It’s easy to say that Mario is still a symbol of gaming as a whole. You see that trademark red cap, black moustache, and his big smile, and you instantly associate it with video games. And there was a time, not just for me, but nearly everyone who considered themselves a gamer, when the sheer thought of playing those games brought about instant elation.

That’s not true anymore. A lot of gamers look at Mario and are driven to instant “meh.” Some probably have even stronger negative opinions, that he’s a relic of a bygone era, having failed to “mature” with the majority of his audience. And naturally, you’ve got the opposite side of the spectrum that comes from a lot of the writers on this site – even from a critical standpoint, Mario earned yet another 10 today, and then you’ve got Chad, who simply loves Mario for everything that he is, with his own personal reasons.



I realized, reading the Galaxy 2 review, that I personally haven’t felt genuine hype over a Mario game in a long, long time. To me, his games have felt so manufactured, a view that only sinks further into its own jaded mire with each passing year, and my avid and vested interest in the corporate world of gaming. I see Nintendo for the beast that it is, and somehow Mario transitioned from the face of fun and child-like glee to a corporate mascot that needs only to appear on a Wii box to move a million copies.

I guess the purpose of this blog is more to share where I went wrong than to deliver any sort of concrete evidence of one thing or another. And I say “went wrong” because I think I –am- wrong. I need only to look at Galaxy 2 review scores, screenshots, or listen to music samples to know that this game is something I should, and kind of want to play. And I beat myself up for that too – Kind of? I KIND OF want to play a Mario game?

When I was in elementary school, Super Mario Brothers 3 became a borderline unhealthy obsession. I couldn’t afford it, and when my neighborhood friend who day 1’ed everything ( we all knew that guy, didn’t we?) got it, I was raging jealous. But as luck would have it– his parents caught him playing at 3 AM on a school night, and forbid him from playing it for a week. So he let me borrow it.



I can honestly attribute that week as one of the greatest weeks in my childhood. Mario 3, with its infinite secrets, the exhilarating mechanic of flight, the stupid mini-games, and its 8 varied worlds stole my childhood imagination and made it its bitch. Mario 3 is still regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, and with good reason.

I don’t think it was until Super Mario World that my first “HEYYY WTF” was directed at Mario. I was just a little older by then, and you know what got the brunt of my ire? Yoshi.

I know. Who can hate Yoshi!? He’s practically as much of a staple in the series as Mario is now. But back then, I didn’t think Mario needed him. And why was he named Yoshi? His name doesn’t fit with the Italian or the mushroom theme, and just because the game is made in Japan means he needs to have a Japanese name!? Oh I raged. And just to add insult to injury, I felt like the ‘”cape” completely lacked the imagination and charm that the Raccoon suit had.

But the day I bought a Super Nintendo my opinion changed for the better. Super Mario World was a solid game if ever a Mario game was solid. Challenging, still chalk full of secrets, and y’know, Yoshi wasn’t even that bad. In fact, in my social circle, it was the cool thing to do to 96 not just one file, but ALL THREE. We made our own platinum trophies back then, see.

It wasn’t until Mario 64 that I truly turned on Mario. If you’ve been listening to the Bit Transmission podcasts, I’m totally with them when they say the N64 was shit. Not that the first generation PS1 games weren’t. I think 3D hit gaming before it was ready. A statement you can use again today and oddly enough, still have it be appropriate. The jaggy edges, the awkward level design, the wonky camera…. And not just Mario 64, but all of those games.



N64 games have what I call now an “N64 approach” to level design. Games built in this era changed your enemies. In the world of sprites, the bad guys themselves, and the environment split the duty about 50/50. It was a good balance of both elements working in tandem to defeat your ‘stachio’ed ass. But on N64, the balance shifted almost entirely to the environment, and a third enemy appeared – the camera angle.

Yes, Mario 64 was probably better than most 64 games with regard to the player’s ability to manipulate the camera. But anyone who plays games today knows, designers have worked incredibly hard to eliminate the idea that “moving the camera” should act as a gameplay mechanic. I shouldn’t have to stop playing the game to see where I’m going. I shouldn’t have to press the C buttons to figure out if I can make a jump. And those two sentences sum up my experience with Mario 64 pretty well.

I tried. I WANTED to be okay with Mario 64. When my friend left his N64 at my house and forgot he ever owned the damn thing, I gave it a shot. And as I plummeted to my death because I didn’t take a camera angle into account, that was the day I gave up on Mario.

Mario stopped symbolizing fun. Mario became a chore. And not so strangely enough, I haven’t looked back. It took all the way until New Super Mario Brothers DS came out for me to even care about Mario again. And that was because it went back to the roots. But the damage had sort of been done. Even NSMB was a fun game, but not an amazing game. I played it to completion, but if you think I bothered with all those red coins like I would have done for Super Mario World… well, I didn’t.

I even bought NSMB Wii, mostly for the part of me that still forgets how hard it is to get four people to actually sit down and game for an extended period of time… and if you do, good luck getting that same team back. I’ve played it to World 5 with some random marines my grandma invited over for Thanksgiving, and well, I’ll never seen THEM again. Yeah, don’t ask.

And it was only until reading the Galaxy 2 previews that I saw something I hadn’t seen in Mario, or even in gaming, in a long time – Fun. Clean, simple, child-like fun. I guess it sort of tapped a part of me I’d locked away with my NES. And that’s where the title of this blog comes in. I’m rediscovering Mario.

I found out my employer’s game library had Super Mario 64 DS in it, and I borrowed it. I suppose this is as “perfect” as Super Mario 64 can ever be. It’s still wonky, I still curse at the camera and the controls, but as a whole, I suppose I’m having fun. I’m past the first Bowser battle. Although, I am starting to struggle with finding stars.



And why put myself through this? Why go back to the game I clearly hated when it’s a new game that catches my eye? Because rediscovering Mario isn’t about hopping right in at the nearest point of entry. It’s kind of stupid sounding, but the quest is greater than that. I want to see what I’ve missed. I want to be able to follow his progression to Galaxy 2. I can’t say that I’m going to finish 64 DS, though. It’s already frustrating.

And despite the latent criticisms, I’m still going to look up Super Mario Sunshine. I’m going to play the first Galaxy because I want context for Galaxy 2. Not from a story point of view or anything, but I just feel like you can’t hop on a plane, have a layover in Dallas, and then say you’ve been to Texas. There’s a journey here. There are levels, songs, and even characters that those who have been loyal to Mario will know, and I wouldn’t, otherwise. And I’m the type of gamer who can’t handle knowing that I’m missing out on something, miniscule as it may be.

So what’s up, Mario? I missed you, buddy.