Episode 565: The Wonder of Mario
Added 2023-10-06 11:00:05 +0000 UTCJeremy: OK. It's time to come clean. This episode is not about Super Mario Wonder. The title this week? Absolutely and shamelessly an attempt at search engine clickbait.
It is, however, about Super Mario Bros. in a more general sense. And about other games and series that landed at the perfect time and place to become classics. It's about the circumstances of their release, the particulars of their design, and the concepts and qualities that make them enduring classics.
Stuart, Diamond, and Kevin all join me this time around to share their thoughts on the games they consider part of gaming's timeless canon, and to explain why they rank those masterpieces so highly.
Edits by Greg Leahy. Art by Amanda Neipris. Tunes this time:
- 05:39 - Super Mario Bros. Wonder: Pipe Rock Plateau
- 15:46 - Shnabubula: "Mario Likes Thorazine" (OC Remix #1599)
- 30:09 - Super Mario Maker 2: Underground Theme (NSMBU Edit ver.)
- 41:42 - Myst: Mechanical Mystgate
- 50:25 - PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC: Perilous Pipes
- 1:00:54 - Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: PAC-MAN'S Park/Block Town
- 1:12:41 - Resident Evil 4 (2005): Ganado II
- 1:25:51 - Dragon's Lair (NES): Congratulations
- 1:38:11 - Star Trek Original Television Soundtrack vol. 2: Going Aboard
- 1:48:53 - Super Meat Boy: The Battle of Lil' Slugger
- 2:01:29 - Tetris Effect: All Nations
- Closing - Elvis Presley: "The Wonder of You"
Comments
Fantastic Episode. Some great discussions.
Fatamatician
2023-10-30 14:52:54 +0000 UTCI promised myself I'd try not to yuck other people's yums anymore, but I just _cannot_ get into Resident Evil 4. I feel like I'm literally alone on this and it's been driving me crazy for years. There's nothing "wonder"-ful or timeless to me about this aggressively-drab, gray game with enemies that behave _just_ human enough to make me feel bad for shooting them in different parts of their bodies. The opening village-siege that Stuart loved so much just left me feeling icky. And speaking of "movie-like" and "influential," don't think I've forgiven this game for re-popularizing QuickTime events (disagree with Stuart about their game-worthiness too :P ) I forced myself to keep playing until Ashley got put in a dumpster, and she can stay there forever for all I care. I know the problem is me, me and my stupid empathy and love for rich color palettes, but I just had to speak my peace at long last.
Jon Heiman
2023-10-19 21:49:12 +0000 UTC
