Is Super Mario Odyssey the Best Mario Game Ever?

     Super Mario Odyssey is out and holy goomba on a stick is it is awesome. This time Mario has to step out of the Mushroom Kingdom and brave a whole new world as he sets sail to rescue Princess Peach, again. It's no doubt that Odyssey is a great game with a ton of creativity in the many worlds Mario has to look for Power Moons in, new mechanics that spices up old traditional 3D Mario gameplay, and tons of stuff to explore in the many kingdoms, including secrets and easter eggs. With a ton of stuff to do and how great Odyssey looks and plays, you have to wonder is it the best Mario game ever?

     It is no doubt that Odyssey is modeled after past 3D Mario titles. Odyssey is the first open world Mario Game since Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64. The first Mario 3D title, Super Mario 64 is set the standard for ever 3D Mario game as its influence is not only calling back to the Mushroom Kingdom but to its exploration and gameplay as Mario is in these huge worlds looking for Power Moons which are the stars in the game, literally in the Mushroom Kingdom. While Mario 64 is the blueprint, Super Mario Sunshine is the biggest contributor to Odyssey's development.
       The goal in Odyssey's development seems to be to take things that were in both 64 and Sunshine and take it to newer heights like a P-Wing. Like Sunshine you do get traditional gameplay mixed in with a ton of puzzles elements, but Odessey takes thing and flip it on its head. The puzzles and puzzlier and funnier. What's also is on its head is Cappy which seems to be a huge step up than what FLUDD was in Sunshine. With Cappy, Mario is able to do all sorts of things from attacking enemies, using him to jump further, and possess enemies.

     If possessing enemies isn't enough then there are a ton of easter eggs and secrets in the game. Easter eggs and references isn't anything new to Mario games, especially the recent ones. Odyssey is however chock full of throwbacks to send you into a nostalgia coma for months. From almost everything in the Mushroom Kingdom (including Yoshi's house from Super Mario World) to Metro Kingdom referencing Mario's Jumpman days in Donkey Kong.
    Odyssey has up the ante in term of content and gameplay than its predecessors but is it a much better game than both? It's hard to make a definitive judgement as each Mario game have its charm. Odyssey is technically the better game, but it doesn't have the feel to it 64 exploring the castle grounds and the character that Sunshine had venturing Isle Defino. It is good that Odyssey does take things up a notch compared to 64 and Sunshine and it's great that it does those things without ruining classing 3D Mario gameplay.

What are your thoughts?

We Were Never Going Back To Kanto

     Sun and Moon came out during Pokemon's 20th Anniversary. With it's release we had a ton of call backs to the original Red and Blue games. We got to see a ton of generation 1 pokemon all throughout Alola along with Alolan forms of some of them, Alola, having its own variation of nugget bridge even re-enacting the time you had to fight trainers and a Team Rocket grunt at the end, and even fighting Red and Blue at Battle Tree. You even were treated a Machoke stomping the land flat in Sun and Moon's demo.
     So with all of these nods back to the gen 1 games, a trailer, a lot of fans were hopeful that with Sun and Moon's release we were going to take a journey back to the Kanto region a la Gold and Silver. Right? Wrong. Sun and Moon came out and it looks like *spoilers* the only one taking a trip to Kanto was Lillie in the game's ending. Ultra Moon and ultra Sun are on its way and Kanto journey hopefuls that wouldn't let the dream die got hopeful again with a screenshot where it looks like you would be back in Lt. Surge's gym and even Mega Sun and Mega Moon will be featuring Team Rocket grunts to name even more callbacks. Later it turns out it's just a new area in one of the towns in Alola. So, the dream died and people are sad that they won't be going back to the land that started it all. Should they?
     The only game that ever had you go back to a region from a previous game was Gold and Silver. And the only reason behind that was probably because Jhoto was a region literally across from Kanto. After Gold and Silver you only stayed in the current region and never went back to the previous one. You were treated however to some references to other regions and even some events that happened from past games. They've never broke away from this in the other generations so it wouldn't make sense to do it in this current generation even if it was the 20th anniversary. Nintendo and the Pokemon Company wants you to focus on Alola and there's nothing wrong with that.
     And even if they did decide to take you back to Kanto, it most likely wouldn't be the Kanto we all would remember. According to the timeline, yes there is a timeline, Sun and Moon takes place years after Red and Blue. Again, we see this now with Red and Blue being adults. We may not recognize towns and different places in Kanto if we ever went back. We may not even see the same characters and gym leaders. A lot has changed in Kanto during the events in Gold and Silver since we last been there three years ago. Cinnabar Island is gone, The Pokemon tower in Lavender town was changed from a spooky pokemon cemetery to not so spooky radio tower, and Blue and Janine took over gym leader duties in place of Koga and Giovanni (who is still on the run). It's maybe best to remember Kanto the way it was.

What Games Should Be in the Game Boy Classic (If There is One)?

     So Nintendo has been conducting the Nostalgia train with not one but two emulators. First we got the NES Classic which gave us a wave of 8-bit games that we used to play during that era. Then we got the SNES Classic that not only up the ante with all of our favorite SNES games, but gave us the unreleased Star Fox 2. Both emulators have sold well so it's no sudden surprise that Nintendo MIGHT keep the trend going by giving us a Game Boy Classic as well, according to rumors.
     I, like a lot of you all remember pestering our moms for one. I for one drove my mom up the wall playing my Game Boy so much that I literally wore them out and she had to buy multiple ones for me. I like a lot of took them everywhere and that was the whole appeal. You can play your favorite games anywhere, as long as you had a good pair of double A batteries. Anyway, if they do make it official what games will make the cut? Here's a list of what I hope will:

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

So the first one must've been so good that they had to make another one right? SML2 was in every way bigger and grander than its predecessor even to its graphics. Who can't forget playing this game. How difficult the star maze level was. Fighting the three little pigs in the Mario zone. Also this game was the debut of our favorite garlic eating money grubbing schemer Wario.

Super Mario Land

The original. This was almost like a Super Mario Bros remix as instead of Princess Peach, you had to rescue Princess Daisy in the four different kingdoms of Sarassaland. It was portable fun with classic Mario gameplay and a couple of screen shooter elements in it via Mario's toypop plane.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

This was an excellent debut for Wario as he was on a mission to get treasure and a giant statue of Princess Peach. I remember trying to find all the secrets of the game to get a 100% and get the best ending.

Kirby's Dreamland

This was the debut of everyone's favorite little pink marshmallow. It has all true classic Kirbyness so why shouldn't this make the cut.

Donkey Kong '94

This is almost a remix of the classic Donkey Kong arcade game. It introduces the classic levels but also gives you a bunch of platform-puzzle levels. I remember how fun it was playing this.

Bomberman GB

We didn't get this in the US, not in its original version. So if Nintendo can pull a Star Fox 2, then they can very well do it again with this game.

Castlevania: The Adventure

You think the early Castlevania games were hard and fun on the NES, try a portable version of it. It plays just like the classic Castlevania games that we love without the truly horror induced 3D games that we weren't fond of. Also nobody's dressed up in weird BDSM leather crap.

Donkey Kong Land

The SNES port was so awesome right? Why not make a Game Boy version of it. For the most part it played like a condensed version of DKC, and that's not a bad thing.

Final Fantasy Adventure

Putting Zelda in a Final Fantasy game? What more could you want? This was one of the first Final Fantasy spin-offs they made where they experimented and tweaked with gameplay along with Mystic Quest. As I stated earlier this game was unique as it gave us the series' traditional battle gameplay elements mixed with Zelda gameplay with an top-down overworld screen and dungeon puzzle solving. This spin-off also gave way to the Mana series.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

More Zelda is always good. So this was like mini Zelda in that you were not in Hyrule and solving classic Zelda dungeon puzzles in an island trying to wake a giant magic fish. It's more awesome than it sounds. More so that the Zelda team recently did a call back to the game with a quest in Breath of the Wild.

Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge

More Mega Man. More good.

X

Want to know where that cool song from Super Smash Bros Brawl? This where it came from. This game was giving us 16 bit 3D before Star Fox.

Metroid II: Return of Samus

I know. We got a enhanced remake with Samus Returns. So why not compare both games by putting this on the list. Both seem to be great games in the series.

Tetris

This is the game you've wasted countless hours on playing. So it would be a crime for Nintendo to put this in the Game Boy Classic. This came out at a time where everyone was obsessed with lining weird shaped block in order. Hell, putting Tetris on the Game Boy was responsible for the Game Boy being as big as it was.

Game and Watch Gallery

Classic minigames from the Game and Watch series remixed with Mario. You can even play the classic versions.

Maybe Rare Is In The Right About Not Revisiting Past Franchises

     Rare dropped a bit of a bombshell on us recently in regards to fans asking to return to old franchises. In an interview with DK Vine, head of Rare studio Craig Duncan has said that they are not interested in going back to old franchises, even going as far as saying that it would be "the worst thing for Rare to do." He further stated.

 "I don't think it's OK to just go make the same game that people loved before but with up-to-date graphics, audio and all those things [...] Just making them again with whatever technology's available today - that's not Rare," Duncan said. "I think that what Rare is, is doing the kind of games that only Rare would go do."

He continues to say:

"If I went and said to Rare, 'hey, go remake all of the stuff that was kind of successful at the time but make it up-to-date,' I don't think it would be good, and I don't think it would be relevant, and I don't think people would really want it. I think they might think they do, but I don't think they would."

     This kinda upset fans who probably were looking forward and hoping that Rare would dust off old franchises like Banjo-Kazooie and Conker and get new games. I kinda understand where people are coming from being upset, but strangely enough I'm on the side of Rare.
     Yeah, it could be nice to see more Banjo-Kazooie and Conker games but realistically, not every old franchise can be like Mario or Zelda where you can do tweak the standard gameplay and keep the old fans happy and mostly everything works wonderfully. Making these games with out trying to improve on the gameplay and just relying on better graphics just so that we can live in a wonderful world of nostalgia™ would be a disservice to the series that we loved when we were kids.That's what happened when Rare gave us Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts where it did have its great parts like its inside jokes and story, but left us with a sour taste in our mouths when they almost completely ditched the classic platformer gameplay and in Banjo's spiritual successor Yooka Laylee made by Playtonic, former Rare developers, which was a basic former shell of its predecessor with a lot of old, but not enough new to keep us satisfied. Also don't get me started on the Sonic series.
     It seems that Rare is interested in giving trying out fresh and new game mechanics, but in new games which it isn't a bad thing. In closing let the past be in the past where we love it and accept that, and probably get a really good emulator. What are your thoughts?

Jobs Mario Needs

Yes boys and girls, it's true. Nintendo has recently announced that Mario is no longer a plumber. Since 1981 Mario's debut in Donkey Kong it's been unknown what was his occupation and how the hell could he afford a gorilla named Donkey Kong. It wasn't until the game Mario Bros that Mario and his brother Luigi were officially deemed as plumbers, a matter of fact the game is them dealing with creatures that got flushed down pipes. Over the years as Mario went on to save Princess Peach, he kinda taken his plumbing job in the back burner with it being referenced in a couple video games. Now that it seems that Mario has officially hung up his... plunger? What will he do now to earn coins for a living?

Game Show Host

Mario sure knows how to throw a party. With doing all the zany mini games in the Mario Party series that he and other Mario characters do, why don't he become a game show host? The mini games almost have a American Ninja Warrior or Double Dare feeling to it, why not ad trivial questions to it and have it become a full fledged show? His friends be chased by boulders, boos, and wack each other with hammers for coins. Why not for other fabulous prizes? Maybe a BRAND NEW CAR!

Racer

Mario Kart is easily hands down the most successful Mario spin-offs. Its popularity was huge enough for it to be treated as a it's own thing in Super smash Bros with  not only stages dedicated to the games but items as well. It's time for Mario to take off on the sudden high wave of popularity and shift gears and become a race car driver.

Bodyguard

Let's face it. The Toad guards are not doing their job right. Even getting kidnapped themselves. Peach needs to up her security.

Actor

I know we all remember the Super Mario Bros movie and how horrible it was (We can never forget tragedies. They haunt us forever.) Horrible cinematography? Could be. Bad script? Maybe. Bad acting? Dennis Hopper wasn't a great Koopa in it so probably, but it was definitely missing something: Mario! Maybe if Mario himself could've saved the film from being one of the worst video game movies ever. The first movie he was in didn't suck... that much.

Doctor

So Mario has been a doctor for a while in the Dr. Mario games. No longer being a plumber could mean him finally putting on the white jacket permanently. The Mushroom Kingdom needs a prescription that only Dr. Mario can fill out! Wait, Mario is an actual doctor, right? If not at least he can play one like a certain one on TV.

Fuck It! Enjoy Retirement

Fuck it. Life's too good to be fixing leaky pipes and toilets. You can just live the retired life. You've accumulated a ton of money from busting blocks and traveling to countless worlds saving Princess Peach over the past thirty plus years. Plus I'm sure Ninendo and Miyamoto-san can cut you a check or at least give you a piece of the Mario game sales, right? RIGHT? No? Oh. I wonder if lawyers take gold coins.

Sonic Mania: Awesome Because of Nostalgia?

     Sonic Mania is out and holy crapballs is it amazing. For those who don't know and are new, Sonic mania is one of the two new Sonic games coming out this year. Mania seems to be a retro love letter to the previous Sonic games of the 16 bit era.  The constant work of nostalgia has seemed to garnered the love of fans and critics alike. But is the game's love and success due to the huge galore of nostalgia or is there something else behind why the game being so awesome?
     There's no doubt that Sonic Mania is a big pretty package of nostalgia and glory to the earlier Sonic games. It's return to full 2D and full retro feel. The return of the Blue Sphere mini game. classic retro zones returning, the Special zones being ripped straight out of the Sonic CD. It is even chocked full of secrets and easter eggs going back to that to Sonic's golden era of games. But we've seen the nostalgia card being waved before in the Sonic series and it hasn't worked or wasn't quite perfected, looking at you Sonic 4. Sonic Mania is the response to what the fans want: A simple Sonic game.
     The team fronted by Christian Taxman, who worked on the earlier Sonic games, stripped down and went with what worked in the past games, and went back to basics which ironically is what the series needed to do all along to stay fresh. No weird game mechanics. No Werehog, no dark and gritty reboot like Sonic '06 was, and whatever the hell Shadow the Hedgehog was. It is a far cry from some of the Sonic games I referenced from the series' later years where development teams tried piled on so much stuff in games that it just ended up being a big mess. The nostalgia is only a front.
      Hopefully Sega has learned learned something from this and maybe Sonic 4 that less is more and simple works. They seemed to be on the right track with Generations and it would be nice to momentum continued with Forces whenever that comes out.

Where The Hell Is A New Darkstalkers Game?

The 90s was some sort of a golden era for games. You had a SNES in almost every household. Mario was the king of games and Sonic was ever so quick on his heels to overthrow him. But most importantly quarters fell like rain in arcade shops. If it was one genre that thrived in the 90s, it was fighting games. It all started with Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat took it to higher places and knocked the genre off a pit. If you could claim a king of fighting game hits it would be no other than Capcom. Street Fighter, Final Fight, X-Men vs. Street Fighter which was introduction to the Marvel vs Capcom series. All amazing hit games, but there was never a more interesting game than Darkstalkers.

     If you don't know what Darkstalkers was it was Street Fighter meets Halloween where you had fighters based off of iconic monsters. You had Vampires, Succubi, and a Frankenstein monster that attacks you with his butt. It was great, great enough to not only get video game sequels but an anime series and one cartoon that was not so great. But just like everything good in the 90s and Santa after mom and dad lost their job, we stopped getting games. Now this doesn't mean that we stop seeing Darkstalker characters altogether, the series had enough of a fanbase that Capcom featured a couple of Darkstalker characters here in there in other fighting games, most noticeably the Marvel vs. Capcom series. But why did they stop making Darkstalker games and most importantly what will get them to resurrect the series again?
     Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono has said at Comic Con 2010 that it would be his dream to revive the series and that is exactly what he has tried. At the following Comic-con even he told fans that the series is not dead and took pictures of people at the panel that wanted the series back in order to spark Capcom's interest. A couple of years later Capcom announced Darkstalkers: Resurrection which was met with positive reviews, but was a commercial flop. Nothing new about the series came after that.
     Capcom has announced that they are considering blowing the dust off of some of their more dormant titles. Darkstalkers should at least be in the considering. It was obvious that Resurrection was Capcom testing the waters to see if they can revive the series and again, despite it not selling well that shouldn't have been the main reason to not make more games. There could've been a lot of factors behind Resurrection not doing as well as it did most importantly how Capcom treated and promoted the game and people not wanting to by a full fledged fighting game than a compilation best of. Things have changed since then. With the recent re-interest in fighting games, reviving the Darkstalkers series would be the best plan for them to make. Also considering the recent success with Ultra Street Fighter II it would be a big why not for Capcom. It is time to act now while the iron is hot but not with another best of, but they should gamble more with an actual new game. It is something their still prominent fanbase would want. Plus it seems it will be better than Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite is looking right now.