Finally! While some people have some weird attachment to the Super Mario Bros. live action theatrical atrocity that was made, many people would rather forget that ever existed. I’ll admit that I did see it when I was a kid but I’ve mostly blocked it out of my memory. Well we can prepare to completely forget that movie ever existed as Nintendo is making a real Mario movie.
Nintendo announced via their Twitter account that they are partnering with Illumination to produce a movie starring Mario, co-produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri. According to a press release from Nintendo, the film will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Nintendo and distributed theatrically worldwide by Universal Pictures.
Illumination is the animation house that put out the Despicable Me, Minions, and Ice Age movies.
There are no details with regards to what this movie would be about or a timeline for its release. It’s also hard to say if this announcement has been made as a deal was struck between the two companies or if the movie is well into production. The announcement also makes some sense with the planned addition of Super Mario themed attractions at Universal Studios theme parks.
We’ll have to wait and see, but I think many would echo this next sentiment.
Let’s a’GO!
Nintendo and Illumination are partnering on a movie starring Mario, co-produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri! pic.twitter.com/wVRPLIzcGJ
Mario has been a staple of the gaming industry since the very early arcade days when he was just a humble sprite named Jump Man who wanted nothing more than to save a poor woman he loved named Pauline from a beast, barrel throwing ape named Donkey Kong. Since those early days, things have changed immensely for our humble protagonist and he has since been on many adventures through many lands and beyond even to the galaxy. After Super Mario Galaxy however, a question entered the minds of me and my friends and that question was “Where could Mario possibly go exploring the entire galaxy?” and we joked and theorized, but we could not have possibly guessed the answer in store for us; that answer was possession. Yes, Mario and his new friend Cappy can possess various beings in the world in order to help him, of course, save Princess Peach; some things will never change. This time, however, there is a forced marriage to Bowser that needs to be foiled.
There are two main differences in this game. The first difference is the scale of the world and the second is the gameplay. Regarding the former, the world is simply put, huge. You may think the world is large during the story campaign, but once you complete the story you will see just how big in scale this game is. There are large areas to explore in this world and even beyond the world to the moon at one point. Each area is filled with so many nooks and crannies and secrets it took many hours to fully explore some places. Aside from just the aesthetic value, your main incentive for exploring and discovering each area’s secrets is to find Power Moons that give you moon power. What does moon power do for you? Well, it fuels and repairs your titular ship, The Odyssey and also gives completionist a nice long scavenger hunt challenge to find all the moons. Once you have the necessary moon power to fuel or repair your ship, you’re off to the next land. While in these lands, you will see how different the gameplay is to other Mario games.
Instead of just hopping on Goombas or swatting an enemy with a tanooki tail, you now have your friend Cappy who replaces your signature cap after Bowser destroys the original. Cappy can be thrown by Mario to kill enemies or even more fun, possess enemies to perform various tasks to either get past puzzles or get from platform to platform to get to particular parts in the world. You may need to possess a Goomba and jump on other Goombas to create a stack of them to reach high points or you may need to become a Hammerhead brother and knock down walls. The end of the game has a particularly special possession that really was a satisfying conclusion along with the end to the story campaign. You also can not ignore the joy of literally becoming a T-rex in a Mario game and smashing everything in your way. If you want to play along with a friend or partner or family member, there is a multiplayer mode similar to that of Mario Galaxy that allows for someone to control Cappy. Along with Cappy being able to change forms into various styles of hats, Mario too can purchase new outfits and styles in each level’s store with a special unique currency exclusive to that world. Each store different theme of clothes associated with the area you’re in.
Mario Odyssey is one of the most satisfying Mario games that I have experienced since Mario 64, way back in 1996. With many touching tributes to Mario past, exciting new gameplay and plenty of gorgeous lands to explore and all the hours of exploring and challenges, even if you are not a fan of Mario games, this is highly recommended. If you need a reason to get yourself a Nintendo Switch, this is it. I foresee this game making plenty of critic top 10 lists for the year, and it isn’t without reason. Mario Oddsey is truly a special experience and shouldn’t be missed.
When Ubisoft and Nintendo decided they wanted to join forces to create a mashup of two great franchises, both had some great characters to chose from. The most obvious choice of franchise from Ubisoft would have to be the Rayman franchise and Nintendo could never go wrong using Mario to contribute to a game. One might think Ubisoft would use Rayman himself to team up with Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom crew and also his colorful friends such as Globox, Betilla the Fairy and maybe even an Annetta Fish, but then Ubisoft surprised everyone by using one of the most polarized groups of characters ever created, the Rabbids. Some find them charming, some find them insufferably annoying, but it was certain they would get attention, scrutinous or otherwise. As the gaming community raised an eyebrow at this bizarre concept, many questioned if Ubisoft had made a terrible mistake; only the final product of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle would tell us if it was.
One surprise was the backstory of this mashup. In a complicated scene, we find that a young inventor who is a big fan of Mario has created a device that can combine two items into a single entity. This device is called the “SupaMerge helmet”. As fate would have it, the Rabbids enter the scene, causing mayhem like they usually do, and end up combining themselves with some beloved Mario characters and then creating a vortex that takes them to the Mushroom Kingdom. This disrupts the Kingdom immensely and now the Mario crew and the nice Rabbids must put it all right by defeating enemies, both Rabbid and Mushroom Kingdom.
The game is a turn based tactical game, much like X-Com. You move your characters in a grid formation based on how you want to attack the enemies, hide from the enemies or defend your fellow party members and proceed with your turn and fulfil whatever winning criteria is given to you. This could mean defeating all enemies, defeating a particular number of enemies or reaching the other end of the map. You have special abilities for your characters are level up and special secondary weapons that are available to you. I was personally a huge fan of Luigi’s sentries and vacuums as well as Rabbid Peach’s Sentries which follow an enemy and do a large attack by blowing up a certain area, causing damage. It is especially useful if you need to keep your distance from certain enemies that get extra moves like the smashers. If you are afraid that this game might be watered down from other turn-based strategy games or not challenging enough, you will be pleasantly surprised by Mario + Rabbids. There is a fair amount of challenge in this game without being overwhelming or terribly frustrated and if you are not familiar with this style of game or are in a tough situation, you can trigger an easy mode to get you through to the next level. Alternatively, if you find the game too easy, you can play on a higher difficulty. This game caters to all types of gamer preferences. I personally stayed on normal mode and found it enjoyable. There are also some interesting puzzles along the way to solve in between each level. They aren’t particularly hard but do keep the momentum going.
Where the game loses me is the concept itself. The idea of combining Rabbids and Mario is very jarring and it never really immersed me. I feel you could have replaced both of these and still had the same game. If this was a purely Mario turned based tactic game, it might have seemed to make more sense, or if it was even just a Rabbid/Rayman game it would have been better, but the combination just doesn’t work together. I found the individual characters fun and amusing and Ubisoft redeemed the Rabbids for me with the Peach Rabbid in particular, but the whole finished project just never hit home for me. Over all, this fun and worth playing and a great addition to the turn-based tactical genre, even if all elements don’t completely work. If you are looking for a well made turn-based game, you should pick this up for the Switch.
Paper Mario Color Splash is a comical and nostalgic entry in the franchise that almost takes on a 90’s PC adventure game vibe. With less emphasis on RPG elements in this release it may feel awkward at first, but it’s a worthwhile journey to take. Some of the set pieces along the way really make for great additions to the story. Other reviewers have touched upon some of the great moments like the Pirate Ship and Haunted Inn.
Much of this content is decently lengthy and encourages exploration which really adds to that classic adventure game feel. I couldn’t decide if the game is actually hard and we just got lucky at times, or if exploration is done just right to keep you progressing. There has been the odd time I’d wandered about trying to figure out where to go next, but between quick searches online or stumbling across characters who point you in the right direction, the game has flowed well. Areas are split up in a Super Mario World style overworld map, as seen below, allowing you to go back and forth between different stages quickly.
Really it’s the story to get into Color Splash for. Princess Peach has received a colorless Toad in the mail and she takes him to Mario. They set off to Prisma Island where the Toad had been mailed from to try and discover what is going on. Upon arrival they meet Huey, a talking paint can who is distraught that the port town is missing it’s Big Paint Stars. It quickly turns out Shy Guys are using straws to suck the paint out of Toads, flowers, the walls, everything! These colorless splotches can be filled in by Mario’s new paint hammer. You’ll use paint from the three primary colors, and get more paint from hammering various objects, to color in the world again.
This gimmick is actually pretty neat since it gets you exploring your surroundings more to try and get 100% in each area. Unfortunately the game doesn’t give you a big notification when you do get 100% of the spots in a level. Instead you’ll just have to check out your stats menu on the GamePad which isn’t open while walking about. Info like that and a more constant reminder of how many cards out of your maximum you have would have been helpful.
Cards are another thing altogether. As mentioned above, you don’t really have RPG elements in the game. Sure you battle it out like in most Paper Mario games, but you don’t level up or such. Instead, finding Big Paint Stars rewards with more HP and gives you an eventual advantage to one shot certain enemies outside of combat. At first the card system can feel cumbersome. You’ll get a display of cards for jumping, hammers, fire flowers, your typical attacks, on the GamePad. After selecting your attack you’ll paint it in if it isn’t already to power it up. Finally you’ll flick the cards at your TV with the stylus. Like with many Wii U interactions, this is a cool interface that feels unique. It just takes a bit to get used to. Battle cards aren’t complex. They just activate various moves and serve as your way to attack enemies.
One tricky part however is making sure you have the right kind of cards on you and don’t just stack your deck with stuff that will get you stuck. I’ve had some challenging moments, but I haven’t had to reload because of battle cards. Thing cards are another story however. They are big attacks that you can use in combat, but they are also items you’d find in an adventure game to solve puzzles. One ability you’ll learn early on is to cut away parts of the environment. This can at times allow you to drop in one of these Thing cards to solve a puzzle. If the game is ever awkwardly bashing you over the head with a word that relates to one of your Thing card items, take that as a massive hint. There has been the rare time we got stuck this way. You do really need to put the breaks on in each area and explore around. You can also talk to Huey for hints as well by pressing up on the directional pad.
Those frustrating moments are few at least and most of the time the game does a good job in making you feel clever. The rare time you may tear an area apart only to figure out that if you just walk into the background and try to walk behind the scenery, you’ll find a ramp up to where you want to go however. It’s those moments I’ve felt incredibly lucky on. A decent number of times we’ve said, “That could have really drug out if we didn’t find that.” I don’t know if anyone has become stuck in any of those situations, but at times it just feels like we stumbled upon what we needed by chance.
I won’t go into much detail about it, especially since I haven’t beat the game yet, but there is one personal frustration I have with this title. For years I’ve been waiting for the cast of Super Mario 2 USA to return. There’s even a mention of Wart by one of the Toads in this game. The Shy Guys are his minions! I’d love to see an expanded universe Mario game and this one really could have been it. I’ve poked around a bit online but haven’t seen any reference to Wart being in the game. There is a big cast from Super Mario 2 USA that added new dynamics to the flow of a Mario title. I’d love to see any of the bosses return. Really I’d love to see a return to SubCon itself. I’d just give up, but there is so much Mario 2 nostalgia in this game! I’ll be eagerly awaiting anything like this to ever be released.
My personal obsession with an old Nintendo game from 1988 aside, Color Splash really does have a lot going for it. The story is interesting and keeps you playing. Various characters you meet along the way are fun, as are the areas you’ll explore. Many times the game did make us legitimately laugh out loud and it really has quality writing poured into it. Really the only awkward thing that makes the game drag a little is combat. It’s strange to say for a series that started with RPG routes, but I could have done with less combat and more adventure game content. There are times you’ll be referenced to return to a previous area and talk to someone there. I was more interested in that content than really doing much of the battling. It isn’t that the combat is bad. It’s more so that the game’s story is so fun that you just want to stomp or hammer the enemies out of the way to enjoy the content instead. At least I did. That and wandering the land trying to paint every last spot in each area.
Visually the game is absolutely beautiful! Color Splash uses the paper craft style that the series is known for and makes it cleaner than ever. When you actually look back to even just Thousand Year Door, the art style really stands out as even more realized. The world comes alive as you unfurl paper bridges, watch some of the scenery tremble with each hammer hit, and even as enemies and friends react like crumpled paper cutouts. The style looks great and the simplistic character animation is enhanced by the actual motion and turning of the paper cutouts they are painted on.
Paper Mario Color Splash really is worthwhile. It has the feel of the series you’ve come to know and love in the story, with a new card combat system that while different doesn’t feel out of place. I usually love grinding for levels in RPG’s, so that’s probably why I’ve personally taken to the story more since that’s absent in this game. You are rewarded with more maximum paint after collecting hammers that drop after battle along with some coins, but I love the stats of previous releases. Again, that doesn’t devalue this title. It just makes it different.
You’ll find lots to enjoy in Color Splash. The game feels like a quality Nintendo product. Sure we can nitpick various elements about it, but they aren’t really that big of a deal. Besides Wart, I want 16 games featuring him for the 30th anniversary of Super Mario 2 in 2018 Nintendo! Combat and cutting out areas are the only main uses of the GamePad which keeps it from feeling overused. Looking down at your cards may feel cumbersome at first, but it’s something you get used to that isn’t overly intrusive. It’s a fun adventure and a good value for the lengthy time you’ll be spending on Prisma Island.
At today’s Apple media event, Shigeru Miyamoto made a big splash when he appeared on-stage to announce Super Mario Run. Speaking alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook through translator Bill Trinen, Miyamoto detailed Nintendo’s first-ever iOS game. The game features traditional Mario platforming reworked for mobile devices. Super Mario Run launches first on iPhone and iPad this December.
Nintendo and mobile partner DeNA have built Super Mario Run with one-handed play in mind. The game will offer two modes focused on jumping, as Mario runs through the Mushroom Kingdom automatically to the right.
Nintendo will release a set of Mario-themed stickers for use in iMessage in the coming week. Users can subscribe to launch notifications through the App Store on their iPad or iPhone.
Odds are, at some point we’ve ALL wanted to do this. In 2015, you’ll be able to create your own Super Mario Bros. levels on the Wii U console. I remember (back in my day *waves cane like Cranky Kong*) putting in Game Genie codes just to see what kind of scrambled up, randomized Mario levels I could discover. Now Nintendo is giving me the power to do that on my own? YES PLEASE! Read on for the trailer! Just look at what you can do!Read More
Released just a couple days ago in Japan, Mario Kart fans can get behind the wheel of Mario Kart Arcade Gran Prix DX. There’s even a trailer released for the game and the folks over at Arcade Heroes shared a video of the arcade unit as well.
Check out all the action after the break, and discuss what you think of this new addition to the series. This is a different title, not to be confused with Mario Kart 8 which is a seperate Wii U game.Read More
Nintendo will be releasig two updates to the Wii U which will alow software to launch faster and a quicker return to Wii U menu. The first update will happen in the spring with the second in the summer.
VIRTUAL CONSOLE
Nintendo is launching their Virtual Console for the Wii U and you’ll be able to play VC games on the Wii U Gamepad right after Nintendo releases their Spring update. Both NES and SNES games will in introduced on the service as well as the eventual additions of Game Boy Advance games.Read More
There’s something about New Super Mario Bros. U that feels like a step onto new ground. First off, the map screen is a welcome change featuring winding pathways similar to Super Mario World. I know it’s just a simple cosmetic change, but with such little story in the side-scrolling games compared to the likes of Super Mario Galaxy, the world map gives more of an adventuring feel. I realize this is an odd point to start with, but I’m a huge fan of this and it’s a feature I’ve missed. New Super Mario Bros. Wii did a good job bringing it back, and New Super Mario Bros. U (hereafter Mario U) feels solid with the expansive map returning to the series.Read More
“First Person Goomba” is an animation made for the Machinima Interactive Film Festival by animator Filipe Costa. While it can seem pretty deep, I’m sure it’s meant to be taken in a light hearted fashion. Don’t worry kids, when you restart a level all those goomba’s are back again. The film festival even allows you to vote for your favourite at MachinimaInteractiveFilmFestival.com (the animation sections seem to be coming soon).
I wish I’d have known about this earlier since I would have liked to participate. Filipe’s animation shows what my friend Jason Nason has been saying for a long time, it’s a shame we don’t have more animation that looks like the in game 3D content that comes with Nintendo titles. If they made a series like this, I’d definitely watch it.
One of my biggest disappointments with the Super Mario Bros. series has been the drifting away from Mario 3 and Mario World overworld maps. I know, it’s all the same content but something just feels cooler about those expansive and wandering paths.
Now they’re back! This means I’ll definitely be moving in with my friends who buy a Wii U later this month and gather around it’s warming glow in late November. This news is a complete thrill to me. I loved the content of other Mario games, but disliked the straight line of levels. After all, many classic Nintendo games were about exploration and finding secrets.
I’m thrilled about this news. To see a pan over of the world map by Kotaku, check out the video below. Of course, you may want to skip it if you want to be surprised while exploring the overworld. The ending could be considered a spoiler.
North American Club Nintendo members who plan on downloading New Super Mario Bros. 2 can look forward to receiving double the amount of coins to use on the site than those who don’t download the game. The download bonus for the people over in Japan, however, will be a free copy of Donkey Kong: Original Edition. Yes, the 1981 arcade classic will be an incentive for the Japanese to start buying more games digitally. Nintendo plans on making games available with purchasable physical and digital copies, and a promotion like this one will help spread the word.
Donkey Kong: Original Edition is special because it includes an extra stage that the 1983 Famicom version of the game was originally intended to have. This edition of the game has never been sold, and it was only included in the Mario 25th Anniversary red Wii bundle back in 2010 for the European market. Sadly, there’s no information on when, or if, Donkey Kong: Original Edition will ever make it here to the states. Read More
There is a number of different elements that make up a video game. One is obviously the gameplay. Two would be the pretty images that you see on your screen. But there is one area where many people are finally getting to notice: the music.
Video game music has, for a long time, but one of my most favorite parts of a video game. Of course, this applies to movies as well, but video games have been truly unique in the way music has been presented over the years. So much, that a music genre spawned from the type of music that video games have represented over the years: Chiptunes. Of course, music have evolved so much since the days of the 8 bit processor. Today, a lot of music takes it’s steps from its roots and goes into hollywood.
The effect today gives us a great, emotional and riveting sound in our years that we became accustomed to and many people today will even by the soundtracks for the games. During the course of my time as gamer, there have been plethora of music that I have listen to and loved. Today, Broken Joysticks give you, our lovely readers, a new look at music and to give the player and music lover in your, a whole new world to love in video games.Read More
