Unpopular opinions about the Mario series

Notably Toadette is a character original to Mario Kart, first appearing in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Anyways, I find Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart DS to do the best job with formula, and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the best game which is different from the usual formula (and the most different).
 
I always found the 2 characters in 1 kart to be more of a novelty that didn't actually add anything and I get the feeling they realized this, which is why they never bothered with it again.
 
I always found the 2 characters in 1 kart to be more of a novelty that didn't actually add anything and I get the feeling they realized this, which is why they never bothered with it again.
I like the fact the it allowed you to switch items allowing quick decisions, however that could be easily done in a game with only one character per kart, so I see your point. However, with two characters you can use two different special items, which I find to add a bit of extra strategy, although minor and Mario Kart isn't about strategy anyways.
 
I think it would make a fun side mode to play with friends. As a side mode, you'd get the best of both worlds: classic single character gameplay making up the main game with the option for some good old Double Dash gameplay if you want it. The only problem with that is the extra development it would take to program, model, and animate extra stuff for it. I'm not a developer or anything, so I have no idea how much extra effort it would take, but I doubt Nintendo would ever spend the time and money to do it.
 
Double Dash may not add much in single player but it makes for a great team-versus mode in multiplayer.

Anyway, plot of Mario Kart: Everyone is invited to a racing tournament and they race each other and blast through cannons and cross rivers and blast each other with blue shells and infiltrate Bowser's Castle and Luigi falls off Rainbow Road and they battle the final boss Spiky Topman on Galaxy Colosseum and that is the end of the fantastic story of Mario Kart.
 
if they were to return the two players per kart thing, they need to take inspiration from arcade gp dx's two-player tank thing i loved that to death
 
Yes when I eventually get a Switch I will give MK a second chance to pull me in.

As for the story thing, look at SM64, that's my eleventh favourite video game. I don't need a plot to enjoy a game. But look at TTYD, my second favourite video game. That would be much lower if not for its story.

So, having an inexistent story isn't necessary for me to like a game but it's one reason I dislike MKW.
 
Tbh though, it's been said many times, but if you really want to play games for story, then just play other things than Mario. Plenty of stories out there, but Mario Kart definitely is just about the fun.
 
if you dislike mkw for its repetitive nature and lack of stuff you want in a game, i don't think you'll like 8 deluxe either.
 
if you dislike mkw for its repetitive nature and lack of stuff you want in a game, i don't think you'll like 8 deluxe either.
idc I'm giving it a second chance anyway.

if you really want to play games for story, then just play other things than Mario. Plenty of stories out there, but Mario Kart definitely is just about the fun.
I've already said my response to this argument several times.

Being lighthearted fun and having an existent story certainly aren't incompatible though. Bowser's Inside Story balances the two well imo.
 
Last edited:
If you want to try out racing games besides Mario Kart Wii, I'd recommend Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, it's only £15 on Steam and you get more then enough for that price. It's not only my favourite racing game, but also one of my favourite games overall. There's also Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fuelled, but it does have micro-transactions and event exclusive items. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is also a good choice if you're looking for something that's easier to play, and just like the previous two games it has a wealth of content.
 
1: Super Mario 64 is one of the worst mainline Mario games.
2: And so is Super Mario Sunshine
3: New Super Mario Bros. is the most criminally underrated game of all time.
4: Super Mario 3D Land deserves more praise. It's not as bad as most people say it to be.
5: Super Mario 3D World, on the other hand, could have been much better. I hate cats, and who was the Sprixie Princess in the first place?
 
You know, I used to share your opinion on not being able to get into anything that wasn't Mario. Then I played Kirby.

Kirby's about the most similar thing you could get to Mario. It's primarily a platformer with all sorts of different spinoffs, the main four characters are about as ironically wacky as you could get, and the gameplay, while significantly easier, is also a lot more varied due to the Copy Ability system. And while it doesn't actively focus on story, there's actually some pretty dark lore hidden in the final bosses and side modes. I'd definitely recommend it.

1: Super Mario 64 is one of the worst mainline Mario games.
2: And so is Super Mario Sunshine
3: New Super Mario Bros. is the most criminally underrated game of all time.
4: Super Mario 3D Land deserves more praise. It's not as bad as most people say it to be.
5: Super Mario 3D World, on the other hand, could have been much better. I hate cats, and who was the Sprixie Princess in the first place?
1. The original may not have aged the best but I stand by the opinion that the DS version is excellent.

2. Eh, you're not the only one. I really enjoyed Sunshine but it did have some pretty serious flaws.

3. NSMB is very underrated but there are a few games I'd consider even more underrated (like, well, the entire Kirby franchise).

4. 3D Land was easily the 3D Mario I enjoyed the least but I still liked it quite a bit. People really exaggerate how bad it is.

5. As someone who really liked 3D World...you really could have chosen bigger flaws to dislike it for.
 
Last edited:
Tbh though, it's been said many times, but if you really want to play games for story, then just play other things than Mario. Plenty of stories out there, but Mario Kart definitely is just about the fun.
I'd take it a step further, if you care about story then read a book or watch a movie. Video games don't have good stories. Period. Even the most praised video game stories have no depth at all.
 
1: Super Mario 64 is one of the worst mainline Mario games.
4: Super Mario 3D Land deserves more praise. It's not as bad as most people say it to be.
I wholeheartedly agree with this, I still like SM64 don't get me wrong, but it didn't feel enough like a platformer for me to enjoy it as much as other main marios. It felt more like "what if we made Zelda into a Mario game?" aka adventure-puzzle like Captain Toad.
For me, 3D Land is the redemption, it has the 3D platformer flow I dearly desired for so long.

Atop that, I find SM64 the worst Marioverse game of the N64 console. Especially if I can count side-series like DK64, Dr.Mario 64, and Yoshi Story, those in my book are far superior games on their own merits. It always annoyed me how little positive reception DK64 got in comparison to SM64, but alas, my annoyance is usually from people who are not really fans of the Mario series, and probably like SM64 for being more inline with their old PS1 & Zelda gaming. And a fact that I do have a platforming-is-my-fav-vg-genre bias.


or watch a movie.
I wouldn't go that far. I mean yes, watch movies, movies are great, but in depth story wise they're pretty much on the same level as videogames imo
 
Last edited:
I'd take it a step further, if you care about story then read a book or watch a movie. Video games don't have good stories. Period. Even the most praised video game stories have no depth at all.
Of course I can but you expect it to, it's a book/movie you expect it to have a good story. What you don't expect to have a good story is Mario. When I play a Mario game that has a good story I just find it so much more intriguing. Ever since I first played SPM, BIS, and SMG as a child Mario games with good stories just have some kind of irreplaceable amazing charm that I can't get out of a book (doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading though.)
 
tbh intense story wasn't the appeal for me in paper mario series, but a huge draw of it was the simulated experiences of the everyday lives of the npc's. I love to see how generic koopa and shyguy live outside of their stationary timeloop courses.
Probably sounds sappy but talking to npc's is one of my favorite things to do in the rpg genre as a whole, but especially when it comes to mario.

I both loved and hated that many npc's dialogue changes per chapter, (the hate came with the fear of missing out on dialogue), it's kinda funny thinking about it now, Random Koopa NPC #9 might have more character development than Mario's partners.

I feel like this is an unpopular appeal, at least to the extreme I take it to, as I don't really find many playthrough videos where the player talks to every npc, I'm always frustrated when Let's Players skip content
 
Last edited:
I love the slice of life kind of dialogue. Sometimes it does a better job of world-building than big, groundbreaking storylines. The best part is, it's simple and can fit into any game you put it in.
 
I'd take it a step further, if you care about story then read a book or watch a movie. Video games don't have good stories. Period. Even the most praised video game stories have no depth at all.

well...video games can take more time to develop a story than a movie. theoretically, it should be just as strong as a story-teller as an hour and half long movie.

and we still got excellent examples of good video game stories out there. bioshock and fallout new vegas are those i can name but im sure there's a bunch that i don't know about.
 
1: Super Mario 64 is one of the worst mainline Mario games.
2: And so is Super Mario Sunshine
3: New Super Mario Bros. is the most criminally underrated game of all time.
4: Super Mario 3D Land deserves more praise. It's not as bad as most people say it to be.
5: Super Mario 3D World, on the other hand, could have been much better. I hate cats, and who was the Sprixie Princess in the first place?
Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine are pretty much low on my list too, though my least favorite is Super Mario Galaxy 2 despite having better gameplay than Sunshine.

I agree with New Super Mario Bros. DS. I enjoyed it more than Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3, two of the most praised games in the series.

Super Mario 3D Land is a solid game, but that's all I have to say because a lot of times, poorly placed platforms make it confusing to judge distance.

Yeah I dislike cats too (particularly when they're outdoors and devastate the native populations), and the Sprixie Princess are just techno-color Peaches that are largely forgotten afterward. 3D World's still a solid game however.
 
super mario 64 is low on my list too, mostly because of age and being generally outclassed by later mario titles, and also because the superior ds version where i can play as luigi and wario exists.
 
Well if there is, LGM and I should be the authors of it.
 
my least favorite is Super Mario Galaxy 2 despite having better gameplay than Sunshine.
Why though - I find it better than Sunshine is basically every way other than maybe story but I always found Sunshine's story to be quite slow paced and boring. Better gameplay, better music, better level design, more interesting worlds, galaxies, and themes, better graphics and visuals, better presentation and composition.
 
well...video games can take more time to develop a story than a movie. theoretically, it should be just as strong as a story-teller as an hour and half long movie.

and we still got excellent examples of good video game stories out there. bioshock and fallout new vegas are those i can name but im sure there's a bunch that i don't know about.
I'm generalizing, there are some games with good stories but I don't know if I would call any great. Games have too many limitations as far as story goes. The biggest is that video games are repetitive, and so every event in the story needs to lead back to the main gameplay mechanics. In other mediums, the story is the entire point so everything else is built around that. In games the story is just an accessory to the gameplay. Characters in games are generally quite simple because they're either the protagonist so they need to be a self insert, or they're an NPC whose entire design is based around the function they serve in-game. Good, flawed characters seldom exist in games. We can have shows like Breaking Bad or Barry where the protagonists are horrible people who do inexcusable things, but you still like them and empathize. There aren't many video game characters like this.
 
Back