Things in Mario games that mystify you

are Toads really all that complacent knowing that they're a majority race ruled by a minority race
 
On the subject of Toads, do they have memories associated with being blocks, stones, and plants?
 
why did you change in the quote what my original post actually said. do you dislike the suggestion that yoshi may be transgender
 
Sounds like a misquote to me
 
How big the world is and how much single-gimmick ethnostates there are, with all of the Sand Kingdoms, Moon Kingdoms, Bean Kingdoms and whatnot, each with their own species in charge and totally monocultural, all across the planet; at the same time, how homogeneous everything seems to be in a given place.

Obviously it makes sense from the developers' point of view, introducing a new and fresh NPC type with their own lore to give a place an identity, but in-universe there gotta be some reason most of the species mostly stay in their own spaces, don't migrate, barely seem to have any real diversity in opinion, allegiance, culture or nationality. I liked the few RPG titles (M&L, Paper Mario) that at least put vacationers in some places who weren't native to the places they visited, or made "classic enemies" into normal civilians with a personality.

I would love to see way more "civilian" variations of all different species. I am confused as to how much determinism there is for certain species, e. g. Bullet Bills. Other than the few "civilian" Bullet Bills we have seen in games like Mario Party Advance, most of them are mindless killing machines in the Koopa Troop. Are there not protests against this? Revolutions? Random villages of outcasts, at least?

What about all of these one-off species we never see again, like Choombas? Do they not have a society? I would love to see their culture!

Obviously I get it from a meta standpoint but it's still interesting to think about. I would like to see much more "normal" people of classic enemy species, sometimes even the little odd variations. An underground coal mine village populated with Choombas and other mineral and stone themed "enemies" with a unique culture? Why not!
 
Why are there a whole bunch of people and signs in the world telling you how to move? Imagine you walked up to a sign and it said press a to jump. You turn to your friend and he says press y to throw your hat.
 
TheBlueCatMenace said:
Why are there a whole bunch of people and signs in the world telling you how to move? Imagine you walked up to a sign and it said press a to jump. You turn to your friend and he says press y to throw your hat.
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In fairness some moments of life are like that 😆
"Use this tool like this to do this"
"Do this to swim/climb/lift better"
 
They need some of the items and just pick one to dispose of.
 
My biggest one is the entire concept of the Star Children mentioned in Yoshi's Island DS. Considering that it consists of literally the seven most important characters in the series, and as I've put it before, the whole reason for Mario being "super", you'd think they'd go into much more detail on such a huge topic. But it's only mentioned in that game. But alas, that's where headcanons come in to fill in the gaps, unless they someday decide to revisit this part of the lore.
 
I don't even like the concept of Star Children much at all. I much prefer the story where hard work gets characters such Mario and Luigi to be where they are rather than just because they are simply born better that way, manifesting in a literal plot armor for these guys. I just don't like the implications either that some characters are literally born inherently superior to others.
 
It's just Kamek's lies to justify kidnapping children
 
I can see why Nintendo is rather strict with what gets approved for the Mario series these days. The Star Children thing might have cause others to think that only specific Mario characters matter because of their status. Even Supper Mario Broth gone further by specifying a specific character is not a star child and is inherently inferior compared to the chosen ones. Not something I can buy into because of the discrimination that it invites, like how a character is only special because they are chosen. Wouldn't it be a twist when the Mario series has a "chosen one" type of character and they ended up being so unimportant that diminishes the status?

Whereas, the idea of Mario having a family that not only exists, but are still alive and are generally amicable with them is something I can buy, because it makes sense and Nintendo even approves of this idea (as the Mario movie proves).

Thank you for reading.
 
winstein said:
I can see why Nintendo is rather strict with what gets approved for the Mario series these days. The Star Children thing might have cause others to think that only specific Mario characters matter because of their status. Even Supper Mario Broth gone further by specifying a specific character is not a star child and is inherently inferior compared to the chosen ones. Not something I can buy into because of the discrimination that it invites, like how a character is only special because they are chosen. Wouldn't it be a twist when the Mario series has a "chosen one" type of character and they ended up being so unimportant that diminishes the status?

Whereas, the idea of Mario having a family that not only exists, but are still alive and are generally amicable with them is something I can buy, because it makes sense and Nintendo even approves of this idea (as the Mario movie proves).

Thank you for reading.
Click to expand...


It's hard to say exactly how it works because so little is said about it, but based on my understanding, none of them even know that they are Star Children (with Kamek feeling it necessary to time travel to find them, not even being aware Bowser is already one). And if they were to find out, I doubt they would suddenly become full of themselves and start looking down on others (...at least, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi wouldn't, while Wario and DK might not think much of it; Bowser already looks down on others). Plus one could argue that there should be more of them; the fact that only seven remain means being a Star Child doesn't automatically make you untouchable (provided there ever was more, per se). Mario still has to work hard to get stronger, especially since his arch nemesis does have the same advantage. I think it's moreso a matter of it not necessarily being the power Mario was born with that makes him special, it's what he's done with it that sets him apart. He could've gone his whole life not knowing and simply being no different from everyone else, had Kamek not interfered when he foresaw that he and Luigi would be the bane of the Koopa Troop.

All that said, it really shouldn't matter when it comes to which character in the series should be your favorite. Anyone can be your favorite character, power isn't everything when it comes to picking a favorite; at that point it's more of a matter of what kind of characters you like. Some people prefer characters that are powerful, some like them based on a certain appearance or their personality. Just because one is not as integral to the story as the others, doesn't mean they're not good characters. Waluigi and Daisy's popularity regardless is a testament to that.

I don't think there ever was anything implying Mario and Luigi's family didn't exist or that he had a troubled upbringing. Their personalities are pretty stable, so even before the movie, I always felt the Mario Bros. were raised well.
 
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