Tag Archives: Super Mario

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review

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Mario has returned with another epic adventure. The first film was a great experience from cover to cover and I can safely say that is true of this one as well. Now I do have the first film over this one in virtually every area, however I want to emphasize that it’s very relative. This film keeps pace very well, it’s like comparing an 8.4 to an 8.2. The first wins but it’s not a landslide and so I have high hopes for the next installments here.

I feel like the trailers were intentionally vague about the plot so I’m going to do that as well. The general story introduces us to Rosalina, the most powerful princess in the cosmos and one of the strongest Mario characters in the lore. She can use the Power Cosmic to take most opponents down but a new threat has arrived to the universe, Bowser Jr. Mario and friends will have to keep him from rescuing Bowser because then the universe will truly be doomed. Mario and Luigi have their adventure while Peach and Toad tackle things from a different angle. Can they succeed?

Separating the main cast into two plots is a double edged blade because that does mean that we don’t get to see many interactions with Mario and Peach for a while. I get that this helps to prevent Peach from upstaging Mario in a combat sense but they tend to have a fun dynamic when side characters aren’t teasing Mario all the time. Unfortunately this doesn’t completely work because Peach’s plot ends up being much more interesting than Mario’s. The stakes are higher and we have some really good fight scenes in there.

Lets zoom out a bit to the film at large. The soundtrack is very good as you would expect. We have a number of Mario songs that show up from time to time. You may not have the emotionally powerful Hero song like in the first title but the film keeps you energized throughout. The pacing is very fast for this film which is always a good thing since it lets the title cover a whole lot of ground in a very short amount of time. I’ve seen 2 hour films that couldn’t cram in this much content.

The animation is really excellent just like you would expect. The characters are true to life and look like they just came out of a video game. Characters like Rosalina and Peach always have a lot of poise and elegance in their actions as well while someone like Bowser gets to look chaotic. So the film looks good and I’d also say the script is generally fun. The film is prioritizing a good time over any serious developments so I wouldn’t expect many scenes of depth compared to the first one. Mario and Peach certainly had more heartfelt moments in the first film like when Mario was worried that he couldn’t be the hero that they all needed. There is a bit of an emotional plot going on with Bowser Jr. and Bowser though. I dare say that’s probably the only plot that really hits home in that regard.

The film doesn’t delve into the horrors of crude humor either which is always good. Yes, the film can be rather silly but it’s in harmless ways. The only jokes that just didn’t work for me is the film’s obsession with messing with characters’ eyes. I dunno there’s a scene where a character’s eye gets stretched and another where one is licked and I dare say it might make you cringe just a little because of how uncomfortable it feels to see that. Not in a content warning kind of way but just in a “That was strange” kind of thing. Not to make a mountain out of a molehill but yeah sometimes the film needed to take a bit of a step back.

If the film has any issues it’s really just that it tends to run the jokes into the ground. You may find it funny for a second when Bowser is trying to play nice but ends up losing his temper. Then the joke happens again within a few seconds and you might let loose a nervous chuckle. Then it happens a third time and you’re completely over it. A similar issue happens within the first after credits scene where you have a decent gag but it just keeps going on and on. Sounds a bit odd when the film itself is so short but maybe they just wanted to really make sure that the kids understood the joke. Not a big deal, but that’s the kind of thing that separates a reasonably funny film from a hilarious one.

In general Bowser’s portrayal is on the weaker side here. They lean way too far on him just being absolutely wishy washy. He goes through too many character arcs here to the point where it weakens him. The film needed to either lean one way or the other and as you watch the film you’ll see what I mean. He’s just trying to be too many things at once and is a decent reason why the Peach plot was more interesting.

Bowser Jr. is definitely a highlight here. This is easily one of his best portrayals and the guy can really fight. He’s shown to be considerably more powerful than Mario and Luigi. Based purely on this film he may be the most powerful character in the film series. Typically the heroes have to rely on him getting careless in order to really make a dent. There are some other villains like a snitch but for the most part this is Bowser Jr’s show with Bowser as more of a sidekick.
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For the heroes, well Mario is a solid lead as always. He’s your well rounded every man who is doing his best to save the day and be a hero. Mario is very confident at this point without being a braggart and gets the job done. In a way you sympathize with his just wanting to have good friends while everyone’s teasing him about getting a girlfriend. Mario isn’t in any rush no matter how much the other characters pester him.

Luigi is solid as well since his scaredy cat persona isn’t played up too much. Asid from a joke near the beginning of the film, it’s really not that relevant. He gets a good hit on Bowser Jr during the opening fight and in general gets a lot of great lines. He’s sort of portrayed as the witty bro in this dynamic with Mario and I like that approach.

Yoshi gets quite a lot of screentime and is a fun addition to the cast. I do wish he could talk though as it would open up a whole lot of other possibilities for the character. Regardless, I was satisfied here and he got a lot of good moments. My only nitpick would be how he is written out of the final fight. It would have made way more sense to let him get involved and even in a power level sense would have been good.

Power level issues don’t tend to hurt a film’s score and this one is no exception. However, it is certainly noticeable how the writers didn’t really care about power levels at all. Mario and Luigi consistently look very weak and out of their league in any encounters with the big villains and then suddenly in the climax they are looking way better than they should. If you always thought that Bowser was stronger than Mario, a decent amount would agree. Mario usually wins through his resourcefulness and agility. If you said Bowser Jr was stronger than Mario, well people would probably laugh, but perhaps not so much after this film.

I have to be honest though, Rosalina’s role is a little disappointing here. The character herself looks great. She has a lot of confidence and tremendous ability as you would expect. She has a ton of power and experience so I have absolutely no issues there. Unfortunately she just doesn’t get as much time to show off as she should and there is one scene that absolutely makes her look far weaker than she should be at this point in her career. From a plot perspective it makes sense to write her out but this was not the way to do it. There are two dicey instances for her, the first not being as bad as the second but they’re both rough.

Meanwhile Peach looks great but runs into a similar issue. She is simply too powerful. The films always have to find ways to avoid her being in the big rumbles so this one also has a reason to keep her out of the final climax. It’s a shame too because I feel like she would be able to dish out a whole lot of damage. In this film we see her take on a whole army and she has some of the best physical feats in the film. In terms of brute strength it’s almost like she is up there with Bowser. The film may be called Super Mario Galaxy but by the end you end up wanting a Peach film so we can really see her fight at length.

The film also has some guest stars and while Nintendo themselves spoiled this in a poster, I’m not going to do that. I’ll just say that the main guest star is a lot of fun. I was just a little disappointed that he did not get a single fight scene. That didn’t make sense. Yes, he’s far more powerful than any Mario character so you don’t want him to trivialize the whole thing but a single fight scene could have still worked. There are other quick easter eggs and fun characters running around so you should keep your eyes sharp. Each moment is a whole lot of fun.

The film has two after credit scenes here and as per usual you have the comedy one and the plot one. The comedy one’s okay, you might crack half a smile before the scene starts to drag on and you just shake your head. The second scene is excellent though. It gives me a lot of hope for the third film to the point where I dare say it will end up being the best one in the series. Unless the series really messes up, this will be tremendous!

If I had just one item on my wishlist for the next film, it would be for Nintendo to let the characters take more actual damage in the next film. While the fights look really good here, there does tend to be a bit of a floaty vibe throughout. You don’t really feel the damage half the time and the characters are more or less still at full power by the end of each engagement. Give us an emotional scene with Mario using the last bits of strength to deal the finishing blow to the opponent. I think you can do this in a way that’s not too scary for the kids while still being impactful. Just look at the Sonic films. They target a similar audience but are a million times more intense and have crazy good plot developments within them. I know it’s not realistic to try and pass the Sonic films but you can try to be on that track.

Overall, This is definitely a great film. Yes, it may be less ambitious than the first film in terms of adding in really emotional moments and serious stakes but it makes up for that with fun. Someone once said that the film has amusement park pacing and while that is usually seen as an insult, I take it as a complement. The movie is always moving forward and is not interested in taking any breaks. It will just keep on going full speed and you’ve gotta respect that. I’ll be here week 1 for the next film as soon as it’s ready and I definitely recommend watching this one right away.

Overall 8/10

Mario & Luigi: Brothership Review

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Mario is one of those characters who has been around for a very long time. He has had games in many different genres and has two different RPG series. It’s definitely impressive and it was nice to get a new Mario & Luigi title after many years. The story is not particularly strong as this modern era of the plumber tries to steer away from getting too serious but the game itself is still fun. I have some quality of life issues here but all in all it is a fun game for you to have fun with.

The basic plot is that Mario and Luigi are transported to a whole new world all of a sudden. Their assistance is required as all of the islands here have been split apart. This is preventing friendship and harmony from being united across all of the land. It’s a sticky situation to be in but the bros are ready for this. The situation gets more complicated though when Peach and Bowser show up. Now the stakes are higher than ever and they will have to rely on their bonds of Brothership to get through this.

Like I said, the story isn’t going for a very hype kind of vibe so you shouldn’t take this too seriously. It’s not like the whole thing is played for laughs or anything but when things are getting too serious the game will try to throw a gag or two in there. Even the main villain not being able to remember names seems like a way to diffuse every cutscene that he is in. Ultimately I would say that you are playing this game for the gameplay and not for the story. I still like the cutscenes when they show up and every scene with Bowser is a winner but the story does move at a very slow pace.

This is by far the longest game in the series as well. Typically you can expect around 15-18 hours but this one is over 30. There is a lot of content here but the story didn’t really make the most of it. They tend to repeat the info quite a bit or drag out the conversations. Unfortunately the game uses the most annoying vocal sounds that I’ve ever heard. Think of the Banjo & Kazooie games but if two characters were talking at the same time for every cutscene. It ends up being quite brutal as a result and you end up having to hold that L.

The audio direction was really quite bad. We do have a few limited sound clips but as a result they have to be thrown in randomly a lot of the time instead of really making sense in the moment. The graphics are good at least. The game isn’t trying to be too bold with them so you’re not going to see anything on the level of Sonic Frontiers but the art style is fun. As for the soundtrack, there are some decent tunes but it’s not the strongest Mario soundtrack. It could have used one or two more really good tunes.

As for the gameplay, it’s your classic turn based system. You have your standard attacks as well as your Bros attacks. Along the way you also get equipment that amps up your abilities as well as badges that you equip which then expire after a few turns. This adds a lot to the strategy as you have to be careful when you turn these on. For example if you use your best ones against some minions then you will be in a really bad spot for the boss battle. There is no quick way to recharge then either as you just have to fight for a certain amount of turns before they are back to normal.

This is one of those games that prefers to go with a long approach to level ups. It takes a long time to get a level up because every combat animation is on the long side. Normal battles are much longer than they need to be. I know a lot of effort was put into the animations but they really should have an option to turn these off after a while. In particular the Bros attacks take a while since you have to do some command prompts. I suppose it wouldn’t be possible to turn those off but it’s definitely unfortunate.

I also think they should let you skip encounters when you are vastly over leveled compared to the enemy. For example when you go back to the first world to grab some collectibles, those level 1 enemies will still force an encounter. You can run away of course but now you’re already in the battle. These are fairly basic quality of life updates that would make the game a lot more fun. It’s why I would say the game is fun but it’s not going to touch almost any of the other big RPGs. They are in a completely different league.

One thing that was implemented rather well were the collectibles. Each world has some extra sparks which is how you unlock the new plugs (badges) and gives you a reason to explore every world twice. Most of the sparks don’t appear until after you have beaten the world after all. There is just enough where it doesn’t feel like a chore and additionally this is completely optional which I was glad about. So this is the right way to add a collectathon element.

Aside from the campaign itself being super long, there are also a number of side quests and optional items to grab. A lot of the side quests are time sensitive as well so you will want to take care of them quickly. There are also a lot of landmarks to find outside of the islands but the most disappointing thing was I bothered to find them all and there was no reward. Felt like a let down, I was expecting something. Ah well, it was still a fun thing to do on the side.

As for the new Luigi mechanic, it’s not bad but doesn’t really change much. This game tries to really show how Luigi is the smart one of the group and it’s one of those really unassuming twists. Like he’s scared of everything but when he focuses then he can do great things. The concept is sound, but the execution just feels a bit tacked on. I would have liked it to have effected gameplay a lot more or been presented in a way where it enhances the experience. Instead it’s just something that’s around.

Overall, Mario & Luigi Brothership may be a little underwhelming but to be honest I wasn’t expecting a ton out of it in the first place. That probably sounds bad, but at this point I play Mario for the fun gameplay experience as opposed to the story. The story does have its fun moments to be sure but just don’t expect anything too grand. The gameplay has a lot of strategy to it and I would even say that the game can be reasonably difficult at times. That’s something that I was impressed by. You really need to learn the enemy’s attack patterns or you will be buried in short order. Hopefully the next game brings in the Mushroom Kingdom more but either way I can recommend this game.

Overall 7/10

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins Review

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It’s time for the next big Mario adventure! I got to play this one pretty much right after the first Mario Land so this way I could compare them directly. The colors take some getting used to though. It’s not black and white anymore but now it’s like a steady green which can be a bit weird. I just want my normal colors back but hey I can deal with this as needed. In the end it doesn’t take away from the game itself which is solid.

Land 2 learned from the first game and made things longer this time around. You actually have a whole hub world too which is pretty advanced for such an old game. Basically you have to walk to where each world is and each world is 4 levels this time. Completing each world gives you a gold coin and once you have all 6, you can go infiltrate Wario’s castle and take him down. Wario actually has a lot of presence to him in this game. It’s hard to see him in this way now but back then he was a serious enemy. When he showed up, you automatically had to fear the guy. He has a lot of resources and enemies backing him up as well.

The boss fights are all pretty fun here. The Wario one in particular is really good but they all test your platforming abilities. No gimmicks or anything, just fast reaction times and seeing if you have what it takes as the bosses rush towards you all the time. The levels are also a lot of fun as you’d expect. They’re fairly short but always have a good amount of enemies running at you. There was only one cheesy level that had an invisible block so when you jump you automatically lose. That was a bit much not gonna lie. Without the rewind it would be such an annoying way to die.

The graphics aren’t bad but the colors do kind of mess it up. The green will have you shaking your head before long. Trust me on that! The soundtrack works out well. I wouldn’t quite say that it’s an all star or anything like that though. I don’t remember too many of the tunes afterwards but there was one or two that I remember hearing in the newer games so that was definitely nostalgic.

In this game you get to have fun with some underwater levels as well and there is even a bubble power up that lets you fly to the top. That was definitely cool even if it only shows up for one level. I don’t totally understand the point of the auto scrolling levels though. There are like 2-3 in the hub world that don’t count towards any of the coins and seem to just move you around the hub world. The thing is, it’s quicker to just walk around manually than to complete a whole level and get the slight movement. So maybe I’m overthinking things here but it just seemed like a weird choice.

Perhaps this is for some kind of secret collectible and the game has more replay value than I would have guessed though. If that is the case then I definitely have to give the game some bonus credit because I underestimated it. Regardless, while there isn’t a ton of content here, it’s a serviceable amount. The gameplay is rock solid and that’s what counts. It’s easy to see how Mario became a global hit when all of his games were so consistent. You always knew that you would have a good time with his titles.

Overall, Super Mario Land 2 is a pretty good game. It’s a lot of fun and the experience lasts longer than in the first title. There’s nothing to really dislike here and Wario makes for a pretty intense villain. I would still like to see more Mario games like this that totally flip the setting and villains around. I do love Bowser of course but a quick change is never a bad thing. Just keep switching things up and you’ll have some new settings to play around with. Of course I would like a modern game to have more of a story since this one is basically nonexistent.

Overall 7/10

Mario Party 2 Review

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Usually I had been doing the Mario Party reviews in order but I actually never got around to publishing this one. Well, it’s time for a blast to the past because Mario Party 2 is a title that really had fun going the extra mile. The fact that each board has a full cutscene at the end where the heroes take down Bowser is really fun. I didn’t test if the cutscene is skippable so if it isn’t then maybe this would get old eventually but otherwise it’s just a really nice way to cap off the adventure.

The game has your classic story where you take Bowser out and prove that you’re the best while also having the iconic party/minigame modes at the ready. This is a party game that really has a ton of content for you to go out and enjoy. I would expect nothing less from this AAA title though. The character roster is still a bit on the small side but of course they all play the same so it’s not like it’s a particularly big deal. I just enjoy having more characters because it’s just fun to keep switching things up. This game is fairly old so we can really let that part slide.

Now where the game shines is with the levels. There’s a decent number of boards here and they are all very unique. They each commit 100% to the level’s theme whether it be outer space or the wild west. They have their own event spaces and a lot going on here but don’t break up the gameplay as much as the original or Party 3 where they could be a little excessive at times. Here we get to just jump in with the minigames and really just have a party. The A.I. is still as strong as ever though so get ready to have some real competition there. It’s just so good as predicting where you will go and making the right action. You wouldn’t see that from a newer title.

The selection of minigames is pretty solid as well. It has some of the most iconic ones of course like riding on the ball to knock out other opponents and a bunch of others. While Party 4 will always have the best lineup, these games hold their own rather well. Unlocking them all is bound to take you a long while too with how many there are to select. That’s still one thing I wouldn’t mind changing in a future title, some other way to unlock them aside from RNG. After all as we all know, RNG can be really rough to deal with at times.

As you can expect the graphics here look really good. Mario Party has a very timeless artstyle that still looks sharp and colorful many years after the game comes out. I suspect that this will always be the case as well. Colorful artstyles just work, it’s something that I’ve tried to say for years. Realistic artstyles are more risky because when they’re old, they look old. The soundtrack here is also fairly decent. Not super memorable but it has enough energy to it to work well with the minigames.

It goes without saying that the replay value here is also quite extensive so there’s a lot of reason to keep on coming back to have a good time. The minigames are different enough where you may want to play this one for a while even over a newer installment just for the nostalgia. As a result I would say there is always a market for this title even if it’s not my personal favorite Party title in the franchise. It’s still good enough by a considerable margin to be worth the play.

Overall, Mario Party 2 is a really fun game. There’s not a whole lot more to say about the game because it’s jut really solid due to the excellent gameplay and creativity in the games. There’s no real story to talk about or some kind of hidden theme for me to unpack. It’s a very direct title in that sense. You’re playing a game to have a fun time and this one delivers. So I can easily recommend this to any gamer no matter what your skill level is. It’s just good fun all around. You feel like they could have made a 15 turn Party Mode which would be easier to play in a short batch but you do also have minigame mode for that. Also since we’re on the Switch Online you can always create a save point whenever you want. Now there’s one of those modern quality of life perks I love so much! Of course that’s not from the game itself so I wouldn’t be counting it as part of the review.

Overall 7/10

Mario Party Review

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It’s time to look at the game that really started one of the most iconic series of all time. Mario Party is a tried and true tradition in the hearts of many and has been for decades. Not just because of how chaotic the games are but because it showed just how fun a party game can be. It’s also been a difficult genre for any other franchise to pull off despite many games trying to do so. This one has a lot of the fun elements that you are used to in the series while at the same time also lacks some of the polished quality of life features you would be thinking about later on down the road. So it’s pretty fun, but not quite as elite as Mario Party 4.

There is a basic story here as well with all of the heroes fighting among themselves and generally being a little on the petty side. Each one wants to prove that they are the true superstar around here. It’s a noble goal to be sure….heh. Well maybe not that noble but I get why they would really want to appear to be the best. It just makes a lot of sense. Still, there can only be one champion and so they all decide to fight in various party games to prove it. Along the way each world is transformed by your actions which is a nice touch. Can they conquer all of the maps?

The character roster is rather small here. It’s crazy to think that even Daisy wasn’t around yet although that would change soon. There is a decent amount of minigames here but not as much as in later games of course. Fortunately the games here are all rather solid. For example the minigame where you try to bump your opponents off the field while on your ball is a true classic. I really had a blast there and it’s aged incredibly well. I tend to enjoy all of the platformer ones as well and for the most part the games are all pretty good.

There are some that don’t feel very balanced though, particularly the 1 vs 3 games. Either the solo player is incredibly overpowered or has no realistic chance to win. There is rarely a real middleground there. I’m guessing it’s probably the hardest type of game to develop though so I feel for the developers there. One interesting kind of game that you don’t see in the newer ones is the 4 player team up game. There are a few games here where you all actually have to team up and when you win, everyone gets their 10 coins. If one person loses then you all lose.

It’s an interesting idea but I can see why it was scrapped since you’re usually in it for yourself so that would have been a bit of an odd segway. One thing I wouldn’t mind if they had kept is how if you lose a minigame here, you actually lose 5 coins as opposed to not changing. Perhaps they thought it was a bit too harsh but it certainly meant that you did not want to lose. Let me tell you, I lost a lot of the minigames when starting out because it takes a little time to get used to them. The controls are simple enough but it’s the mechanics that get tricky. Like knowing when to time your jump and how far you go.

Mario Party is the master of really quick minigames and so by the time you’ve gotten the controls down, the minigame is over. Definitely not too forgiving in that sense but I think it’s the right move. If a minigame was too long then that would be a true problem. Much more of one than if the minigame was too short after all. Particularly since the shortest amount of turns you can set the games for is 20 instead of 15 here. So even the shortest game can feel rather long by the end of its run.

Where the game shows its age a little is in some of the smaller ways like how you can’t skip the computer’s turn. You have to watch them slowly play the minigames and walk around the board. It’s another reason why it’s good that the minigames are short but even so this slows down the pacing quite a lot. You should not have to sit there and wait while the computer does their thing because there are so many event spaces and extra minigames that they add up considerably. It just feels like too long before you get back to your turn. I was actually able to catch Pokemon and do other stuff while waiting which is always a bad sign.

Meanwhile the graphics are definitely pretty solid though. This is definitely on the higher end for the Nintendo 64 titles. Additionally the soundtrack is definitely on point here as well. A lot of classic tunes to be found here at all times. The level designs are also very distinct which I appreciate. Each stage has their own gimmicks so they feel completely different. Sometimes it can be in annoying ways like the Bob Omb level but you can’t win them all as they say. You know that at least the game was never lazy in the slightest.

Overall, Mario Party is a pretty fun title. The games are on point and it has a very nice feeling to it. Even when you lose you’ll be having a good time here. You’ll probably be a little salted when the RNG goes against you but that’s just how it goes. I do think it’s a little iffy when the computer targets you for a star instead of the guy in 1st….but just play as if all of the computers are against you and you’ll be fine. The game could do with a little less distractions and adding in some of those quality of life features I mentioned but for Nintendo’s first journey into this genre I definitely have to say that they did a good job. They were really creative in thinking up all of these fun minigame ideas.

Overall 7/10

Mario Golf Review

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Golf is one of those sports that I was never really into. Whether it’s watching the real thing on TV or playing a video game I could just never get into it. I don’t know there’s just something about the sport that’s a bit too slow paced for me. The best Golf video game I’ve ever played was the Mario Golf for Gamecube and even that one wasn’t great. It’s still better than this one though which tries reasonably hard but just doesn’t have much to it. After hitting the ball around a bit you are definitely ready to move onto something else.

There isn’t really any story in this one unfortunately. I liked that the GBA game had a full story but this is back to just trying out every stage and maybe winning a tournament here and there. I played on all of the locations and there is some variety but it’s not nearly as significant as you would expect. Not to bring the Gamecube game into this again but that one had deserts, ice worlds, bowser, etc. The stages all really popped out and I think that’s part of why I enjoyed the game more than usual. I remember pouring hours and hours into it trying to unlock the new worlds and each one was so difficult to unlock. Eventually when I finally got the worlds it would feel like such a massive accomplishment. Like I pulled off the impossible, you know?

Here all of the stages seem to already be unlocked so that reward is gone. Now granted, maybe that’s just the Switch Online setting everything up or there is a secret that I missed. Don’t take this as definitive, but it seemed like everything was there except for the characters which you could unlock individually. I appreciated that since unlocking characters is always fun. In a dream world every game would be like Super Smash Bros Ultimate where you had to unlock everyone one by one. The Challenger Approaching screen is one of my fondest memories…but lets get back on topic.

There’s just not a whole lot to do here beyond playing Golf. That probably sounds rather obvious but what it means is that if you don’t find the Golf gameplay exciting then there is really nothing left for you and that’s exactly what happened to me. There also aren’t some quality of life updates that the next games had like scoping out the whole field and having different arrows telling you the exact point on the meter you needed to aim for. I’m pretty good at timing if I do say so myself so that would have been reasonably easy but it just didn’t work out this time. So I was really just guessing and hitting the ball all over the place.

As you can probably guess, I didn’t win any of the levels. My score on average was a +2 and for sure you can bet that I didn’t get an Birdy’s. The opponents did not hold back and really just went out of their way to bury me the whole time. No problem, I can take it but unlike most games where I can easily picture myself winning, I can tell that this one would take a lot of practice and time. Not exactly part of my plan so I’ll just have to hold the L on this one.

Naturally I will give the game props for the graphics. The game looks very sharp as you would expect and the level designs are good. Perhaps not as varied as they could be but they all stick out. I also liked seeing some new characters in the mix like Plum. It’s a shame that she never caught on and got to appear more. The soundtrack isn’t quite as memorable as Tennis or Kart but there are some good tunes here to keep you busy while you’re playing the levels. I really have no problems on the technical side. If the gameplay was better then automatically I would find this to be a very high quality game. It’s just that gameplay will always outclass all of the other aspects of a game.

The only attribute that can come close is a great story. Like an amazing story with bad gameplay can possibly get a pass because I’m so invested that I’ll endure whatever is thrown at me. I feel like that’s the only exception though. The graphics can be the best in the world but if the gameplay is no good then that’s just game over. Again it all comes down to having fun and so if you’re not having fun with the game then something went wrong.

Overall, Mario Golf should be fun for people who really enjoy the sport but if you’re on the fence or just aren’t very impressed by it then it’s really not going to do a whole lot for you. You’ll end up wanting to skip to the next title. At the end of the day some games just don’t click and for me this was one of those occasions. I get that a good amount of effort was put into the title but at the end of the day I just didn’t find it very fun and that will always hurt a whole lot. A game is made to be really fun after all so if you can’t pull that off then it’s truly game over. So I’d say if you have the Switch Online, check out any of the other Mario sport games instead.

Overall 5/10

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

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Review

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Whenever Nintendo releases a big Mario game you better believe that the whole planet is put on notice. It really feels like ages since the last big Mario game too, particularly the last 2D one. Fortunately Wonder is a great game that adds a lot of new mechanics and really feels like a fresh experience. It takes a few chances and not every gamble pays off but ultimately it’s just great to have more Mario content. I just wish Nintendo wouldn’t put their mascot on break for so many years at a time.

The basic plot here is that Bowser has merged with a giant ship and now he intends to take over the entire planet! Mario must team up with Daisy and co. to stop him. They’re in the Flower Kingdom this time which is a nice way to incorporate new supporting characters and whole new environments. I don’t think these guys will ever be as iconic as the Toads but they’re fun enough. We even have talking plants for full voice acting although I doubt most people will be big fans of them. I kept the voices on for the whole game but I did change the language to Japanese near the end for kicks.

The gameplay has a lot of the classic Mario elements you will recognize like running and jumping to the goal. You have some big power ups like the fire flower which are classic but also new ones like a bubble flower and elephant mode. I can’t say that Elephant mode is my favorite but the bubble form is really helpful. It can one shot almost any enemy and also gives you extra jumps by using the bubbles you shoot out. It is incredibly handy in a pinch! You’ve also got a drill hat to plunge into the ceiling. Most of the time you don’t really need to use the power ups so you can have fun in normal form but it’s nice to experiment a bit.

A new gimmick for this game are the badges which you can equip for all kinds of special abilities like an extra jump, being notified when you’re near a secret, etc. I held onto the glide from the tutorial but mainly stayed away from the badges so they wouldn’t make the game too easy. It’s easy to see how they would make this a bit of a cakewalk in the end. In terms of difficulty I would say this is easier than the last few 2D titles like New Super Mario Bros and Mario World but it has some reasonably tough levels so it’s not going to be on easy mode or anything.

One odd choice is that the worlds don’t get progressively harder the way they normally would. Every world has some easy levels and some hard ones and you get to see the difficulty counter before entering a level. This is because you don’t have to beat every level in order to move on. It’s all about the collectible like stars in this game. So for example you may need to get 15 collectibles in order to move onto the next world out of 25. So then you can skip like 3-4 levels. I actually 100% completed world 1 initially because I figured the stars would carry over but they don’t so just a heads up on that. When you have enough to fight the boss, just go ahead and fight him. There is no real benefit to waiting longer than that.

In addition to the normal levels there are mini ones that are like break levels. You get to master a badge in each level and some will just have a fun theme like trying to solve a puzzle or unravel a song. They are a nice break from the standard levels and are good additions to have here. I’m not always thrilled about the open world nature of the areas as you can sometimes waste some time trying to find the place you want to go but that’s mainly just an issue in the desert world which is the worst one by far. The rest are still pretty clearly labeled the whole time. When you lose a level you are also thrown right back in with incredible speed which is really a good thing.

The graphics are really top tier and this is some of the best visuals we’ve seen for a classic Nintendo type title. The environments are all very colorful and there are a lot of different enemies to take on. Each world feels different as well. The soundtrack is filled with a lot of fun themes and also some nice remixes. My favorite new theme has to be the final boss battle but in general I liked the villain themes here. They weren’t afraid to go all out and even seem a little towards the rock genre.

The actual campaign likely won’t take you too long, maybe around 6 hours or so. That said there is a good amount of replay value if you aim to 100% the game. I don’t actually know what you unlock for doing so yet. Hopefully a bonus ending or something cool like that. I don’t tend to 100% these since there are no trophies involved but if the reward is good enough then I’ll consider it. I also played the whole game as Daisy so it’ll be fun to play around as some of the other characters. I could even have fun using a bunch of badges now that I’ve beaten the game. So I can just relax and hang out while playing the levels.

Bowser not kidnapping Peach for a change is a nice twist but I would still like the series to take the story a bit farther at some point. It’s Mario so I’m not asking for something dark or super serious. Even happy type games can have a good story ongoing and that’s all I want. Give us some fun cutscenes, a cool journey to follow and I’m set. That would be completely ideal and I don’t think it would be all that hard. It’s hard to picture it ever happening but mix in the great gameplay with an awesome story and then we could be looking at one of the all time all stars.

Overall, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is definitely a great game. It is a lot of fun to play through and as you’d expect from Nintendo’s flagship character every detail has been given a lot of polish and attention. The only things keeping it from going a bit higher is the lack of a true story and the game also feeling a little short. In general platformers aren’t very long of course and that makes sense but I do feel you tend to need a certain amount of length in order to be one of those elite 9 star titles. I would definitely recommend picking this game up though. It’s not a title that you want to miss out on!

Overall 8/10