Do he New Mario Games Mark the Beginning of the End of an Era?

    Marios first appearance came in the arcades in 1981 when he was a part of the game Donkey Kong. The mario series starring mario was introduced back in 1985 with Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo entertainment system. Mario's first game struck a cord with fans of almost all ages, it became an almost cult following that still lives on to this day. Everyone watched as the series was driven to new heights by the features introduced in Super Mairo Bros 3.  The new ability to fly at any time which you could fill the P meter made the game seem much less linear. It gave the player a sense of adventure, like something could be hiding in the sky right above them at any time that was just out of sight.

     Mario made his jump into the third dimension with Super Mario 64. The game finally let players break away from the linear playstyle of the previous games and let them choose how to move about within the Mario universe. It was a great leap for the series, one that was recieved well by some, and scrorned by others. The Mario series then created a few spinoff games such as Paper Mario. It was a way of creating a whole different setting and feel of the Mario genre. Soon the Gamecube was released and the series came out with Mario Sunshine. Mario was equipped with a waterpack that allowed him to not only extend his reach within the game, but also gave yet another different and interesting feel to a game that had been around for over a decade. 

    Nintendo then introduced the Nintendo Wii, a revolutionary idea that allowed players to control their favorite character with not only a joystick, but their actual motions. They soon released Super Mario Galaxy, the game pitted players against bowser once again, and tasked them with saving princess peach just as every other Mario game before had done. The difference was that not only was Mario in a 3D space, but he was able to essentially change orientation within the game at any time. It gave a fresh feel to a series that had been using almost the same mechanics since the introduction of our beloved hero into this new dimension. The sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 came out, and was just an improvement on the first one. Nothing else could really be said, and many fans enjoyed continuing their journey to save the starts, and collect alot of star bits along the way.

    This brings us to where the series is today, and where it may be headed I fear. Nintendo decided to make a series of what I would consider throwback games even though they come with the title "New" infront of it. The New Super Mario Bros Wii was released and was one of the most well recieved Mario games in a while. Fans seemed to love the idea of being able to go back to the world of a side scrolling adventure to save the princess. Some new features were added which gave the game a sense of progress without ruining the feel of the old games we all grew up loving. Nintendo then released the 25th anniversary edition, essentially letting me play some of my favorite mario moments over again. This was something many fans were once again fine with doing. It turns out nostalgia is a great feeling. Now we get New Super Mario Bros 2.

     This is where I can see what an issue may be coming in the near future. Players love to get the feeling of remembering their childhood and enjoying the same type of games they did back then. The problem is that very little was changed from the first New Super Mario Bros to the second one, aside from the hidden areas and worlds thats always seem so well hidden and tantalizingly out of reach. The series is at another point similar to the end of the gamecube era, it is growing stale and as a result has resorted to going back to its roots in hopes of keeping the cult type following alive. I am hoping we see more innovation and hopefully something more memorable in the upcoming Wii U installment of the Mario Series, otherwise it may be time to start letting go of my favorite plumber.