Game of the Week #1

Metal Mario · 07-19-2009, 09:53 PM

I thought this would be a good feature to implement on the Mario Forum. Each week (on Sundays), I'll present a Mario Game of the Week, accompanied by a nice little write-up, and we can all have a discussion about it. Talk about why you like the game, or why you hate it. Share memories associated with it. Contribute whatever you want.

Our first Game of the Week is:

Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)

If we're going to cast the spotlight on a different Mario game each week, why not start with the big one? With all of the fancy bells and whistles we have today, it's easy to forget how epically awesome the original Super Mario Bros was, and still is. Virtually the first of its kind, SMB revolutionized video gaming (and single-handedly revived the industry from the momentous crash it had suffered just two years prior) with its host of dazzling innovations that included diverse and changing settings, characters with personality and depth, and a hitherto undreamt-of sense of freedom and control. Whether swimming underwater, spelunking through a cave, or climbing a beanstalk to the sky, SMB's treasure chest of secrets, surprises, and discoveries thrilled gamers like never before.

Significant to the Mario universe in particular was the game's introduction of King Bowser and Princess Toadstool, the now-classic power-ups like the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower, the Mushroom Kingdom as a setting, and the colorful and comprehensive menagerie of enemy characters that would come to populate game after game of the subsequent series.

Super Mario Bros. is the second-best-selling video game of all time, with approximately 40.24 million copies sold. And that's not even counting ports and remakes. It is surpassed only by Wii Sports (couldn't you just weep?).

Redshirt · 07-19-2009, 10:46 PM

I thought SMB3 sold more.

Metal Mario · 07-19-2009, 10:55 PM

Not according to both Wikipedia and the MarioWiki.

**X-3** · 07-20-2009, 12:55 AM

I don't think I've actually ever got the chance to play a full game of this, humorously enough.

Metal Man · 07-20-2009, 01:08 AM

Dang. We need to somehow get this game to recapture its title as #1. Wii Sports needs to go down.

Er, and it was a neat game, I had the combo SMB-Duck Hunt.

Metal Mario · 07-20-2009, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metal Man

Dang. We need to somehow get this game to recapture its title as #1. Wii Sports needs to go down.

It's not right. I took crap all through school for my hardcore obsession with video games back when the pastime was strictly for social outcasts. Now along comes a bunch of bull**** tennis, bowling, and exercise games like Wii Sports, and now old people play video games on their cell phones while waiting for their prostate exam results to get back, for goodness sake.

Video games aren't for us anymore. Now they're for the masses. Even Nintendo has sold us up the river in order to court the so-called "mainstream", and we hardcore addicts were the ones who supported them through the N64 and GameCube eras.

Ingrates.

Metal Man · 07-20-2009, 04:11 AM

Yeah. The Gamecube appealed to us and we bought it, and saved them from death, so they repay us by ignoring us when they find a wider audience.

Good for them, but if they get themselves in a hedge again, maybe I'll desert them in turn, see how they feel.

Nice to see yet another person shares my opinion. I was afraid too many people either A. weren't old timey Ninty fans to begin with or B. worshipped everything with Nintendo's image on it, thus failing to see how they had been gypped.

Luigiman7 · 07-20-2009, 10:39 AM

Packaged in video games shouldn't count.

Jere · 07-20-2009, 06:02 PM

Then we have a problem Super mario Bros and super mario world did sell so many copies because they followed whit the game itself, now im allso leaving several other games outside of this.

so i don't consider it a nono, and we would have fewer games to talk about.

The first real console game i ever played as i remember, loved it from the first tap on the right analoge pad till this day, only thing to yet to be discovered by me is the minus world.

And to us weeping fanboys out there, yes nintendo have lost some of their "hardcore" fans but they are mending quick with the Metroid game with Team ninja behind it, Bracing for skimpy metal bra or even tighter zero suit.

Vgfian · 07-20-2009, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metal Man

Yeah. The Gamecube appealed to us and we bought it, and saved them from death, so they repay us by ignoring us when they find a wider audience.

Good for them, but if they get themselves in a hedge again, maybe I'll desert them in turn, see how they feel.

Pretty much this.

Metal Mario · 07-20-2009, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jere

And to us weeping fanboys out there, yes nintendo have lost some of their "hardcore" fans but they are mending quick with the Metroid game with Team ninja behind it, Bracing for skimpy metal bra or even tighter zero suit.

I'm just glad they've finally given Samus the haircut she's needed for so long. Samus having long, Rapunzel-like locks is ridiculous. It wouldn't fit well inside her helmet, and she's not a girly-girl anyway. She only ever looked like that because the Japanese are notoriously intimidated by strong women. Now, though, the video for this upcoming game shows Samus with short hair, Ellen Ripley-style. That's the way it should be.

**X-3** · 07-20-2009, 07:56 PM

Nintendo is a company that wants to make money. Making games directed at casuals has led to a good profit. I don't find it surprising at all.

*resists "u mad" comment*

edit: also, Wii Sports comes with the Wii: I don't think m/any people bought the Wii just for that game.

Jailbreaker · 07-20-2009, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metal Mario

Super Mario Bros. is the second-best-selling video game of all time, with approximately 40.24 million copies sold. And that's not even counting ports and remakes. It is surpassed only by Wii Sports (couldn't you just weep?).

NOOOOOOOO!!!

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!!!

*Runs around screaming, dodging meteors*

Metal Mario · 07-20-2009, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-3

also, Wii Sports comes with the Wii:

Well, that's true enough.

Luigiman7 · 07-20-2009, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godot

Packaged in video games shouldn't count.

Metal Mario · 07-20-2009, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godot

Packaged in video games shouldn't count.

On the other hand, maybe they should, at least in this case. After all, SMB pretty much sold the NES, rather than the other way around. People bought the NES because SMB kicked ass.

**X-3** · 07-21-2009, 12:08 AM

That's certainly true, but I still doubt Wii Sports sold the Wii.

...or atleast, I hope it didn't. ;_;

Metal Mario · 07-21-2009, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-3

That's certainly true, but I still doubt Wii Sports sold the Wii.

...or atleast, I hope it didn't. ;_;

As much as I hate to say it, I think that Wii Sports and games like it had a big effect on Wii sales, especially early on. When the Wii was first released, there were whole families of people jumping around in front of their televisions like spastic morons everywhere you looked. And then a couple of Japanese guys would show up out of nowhere, grinning, and say, "Wii would like to play."

I'm old-school, personally. I don't want to play a video game that requires me to stand up and wave my arms around. I want to sit in a dark room with a square, plastic controller in my hands; not do jumping-jacks to the tunes of Miley Cyrus.

Robotazy · 07-21-2009, 01:24 AM

Hey, at least it's not Wii Play

**X-3** · 07-21-2009, 01:34 AM

Few games make you stand up and wag like an idiot: a simple wag usually suffices, I find.

...heh.

07-20-2009, 10:39 AM	#8
Luigiman7 ヽ(◔ ◡ ◔)ノ.･ﾟ*｡･+☆ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: ~)´◡｀(~ Gender: Posts: 17,605 Thanks: 1,134 Thanked 1,012 Times in 713 Posts Blog Entries: 8	Packaged in video games shouldn't count. __________________ ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ＷＯＮ’Ｔ　ＹＯＵ　ＢＥＣＯＭＥ　Ａ　ＭＡＧＩＣＡＬ　ＧＩＲＬ？

07-20-2009, 07:56 PM	#12
X-3 Useful as an Owl Join Date: Jan 2004 Gender: Posts: 15,947 Thanks: 753 Thanked 1,213 Times in 790 Posts Blog Entries: 10	Nintendo is a company that wants to make money. Making games directed at casuals has led to a good profit. I don't find it surprising at all. resists "u mad" comment edit: also, Wii Sports comes with the Wii: I don't think m/any people bought the Wii just for that game. Last edited by X-3; 07-20-2009 at 08:36 PM.

07-19-2009, 09:53 PM	#1
Metal Mario Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Gender: Posts: 16,435 Thanks: 72 Thanked 190 Times in 127 Posts	Game of the Week #1 I thought this would be a good feature to implement on the Mario Forum. Each week (on Sundays), I'll present a Mario Game of the Week, accompanied by a nice little write-up, and we can all have a discussion about it. Talk about why you like the game, or why you hate it. Share memories associated with it. Contribute whatever you want. Our first Game of the Week is: Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985) If we're going to cast the spotlight on a different Mario game each week, why not start with the big one? With all of the fancy bells and whistles we have today, it's easy to forget how epically awesome the original Super Mario Bros was, and still is. Virtually the first of its kind, SMB revolutionized video gaming (and single-handedly revived the industry from the momentous crash it had suffered just two years prior) with its host of dazzling innovations that included diverse and changing settings, characters with personality and depth, and a hitherto undreamt-of sense of freedom and control. Whether swimming underwater, spelunking through a cave, or climbing a beanstalk to the sky, SMB's treasure chest of secrets, surprises, and discoveries thrilled gamers like never before. Significant to the Mario universe in particular was the game's introduction of King Bowser and Princess Toadstool, the now-classic power-ups like the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower, the Mushroom Kingdom as a setting, and the colorful and comprehensive menagerie of enemy characters that would come to populate game after game of the subsequent series. Super Mario Bros. is the second-best-selling video game of all time, with approximately 40.24 million copies sold. And that's not even counting ports and remakes. It is surpassed only by Wii Sports (couldn't you just weep?). Last edited by Metal Mario; 12-15-2009 at 10:37 PM.

07-19-2009, 10:46 PM	#2
Redshirt Wiggidy Wack Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: A place with things Gender: Posts: 16,699 Thanks: 704 Thanked 1,006 Times in 695 Posts Blog Entries: 50	I thought SMB3 sold more.

07-19-2009, 10:55 PM	#3
Metal Mario Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Gender: Posts: 16,435 Thanks: 72 Thanked 190 Times in 127 Posts	Not according to both Wikipedia and the MarioWiki.

07-20-2009, 12:55 AM	#4
X-3 Useful as an Owl Join Date: Jan 2004 Gender: Posts: 15,947 Thanks: 753 Thanked 1,213 Times in 790 Posts Blog Entries: 10	I don't think I've actually ever got the chance to play a full game of this, humorously enough.

07-20-2009, 01:08 AM	#5
Metal Man Fairy-Slaying Maniac Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: 1592 Miles Away From Here Gender: Posts: 18,062 Thanks: 148 Thanked 683 Times in 482 Posts	Dang. We need to somehow get this game to recapture its title as #1. Wii Sports needs to go down. Er, and it was a neat game, I had the combo SMB-Duck Hunt.

07-20-2009, 04:11 AM	#7
Metal Man Fairy-Slaying Maniac Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: 1592 Miles Away From Here Gender: Posts: 18,062 Thanks: 148 Thanked 683 Times in 482 Posts	Yeah. The Gamecube appealed to us and we bought it, and saved them from death, so they repay us by ignoring us when they find a wider audience. Good for them, but if they get themselves in a hedge again, maybe I'll desert them in turn, see how they feel. Nice to see yet another person shares my opinion. I was afraid too many people either A. weren't old timey Ninty fans to begin with or B. worshipped everything with Nintendo's image on it, thus failing to see how they had been gypped.

07-20-2009, 06:02 PM	#9
Jere Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sutme Gender: Posts: 3,650 Thanks: 404 Thanked 331 Times in 256 Posts Blog Entries: 3	Then we have a problem Super mario Bros and super mario world did sell so many copies because they followed whit the game itself, now im allso leaving several other games outside of this. so i don't consider it a nono, and we would have fewer games to talk about. The first real console game i ever played as i remember, loved it from the first tap on the right analoge pad till this day, only thing to yet to be discovered by me is the minus world. And to us weeping fanboys out there, yes nintendo have lost some of their "hardcore" fans but they are mending quick with the Metroid game with Team ninja behind it, Bracing for skimpy metal bra or even tighter zero suit.

07-21-2009, 12:08 AM	#17
X-3 Useful as an Owl Join Date: Jan 2004 Gender: Posts: 15,947 Thanks: 753 Thanked 1,213 Times in 790 Posts Blog Entries: 10	That's certainly true, but I still doubt Wii Sports sold the Wii. ...or atleast, I hope it didn't. ;_;

07-21-2009, 01:24 AM	#19
Robotazy PRESS ANY KEY TO PANIC! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: A Tiny Shed Gender: Posts: 16,483 Thanks: 529 Thanked 1,254 Times in 897 Posts Blog Entries: 46	Hey, at least it's not Wii Play

07-21-2009, 01:34 AM	#20
X-3 Useful as an Owl Join Date: Jan 2004 Gender: Posts: 15,947 Thanks: 753 Thanked 1,213 Times in 790 Posts Blog Entries: 10	Few games make you stand up and wag like an idiot: a simple wag usually suffices, I find. ...heh.