#plumber mascot

[voodootoken]

VoodooToken - it's fixed! Windows 95 Fan Art Inspired by our Orginal Doll

[mrdrhenwardhykle]

POM POM: KILLER OF MASCOT GAMES vol.2 issue #4

Pom Pom vs Pac Man

"Week 3 of the investigations...

Something doesn't feel right. I've been chasing this freak for so long, I feel like I'm losing myself. Why? Why is this so important to me. I know it's because I've never left a job unfinished, but I haven't even busted a single pirate for the last week and a half. I do not care for these people. I could let all of these characters die out and it wouldn't hit a single mark in my job description... but in some way... I feel like I have to end this case to feel a blanket of safety.

I'm not sure of myself right now. There's billions of obvious trails I could and should follow, but they're a little too obvious. I see them in posters, ads, graffiti-everywhere. Am I losing my mind, or is she really everywhere? Her and her dopey little disguises and antics. She can't think I'm that oblivious.

Am I losing my mind, is this a trail that she wants me to go down, or is she really this dumb?"

Previous Next

Character Descriptions:

Pom Pom is a virus/glitch formed by the scrapped side-scrolling arcade game from the early 90's “Pom-Pom Panic”. Pom Pom (the main character of Pom Pom Panic) for whatever reason gained sentience halfway during the game’s development. The game was cancelled halfway because the publishing company thought it was too bizarre of a concept and mascot character to gain interest. Pom Pom heard of the news and took it way too personally, as she literally cannot fathom why someone would think she’s ‘bizarre’-even to the point of getting ‘axed’. Prompted by the ‘poor judgement’ Pom Pom went rouge-breaking from her game to ‘axe’ any ‘approved’ game mascots/characters she thought could count as ‘bizarre’ like her.

Power Officer Stone:

Stone is the amalgamation of a couple things, exactly what people aren't sure of, but it's safely assumed that he's a mix between scrapped virtual PSA mascots, an antivirus/piracy program, and the anti drug campaigns they used to put in arcade games. Stone is the embodiment of anti piracy screens and uses all of his time to prevent virtual crimes and viruses. He also can duplicate himself and multitask. However, because of his frustrations against the fact that he can't really punish pirates in real life, he often bounces the punishment to the closest playable character. For that, he's infamous amongst most virtual realms.

[emptystarhead733]

I designed this logo and mascot for a small business in austria!

[rex101111]

Ratchet and Clank size matters got added to the PSN store and I got a a major nostalgia pang so I went "eh, why not" and quickly played through it. And I do mean quickly, I know it was a PSP title but dang, last time I finished a R&C game this quick i played Nexus. Anyway, the thing that struck me about this game is that Ratchet is...a bit of an asshole here. And that struck me as odd because for the last few entries...he isn't.

Like this is still early series Ratchet, still on the PS2/PSP, released just before the first PS3 title, which was in retrospect a bit of an incredibly soft reboot. In the newer games, Ratchet is a fairly straight forward protag, nice, willing to help, only a little bit sarcastic if he's really strapped for time or dealing with someone especially annoying. Early Ratchet? Early Ratchet was a jackass, a dick, a selfish, quick tempered loner that only went on this quest because there was a tangible, direct benefit to him specifically. Seriously, in the first game Ratchet couldn't go two sentences without insulting somebody, and that's when he's in a good mood. In act 2 he's even worse, gnashing his teeth at everyone he talks to and threatening to sell Clank for scrap. It takes hours of in game time and half a dozen levels before Ratchet finally chills out, and a few more levels before he actually resolves to act like any sort of hero, and even that only happens after something he personally cares about gets threatened. Ratchet could give a damn, he can be convinced to help people, but he's still a selfish person who needs the situation rubbed in his nose before he realizes how dire it is. Clank having faith in him, throughout the entire game, even when he's being a dick, even when Clank himself is furious with him, meant something. When in the penultimate level he says "that's the Ratchet I always knew was there" and Ratchet brushes him off, you buy it, that beneath this sharp outside there's someone with the capacity to be a hero, an actual hero, a hero who isn't selfless, but one capable of overcoming his selfishness when it matters most.

Back when the first game came out, people complained about this, about their platformer mascot protag being a huge dick, and even the very next game addressed this by toning him down a smidge, but Ratchet in the PS2 trilogy is still very much not a perfect sunshine person. He's very sarcastic, pretty cynical, is very quick to call other people on their bullshit, and still has a very short temper. (Plasma city, anyone?) Ratchet had texture to him, he bounced off the much more straightforwardly nice Clank in a lot of ways, their friendship felt like it had weight and meant something because these two had so many differences between them that the fact they did get along so well and cared about each other so much showed that their friendship was genuine. I like the newer Ratchet and Clank games, played every one of them, but I've never been really happy with the direction they took with Ratchet. Each game made him nicer, friendlier, smoothing down his edges. And the reboot game had it the worst, they retold the first story, where Ratchet was at his worst and a major thread of the plot was him learning to get over his bullshit, but had the sanded down kitty cat of the later games instead of having confidence in their early work. Dickhead Ratchet worked, he had a place and it gave him a place to grow, while still maintaining his inherit sharpness. Ratchet should get to be an asshole again, just for a bit, let him get angry, properly. Sure, he's a hero who's saved two galaxies three times over and then some, but he did that while being a sarcastic little shit who made a joke about a plumber's ass crack showing and fired rockets at people while complaining about how high the prices are everywhere he went.

I dunno, maybe its a bit too late in the game to say this, but something got lost in the shuffle a while back, and getting a reminder of what was simply put it into perspective for me.

[numberonevirginiansimp]

Does Luigi Mario becoming the mascot of the movement against corporate health care strike anyone else as kinda… racist? Like, the second they arrested Mangione, everybody saw one of the most common Italian names and thought “Luigi? Like from our favorite Japanese caricature of Italian plumbers?”

The kid’s life is at stake, I think he deserves not to be supplanted by a cartoon assortment of stereotypes.

[successfulshowman]

PUZZLES!!!!!

what did you do to Smg4 and Mario after you won? Is Meggy back to Leggy?

Being encountered by another attendee almost startled him. They'd just opened, how were they coming in so fast?

"Well, first, yes, I do have my dear Leggy back, and for good this time." Mr. Puzzles started with a small grin, aiming his hand towards the excited goomba girl. "If you need any directional help, she's the one to ask. And for your... Other question..."

The grin disappeared, a scowl on his screen. It wasn't something he liked to talk about.

"SMG4 and that idiot are alive, unfortunately. I was told by my partner that if they die, the world is in danger." He let out an exasperated sigh before continuing, "So, the 'guardian' is my Puppeteer, guiding the rest of his little crew into doing whatever I want."

Now Mr. Puzzles' face was one of controlled anger. "And that imbecile is my personally controlled Mime, because honestly, do you really want to hear his voice or see his destruction? When you think of a child-friendly park, would you want your childhood mascot to swear obscenities and attack you for spaghetti?" Just thinking of the plumber made his wires burn.

[ultraericthered]

Nostalgic Lookback: Pizza Hut And The Mysterious Pizza Man

As today is National Pizza Day and I just ordered from Pizza Hut, the first most appropriate lookback to my childhood for today would be this one. Well before ever trying out Papa John's, Little Caesar's, or Domino's pizza, Pizza Hut was the big name pizza chain I was most familiar with, as it was the default for our family where we lived.

While I at first only knew Pizza Hut pizza from delivery and it would be some time before I actually went inside one of the pizzerias to have a meal in there, when eventually I did, the interior was much like how the Pizza Hut Classic locations of today thankfully replicate.

But here's the funniest tidbit for this memory: I can vaguely recall knowing of the character Mario at a fairly early age, but I'd for some reason thought he was a pizzeria mascot and his occupation was that of a Pizza chef/delivery man. It was later on that I discovered what might have been the reason for this misunderstanding. During its 1974-1999 era, Pizza Hut had a mascot character named Pizza Hut Pete, a pizza chef with a hat, bulbous nose, and thick mustache. He stopped being very common some time in the 80s, but I guess the first Pizza Hut I ever went to must've still had him around and he went into my subconscious, causing me to conflate him with Mario!

How silly of me to think that famed Nintendo plumber Mario ever had anything to do with pizzaaaaa wait a minute what the fuck is this???

[simiansmoke]

an angry kiss in the rain (Mario)

It didn't matter how many times he stressed that it was monsoon season because there Mario went, like an idiot, straight into the jungle as the sky sat pregnant above with a looming due date.

At first, DK didn't mind shooting the shit with the Mushroom Kingdom's mascot. They usually fooled around on the outskirts of the Kong capital where a few powerup blocks provided a couple hours of entertainment, but after a few rounds of power-up tag (where the point was to beat the power out of the other, but keep their own) DK was ready to call it quits early. Maybe it was a form of animal instinct, or the fact that he'd lived in Kong country all his life, but one whiff of the air had the fur on his shoulders rising with the blossoming static around them; "Time to go-"

Or it would have been if the resounding cry for help deep in the jungle didn't spur the red-shirted hero to action. DK had a hold of him by the shoe at first when Mario attempted to blow past him. "Dude, we can't help them right now. We gotta let the storm pass first."

"You'a kiddin' right?" Given how he looked at DK like he'd grown a second head, the Kong realized his company was probably unfamiliar with just how a rescue mission would not play out well in the next ten or so seconds. "It'sa little rain. You won't melt."

"Mario-wait!" DK lost his grip and for a moment watched as Mario breeched the forest-line of fan palms and birds of paradise leaves. In any other circumstance, he may have let Mario fuck around and find out, but with the addition of another likely stranded before the storm, DK galloped after him, albeit annoyed.

"Hellooo?" Mario called out, slapping overgrown caladiums out of his face as he ventured in deeper. As the sky rumbled above, he rolled his eyes. DK being afraid of a little water was ridiculous considering someone in his kingdom was in need of assistance. It didn't occur to him they might have been worried about being out and about. Mario didn't notice a single drop of rain before the bottom fell out.

The force of the downpour was unlike anything he'd seen-well...in this case, felt, because as soon as the wall of water barreled down on him with the strength of a pent-up season, he face-planted into the dirt as it instantly mutated to mud. Caught off guard and dazed, he couldn't seem to pull himself up under the furious force. Not good-he thought, scrabbling at the ground with a frantic air once he realized he couldn't quite get his face up and out of the puddle that was quickly forming around him.

Mario was lucky he liked such an ugly color, because without the bright red beacon, DK wouldn't have been able to find him through the blinding wave of water. Just trying to move beneath the force was a work out in itself, but since this wasn't DK's first fuck around and find out rodeo, he managed. Scooping Mario up, he laid the plumber out to dry, dangling off his arm which he scooted partly under his body to give Mario some break from the beating as he turned and pushed through the heavy rain until he made it to the cave entrance they had luckily passed by on the plunge into the suicide mission.

When the roof of the cave cut off nature's assault, DK coughed in the contained oxygen after having held his breath for much of Mario's retrieval. An involuntary shake wracked his body in an attempt to rid his fur from the wet feeling that at this point, probably only a long time napping in the sun would fix.

"W-wow." Mario stirred on his wet and hairy perch, peering at the mouth of the cave which was now curtained with a waterfall. "You...probably should have warned me about that-"

"Oh yeah? My BAD." Annoyed, DK flicked Mario off him, not caring if he hit the cave wall and knocked himself unconscious. At least then he wouldn't have to listen to Mario's macaroni. "I would have let you enjoy the taste of your foot in your mouth if there wasn't probably some kid out here - doing what they should be and waiting it out." It was almost like they'd learned all this as kids, the hard way or otherwise.

"Yeah, well!" Mario stood, wringing out some water from his hat. "I can't just sit back whena some kid's calling for help. Unlike you, I have a heart."

The barb was almost as insignificant as a splinter, but it stung enough for DK to stomp the few steps over and wring his fingers into the front of Mario's shirt and lift him a few feet off the ground. "Yeah, I'm SO heartless. I made sure you didn't drown in the mud where your brains come from!" Desperate to throw the idiot into a wall or slap him around, DK knew he couldn't compromise their temporary shelter, so he did the next best thing he could to spill some fury. With his fingers wrenched skull-crushingly tight to the front of Mario's shirt, he jerked the squirming mushroom mascot up to collide their mouths together in a mash up of a bite and a suffocating kiss.

Mario's sporadic squirms stilled with the aggressive action, and his hands flew up as if to swat the Kong back, but a tug of guilt kept his gloved hand poised in the shape of a scratch that he rested against DK's cheek. He had been so wrapped up in being the hero that he hardly noticed that DK had come to his rescue instead.

With enough of his fury foisted upon Mario's mouth, DK breaks for a breath, accepting the uncertain palm poised on his cheek as he bumps his face forward into it...dammit, he wanted to stay mad. "If anything gets to suffocate your dumb ass, it's me."

Face joining the color of his shirt, Mario gave DK's cheek a thankful pat. "N...noted."

[minitt-personal]

john nintendo: we need a mascot for our vidya game

an italian plumber dressed in red appearing in his dreams, saying the following in a cartoonish italian accent:

[djsherriff-responses]

My other unpopular opinion is that Rabbids had little to no effect on Rayman. It’s clear to me that most people are unaware of how big Ubisoft actually is.

Like the team who makes Assassins Creed is different from the team that makes Just Dance. Rayman main developers are Ubisoft Montpellier them and Ancel worked on all mainline Rayman games. They’re the team that most think of in regards to Rayman.

Wanna know how many Rabbids games they worked on? They worked on 2 (Raving Rabbids and Rabbids Go Home) they have not touched the rabbids since 2009.

Seriously most of Rabbids series was developed by Ubisoft Paris. Who are the developers of Just Dance and recently Ghost Recon Breakpoints. There was little to no overlap between Rayman and Rabbids in truth.

I strongly remember really wanting the Rabbids go home Wii game. Idk why as I never had an interest in Rabbids beforehand , the game just seemed fun to me

To be honest I do think the Rabbids took Rayman’s spotlight, but more so because they had a set identity that made them more understandable to the average person. It was an annoying and loud identity , but an easy to understand identity nonetheless

Who is Rayman? Like, really who is he? He has several origin stories and outside of being heroic /general goodness his own personality is different between games

And yes I know it’s common to think each game is Rayman at a different life stage but the only thing supporting it is a mini game from Rayman 3, and not only was he shown living alone in Rayman 1 but also in one educational game he was on vacation having a drink

Rayman is in this very odd spot when it comes to game characters

He’s a mascot character like Sonic and Mario , except those two have identities that’s pretty consistent throughout their games

Sonic is hedgehog who’s gotta go fast, so he’s cocky and playful , in comparison to Mario who is more grounded due to being a plumber and saviour of a princess. Of cause these are just in most games, as they are some games that experiment with the characters and settings, but generally most people are gonna have a basic grasp of these two and the world they come from

Rarely are the mechanics of a Rayman ever the same unless it’s more or less directly connected (such as Rayman 1 and the Educational games, or the Ubiart games). Sonic main feature is running fast across a wide area and dashing into enemies , Mario’s is climbing through pipes and jumping on enemies, Rayman’s is…… kinda whatever the dev’s wanted to do that day (technically it’s punching his floating hand far away but even that feels different in each game)

As an artist it is so much fun to play around with the scraps of lore scattered around, but a casual gamer probably isn’t gonna want to make up head canons for why Betilla suddenly has thick thighs that Rayman is drooling over

[gojosusedthong]

♱ Au/Character/Relationship Trope suggestions but they get more specific ♱ :

「 ✰ Red is my personal fav :- 」

Cocky Boxer x mature trainer

Tired sheriff x criminal who loves the chase

flower shop x tattoo shop

Dumb x dumber

Chubby (insecure about it) x finds it sexy

Hates touch x extreme ocd

Farmer x curious city boy

Too sober x too drunk

Reincarnated dude x lover from past life

Hot electrician x stay at home husband

Tall shy x small big daddy energy

Sylvia Plath girl x Albert Camus guy

Art school student x cocky engineering student

Rich modern artist x renaissance dick rider who hates them

Overly explains the history of ancient artifacts x "I know"

Sir you're not allowed to dress in a chicken mascot here x doesn't stop

Makes literature/book references x the only one who understands them

Avoids paying for meals in restaurants in creative ways x doesn't fall for any of their tricks

Breathes x JSVDJEJWMWNSN

Emo artist x bubbly scientist

Baker x single dad with 2 daughters

Arrogant celebrity x fan who pretends to not care about them (they're losing their mind)

Talkative coffee shop barista x grumpy insomniac who only drinks black coffee

Obnoxious x tolerant

Museum lover x hates museum

Poor asf x has money to burn

Electric guitarist x amateur guitarist

Bulky patient plumber x clumsy himbo

People only like them for their looks x blind

stalker x worse stalker who stalks the stalker

Apologist x why are you apologizing?

Angry villain asking 'who did this?' x hero who's severely injured by another villain

Bad first impression x doesn't let them forget about it

Rude asf x apologizes for them

Depressed x depressed but intellectually dramatic about it (reads Kafka)

Flirty x wants nothing to do with them but falls twice as hard at the end

Author who hangs out at graveyards x a really concerned passerby

lost man x letting lost man sleep in his house

Immortal x a really confused Grim Reaper

Prince who can't sleep x musician who can make them sleepy

Receptionist x highly annoying store repeater

Loves pottery x asks them to help with pottery

Underrated singer x is their Top listener

Librarian x guy who can't read but stays in the library anyway

Overworked student x student who always sleep but scores higher

Friendly gardener x cold businessman but has a soft spot for them

Visits abandoned buildings x coward (they're build like a tank)

"Wait...so you're not a girl?" x "I get that a lot"

Elementary school teacher x accountant who dislikes children (says they're annoying)

Demon who always visits earth x angel who has to drag them back to hell

world renown chef x harsh food critic who dislikes everything the chef cooks (the chef is determined to change this)

Hopeless romantic deity x the most stinky lazy bum to ever exist (the deity adores them)

Overly worried about what others think x fuck it we only live once + do it for the plot

'so there's this book I've been reading...' x 'tell me all about it'

Attention seeker x obsessed with fictional characters (attention seeker is jealous of this)

Loud neighbor hosting parties every week x annoyed neighbor crashing their parties in the most weird ways possible

Spoiled emperor who manipulates everyone with his power to intimidate them x too dense to understand threats

Lazy bum like a koala x nags a lot but finds them endearing

I can't shut up x the only one who can make them willingly shut up with just a glare

"At least I'm being brave about it" x "whatever you say"

Fakes headaches and always sleeps in the school infirmary x class monitor who won't let this slide

Fakes being perfect (really insecure) x knows the secret that they try to hide (they make a deal)

Popular as the Mr. Nice guy (actually two-faced and gets mad easily) x discovers their secret side and confronts them about it (Mr. Nice guy begs them to keep it a secret)

Beyond beautiful model x nerdy photographer

Scary on the outside (actually really soft) x nice on the outside (the one you should actually be scared about)

Soft spoken yoga instructor x easily flustered gym bro

Desperate Journalist x celebrity who loves pranks and disguises

Doctor in a small town x the same patient who keeps getting into trouble

"This particular detail symbolizes the emptiness residing within the frail human mind and the bleak nature of their demise. What do you think?" x "That's a triangle"

Small Streamer x CEO who watches their live streams and donates a lot

Ex-professional wrestler x idiot who challenges anyone to a fist fight at waffle house

Always arguing for some reason x tries to be nice but snaps and argues twice as much (they make out to make up)

Loves sweets x hates them but has a collection of sweets in case they want it

Childhood friend who remembers everything x pretends to not know them but has a deep crush

Dimension traveller who tries to change their lovers fate x their lover that is destined to die during Christmas Eve in every alternate universe

Rock collector x son of a billionaire who would shamelessly pick up rocks from random places to give it to them and gets articles written about his weird behavior

Coworker with no vehicle x coworker with a cool bike and is willing to give them a ride

Goes to the cinema every night, every day to watch horror movies x watches the same movie as they do every night and thinks they're a stalker (the other thinks they're a stalker too but they get along and discuss the movies they watch)

Do what you will with these ideas

🂱 If you write a fic inspired by them pls tell me the title on Ao3 or Wattpad so I could read it 🂱

[wojakgallery]

Title/Name: Mario Known As: A character created by the Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the Mario franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario is an Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Country: Japan Wojak Series: Soyjak (Variant) Image by: Unknown Main Tag: Mario Wojak

[alastor-the-demon]

Mario is a character created by the Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the Mario franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario is an Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Their adventures generally center on rescuing Princess Peach from the villain Bowser while using power-ups that give them different abilities.

I see! He looks quite pathetic.

[tmarshconnors]

Mario VS Sonic

While speaking with my girlfriend about gaming we were talking about Mario Kart and Crash Bandicoot Crash Team Racing. I thought heck why not do a blog about Mario and Sonic. So here we are. The debate between Mario and Sonic has been a longstanding rivalry in the gaming world. Both characters are iconic and have played significant roles in shaping the industry. Here's a breakdown of their characteristics and achievements:

Mario:

Mario is the mascot of Nintendo and one of the most recognizable characters in gaming history. He made his first appearance in the game "Donkey Kong" in 1981 and became the star of the "Super Mario" series.

Mario is known for his red hat, blue overalls, and mustache. He is portrayed as a friendly and adventurous plumber who goes on various quests to rescue Princess Peach from the villain Bowser.

Mario's abilities include jumping, running, and power-ups such as the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower, which grant him special abilities.

The "Super Mario" franchise has achieved tremendous success, with numerous critically acclaimed games such as "Super Mario Bros.," "Super Mario 64," and "Super Mario Odyssey."

Sonic:

Sonic the Hedgehog is the mascot of Sega and is characterized by his bright blue colour, red shoes, and spiky hair. He first appeared in the game "Sonic the Hedgehog" in 1991.

Sonic is known for his incredible speed, which allows him to dash through levels and defeat enemies. He battles against the evil Dr Robotnik (also known as Dr Eggman) to protect his animal friends and collect the Chaos Emeralds.

The Sonic franchise introduced innovative gameplay mechanics, such as loop-the-loops and high-speed platforming, which set it apart from other platforming games.

Popular Sonic games include "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," "Sonic & Knuckles," and "Sonic Generations."

When I was growing up you were either a "Mario Kid" or "Sonic Kid" I won't lie to you I have played both of them a fair amount in my gaming life but my loyalty will always be firmly with Mario. I used to play Mario on my Nintendo 64 then as I got older I played Mario on my Gameboy Advance SP then Nintendo 3DS XL and now I play him on Nintendo Switch OLED. It's fair to say that Mario grew up with me. I might get some more games of him on my switch in the future.

PEACE!

[fancoloredglasses]

The two 90s Sonic the Hedgehog series (like that wouldn’t be confusing)

[All images are owned by Sega and DIC animation. Please don’t sue or Roboticize me]

(Thanks to TheNawaf258)

One cannot understate the importance of the spiny mammal with the freakish blue spines and even more freakish speed that bust onto the scene when Sega introduced the Genesis in the early 90s. Before Sonic, a certain company whose mascot was a certain plumber ruled the home video game market. Now we had a contest!

In fact, Sonic’s popularity was so huge that in 1993 not one, but two animated series were created by DIC Animation! The first, The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, made the weekday syndicated circuit.

(Thanks to Choones The Train Driver)

The series follows Sonic (voiced by Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel in Family Matters) and his best friend (introduced in the second Sonic game) Miles Prower (a play on “Miles per Hour”) AKA “Tails” (so nicknamed due to the fact that he has 2 tails that he can spin like a propeller, enabling him to fly) as they defend the planet Mobius from...

Dr. Robotnik and his primary cybernetic cohorts...

...Grounder (left) and Scratch.

The plots (and gags) are straight out of Looney Toons. The bad guys are complete idiots who are easily thwarted by Sonic and Tails.

This series was definitely designed with the under-10 crowd in mind. As I was easily double that in ‘93, I wasn’t overly impressed with the series. However, if you would like to watch the series, it’s available on Netflix.

If I was less than thrilled at Sonic’s impression of Bugs Bunny, what DIC produced for the Saturday morning crowd was the exact opposite!

(Thanks to 90sCartoonIntros)

Sonic the Hedgehog sets a vastly different tone than Adventures does, making it in my opinion vastly superior to its weekday version.

Jaleel White again voices Sonic (just to add to the confusion), but this time he’s one of the inner circle of a group of freedom fighting animals attempting to free Mobius from...

...Dr. Ivo Robotnik (voiced by Jim Cummings, whose voice credits are too numerous to list but is the voice of Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger too!) since the late 90s), who has transformed most of the world’s inhabitants into cyborgs enslaved to him. Alongside his robotic army, Robotnik has transformed Mobius into a dystopian hellscape. Unlike the weekday kiddie fare in which Robotnik was trying to take over Mobius, he has actually succeeded and is the evil overlord of the world! Yes, this version of Robotnik is actually menacing, as opposed to a fat, bald Yosemite Sam in the weekday version.

Assisting Sonic in his fight are...

Princess Sally Acorn (voiced by Kath Soucie, who voiced Phil and Lil in Rugrats), the leader of the Resistance and the closest thing to a love interest Saturday Morning fare could show.

Antoine Depardieu (voiced by Rob Paulsen, who voiced Yakko Warner in Animaniacs and Raphael in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series), the incompetent comic relief who speaks in a stereotypically bad French accent and more than a little jealous of the attention Sonic gets from Sally.

Bunnie Rabbot (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh, whose many voice credits include Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory and Chuckie in Rugrats), who is full of Southern charm and sass. She also had a run-in with Robotnik somewhere in her past, which resulted in her getting bionic legs and a bionic arm.

And of course you can’t have Sonic without Tails (voiced by Bradley Pierce, who voiced Chip in the animated Beauty and the Beast and played Peter in Jumanji) since they shared a video game together.

There is a definite edge, a sense of danger, and a small bit of body horror (when you consider there are living beings trapped within some of those robotic shells) to the series. If it was made with an older audience in mind, things could’ve been taken a bit farther, but it was the early 90s and Gargoyles and X-Men were still a few years away (and Batman: the Animated Series was still a new concept)

If you would like to watch an episode, it’s available on Roku.

As always, if you would like to see a particular episode reviewed, let me know!

[teegeeteegee]

Super Mario Bros Wonder Review

Well, I went ahead and wrote a review about this wonder of a game (pun intended). It's a long one, so be prepared! 😂

Super Mario Bros Wonder is the latest 2D platform from Nintendo starring the company’s beloved mascot: everyone’s favorite heroic plumber Mario. I recently finished the game and thought to do a review of it. If anyone is interested in my thoughts, keep reading.

Before I begin, I will issue a warning. There will be spoilers posted in this review, so for anyone who hasn’t seen or played the game yet and doesn’t wish to be spoiled, I suggest you stop reading right now. Also, everything said here is purely my own opinion. If there are any insults or flames because of disagreement of my opinions, they will be deleted, and the posters will be blocked. With that said, on to the review!

Plot:

The plot of SMBW is Mario and company are visiting the Flower Kingdom via invitation of its ruler, a caterpillar-like creature named Prince Florian. Florian shows off a Wonder Flower, which is a prized possession of the Flower Kingdom. The gang is in awe of it; however, this would be short lived. Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Kamek arrive much to everyone’s displeasure. Bowser takes the Wonder Flower and uses it to merge with the Flower Kingdom’s central palace. Furthermore, he uses his newfound power to wreak havoc over the remainder of the Flower Kingdom, much to the distress of Florian. Mario and company leap into action to stop Bowser and restore peace to the Flower Kingdom, with Florian joining them in their endeavor.

The plot isn’t anything special, but this is typical for a Mario platform game where gameplay takes precedence. It’s one of the rare times in which the plot isn’t Bowser kidnapping Peach with Mario setting out to rescue her, so that should be a positive for those who are tired of that plot. For the record, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I don’t mind that plot and hope Nintendo doesn’t completely do away with it, but I digress.

Now I’ll split this review into things I found positive, negative, and neutral about this game.

Negatives (although it’s not so much negatives as it is not really caring for them):

Lack of Unique Abilities for Characters. I mentioned this earlier after watching the SMBW Direct, but one thing I was disappointed about was everyone playing the same outside of the Yoshis and Nabbit. I would’ve liked to see everyone have their own unique abilities such as Luigi’s higher jump with less traction, Peach’s floating, Daisy’s double jump from Super Mario Run, the Toads faster running, etc. The badges supposedly were to make up for the lack of individual abilities. An idea that comes to mind is having the characters keep their abilities; however, they cannot equip the badge that would give them an ability they already have. Speaking of badges…

Badges. Yeah, the badges were a bit of a letdown. While the customization idea is nice, they could’ve been implemented better. I only used a few in my playthrough (Parachute Cap, Floating High Jump, and Safety Jump for certain levels). The most disappointing badge was the Invisibility one. The ability to disappear sounds cool in theory; however, it was executed poorly. Not being able to see your character at all, not even an outline or something, was a problem. This was especially true in the Badge Challenge levels, including the Final-Final Test Badge Marathon where Nintendo evilly made it the final stage (no, I am not bitter about it, why do you ask? 🤣).

Boss Fights. The boss fights were completely underwhelming. It was disappointing that Jr. was the only boss you fought in the palace levels at the end of some sections. Furthermore, there wasn’t much variety in said fights. It was practically Jr. retreating into his shell trying to steamroll you along with some Wonder effects after every successful attack on him. Also, the airship levels were disappointing. I would’ve liked to see a boss fight at the end of the stage instead of going across a conveyor belt and pressing a conspicuous button that shuts down the airship. Seeing that Kamek was the one to summon them, they could’ve had him be the boss (as an aside, Kamek was seriously underutilized in this game). If not him, at least use Boom-Boom and/or Pom-Pom. The last criticism I have is they could’ve at least had the player battle Jr. and Kamek one more time in the final stage before taking on Bowser himself. The gag with Jr. appearing at the beginning of the final stage fell short.

Positives:

Variety of Characters. Although I lamented their lack of inherent abilities, I love how there is such a wide variety to pick from. Anyone can play as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, and Toadette for regular characters as well as four Yoshis (Green, Red, Blue, Yellow) and Nabbit for beginners. Speaking of the Yoshis and Nabbit, I don’t mind that they’re beginner characters although I never used them (though I was tempted to a few times). If anything, it encourages more players of different skills to enjoy the game. Going back to Daisy, her appearance as a playable character in a mainline game has to be great for her longtime fans.

Visuals/Designs. The game is absolutely gorgeous. The colors pop out vividly, and the Flower Kingdom itself is well designed. The level designs fit the mood of the stages well, and I liked how they added the playable background a la TTYD. The character designs were great as well, although it was kind of jarring to see Peach and Daisy the same height as Mario and Luigi since both princesses are taller than the brothers. However, that’s a minor nitpick. The Poplins were also nicely designed, and the buds opening on their heads when happy is a cute touch. Finally, Florian himself was adorable. I still remember there was wild speculation that he was Prince Haru. 😂 Fortunately, that's not the case here.

Powerups. The new powerups are Elephant, Bubble, and Drill. I enjoyed using all three of them and found them useful at times; however, if I have to pick a favorite, it would be Drill. For starters, the colors are the best, IMO. Also, the ability to KO almost every enemy from above makes jumping a lot less stressful to worry about. Finally, there’s the drilling ability itself. Being able to burrow in the ceiling or underground is something I certainly took advantage of. As for the other two, Bubble was the least useful for me, but it still has its merits. I had fun trapping enemies in bubbles and using them to reach items and enemies trapped in walls. Last but certainly not least, Elephant was great (I particularly found the tails wiggling as they enter doors hilariously adorable). Everyone saying ‘Wowee Zowee’ when transforming was really cute. In addition, whacking everything away with the trunk and squirting water was addicting, especially the former. It’s too bad the water couldn’t be used to attack enemies, oh well.

Talking Flowers.To be honest, I thought these guys would be fun to listen to at first then become more annoying as the game went on. However, I found myself smiling at them throughout the entire game. They weren’t there just to talk; they had some encouraging words for the players as well as hinting at things such as hidden objects or where to go. The only time I found them somewhat irritating was when I kept failing some of the Badge Challenges, but that was more of a lack of skill on my behalf than them.

Wonder Flower Effects. This was hands down my favorite aspect of the game. From changing the level dynamics to turning the player into something weird such as a rolling spike ball or even a goomba (which honestly was my least favorite effect), nearly every single Wonder Flower effect was a treat to experience. Some were more difficult to go through than others: the main one I struggled with was the Secret of Shova Mansion level. I thought the Bowser statue had to be pushed back towards the Shova; it wasn’t until I accidentally pushed the wall on the right when I learned what I had to do.🤣 One of the best and most popular effects came from Piranha Plants on Parade, in which the Piranha Plants sang and walked.

To be honest, I’m more partial to The Semifinal Test Piranha Plant Reprise, but both are great to listen to.

Speaking of listening…

Soundtrack. The soundtracks from Mario games are typically very good, and this was no different. Each song fits their atmosphere nicely. There was not one point in which I wanted to turn the volume down, and that’s pretty much all I can ask for. My favorite tunes came from the Fungi Mines and Deep Magma Bog worlds. While it’s not my favorite overall soundtrack from a Mario game, it’s still a pleasure to listen to, and there will be some songs I’m sure will be some songs that will assault my mind for a little while.

Level Design. The level designs were great, even without the Wonder Flower effects. Besides the regular levels, the additions of the KO Arena and Search Party levels were a blast to play through. The Special World levels each provided a unique set of challenges. Then of course, there is the Final-Final Test Badge Marathon level. That was the most frustrating level I have played since Crown Champion’s Road in Super Mario 3D World. However, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when I finally completed it (it only cost me 40 lives and 80% of my sanity). As I mentioned earlier, however, having the Invisibility Badge section last is pure evil. Fortunately, I was able to get the gold flag post on the first try; otherwise, I may have destroyed my controller because I had no intention of going through that again just to get it. The last badge was funny to use (the one thing I won’t spoil); however, it was underwhelming as a final reward. Besides that, the levels get an A+ in my book.

Neutral:

Voices. As we all know, Charles Martinet stepped away from his role as the voices of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi a couple months back. However, it was also revealed that Deanna Mustard no longer voices Daisy, which is sad to see. I’m happy Samantha Kelly is still around, and I hope she gets to voice Peach in Princess Peach Showtime because it would be a shame for her to not voice Peach in her first solo game in almost two decades. Back to Wonder, Kevin Afghani is the new voice for Mario and Luigi, and this is the game in which he makes his debut. He has some big shoes to fill seeing how beloved Martinet is in the Mario community. I used Mario during my playthrough, and I have to say he did a very credible job voicing the heroic plumber. He kept the cheerful energy Mario is known for, and that’s the main thing I hoped to hear. I’ve only heard a few clips of Luigi via online play when other players used him, however, so the jury is still out on that. The same can be said for Giselle Fernandez, who is the new voice for Daisy. Those are the only reasons I have them here in the neutral section.

The Final Boss Battle. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, the aesthetics, music, and concept were interesting. It was a fun experience. On the other, the battle itself was one of the easier ones. It was over when I felt it was only getting started. At the end of day, if there’s a word on how I felt about the Final Boss Fight, it would be ambivalent.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, Super Mario Bros Wonder was a great experience like I mentioned previously. While there were some things I didn’t care for too much, the positives far outweigh the negatives. As a longtime Mario fan going back to the original Super Mario Brothers, the main thing I wanted was great gameplay and to have fun, which is a staple in the Mario series. SMBW gave me all of that and then some. 😁Although I’m going to take a break from it now thanks to the Final-Final Test Badge Marathon level draining me, I can safely say I will pick this up and play it again some time in the future. Maybe it will be after I play the Super Mario RPG remake (which I preordered and hope to play on the day it arrives). It is one of the better platformers and a step up from the New Super Mario Bros games (for the record, I’m probably in the minority when I say I enjoyed the NSMB series considering how maligned the games are. Having said that, I will not tolerate any shade towards it. 😤). I probably missed a few things in this review, but I’d like to think I hit the majority of the topics I wanted to talk about. 😂

Score:

8.8/10