You can hate Mario games, right?

[Woe Is You]

The reason why Mario is a short, chubby guy with moustache is the shittiness of graphics when the first Mario game was made. No one would start a franchise about a fat Italian plumber in 21st century. Nostalgia and fear of the new things are what makes people still tolerate this awful setting.

The 21st century has brought us games such as World of Goo, Katamari Damacy, Super Meat Boy, Fez, Everyday Shooter, Flower and Braid. Is Katamari a shit game because its premise doesn't make any sense? Of course it isn't. In fact, it's part of its charm. The same goes for Mario, really. Sounds to me it isn't the folks who tolerate Mario that are "afraid of new things".

The reason why Mario platformers are still so good today is that their controls are some of the best in the entire genre and each level has loads of surprises and secrets. And I've played tons of platformers from Adventure Island to Klonoa, from Pandemonium to Oddworld, from Skullmonkeys to Psychonauts to Jet Set Willy. And really, these days, they really don't have a lot of competition as far as pure platformers go. A lot of the games labeled platformers end up having lots of shooter elements in them: Jak, Ratchet & Clank, even Banjo-Kazooie ended up dipping into this.

Yes, Nintendo really should stop putting Mario in every game they make, but there isn't a single Mario platformer they've made that can really be called bad. You might not like them, there are popular games I don't like (GTA has always been vastly overrated, same goes for anything Bethesda's ever made, Bioshock isn't my cup of tea either). But is there are reason they shouldn't exist? I can't think of any.

 

[johnman]

I never liked mario, never played any games where he features as the main character. The character and gameplay just bore me.

Wait, what?

You don't like Mario, but you've never played an actual Mario game, yet you don't like the gameplay? What the fuck?

Ah well, Super Mario World is the best 2D platformer to ever have been made IMO, but if we'd included 3D as well, Banjo-Kazooie <3

I've seen them played, my brother is a great fan, and they just bore me to tears. Ive played things like Mario kart and smash bros, which are nothing like the original games i know. And i just cant stand most of nintendoes characters or games.

 

[Dale Cooper]

I enjoyed...

Luigi's Mansion
Mario Kart wii
Super Mario World (but less)

I'm starting to think Mario has been somewhat over milked now.

 

[zauxz]

The only good mario game was the very first one.

BUT THEY JUST KEEP MILKING THE POOR GUY!

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Eh. Mario never really did anything for me.

 

[51gunner]

You can hate anything you damn well please if you've got a reason. You say "they aren't fun", and that cuts it for me.

 

[sooperman]

Sorry to break up any convos you people had going, but I'm not reading through all of these posts.

Mario games that aren't bad:
Mario Kart for the GC
Super Mario Brothers SuperStar Saga: Partners in Time
Mario 64 DS
Luigi's Mansion(Mario game or not??)
Paper Mario

Mario games that make me mad to think about:
Super Mario Galaxy
Brawl
All spin-offs

And if Nintendo doesn't do something different with Link, I'm gunna have to put him on The List as well

 

[More Fun To Compute]

You are allowed to dislike all Mario games. It just tells us that you have really poor taste in games.

 

[clicketycrack]

some of the first games I ever played were mario games. I've grown out of any fondness I had for them by now though.

 

[The Great JT]

The only real way I can hate Mario is if he's in a sports game or Mario Party.

As long as Mario's jumping around saving his maguffin princess, I can't find a reason to hate him.

 

[WARLORD337]

That just means you don't like plat formers. No big deal, everyone has a least favorite genre. Mine's RTS.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

What's with all the Mario hate? The Super Mario Bros series is a gaming legacy that oozes raw innovation. Donkey Kong, the game that featured Jumpman (Mario before he was Mario), was the first platformer. It created the genre. Super Mario Bros brought power ups, hidden secrets, and a (simple) narrative into a single gaming package. This was expanded upon tenfold with Super Mario Bros 3, which was bigger, badder, and better. It also featured the iconic game over world map. Mario 64, didn't just break the mold for 3D platformers - it set the mold.

Looking back, Mario seems like another generic derivative platformer but that's only because the series has been so influential. You're free to like and dislike whatever you want - but Shigeru Miyamoto had a profound influence in game design and it'd be impossible to ignore it.

As for the spin offs such as Mario Party, Tennis, and Kart - at the very least they're decent games. That's all they are. Safe bets. Games that you know will be decent. Games you can find three other people to play with. They're not the greatest games ever made, but can we really fault Nintendo for bringing elements of Mario into other genres? Would Mario Kart have been as fun if the Mushrooms were rocketpacks and the shells were - I don't even know what the shells would be. Nintendo makes good games and they're enhanced by the world of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Heck, Mario Kart defined the Kart racing genre. How many Mario Kart knockoffs have there been? Wasn't there a Megaman kart game on the Playstation?

 

[CRAVE CASE 55]

Do you ever stop ranting about how much you hate Mario? God its all you talk about on Live!!!

Now on topic i liked Mario kart and the very first mario game.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

Anyone who says they don't like Mario is trying too hard to be cool, and needs to be trying harder. Though I would suggest trying James Pond if your aversion doesn't subside, as a similar alternative.

I've heard good things. But I try not to go back a console generation for any reason, unless there's a port. With the exceptions being when I don't have my 360. I did play Okami on my PS2 when my 360 RRoD'd. And Legend of Mana. And I downloaded Wild Arms off of Playstation Network straight to my PSP. (You should get it for your PSP/PS3, if whoever reads this has one)

I just don't want to stop talking with my friends over XBL. Yes, there are people on XBL older than 12 that also aren't assholes. Not many, mind you.

What on Earth does that have to do with Mario? Liking Super Mario Brothers shouldn't effect your ability to use XBox Live. Oh, wait. Let me guess: your parents would only buy you one console, so as a result you hate everything Nintendo. Even the games made twenty years ago.

 

[Zorg Machine]

Nintendo just used mario for everything.
Exept real plumming game (or they did that already ?).

in Super Mario Sunshine Mario walked around and cleaned up massive s**t stains.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

I'm pretty sure plumbers don't do that.

 

[Nazulu]

Sure you can dislike them but atleast you can appreciate what they have done for the gaming community. Hate is such a strong word unless it killed your parents thats fine then!