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Gamers across the globe always gain a certain level of excitement every time a new Mario game comes out. This year we've all been anticipating the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, hoping it would be a return to form and embrace the 2-D side-scrolling Mario gameplay that we all grew up on. But does the update hold a candle to it's predecessors? In this week's Soapbox, Adam tries to explain why he wasn't as compelled to play this new Mario game as he has been with previous installments. How do you feel about New Super Mario Bros. Wii?
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Fex_Anderson
Adam seemed kind of somber in this video. That's sad, but I see where he's coming from. Honestly, one of the big problems I have with the Wii is that most of the games I've played for it have the same problem Adam was discussing about Mario. The mechanics may be satisfying, but they don't usually have much in the way of steady material progression... Like Dragon Age, which I'll be honest, I haven't played much of yet, but I like.
happymeowmeow
I agree about the motion control in NSMBW, it feels awkward and totally unnecessary. I really, REALLY hope Zelda Wii does not rely too much on the waggle. Or least is one of the precious few Wii games where the motion control isn't more of a hindrance than an actual tool.
I think I had the opposite experience as you; Dragon Age (on the pc) was very disappointing for me. Not sure why. It could be that I was expecting the next Baldurs Gate 2 and my expectations were way too unrealistic and nostalgia glass covered. But I found mario bros wii (barring the motion control wierdness) to be surprisingly well designed and fun.
robutrobut
Totally agreed. See..i've grown up with all the different versions of mario. And seeing that there was a new mario bros. and ...me not owning a wii. I figured i'd go ahead and purchase 2006's New Super Mario Bros. for the DS. So last week i snagged a copy...i'm already at level 6...and i'm not getting that same feeling i got when i was a kid playing mario bros. or the incredible super mario 3...or super mario world on the snes. There's something missing...because i'm realizing...i don't care for stomping koombas...or turtles....or collecting coins... Every review i've read has given both the DS and the Wii versions stellar reviews. And it must be all nostalgia based, the levels aren't compelling..you beat a level the princess gets nabbed again...and thats it. Alot of times...its the same cookie cutter characters on every level. And..seeing the silly \"rabbit\" character that gamestop uses for their ads and commercials has pretty much shown the complete ridiculousness of games like mario and sonic. ..Yer at a platform....theres a moving ledge you have to jump to...above the ledge is a coin....it should be easy to get the coin..but whammo...you died in the lava....or you got taken out by a passing bat.
Maybe its our urge to accomplish a game that drives us to play mundane games like this. I donno....but the new super mario ds game hasn't been fun...at all.
Melankoly
well put! I feel the same way in the sense if i cap a game out on achievements or trophies, i don't play as often anymore. Some games will keep me playing for weeks just trying to get all of the achievements. Random activities that i know for sure i never would have done if i didn't get anything for it.
limetownjack
i love me some mario every now and then, but i don't drool at the mouth when i see a trailer for the next installment the way i do when i see trailers for games like mass effect 2. i don't daydream about whats gonna happen next in the mushroom kingdom or strategize about how to kill goombas. i don't care how peach feels after being captured by bowser and i don't eagerly anticipate the ultimate showdown between mario and the villain. while many of the blockbuster games today have evolved from, \"figure out how to move from point A to point B\" it doesn't necessarily mean that the old formula that mario mastered is no longer enjoyable.
popsickle59
small comment, the perfect mario formula, for me at least, was the world map, was all display......as long as you could to it. In super mario world, after beating a level and not going to the path you though you were going to, was confusing, but essential in the exploration and finding of keys and secret exits. just the amount of things you could find and make mario,, and yoshi do were the reason you kept going. Personally flying with the cape thru a whole level at full speed still is my favorite mario memory, it says screw you world...... imma gonna fly
yayap001
finally they talked about dragon age it is such a great game, they should talk about it on feedback to
NickoSwimmer
I feel exactly the same as you Adam. I am currently in graduate school, and the little time I do have available for gaming, more often than not, I want to invest it in something like MW2 or Dragon Age. I do feel a little sad inside that I don't have the drive to play the games I use to enjoy so much. It's interesting, because I still buy most of these Mario games, but I just don't play them for more than a couple hours.
I thought I would never go this way, but I can definitely see myself continue to reduce the amount of time I spend playing games as I become more involved in other aspects of life.
While I don't play games nearly as much as I use to, I find myself reading about them/the industry way more!
ABXPuPpeT
i think the Mario series over stayed its welcome o_0 nothing actually new except new console and new button navigation that's all, I'd rather see more sonic no more Mexican or Italian guy please
RookieBrawler
I played New Super Mario Bros. just this past weekend and I got to say, I was astounded by the refinement and variety of the gameplay. I believe most Mario platformers (at least 2-D installments) possess two distinct elements that any gamer can appreicate: Familitartiy and Simplicity.
I don't think that in the recent age that Mario has lost his touch one bit. Super Mario Galaxy is one of the best games I've ever played simply becasue it is proof that Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto still make the best damn games the industry.
Dynamo903
So play Mario RPG. You get the RPG elements you like from DA:O and the Mario theme in one game. It's a win win deal.
sdc10
@Rum
You make it sound like the console versions of Dragon Age completely sucked. Which is not the case whatsoever. Its just in the way they built the game lends itself better on the computer. Just look at RTS games, the reason why they are not that great on consoles is that computers allow greater control so they play better. However, again DA on the console is still a great game. At the end of the day all I care about is getting to play the game, and since I, like many people, do not have the time or resources to put into making a gaming pc, Ill gladly stick with the console ports. Especially if they have quality like Dragon Age.
Vultur
kind of unfortunate how analyzing why you or i like certain games, and not others can lead us to depressing self realizations about ourselves.
not sure where to go from that conclusion. i'm stuck between 1. finding more rewarding games, 2. finding a more fulfilling life.
i'm left with the conclusion that i will always be unfulfilled in life unless someday i own a giant post apocalyptic castle made of cars whereby i can control an entire nation, with a harem of beautiful supermodels. i guess i'll go back to reading some game reviews...
greenboom
Adam, though I agree somewhat, I must speak to something that you touched upon. You remember loving original mario at a young age. I am also assuming that this was one of the formative games for you as well. As you are an adult AND a veteran (heavy emphasis on veteran, a little tongue in cheek, but mostly in fun cause you're a good guy and can take a joke) gamer you can understand that the reason that games like the new mario are so important are simply due to this \"divide\" that is spoken of on sites such as this between the casual and the hardcore gamer. The original mario was accessible to all because of simplicity. The new mario is a bit more complex, but still carries that level of simplicity that can make it an entry level game for many. It can be the \"gateway drug\" of gaming, if you'll pardon the negative associations of that metaphor. It would be quite the task for a newcomer in video games to take up the controller with \"so many buttons\" and play a game like Dragon Age, compelling as the story and the gameplay may be. Perhaps what is called for is a more serious and encapsulating world and premise than that of Mario to serve as the first steps on a road to access more complex games. I think I just reiterated your point, but, as Mario always has, it is still serving a purpose with connecting to those who would take up the controller more seriously. However, we're always going to be straining to find a plumber in red overalls a hero that doesn't spawn outside and inside derision in the game industry and outside and inside derision with ourselves from time to time (not to mention the bizarre world he inhabits which defies a lot of reason). However, debating how much of a hero this seemingly silly plumber can be is part of the dialogue that keeps Mario as canon to videogames, as stigmatizing as that may be to the genre as a whole. We are kinda stuck with Mario.
Blue_Vortex
I think new super mario bros needed was a in depth level building system (like LBP) that allows you to submit your levels online and online co-op with your friends or random people.
SinnerDelGore
To compare what was then and what we expect now, Super Mario Brothers vs. Ratchet and Clank. Or the wonderful sense of accomplishment while playing Demon's Soul. Nintendo will end up \"casual gaming\" themselves in no one buying their games.
ursa1979
Wow... this was a very deep soapbox. My first reaction when I saw the title was... \"Sessler is a flipping moron.\" After all I had just played through the game with my wife, got all the star coins even on the star road, had an amazing time, and look forward to playing it through again in six months which I have always been able to do for every mario game. I was offended because I feel myself being pulled more and more to old school games. I play ninja gaiden (nes), mega man 2, Super Punch Out, on my virtual console more than I do any of the new games.
Now I am a giant rpg fan, but I have recently found it harder and harder to get into rpgs whether new or old (Final Fantasy XII or Super Mario RPG). That is because the leveling up fullfillment that Sessler was talking about has felt more and more hollow for me. This problem was sharpened for me when a friend and I had a four hour conversation about the affect of video game avatars on society. I am philosophy Phd. (I don't say this to sound like a chump, only to explain why my friend and I were wasting time talking about this). I kept trying to defend WoW and how interactions with other avatars could be just as meaningful as interaction with people in the real world. But our conversations would continue to return to false and addictive sense of accomplishment created by leveling up or grinding. He would point out that any poopy hole could accomplish the same tasks with time. The game creates the illusion of reward. It gives you fake rewards for fake accomplishment. That is what makes WoW a bad influence on the world, not the interaction with the other human controlled avatars that isolates one from real human contact. Avatar interaction is real enough in my opinion. Its the fake sense of accomplishment that makes people, who could otherwise do great things with their lives, spend all of there time compulsively leveling up in WoW, or screwing around in Sims, or murding school children in GTA. To quote Dan Bern (paraphrasing Allen Ginsberg), \"I saw the best minds of my generation playing pinball.\"
Of course pinball takes skill and reflex, which brings me back to mario. Those games give me a sense of accomplishment, because I know I just pulled some stuff that few (compared to the general population) can do. When I beat Ninja Gaiden (nes) or The adventure of Link, I knew I was in a class of my own. Whereas when I beat Final fantasy VI or VII or level to 50 on WoW or even beat Twilight Princess (all great grames, don't get me wrong), I knew any idiot with time could do that.
I have clearly revealed myself as an oldschool/wii gamer, which I know tends to get beat up on G4, but just to show I am down with the kids.... I totally think the accomplishment feeling I get from new mario and old school gaming holds true for multiplayer FPS games. When you rank 1 or 2 in an online halo/MWF/etc. match you get that same feeling, and it is completely different from the grinding/leveling up feeling.
So.... to sum up. I think Sessler is completely incorrect. Not because he was not totally captured by the new iteration of mario (although he should have been the flipping moron.... the game is flipping fantastic), but because I think that the easy feeling of accomplishment provided by rpg/grinding games magnifies the lack of accomplishment in my everyday life. When I am walking in circles in the DS Final Fantasy IV killing the same monster over and over again, I think to myself, \"Darn.... i might as well be filling out flipping TPS reports.\" Whereas getting the last star coin on level 9-7 of the star road (flip ice and piranha plants) I felt like I was actual good at something. Like I could do things other people can't. After all every one can grind in _____ (border lands, final fantasy, dragon age, etc.)
Both are delusions in there own way..... maybe I just like to feel like I am better then other people.
PS. Sorry I sound like a mormon. The vulgarity filter on this site is crazy. Even the fascist comic book code allowed you to add symbols in place of letters in swear words.
doodle_billy
its progress. i think over the next few year we will see less and less of our favorite plumber. i feel his grasp on the gaming world is starting slip. most of us that were hear when mario first was released have moved on, and so has gaming industry. he is product aimed in the dirrection of children, there taste changes over a period of 20 years. nintendo has held interest with kids for this long but how much longer do you think its going to last?
Warrior567
little bit too much information adam
Chaos2711
I'm going to sound biased here, but here's the problem I have with New Super Mario Bros Wii. The motion controls. No offense, but I just do not like motion controls. I wish Nintendo had made it mandatory to have the option of using a standard controller for all the Wii games.
Also, from what I've seen, the co-op looks insanely easy. Everytime someone died, they just reappeared in some bubble and got invincibility or something.
I know, I know, I sound very biased about Nintendo, but honestly, I am, as I do not like the Wii all that much. I just don't like the mandatory motion controls, or the game library (for the most part).
I know I'll get flamed, but whatever. What are you gonna do?
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