I already forgot what we talk about in this one.
Welcome to a (relatively) short news edition of Nerds Without Pants! Julian was on vacation when we recorded this, and is still in “away” mode as this goes up, so please excuse the brief show notes this week
Platforming perfection
On October 23, 1988, Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto and his crack team of Nintendo EAD ninjas released Super Mario Bros. 3 in Japan. To coincide with its US launch 16 months later, Nintendo produced a commercial featuring kids clamoring for the game like it was the second coming of Christ. The hype was intense, and it worked exceedingly well. The game went on to exceed the first one in sales, fandom, and legendary status. Mario and the crew had undeniably hit their stride.
Next-gen is on the way, baby!
On this edition of Nerds Without Pants we pretend to be pious by talking about our favorite video game religions. Also, we get down with the PS5 reveal, and things get heated with one of the most contentious Video Game Cage Matches so far! This one is a doozy!
Ninception
If you told me when I was a kid that Super Mario Bros. 2 was merely a localized version of a pre-existing game from Japan, I wouldn’t have believed you. But in fact, that’s precisely what Nintendo did for the US release of the next chapter in the Mario series. This was mostly due to the fact the original Japanese sequel was nearly identical to Super Mario Bros., only with slightly improved graphics. There was also concern that the game’s high difficulty would be off-putting for American audiences. The solution? Take Doki Doki Panic, swap out the main characters, slap a “Super Mario Bros. 2” label on that bad boy, and you’ve got yourself Nintendo’s best-selling game of 1988.
The Italian Stallion.....and Luigi.
It’s no secret that some of the best ideas started in Japan. This was certainly true of Nintendo back in the early 80’s. One of their creations was a simple arcade game, Mario Bros., featuring sibling plumbers Mario and Luigi on a quest to rid the screen of pests in the sewer pipes. Due to its success, Nintendo decided to create a bigger adventure based on the two characters for their new cartridge-based home console. Thus, Super Mario Brothers was born on September 13, 1985 in Japan and 1986 in the US, making Mario a household name along with the company that created him.
Lighting effects in a Mario game are still kind of weird to see.
Being the fourth entry in the series, prepending “New” to the title seems disingenuous. Despite tossing in a new power-up in the form of a flying squirrel suit, New Super Mario Bros. U is more of the same tried-and-true gameplay the series is known for. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad thing, but it’s hard not to feel some fatigue with the now familiar art style, level layout, and presentation. Despite this fatigue, there’s little question that New Super Mario Bros. U is the strongest title in the subseries and a fond callback to both Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.
The Wii U is out and the love is free-flowing on this episode of PixlTalk.
After a short hiatus and some failed podcasts post-New York Comic Con, episode 80 has finally come to fruition. And not a moment too late, as the crew for this episode (Nick, Jason, and JD) all have their Deluxe Wii Us and are excited to talk about them.
Throw Mario, Mega Man, Firebrand, and Samus into a blender and...
It’s rare that I can use the word “charming” to describe a game, and rarer still when I play a game that puts a steady smile on my face. Somehow in the chase for realistic polygon models, normal mapping, and Euphoria physics engines we lost a little bit of that magic that got us into gaming in the first place. That’s where Mutant Mudds comes into the picture—a game that may play on my nostalgia for the 8- and 16-bit days of gaming, but does so with skill and style.
Joaquim hops in the hot seat this week as Chessa takes the night off.
After last week's brief discussion of New Super Mario Bros. 2, Jason has quite a bit more to add after picking up the game at retail. Nick delves into Papo & Yo and Joaquim talks Pro Evolution Soccer. What we've been playing gives way to a bit of news discussion, focused mainly around the ABC bankruptcy of OnLive and its prompt segue to a new investor. Finally, we wrap the show with a bit of Mario-related trivia in honor of the release of New Super Mario Bros. 2 and the early discussions of the episode. Tune in and enjoy!
