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 With the wait for SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 almost over, ALASDAIR DUNCAN reflects on his love of the classic video game series, and counts down some of the dashing plumber’s greatest hits.
My love affair with Mario (and I use the phrase fully aware of its seedy implications) began in the early ’90s. My friends down the street had a big new TV and, crucially, a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the cutting-edge in 16-bit entertainment, to plug into it. The most exciting part, though, was the cartridge that came with the console – Super Mario World. In it, moustachioed hero Mario and his dinosaur pal Yoshi were tasked with rescuing Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil Koopa King, Bowser, braving the various forests, ghost houses and underwater caverns of Dinosaur Land to get to her.
To my impressionable younger self (as distinct from my impressionable older self), the graphics, the sound effects and the game itself were mind-blowing. The ominous, booming music that played as Mario jumped the lava pits and avoided the spikes in the island’s fortresses actually gave me shivers, and the bosses he fought along the way, like manic, blue-haired Ludwig Von Koopa, took many, many tries to overcome. The power-ups, like the cape that allowed Mario to fly, were awesome, and the thrill of unlocking new areas on the island was unbeatable.
Though I went on to play through many, many more Mario games – revisiting the classic NES titles and working my way through various adventures on Gameboy and Nintendo 64, and accumulated enough Mario-related toys and paraphernalia that I now have a whole shelf in my house devoted to them, nothing quite lived up to the rush of playing Super Mario World. I’m not saying it was the best Mario title, or the most fun – given that he’s been acknowledged as the most recognisable video game character of all time, you probably have a formative Mario game of your own – but for me, Super Mario World was the most magical in the series.
Then, along came Super Mario Galaxy.
Launched at the tail end of 2007,the game took classic elements of the series – the 3D animation that had been standard since Super Mario 64, the battles against lumbering bosses, the worlds-within-worlds to be explored and unlocked – and adapted them for the Wii’s motion-sensitive controller. The game launched Mario into outer space, where he explored beautifully rendered worlds, performed gravity-defying jumps and encountered new power-ups like the bee suit in his quest, of course, to save the princess from the evil Bowser.
Adored by critics and gamers alike, Super Mario Galaxy was, more than anything else, genuinely fun and exciting to play. Nearly three years on, having played through the game as Mario and his dorkier but no less capable brother Luigi, I still find myself going back to beat levels just for the hell of it. Well, okay, I have just one challenge left to complete – Luigi’s Purple Coins in the Toy Time Galaxy, but it’s so stupidly hard I almost cry when I think about it. If you want to come to my house and help out, please feel free to get in touch.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 launched in America and Japan last month, and will be available in Australia on July 1; needless to say, I’m counting down the days. The game has already met with soaring acclaim, with an improbably high Metacritic score of 98 – one point higher than its predecessor. As we await new power-ups like the Rock Mushroom and the Cloud Flower and the return of Yoshi, the capable dinosaur with the prehensile tongue, let’s take a look back at the evolution of Mario:
1981: Mario makes his first appearance as the hero of Donkey Kong, jumping and dodging barrels to rescue his girlfriend from a giant ape.
1985: Mario meets his ongoing antagonist, the princess-kidnapping turtle Bowser, when Super Mario Bros. makes its debut on the NES.
1988: Super Mario Bros. 3 on NES introduces open-plan worlds, new power-ups (including the Raccoon Suit) and a new level of complexity to the series.
1992: Mario learns to drive, and the Super Mario Kart series launches; the red shell becomes one of the most feared and sought-after items in gaming.
1996: The Mushroom Kingdom goes 3D with the release of Super Mario 64.
1999: Mario and Donkey Kong meet again to beat the crap out of one-another in the first Super Smash Bros.
2000: The Paper Mario series launches, but we don’t speak of that.
2007: Super Mario Galaxy reinvigorates the franchise; Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl launch triumphantly the following year.
2010: The countdown to Super Mario Galaxy 2 begins...
SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 launches in Australia on Thursday July 1. www.nintendo.com.au
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