While Super Mario may have starred in what are considered some of the greatest games ever made, that doesn’t mean he is without fault. The Mario games have been some of the most innovative over the years, but they’ve still missed some real opportunities to grow beyond the original concept. The following four areas are ones where Nintendo has simply dropped the ball on fully exploiting Mario and his cohorts.
Only sticking with one character
This may sound heretical, but the Mario games need to move beyond just Mario. Super Mario Bros. 2 is considered by many to be the dark horse of the series, and part of that reasoning is because it allows for the other characters to get just as much screen time as the boy in blue overalls. Good, they need it. Outside of Mario 2, however, only the DS version of Super Mario 64 has really made an effort to embrace the others as playable characters.
Yes, there are the occasional spin-off games for Luigi, Wario, and Princess Peach, but that’s not the issue. The proper Mario games need to mix things up a bit. Part of the fun of Mario 2 was that some characters were better for some levels than others. It took strategy to figure out who was best to select and when. The Mario series could use a bit more of this kind of thinking.
Mushroom Kingdom is not a real place
It would be nice for a change if the Mushroom Kingdom felt like a real place. Yes, part of the fun of the series is that it can basically take whatever form is needed, but then why set the last two proper Mario console titles somewhere else? No, the Mushroom Kingdom needs to finally be given a real identity so that players can feel like it is a real place, even if it is fantasy.
This does not necessarily mean going to Grand Theft Auto route, however. The world maps in the past have certainly helped, but it would also help to feel like it was all somehow connected together. It would help for there to be some sort of logic to the castle, warp pipes and other series’ mainstays. Make it feel like a lived in world and you might for the first time give the series a semblance of a plot.
The story is not the thing
Nobody plays Mario for the story, but does that mean there can’t be any? The Paper Mario series actually does implant a story into the Mario franchise, and the series is much better for it. Now, couldn’t the main games pick up this idea and run with it? No one is asking for Shakespeare here, but anything would be an improvement.
Honestly, how many times can someone get kidnapped? Whether it’s the Princess or Luigi or Mario-someone is always missing! You could even directly rip off another franchise and have a mysterious force that is devouring the Mushroom Kingdom. Think of The Never Ending Story meets Super Mario Bros. Any semblance of a real plot would greatly add to the sense of urgency while playing, because at this point players know if they find whoever is missing, someone else will be gone by the time they get back.
Bowser and his anti-competitive monopoly
Nintendo, gamers may simply be too nice to tell you that they’re a little tired of dropping Bowser and his kids into lava. It might be nice to try someone different at the head of the evil boardroom. Wart was an inspired move for Mario 2, but there needs to be more such moves if gamer apathy is to be reversed.
Of course, the easy argument is just to throw Wario in as the main bad guy. He has already appeared in the Mario Game Boy games, so why not as the main villain for the next Mario title? Well, quite frankly, many find Wario kind of a crassly designed character. He lacks that certain elegance that a wholly original bad guy such as Bowser boasts. Wart had that, and it’s perhaps about time he returned as a villain in the Mario universe. They could certainly do worse-Waluigi anyone?
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