I usually don't vent a lot about the Super Mario Bros. series, but over the forum a fair amount I've asked about this game gave me a reasonable doubt to post this. I feel there's not enough left of the series to be interesting tbh.

Super Mario Galaxy 1 was probably the last good and entertaining Mario experience for me. Not only was the platforming fun, but it was all packaged together with an amazing soundtrack, impressive visuals and had a fantastic feel to it. It was something we've never seen before.
I guess the fact it was so new and so nicely presented it's why Super Mario Galaxy 2 felt so unenjoyable for me. Galaxy 2's level were almost complete redos of level designs from Galaxy 1, soundtrack barely changed and every level was an excuse to abuse a power up, rather than enjoying the platforming. Throughout the entirety of Galaxy 2 I was constantly thinking that Galaxy 1 was better. Not anything in Galaxy 2 shaped up to it. It felt less like a sequal, but more like a expansion pack, or even a patch of the first game how little was added.

New Super Mario Bros on the DS was also a really good platforming experience. It felt almost exactly like the classic Mario's on the NES/SNES. The fact that it was designed to be such a nice throwback to the originals was great. But New Super Mario Bros. Wii tried to do the exact same and, exactly like Galaxy 2, failed to even slightly rekindle the same experience as the previous installment. Super Mario 3D Land was an attempt to try something new, but felt like Galaxy 2 and Mario Bros. Wii glued together. I've haven't even bothered with New Super Mario Bros. 2 and probably won't for a long time. Just looking at the screenshots made me look away from it.

I'm not saying the Mario games are bad. They still have a quality to them, but it feels like the same quality as before to me. What's even more depressing is Mario Galaxy 1 was 2007 and I've yet to play a Mario game that I've even slightly enjoyed since then. If this keeps up, there's no power up Nintendo can conjure up that will impress me.

But I could just be rambling here. What do you think? Do you think Mario has become stale or do you still find his recent games fun?

I have always enjoyed Mario games, whether they were the very first or the newest slightly changed version. Super Mario to me can never go stale. Once a fan, always a fan, if you know what I mean. Come to think of it, I think Super Mario Galaxy 1 is the only game I have been able to beat over and over and over again andstill play it. But you are right Raw, they do need to change it up a bit to keep the viewers, gamers, and customers buying. I haven't played one since Galaxy 1 due to the fact of the games looking slightly the same more often.

Yes, Mario has become stale like Metroid, Zelda, Pokémon. This seems natural and unavoidable. Nintendo needs to create NEW characters and new games instead making sequences and remakes.

The franchise make not change anything about, since it's known for what it's originally stacked up for.

All Mario games are whored out beyoned believe. However, they are fun and charming, and a good time waster. I still buy them so.... yeah.

I'm sure we could all name a whole ton of franchises that have become stale for a long time now, and Mario can easily be thrown into that mix. But even despite the same old formula, the same cheesy voicing, the non existant plot, there is just this charm somewhere about it, that allows it to continue to do so well.

It's just now become one of the those franchises that you know you are constantly going to see at least once a year. And the franchise has become so big, (just ask a lot of people outside gaming about Mario, and they would know who he is I imagine), that Nintendo would be rather foolish to end up dropping him altogether.

Lord Terra wrote:I'm sure we could all name a whole ton of franchises that have become stale for a long time now, and Mario can easily be thrown into that mix. But even despite the same old formula, the same cheesy voicing, the non existant plot, there is just this charm somewhere about it, that allows it to continue to do so well.

It's just now become one of the those franchises that you know you are constantly going to see at least once a year. And the franchise has become so big, (just ask a lot of people outside gaming about Mario, and they would know who he is I imagine), that Nintendo would be rather foolish to end up dropping him altogether.

But Mario has been boring for a long while now,bar Galaxy 2,and 3D Land.

Trigger wrote:All Mario games are whored out beyoned believe. However, they are fun and charming, and a good time waster. I still buy them so.... yeah.

They used to be charming and fun, well the classic Nintendo mario's, and they were a lot harder to beat unfortunately. Now we have these random outlandish ridiculous mario games that serve no purpose. After Mario Kart Race was made, I was officially done with Nintendo.

keyblade34 wrote:

Trigger wrote:All Mario games are whored out beyoned believe. However, they are fun and charming, and a good time waster. I still buy them so.... yeah.

They used to be charming and fun, well the classic Nintendo mario's, and they were a lot harder to beat unfortunately. Now we have these random outlandish ridiculous mario games that serve no purpose. After Mario Kart Race was made, I was officially done with Nintendo.

I liked Mario Kart racing. It was new, fun and exciting for me. I was tired of the old boring Mario jumping on blocks hitting mushrooms and doing retarded things that were vaguely unnecessary. Besides, the graphics on the old Mario games weren't that good IMO.

Lord Terra wrote:
I liked Mario Kart racing. It was new, fun and exciting for me. I was tired of the old boring Mario jumping on blocks hitting mushrooms and doing retarded things that were vaguely unnecessary. Besides, the graphics on the old Mario games weren't that good IMO.

Agreed. All of it's franchises are going downhill after the older mario generations.

keyblade34 wrote:
Agreed. All of it's franchises are going downhill after the older mario generations.

I have to disagree with you two. The Mario franchises have been doing well with all the additional things added to mario. Mario has grown up from a simple GBA game to a Muti color action pack video game. Just because it's not like the classics doesn't mean it's bad or going downhill.

Trigger wrote:All Mario games are whored out beyoned believe. However, they are fun and charming, and a good time waster. I still buy them so.... yeah.

But the game has gone a far way tbh, you can't lie about that yes it is whored out but in a good way.

Roxas wrote:

keyblade34 wrote:
Agreed. All of it's franchises are going downhill after the older mario generations.

I have to disagree with you two. The Mario franchises have been doing well with all the additional things added to mario. Mario has grown up from a simple GBA game to a Muti color action pack video game. Just because it's not like the classics doesn't mean it's bad or going downhill.

Well not everybody likes the direction Mario is going, it's too mainstream right now. Keeping it simple, basic and clean could have winned me over for the game but adding karts, worlds, ghosts, and etc. is overdoing it. It's over powering the game.