A Super 25 Years of Mario Bros

With the Super Mario Bros 25th anniversary celebration last year and revisiting some old classics, it really got me to think back - to when the latest Mario title was what it was all about. Times sure have changed over the years. I don't buy games when they come out anymore or even within a year they've been out, which I generally used to do (unless it's a special occasion, as was the case with the Super Mario All-Stars special re-release). I'm not as enthused for a new Nintendo console as I used to be either. The big reveal of the Wii 5 years ago was great, but the unveiling of the Wii U in June wasn't quite as cool, partly due to the fact I'll most likely have my current Wii until the Wii U's successor comes out.

But it's looking back on those big moments that I remember most - what is pretty ancient today, was once the greatest thing ever...

I vividly can recall when we first got the NES and tried to set it up in my original bedroom, but ultimately put in in the living room because of connection difficulties. The Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt combo pack was the only cartridge we ever had. I pretty much cared more about what was on TV than playing back then.

One day in class at Eckstein Middle School (probably 6th grade, '91-'92) still sticks out to me... I walked in and Super Mario World was playing, which had come out with the Super Nintendo (SNES) launch August '91. Never new why someone brought it in and besides TV commercials I believe it was one of the first times I saw a Mario game beyond the first one (although SMB2 came in '88 and SMB3 in '90 I hadn't played them). Yeah, the new Mario game looked fun and I sorta wanted that system... Just had no idea when.

Then came January 20, 1993 - the great Inauguration Day storm that wrecked havoc, wiped out power for a couple days and caused an electrical surge throughout the house, frying several appliances - including the NES. Losing it was quickly replaced with the fact we'd get the SNES. It wasn't long before we set it up and the journey in Mario World began began for Sarah (my sister) & I with the introduction of Yoshi.

With 96 course exits and tons of secret paths (complete with a brilliant special world within another special world), the game took awhile and was a lot of fun to play with friends around. From the original save files I can tell it was played through over twice, which was easy back then, especially during summer.

Meanwhile, I had seen ads for an exciting racing game called Super Mario Kart (which had come out last September) and I doubt it was very long before we got it. Mario Kart is up to its 7th incarnation, but this is where it all started. Sarah & I enjoyed playing against eachother & with neighbor friends, especially in summer months. We'd pretend the characters were us & friends and I'd take notes on character mannerisms. It's a relic now, but back then there was nothing quite like it.

Mario mania wasn't about to slow down. Another must-buy, the original Super Mario All-Stars came out August '93. Now I could play graphics enhanced versions of the Mario Bros games, which I had little experience with on the old system. It was also fun to rent games. Yoshi's Cookie was a cute puzzle game Sarah & I liked that we had for awhile as well as Mario Paint.

Fast-forward to Fall '95. A new game starring Yoshi with Baby Mario (officially a Mario World sequel but really a prequel) came out and I got it for Hanukkah. It was more of a simple game than its predecessor with completely different graphics and I enjoyed the egg tossing and Shy Guy stomping, finishing the game not too long after winter break was over.

May '96 had one of the most exciting releases I've ever seen with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - the result of Nintendo teaming up with Final Fantasy creator Square. I really didn't get the role-playing genre concept and what followed I could never imagine - Mario could freely walk around the various environments and battles were turn-based. There were new characters, teaming up with the Princess & Bowser, a rich story and my favorite soundtrack of any Mario game ever.

And it just got better from there. The SNES was on its way out and the Nintendo 64 launched in September with Super Mario 64. I couldn't wait to get it and I remember we rented them for a weekend early in '97. In August we went to Toys R Us and I picked Mario Kart 64 first (knowing that's what Sarah preferred). Though not really presents, it was almost like Hanukkah came early that year, between the game, system, controllers, etc. in one haul. When December came around I did get Mario 64 and it was truly revolutionary, moving Mario around in the 3D landscape with the new C stick. It really set the stage for today, with a whopping 120 stars to collect and many other elements still used in Super Mario Galaxy. I hardly ever play through an entire game twice but this was an exception.

As time went on, I got hopeful for a sequel to Mario RPG, but instead Paper Mario came out early 2001, with a lot of the same elements in a paper theme. I was disappointed it wasn't a direct sequel and never played it until a couple months ago, via the Wii Virtual Console service.

At the end of 2001 came the GameCube, which I got with Super Mario Sunshine for a Birthday/Hanukkah present a year later, much to my surprise (as noted in an old journal). Soon I got laid off from a job at a printing place and pretty much played a lot. Mario Sunshine was kind of a step down from Mario 64, being more of tropical vacation sidequest to the Mario series that included goofy animated cutscenes and obstacle course challenges that required a lot of trial-and-error. I spent a year working at Target which still gave me plenty of time to play and I developed a routine of going through one game under a year and moving on to the next. Mario Kart Double Dash was fun as well as Nintendo's all-star fighter Super Smash Bros Melee. And although I was playing by myself by now, it felt good to get the GameCube setup after moving in to my place above the garage - at last getting to play whenever I wanted for however long.

After the second Paper Mario game came out late in '04 I finally decided to gave the paper theme a chance and I was happy with the result - a very colorful and humorous game with lots of strategizing you can't get in the main Mario series. During the adventure, I got the DS handheld for a Birthday/Hanukkah present at the end of '05 and when not playing Paper Mario, I enjoyed Mario Kart DS. Later I got DS version of New Super Mario Bros - a nice sorta side-adventure to the big Mario console games. By now I was working at Whole Foods which gradually reduced playing time to mostly weekends and added up to spending a year a half with Paper Mario always in the console.

Smash Bros Melee was fun enough that I didn't hesitate much to get the sequel Super Smash Bros Brawl as soon as it came out in March '08, shortly after getting a Wii. The game was above and beyond loaded with content, 36 total characters (including Sonic the Hedgehog) with an amazing story mode. Between all that and endless fighting matches I couldn't possibly put it away - but other games I wanted started piling up...and piling up. I finally "retired" it last year, which gave me the chance to check out Shaun White Snowboarding and Raving Rabbid Rabbits which can be played with the Balance Board (in addition to Wii Fit of course). Then came Super Mario Bros 25th anniversary and besides the first Paper Mario, I also spent some time with Yoshi's Story from 1998.

2011 began and at last, I got back into the Mario series with Mario Galaxy from 2007. The game has quickly proven to be the freshest experience since Mario 64, with amazing space exploration, crazy upside down-<->right side up platforming and star bit collecting - complete with Bowser's army attacking - the best cutscene to start a game ever. Though the fact there's already Super Mario Galaxy 2 (that I played when a friend let me borrow) just shows how behind I got and anything next-gen for the Wii U console and 3DS I won't consider getting.

And I can't forget 1989's Super Mario Land. I still remember getting to play it one day at school when someone happened to bring it. Eventually I got a Game Boy and a few games for Hanukkah - which I've played sparingly over the decades - but still have along with nearly every console, game and accessory.

Thinking back it's been great since the original Super Mario Bros and I wouldn't really change much other than spending too long on some games (It doesn't help I've gone 3 or 4 weeks without even so much turning on the Wii in some cases). I do kinda wish there'd be a new Mario World game where you simply get through the course (reaching either the main exit for the secret exit if there is one). That simplicity has continued on in New Super Mario Bros (DS & Wii) and will in Super Mario 3D Land but I'd like to see it in a Mario series game.

Now for some other game stuff. During all the Mario mania of '94, I decided I wanted try something with entirely different characters one day and bought Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose at Fred Meyer. It was a cute platformer based on the TV show I enjoyed watching that we played with friends a few times, but I didn't care to spend a lot of time with it. A real break from Mario came when Nintendo released Donkey Kong Country towards the end of the year. I was immediately sold on the awesome platforming and beautiful visuals with CGI-style graphics, a huge milestone for Nintendo at the time. The game was a lot of fun and had a real soundtrack (complete with the 'DK rap'), which I really liked. Mega Man X was another I got around the mid-90s - the only game from the long-running franchise I'd ever own. Great game and I'm still a fan of the blue bomber, though I was never able to beat it - just about the only time something like that has happened.

On the Nintendo 64 we had a solid variety of non-Mario games as well, including Wave Race 64 and 1080 Snowboarding (that Sarah liked) and Cruis'n USA. Also Mission: Impossible and GoldenEye 007 were a lot of fun, me being a fan of the movies the games were based on, before the games came out.

And as for The Legend of Zelda... That's a whole 'nother blog for another day with more insights.

PRS #16 "BOXED IN": Season Ending Stalling

Felt like the show was back under Disney for a moment with the flips and explosions. Good to see the show try to do their own thing and even Bulk & Spike getting in near the action. Though I feel like they'll probably just disappear again. I appreciated the buildings destruction as well to go with the Shinkenger fight.

While Antonio worked on the talisman I kept wondering how it'd be done before the end of the episode. Lame how it looked like the plot would be resolved here with the new powerup, but I do look forward to next time. As long as the we continue where we left off when new eps return, I'm not too bothered by the plotlines getting dragged out.

I didn't think this was a bad episode, I just wish it hadn't been so misleading. Kinda weird that the season's over suddenly. And considering we've only had 16 eps (plus the original first 2), I doubt this was really ever thought of to be the season finale and just where Nick decided to put it. It gets a 4.

PRS #15 "THE TENGEN GATE": Ancient History

Thought the Megazord fight was pretty good. I really like how Sanzu River went crazy and the Moogers increased during Xandred's power struggle.

Had Turbo/Space flashbacks when Ji said "Black Box." >_>

Good plan from Octoroo to find out the sealing power symbol (and make Jayden suffer). I figure they just wanted to make him more kid-friendly (not that there's anything evil about the original costume in the first place)... But as long as he's out scheming, I don't really care. Liked how Archnitor plotted to become the new King as well.

I love that the show is going somewhere and building up to a season finale similar to the Fox Kids days. We've had enough years of the head villain waiting all year for the big boss to arrive or whatever. 5/5

Goodbye to Smallville

Best night of TV of any of my shows ever. Finale comments then some insights about the series:

Part I got started with Chloe beginning to read a Smallville comic book a child (presumably her son) in 2018, then cutting to the present and a brief shot of Darkseid's planet, Apokolips. Good tease to kick things off.

The Clark & Lois wedding dragged on a bit, especially hearing the vows a second time. I did like the talk they had beforehand and how the camera kept spinning around the apartment wall.

Pretty cool how Chloe, ever the sharp eye, quickly noticed the ring was gold K (which would've taken away Clark's powers forever) and stopped Oliver. Decent Clark vs Oliver fight, though they could've made it more dramatic when he was freed of the darkness.

Got lost about how Jonathan was really there. Seeing it again, I got the impression Jor-El made it possible for him to appear to Clark & Martha (or just Clark part of the time), which is pretty cool.

Darkseid making another offer to Lionel and using his heart for the completed Lex clone was well done. The big applaud moment for me was when we finally saw him again. At last, Michael Rosenbaum was back.

His scenes with Clark and Tess were written quite beautifully and I liked the visual memory wipe. Totally got a Gene Hackman vibe. Brilliant plan from Clark to attempt to stop Lex once and for all and it was sad to see everything he knew completely go. I can only imagine what it'd be like in the future when Clark faces him again.

Nice speech by Jor-El about the past 10 years being Clark's trials and how he was proud of him. Loved how the clips montage blended together with Clark seeing them in the crystals. All this happening when Clark was in mid-air, then taking control and ramming into Darkseid was awesome. Dead Lionel being possessed was great too. Darkseid being gone after that was a kinda sudden, but ya can't expect too from the show in that department.

Amazing to see Clark finally fly in the real world, though I didn't quite like how the suit transformed from his hand onto him as he flew up, up & away and out of the Fortress.

It was only natural the first 'super' save would be a plane with Lois on it. Felt cheap to only get head and distance shots of Clark (and use a CGI Superman resembling Brandon Routh), but anything more just wasn't going to happen. Great re-creation anyway.

Didn't mind Clark just shoving Apokolips away. He'll have to deal with Darkseid again, might as well deal with the planet later as well. There was no public reveal as Superman which I initially thought was surprising... But considering the show walked a thin line between Clark the reporter and Clark the superhero, it was best to leave it to the imagination.

Returning to the future, I liked how Chloe finished the comic book and then we shifted to the Daily Planet. Felt kinda random how Clark & Lois were about to go get married for real when a news story broke, prompting Clark to take action as the theme from the movies kicked in...

And it all came to a close in a perfect homage. The classic theme, shirt rip, graphics... It was beautiful... :D Really, more that I would've imagined and made up for Tom not wearing a full suit.

Back when I started watching Smallville in season 4, I didn't really know what I was getting into... But I got to like it quickly and realized that it wasn't just young Clark growing up and had a fun variety of freaks of the week and special effects.

No season was really better than the other. The episodes with Justice League and JSA heros were always a treat, as were ones with an alt-reality and the events that really stood out. Love how the show re-created part of the pilot once and baby Kal-El being sent to Earth when Krypton exploded another time.

I don't think I ever gave an episode below a 3 and rarely there'd be a plot that just didn't work. Though the show often cheapened fights with big bads, it had a lot of great action and cliffhangers. When season 4 concluded with a second meteor shower, I hadn't seen anything like it on TV and it was incredible.

While the finale kinda left something to be desired in places, the last episode closed out the show well and the final development with Clark/Jor-El and Lex was perfect. Jonathan & Martha were used nicely and having Jonathan there along with Jor-El provided a lot, especially when Clark was given the suit.

Tess dying wasn't a real surprise and it was quite brave of her to sacrifice herself for Clark's future, guessing she thought Lex might kill her. It was great having Chloe back (Loved how she got the Superman namedrop and her "See ya in the funny pages" quip) and I love how far Lois came from season 4 to star reporter. It was a great run and the show went far in 10 years -- a big highlight being Lois's relationship with the Blur in season 9 and when she found out in was Clark.

Smallville was in a league all its own and nothing quite like this will happen again, especially this day and age with shows getting canceled. Eventually I'll start from the beginning (including 63 episodes I've never seen), plus check out Superman III and IV and the new film coming. Through it all, I'll continue to BELIEVE. ^_^

PRS #12 "ROOM FOR ONE MORE" and #14 "TEAM SPIRIT"

Antonio reminds me of Trent, between the color theme and the look. And DinoThunder was the last time we had a 6th Ranger with a separate morph. I like it better this way.

Great humor with Antonio having to make space to pose with the others before morphing. But again, certain scenes just don't feel right on this show. I didn't think his grand entrance in Shiba House and speech about joining the team was that good, nor how hard they were on him about not being a "real Samurai" purely to build drama in the episode.

Hopefully the Gold Ranger instant replays won't be around much longer, but I'll let that slide since it is for the target audience. And I'd say we're missing a morphing grid reference here to explain how Antonio made a working morpher. Why gold power, anyway?

It was still good for the most part. I do like the direction the show is in and I'm digging Antonio's excellente attitude. 4/5

--

Great episode. Solid plot with a good sense of danger & urgency and a nice intro for Clawzord. Liked Splitface's attacks and how Antonio used the electronic symbol power as a magnet to get him out of the Netherworld.

The compass directions and spinning wheel is kinda weird, but it does sorta go with Antonio's upbeat personality.

The episode worked even better without pausing the action for a Bulk & Spike scene (The Pink Ranger fantasies are funny but we could've done without Sammy being kidnapped in Blue and the Gold as a means to include them). Throw in a little more backstory with Deker, plus some improved acting and I'd say we're golden. 5/5

Gokai Change into Zyuranger aka MMPR

Yes!

Smallville Finale Countdown + "Prophecy" Comments

I've seen plenty of shows end, but nothing really as big as the countdown for the end of Smallville. Whether you've been a fan of the show over the years or at least have been aware of it, anyone can guess what ultimately happens at the very end. It's that anticipation over the final iconic moment the show will have that has made the journey quite fun, especially this season.

If anything, I can only compare it to Buffy, which like Smallville, had a final season and pretty much went all out with guest stars and wrapping up storylines. The last episode and fate of Sunnydale was quite a thrill -- a great bookend to that seasons premiere and the show altogether -- however some of the emotion was lost knowing that James Marsters would be joining Angel after Spike sacrificed himself. I still remember going on the BuffyWorld website and forum often then and enjoyed chatting about the episodes with fellow Power Ranger fans. Other than that, social networking was pretty much limited to LiveJournal and AIM for me -- no where near it is today with tweets from writers and updates via Facebook.

But even Buffy was only on 7 years and changed networks. Smallville has simply moved times and days since joining The WB in 2001. I've heard some people saying this'll be the end of the Donner era of Superman if the upcoming movie does things differently.

I've never been a comics fan and never really looked up to Superman growing up, but I'm glad I've been with the show the past 7 years and finally watched the first 2 Christopher Reeve movies. The backstory about Clark and Krypton in the first film was really cool and the second one had a great plot with Zod and his goons taking over Earth, complete with a big fight sequence.

I'll hold off on the other 2 films for awhile, but in the meantime it's time for destiny to be fulfilled.


"Prophecy":
Liked how Jor-El gave Lois Clark's powers. It was cute how she kept superspeeding and tried supertyping.

Nice to see Oliver and Kara with scenes together. Liked how they stumbled upon eachother and just when Oliver was about to get his hands on the bow -- Nope, not while Granny's still around. Awesome.

I don't mind Kara going to the future so much and Jor-El basically telling her she needs to leave for Clark to fulfill his destiny... But she didn't say goodbye or even have any scenes with Clark.

Hope we see Toyman's team of villains again and I like how we at least know that in-show continuity will have a fight again Justice League in the future.

That Lana mention came across like the writers were saying "Here's the cameo!"

Trying to use Lois to kill Clark before she quickly snapped out of it was lame. And Clark shutting off Jor-El felt old with how many times he's gone against his wishes. I'd wager Jor-El's last gift to Clark on the show will be having the suit appear to him.

Also, thought the prophecy about the good and evil balance was pretty cool. I did expect a little more from this episode (It doesn't help that I'm really amped-up for the finale), but overall I liked what this episode was able to do to keep things rolling.

I got to thinking you have to look at it as their's really 2 separate episodes left. I imagine Part 1 will be more buildup with the core cast, then we'll really get moving with the last act of the hour followed with returning cast, which'll hopefully include Lionel and some Justice League.