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Mario

Character » appears in 237 games

Originally a carpenter named Jumpman, this Italian plumber has gone on to become the most recognizable video game character of them all, starring in a veritable pantheon of titles like kart racing and sports. He has been voiced by Charles Martinet for nearly 20 years.

30 Days of Gaming : Day 6

Posted by aurahack (2032 posts) - 2 years, 3 months ago

Back from school, back from downtown and back from buying season 10 of Top Gear on DVD. Woo! And so we continue with the daily blogs! 
 

Mario 

I should preface this by saying I'm not trying to anger anyone and what you read is just my opinion and I more than understand what the little plumber has done for gaming. This is just my perception of Nintendo's mascot and take it for what you will.  
  
 I claim Mario to be racist against all retarded blue inflatable dinosaurs.
Now there are probably a number of other characters I could picked instead of Mario's place (Angeal, Genesis and Axel all come to mind) but if there's honestly one character that I don't understand his overwhelming acceptance in videogames, it's him. I grew up as a Sega/Sony kid, so that's probably a strong factor into why I never really understood the whole 'console mascot' thing. Sure, Sonic and Crash were both tied to their respective systems as mascots of each but to me, Sega was about Phantasy Star and Sony was about Gran Turismo. It was beyond me but I could obviously see what Mario was to the Nintendo kids. The games tied to his name were the flagship games for that system and I'm fine with that. Really. The Mario games are great and I sure-as-shit enjoyed the fuck out of Super Mario Brothers and the subsequent NES/SNES releases.  
 
The thing is that as soon as Mario was given a voice, I completely lost any sort of understanding as to why he was liked. Even as a kid, I didn't get why the character would appeal to me. Just... his voice is aggravating. I don't get why the jump from 2D to 3D made it so he was redesigned as a completely child-oriented mascot, even when it comes to voice. What? Kids will see him in all three dimensions? Well shit! Quick, get someone to make him sound like he just fell off a short bus to the school for special kids! 
 
It's also worth noting that I can't shake the feeling that videogames, today still, as seen as targeted for kids because of him. I'm most likely wrong, considering the vast majority of children are now playing Call of Duty now (which is just as disturbing for a variety of reasons), but surely it can't help our problem with having our industry taken seriously, right? 
 
But again, I fully understand what he's done for gaming. If it wasn't for him, Nintendo probably wouldn't have decided to make a mascot out of all of their characters and the company, as well as the industry, probably wouldn't be the same. He's a great mascot for the company and whether I like him or not is completely irrelevant because ultimately, the game's his in are still pretty fuckin' great. ... well, at least the platformers. The mini-game stuff... yeah. No thanks. But this is supposed to be about what I honestly think and I honestly think that Mario, as a character and a mascot for both a company and an entire industry, is nothing short of annoying thanks to his inconceivably childish portrayal. 
  

Days of Gaming Recap!

Feb 13th, 2011 - Day 1: Your Very First Videogame
Feb 14th, 2011 - Day 2: Your Favorite Character 
Feb 15th, 2011 - Day 3: A Game That Is Underrated   
Feb 16th, 2011 - Day 4: Your Guilty-Pleasure Game     
Feb 17th, 2011 - Day 5: Game Character You Wish You Were 
 
See you, once again, tomorrow!
#1 Posted by aurahack (2032 posts) - 2 years, 3 months ago

Back from school, back from downtown and back from buying season 10 of Top Gear on DVD. Woo! And so we continue with the daily blogs! 
 

Mario 

I should preface this by saying I'm not trying to anger anyone and what you read is just my opinion and I more than understand what the little plumber has done for gaming. This is just my perception of Nintendo's mascot and take it for what you will.  
  
 I claim Mario to be racist against all retarded blue inflatable dinosaurs.
Now there are probably a number of other characters I could picked instead of Mario's place (Angeal, Genesis and Axel all come to mind) but if there's honestly one character that I don't understand his overwhelming acceptance in videogames, it's him. I grew up as a Sega/Sony kid, so that's probably a strong factor into why I never really understood the whole 'console mascot' thing. Sure, Sonic and Crash were both tied to their respective systems as mascots of each but to me, Sega was about Phantasy Star and Sony was about Gran Turismo. It was beyond me but I could obviously see what Mario was to the Nintendo kids. The games tied to his name were the flagship games for that system and I'm fine with that. Really. The Mario games are great and I sure-as-shit enjoyed the fuck out of Super Mario Brothers and the subsequent NES/SNES releases.  
 
The thing is that as soon as Mario was given a voice, I completely lost any sort of understanding as to why he was liked. Even as a kid, I didn't get why the character would appeal to me. Just... his voice is aggravating. I don't get why the jump from 2D to 3D made it so he was redesigned as a completely child-oriented mascot, even when it comes to voice. What? Kids will see him in all three dimensions? Well shit! Quick, get someone to make him sound like he just fell off a short bus to the school for special kids! 
 
It's also worth noting that I can't shake the feeling that videogames, today still, as seen as targeted for kids because of him. I'm most likely wrong, considering the vast majority of children are now playing Call of Duty now (which is just as disturbing for a variety of reasons), but surely it can't help our problem with having our industry taken seriously, right? 
 
But again, I fully understand what he's done for gaming. If it wasn't for him, Nintendo probably wouldn't have decided to make a mascot out of all of their characters and the company, as well as the industry, probably wouldn't be the same. He's a great mascot for the company and whether I like him or not is completely irrelevant because ultimately, the game's his in are still pretty fuckin' great. ... well, at least the platformers. The mini-game stuff... yeah. No thanks. But this is supposed to be about what I honestly think and I honestly think that Mario, as a character and a mascot for both a company and an entire industry, is nothing short of annoying thanks to his inconceivably childish portrayal. 
  

Days of Gaming Recap!

Feb 13th, 2011 - Day 1: Your Very First Videogame
Feb 14th, 2011 - Day 2: Your Favorite Character 
Feb 15th, 2011 - Day 3: A Game That Is Underrated   
Feb 16th, 2011 - Day 4: Your Guilty-Pleasure Game     
Feb 17th, 2011 - Day 5: Game Character You Wish You Were 
 
See you, once again, tomorrow!
#2 Posted by Hailinel (18150 posts) - 2 years, 3 months ago

Mario is the Mickey Mouse of video games.  He's always been portrayed as family friendly.  You see him on a box, and you're sure to find a game that anyone of any age should be able to play without issue.  I don't really see why you'd consider him annoying, but then, I grew up on Nintendo consoles and always found Sonic ridiculous and increasingly outdated with his stuck-in-1992 attitude. :P

#3 Posted by PixelPrinny (1025 posts) - 2 years, 3 months ago

Mario's voice is what irritates you the most? Have you never heard Peach's? My gods, her voice is so much worse! D: 

#4 Posted by aurahack (2032 posts) - 2 years, 3 months ago
@Hailinel: I grew up with Sega and even I didn't care for Sonic. :/ I don't know, maybe the whole mascot thing doesn't ring with me. I fully understand that's he's probably the most recognizable icon to gaming save for Pac-Man and the Invaders. I just kind of get the impression that he's loved and accepted because of nostalgia-- not because he's likable in any way. 
 
@PixelPrinny: Fortunately for me, I haven't. :/
#5 Posted by fox01313 (4741 posts) - 2 years, 2 months ago

I wouldn't consider Mario annoying as much as being a strong candidate with a long bus ride on a very short bus where everyone is wearing at least one piece of protective (or restraining) item to keep them from hurting themselves and/or others. There's many games especially the later games with Mario where he doesn't seem to have learned much from his adventures or hit his head way too much on a variety of surfaces.

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