All 2D Platformers Take The Mario or Wario Pill

[@purplettu2844]

I still think about how Wario is immortal in his older games simply because he doesn’t feel like dying

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Wario is literally built different

[@KopperNeoman]

Rudy is the only thing in his game that can actually kill Wario.

[@_-Lx-_]

Itallian literally too fat to die.

[@centacrunch_124]

Bulit DISGUSTING, to stanky to DIE

[@robloxplays4322]

So does he want to die in the newer games?

[@Garbo_trashcan]

and then you have shovel knight with the Scrooge McDuck pill

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

That pill is probably just pure gold which can’t possibly be good for you

[@pikariocraftf2802]

Based and Scroogepilled.

[@togeluga_the_cat]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming i heard its mad expensive and makes you shit gold

[@LordMoldoma]

Rain world out here with the prince of Persia pill.

[@starman6417]

That's probably why scrooge could shoot quarters from his mouth.

[@sandwichscout3169]

I am SO glad pizza tower is getting the recognition it deserves Pizza tower guy put his heart and soul into that fat anxiety induced Italian game

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

It deserves all the praise it gets and more, what a fantastic game

[@Starlightnova111]

Lmao is the developer actually called pizza tower guy That's the best thing istg

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

@@Starlightnova111 No, it's Tour de Pizza

[@mathieul4303]

@@user-vi4xy1jw7e he french?

[@angel_of_rust]

So Wario and Madeline fucked in an Italian hotel to make Pizza Tower?

[@pleaserespond3984]

Wario is definitely the more relatable character. I haven't rescued many princesses nor gone down a sewer pipe, but I have picked my nose more often than I have crushed an apple in my hand.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

HAHAHA ok fine fair enough

[@S0m3B0z0OnTheInternet]

Wario is my spirit animal (not really but I wish he was)

[@ArjunTheRageGuy]

@@S0m3B0z0OnTheInternet more like a spirit human

[@THETRUTHISHERE2030]

Wario is a sigma You are just a loser

[@alejandroe3616]

Stephen is that you?

[@DJAngel_2004]

My absolute favorite parts is how he talks about how disgusting wario is to him from what he dose to even having the strongest hands to use them to pick his nose lol

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

HE IS SO NASTY LOL

[@gneu1527]

make a chain of **picks nose** replies (noone can ruin it even if they comment something different)

[@gneu1527]

**picks nose**

[@ape5351]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming *picks nose*

[@exist_E]

nick's pose

[@fireblade696]

I personally say there is a third pill, the sonic pill. It takes the moment physics of the character and the level design is built around it, but to a crazy extreme where you can use the level to move instead of moving in the level.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Sonic is an interesting case I’ve seen three different pills in this comment section. Regardless, he really does utilize physics to his advantage

[@quinndepatten4442]

I hear the N games are sonicpilled.

[@ConsarnitTokkori]

does this mean pizza tower overdoses on all 3 pills

[@iZetto1]

@@quinndepatten4442 Sorta but N the way of the Ninja also has its own thing that differentiates it from all the other platformers

[@LoraLoibu]

Celeste does have a _few_ blocks that do that. The TASes use those and it's _hilarious_ when you see them. *Literal* blink-and-you-miss it rooms.

[@Imirui]

It should be noted that wario can pick up a dinosaur, and pile drive it directly into the ground with his bare hands

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Absolutely terrifying please get him away from me

[@ssg-eggunner]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming he can spare you if you hand out your coin and garlic

[@lavara9music]

not a big deal i can do that too

[@jgn]

this also applies to many other games most players that play dark souls 3 are going to use 2 buttons for boss fights, light attack and the dodge roll, the bosses are intricate and complex to account for this nioh is the exact opposite, the player moveset is superbly complex with 3 stances for every weapon, all of them filled to the brim with moves, each stance having a drawback and a plus, the bosses are simpler to account for this

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I've only played DS3 so I can't speak super well on this topic, but I can definitely see where this thinking would apply beyond 2D platformers!

[@iantaakalla8180]

Ironically, in the Warioware series, which is distinctly not a platformer, only Get it Together and Gold takes a Wario-like thing to controls. Namely, the things switched up in Gold are control schemes, and the things switched up in Get it Together are characters, who also have different movement schemes. The rest have consistent movement schemes (and therefore are metaphorically like Mario design)

[@belot217]

Kingdom Hearts alternates between the two depending on the game. KH2 has less customizations but more intricate bosses. BBS has ton of customization, leading to more interesting mob fights, but simpler bosses. KH3 has fewer moveset options, but more ability customization, trying to balance the two approaches, with mixed results.

[@jgn]

@@belot217 KH2 is the most wario kingdom hearts game, with the most stuff and sauce to do, with attacks, offensive and defensive magic, limits, summons, drive forms, combo modifiers, double jump (with parry frames because why not), glide, and block/dodge, the possibilites are endless (BBS is just magnet, mine, and surge spam) KH3 (specifically Re:mind) is very mario, sora has attacks, offensive magic, summons (which are only used to tank hard to dodge attacks), formchange (much more simple than drive forms), glide, airstep, air dodge, and block/dodge, there is a lot less possibilities with this, it's a lot more defensive the bosses are made incredibly complex to account for this, major thing is that bosses take chip damage when attacked if they're not in an opening TL:DR: Kingdom Hearts 3 Remind wants you to find openings, Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix wants you to make openings

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Have you guys picked up Pizza Tower yet cause that's all I've been playing since it's came out. If you're new don't forget to like and subcribe! Thanks for 2.5k once again!

[@colorphone5154]

Waiting for it to be price dropped cus they messed up the regional prices and while I know it's good, it's also about 30$

[@smnio5619]

Wario pill

[@leyulis8882]

I cannot stop playing it

[@strangefishman7635]

just beat it yesterday lol

[@SomeoneWeird-vx5jx]

Pizza tower is one of the most games of all time

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

It is so much game

[@yuichikita6018]

it's a game of this year

[@Fatih_M177]

McPig should update the steam page and put the subtitle, "Game of the Year"

[@Guest4233theguest]

I got pizza tower off its drmos reprints and Steam!

[@GmantheGreat2267]

Never let then know your next move, eat the yellow pill.

[@MemeSnack]

Thank you for recognizing the existence of "Wario type characters" just like me (i haven't paid for taxes since 1993)

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

LMAO this is the funniest comment on the video

[@mr.sniffly5297]

You sure you’re not Yoshi?

[@blinkowarner3117]

Some of us like slower platformers. I've never been able to get into Sonic because it's just too damn fast and my brain and hands can't keep up with it. That's why I love Mario games. They're fun and generally aren't so fast that I get confused.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

And that's totally valid. There are platformers of all types for different people and sometimes playing a chill Mario game is just what you need

[@ahmadmalaki8364]

Both Mario like and wario like games are honestly my favorite And but i can understand your problem Have fun the way you want buddy

[@chili675]

Same

[@justa_user]

And some of us like faster platformers. Sonic is pretty dang fun if you are able to have good reflex and adapt to changes within the game. Diversion is what makes society unique, but I wish people understood that since we always either agree or disagree on something due to opinions :/

[@birdbig6852]

@@justa_user the problem is not reflex but you need to learn the stage at heart to get the full potential (just like dkc). It's fine for a race game but for me it's a bother in platforms games. I prefer skill and decision over learning.

[@pros_0143]

Wario is the first sigma male in the history of gaming.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Absolutely not he is so disgusting LMAO

[@juanca12th]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming Point still stands

[@pros_0143]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming you're lucky I'm out of garlic, normie.

[@bruhbrat9038]

"Mom?" -The Vault Dweller

[@ssg-eggunner]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming being Disgusting is a part of being a sigma male

[@PlaneTheUhh]

When you completed pizza tower and replaying levels, you feel like a god, because you know all main moves and how levels look like

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I’ve been trying to get all of the P ranks and actually completing them is sooo satisfying

[@hatslapper6860]

It's pretty reminiscent of the Sonic games in that way, which makes sense since it was partially inspired by 2D Sonic.

[@thedocblock6421]

You're telling me Madeline starts as a Mario-esque character and *Transitions* into a Wario-eaque character, hmmm?

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

We love a trans gender icon

[@LoraLoibu]

oh that's clever

[@angel_of_rust]

he's a man for sure through and through

[@bane2201]

@@angel_of_rust Who, Mario? Yeah, he's a man. But The Doc Block wasn't focusing on Mario.

[@angel_of_rust]

@@bane2201 all 3 of them

[@iamrom]

"Wario is the greatest threat to national security" that picture was a work of art💀

[@Psychopathman12]

The quintessential Wariopill contains 308.8mg of MDMA and is best taken before running mach 3 through an Italian-themed building headfirst

[@mariowario5945]

Platformers really boil down to dodge things, and navigate with physics

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Wait you name is Mario Wario this video was made for you lmao

[@shbduukuynostradomus5509]

I usually despise gross out humor or generally disgusting looking characters, but there's something about the way Wario does it that makes his rat bastard energy infinitely charming.

[@joeygamer5387]

I think we should address the other side of the Mario coin. While Donkey Kong Country uses the Mario pill due to the nature of jumping and being put into dangers even more dangerous than what's in Mario games, Donkey Kong Country also innovates on it. It gives you barrel cannons to time those blasts and gives you animal buddies that can change up the gameplay entirely! What feels like a water level at one point transforms into a moment where you ride Enguarde the Swordfish and can beat up enemies with ease. Like having the fire flower and the frog suit in one go! Everything that Mario does, Donkey Kong either learns from it or innovates upon it to make it better. And sometimes Mario follows on that. The bone dragon rollercoaster in NSMBU was probably heavily inspired by the mine cart stages of DKC

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I absolutely adore DKC I recently replayed the original triology and I totally agree with you! DKC takes the Mario pill and then grabs spesific elements from Wario to make a better experience. Couple that with levels that are literally oozing with charm and you have one of the most consistent platforming series ever made

[@joeygamer5387]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming He makes a DK vitamin

[@legoboy7107]

The Bonecoaster was first introduced in NSMBWii, but yeah, probably.

[@joeygamer5387]

@@legoboy7107 I couldn't tell where it originated. Both Wii and U had canyon roller coasters

[@officersoulknight6321]

Considering the Animal Buddies, I would say DK is in a strange superposition between Mario Pilled and Wario Pilled

[@MrMinossauR]

Ohhh, loving the amount of content you've been uploading again!

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I haven’t gotten this much content out since back a couple years ago! Good to see you back in the comment section!

[@gameingtothemax6266]

actually there's a third option- the evolving moveset. the evolving moveset starts out with mario pilled movement, but as you progress through the game and gain more movement upgrades it progressively gets more wario pilled. this is most often seen in metroidvania's like hollow knight

[@Ballduck-6a11duck]

1:22 let’s just appreciate how much effort you put it in to making Wario sound like a war criminal

[@turtleninja16tn66]

Celeste literally opened both pills, dumped the contents of the Wario pill into the Mario pill, and then ate the Mario pill.

[@juanrodriguez9971]

Madeline just sniffed the powder inside both pills at the same time.

[@TheTrueXaver]

we need more celeste pill

[@coolfightlady2434]

And then washed it down with an estradiol pill

[@TheTrueXaver]

@@coolfightlady2434 is that what i think it isss?

[@TheOneWhoHasABadName]

normal celeste is mostly mario pill, with wario pills added over time from player skill meanwhile, modded celeste dumps in bottles of wario pills (from physics changes) and mario pills (grand master level design), and now madeline goes nyoom even faster and easier, just to barely beat the map

[@MiniLuigiMighty5]

The thing with Sonic, is that it's *neither* Mario nor Wario, because: - Mario is a character with simple to learn controls, with the levels being increasingly complicated to make up for it. - Wario sports hard to learn controls that take a while to master, so the scenarios are much more simple to balance it out. And... Sonic, while having simple controls like a Mario, has movement hard to fully master like a Wario. The levels are complicated as in Mario, but due to the character's skills they're very replayable as in Wario. There's also the fact that Sonic is neither punished by a set amount of hits, and neither he's immortal or impervious to damage. While the only consequence to getting hit usually is having to chase the ring you lost, or either it or you falling off a platform if you're unlucky enough... besides that, there's no much consequence besides it being a mild annoyance... however, the game encourages you to avoid cheesing the Ring System to get through enemies, by not only adding them to your score, but also rewarding the player for keeping a hold of them... The ring system is rather unique to Sonic. You would be half wrong by calling Sonic-inspired games "Mario-Likes" or "Wario-Likes", that's why they're called "Sonic-Likes" in the realm of 2D action platformers.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I think this is fair enough however I'd still argue for Sonic to fall under the Mario category. In my experience Sonic has less of a learning curve than Wario. It's very intuitive with max speed being able to be obtained with a spin dash or just rolling down a slope. What makes it hard to maintain speed is the Mario level design it has. I will give you though that the damage system is very Wario-like with both series encouraging moving forward instead of being careful

[@FrankEShaw05]

I think there’s something to be said about the replay ability of sonics stages that make his games more wario like when replaying them and trying to get a faster time. The way i see it wario level design is made to make the player think “whats the right move to use here” “whats the proper way to get past this obstacle” instead of a mario game where the answer is clear but all the focus is put on the execution. I think sonics design also promotes thinking like “whats the best way to beat this level fast” “what route should i pick” which is in line with my idea of a wario pilled game but this is only when replaying levels trying to beat them faster, on a first play through the game is much more Mario like

[@JKMX76]

Essentially Sonic takes both pills, turns them into powder and snorts it.

[@islandboy9381]

The Ring system was made as a preventitive measure because of Sonic's focus on running fast through the screen and being like a Mario that has the run button on at all times with even more momentum (yes speed did matter on some level to Sonic since the beginning, just look at Sonic Teams interviews on programming the original game) and that had the inevitable problem of running into enemies a lot hence that system got made beforehand to the problem and him rolling in his jump too. Because of that though racking up score as a reward was then implemented since Sega were still big on arcadey style of gameplay in wanting you to replay the levels over and over again with more skill and the fun that comes from that.

[@juanrodriguez9971]

I have a question, is regular 3D Sonic just Crash-like? Those are linear levels those feel like 3d versions of a 2d Mario level but with many deviations, but still linear since the goal is the same.

[@flisboac]

5:09 That Pizza game is the most 90's looking game I've ever seen!

[@djensen9206]

Agreed

[@badonkadong1625]

Got to say, I really hope m-pill or w-pill turns into a term in game design

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I mean I’d love for my videos to have a physical impact on game design!

[@vyor8837]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming sadly it's unlikely because, I mean, where would something like Dust fall into things?

[@Rubin82]

Just like r and K reproductive strategies

[@absolutezerochill2700]

​@@vyor8837 strand pill

[@LinkEX]

It would be nice to have this distinction as a widespread design idea. At the very least, having the features of Wario Land games be recognized beyond the rather broad "Metroidvania" term. Which is mentioned in this thematically similar video that focuses on the 'Wario Pill' side of things, specifically Wario Land 3: _Wario Land 3: The Best Nintendo Game_ by *hotcyder* kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHiye553i9B6g9E

[@SprinchelArt]

Wait, so the 3d Mario games are actually Wario games? I mean, take Odyssey for example, it has a very versatile pool of moves Mario can do, and they can all be combined into crazy combinations if the player is skilled enough, and all of the worlds have gimmicks (in this case captures), that are almost always exclusive to that world.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I'd say 3D Mario with each entry goes further and further in the Wario direction. 64, Galaxy 1 + 2 I'd say are more Mario games while sunshine and Odyssey go in the Wario direction

[@ssg-eggunner]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming no wonder i find the 3d mario games to better than the 2d ones

[@LoraLoibu]

Odyssey had to hard-cap (pun intended) the number of Cappy jumps you can do, because if they didn't, you would be able to go _literally anywhere, anytime_

[@juanrodriguez9971]

Galaxy 1+2, 3D Land, and 3D World are the 3D versions of 2D Mario, while 64, Sunshine and Odyssey are the 3D version of Wario.

[@ddnava96]

Conker's Bad Fur Day is a very iconic Wario game

[@anthonykhan1676]

Fr

[@QwixLF]

It makes me think how Sonic is some space north of Wario, favoring simple level design for easily built speed but has a somewhat varied moveset that alters direction quickly (stomp, homing attack) and is generally more focused on giving you that speed without the level getting in your way to force a higher skill ceiling. The older games had a stark contrast between these speed sections and slow and methodic platforming a la Mario. I feel like any game with any level of focus on movement could be classified on a XY graph with level simplicity and sense of top speed being the factors.

[@Syngrafer]

Wario Land 4 is my favorite platformer of all time, and is WAY too underrated. Thank you so much for this video.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Wario Land 4 goes crazyy not enough people have played it

[@nevercanyoucant]

Wario land 4 is a masterpiece

[@AzumarillConGafasBv]

Wario Land 4 is the GOAT of the Wario franchise

[@thebowz998]

It's Nintendo's greatest achievement.

[@aaronTGP_3756]

Several months later from my first viewing. This was the first time I heard of Pizza Tower. After watching multiple reviews and playthroughs, I bought it as a self-gift for Christmas, and consider it to be my favorite game.

[@LennyTheSniper]

"When playing for the first time, Celeste feels more like a Mario game. When replaying it, you get a pinch of Wario" Meanwhile, the gameplay show for "Wario" Celeste is a TAS that goes at light speed and goes through dust bunnies/spikes bc demo dash

[@Leathal]

Oh good I feel better knowing it’s a TAS. I played way too much Celeste back in the day and knew all the movement tech - but those clips made me feel like maybe I was playing on assist mode or something

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Lmao I showed the TAS just to illustrate how crazy it gets but I suppose it would be a hefty serving of Wario

[@armageddon7432]

mario focuses on the jump, yet you have little midair control

[@MateoAlfredo]

I really like the description you give for each pill and it legit feels as if all platforms fall onto a spectrum and these pills are the extremes on each end.

[@ummmmmmmmmmmnmmmm]

The vibe I'm getting from this is that Warframe's movement system is 3D equivalent of the Wario Pill

[@QuackZack]

Pizza Tower took mostly everything from Wario 4 and mirror polished it. Speed and momentum actually feels scarily fast and needs some half good reaction speed, moves cancel into each other for fluid and dynamic movement, grabs can use to start momentum or climb walls, combo chains.

[@LoraLoibu]

I've heard a lot about Pizza Tower lately. I should really try it

[@jasonxhx7854]

So Dead Cells went mad with power and swallowed both pills

[@TooMuchDad]

I’m shook that a channel with ~4k subs is making videos this good, you’re headed in the right direction!

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Thank you so much hopefully I’ll be able to make it to high subscriber counts soon!

[@newuser13able]

What about the I Wanna Be The Guy Pill? The modern name for the Spelunking pill

[@corentincursoux5852]

You know, when you think about it, it’s actually kind of poetic when the wario-likes comes after the Mario the likes (ex: Celeste), like in the good old days when Nintendo made wario games after super Mario land 2.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

The age of the Wario is upon us

[@iantaakalla8180]

After you’ve established great movement, you have to add a gimmick or something, and thus start down the path to Wario-pilling

[@marvelousfizzy799sarchive8]

Are you sure all platformers take these two pills. There are lots of platformers out there that don't follow the rules of either Mario or Wario. I don't wanna think I'm automatically designing a game after Mario or Wario when maybe instead I'd be designing it after Rayman or Klonoa instead. But I do love Wario and I'm planning a series of three platformers called Norman Penguin. Norman Penguin has a moveset similar to Wario's but it not coming from Wario Land 4 like Pizza Tower. Here is the inspiration for each game. Norman Penguin - Wario Land Shake It Norman Penguin 2 - Rayman Origins Norman Penguin 3 - Wario World

[@Png_gaming]

Mario is not a working class man, he’s insanely rich.

[@ssg-eggunner]

Bro literally has a Castle in super mario land 2

[@Png_gaming]

@@ssg-eggunner Not only that, but an entire theme park the size of a country, which he abandons. Wario (who is homeless at this point in the lore) finds out the castle is empty and abandoned, and takes refuge there. When Mario finds out about this, he comes back from his holiday early just to personally evict Wario, and leave the theme park to be abandoned again.

[@chungo.]

@@Png_gaming Yo where are you getting that Mario has a theme park because I cannot find anything that's not Super Nintendo World.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Well he was a middle class working man until wealth corrupted him

[@Png_gaming]

@@chungo. its the location of mario land 2.

[@JesusofNazareth.]

Super Mario Oddesy does a similar thing as Celest where it feels like a Mario pill for most of the game, but once you figure out how to cap jump you can breeze through every level that you struggled with before.

[@xant8344]

Don’t you figure out how to cap jump after like ten minutes? Odyssey is really pretty simple throughout. The movement can get deep but the levels don’t ask very much of you anyway

[@lilbirb7106]

It hurts how they represented wario with a purple colour instead of yellow

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I was gonna try to turn the pill yellow but my gimp abilities are extremely limited

[@ssg-eggunner]

In wario: master of disguise, wario has an alternate name which is "purple wind"

[@randomistough0]

I'm so glad people are noticing this excellent creation known as pizza tower. and I'm also glad people are taking interesting platformers and revisiting them and adding their own touch to perfect it. now all I need is a reimagining of ristar and my life is complete

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I heard about a long time ago but with all the coverage it got recently I just had to pick it up on release. I hope many more people do the same!

[@randomistough0]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming oh you'd be surprised

[@adithya260]

2D Mario has extremely simplistic movement but 3D Mario has a ton of complexity in its movement allowing you to all sorts of crazy moves and skips which i always found very interesting.

[@nxx99]

And Pizza tower takes 3D mario and 2D Wario and throws 'em in a blender.

[@professional_goose2409]

“It goes further than an unsupervised child in a riptide” BRO WHAT

[@dutssz]

ironically, with this descriptors, Super Mario Odyssey is a Wario Pill game

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Yeah it’s interesting I think a lot of 3D Marios are wario pilled with the exception of Galaxy and Galaxy 2

[@SuperNintendoChalmers096]

Wario is truly an alpha male, love the guy

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Please he's so nasty do not give him love

[@אורשחר-פ2ס]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming you don’t understand the complexity of wario’s character

[@SuperNintendoChalmers096]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming we need to. Mario was made for kids, Wario was made for MEN

[@SuperNintendoChalmers096]

@@אורשחר-פ2ס his perfect archetype of human being are vanilla family friendly blind heroes. He doesn't understand the testosterone Wario detaches

[@fanb1536]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming Imagine how gnobbly his Wariellini is.

[@thomasrosebrough9062]

These are two great examples of Wario and Mario-like games, but I literally can't think of any others that fit into the mold you describe. Tons of other games have varying amounts of movement complexity, level complexity, speed, anxiety. Those are all spectrums, not just A or B.

[@FluffyEnbyneering]

7:45 don’t you dare say that about the sexiest man alive

[@kiyanthebluepenguin]

If somebody figures out how to combine those two pills, I'll consider playing that game. Nice video though, you receive a like.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I think your best bet is Celeste. I love that game to death with all of its advanced movement options and i speedrun it all the time

[@islandboy9381]

Yoshi's Island

[@jex-the-notebook-guy1002]

Hollow knight

[@Polar_Pyro_YT21]

Mario: Woah! How'd ya get here? Better use those moves you learned! Wario: Hah! You gotta get outta some crumbling tower! Good thing you got no idea what to do! Celeste: You do de oingy boingy bouncey wouncey! Pizza tower: *By the time we're done, yo fingies gonna be mashed taters cuz you gonna recreate Bethoven's 9th f***in symphony, u n d e r s a n d ?*

[@donovanmahan2901]

And if you feel extra spicy, do it twice over.

[@cheesymeatball174]

Geometry dash: Here's a cool-lookong obstacle course. See you in a couple of weeks.

[@iantaakalla8180]

Crash: Micromanage your position on these platforms to escape the tower. Yoshi’s Island SNES-like: Throw an egg to activate a thing that will help you escape the tower (and possibly fight a raven on the moon) Yoshi’s Story-likes: Collect these things to unlock harder levels of the tower so you can escape the tower in a different area!

[@antonioaguirre5464]

If I had to say something, I sometimes feel that sometimes, in Mario-styled games, the simplicity of controls can sometimes be a detriment for the game. When most of the time you can only run sideways and jump, that severely limits what you can do with your levels. Even the Mario inspired Celeste has the dash on top of the basic movement. Take that away and the level design would have to change drastically. Even just having a single additional option, be it for movement or attack, can help the game so much. And this especially true with boss battle design.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Mario bosses definitely need some work (I made a whole video about it) and I think a big part of it has to do with the amount of moves at your disposal. All NSMB bosses are just jump on a guy three times cause that’s all Mario can do

[@amengaming777]

I think it would be better if mario bosses were difficult platforming segments that ended with you jumping on them like once

[@lavara9music]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming yeah the only good mario bosses i've seen always rely on giving mario another tool besides just moving and jumping on the guy, otherwise its really boring

[@pixelator5312]

while i'm a big fan of VVVVVV, i'll admit that it tends to suffer hard from its simplicity; literally all you can do is walk left/right and flip gravity, which makes the gameplay extremely difficult to innovate on when making custom levels

[@islandboy9381]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming This is why SNES Yoshi's Island is peak 2D Mario, not just for having another move besides jumping with throwing eggs but the bosses have more to do because of those tools and therefore stand out compared to Mario World. Makes me sad there's never been a worthy Yoshi successor.

[@ssupermarlo]

the third secret option after taking both pills gives you the sonic gameplay style

[@CozyBoat275]

As someone who has been supporting Pizza Tower for a while, I will say the skill level is honestly really high. Its one of my favorite games, and I was glad to support its development.

[@hoyhoy852]

Baffling it actually came out tbh. I was only side-eyeing the development and for the longest time it felt like the dev was more interested in arguing with people over nonsense rather than developing the game.

[@IamStrikareaYsALT]

So we have the Mario Pill, a simple move set in a more difficult setting. Also the Wario Pill, a more complex move set with simpler/easier levels. But we also have the Sonic Pill, has the simple move set of the Mario Pill but more momentum based stuff. Maybe even the mentioned Scrooge McDuck Pill, which is also a sort of Mario Pill Variation. Simple move set but has a more ‘bouncy’ feel. Scrooge and Shovel Knight have a main move which involves constantly bouncing across the levels.

[@beauvoirferril]

@7:35 Holy- A nod to Wings of Vi? In 2023? You don't see many people appreciating obscure rage games/fangames out there, so that put a smile on my face. Such a great little game. ^^

[@communityservice4671]

The transition to pizza tower hit hard

[@iantaakalla8180]

I feel like there should be a Crash Bandicoot pill, which involves hallways of small actions, boulder sequences, the fun of bouncing on boxes or things like boxes more than the fun of moving in general, and Mario-like bosses. The difference is that Crash Bandicoot always controls along a hallway and is more on micromovements than either a Mario which is about movement in general in a hostile world or Wario which is an ability-focused game.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Crash Bandicoot is a weird series. Crash is probably Mario pilled but the level design is so unique that it’s a whole new experience

[@Orangutanus]

My favorite platformer: Monster boy and the Cursed Kingdom takes both pills, at the start you only have some simple mechanics, an armor system and weapons, but later you gain a whole lot more abilities, the level design goes from forgiving to painful to go with your more abilities, its hard to keep track of what you can and can't do later on and that's why i love it, the armors and weapons also help with this while bringing another layer on the already giant masterpiece of strategy, getting chests with more lives and money becomes hard even for the most skilled players, it may just look like a Mario pill but it also has a ton of elements of the Wario pill

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I haven’t heard about this game maybe I should check it out!

[@Orangutanus]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming yeah if you want to then go for it, its really fun

[@Ciscodog100]

Metroid i guess is a mix as well. Its level design is an absolute maze requiring memorization of puzzles, locations, and dangers, while also getting progressively harder to deal with(Mario Pill) as you also get progressively more difficult to defeat yourself (Wario Pill). It also plays similar functions with Celeste. Once you begin using the wall jump, shinesparks, and other hidden tricks in Samus' arsenal, you always make sure to use it again in the future.

[@LoraLoibu]

Yeah, metroidvanias start like mario, but evolve over time to be more like wario

[@Pyrogore]

Rain World is literally crushing both pills and cooking it on a spoon

[@Alias_Anybody]

I wondered where Megaman fits in, but tbh later games of the series are arguably action games first. The stage is just a sneaky training for the showdown against the boss.

[@mygills3050]

VVVVVV pill Simple but absolutely absurd controls, Complicated scenarios that actively make the controls worse

[@starman6417]

I prefer my platformers to have some linearity in them, but not too much to the point that they keep dragging on with no secrets or anything to look forward to.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I agree secrets re a great way to keep me engaged (unless they're wayy too hard to find)

[@starman6417]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming exactly my point. Nintendo power was certainly needed back then.

[@LoraLoibu]

Celeste does that pretty well. Hidden optional strawberry collectibles and cassettes that unlock _COMPLETELY NEW LEVELS,_ along with the big one-per-level Crystal Heart collectibles

[@starman6417]

@Loibuuu Yeah but that game is hard as fuck though.

[@ChickenNugget7]

I’d say pizza tower has a great balance, each world lets you choose what level to play first but you will most likely end up playing all of them anyways. Plus the only necessary “secret” are the toppins which are hardly secret and are very easy to get, but still possible to miss so it encourages exploration. Every other secret/achievement is completely optional so you can experience most of the game’s surprises in a casual play through. Really I just believe Pizza tower has no flaws at all lol.

[@AgentNine]

So what you're saying is that Wario and Kirby routinely go to Peppino Spaghetti's Pizza Tower for the famed Extra Large Double Garlic Pizza?

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I uh maybe?

[@rukeyburg1084]

I actually thought they differentiate because of their production style. Mario being more focussed on clean design and platforming, Wario being more about creativity, exploring ideas and wacky storytelling

[@Mastermind6425]

Really cool analysis, great and fast-paced video!

[@BigOleWords]

This is a great review. I especially love that you were able to convincingly deliver the word motherfucker from a script. That's something that can come across as way forced when you're trying to read it like it's a casual usage, so props to you ;)

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Thanks for noticing! Talking in my natural voice is hard on KZbin but I try my best

[@slyllamademon2652]

Then there’s the pizza tower pill that’s basically WARIO ant Sonic combined.

[@daniellagos8584]

Wario pill: *Exists* Pizza tower: *Puts the pill on a blender and snorts it*

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

It is straight up overdosing on that Wario pill

[@NewSoupWiiHii]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming IT IS THE WARIO PILL

[@BoxoSpoons]

I like the Steam review that says Pizza Tower is based and Wario pilled, but specifically that one Wario pill seized by Japanese authorities with the near-lethal dose of MDMA.

[@donovanmahan2901]

Puts two in the blender

[@saxor96]

I never heard about Pizza Tower before, but it looks like a disgusting fusion between Wario Land and Cow and Chicken. ... I need to try it.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Always glad to see people covert to Pizza Tower

[@mdog100]

Celeste literally has a super Mario bros 3 reference when getting the crystal heart in chapter 4

[@lemonada8958]

Pizza tower resembles so much to wario in terms of design, art, sillyness and many other things thatit feels like a wario land spiritual succesor

[@maninhu9837]

What about the LBP pill, a game where every other type of pill is available even though the game itself focus on physics and puzzles

[@LokiThePug]

To be fair, one snack that my mom sometimes has garlic in there, and I must say, if you’re ready to eat the garlic then the garlic feels alright if not however… I like garlic when im prepared for it lol

[@kaplooeygames8515]

Man, I just want a platformer Sonic & Mario crossover. No idea how that would even begin to function, but still edit: Now that I know what Pizza Tower is, I feel like it may hold the key. Somehow. I'm not a dev

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Well you could always play the Olympic Games lol

[@islandboy9381]

Have it take place in a otherworldy setting that is like a mix of Mario and Sonic iconography and then do a Sonic Generations type structure where you can choose to play "Mario" style or "Sonic" style through a level and the level design changes based on that (but they are all A to B linear just to keep things consistent). Bosses can be varied by having each subsequent boss change in type of either being a Mario-like or a Sonic-like. Multiple playable characters can be later unlocked for replayability but its optional. Honestly though I'd rather choose RPG than platformer as a format for crossovers, like what Mario + Rabbids did.

[@AzumarillConGafasBv]

Somari is the game you're looking for

[@sreechakilam4296]

This is very well thought out video, I love your content. You are doing a great job at these banger videos, keep it up, Slightly. Also your name is very creative.

[@DewMan31]

I literally just rewatched the Matrix last night. Also shout out to Pizza Tower. My bro and I have supported the Patreon since the sage demo. Basically Wario action with Sonic flow. Please check it out. Also, you can uppercut by holding up and pressing attack. Video didn't show or mention that.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Thanks to you for helping bring that amazing game to life!

[@ZephyrKit]

You can talk about how weird and/or gross Wario is but he straight up was the reason why I found out I liked guys ^^;

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Well um I really hope you have better taste in men in real life

[@ZephyrKit]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming I like bears

[@ZephyrKit]

@Rainbow On Paper why'd you say this?

[@rasati]

i think the main reason why i can never play any platformer besides celeste is because of how satisfying celestes controls are and how much control you have in it, now i cant get used to literally anything else

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Celeste controls like butter feels it's so smooth

[@iantaakalla8180]

Celeste-pilled should be another subcategory where you have jump plus one other significant move, and the point of the game is that it is explorable and hard to navigate (like a Mario game) but you can master it and rush through it if you are good (like a Wario game). In this subcategory, Yoshi’s Island SNES and Yoshi’s Woolly World would count as Celeste-likes

[@jex-the-notebook-guy1002]

Hollowknight controls better than mario. I tried NSMBW recently again and the nunchuk felt awful to use

[@beansiii7852]

Dude this video exploded! You gained a shit ton of subs since this too. Happy that your channel is starting to get the recognition it deserves. Love your content man

[@kingkoopa64]

The Virgin Earthbound rpg omori vs. the Chad wario platform pizza tower

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Uhhh well like lowkey I love Omori and Earthbound

[@kingkoopa64]

@Slightly In-Depth Gaming me too I'm just tired of rpg games. Cord fun and non lore base platform is just what I need

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Yeah you right there's only so many story based 80 hour, open world RPGS before I need something like PIzza Tower to cool off

[@Shellboi-j6n]

As a Omori fan I can confirm that Wario platformer is definitely has more funny entertainment value

[@ssg-eggunner]

@@SlightlyInDepthGaming nice, you like earthboun- OMORI? 💀💀💀💀

[@frogmouth2]

1:47 his foot Oder knocks out weaker beings with low power levels

[@Nando75549]

I'm 100% taking the Wario pill.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

execellent choice

[@DanielCenciD]

Mario has more games but Wario is Wario

[@jakubolszewski8284]

Maybe even something similar can apply to 3D action games.

[@JenukiDa]

Im so glad this video covers both celeste and pizza tower like what great timing considering all the twitter memes happening with them two right now

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

I've seen these two games compared so much on twitter but I think they're really different design wise

[@DraKul78]

1:59 Wario is Lebron James confirmed

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Lmao yeah I never edited that out

[@StevetheWizard2591]

Wario is one of the only Nintendo characters who'd be able to solo Dracula. Dude's a vampire's worst nightmare. His favorite food is garlic, so he's guaranteed to be carrying a ton of it with him; he literally does not have a neck, so vampires cannot bite his neck; he's not going to invite anyone but Waluigi into his home, and may in fact uninvite people from places he's occupying; he's all but completely immortal, to the point where only falling in battle against a clown-demon-god could result in a "game over" state (I think he would survive being defeated, but losing to a clown would be so embarrassing that he'd never show his face again); and on top of everything else, he's Italian. He's actually faced down vampires before, and while they might be able to make him into one of them, he's capable of just getting back up in human form when he encounters the fatal weaknesses of a vampire. I'm also pretty sure that he's rude enough that he could still get into places uninvited by sheer force of will.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

lmao what is this comment 😂

[@AnthonyVCL]

I love hearing him say wario pill, he clearly doesn't know that wario pills actually exist

[@ssg-eggunner]

pink wario tablet

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

You’re right I’ve never ever heard or seen the wario ecstasy

[@liovox]

Waiting for the moment he talks about pizza tower is like waiting for them to say the name of the movie in the movie

[@ItsPripp]

wow, highlighting Celeste when saying 'rage games'. thats a hot ass take if I've ever seen one.

[@abderianagelast7868]

It's completely accurate though; I actually had to set the game down and come back to it the next day because I was too infuriated about trying to get one specific strawberry towards the end of the main story. That break helped a lot.

[@jex-the-notebook-guy1002]

​@Abderian Agelast New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Hardest level for me to 100% was 9-7. Coins and black piranhas were covered by ice

[@arin4395]

fantastic video !! yt recommendations have not been missing lately

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Thanks for watching!

[@Unicronicorn]

So what pill is Earthworm Jim? It's always felt like such a unique platformer to me

[@theunease5541]

I haven't played it, but everytime I see Pizza Tower my soul just fills with joy from how delightfully oozing with bombastic character each and every frame is.

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

What are doing go out and buy it now it’s pizza time

[@Handofcrom13]

Could you give more examples of Mario and Wario pilled games?

[@SlightlyInDepthGaming]

Sure! I’d say games like super meat boy, most shovel knight campaigns, crash bandicoot and Megaman classic are Mario pilled. Wario pilled games include Kirby, and most Metroidvanias

[@iantaakalla8180]

Would Banjo-Kazooie count as being Wario-like or Mario-like? Tooie seems very Wario like especially since you never stop with transformations and “modes of movement” and “actions” until the very end.

[@gamerman7276]

The reason why Wario was killed off was because he had the best platformers on GBC and GBA and not Mario.