I'm glad to see some other people defending the Super
Mario games! I think I
can add a little more now on the subject.
In article <1991Jul2.011946.21...@agate.berkeley.edu> teh...@earthquake.Berkeley.EDU (Teh Kao Yang) writes:
>I think that SMB3 does have more complexity, is longer, more challenging,
>and has more techniques to master. So overall it would probably have more
>play value since it is difficult to finish and has so many secrets to
>uncover.
No disagreement here, but this is just part of the differences between the
games.
Mario is so good in so many ways that it's difficult to keep track of
them all. Certainly the other companies haven't, and even the other people
defending
Mario have only mentioned some of the more obvious features of it.
>Sonic, on the other hand, is in a totally different league from Mario. I
>think Sonic would belong better in an arcade than a home system. Why do I
>say that? Well because Sonic is like most arcade games.... not too long,
>but has amazing graphics and sound. An arcade game will not make any money
>if it is like SMB3. It needs awesome visuals to make someone pop a coin in.
This is a really good observation. Sonic really is an arcade game. Of course
the Genesis (not to mention Neo Geo) was primarily designed so that people
could play arcade games at home. And indeed when I bought a Genesis that was
the reason. But Sega has yet to really figure out how to write good games for
a home system; the concentration is still on graphics over content. This
applies even to the RPGs.
For me at least, and I'm probably in a minority in this group, I don't care so
much about "awesome visuals." I loved SMB3's clean colorful graphics, and was
disappointed on seeing screen shots of Super Mario World. But fortunately the
actual game has surprisingly beautiful graphics, not to mention incredible
sound.
>IF you want to talk about what game is more "fun" to play, I would have to
>go with Sonic. FOr me, I find searching for hidden objects boring and
>meaningless. How does it contribute to the "funness" of a game?? You just
>have to bump or hit into every wall or block you see... it's all luck....
>.. is that exciting or "fun"?? I could just ask someone who's already
>played the game or look in one of those hint books to find out all the warp
>zones and other stuff. Finding all these things are also all trial-and-error,
>it doesn't require any of your puzzle-solving skills. And these "secrets"
>are all the same stuff... just warp zones and places with more coins....
I can see you haven't played SMB3 or the earlier ones much. Your comments are
more a description of Sonic. The secret rooms are not in particularly
interesting places, and just contain rings and some items. This is like most
Mario imitation games. Dull dull dull.
In the Mario series, on the other hand, the hidden rooms and so forth are an
integral part of the game, and are placed very cleverly. Certainly some luck
is involved at times, but there are also many clues, some very subtle. The
puzzle-solving aspect of the Mario series is extremely strong, one of its best
points. There is almost no puzzle solving in Sonic or the other imitators.
One of the greatest moments in video games for me was finding the first warp
zone in SMB1. I was playing 1-2, and I thought "wouldn't it be neat if I
could walk on the ceiling". I tried it, and unlike most games even now where
there's very little interaction with the background scenery, it worked! Then
I thought, "I wonder what happens if you go all the way to the right,
bypassing the normal exit?" and what a wonderful surprise it was to see
what's there. If you want to use hint books that's fine, but the experience
of discovering yourself is what's so much fun.
Another very important aspect of the Mario series, and in fact many other
Nintendo-made games, is that much more so than any other games I've played,
the designers love to play psychological tricks on you. They set up
expectations and then dash them to pieces, meanwhile urging you to explore
deeper. A simple example is the warp zone in 4-2, which you might expect
leads to 5-6-7, but which in fact only goes to 5. The best psychological
games were in the original SMB2, unfortunately not released here; the game is
very similar to SMB1 and it depends crucially on having played its predecessor
for setting up the many surprises in it. (To again give a very simple
example, in area 1-2 they have sort of steps set up leading to the ceiling,
welcoming you up there!)
Let me give another example, from the upcoming Super Mario World, and this is
all documented in the game so I won't be giving anything away (there's plenty
more that's a complete surprise!). They've added some simple yet very elegant
devices to get you to explore more. One is that in each area there are 5
"dragon coins"; if you can find all of them you get an extra life. But of
course one or two will be very difficult to find (or get once you find them),
which both tells you more exploration is required, and more skill as well.
The other is that many areas are marked with a red dot rather than the usual
yellow, and this indicates there is a second exit in that area, for which you
must find a key and then the keyhole. Invariably these exits are very hard to
find, both mentally and physically. We had enormous fun trying, and once you
succeed you succeed you get what's perhaps the best possible award: whole new
worlds open up to be explored (and these in turn can help you explore more of
the areas in which you've already been!).
Super Mario is foremost an action game; there are some relaxing scenes in
early stages which help you learn the new techniques (and there are an
enormous number especially in Super Mario World), but later stages have so
much happening that there are many times where you get through but have no
idea how. And Super Mario is foremost an exploration game. The designers
have created a rich and varied world which is a joy to explore. What's more
there are many elements with simple workings, yet the interactions that can be
created with these elements are enormously complex. And they've thought of
many.
>Well this article is getting too long but I will conclude by saying that if
>they could only make Sonic a longer game, like using 8 megs, then it will
>leave SMB3 in the dust in all categories.
Super
Mario World is 8 meg, incredibly long, and leaves Sonic in the dust in
all categories. Sega has a lot to learn before they try to compete with
Nintendo's best series. And by then Miyamoto and friends will making Super
Mario 5 or 6, yet another revolutionary game. I can't wait.
John Leo
l...@hpljdw.hpl.hp.com
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