04-23-2012, 02:19 PM
I haven't read every page of this, so I might be reading the vibe of this topic wrong, but...
For me, the last Mario game that felt joyous, fun, engaging, and heartfelt until recently was Mario 64. After that I'm not sure what happened. Mario Sunshine was ok, and I like it more than the Galaxies. NSMB was a nice attempt, but didn't quite do it for me.
NSMB Wii was the most fun I've had with a Mario game since Mario World. They did everything right. It's strange how NSMB and NSMBWii are the same series, but one can feel so alive and vibrant, and the other is just forgettable. If this game is more like the Wii version, I'm all for it.
As an aside, I feel the same way about Zelda. The last great ones for me were Ocarina and Majora. Zelda is a little easier to pinpoint the problems in though. It stopped being about exploration and slowly moved into the territory of linearity. In the earlier Zeldas you could tackle things in any order and find secrets (Ice Rod in LttP, Power Bracelet in LoZ, etc) that let you do things sooner or faster. Now it's "Beat dungeon W, get item X. Use item X to get to dungeon Y, where you find item Z. Use item Z to reach dungeon A..." Everyone now has the same Zelda experience.
The Metroid and Pokemon games, on the other hand, have improved as time has gone by (I think. Though I haven't played Other M). And DK and Kirby are having fun returning to their roots and doing what is tried and true.
A bit of a tangent, but I think you get what I mean.
For me, the last Mario game that felt joyous, fun, engaging, and heartfelt until recently was Mario 64. After that I'm not sure what happened. Mario Sunshine was ok, and I like it more than the Galaxies. NSMB was a nice attempt, but didn't quite do it for me.
NSMB Wii was the most fun I've had with a Mario game since Mario World. They did everything right. It's strange how NSMB and NSMBWii are the same series, but one can feel so alive and vibrant, and the other is just forgettable. If this game is more like the Wii version, I'm all for it.
As an aside, I feel the same way about Zelda. The last great ones for me were Ocarina and Majora. Zelda is a little easier to pinpoint the problems in though. It stopped being about exploration and slowly moved into the territory of linearity. In the earlier Zeldas you could tackle things in any order and find secrets (Ice Rod in LttP, Power Bracelet in LoZ, etc) that let you do things sooner or faster. Now it's "Beat dungeon W, get item X. Use item X to get to dungeon Y, where you find item Z. Use item Z to reach dungeon A..." Everyone now has the same Zelda experience.
The Metroid and Pokemon games, on the other hand, have improved as time has gone by (I think. Though I haven't played Other M). And DK and Kirby are having fun returning to their roots and doing what is tried and true.
A bit of a tangent, but I think you get what I mean.