Super Mario Bros Games

[Mamkute]

I have played the DS, 3DS, and Wii releases of games of the "New Super Mario Bros" series, and it was at the 3DS game that I realized how it is almost an epitome of my problems with the Mario series. Well, Mario Galaxy 2 is also an epitome of my problems with the Mario series, but that is not what I am here to discuss.

They are all solid games, if not too easy, but they are all almost the same thing. Sure, one game has Raccoon leaves, and another has penguin suits and such, but they are all so very similar. And instead of working on a proper successor to 64/Sunshine/Galaxy, we get several of the same (albeit pretty good) 2D platformer. (I have no faults with 2D Mario titles, and I do think it is smart to have both 2D and 3D games, but these are just the same 2D game.) When it comes to 3D, Galaxy 2, 3D Land and 3D World are in much the same category to me.

Today I started New Super Mario Bros on Wii U (It came with the Wii U, I would not have bought it.) And it sort of turned my views on the series around (a bit.) I am still not a fan of the 3DS one, especially, but this one was a very charming incorporation of Super Mario World aspects, with the Super Mario 3 aspects present in the Wii version. I guess Yoshis went a long way for me in helping my opinion of it. My opinion is still forming on it, though.

So, what is everyone's opinions on the (in my opinion) stagnation of the Mario series? Where would you pinpoint it as starting at? Do you believe it is getting better or worse? Are my opinions too harsh, or not harsh enough?

[Nano]

It definitely needs to improve. Mario went from jack of all trades in video games to platformers, racing, and party games only. With such tight controls, beautiful scenery, and a cast of lovable characters, it's crazy that they haven't tried to make a new Mario Adventure game.

Mario games have some clunky controls, but when you get used to them it just works really well. That would translate so well into an adventure style game like Mario 64. I want to assume that they haven't done so yet because it's just easier to rehash games like SMBWU over and over. They just need to add a new power-up every game and it's pretty much a finished product.

They also don't wanna show a really good Mario game ever again I think. If people are pleased with bare minimum, then why raise the bar? It would def hurt them to have a well made adventure game release, and soon after make another cookie cutter Mario platformer. It would make the fans realize that there's so much more the series can offer that they just aren't doing.

The games have the same level of complexity and fun, but it's getting old.

[Lamby]

if i want a good game, nintendo hasn't even been a consideration since 2003

i mean once you separate the actual nintendo from all the lofty "we won't lose the soul of gaming" and "we value fun over tech" baloney and the apologists living in the fantasy land nintendo is still relevant, you realize their famous innovation ended with mario sunshine, give or take a few games

i'm not even convinced another mario adventure can shake up the industry, particularly when zelda: dying breath of a system looks like a gen 7 game named darksiders 2, what ground can mario cover when nintendo doesn't know how to deliver on their own consoles. i think mario spin-offs even get more effort. color splash for example is a novel, cute game, despite it "being like sticker star" and it's that nintendo that takes risks despite what gamers are whining about for better or worse back in the n64 era-early gcn i miss