Super Mario Brothers -- Media Review 1 (Colton)
When Plumbers Became Popular: Super Mario is a name that bridges generations, everyone and their grandma knows who Mario is, and his influence in the gamer world is unrivaled even today. But how about his non-gaming appearances? Well, let's-a-go see! It should come as no shock that Mario is a name most commonly associated with the color red, and overalls, and pipes, coins, mushrooms, monsters, and all those fun things. No, we’re not talking about a bad trip through New York… yet… We’re talking about the all powerful 1985 smash hit, Super Mario Bros, a game that would go on to shape the video game industry for years to come, establishing Nintendo as a supertitan of video games. Mario enjoys a lot of success through this game, and even in the face of games today, still stacks up as one of the most replayable games of all time, cementing itself at number 14 on the list of best video games of all time according to IGN. What’s number 1 you ask? The 1992 game Super Mario World, now how’s that for staying power? Enough flexing rewards, let’s talk about why the awards were gotten in the first place. Mario Brothers is a simple side scrolling platformer, in which you jump on enemies to destroy them or simply jump over them, avoiding hazards, collecting coins, getting power-ups and beating the big boss at the end, Bowser, and save Princess Peach (or Daisy, depending on the game). Mario is player 1 and Luigi, his younger brother, is player 2. This game was such a massive hit that other companies just couldn't keep up with sales in the wake of each iteration of the Mario franchise, and a lot of brands crumbled under the weight of Nintendo, including Atari, NEOGEO, Philips CDI, and perhaps most notably, SEGA. My review of the game is simple. Mario is an easy to learn, difficult to complete game, and easily has the ability to captivate any type of mind with its iconic and memorable characters, and it’s fun and quirky nature. Sound design can make or break a game, and Mario doesn't skimp on that either. The sounds from that game are all unique and easily recognizable , and have persisted over time with little to no changes. The unique way of playing has made Mario a staple in any video game player’s life, even today with the release of the newest Mario title, Super Mario Odyssey, not much has changed in the way the game is played, except that now the game is in 3D, allowing Mario to free-roam, while also dipping into classic 2D worlds. But back to 1985 and 1992, these games planted the roots of a very large and very strong tree of games. What was Mario going to do with all his success and popularity? Same thing that many other (actual) people have done, go to Hollywood! In 1993, right after the Super Mario World game came out one year prior, Disney and Hollywood Pictures went on to make a movie titled only “Super Mario Brothers”, starring Bob Hoskins as the Mario himself, and John Leguizamo as Luigi in a plot to save Princess Daisy (see?) from an alternate Bowser named, I kid you not, President Koopa. How was this movie? Obviously Oscar-worthy. I joke of course, the movie wasn’t great. It has a 14 on Rotten Tomatoes and from the audience it got a 28. Here’s my review of the movie. Play Super Mario Brothers first. If you don’t know the source material going in, you’re gonna be sitting there the entire time asking yourself what the hell is happening. It was way too hyper realistic, and it really threw off the charm of the light hearted Mario Franchise, although it was amusing seeing these unholy adaptations of lovable enemies and allies. Rocky Morton and Anabel Jankel, the directors, tried their best to make some magic out of this 42 million dollar non-story, and Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo are not bad actors at all, they were just cast in a terrible movie. If you asked Bob Hoskins about that movie, he’d go on to describe it as “A f-in nightmare”. The duo went on to do a set of roles seperate from each other, but they will always be known for those overalls. The movie is cringey at best to watch, the trailer is all you really need to see to get the idea of what the movie is. Mario went back to video games where he belongs, but that movie will always serve as the textbook example of the infamous “Video Game Movie”.