Is Mario Done Being BLAND?

[@ArloStuff]

PARTICULARLY NOT-BLAND PINNED COMMENT Use my code ARLO to get $5 off your delicious, high protein Magic Spoon cereal by clicking this link: sponsr.is/magicspoon_arlo_0923 Also, how can two people put so many hours into one video and neither of them notices "twenty twenty-twelve"???

[@octolotl]

strawberry spoon

[@MildSatire]

Petition for Super Mario Galaxy 3

[@lonelyonionagain.]

Hey! A particularly not-bland pinned comment! That's a first!

[@aparasyn]

Hello Arlo are you still online please reply back to me to let me know you haven’t replied to my comments yet. From Alex

[@Whirlybird88]

Don't like bland Mario? Well grab yourself an emulator and swing on over to SMW Central 'cause Kaizo may just be for you! 😃

[@rickreation0]

Off-topic, but I want to see an evil purple version of Arlo named Warlo 🧄

[@quintonconoly]

…

[@sahaprocks7751]

Genius

[@telesoda209]

Now give him angy eyebrows

[@yololthepikminenjoyer]

he should hire a quirky cast of characters and make a game company

[@prognosticii]

That is not how complementary colors work: we need an orange puppet named Warlo. EDIT: I know Wario is yellow, but Wario and Waluigi are based on 悪い meaning bad, so a bad arlo can be any color really.

[@jordanwhite352]

Another Proof: Princess Peach's Showtime. Not only is she getting another game but unlike Super Princess Peach having series staple enemies, she has her own unique villains never seen before. I think it's been a combo of Odysee being super successful while being wired, the old guard being gone and the new younger staff taking over and Nintendo working with Illumination for the Super Mario Bros movie owning their eyes to how much variety their IP can have.

[@therealkanyewestforreal]

was looking for this comment i have no idea how he didnt mention it in the video

[@Nintenboy01]

true but to be honest I still don't really like integrating realistic humans and dinosaurs with Mario

[@JacobNintendoNerd99]

​​​​@@Nintenboy01Peach and Pauline have literally always been realistic humans since the 80s, not to mention Daisy, or Rosalina, or Syrup the Pirate from Super Mario Land 3. It's not a new concept.

[@tjlnintendo]

@@JacobNintendoNerd99 Also some of the n64 sports games has had humans too.

[@JacobNintendoNerd99]

@@tjlnintendo yeah, there's a lot, but I wanted to focus just on mainline games to prove the point lol

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

Some say that Mario is a generic "blank slate" simply because he is an everyman type character, but bro got hired a lot of odd jobs over the years, aside from being a plumber. So, I can considered him as a "jack-of-all-trade" type whose "everyman" status is just designated to fit any role whatever he wants.

[@Luxembourgish]

He's not just a blank slate. He has personality. We see in Mario & Luigi he's a supportive and loving brother, but also flawed as Dream Team shows him a bit stingy and angry when the Zeekeeper says he owes an insane amount of coins.

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

@@Luxembourgish Exactly, dude. Mario has tons of personalities that are adapted in each games he's in. He can be comedic in _Super Mario RPG_ and _Mario and Luigi_ series, adorable and charming in _Paper Mario,_ he can be competitive in most Mario sports and party spin-offs, or even aggressive in _Super Smash Bros._ Also, determination is the main part of the character of Mario as a whole. He doesn't know when to quit.

[@MarioSonic46]

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. That's why nearly every game that has "stats" for each character usually has Mario as a balanced type character. Only exception being the RPG's where he's the glass canon.

[@anibalhyrulesantihero7021]

That's not an excuse for the 2D Mario to become unoriginal.

[@mjc0961]

Remember that weird period where Nintendo was saying that Mario wasn't a plumber?

[@njnjhjh8918]

Vanilla is actually incredibly delicious and only gets called "vanilla" due to its ubiquity.

[@sera-chan8194]

Vanilla isn't even "vanilla". Vanilla is cream/ milk ice cream with vanilla added. So the real "bland"/ base ice cream isn't vanilla but cream/ milk xD I know, I worked at a ice cream parlor

[@WhatInTheActual]

💯

[@shattermelon496]

​@@sera-chan8194so you're telling me vanilla ice cream is actually vanilla ice cream? Wow, I had no idea. You're so smart

[@videogollumer]

Here here!

[@videogollumer]

@@sera-chan8194 So? Chocolate ice cream is the same thing, except you use chocolate instead of vanilla.

[@DanGamingFan2406]

As hard as it is to believe any company is capable of it, I think Nintendo may truly be starting to learn from their past mistakes and take fan backlash seriously. I really hope this trend of experimentation continues because Mario is absolutely at his best when they try something new.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

They could tell people were sick of NSMB that's why it took over a decade for us to get a brand new 2d Mario game and once they came back they overdid themselves because it looks fantastic. Like a true successor to Super Mario World

[@chrange9714]

Nintendo has been learning from their mistakes I really don't know what you mean by truly like they are only now starting to. They know what fan feedback to take into consideration and what to ignore as it's from a lot of whiners. This trend of experimentation has been continuing, bro it's been going on for years. Why are you acting like it's only now starting.

[@watershipup7101]

I hope so too.

[@Mariwend]

@@chrange9714 Because most large business entities never would, *cough cough EA cough* really caring about something other than money is a rarity these days. That could just be because we constantly stuff ourselves into tiny, isolated experiences with no real bearing on life at large. But nonetheless we humans can bury our real hopes pretty deep.

[@poky4669]

​@@chrange9714Considering that the company turned 134 years old seven days ago, a measley few years isn't that long in the grand scheme of things.

[@thedarklordofcats339]

11:25 I love the little zoom in here where Arlo swings his head around to look at TTYD! It feels so expressive without going overboard, it's really nice

[@Linus-j4f]

Did you see how at 13:36, he slicks back his hair!?

[@GordanTheToad]

​@@Linus-j4f13:35 *

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

@@Linus-j4f Wow

[@AlexCFaulkner]

It's these things that make me completely believe arlo truly is a blue puppet.

[@WhitePanther0001]

Dynamic camera movement for the win lol

[@thatonehedgehog3515]

Praying the TTYD can spark a new wave of originality within Mario. And with Wonder being so different, I'm hoping our prayers will continue to be answered 🙏

[@LinkMountaineer]

Saying you’re hoping a remake can spark originality is so ironic to me.

[@emperorweskatine8999]

⁠@@LinkMountaineerI mean, the game is far more original than most of the modern stuff.

[@PALWolfOS]

Odyssey clearly was the game that sparked this wave we’re riding- arguably 3D World even, but definitely Odyssey

[@LinkMountaineer]

@@emperorweskatine8999 You don’t understand your own irony and it shows. The modern is by definition original as a result of the new story and such each game provides.

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

@@PALWolfOS I think the mario galaxy games were totally on that wave too, and 3D world was a very interesting fusion of the different mario lines (2D and 3D) so imo it's not like Odyssey was an outlier.

[@KeebeThePlush]

Really cool to see the super Mario franchise really popping off in 2023 with so much creativity

[@anormalguy9320]

Some people say this is happening because of the success of the Mario Movie. Which doesn't make sense because games take a long time to make. These games (or at least, most of them) were already in development way before the movie was even released.

[@connortate5684]

@@anormalguy9320 yeah I don't see enough people mention this

[@greenhill004]

Is it though? One is Wonder which looks like fun and the first 2D Mario is several years. The other two are remakes because the Switch is on it's last legs, which isn't really creative at all.

[@iangarcia1585]

Except for the mario movie

[@brandonwilliams6119]

We’re in the WONDERful Era!😃🐘

[@amateraceon5202]

I find it a massive shame that New Super Mario Bros. has been labeled as a bland, boring series when at the very least the original DS game had some wonderfu; concepts that we just haven't seen again in 2D Mario. Things like causing rising and falling sand dunes with switches that completely alter the geography, riding on Dorrie, a bunch of enemies and platform types that we've never seen again, all cool things that they just kind of abandoned and hurt the series' identity as a result

[@mariotheundying]

Yeah the 1st new smb game gets forgotten, and when not, gets attacked like the other games

[@skunkooo]

i agree. it's sad how the og on the ds has to be lumped up with it's sequels bc it's so creative in comparison

[@ADreamingTraveler]

It's fun but it really is bland and unimaginative. It plays it too safe and barely experiments. That's just the reality of the games. Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World both pushed the envelope and experimented and changed things up massively. NSMB felt like a few steps backwards and playing it too safe.

[@tetermc]

​@@ADreamingTravelerYou're right, but it made sense for the first NSMB game. Problem is, even though it was fine for the first game back, they just did the same thing, graphics and all, for 3 more games.

[@cubedmelons876]

​​@@ADreamingTravelerI'd say that the original NSMB at least did enough to separate itself from the 2D Mario games that came before. The 2.5D art style was unique at the time, the star coins being used as currency really helped make exploration more worth it, and the game had unique bosses for every world. Also, adding the wall jump mechanic was really cool at the time. The problem is they made NSMB into a series that just recycled that game over and over.

[@SquidHominid]

When it comes to why Odyssey could be experimental and Paper Mario couldn't, I always took what Tanabe said to specifically apply to spinoffs. Like, mainline Mario could do whatever it wanted, but spinoffs had to stay within the box that was defined by the mainline games, outside of things that were completely new, like the origami people in TOK.

[@MahNamJeff]

Luigis mansion, Mario Kart Tour, Mario+Rabbids, The peach game, Mario and Luigi. all these spinoffs that have run alongside paper mario since sticker star was made has had more original characters or a wider variety of pre existing characters than modern Paper mario.

[@SquidHominid]

@@MahNamJeff Literally all of those except for the Peach game were made by outside, third party studios, and the Peach game literally just got announced. We don't know if this internal branding team Tanabe mentioned still exists, if it only applied to first-party or second-party studios, we don't know anything. We just know what he said, and the context of what Nintendo was making at the time. When it came to specifically first-party Mario outings, I can't think of much if anything which violated what Tanabe said, which was basically, if they want to make something new, it has to be wholly new, not a variation on an existing thing (so, no unique Toads, but you can have a wholly new race, for example).

[@MahNamJeff]

@@SquidHominid Heres the thing, wouldn’t Third party studios have less control over the IP than second party? that would mean they have to follow that rule harder, yes? that and NLG were second party until 2021, so Luigis mansion (2 and 3) would still be valid on this list and they got to heavily redesign king boo and redefine a design that hadn’t been touched for almost a decade.

[@jesusbarrera6916]

@@MahNamJeff so you didn't notice how Luigi's Mansion has used generic ghost archetypes for a while now huh?

[@MahNamJeff]

@@jesusbarrera6916 every luigi's mansion uses generic Ghosts. 2 is the only stand out one for not having portrait ghosts, but even then it has stand outs like the ghost sisters, the living plants, King Boo's design, the generic ghosts themselves existing in the first place WITH small stories as to why they existed. If it followed paper marios rules? all the ghosts would be Boos. because "no new characters that touch on the mario world."

[@NinToby]

I feel the success of odyssey was probably the turning point for the series, just took us a while to see that because the other games like origami king were already in active development and they didn’t wanna change what they had already planned out

[@NuiYabuko]

Who ever said any of that applied to mainline Mario? I think they just wanted a common theme between Mario games, that's it. They might've wanted to introduce more people to the general Mushroom Kingdom in preparation for the theme park and movie.

[@NinToby]

@@NuiYabuko it absolutely applied to mainline Mario. From 2011-2017 we got 2 NSMB Games and 2 3D Mario games that played like NSMB games. Yeah SM3DW had some more character than the others at least, but it was still pretty “by the books” Mario. I do like your theory that they might’ve been doing it all in preparation for the movie and theme park though. I think what happened was that Nintendo saw the sales of NSMBW and said “well, I guess that’s all people want. That’s what sells🤷🏻‍♂️”

[@viralmasquerade]

You know Arlo's doing well for himself if he can afford magic spoon

[@TheMightySceptile]

Forreal, magic spoon is 10 dollars a box at the Target by me. And for a small box of it too

[@10191927]

@@TheMightySceptile- I don’t eat cereal, let alone I’m not paying $10 for said box of cereal.

[@mjc0961]

@@10191927 I eat cereal, but when you look at Magic Spoon's marketing - that's not cereal. That's not even food. No gluten, no sugar, so what kind of disgusting chemical mess is in the box? Granted, too much sugar in other cereals is a big problem, but no sugar at all means they're using artificial sweeteners. I'd rather just have a reduced amount of real sugar than whatever artificial sweetener that's even worse they're using.

[@DaleonM4]

​@@10191927yesh it's basically a buffed up cereal. Just eat healthy u don't need le good cereal. Or just don't eat healthy. Lol

[@AdventuresAwait123]

$10.99? Pffft

[@KingsBard]

Mario upgraded from Vanilla, to FRENCH Vanilla. (Or Bluebell Homemade Vanilla for my fellow southern folk)

[@tatltails3923]

BLUEBELL HOMEMADE VANILLA IS TOP TIER VANILLA

[@cadendicky1855]

If only there was an Italian Vanilla. I love vanilla anyway though.

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

From Vanilla to Vanilla Dome

[@sukamadik5983]

If Mario really wants to spice things up they should have Arlo as a cameo in the game and have an Arlo leg reveal. Ir would revolutionize the industry as a whole.

[@sovietcomrade-b5g]

They should have Arlo as the new president of Nintendo.

[@yupperdoodles]

@@sovietcomrade-b5g with how many of Arlo's requests have been answered this year alone, I'm beginning to think that maybe Arlo is the new president of Nintendo, but he hasn't found a way to break it to us yet.

[@genzsavedamerica2234]

@@yupperdoodlesNOW IT ALL MAKES SENSE!!!!!!😮😮😮😮

[@genzsavedamerica2234]

@@yupperdoodlesIT WAS Furukawa WHO WAS THE REAL PUPPET BEING CONTROLLED BY ARLO ALL ALONG!!!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯😳😳

[@genzsavedamerica2234]

@@yupperdoodlesAND I BET HES BEEN PUTTING OUT FAKE PREDICTION VIDEOS PURPOSELY GETTING THEM WRONG TO CONVINCE US HE ISNT!!!!

[@PARR-E]

SMB Wonder is the exact kind of 2D Mario game that the Wii U needed.

[@WERV2003]

No, Odyssey was the launch title that the Wii U needed.

[@arturocastroverde3349]

wonder should have been relased earlier like 2019 or 2020, but is good we have it now in 2023

[@NuiYabuko]

​@@arturocastroverde3349 It should have nothing. They literally said they didn't really have a deadline and collected like 2000 brainstorming entries.

[@arturocastroverde3349]

@@NuiYabuko wow calm down kiddo 🤣🤣🤣

[@dieghautdeforme5049]

Off topic but I really love the puppetry skills you have, you're capable of a range of emotion and flair that really shines, especially in this video. Kinda fitting with the topic one could say

[@yorihimewatatsuki7983]

I like the bit at 13:28 particularly, where he decides to act a little crazy, then it cuts to him neatening his hair. He wouldn’t need to do that, but the fact he did really brings him to life with a visual narrative!

[@Antasma1]

Puppet?

[@sera-chan8194]

What are you talking about? There is no puppet! There is just Arlo! A blue monster from ... well we actually don't know where he is from, he never said 😂❤

[@CreativeSteve69]

oh no, not that word.....

[@Sweetie.21]

@@sera-chan8194 Not 100% sure if you’re joking or not, but I do wonder if there are others like me who actually fall right for it and only see Arlo until it’s pointed out that he’s a puppet and not real. …And then fall for it again minutes later because brain cannot comprehend that the thing I’m seeing isn’t real. I don’t know if it has a name, but the two things I could find about it is object permanence (if you don’t see something it’s no longer there to you to your brain) which is something young kids and autistic (and possibly ADHD?) people struggle with. And the other is masklophobia, the fear of mascots, and costumed or masked people. One of the causes for that fear lists that kids might have trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy. I’m not a kid another and my masklophobia died down a lot over the years, but seeing as how not having object permanence is regarded as a child problem too that’ll fixes itself, I think this not distinguishing fantasy from reality might also be an autistic trait. The whole thing is a mess, it’s confusing as all heck. I have to try really hard to refer to them as (fictional) characters and not as a living being essentially. It can be really annoying to see through, but on the other hand if I fall for it, that means it also won’t lose its magic (until someone says they’re an actor and not real).

[@MeMelon]

I really hope whatever next Mario sports game follows in the footsteps of these last few Mario games. I want freakin weird creative gameplay and locations!

[@yololthepikminenjoyer]

*mario baseball mega field*

[@sahaprocks7751]

And hopefully they don’t get destroyed by the dreaded free updates. Good thing they haven’t done those games since last year

[@isaacpomarleau9008]

Imagine a Mario party that’s creative like the old games, or a new paper Mario game

[@NintendoHero]

Wild MeMelon spotting

[@pk251]

we meet again

[@tatltails3923]

Arlo: uses vanilla ice cream as his example of Bland Mario in the thumbnail Also Arlo: flavors his Bland Mario with salt, pepper, and Buffalo Mayo

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

bland vanilla dome vs chad chocolate island

[@Shnarfbird]

vanilla rules!!! it is not bland!!

[@00yiggdrasill00]

The amount of people who link vanilla with bland honestly makes me wonder just how many people in this world have absolutely no sense of taste

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

​@@00yiggdrasill00 Well, Vanilla is a tasty flavor for ice cream, but if there's a flavor that considered to be "bland", it's water.

[@00yiggdrasill00]

@@poweroffriendship2.0 I would personally say over processed grain. Water tends to have a flavour based on its mineral content and other stuff where I live, but I completely understand what you are saying. Vanilla is good in most kinds of sweets. everything dairy like ice cream, custard, filling cream or yoghurt as well as soft cakes and rice dishes. I've heard of other uses like with alcohol which is apparently very nice but I hardly drink the stuff so I can't confirm, I don't really like the taste of alcohol. It's a wonderful spice and I would take it over chocolate any day with its rich smooth flavour.

[@twosoup3252]

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since the release of the Mario movie and the reveal of Mario Wonder. I hope that this is extended to spin-offs as well and that we get to have new Mario RPGs, I’d love to see the Mario and Luigi series make a return

[@PenguinSebs]

My opinion of the 3D World identity is that it's a little Wonderland per level. Basically every level has its own identity that feels like it centers around a single mechanic or idea and lets you elaborate on it yourself

[@jroy97yt33]

I thought it was a perfect combination of 2d and 3d, love that game so much, played it to death on the Wii U and Switch.

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

@@jroy97yt33 agree completely, great combo between the 2D and 3D games and lots of fun with multiplayer.

[@boltstrike2787]

Yeah, but so do levels from other 3D Mario games, especially Galaxy. But they all had overarching settings/themes/mechanics while 3D Land and 3D World just... don't. So I definitely agree that they feel like the NSMB of 3D games. They just wanted to string random 3D levels together instead of making a coherent, creative experience and that makes it feel a bit soulless like the NSMB games (it's not quite as bad as NSMB, but pretty close).

[@PenguinSebs]

@@boltstrike2787 galaxy does not really approach the level of uniqueness per level that 3D World has, especially in multiplayer. NSMB focuses on strong core mechanics repeated endlessly whereas 3DW is constantly coming up with new ideas and details

[@NuiYabuko]

​@@boltstrike2787 Soulless, one of Gamer's favourite meaningless phrases.

[@Linus-j4f]

Arlo the “puppet” is so expressive! At 13:36, he slicks back his hair! Such attention to detail!

[@siraaron4462]

Miamoto's 70, he's headed the most successful videogame franchise for close to 40 years. (And held it back for close to 20) I wouldn't be surprised if he's finally handing Koizumi the reigns

[@ausgod538]

Miyamoto isn't closely affiliated with games since the switch era lol he's mainly involved creatively with the movie and park

[@ausgod538]

Also koizumi is only involved with 3d Mario, he has nothing to do with spin offs and 2d Mario

[@SweaterSwagg]

Held it back? Man what? Shut up lol

[@siraaron4462]

@@ausgod538 exactly every "weird exception" mentioned in the video has come during the switch era. But this last batch of Mario especially feels like Koizumi has free reign.

[@siraaron4462]

@@ausgod538 while that may have been true previously, I believe he's taken on more leadership roles within the Mario team lately - Mario Wonder especially seems like his sort of game.

[@Dylan2024.]

Unfortunately Magic Spoon is extremely expensive in the U.S. One box was around $11-$12 at Walmart. I hope they're able to get the price down, because it looks like a great cereal option. But for someone who has to spend money carefully, I cannot even afford to try it.

[@justinthenoob]

The coupon codes are fairly decent. I've bought it a few times and despite being fairly expensive I'd say the product is great. Just eat the cereal with fruit so it lasts longer lmao

[@XperimentorEES]

That's why I go anywhere else, they markup stuff that isn't exclusive to them.

[@Flac_the_Wave]

One of the reasons I love WarioWare so freaking much is that you get to see what happens when Nintendo is allowed to have FUN I love how weird and bizarre and silly the games are because it's one of those times where Nintendo felt free to just break the rules and let whatever happened happen. A minigame where you bounce watermelons off of a guy's belly, or have an anime girl suck up snot, or where you draw letters with your butt, it's just FUN And I LOVE IT Nintendo: You create so much fun, always be sure to let your employees have fun creating things too! The difference really REALLY shows!

[@JGr2000]

Super Mario Bros wonder didn’t only introduce a creative 2D Mario, it also solidified Pyoro as the only reliable Nintendo leaker

[@NuiYabuko]

How the tables have turned.

[@derekw8039]

My local ice cream parlor will sell whole tubs of factory seconds from when they're switching flavors in the mixer. One of them was flavorless ice cream! Not vanilla, just milk flavored ice cream with a few chopped nuts in it! Tasted like milk and sugar!

[@NuiYabuko]

How is it flavourless then?

[@ClayAdams]

As a lifelong gamer who got hooked in 1985 when the SMB arcade game munched on my quarters but suddenly became available to play at home as much as I wanted I say this: Mario has never and will never be bland to me

[@ItsameAlex]

If a 20 year old game (ttyd) being released again is a sign of innovation in 2023 for the mario franchise, we have a problem.

[@NuiYabuko]

​@@ItsameAlex Right? It's also interesting how critical people suddenly get of TTYD. Now the level design is only going from left to right and back and TOK has better map design, the game doesn't get good until chapter 3, which seems to be mostly one fight after another.

[@mdtauk]

I think this rule was less about keeping everything bland, but that every unique character they design, even if variations on the familiar species, would need to be trademarked - and that requires legal processes in different countries - which is a headache and involved process. Remaking those two games, uses the existing characters, so is less of a hassle. I agree though that more variety is more interesting - and the new more expressive art style for Mario Bros Wonder - is doing a world of good.

[@goranisacson2502]

On the one hand this thought-process means that there will still not be any new characters going forward which would be very sad... but on the other hand it feels JUST possible enough to be true, and that also makes me sad.

[@thebrightdiamondtp7871]

Makes sense considering how ballistic Nintendo goes over the legality on fan games and other projects focusing on their properties without any authorization. They’re already so authoritarian in the legal world and they probably don’t wanna make it any more harder than it already is.

[@MenaceGallagher]

Not certain how this logic holds up when you hold it up against other Nintendo IP such as Pokemon?

[@mdtauk]

@@MenaceGallagher Pokémon is not solely owned by Nintendo, and for a game series like that, they probably feel it is worth it, to trademark each Pokémon name

[@DaNintendude]

I definitely think it was more of a case-by-case thing, personally. 2D Mario sells really well, so they were pumping them out after NSMB on the DS. For NSMB2 and NSMBU, they actually split the development team. One worked on NSMB2, and the other worked on NSMBU. NSMB2 ended up with better level design and a lot of random cool stuff, but suffered from basically ripping everyone off from NSMBWii. NSMBU did its own share of innovating, but we were fatigued by the series and the new stuff it did wasn't enough to feel worthwhile. NSMBU is actually a really fantastic game. But people don't remember it as such, because of the context of the times. And then NSMBU's assets were used for Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Run, Super Mario Maker 2, and then a port of NSMBU. It got really, really tiring. I wouldn't be surprised if the developers themselves were a little tired of NSMB by the point of NSMBU. They gotta sell 2D Mario, because 2D Mario sells super well! But there wasn't enough time to really make anything too new or interesting. Now we've got Wonder-- a game where they were able to take their time and make something awesome. And hey, maybe the developers still had more to show in terms of NSMB, and that's why NSMBU was what it was. In terms of 3D Mario, 3D Land was mostly standard Mario affair, but it had its own twist. Cool ideas and interesting concepts we've never seen before. 3D World built off of that, and sort of became its own thing too. 3D World's biggest issue was that, despite being a land outside of the Mushroom Kingdom- they didn't do enough to make it feel unique. Some levels straight up iterate off of NSMB's Mushroom Kingdom aesthetic. Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Wonder tackled new kingdoms much better, with them feeling much, MUCH more different. Anyway, I feel like 3D World was just a basic follow-up to 3D Land. They could've got creative, but we ultimately ended up with more creativity in Captain Toad 2 years later, lol. Paper Mario is a whole thing, and it's not really easy to figure out what happened. Personally I think the team just wasn't trying hard enough. Any supposed mandates they had either didn't exist, or only applied to them, because basically every other series was doing stuff that they said they couldn't do. Especially after Odyssey. Mario Party was going in a new direction, and started basing its aesthetics on the Mario games of the era. Mario Party 9 was a mix of NSMBWii and Galaxy 2. Mario Party 10 was a mix of NSMBU and 3D World. Since then, we've had 2 more Mario Parties. Super Mario Party reinvented the wheel, so it didn't really base itself on anything. It was simple, likely to focus on the games' new concepts and gameplay. Superstars relied exclusively on existing content, so it didn't introduce anything new, of course. It's very likely the next Mario Party might base itself off of Odyssey and Wonder, and I really hope they do. Mario Sports were actually pretty great on the 3DS. The one stinker was Mario Sports: Superstars, which tried to cram too many ideas into one game. Ultra Rush on the Wii U was... Ultra Rushed LOL, and basically ended up being a tech-demo for the much better Mario Tennis Aces on Switch. The game has issues, but it introduced brand new gameplay, loads of characters, a brand new setting, and even a handful of original characters. Super Rush did the same thing. It also had issues, but it brought a new setting in, created original characters, and got pretty creative with a lot of stuff. Strikers: Battle League had problems in terms of content, but the gameplay and soul was there. I'm sure a sequel would be much better, being able to build off of the original, just like Charged did to the original GameCube game. So after all of this... what series are left? Mario Kart? Well Mario Kart 8 certainly wasn't suffering from a lack of creativity. It went for a more realistic look to push the HD graphics of the Wii U. I'd be super excited to see what they come up with for the next game, now that they're more familiar with HD development. It's been 6 years since the Mario Kart team made a game (ARMS), so I'm really excited to see what ideas they must've come up with in that time. We could get the Super Mario Bros. Wonder of Mario Kart!... but we'll see. Anyway, in conclusion: Basically every Mario series from the "bland" era to now seem to have a reason for being bland. 2D Mario didn't have the dev time to create something new. 3D Mario made a simple game to start off the 3DS, and then made a follow-up that didn't innovate as much as it should. And every other spin-off either had their own issues (like being rushed), or were basing themselves on the similarly not too innovative mainline titles. And of course, Paper Mario is Paper Mario.

[@boltstrike2787]

Mario Kart 8 itself is good, but they've been coasting on it for almost 10 years and when people were getting tired of it and wanted something new for Mario Kart (they were a lot of people in 2020-2021 that said they wanted Mario Kart 9) they gave us tracks ported from a mobile game and were content to just let Mario Kart keep selling (who is it that keeps buying MK8D 5+ years after it launched? MK8D hasn't sold to everyone on earth yet?). So Mario Kart does feel "bland" in the respect that they simply don't want to move on and it feels overdue for a completely new entry with new mechanics and courses (before the Switch we were getting new Mario Karts every 3 years and now they want us to wait 7-10 to get a new one next gen?).

[@DaNintendude]

@boltstrike2787 I bet the developers want to move on, but Nintendo wants them to wait. And honestly, at this point? It's for the best. The Booster Course Pass definitely sucks, but if we didn't get that, we wouldn't have gotten anything until the next game. And I doubt that it postponed the release of the next game. They probably want the next Mario Kart to launch with the next system. They've learned how massive of a system seller that Mario Kart is. And hopefully, they'll figure out how to deal with that better this time.

[@boltstrike2787]

@@DaNintendude I'm honestly torn on whether or not the Booster Course Pass is better than nothing. It's quantity over quality and it looks so out of place in 8D with them basically just prettying up Tour's artstyle. It feels like an abomination. Not the right stopgap until next gen, what we really needed is a Bowser's Fury esque game mode or a spinoffs/side entry that wouldn't cannibalize 8D (Diddy Kong Racing-esque open world anyone?).

[@3dsfan2002]

DS/Wii era started the bland era

[@San_The_Sly]

I've been describing it as the Homogenization of Mario for a while. It's been so nice to see more creative freedom again, even if it has to partially come from remakes of SMRPG and TTYD. Hopefully, from Wonder onwards this is the new standard for the series - the freedom to be weird again.

[@SantaquinBacon]

A ttyd remake gives me hope that someday a spm remake might be in the works… I know that game is slightly controversial, but it has such clever puzzles and possibly the most compelling story in any Mario game

[@ShiftyQuail]

I have no clue how the internal processes of a Japanese super conglomerate operate but I'm happy to see Arlo look so vindicated.

[@1gnore_me.]

to give NSMBU credit, it also had this really cool connected world map reminiscent of super mario world, and you even got to choose which world to go to about halfway through ... but with none of the secrets (except for a few). so kind of a half-unique-thingy

[@NuiYabuko]

And it was a platformer through and through. Wonder can be a little miss on that regard.

[@georgehanselman1365]

The fact that ttyd is still in the background is wonderful and it makes me so exited for the remake

[@MajoraZ]

The "mandate" was probably something applied to spinoffs and third party merchandising rather then mainline entries. You see the same thing with Pokemon where there's guidelines merchandising partners, collaborations, spinoffs etc follow where the guidelines have litterally leaked online and indisputable exist, but the mainline games break a lot of those rules all the time.

[@notaraven]

My theory is that paper mario fell into that and because the mario and luigi series existed they removed the rpg mechanics to not cannibalize their market base. Now that mario and luigi fell and origami king has been released they may be going back.

[@mouthwide0pen]

​@@notaravensticker star was still an rpg though. just a shit one

[@PeacockLover127]

I hope and pray that all spinoffs like Mario kart will have just as much character, charm, personality, etc. as Wonder

[@brandonwilliams6119]

Same with Mario Party which I enjoy more than Mario Kart.

[@crazynaut223]

I think Mario Kart already has that, 8 in particular was a massive creative standout in the era of blandness

[@daymanfighterofthenightman]

​@@brandonwilliams6119I want Koopa Kid back

[@PeacockLover127]

@@crazynaut223 with acception of base 8's character roster, I do agree (there's not even dry bones!!) But I think it can go be even better with how fun everything looks and animates 🐳👍

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

@@PeacockLover127 Justice for Dry Bones!

[@iKiwed]

Origami King was the game that truly felt the developers reaching the limit of the limit of the limit in what they could do creative-wise. They did their best and this is why I love the game, because they tried to not make the game bland, and it isn’t compared to other Paper Mario or New Super Mario games.

[@emperorweskatine8999]

My mind is blown by all the recent Mario stuff. Who would’ve imagined a comeback this huge.

[@SongoftheLute]

It really is a balancing act, but if any game series doesn't grow it ends up more like a museum piece of the good old days. This looks like really good healthy new growth and I am loving it. Can't wait for wonder and mario rpg and thousand year door, but its what happens next with the new games I want to see. Dr Arlo, lets hope our favourite patient is making a full creative recovery!🤩

[@brandonwilliams6119]

It’s hard to say right now, but I’m just glad we’re past the safe era of Mario, I’m also excited they’re giving Peach another shot at having her own game with Princess Peach Showtime!

[@Vaquix000]

As long as the rule of "this redhaired turtle must be the villain of every mainline mario game for some reason" exists it's going to be safe mario.

[@luckyblockyoshi]

⁠​⁠@@Vaquix000”as long as the rule of mario is the protagonist of the mario series exists it’s going to be safe mario”

[@emmetstanevich2121]

I mean, bowser works as a villain to a 2d mario game because that decision doesn't require much, if any, exposition to justify, which is ideal for a 2d platformer. A story that has a villain other than Bowser (and who isn't just bowser in all but name) is probably complex enough that it would be better suited for a more story-driven game anyways.

[@djmetcalf3815]

It’s always weird to see adults complaining about children’s games not being exciting enough for them. As a kid to teen I was fucking ecstatic every time they announced a new “New Super Mario Bros”.

[@_Pike]

Tangent but I find it so refreshing to see comments that reasonably challenge and contest the video. I see a lot of ‘nothing’ comments that will stay neutral regardless to keep things innocuous but if anything, base standard, a good comment will add something to the table and create an interesting source of discussion. I mean this as a compliment 🙂

[@AidGum]

I think you could see this with Mario Kart 8's character roster. When it launched on the Wii U, it was pretty lackluster and a lot of the roster was filled with clones, babies, and Kooplings. Then MK8 Deluxe launches on Switch and we get some fan favorites back. Then years later with the Booster Course Pack, they finally decided to add characters and we got a lot of characters from older games back and some fan favorites. So now we went from having a lackluster roster to having arguably the best roster in the series.

[@chiquita683]

"Is Mario done being bland" Mario Wonder: Wowy Zowy 😒

[@Al1701]

And let's not forget Princess Peach Showtime which also seems to chuck the rules. We get a new villain faction in Grape and the Sour Bunch. We also get Peach in different outfits with different hairstyles, and a distinct lack of pink in all the ones we've seen so far. They could have easily pitted her against Wendy O. and typical Mario villains and every outfit being pink like almost all of her alternate outfits. Yet they did not do that. And these were hard rules. Even the movie had to adhere to them. Concept art showed distinctly female Toads as well as Toadsworth and Toadette. Yet, they were nowhere to be seen in the finished product. They might have been casualties in getting Mityamoto off his plans for Peach to be the one captured and instead have it be Luigi. And something I have not seen anyone point out is next year is the 20th Anniversary for TTYD which is why it would be released then. As for being completely remade, I have no idea. Perhaps we are seeing the success in Mario lead to a willingness to experiment. Going with the Mickey Mouse example, how he looks remains consistent, but we have seen him in all kinds of roles over the years. The Mouse actually fell out of favor for decades because his shtick got stale. After the Wii U was a thud, it seems like Nintendo has been more willing to stretch things with Mario initially within their own studio and perhaps now with the second and third parties.

[@retrofan4963]

Actually Peach being active and competent in the Mario film is Myiamotto's idea. He recently confirmed that's how he always envisioned Peach ever since she's first created. So he approves that idea either way, also it'll give him good memories of Super Mario Bros 2 USA to add to that.

[@riftshredder5438]

I really hope you are right, I loved Mario because of the creativity of the games, I grew up in the 90's and saw all the evolution Mario went through at that time and I ate it all up, at least up to the Wii where everything was creative at first but then became stale

[@JRH-1007]

Don’t forget about Mario vs Donkey Kong as well. After the first game, the series shifted the focus to the minis and became increasingly blander until it just fizzled out. Now, Mario vs Donkey Kong is going back to its roots with a remake of the original just like Paper Mario is with TTYD remake. After the last direct, I’m of the belief that all of these efforts are part of a Nintendo corporate initiative to “de-bland” the Mario franchise and fix notable problem spots within it.

[@Alkamyst04]

It's also interesting to note that Mario vs Donkey Kong and TTYD came out the same year. Mario vs Donkey Kong has been suffering for longer than Paper Mario (at least Paper Mario had Super Paper Mario). I really think that Mario vs Donkey Kong really seals this theory that the Mario brand is much more open to creativity.

[@JRH-1007]

@@Alkamyst04 That is all true. The fact that both remakes are releasing in the year of the originals’ 20th anniversaries makes them special as well, especially when it comes to Mario vs Donkey Kong for the reasons you stated.

[@HexterXD]

Im really hoping Mario will stick closer to this experimental fun from now on, instead of the generic soup we have had for years.

[@sovietcomrade-b5g]

The issue isnt the generic soup, but the fact that theres not enough generic soup.

[@HexterXD]

@@sovietcomrade-b5g Jeez how hungry are you? You already had 4 servings!

[@sovietcomrade-b5g]

@@HexterXD My hunger cannot be satisfied.

[@QnjtGWonQNqVsbYyzjx4]

@@sovietcomrade-b5gI think 2D Mario suffers for some outdated mechanics, the plasticky artstyle is made for DS while we should have a 3D world-like artstyle, stuck with the same theme for absolutely no reason and the arcade life system.

[@sovietcomrade-b5g]

@@QnjtGWonQNqVsbYyzjx4 I agree that they must switch to 3D models but Mario needs way more content.

[@Dante...]

My theory for what caused the bland era of Mario is Mario Galaxy, specifically the Rosalina backstory. Miyamoto really didn't like that it was snuk into the game without his approval, so in order to make sure that never happened again he started enforcing these strict rules about what was allowed in a Mario game.

[@Dark_Jaguar]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Back in the 80's and 90's, creativity WAS what Mario was all about. The original Super Mario Bros. took the 80's by storm BECAUSE it was so completely original. Super Mario Bros 2 (I don't care about the whole Doki Doki Panic thing), took it in completely new directions. Super Mario Bros. 3 went for a very "stageplay" aesthetic that returned to SMB1's style but with all kinds of bizarre new worlds, like one dominated by pipes and another with everything giant. Super Mario World brought in a completely new "prehistoric" look. Super Mario RPG brought in a 3D feel and RPG mechanics and a well crafted story and dialog. And, Yoshi's Island went for controlling Yoshi and a "kids drew this" look from start to end. Super Mario 64 took things 3D. Sunshine focused entirely on a tropical island vacation look (and paint and water effects). The "blandness" well.. that started just where you said it did. I really do hope they are breaking away from the sterility that so very many giant companies bottle their properties into. Going on character design, Mario and the gang's sprites constantly changed in that 2D era. They weren't afraid to do their own thing and go styled from one game to the next, and I loved them for it. It's what I grew up on. "Mario is always creative" as grandpa never said, but we believed it. Heck Paper Mario was just another expression OF that uniqueness and we cheered that too. Nintendo's other huge series? Zelda. I have to credit Zelda here. They never gave up unique looks from one game to the next. They don't change it EVERY game, but they do tend to change it every couple of games at least, at least once a generation.

[@xXRaisinCakeXx]

It’s kinda ironic (yet understandable) that NSMBDS is lumped in with the rest of the New series when it had all sorts of unique enemies and bosses. And it even introduced Dry Bowser, even going so far as to include a scene of Bowser falling into lava and having his flesh melt off and turning into Dry Bowser.

[@emmetstanevich2121]

Yeah, NSMBDS had a lot of new stuff. Even if the gane didn't have a "gimmick" like the other games, I would argue that its gimmick was simply the DS's horsepower, back when polygonal graphics on a handheld was a novelty.

[@fractiouslemon]

I'm 100% convinced that the "Mario Mandates" were part of the movie contract with Illumination. Not wanting Hollywood to do, let's face it, what Hollywood does with movie interpretations, they create a series of incredibly strict rules about how the characters and world can be portrayed. And in order to make sure Illumination holds their end of the bargain, Nintendo had to do the same. Sure, there were some changes here and there in the movie, but nothing so extreme that it felt absolutely wrong. We even knew that there was talk going on between Nintendo and Universal around the time of the Wii U. And now, with the movie being released and a feel for that series established, suddenly Mario is back to being this wacky, goofball game series where anything can happen. It really feels like a situation of "Whew. We managed to get our toys back from the neighborhood kid without them getting broken! Now we can play with them the way we like again!”

[@muuid1sk]

Very well said!

[@jacksondenis9052]

Absolutely not. Nintendo was incredibly hands on. They could have not allowed anything they didn’t want. So this theory is incredibly stupid

[@fractiouslemon]

@@jacksondenis9052 You'd be surprised how tricky these things can get. I'm not saying my theory's absolutely true. It's only assumption and nothing more. All I'm saying is that it would make sense if there was a contractual obligation to keep things on brand during the movie process.

[@Vaquix000]

@@fractiouslemon Not sure about this, though the timing does give some credibility to the theory.

[@fractiouslemon]

@@Vaquix000 We all know how protective Nintendo is of their IP's and how much Hollywood loves to screw up video game adaptations. Mix that with their long-running refusal to even attempt a Mario movie again and just the general red tape that projects usually have to go through... I'm just saying it seems plausible.

[@Frederik-DK]

Something I noticed was that the Superstar Saga remake had to change it’s art for the standard Mario enemies to fit with that “snapshot”, however that is NOT the case with the TTYD remake, so i assume the rules at the very least have been loosened a lot.

[@SliderGamer55]

I sure hope so. Nintendo has never forgotten that Mario games are supposed to have fun gameplay, but barring a few notable exceptions, it felt like they forgot that they're also supposed to be charming. And its hard to be charming when the characters just exist to be recognizable characters and creatures from an IP. They need more than the bare minimum of personality. And Mario Wonder and the two Mario RPG remakes and Princess Peach with a bunch of new costumes to do brand new things is so much more what I want than just "well made video game that just happens to have the most recognizable Mario things possible". That's why Luigi's Mansion 3 stood out to people, it had actual new characters and a level of charm to everything that made it seem fresh and endearing in a way that I rarely get from even some of the better Mario games nowadays.

[@rumbleroller2154]

(7:27) You know, Paper Mario 64 had Bow. And Bow was actually my favorite partner too...

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Thank god. With Mario Odyssey and Mario Wonder I'm so glad they've gone in this direction with Mario. Hope it stays this way imo

[@the_godbodor7026]

As someone who dearly loves the cast of Super Paper Mario, I really hope all of this shows that they’re gonna go back to those old ways of unique and interesting characters. And if they do that again, maybe Bleck’s crew could make some cameos sometime

[@boltstrike2787]

Well Bleck and Tippi are probably gone for good and we should let them have their happy ending, but I wouldn't be opposed to seeing O'Chunks, Mimi, and Dimentio again.

[@the_godbodor7026]

@boltstrike2787 Yeah, I don’t expect to see Bleck or Tippi back but they can easily bring O’Chunks, Mimi, Dimentio, and Nastasia back

[@RallyeGuy340]

The creativity behind Super Mario Odyssey is a huge reason why it quickly became my favorite Mario game. Incredible!

[@Hypershell]

Music can make all the difference in a Mario game. You'd be amazed how fresh a game like NSMBWii can feel with a pumped up soundtrack (thank you, Riivolution). As for Wonder, yes, I do love how stylized the animations are and how crazy the Wonder effects are...but if I'm being honest, they had me at "Daisy's in it."

[@Antasma1]

I am glad Nintendo is allowing this but I’m still skeptical on how they would actually make the next Paper Mario

[@Boulder7685]

“It’s E3 twenty-twenty-twelve” My brain is spinning and the video’s barely started

[@ThePonderer]

I was just having the thought earlier this week that we were leaving the “Bland Era” of Mario

[@uberculex]

Eh, the only bland series was the new super mario bros series. Odyssey had T-rexes and humans. Mario Maker had weird creepy uncle Mario thing and cat paws to remove blocks.

[@ryko1478]

​@@uberculex I think the transition started when Odyssey came out and has just been completed

[@uberculex]

@@ryko1478 Mario Maker was a Wii U game. Galaxy and Galaxy 2 came before that.

[@Kagari-lf3me]

Thank the people that complained about PM being too "different", so they changed it and made it follow the strict mario formula. I don't know how well the recent entries did, but maybe Nintendo learned that being more creative on their titles leads to more sales.

[@TheCeruleanKnight7]

I think if Wonder does well, Nintendo will throw their rules away, but if not, then they will be enforced stronger.

[@megamanzero29]

I enjoy new soup every so often but with the direction Mario games are going Nintendo is definitely trying to spice things up about the Mario franchise

[@raycraft001]

Man, e3 202012 was amazing, truly one of the e3s of all time

[@Adder6112]

7:37 honestly i feel like the rule applies mostly to spin off titles, so Nintendo doesn't have to deal with strange obscure characters like geno being highly requested by fans, when Nintendo doesn't have the 100% right to said character, Nintendo has show that they are VERY STRICT when it comes to any matters of copyright, so id say it lines up

[@Emcy]

I don’t know if i would call traditional mario “bland”; it will always be charming and unique (at least to me), the problem is that nintendo went back to it, its was charming and nostalgic at first, but it stuck around for way longer than it should have

[@apeterson13]

Why is Arlo dancing with cereal so entertaining

[@Ricendeans]

If there’s 100 3D World supporters, I am one of them. If there are no 3D World supporters, I am dead. Sure, visually at first glance it seems copy paste but I think there’s so much more creativity in there than it gets credit for. New enemies, allies, environments, level designs, and so on. It’s biggest detractor is that it’s not quite a full 3D Mario game and it’s also not a 2D Mario game, so it’s unfair to compare it to either imo.

[@jaretco6423]

I agree. 3D World is amazing. I don't care if anyone says it doesn't do that much into creativity or if it's 3D Land on HD console, it does everything perfectly of transition of an 2D perspective into an 3D game and combined with great gameplay, level designs, etc., it's definitely as fun as people give it credit for.

[@rodrigo53]

I don’t think you want Super Mario then, mate. The fact that you can’t appreciate the creativity of such rich and crazy world where turtles are bad guys, a plumber of italian descent travels through deserts, oceans, castles, flying ships, riding a freaking dinosaur, to rescue a princess raised by mushrooms,etc is testament of how successful the franchise’s intention of normalisation was. There are very few normalised worlds in works of fiction, star wars, middle earth, dragon ball, where strange ends up perceived as natural, but none of them is crazier than Super Mario World.

[@probium2832]

all that was missing was mario and luigi NOW WE FINALLY GET IT

[@thebluerage03]

E3 202012 got me to laugh right off the bat. Idc if it was intentional or not, but that has me rolling. Thank you lmao, needed that today

[@davidklein8608]

You failed to mention the 2 Mario Maker games that were creative in their own way. The familiar Mario formula allowed the player to create their own levels. 2D Mario games started focusing more on platforming challenge and skill with the added challenge runs, New Super Luigi U, and the insane kaizo levels players made in MM.

[@SobmicSSBB]

Our Lord and Saviour Super Mario Maker 2

[@Shinntoku]

I'm defense of bland regular platformer Mario, I think it does serve two purposes: for one it gives new fans a chance to experience those more classic Mario experience with new hardware, and they make the games like Galaxy and Sunshine stand out even more

[@Thatdankkoala]

Maybe we'll finally get to see Toadsworth again

[@EpicurusStan]

Vanilla is low-key, my favorite ice cream flavor.

[@Linealo]

I hope to see MUCH more experimental stuff with Mario Kart now that 8 and Tour are both coming to an end together. Bring back ideas from DiddyKong Racing? Maybe take some inspiration from other fun racers like the Sega ones? Or perhaps, and most likely, invent something else completely new? Take away the wheels and let them race by foot like in Rayman M? Make the tracks much more involved, dynamic and embrace player agency? Give us a different art style and work with visual morphing through game eras? One track being pixelated 8bit including the racers, another being more reminiscent of the GameBoy era and all being able to be combined? A mode where EVERY track is continuously fused to another? Thinking about fusion, maybe something where not only themes and styles are fused, but where you can actually choose 3 tracks and they fuse to make one, each becoming a lap of sorts? Or give us a definitive thematic setting like being shrunken down or let us race through iconic levels of Mario history? There's so much they could do and now that we've seen some new philosophies on how game development is approached, I hope other games get a bump of flavour as well. I think the 3 main ingredients are still Innovation, Familiarity and Nostalgia. If the new games can capture each of those in a nice twist, like Mario Wonder seems to try, then we're in for a treat!

[@creeperizak8971]

The Thousand Year Door remake is going to be my first time playing Thousand Year Door.

[@NocturnalMelody]

It’s a blast, an amazing adventure with great characters and a finale with surprisingly high stakes. I hope you have fun with it!

[@darian6871]

Pretty sure Nintendo is leading up to a stylized 3D Open world Mario game on whatever the next Nintendo console is

[@madnessarcade7447]

Bland is a bit of a misinterpretation Even when it was “safe” it was still pretty quirky and whimsical and unique and unlike other franchises

[@ratedr7845]

Nah

[@trentb3148]

I think one thing Arlo might have missed because of not playing Super Mario RPG, but I honestly felt like that dedication to nostalgia started with the first Paper Mario game, and progressed from there. Hell, I avoided playing the Paper Mario games when I was younger precisely because I felt like they were such a huge step back from Super Mario RPG creatively. Now, to be fair, that probably wasn't a fair assessment, as I was basing that just on the media I'd seen on the games (like Arlo with Super Mario RPG, I'd like to play the Paper Mario series for the first time when TTYD remake is released). It just bummed me out to see the world retreat back to the Mushroom Kingdom, along with seeming to simplify the RPG elements, when Paper Mario was supposed to be a successor. I'm sure I didn't give it a fair shake, I just thought it was funny that Arlo views the first Paper Mario games as the pinnacle of outside-the-box Mario, whereas I felt it was the beginning of that push back toward the tried and true. So I'll be really interested to see what Arlo thinks of the SMRPG remake.

[@sukamadik5983]

Mario was never bland but I'll watch since it's Arlo's video.

[@nickk3077]

Hey! You can’t just say a game like Bowser’s Fury, a game that literally takes so many of its design elements from 3D World and remixes them, is very creative while saying Paper Mario Color Splash is the epitome of bland Mario.

[@SknowingWolf]

I really do hope the creative streak continues. It is very possible that for ttyd and rpg they simply didn't want to change the game fans remember, so I'm not sure how hard of evidence that is of them leaning into creativity, but here's hoping. Honestly based on what tanabe and other devs have said, and his own words in interviews, I sadly feel like it's miyamoto that's holding back some of these games because of his outdated views. Devs want to make something new, and he just wants it all to stay the same without rocking the boat. Which on the one hand, I mean if it ain't broke don't fix it I guess is his mentality, but clearly devs and fans alike want something new and exciting, and it feels like its him standing in the way of it. I could be wrong but that's what it's been feeling like to me.

[@brianm279]

I still feel like the giant dragon in the Ruined Kingdom in Odyssey is a weird stand-out in the game. Probably the only thing.

[@mattsen4297]

They'll give us a splash of creativity like they did with Odyssey then leave it behind never to be heard of again

[@byzantineroman2407]

Luigi's Mansion 3, Super Mario Odyssey, Bowser's Fury, Wonder all in the past few years leads me to believe that the blandness has come to an end.

[@GatorOne-in7hk]

“The rules are being tossed in the trash… where they BELONG!!” Oh, it felt great hearing Arlo say that. After years and years of Nintendo being stubborn and lazy, at long last they are allowing Mario to be truly great again. You love to see it.

[@JamienautMark2]

I like the term basic. The best Mario games are the most strange and creative. Not just rehashing ideas that made Mario 3 and World so great.

[@santiagoacosta3372]

You are a really good puppeteer ❤

[@Kingery2011]

“E3 twenty-twenty-twelve” too good.

[@magetsalive5162]

Talk whatever crap you want about Super Paper Mario, but that story was impressive. I wouldn't mind a return to that level or better of storytelling. (Edit: Just noticed I had a T where an R was supposed to be.)

[@NostalJackMusic]

1:03 “it’s E3 202012…” haha, this little slip makes me really appreciate how good Arlo is at this, especially when you consider his on-camera segments. You never hear him have even little mistakes like this, so I chuckle at this, but really gotta give it up to such a pro! 👏🏼

[@HiroesX81]

I used to think Mario would never be able to improve and evolve beyond Super Mario World. I have been proven wrong time and time again. But I can understand why the New SMB games felt very samey. They really did. However I think Nintendo finally got the message after a rough patch

[@Elykar]

I think the only "bland" games were the last couple "New" games, true. However they also were VERY polished gameplay-wise which is always more important to me than "trimmings" like art style or character design. I also am an unapologetic fan of the new Paper Mario games and I'm glad they are different from the older ones. I think Origami King's combat is the best concept of Mario RPG combat since the debut title personally, although I think they could have pushed it a little farther. Regardless, I think SMB Wonder really is exactly what I was looking for. It has the mix of new and old that really excites me.

[@retrofan4963]

Nah. Gameplay wise, New Super Mario Bros games are not that good and are even much inferior than the OG Super Mario Bros games(1 - World). NSMB series may be polished, but they're still forgettable, step down and overall not anything good at all. The problem with the new Paper Mario games as well is not that they're different, it's that they're bland and they're not good RPG games at all, with a lot of flaws that prevented them to be any good. They don't offer new experiences, everything what the new Paper Mario games did, the first three Paper Mario games did it but a lot better. Additionally with more unique characters and more effort in events and story. Mario isn't a perfect franchise. It made mistakes, NSMB series and the new Paper Mario games are one of em.

[@Elykar]

@retrofan4963 Don't agree, the control style and mechanics of NSMB games are polished to perfection and insinuating otherwise is ridiculous, even if you personally don't prefer or can't grasp them. In addition, the minor cosmetic differences of characters don't really add anything substantial to GAMEPLAY which is the most important part of any video GAME.

[@ArtAngelMouse]

Bland is one of those words that wouldn't cross my mind when it comes to Mario.

[@Squeezee114]

I always felt like Nintendo being so protective of Mario’s games was strange. Like everyone knows who Mario is, so even if he was in a strange ‘non-Mario’ scenario, it’s still Mario, it’s still that guy everybody knows

[@colingznetworkplus4618]

The Mario mandates are a myth lowkey

[@Luxembourgish]

Except he literally provides proof for Paper Mario at 6:46. Paper Mario is literally mandated by an IP Team.

[@cycloneabsol9405]

My working theory about Nintendo going in their new, less bland direction is this: Arlo's right, and 2024 is when we either get or see announced the Switch 2. So right now, they're testing the waters. They remake two old, popular, story-driven Mario games, quite possibly either licensing them out or using like, 2% of their total developer base, to see if they sell. THEN, after those games are released, they'll make their final decision on if they want to lean in on interesting Mario games or go back to basics.