Platformers and Mascots I

Alexander looked at the huge and hefty Game Pak. Then the thin and tiny GameKey.

Each holds onto two very special video games. Video games with corresponding characters that had been swept up in console wars of old.

As if always fated to do so, these two games should once again be quite pivotal in what's to come.

Then again, they wouldn't exactly jumpstart things.

The longstanding NES and Creed Chaos System situation has been a long time coming. If anything, it just recently caught up to where it should have been.

These special games just happened to pop up as part of it.

Perhaps... jump things up may be the term to use here. Especially when these two involved a lot of jumping.

Their platforming gameplays are mostly about jumping, after all.

One is arguably the king that set the tone for the whole genre while the other is the speed-focused challenger that was able to go toe to toe with it.

------

As for the supposed king of this jumping genre, that is none other than Jumpman.

Mario, in this current case, with Super Mario Bros.

Players of this game control the titular Mario Brothers, as they set themselves to traverse the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Toadstool from King Koopa or Bowser.

In this fantasy setting, the Mushroom Kingdom is invaded by a tribe of turtle-like creatures known as the Koopa Troopas.

Through the magic powers of Bowser, the Mushroom Kingdom's inhabitants, or the Mushroom People are unceremoniously turned into inanimate objects like bricks, stones, and horsehair plants.

Which is quite horrendous, all things considered.

Anyways, the only one who can reverse the situation turns out to be Princess Toadstool who had been captured already.

After hearing the news, the unlikely hero steps in, in a form of a pudgy plumber. Or two plumbers if you count the other one.

The object of the game, if not clear yet, is to race through the Mushroom Kingdom, survive through the main antagonistic forces like Goombas and Koopas... then save the princess in distress.

Basically, just moving to the right of the screens and reach the flagpole at the end of most levels, then move on to the next one.

Maybe there's blocks to break or pipes to go down to as well. And yeah... coins because why not?

With each side-scrolling scenario, all that one needs is to avoid all the hazards, explore secrets, and pick up a power-up or two.

There's the Super Mushroom. For doubling the pudgy plumber's size.

A Fire Flower for a bit of an outfit change with firepower along with it.

And the less common Starman, for invincibility and destroying enemies by contact.

What made it more interesting is that game actually consists of eight worlds, with four sub-levels called stages for each of them.

These areas even include water-filled ones that are canonically just part of the Mushroom Kingdom. It sure does paint this kingdom to be quite the place.

Must be why Bowser wanted it.

As for Bowser, well, you'll be confronted with a total of eight of them. One for each of the 8 worlds, with 7 lies and one truth.

With special jump skills or with suspension bridge-cutting axe skills, you're basically set to confront the guy.

With that covered, that should just about be the whole gist of this whole saga. There are goons, castles, villains, and a princess, however, there's no armor-clad knight.

There are just plumbers in jumpers.

------

In any case, this unassuming game is actually Nintendo's greatest hit.

Even cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.

As for the reasons behind such a status, well, there are plenty.

Behind those baggy overalls and baggy caps resides an incredible game design experience...

One that will withstand the test of time and establish a high bar for the level of fun and enjoyment required for any commercial video game to follow suit.

The core experience of Super Mario Bros. is...

Defeating enemies?

No, you can run through almost every level without attacking the enemies at all.

Saving the princess?

No, the relationship between our intrepid plumber and the princess is almost entirely left up to the player's imagination; that aspect of the game seems tacked on. 

The actual core experience of the game is simply to make the player feel like they are exploring and conquering a strange world.

Its base mechanics just set quite the standard.

Running and jumping over the terrain, navigating up, down, left, and right through the stages.

Its punishment and reward Systems encourage exploration as well.

The player is taught to avoid enemies, of course. That just helps give the game its challenge.

However, if Mario dies, then he is reset to the beginning of that world or level, not the beginning of the game. Setting it apart from other high-score type video games before it.

This reduces the punishment of failing completely and beckons the player to try exploring the level until they run out of time.

Other aspects of the game also just reward any player's penchant for exploration.

Hidden coin blocks may give the player coins or 1-up mushrooms, but they never appear unless the player is willing to jump incessantly all over the map.

Additionally, the player has no way of knowing which pipes he or she can enter, and even if they did, the player has no way of knowing where it will lead.

Numerous levels reward the player's investigation over walls, past checkpoints, and under pipes.

Warp zones are tucked away past the apparent end of the level, allowing rapid advancement to the game's later stages.

You'll notice that the game also doesn't include a map, and there is no way for the player to know what is coming up next.

All they can do is walk to the right until it shows up on their screen.

As for the game's long-term incentive, isn't it just to complete the game? Players are just pushed forward to keep going and keep going until they get to the sweet end.

Finally, there's the aesthetic layout. Providing a great environment that just ups the game a notch.

It's not just a black background this time. From mushroom tops to night scenes and water bridges, the player doesn't know what kind of level is beyond the next stage or the next pipe.

And this certainly is a strange world; don't let the classic nature of this game let you forget how strange it is to juxtapose turtles, mushrooms, pipes, and princesses.

The success of Super Mario Bros. can be attributed to the solidarity and simplicity of its core experience.

At this point in time almost every game was about working in a finite playing space and getting a high score a la Space Invaders or Pacman.

However, Super Mario Bros. provided a completely new experience, pushing the player to enter realms not yet seen in any other games.

Coupled with a banger soundtrack that might as well be a centerpiece of the game... it was just something else.

Granted, there are Flappy Birds and Top Gun now... but that probably won't stop good Mario from making a monumental mark in the industry. Oh yeah... there's his brother too. Don't forget about him.

Even at this point, Nintendo knows its greatness.

With their renewed NES push, this was the game that they bundled and really pushed to the forefront.

Kind of their mascot already.

This game and its characters had already conquered Japan, after all.

Perhaps with its help, they'll be able to upend the threat of Creed and take over the vast gaming expanse that is North America.

-------

As of this mid-summer July, Mario is gaining quite the traction already. It wasn't Christmas but it was just that time of the year.

Making Super Mario Bros. very much a threat that's hard to dismiss.

Even Milla, a Creed enthusiast, was wowed. All the more worried about it as well.

She kind of just picked up the NES and the Game Paks that Alex procured for research and wanted to research herself.

And that should have been it. Yet here she was, still playing as Mario at World 1-2.

"Alex..."

"Yeah?"

"Isn't this bad?"

"It is but it should be fine" Alexander nodded. "You just missed a secret power-up, that's all. It should be inconsequential in the long run."

"I mean this game." Milla clarified. "If this gets popular, wouldn't you be in trouble?"

"Why don't you write a song that trashes this game and Nintendo around? I'll be the one to sing it." Milla proposed. "I have fans now and that should help out, right?"

"Not necessary." Alexander dismissed but the gesture is appreciated.

He already has a challenger prepped for the occasion, after all.

With how it is, Mario was really propping itself up to be a platforming king and veritable mascot with great appeal.

It just so happens that Alexander had the blue blur that can go toe-to-toe with that. With platforming, mascot prospects, and all.

Mario's demise or the NES' downfall isn't in any way guaranteed. He wasn't really in it for that.

More than anything, he was just interested in how things were going to play out.

Not everyone can get the forefront seat in a historic rivalry, after all.