Super Mario Land (Game Boy)

This is actually one of my favorite Mario games, because it's quite different from most of the others. Some key differences:
- The music is really good (not that the typical Mario music isn't, but it's nice to have a change) and I really like the sound effects.
- When you have the fire flower, your fireballs can pick up coins for you (that's what I'm doing in the photo on the right, above)
- There are some mobs unique to this game (as far as I know) that are REALLY satisfying to jump on. In particular, the jumping spider thing, the flying bees that drop arrows, and the little Sphinxes in the first dungeon come to mind.
- The turtles, when you jump on them, turn into little bombs that flicker a few times and then explode, so you have to move away or it'll hurt you back. I don't know if they did that in any of the other games but it's not the typical situation where you can kick or grab the shell.
- At the end of every level, there are two doors you can go through. If you get to the one at the top, you get a bonus round that can give you more lives. (I know this isn't entirely unique to this game, but I like the way this one is done).

All in all, a very satisfying game. And as I've been finding with several of these old games, I am amazed by the staying power of muscle memory. I find hidden blocks because I jumped at the right time without knowing why I was supposed to jump there. Pretty cool. Also a little creepy because it's like being on auto-pilot.

Mini-Game Island, Mario Party (N64)

I started playing a game on Mini-Game Island in Mario Party they other day after I finished Mario Party proper, since all of the games are unlocked and I might as well. So I picked that back up and made it a little further.

(Technically, I could have jumped straight to 5-1 after world 2, but... meh. Some of my favorite mini-games are in 3 and 4.)

One of the best parts of Mario Party games is the mini-games... even back when that meant ripping open the skin on your palm to rotate the joystick faster than anyone else. (Which, I'm proud to say, my mad skills persist and my palm is just fine.)

Super Mario Sunshine

In celebration of the solar eclipse today, I selected Super Mario Sunshine for today's game!

What an annoying game. I knew this already. Unskippable cut scenes... seriously, does ANYONE like those? There are a LOT in the beginning of this game.

Also, FLUDD creeps me out. Always has, always will. In the image above, he scans Mario and knows his name and that he's from the Mushroom Kingdom. Why, exactly, does a backpack that squirts water need to be able to do this? I get that it's also an exposition machine, but why did this need to happen?

The primary issue at the beginning of the game is that evil Mario painted pollution all over this island, especially on the gate thing that attracts all the sun sprites, which power the island. To paraphrase FLUDD's awkward exposition, even during the day it's dark out because this stuff is in the way of the shiny thing. Kind of like... AN ECLIPSE. Neat. It fit even better than I realized it would.

Super Mario Bros. (NES)

I decided to start the One Year of Games with the first video game I ever remember playing: Super Mario Bros. I've also never won the game, so I went into this with the goal of finishing it.

Of course, several hours and 30 attempts later, I feel like getting myself to 8-4 is enough of an accomplishment.

Props to Garrison, who offered up "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce as an alternative to listening to that mind-numbing Mario music somewhere around attempt #15. You have not truly lived until you have speed-run world 4-1 (you know, the Lakitu one) to "Through the Fire and Flames."