Recently, we’ve been seeing what appear to be cracks in Nintendo’s outer image as a smiley, pure-hearted, “I’m OK, you’re OK” kind of company. First, we saw that the company’s official Line account is still holding a grudge against Sony for the industry-changing success of its PlayStation console. Now, some fans have found that their new figures of presumable nice guys Mario and Luigi reveal the Nintendo stars to be smirking, gloating jerks.
Super Mario (Page 10)
Nintendo fans have been hard at work these past few weeks churning out all kinds of creative levels in Super Mario Maker for the Wii U. Even if you don’t have a copy of the game yourself, if you’re a fan of Mario you’ve no doubt had fun watching videos showcasing the mad-cap levels people have come up with and the rages of gamers trying to beat the hardest courses.
The level we’re showcasing today, however, focuses on not what an insanely tricky course looks like, but what you can do with music in the game by bringing Vocaloid into the Mario world.
A rare legal video game document was unearthed recently by a Twitter user which outlines the eight laws that true “super players” must follow to be certified as such by the makers of the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, still known to this day as one of the most difficult games ever made.
However, like many constitutions this was made during different times and might not apply too well to modern life or in this case modern gaming. Still, if you want to see if you’re a true old-school super player take a look at the eight articles you must adhere to.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Nintendo first unveiled Super Mario Bros. on the original Japanese NES, or Famicon as it’s known in Japan. With over 200 games and counting, Super Mario has become the best selling video game franchise of all time. We’ve seen the video game icon get sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach on countless occasions, and become a legendary go-kart racer and sports athlete, as recapped here.
Mario’s been used to sell everything from Mercedes to Converse, and this time, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the industry-changing Super Mario Bros. video game, Tower Records is teaming up with Mario for a special limited edition cafe and summer sale at participating stores.
Joining in the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Super Mario Bros. video game series is popular Japanese gum brand Fit’s. Thanks to this unique collaboration, we’ll now be able to chew our way into the game with the awesome-sounding tastes of “Mario’s Invincibility Star flavour” and “Luigi’s Infinite UP flavour“.
So what does invincibility and an unlimited 1-UP taste like? And what type of gorgeous inside packaging do we have to look forward to? We check out the details ahead of this much-anticipated release.
One of the great things about services like Airbnb, which help travelers and independent lodging owners find each other, is that they let guests find exactly the type of accommodations they want. For example, you might not have any need for the business center or room service of a traditional hotel. Maybe your personal checklist instead includes laundry facilities, a kitchen, and a full complement of awesome Super Mario interior accents.
If so, this short-term apartment in Tokyo is just the place for your next stay in the capital.
Ever since Mario first appeared in Nintendo’s Donkey Kong in 1981, he has been a fan favorite in the world of video games. Over the past three decades, Mario has appeared in over a hundred titles on numerous platforms as fans grew up alongside their favorite bearded (well, most of the time) Italian plumber.
For many casual Mario players, it seems like each game is an independent story filled with action and adventure. However, the hardcore players at Scorpigator Films have put together a Super Mario Timeline using clues from the various games to tell the full biography of Mario, the hero of Mushroom Kingdom.
You could make the argument that Nintendo is the most “Japanese” of the major video game companies. Obviously that’s a label you can’t apply to Microsoft, but even compared to internationally focused Sony, with design studios and production teams all over the world, more of Nintendo’s products are developed domestically, and many in Kyoto, the quintessential Japanese city.
So it’s kind of ironic that the company’s best-known character, Mario, is Italian. Still, the video game hero is one of the best choices for a symbol of Japanese pop culture, and now he’s been combined with Japanese traditional culture in an awesome Mario kimono.
Remember back in May this year when Mercedes-Benz teamed up with Nintendo to create an unusual little ad for the new Mercedes-Benz GLA? Featuring none other than Nintendo’s Super Mario behind the wheel of the sleek SUV, the commercial became quite the hit, with media and news outlets all over the world reporting on it.
Well, as it happens, it wasn’t just YouTube users the commercial was appealing to: Mercedes-Benz Japan has recently announced that it has seen a marked increase in visitors to its showrooms and demand for the car driven by this muscular Mario was far higher than expected.
The E3 video game trade show is now just a couple of weeks away, and gamers the world over are getting excited. Will Rockstar Games come clean about its next project? Will Sony announce a launch date and pricing info for its new streaming service? Will the guys from Valve surprise us all by walking on stage, saying: “Episode 3. November 1,” and dropping the mic? Maybe not, but it’s fun to dream, right?
Sure, we all want to hear news of the games that have been teased over the past few months, but wouldn’t it be fun if a few more games came completely out of left field and blew us all away? With that in mind, we set our creative minds to work and came up with five video games that we wish existed, but are quite sure – perhaps for good reason – will never, ever happen.
It’s one thing to look up into the clouds and see the vague shape of some video game character you recognize or maybe a dinosaur or something. After all, clouds are slow moving and amorphous; you’re bound to see some sort of Rorschach-esque pattern in there. But would you believe that a splash of water might, just for one instant, contain something as awesome as Mario and Yoshi?
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