a game that I’d recommend checking out. There’s a lot of fun to be had with it and the levels are pretty intense. It’s a very complete Mario game and you really can’t go wrong there. The only way you won’t like this game is if you simply don’t like the classic Mario games or platformers in general. Of course in that case you have to wonder why you would buy this game in the first place. Maybe you just wanted to see what the hype was all about? Regardless, I think you’ll be embracing the hype by the end as Nintendo did not phone this one in.

Overall 8/10

Freddy Krueger vs Peach

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Suggested by Destroyer Freddy Krueger is a reasonable fighter, but that’s about all he has going for him. Typically he is fighting opponents who can’t really fight back anyway. Meanwhile Peach has some good hand to hand attacks. She can use her crown as a blunt object to deal even more damage and also has her Shadow Queen abilities to fall back on. Peach is too fast for Freddy and while putting him to sleep may be impossible, she can beat him in a fair fight without needing that move. Peach wins.