As someone with a girlfriend, if my girlfriend was constantly carried off by a giant turtle and she did not get a restraining order taken out on that dude, then our relationship would be over faster than a Tik Tok. (Side note cannot believe I just wrote that sentence, I feel so old). So, I feel like Mario really needs to either find a new relationship or invest in some private security because come on dude, some of these kidnappings could have been easily prevented.
As baffling as the plot of the Mario games are (if it can even be called a plot), he is a beloved franchise and is 99% of the world’s first guess when asked about video games mascots. As much as I enjoy platformers, personally I never really got into the Mario games as a kid. I think my main bulk of play time in the plumber’s world was in the multiplayer minigames in the Mario Bros game for the DS, mostly because it was the one game that myself, my cousins and my sister all knew how to play.
We have talked about Mario Odyssey on the site before but other than that, I have not seen the need to talk about the many other instalments in the seemingly endless franchise. I do not need typing lessons or to have pills prescribed to me by someone who did not go to medical school. However, there is one set of Mario games that I have a soft spot for – the Mario Galaxy games. Released for the Nintendo Wii, these games formed a large part of my childhood and were the first games that my sister would play with me.
As much as I adore my sister, video games are not her forte. Case in point, I let her have a go playing some Spiderman a few months back and her main achievement was to jump up and down the street like a weirdly dressed frog. It was mostly to piss me off but still, the point stands. So, the multiplayer aspects of the Mario Galaxy game (although limited) were perfect for us to play together, without resorting to murdering one another.
Taking any series and sending it into space, can make or break the franchise. Just look at the Friday the 13th series! Why on earth would you send Jason into space? If humanity had mastered inter-space travel, you think they would be able to put down one dude with a murder fetish. Thankfully, Mario in space was worth the pocket money that I spent on it. Though if my wrists start cracking by the time, I turn 30, then maybe I played too much of it. The introduction of motion controls into modern gaming must have really boosted physiotherapists businesses.
After playing Odyssey, it really feels like Galaxy was the blueprint that they based their most successful game off. Exploring different worlds with unique themes, collecting stars/moons for completing odd tasks, trying out new powers (be that through possession or consumption of odd mushrooms), even improving your ship as your adventure progresses. Even the concept of a world changing after you beat it for the first time was seen in the various comet types in Galaxy, only to become entirely new sections in Odyssey. Thankfully, the cosmic clones have stayed in the TRASH WHERE THEY BELONG.
More than anything, the Galaxy games were a kind of escape. I got to explore new places, try new things, and just revel in the excitement that those goofy minigames brought me. The age that I played those games, were when my battles with self-esteem and anxiety began. To have something that I could escape into and that my big sister could enjoy with me, was a support system that I did not know that I needed.
Anyways, I will go back to writing my dissertation project now.
CaitlinRC