The Gamer's Quarter

[Mr. Mechanical]

So, dessgeega and I were messing around on Skype and I was recording page 10 of the New Super Mario Bros. instruction manual, Peaches' Peril or whatever, as a warm-up to the Totally Rad instruction manual reading that I am now in the process of recording, and I thought it'd be nice to share with you guys my different takes on the New Super Mario Bros. recordings. Remember, this is page 10 of the instruction manual. The only page detailing the story. I recorded it in different accents and such. Slightly drunk. Tell me how well I succeeded or failed.

Newscaster
Country
Surfer

[B coma]

I just listened to these. Your voice was totally not what I was internet-expecting. The newscaster one was the BEST imho.

I'm enjoying NSMB. Got to the start of World 8 before quitting tonight.

Also: is this the New New Super Mario Bros. thread?

[Mr. Mechanical]

[Shapermc]

I thought you were just going to do it with a "normal" voice? Anyways, aside from them being really quite I was shocked at how well you pulled off a surfer. And your country voice is not scratchy enough, as in; you don't sound like an old hick, but the impersination is damn good.
_________________
“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

[Lestrade]

That was some hilarious redneck. I just read the manual this morning so this is extra-funny now. I should do a French Canadian version!

[dhex]

how could this happen with mario around?

just ask the lindburgh baby.

also: i am deeply disturbed by the mario - muario pronunciation wars.
_________________

[Lestrade]

Tell it to Shaper! He's the one who thinks I'm alien. I know its "mah-ri-o" because in Japanese, "MA - RI - O" can only have that sound. Otherwise it would be Meirio or Merio. Still, old habits die hard.

[Shapermc]

MaR--EE-Oh

not

Mary-Oh
_________________
“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

[Lestrade]

That's what I just said! GET OFF MY BACK FOOL

[Lockeownzj00]

Haha. How far gone are we? Mario is an Italian god damned name. So even though you're right, it's going by Italian rules, not Japanese.

[DonMarco]

[OtakupunkX]

[Tablesaw]

[Sushi d]

you guys are forgetting about the slight rolling r. it is also present in the japanese pronounciation as well as their "Rs" are between "Ls" and "Rs".
_________________
X_X

[Shapermc]

Ok, so it turns out that I actually like this game. Perhaps I built it down too much. World four is frustrating, but the odd numbered worlds are pretty easy. Anyways, It is not perfect, and not quite the evolution of the Mario series that I had hoped for/expected, but it is solid.

I am still looking forward to Super Paper Mario a lot though.
_________________
“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

[helicopterp]

I just picked this up today, and wanted to share my thoughts while they're fresh.

I'm only about mid-way through the second world, but I can already tell y'all I hate the aesthetics. Some of the effects are interesting for gameplay's sake, but the entire things just feels boring to look at. Everything is so dreadfully standard. And it certainly doesn't help that I replayed Yoshi's Island a couple weeks ago.

Outside of the looks, though, I think it successfully brings back one of the best elements of the Mario series: curiosity. The best ones in the past always have you hooked on the notion of possibility--I wonder if I can...--and reward. I'm constantly on the look-out for new things to do, and I love that the liberally scattered coins provide ideas for how I can interact with the game. The one-ups from collecting all the coins are unnecessary because of unlimited continues, but each coin provides incentives to play with your environment, which is always fun in Mario games because, to paraphrase whoever wrote that great "Input as Metaphor" article, he controls with such child-like exuberance. It really lends a great layer of non-linearity to what is essentially a set progression of stages with a couple secrets thrown in. I guess everything I've said could be true of the classic Mario games, too, but shouldn't that be kind of the point of New Super Mario Bros.?

More specifically to New Super Mario Bros, I love the implementation of the wall-jump. There's a section/shortcut in the halfway castle of the second world that is absolutely brilliant.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

[friedchicken]

I've had it for about a week now. I was pleasantly surprised, given that it was billed in a lot of places as a remake of the first SMB-- which I suppose in a way it is. Anyway, I was expecting SMB1 with updated 3D graphics, which this game definitely is not. I'm not sure if I just read that into the previews I read or what.

I don't mind the 3D sprites-- the DS can do N64-era 3D very well, so it didn't end up being anything like the Mario vs Donkey Kong/Mario Pinball/Donkey Kong Country muddy 3D of the Gameboy Advance.

I like the multiple paths and the sense of exploration (that other people have talked about), and it's got that nice mix of easily found secrets, easily found but hard to successfully explore secrets, and stuff that I'd probably never find except by accident or use of a FAQ. The only problem I've really had is with what I find to be a fluctuating difficulty level-- world 1 is dead easy, but past that you'll have three really tough levels followed by a laughably easy level. But that's pretty minor. This is unlike SMW where the really frustratingly hard levels were relegated to the Star Road. You know, levels where you beat them once and hope you never have to play them again. Oh, and I wish there were more opportunities to find the blue shell and the mini mushroom, especially given how many times a secret is accessed using the mini mushroom.

So yeah, definitely worth the purchase. Too bad the wait is so long until Yoshi's Island 2.

[simplicio]

This game has solidified the knowledge in me that I'm just unmotivated by old-school style platformers. I like it alright, and I've gotten myself through the first half of it, and I think it's got a good sense of style and good ideas, but... its method of challenge and and subsequent accomplishment just doesn't get me like Super Mario Land/World did when I was 9. I had my suspicions when Yoshi's Island on GBA failed to really grab me like it was supposed to, and they grew when I realized I was played more of Mario vs. Donkey Kong than SMB3, but I think I know for sure now.




I'm a Super Princess Peach man.

[Shapermc]

[simplicio]

See, I accepted those more because I saw it as a puzzle game with a solution. The platformers though are more freewheeling action and for me the impetus to play just isn't there as much as it "should be."

Also: for those who can't wait for New Paper Mario.