VIDEO GAME: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Year: 2023 Rating: E Time Played: ~10 hours For decades, it's felt like the true innovation of the Mario franchise has been with its 3D titles. It almost became a running gag that the most creative Mario levels were the ones made by fans in Super Mario Maker. Then along came Super Mario Bros. Wonder. While each Mario game has had its own gimmick to make it interesting, this one went all out and had an entire game filled with gimmicks. Each level has something unique to experience, and you never quite know what's coming next. Everything in this game is so bright, crisp, colorful, and whimsical. Nothing overstayed its welcome. If anything, I wanted to replay levels because the transformation caused by the Wonder flower was so fun that I wished there was more of it. Some of the Wonder sections were legitimately hilarious, while others really broke the mold for what a Mario game could do. That the core...
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VIDEO GAME: Paper Mario: The Origami King (2020)

by benmweilert1 Comment
Paper Mario: The Origami KingYear: 2020Rating: ETime Played: 1,590 minutes / 26.50 hours About ten years ago, I think Nintendo perfected a "craft" vibe with games like Kirby's Epic Yarn that they've been milking for a decade now. These games look hand-crafted in a way that's extremely charming and visually stunning for how homemade they appear. The Yoshi series has used this craft aesthetic multiple times, but the franchise ripe for such things is none other than Paper Mario. In The Origami King, the paper-craft feel of origami is merely accentuated by the plot and game-play. As a pseudo role-playing game, The Origami King has a peculiar way of executing its battle mechanics. Each battle is a ring puzzle that requires the player to line up enemies or find a path to the center to attack the boss. The boots and hammers Mario uses are breakable, but easy enough to acquire and equip that it wasn't frustrating to lose them in mid-battle....
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MOVIE: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Year: 2023 Rating: PG Length: 92 minutes / 1.53 hours I’ll admit that I was skeptical about this movie going in. Some of the casting decisions were questionable, but I also knew Nintendo would have a much tighter hold on their intellectual property after Super Mario Bros. (1993). An animated take on a simple video game concept was the better way to go, but I also know Illumination has a reputation for somewhat “cheap” CGI movies. All this being said—nostalgia is a heck of a drug. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) is bright, colorful, and a lot of fun to watch. I felt like the character designs were definitely on-point—which wasn’t hard to do when Nintendo already has 3D models of almost every character that appeared in this movie (something the previous attempt at this movie did not have). While the plot was simple, it’s not like a game from 1985 really had that much plot to go off,...
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VIDEO GAME: Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Super Mario OdysseyYear: 2017Rating: E10Time Played: 20+ hours As is the case with many Nintendo systems, Super Mario Odyssey marked the mustachioed plumber’s arrival on the Switch, much like Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy did for the Nintendo 64, Gamecube, and Wii, respectively. Taking cues from all its predecessors, Super Mario Odyssey is a gorgeous platformer with plenty to do, almost to its detriment. It’s clear a lot of attention to detail went into this game, but it’s also evident that Odyssey is a celebration of Mario’s history as Nintendo’s de facto mascot. The fact that you can now play as many of Mario’s enemies is a fantastic mechanic that is as unique as it is timeless. Odyssey uses the improved graphics on the Switch to create stunning worlds that are just itching to be explored. The music as well is perhaps some of the best in the franchise, with the theme to the Wooded Kingdom being...
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