Mini Gaming Articles

Nintendo IPs I'm into:

Previously known as: My Top Video Games. No order! Hear me? *Update* There's a list now.. but it's not numbered at least!

Official* box art.

**This may or may not be a lie

1. Super Mario Bros 4: Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 3 might have set the archetypical 2D Mario template, but Super Mario World refines it. I love the big heavily themed world, and the controls are exceptionally responsive. SMB3 is very solid but it’s respectfully a more primitive adventure. It's lacking backtracking, the secrets are more akin to contemporary NES titles where you either get it or miss it forever, and the journey in the original release is too long to not have a save feature. SMW's powerups aren't as varied, mainly think of fire flower and cape, but are very frequent, less situational, and interact with Yoshi. Mount characters are plain fun, we all know it. I also like that you aren't forced to use him either outside of some secrets.

Bringing you enhanced portable remakes since 1999. (No, Game and Watch doesn't count..)

2. Super Mario Bros Deluxe: A GBA color ‘enhanced’ port of SMB, on the list for uniqueness. I consider this a precursor to the Mario Advance series remakes and a few other 'modern' design decisions in general. It ports over the NES classic with a few tweaks to fit the system a little more. This port was how I first beat SMB1 in the day and I swear that tiny bit of screen scrolling you can do made a difference. This game added a map system for fluff, but also a save system. Now we get to the goodies with the added extra ‘modes’. One is a general treasure hunt of sorts and it’s no laughing matter. Special coins and yoshi eggs are hidden in the vanilla SMB1 levels and you have to find them. Just try without a guide.. There’s also a You vs Boo race where you race him through a level while trying to survive. There’s stamps and other goodies that.. well you need attachments to enjoy so never mind. Had to sell those somehow! Anyway, SMB: Deluxe is a cool underrated game.

I was hoping I'd get away with this, uh, pairing.

3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (org. not remake) and.. The Origami King??: TTYD is God's gift to us. Okay that's hyperbole, but not even the backtracking and stage hazards tick me off much, so I must be a true fan. This was a Player Choice $19.99 game by about '06 when I picked it up blind, tipped over the edge by a Gamestop clerk telling me how great it was. (See, this proves that at one point they were useful.) This was my first RPG and introduction to Mario fandom, as the Mario games I'd played prior didn't really have story or lore like that. Aside from slowish navigation, there's nothing I seriously dislike. Almost everyone loves this one, so I won't rant. Fun fact: as a kid I was very proud of how I beat the Shadow Queen on my first try, albeit by the skin of my teeth. Replaying as an adult, it's not nearly that bad, but we can't discount a memory like that. It's a 10/10 for me. Oh, why is the remake exempt? Because it changed stuff.

What switch do I flip to get insurance to cover this?

4. Mario Karts in General (Except less than half of them): More story time: Playing Mario Kart: Double Dash!! sometime c. 2005ish was incidental. Mario Superstar Baseball was too expensive new, so I left EB Games if I recall with a used copy of this instead. Lots of fun ensued with me and a friend, plus I had a hilariously inaccurate Prima Games guide too to gawk at. That being said, most of the observations below will come from me revisiting and completing the game as an adult, because come 2006 I was all about Mario Kart DS.

Well? MK:DD is neat and earns it's fanbase. The roster is actually perfect. Toadette was created just for this game, Koopa returned, we had spin-off staples likes Daisy and Waluigi (before that reputation was solidified), plus some villains of Bowser Junior, Petey and King Boo, all fresh characters. The double racer gimmick is more about determining your weight class and special item pool, otherwise its aesthetic and that's alright! I don't feel like you're throwing if you pick whatever character you want, though you might want to pay attention to the karts you pick. We have a good group of vehicles here, 'karty' and 'fun' and themed. Courses are fantastic and have been reissued in newer games for a reason. My only complaints is that single player content is lacking, and that's not in retrospect either. Back in the day, I mostly played this if I had a friend, because otherwise it was grand prix and time trails.

Wait, I thought the ink came from...

Mario Kart DS: A nearly perfect Mario Kart, only more impressive for being on a handheld. We have a sixteen new AND retro tracks, single player grand prix, verses, battle, and mission modes, plus local multiplayer AND the new at the time WIFI. The roster overall good and more back to the basics aside from Dry Bones and ROB, whose inclusion is spoiled by his themed karts being unlocked ahead of him. The controls are tight and responsive and the ability to see everyone’s items in real time is a game changer. The touch screen in addition showed the map and obstacles, one of the better implementations. The visuals are adequate, maybe ugly sometimes on closeups but not distracting in actual gameplay. My only grips are odd ones. Each character has a few karts at the start, instead of any choice for the weight, but they over compensate later by allowing any character to use any kart? Anyway, this is one of the greats.

Mario Kart Wii: Just as good. We dropped the missions unfortunately, but it's otherwise content packed. We have fun new and retro courses, multiplayer, WIFI (if you like a wild-west approach), a cast that’s exactly as large as it needed to be, karts that look cool and are tied to the weight class like it should be as opposed to the character, and the final MK title where stats were set in stone, meaning you don’t have to min/max to be remotely competitive. Oh wait..

Pop Quiz. What number are we on?

5. Super Mario Galaxy: This 3D Mario platformer was an unforgettable experience for many, myself included. Funnily it wasn’t a killer app for me on the Wii like some of the other titles you’ll see on this list, though when I’d play it in game store demos I was impressed overall.

Compared to Sunshine, Galaxy goes back to basics. You run, jump, and.. spin jump, but it's natural. You have a hub that feels like one, and isn't decorated as a town, but it works and has no fluff in the way. Sunshine's progression was linear compared to 64, but here the levels themselves are too. You earns stars by reaching an end point, racing a NPC, or collecting things. Prankster comets add a twist of a time limit, collectibles, or giving you one hit. The biggest gimmick is gravity and we play with it in interesting ways. Galaxy's gameplay is tight and challenging at times. New characters like Rosalina had a backstory (that frustratingly they walked back on later), and Bowser comes off like a serious threat. There are plenty of bangers as far as level and boss fights go, though they aren’t as iconic as in 64 or Sunshine. Luigi made it in as a late edition. Making you replay the game as him for full completion is a bit much, but his journey is essentially the 'hard mode', which I liked.

Official* box art (for real this time).

**Yeah, really.

6, 7. Super Smash Brothers Melee and Brawl: Even though I suck at it! This more or less introduced me to Nintendo IPs that weren't Mario. Also yes once a friend of mine thought Marth(a?) was a girl, long before we heard of memes! This game has been so overly analyzed that there’s little a layman like me could add to that, so I’m mostly going to discuss my personal connection for this entry.

Melee was a game I randomly picked up and fell in love with. I later got the Nintendo Power strategy guide as a subscription renewal bonus and I discovered what all I was missing because I was too terrible to unlock it. Donkey Kong was an early main for me here, later Mr. Game and Watch. I really liked the stages and modes here, plus the visuals even if they appear off-model by modern standards. In the end, Sakurai’s observation that there was too big of a discrepancy between expert and regular players was on point. I’m fine with Melee being what it is, but I’m even more fine with later Smash Brothers iterations attempting to give mere mortals a little more of a fighting chance.

Here comes the GOAT of 2008!

Brawl: Melee but for plebeians like me. While I was among many dumb teenagers smug over it being watered down initially, I have more fond memories with this game than Melee due to all of the extra multiplayer time. Heck, during a wifi match with some old NintendoLand forum buddies I earned the ‘Mecha Epic Yoshi’ moniker I still use to this day. We also must applaud the huge amount of content here. I used to think The Subspace Emissary was ostentatious compared to Melee’s simpler Adventure mode, and looking back maybe whatever the narrative is supposed to be still is, but it's fun. Final Smashes was a cool idea, but I mostly disabled it. As for the rest, it's been said already. Great visuals, stages (after some grew on me), many modes, custom stage building, huge soundtrack, demos of old games meant to service as a 'museum' of sorts , and.. tripping, which didn't bother me much as a non-competitive type.

9. Mother/ EarthBound (Series): As this is another game analyzed to death by die-hards long before I discovered Mother from Smash Bros and the Feb 07 issue of Nintendo Power, we won't spend too much time here. After trying once or twice when younger and getting by butt kicked on Onett, I revisited Earthbound in 2024. Yeah, way late, but it was a pleasantly surprising experience. A time traveler puts Ness on a mission that's a kinda soft-reboot of Mother 1. It's not hand-holdy and has some difficulty spikes, but if you pay attention you can get through it blind like I did for the most part. I never knew of alternate, sometimes cheap ways I could have dealt with situations, and I mean that as a complement. I like the characters and the settings a lot. In an older more neutral meaning of this term, some of lessons and themes here are progressive for their time. There's some non-linearity, in fact I'm not sure what the intended sequence is supposed to be for some Sanctuary spots. The soundtrack is full of bangers, and while the over world sprite work is simple for SNES standards, the battle screens are trippy. Team balance is all over the place and oft the blame for some of the spikes, but by the end the crew are powerful, not to mention every enemy has weaknesses. Some might call that a bit much, but if you are consulting a guide (which came with the game to be fair) it's not always easy to exploit that. Overall, it's just really good. The 'wacky indie RPG' genre it inspired on the other hand almost never gets it quite right. That's my truth and I'm sticking to it!

Mrs. Saturn found??? (Well, in Japanese they aren't supposed to be a Mr. anything, but let's stick with the joke..)

Mother 3: It grew on me, with a darker and raw, yet introspective journey that takes place long after Earthbound. The battle system is familiar, except tapping buttons to the music's rhythm grants extra hits, and a few other tweaks and refinements. Sprite work is good, though the battle backgrounds aren't as exciting as Earthbound. Difficulty wise, there is a spike or two. Mostly however the game is making you play smarter and contrast EB, where almost nothing prevents blasting away with PSI and bottle-rockets before the attack roulette does something nasty. Your character's abilities have less redundancy than in Earthbound and playing to their strengths is essential the farther you get. One chapter tries to give you some freedom, but overall this is more linear. Music is good, but held back by the GBA's lesser capabilities. Without recounting the story, I like that you can see some change in the tightly knit cast. Settings are limited to the Nowhere Islands, but that's a plot thing. Earthbound might be the adventure I favor, but Mother 3 is a better and more poignant story.

Dragon Quest, in America!

EarthBound Beginnings: Beginnings is more down to Earth, taking place in actual America, and it might have a more typical RPG battle system, but I respect the very non-structured adventure. Plot wise, your grandfather left you a book, there's aliens, there's strange things happening, collect melodies and.. whatever else you stumble upon. You know, there's a charm to the whole game nearly being on one map. The music is composed exceptionally well for the NES and there's an uncertain vibe here yet to be replicated. This game isn't as quirky as the rest of the series, but we must remember that the aim was to be an urban RPG before that's a trope yet. The balance isn't great. PSI and equipment is weird or OP, and there's the typical punches older games throw at you, but if you can roll with them I think it's worth playing My biggest complaint is the stuff before the Giygas fight, the Mt. Itoi trek. Besides some tough enemies, it's awkward how you have to make the trip twice. You can finagle a lot however, and have different teams confronting Giygas. Or Ninten alone. Can't do that in the sequels. (Without cheating)

Nice (2)

??: Wario Land 2 and 3: I gave up counting. I also wish I remembered how I got into this series. I’m not sure if it was picked up on a whim or if like Earthbound a Nintendo Power (upon checking, WL3 WAS in the Playback section of issue 216 so..) tipped me off. Anyway, I’m combining the entries because I played them interchangeably, though they are rather different games in reality.

On an initial WL2 playthrough you’ll go chapter by chapter in a ‘story’ that comes down to reclaiming your treasures from Captain Syrup. After reaching one ending you’ll have a level map where the secret routes are spoiled, but whatever, at least you know what you’re looking for. To collect treasure you must win either a memory game or a logic puzzle with numbers. Play well and lose little money or play badly and bleed it. Wario takes on his signature transformation when exposed to certain enemies or stimuli and this is the key to navigation or a punishment. Bosses get annoying because errors will transform you detrimentally or plain kick you out of the area, but it’s a great game for me overall with lots of content. Note that there were Gameboy and Gameboy Color versions of this cart. If you started the GBC version up, you wouldn’t be able to play it on a normal Gameboy without resetting your save, which I found irritating when I owned several handhelds. The sprite work is sharp either way.

Wario Land 3 has the anti-hero suffer a forced landing in a forest, where he's transported to a village inside a music box under chaos! It’s all about exploring vast levels for keys and chests to collect treasure, gradually unlocking access to new areas as your pillaging triggers events and give Wario additional abilities. There is a day and night feature that affects the levels sprinkled across four maps. Since Wario has some of his WL2 moves tripped at the outset, the early game is a little slow, but you'll get them back and then some soon enough.

Memory and logic mini-games are replaced with golf that’s half skill half RNG. Since you cannot die the bosses like in WL2 tend to turn you into a one-hit wonder. Transformations, more varied than before, once again vacillate between being the thing you need to get somewhere or a punishment for getting hit. The environment looks better than WL2, but I was always bothered by how Wario himself looks the same. I like the music and leitmotif. Overall there are some annoyances but this is sealed in my hall of fame for being (along with the DS remake of Mario 64) the very first video game that prodded me to go on my slow-as-heck computer and look up a Gamefaqs. WL3 would then become the first game 100% as a kid.

And Wario Land 4: Out a year after WL3, 4 takes a huge step forward and perhaps is the pinnacle of his series. Wario has a health bar, but the typical move set is present from the start and there are transformations from non damaging enemies, albeit a little de-emphasized. The adventure feels a little small though, Wario treasure hunting down four main passages in a temple, each containing a few levels and then a boss. The bosses are legendary though, at least to me and tough on harder difficulties. In typical gameplay it’s often easy to each the end and trigger the frog switch and then rush to the starting portal again, but finding the chests and the CD can be another issue.

Unfortunately it's short. Every level has an identity for sure, but once all the tricks are shown off that’s it. The levels are far less spectacular in WL2 and 3, but they feel like longer adventures regardless with secrets. WL4 has secret areas within levels but you will see the majority of the game without doing anything special, killing replayablity. Fun fact: I bought 'Game Design Companion: A Critical Analysis of Wario Land 4' book by Daniel Johnson and you should too! There's a choose your own adventure book based on this game, but they say that one's disappointing.

A drop on the head would explain the inconsistency

Enjoy these lovely 90s renders

?? Pikmin (main series): On a whim, I got into this as late as... mid 2026. This is a disgrace and I will accept punishment. Anyway, I adore this (mostly) RTS style franchise. Pikmin, a Gamecube launch title is about Captain Olimar, who has crash landed on an alien planet. His commentary and voyage logs explore his thoughts and how he's dealing with the ups and downs of the journey. They also behave as soft tutorials depending his actions and encounters. You and the Pikmin as he coins them are equally dependent on each other, so you must plan well to survive. It's daunting, but on repeat plays you won't sweat at all. The extra reach your cursor has in the New PLay Control Wii port is OP, QOL tweaks are welcome, though swarming is awkward without direct c-stick control. The music is legendary. I only wish they planned out the 25 of 30 mandatory parts mechanic. Olimar's descriptions of parts can be sorta coy, so don't count on that lest you get the bad ending! Minor stuff aside, this is a short but well executed experience. 10/10.

Pikmin 2: This sequel is more zany, increases the difficulty, and adds product placement... And this rocks in fact. Olimar returns to find his company in debt. Now he has return to the alien plant to hunting treasure with a co-worker named Louie. Discover new Pikmin and dive into caves riddled with riches, danger, and kaizo traps. Don't get too frightened, you have no day limit. It's full of content and expands lore with the Piklopedia. Music is phenomenal, with more environmental mixes. Reflecting back I think it's a hair too long to 100%, but 10/10 either way.

Pikmin 3: Three Koppaites must save their planet from starvation by collecting fruit on PNF-404. Developers were trying to sharpen your Dandori with the new tools available, but the day limit is generous if you never get the hang of splitting the team up. Since I like tension however, the one of the best moments besides the climax is when your food supply goes missing and you must scramble to survive. Rock and Flying Pikmin essentially replace White and Purple, but do more in exchange. The final boss is eldritch, doing well to invoke the gimmick of a certain cave in Pikmin 2. I love it. Music is moodier, but well composed. I disliked removing the swarm for a finicky charge command, and some boss fights are time sinks if you don't exploit their cycle right. The WiiU version was never that challenging, so for some reason the Switch port reduces the difficulty more. Deluxe has additional content though, so I'll have to check it out. Overall this down to PNF-404 adventure lacks a huge wow factor, but the adventure is solid, the visuals gorgeous, and the three temperament ensemble certainly are a thing. Always thought Alph being Olimar's Smash Bros alt was odd though. 8/10.

Pikmin 4: You are a rookie Rescue Officer, sniffing down (sometimes literally) treasure and castaways stranded on PNF-404. New features include Oatchi, functioning as a leader/Pikmin hybrid, Dandori based challenges that speedrunners will enjoy, and night 'tower defense' modes. Pikmin 4 looks, runs, and plays excellent. The problem is that it's A: a 'greatest hits' and B: full of watered down modernisms. The crash landing plot goes from merely repetitive to parody. The ambient soundtrack is unmemorable. There are superfluous achievements and side characters, and your Rookie never comments on his or her experiences like leaders should. The callbacks feel genuine, no nostalgia-slop here (also I'm too new to be nostalgic anyway), though they're usually nerfed. It's all too safe. Caves are back, but never that dangerous feeling. There's limits with the Pikmin on the overworld, and in general some are just underutilized. Enemies don't respawn unless you clear an area, leaving it empty. Glow Pikmin have immunities and Ice Pikmin freeze stuff to make it easier. The most exhilarating and proper RTS style challenge Pikmin 4 can offer is Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, where you have 15 days to collect 30 parts. This is tough to rate. The quality is high and it's not hostile or subversive, but we're going in the wrong direction. 6 or 7/10.

That time I filled out a Mario shipping meme

And soon regretted it.

This was posted to my Deviantart in 2019 and due an update. Yes, this is meant to be silly, enjoy. Credits to the creator listed on the image for template. Anyway-

Favs: So, Mario x Bowser... Not like that, but I have no choice but to acknowledge it. I saw EchoEternal's 'Eternally Never Yours' (or at least the first few chapters of it) and combined with some additional ideas from an original work of mine, I created a more plutonic 'Frenemies Forever' series. While I rate Luigi x Daisy highly here and have paired them in some of my works, it's been thoroughly explored and I don't see anywhere provocative to go here as is my modus operandi. Since they are an opposites attract type couple, to me anyway, embellishment is needed, reinforcing why they are obligatory compared to Mario and Peach, who aren't a real couple either but at least have the base rooted in canon.

Bowser threatening Mario with a 'Vibe Scepter'. No, we won't elaborate.

Loves: So about Mario x Peach. Typical and done everywhere but there's interactions to justify it, and a story that fleshes both out can make it work. Peach x Bowser is a common switcheroo and I'm not sure what I liked about it since canon Peach would never entertain canon Bowser. Of course this is about fan works and while they'll both have to be tweaked, it can be done there. Just don't villainize Mario or ilk to do it. Yoshi x Birdo? Canon. Not much to say. Toad x Toadette? Not personally, however as far as their more canon traits go I see why it's popular. No, she's not his sister. Wario could be with Mona I guess is where I was going by putting him with this mysterious 'other' person, but I'm not super into the WarioWare fandom. Diddy x Dixie, sure because it's already official, plus Donkey Kong Country 2 is amazing.

Smooth sailing?

Likes: Mario x Pauline. Mario's Real World history is frequently dipped into when it comes to television and movies, so nothing too special here. This is another official one, but there's much to explore with a pre-Mushroom Kingdom Mario, so the opportunity is there. Waluigi x Daisy is actually crack to me since I think they canonically hate each other, but I can see some writer playing off of that tension. Donkey Kong x Candy was an obligatory pairing I think. I barely know Candy's character, so I'd bump this to okay. Not listed but Mario characters x Smash bros characters could be decent, but I won't specify who with who!

Super Mario Sunshine Retrospective

'The coolest thing ever!' - kid me