Super Mario are games I've never really played and yet it is something I feel resonate across the modern day generation of video games. I think if I get one thing from this, it's that I will go back and play that gem that sits in Nintendos 64-bit crown, Super Mario 64, at some point.

However, the thought that crosses my mind is "what is Mario 64 2"? Some may argue that Super Mario Galazy is this game, but I tend to think of the argument about the successor to one of Nintendos modern era classics as a question of "what is next, theoretically" as opposed to the actual successor. We should be talking about Super Mario 64 2 in years to come, even if Nintendo deliver dozens of brilliant "main line" Mario games between now and then.

What is the future of this character? If we looked at technological advances, one may argue that it is Virtual Reality. If we looked at the current trend in genres, we would come away dazed and confused, is Super Mario going to go back to 2d pixel art? Is Super Mario Simulator 2016 going to be in Steam Early access?

What I would like is neither of these things (that's a lie, Super Mario Simulator 2016 may be my greatest ideas ever and perhaps the basis for an entire GameJam) but rather something that looks at the fundamentals of any "Super Mario" Game, platforming and collecting and boss fights, and sets them in a stage or setting that turns these mechanics and their subsequent gameplay elements on their side.

This is what the jump from 2D to 3D did and again from 3D to Galaxy. Unfortunately, I don't believe Super Mario 3D World managed to bring anything new or exciting to the formula, as it was more of a consolized version of the wonderful 3D Land. That's not to the say the game isn't great, but it isn't the modern day classic that we come to expect from Marios foray into the current-gen console space.

So, what is Super Mario 64 2? We all have our opinions, some may argue that an open world and/or RPG mechanics are required, but that isn't what these games need to have to elevate them. We have RPG Mario games and does Mario really need to run across the desert collecting side-missions? I would argue not. I believe it really is a simple case of shifting the perspective again, we went from 2D to 3D to Galaxy. What's after Galaxy? Well, after exploring the universe, we can only go one way, and that's small.

I don't mean literally, but I do mean creating dense environments that feel like something we haven't seen Mario explore before. This might have been what Team Sonic were going for in their shift to 3D , but I don't think having Super Mario interact in New York is really the answer either. I think what would really make the next Mario game is having Mario in the fire world and see him actually sweating. That's right, I believe Nintendo should send Mario to a world that he can not only interact with, but also interacts with him. A world where Mario shivers while wandering World 3. Does World 3 need a name? No, because this is a Super Mario game, Super Mario doesn't need lore or history, but it can have a sense of immediate place and have a camera that shows this off.

Super Mario 64 2 should be a game about besting an impossible environment with smartly designed puzzles with the players wit and skills. It doesn't need much else, but that does mean that the place in which the player does these things needs to be impressive and I honestly believe it is that simple, because mechanically speaking the Mario games are just so pure and fun and integral to that experience, that all we can do to keep it that pure is do the same again, but to turn the painting upside down. Adding any more colours or patterns will just change the painting.

I have linked a couple of videos below (not my own, granted) that I feel helps in some way to further my point of having Mario in a more dense world, and how that might lend some magic to the plumber. I don't think it's as simple as having Mario in a realistically designed world, but having him set in the current art style feels more like homage to those original games and less about pushing the character forward. The change back on N64 was much simpler, because you were just creating an entirely different plane of existence, but now the designers get to be so much smarter in how to make those mechanics special all over again. I like to imagine a Mario that is battered and bruised by the world that he is fighting through (much like Batman is at the end of his Arkham games), turning up to Bowers castle all battle beaten and weary, which only goes to show his (and the players) own determination in conquering what is in his path. Character arc and progression shown through evolving character design is something that we don't see many games do, and even less do well.

Those are just some very quick thoughts on the subject. I have a very real fear that Nintendo are going to not really do anything with the game series, but I also have a very bright hope that they are going to do something very special and unexpected with him. He deserves something special, because he is Super Mario.

Too long, didn't read? Super Mario 64 2 will have sweat technology. You heard it here first.