Retro|Spective 075R: Super Mario

[Neon Ignition]

Game 127 - Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
The fifth entry into the M&L series saw it crossover with the Paper Mario franchise when Luigi opens a book containing the Paper Mario universe and spills its inhabitants into their own world. The gameplay was the same as prior entries with some elements lifted from Paper Mario also. This ended up being a well liked mixture though it would turn out to be the final entry into the Mario & Luigi franchise barring some remakes of prior entries.




Was this your Jam?

[Neon Ignition]

Game 128 - Mini Mario & Friends Amiibo Challenge
Free to download on Wii U and 3DS, this allowed players to pay more of the level tweaking puzzle action using Amiibo to guide one of eleven characters - each with their own unique powers. Though it had 50 levels and was free it didn't review well with criticism being that it was more of the same and could be completed in one sitting.




No longer Friends?

[Neon Ignition]

Game 129 - Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Amazingly the fifth entry in the franchise, this new installment added a roster of new characters that were playable in just one of the games modes whilst the old cast were selectable in all modes. Three new sports are added to the mini-game roster of prior sports and reviews once again continued the slow decline with the same issues being called out.



Last Place?

[Asura]

Game 129 - Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Amazingly the fifth entry in the franchise, this new installment added a roster of new characters that were playable in just one of the games modes whilst the old cast were selectable in all modes. Three new sports are added to the mini-game roster of prior sports and reviews once again continued the slow decline with the same issues being called out.

Last Place?

I actually think this is the series' apex. Yes, it's totally fair to say that it was becoming a bit tired, because so much of it was being recycled, but still, this one was really good.

That does, however, mean that it's all downhill from here.

[wakka]

Imagine if we had had a Mario & Sonic at the Olympics during your self-imposed exile!! Nightmare situation.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 130 - Paper Mario: Color Splash
Arriving in the later days of the Wii U, the latest entry in the Paper Mario saw a notable step up in visuals. The game aimed to fuse more humour with some of the platforming elements of the Wii title though turn based combat returned to the core of the experience. Much of the game was praised but the combat was the most criticised part of the experience with its slimmed down RPG systems also displeasing some. Overall the critic response was solid but it sold very poorly, drowned out by the death cries of the console it was, and to this day, remains locked to.




Did this make a Splash with you?

[Asura]

Imagine if we had had a Mario & Sonic at the Olympics during your self-imposed exile!! Nightmare situation.

Fortunately I wasn't faced with that life or death decision.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 131 - Mario Party: Star Rush
Like a bad penny, Mario Party's keep showing up and here this 3DS entry removed dice rolled movement allowing players to move freely on the boards. The removal of the car mechanic was praised but the free movement addition wasn't leading to weak reviews and poor sales.



In a Rush to drop this one?

[Neon Ignition]

Game 132 - Super Mario Run
Moving into the mobile phone game space, Nintendo produced this title was a play on the common mobile genre of the endless runner with Mario moving automatically and players controlling his jumps. The first three levels were available for free and a one off payment would unlock the rest of the games content. Miyamoto aided with its design, the first time he had been hands on with Mario since 2007's Galaxy. Within two years it had been downloaded 300m times.




Did you enjoy this spin on the gameplay or Run the other way?

[Travesty]

Game 131 - Mario Party: Star Rush
Like a bad penny, Mario Party's keep showing up and here this 3DS entry removed dice rolled movement allowing players to move freely on the boards. The removal of the car mechanic was praised but the free movement addition wasn't leading to weak reviews and poor sales.



In a Rush to drop this one?

Actually it did not remove dice rolled movement, it changed the board from being linear to a open board where everyone threw the dice at the same time and moved at the same time, making the game feel more fast paced than the previous ones. This was a really good one, the best Mario Party on 3DS in my opinion, actually I would consider this the best Mario Party that I have played, keep in mind that I am not a fan of Mario Party games.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Miyamoto-san wasn't exactly hands-on with Galaxy.

More like Koizumi & Motokura (heading up the dev team) consulted him and he gave them feedback.

https://archive.is/sPO7H

As far as Run goes...I actually liked it enough to pay the one-time fee to unlock the full game when it originally dropped. Keeps things simple and it's enjoyable enough for what it is. MyNintendo coins are cleverly tied to the game to keep people coming back. Definitely one of the better endless runner games made, especially given that a lot of its contemporaries (including the much-hyped Sonic Runners from 2015) have long since died.

Run is a weird one though. 300m downloads proved that Nintendo games on mobile platforms were viable in a way that Miitomo couldn't, but there likely wasn't enough of those 300m downloads paying the unlock fee which explains why Nintendo haven't used that payment model for their mobile games since and instead reverted back to the traditional lootbox formula.

[Asura]

Run is a weird one though. 300m downloads proved that Nintendo games on mobile platforms were viable in a way that Miitomo couldn't, but there likely wasn't enough of those 300m downloads paying the unlock fee which explains why Nintendo haven't used that payment model for their mobile games since and instead reverted back to the traditional lootbox formula.

A well-known thing in mobile games is that "downloads" is what they call a "vanity metric". You can put it on a poster or in a press-release, and it sounds impressive, but there's a non-zero chance that a free-to-play game can have 300m downloads while making zero money (not figuratively - literally zero).

That's because there are mobile games (often based on big brands) which have millions of downloads but are just massive failures.

Honestly it must be quite nerve-wracking making one of those. You surely can never quite escape the worry that you'll release the game, and you might make NOTHING.

[Nu-Eclipse]

A well-known thing in mobile games is that "downloads" is what they call a "vanity metric". You can put it on a poster or in a press-release, and it sounds impressive, but there's a non-zero chance that a free-to-play game can have 300m downloads while making zero money (not figuratively - literally zero).

That's because there are mobile games (often based on big brands) which have millions of downloads but are just massive failures.

Honestly it must be quite nerve-wracking making one of those. You surely can never quite escape the worry that you'll release the game, and you might make NOTHING.

I don't disagree.

I'm sure that, on reflection, Nintendo feel like they should've made Super Mario Run a lootbox-fest from the off.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 133 - Mario Sports Superstars
Camelot returned with another Mario spin-off, this time aided by Bandia Namco as once again a collection of sports was mixed in game form. Football, Tennis, Golf, Baseball and Horse Racing were represented. Reviews weren't strong, calling out how lifeless the experience was and largely pointless also - feeling more like a lazy branding exercise.




Nil Point?

[Neon Ignition]

It sounds awful but the amount of Mario themed... filler games is really making me reflect on how much I previously thought Nintendo curated the franchise really strongly. Now, it's more they've done a good job of constantly putting out games that use the brand and get by just by not being awful. There's a mountain of unremarkable stuff as the years grow more recent