Special Bonus: Yoshi Series Skins

YOSHI SERIES

CHARACTER SKINS

Like I said, the Yoshi series was stupid easy to get through, so here's eight color swaps for each of its ten fighters:

1.       Shy Guy

a.       A typical red Shy Guy

b.       A Snifit

c.       A Spear Guy

d.       A Fly Guy

e.       A blue Shy Guy

f.        A yellow Shy Guy

g.       A green Shy Guy

h.       A black Shy Guy

2.       Yoshi

a.       Green Yoshi

b.       Pink Yoshi

c.       Light Blue Yoshi

d.       Yellow Yoshi

e.       Purple Yoshi

f.        Red Yoshi

g.       Blue Yoshi

h.       Baby Yoshi from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

3.       Kamek

a.       Kamek as he normally appears

b.       Kamek in a normal blue robe without the white stripe

c.       Kamek in a red robe

d.       Kamek in a yellow robe

e.       Kamek in a white robe

f.        Kamek in a green robe

g.       Kamek in a purple robe

h.       Giant Kamek from Super Princess Peach

4.       Baby Mario

a.       Baby Mario

b.       Baby Luigi

c.       Baby Peach

d.       Baby Daisy

e.       Baby Rosalina

f.        Baby Wario

g.       Baby Waluigi

h.       Baby Donkey Kong

5.       Bandit

a.       The standard blue Bandit

b.       A Green Glove

c.       A Slugger

d.       A Grunt

e.       Zeus Guy

f.        A purple Badge Bandit

g.       A pink Bandit

h.       Bandy Andy from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

6.       Poochy

a.       Poochy as he normally appears

b.       Poochy with red spots

c.       Poochy with blue spots

d.       Poochy with green spots

e.       Poochy with pink spots

f.        Poochy with yellow spots

g.       A Poochy Pup

h.       Yarn Poochy

7.       Tiny Mouser

a.       Your standard purple Tiny Mouser

b.       Ms. Mowz (with name change)

c.       The blue Tiny Mouser skin

d.       The black Tiny Mouser skin

e.       Basically, the original Mouser’s head as a Tiny Mouser

f.        Moustafa from Paper Mario

g.       A Tiny Mouser from Yoshi’s Woolly World

h.       A Tiny Mouser from Yoshi’s Crafted World

8.       Ukiki

a.       A standard Ukiki from the Yoshi series

b.       Ukiki as he appears in Super Mario 64

c.       A red Ukiki

d.       A green Ukiki

e.       A purple Ukiki

f.        The Ukikis in sailor suits from Mario Party 7

g.       The Chimp from Super Mario Galaxy

h.       Uckykong

9.       Baby Bowser

a.       Your standard Baby Bowser

b.       A red Baby Bowser skin

c.       A blue Baby Bowser skin

d.       A pink Baby Bowser skin

e.       A more brown Baby Bowser skin

f.        A purple Baby Bowser skin

g.       Baby Bowser as he appears in Yoshi’s Story (all polygonal and such)

h.       Yarn Baby Bowser

10.   Yarn Yoshi

a.       Green Yarn Yoshi

b.       Red Yarn Yoshi

c.       Blue Yarn Yoshi

d.       Light Blue Yarn Yoshi

e.       Yellow Yarn Yoshi

f.        Pink Yarn Yoshi

g.       Black Yarn Yoshi

h.       Mario Yarn Yoshi

And now, we have one left for the Mario rosters. I'm sure we'll be seeing that in a couple of days or so.

Yoshi Classic Mode

CLASSIC MODE

I kinda have no idea. A lot of Yoshi games don’t stick to one biome world by world, and I am also not intensely familiar with any one game the way I am with games like Mario 64 or Thousand-Year Door. Either way, for Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, there would be eight main battles, and they’d probably be based on the most common biome of each, with the Yoshi’s Island stage as the first, and fighting enemies common to each. The game would end at a fight with Kamek and a giant Baby Bowser on Baby Bowser’s Castle.

Yoshi Assist Trophies

 And here's a couple of assist trophies I thought of:

a.       Burt the Bashful: he will basically just stand in the middle of the stage, crowding out the fighters. Each hit he takes will make his pants drop a bit until they finally fall off and he turns red, fleeing from the stage.

b.       Lunge Fish: it will sit at one corner of the stage, looking bored like it does, before lunging forward, swallowing a character, and pulling them down.

c.       Spirit Who Loves Surprises: he will vanish after his initial appearance, before jumping out at the screen to startle the player at a randomly selected time afterwards.

Yoshi Stage Roster

And here's our stages. If this were a real game, which stage would you pick to play on first?

Yoshi

The hero of this roster would first appear in Super Mario World, wherein Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach travel to the distant continent of Dinosaur Land, only to find that a curse has been placed on island’s friendliest inhabitants, trapping them all in eggs.

These are the Yoshis, or Yoshi for the most prominent member. Yoshis would prove incredibly popular, acting as steeds and companions for Mario again and again throughout the series, even seeing a spinoff series of their own with multiple entries.

Their attributes in game will match their attributes in the current Smash games, being light and fast with strong floaty aerials. His moveset will pull from all of his multiple appearances and abilities, most especially his ability to eat enemies and turn them into eggs.

Likelihood rating: Already in

Mario Party Superstars

MARIO PARTY SUPERSTARS

For as big a deal as this game was and as hype as it is, this blog is actually going to be really easy. Literally everything in it comes from something that we covered before. Our playable characters include Mario and Luigi, Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina, Yoshi and Birdo, Wario and Waluigi, and Donkey Kong. We have only five game boards pulling from the first three Mario Party games, specifically Peach's Birthday Cake and Yoshi's Tropical Island from 1, Space Land and Horror Land from 2, and Woody Woods from 3. Then we have a bunch of minigames brought back from every game in the series. Toad returns as the host, Boo returns in his old mechanic, Bowser plays the boss and Bowser Jr. fills the Koopa Kid role, Koopa acts as your tutorial, and Toadette holds the stars. That's pretty much it.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Daisy

Rosalina

Toad

Bowser

Donkey Kong

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Cranky Kong

King K. Rool

Yoshi

Birdo

Wario

Waluigi

Mushroom King

Wooster

Toadofski

Stages:

Kero Sewers

Tadpole Pond

Kongo Jungle

Kremling Isle

Peach's Birthday Cake

Yoshi's Tropical Island

Horror Land

Space Land

Woody Woods

Thanks for reading! Now, this would be the point I'd do a bunch of character sheets. We have no characters to add though, so . . . on to the merchandise!

Super Mario World (TV Series)

SUPER MARIO WORLD

You know, I didn't think it'd be possible for anything to make me dislike Yoshi, but . . . here we are. Super Mario World is the third season of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, once again reworked to be more based on Super Mario World. Toad has gone mysteriously missing because he wasn't in that game, and Mario, Luigi, and Peach now live in a caveman world where they try to help teach the local cavepeople about modern technology. They are also now accompanied by Yoshi, whose characterization here is not exactly something I'm a fan of.

First up, we have our heroes: Mario and Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Yoshi, and, on occasion, a young caveboy named Oogtar. The Mario brothers use fire flowers, springs, and capes, can inflate, and play tennis. Princess Toadstool also does a lot of the same stuff she did before. As for Yoshi, he is basically the Yoshi of the games in terms of ability, using his tongue, shooting fireballs, and flying with wings. Oogtar swings around on a vine, rides on a wheels, uses rope, picks berries, hoes, and uses a club.

King Koopa returns, making good use of his Klown Kar, and he is joined once again by the TV versions of his Koopalings. Most of them don't do too much more than they did before (each basically just getting one episode of focus each), though Kooky does build a giant robot called the Mega-Mechanisaur. Another major villain we see is Wizenheimer, a sorta Kamek-esque Magikoopa who calls down lightning, creates bombs, vanishes, hypnotizes people, and turns people into eggs. Another group worth mentioning is the Dino Riders, a trio of dinosaurs who ride around on motorcycles, graffiti walls, use stink bombs, and throw bowls.

As for our enemies, we see most of those that appear in-game, including Koopas, Rexes (who throw pies and use weapons; that coupled with previous game appearances might give me something), Piranha Plants, Chargin' Chucks, Porcupuffers, Dino Rhinos, Blarggs, Mechakoopas, Thwomps, Dry Bones, Wigglers, Boos, Monty Moles, Sumo Bros, and Dolphins.

As for stages, most of the action takes place in Dome City, the home of the cavemen, while King Koopa lives in the Neon Castle, each of his children having a palace of their own. We also see Lava Pits, an Enchanted Forest, a Haunted House, and the Star Path.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

TV Mario: plungers, wrenches, plumber's snakes, climb with plungers, pizza cutters, pizzas, spaghetti, fire flowers, fireballs, growing giant, invincibility, raccoon tail, frog suit, handstands, toss, chisels, fire flower, spring, cape, inflate, tennis

TV Luigi: plungers, wrenches, plumber's snakes, climb with plungers, pizza cutters, pizzas, spaghetti, fire flowers, fireballs, growing giant, invincibility, raccoon tail, frog suit, handstands, toss, chisels, fire flower, spring, cape, inflate, tennis

Princess Toadstool: flowers, sled, vegetables, float, shrinking wand, surfing, paraglider, P-Wing, tennis

TV Toad: flowers, snowboard, biker, hat parachute, vegetables, surfs, disguises as plant, powerful wand, giant pipe creatures, P-Wing.

Yoshi: tongue, wings, breathe fire, extendable tail, eat everything.

Oogtar: swing, rope, wheel, berries, hoe, club.

King Koopa: snowmobile, cage, Piranha Plant gun, door potion, magic carpet, net, vampire, turn people to stone, flies a plane, freezes people, hat shield, catapult, pesticide, grow gigantic, giant shoe, magic, Klown Kar.

Cheatsy: magic wand, transform, pull things from TV, booby traps.

Big Mouth: tornado breath, bo staff.

Kootie Pie: tantrum, throws things, wrap in a scarf.

Bully: nunchaku, fire hose, garbage.

Kooky: time travel machine, rain machine, Lame Brainer, nice spray, Koopa Doopa raiser-upper, Goopa, Mega Mechanisaur

Hip and Hop: ball.

Robo Koopa: bullet bills, bombs from the toe, laser cage, stomp, fist from the chest, rocket pack.

Mouser: bombs, Cobrats, BMX bike, mace, spinning hat, dinosaur

Tryclyde: spits fireballs, poison, net, trident, sword, BMX bike

Koopa: spin in shell, BMX bike, Werekoopa

Wizenheimer: lightning, fog, create bombs, hypnotize, vanish, egg transformation

Dino Riders: motorcycles, graffiti, throw bowls, stink bob-omb

Birdo: wings

Flurries: ski, ice skate, carve up blocks of ice, ice wands

Beezos: fly, spears, lances, swords, rope, nets

Rex: spears, pies, other things from the previous games

Mervin the Magician: teleport, vanish, see the future, golden plunger, plumber's snake

Genie: trampoline, stink spell, flying spell, lamp, magic carpet

Mark Twang: steamboat, rope, cannon

Brutius Maximus Grouchimus: throws shells, lions

Queen Rotunda: strength, love potion

Captain Clump: peg leg, parrot, barrel, club, rigging launch

Bunsen: hacks into computers, drills, Plumbinator, plunger sword, flyswatter, shoots eggs

Sheldon the Witch Doctor: brews potion

Mermushroom: swim, whale

Hercufleas: great fireball, launch fire, race really fast, swing a pillar

Salvado Drainaro: plumbing focus

Hooded Robin: flies, shoots plunger arrows

Flab Boys: throwing discs, zapping, boosting, bouncing on their large bellies, exploding disc launcher, rolling around

James Blonde: wrench phone, explosive drain cleaner, atomic screwdriver, laser drill, plumber missiles, pummel gun, hose nozzle with a mini plunger

Vampa White, fireballs, fangs, turn into bat, werekoopa

Zero: whip, rapier, fly with cape, cacti, turnips

Captain Abidab: harpoon, plunger shooter, rope, bucket, catapult, divers' suit

Mugga the Medicine Woman: bone, torch, brews potions, swings on vines, dropes bones

Misaki: punches, kicks, jumping kicks, throws, chops, staffs, plunger staff, nunchaku

The Three Mushrooms: pie catapult

Pronto: plumber gun, lasso, Ostro

Sergeant Kooperman: also plumbing focus

Waldo the Wizard: shrinking potion, growing potion, floats, disappears, uses magic, enchants a flying boot

Old Gray Wolf

Quirks: horns, strong sounds, fly spaceships, shoot lasers, use magnets

Queen Mushroomkhamen: staff, stomps, wrap up in tape, smash through wall

The Wizard King of the West: powerful wand, snail steed, pipe monsters.

Junior: dropping vase, boomerang, other messes, boulder catapult.

Mighty Plumber: plunger  rope, wrench, burst of water, plumber's snake, rafting on a grate, pipe battering ram

Crime Wave Clyde: tuck  into a basketball, bob-omb chain, see some Koopalings above.

King Windbag: dog

Stages:

Snow Land

Wild West

Cramalot

Forest of Perpetual Night and Terrible Dangers

Sultan's Palace

River World

Sinister Star

Linguini Empire

Beanstalk

Rotundaland

Kingdom of Youth

Planet Quirk

Pirate Ship

Roboland

Chateau Koopula

Jungle Land

Aqualand

Mythus

Sayonara

Land of Romance

Lava Land

Snow World

Victoria

Sherwood Forest

Carland

Pasta Land

Rap Land

Spyland

Fort Hardknox

Tunnel of Doom

Cloudland

Shamrock Kingdom

Toadstool Castle

El Desert Land

Ocean World

Mighty Peapod

Koopalus

Delawide River

Swiss Cheese Alps

Caveman Land

Crime Land

Sockhop Land

Parsley Land

North Pole

Pyramid Land

Red Sauce Sea

Double Cross Ranch

Plumbers Academy

Down Under Land

King Koopa's Summer Castle

Kooplyn

Temple of Koopa

Koopatraz

Far Off Woods

Castle Koopa

Doomship

Giant Land

Desert Land

Pipe Maze

Dark Land

Sky Land

Mushroom House

Ace Magic Wand Factory

Temple of Gloom

Mertropolis

Hawaii

Brooklyn

Hollywood

Miami

Venice

Paris

Dome City

Neon Castle

Lava Pits

Enchanted Forest

Haunted House

Star Path

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Club Mario!

Mario Golf: Super Rush

MARIO GOLF: SUPER RUSH

You just couldn't do, could you, Nintendo? You just couldn't let me go without throwing me one last left-field curve ball? No, you just had to give your brand new golf game a story mode with basically a giant Mr. Blizzard as the final boss. Do you think this is funny, Nintendo? (Insert Nintendo saying "Yes" here).

Either way, Mario Golf: Super Rush is a brand new game in the Mario Golf series after seven years since World Tour. The game features a number of ease-of-life changes to the game, like lines showing you where the ball ended up, and other changes that make it a bit more exciting. For instance, speed golf has been added, a mode that lets you run to your ball, racing against your opponents, rather than just taking you directly to the ball. We also have battle golf, taking place in a big arena and everyone playing a big free-for-all.

At the moment, our roster includes Mario and Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, and Pauline, Wario and Waluigi, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Bowser and Bowser Jr., Boo, King Bob-Omb, and Chargin' Chuck in his playable debut (just want to take the meaningless brownie points of saying "I did it first, na na na na na na!"). Each have special shots and special dashes to help them in speed golf. Mario mostly uses his super star, Luigi uses the ice flower, Peach a gymnastics ribbon and Daisy a twirling baton, Wario uses lightning mostly, Waluigi is flamboyant as usual, Yoshi uses eggs, Toad uses the giant mushroom, Donkey Kong uses punches and rolls, Rosalina mostly uses her Lumas, Pauline sings "Jump Up, Superstar!", Bowser mostly uses fire, Junior uses his Klown Kar and Bullet Bills, Boo mostly uses strings of other Boos, King Bob-Omb uses a cannon and other Bob-Ombs, and Chargin' Chuck just straight up yeets the golf ball like a football (I think he's a little confused).

We also have Miis, who star in the story mode taking after the old RPG story modes where you are a young rookie golfer working their way up through the ranks. About halfway through though, the plot veers off into a story about an evil Snow King taking over Bowser's kingdom and freezing the entire area, and your character being guided to defeat him by a disembodied voice, who grants the character fire and lightning powers (which I think can be used to garnish Plum and Kid's movesets, so there's that). Across the game, you fight three bosses, an Electric Statue that fights you with lightning attacks, the Sacred Flamebeast that fights you with fireballs, and the Snow King, who, while being guarded by Mr. Blizzards all over his course, also throws giant versions of their snowballs at you, uses Freezies, freezes whole areas, and sends off shockwaves. That, along with Mr. Blizzard's own moves like throwing snowballs, bouncing around, whipping up small flurries sometimes, and even Dr. Freezegoods skiing in the Yoshi games . . . yeah, the moveset's there. Nintendo just had to do it. I . . . I . . . I think I'm a little broken right now. I'm going to need a minute.

Anyhoo, as for our stages, we have a Rookie Course to learn the ropes; Bonny Greens, a standard grassland stage; Balmy Dunes, a desert level; Wildweather Woods, a forested area with lots of weather effects; Ridgerock Lake, a rough rocky area with some tornadoes; Bowser Highlands, a combo snow-and-lava world; and the Super Golf Stadium for the battle golf. Apparently a New Donk City-based stage will appear in later DLC.

And that's it for the currently existing games! Only took two years. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: handstand, jump, crouch, spin, spin on bar, hammer, spring, key, pick up and throw, giant, float, fly

Cat Mario: glide, swipe, climb, evil cats, throw blocks, butt bash, Giga Cat Mode

Luigi: invisible

Wario: metal, Wario Man

Yoshi: fire breath, tongue

Donkey Kong: punch, barrel, stomp, jack, grow giant, throw enemies

Donkey Kong Jr.: hop, throw switches

Pauline

Birdo: Robirdo

Bowser Jr.: paintbrush, Klown Kar, hammer

All characters appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All characters appearing in the DKC series

All characters appearing in SM64

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Tiny Kong

Wizpig

Taj

Timber and the other racers

Team Captains: deny, rally, bonus block, play dead, lightning, parry, bob-omb, thwomp, face off, backup, sneak attack, shell strike, aerial, melee, long range

Best Fitness Friends: rubber bands, malatone formula, doppelganger, fire punch, barrel, spin, divebomb, screech, fire, lightning, combine, laser beam, charge, cyclone, mystery box

Poochy: run, bash through objects, spin, Poochy pups, sliding, crouching, biting a hand, eating cake, catching a ball, carrying things, catching a frisbee, pulling on a rubber band, licking things, pushing a button with his tail, rolling.

Kat & Ana

Dribble & Spitz

I8-Volt

Nabbit

Peachette

Funky Kong: surfboard

King Boo

Dry Bones

Inklings

Chargin' Chuck

King Bob-Omb

Pauline

Mr. Blizzard: snowballs, icy breeze, whirlwind, Freezie, freeze everything, shockwave, giant snowball, bounce

Golfer: fire blast, lightning, dash

Bosses:

King Bob-Omb

Goomboss

King Boo

Chief Chilly

Electric Statue

Sacred Flamebeast

Snow King

Stages:

Construction Site

Big City

Forest

Ship

Jungle

Desert

Airplane

Iceberg

Rocky-Valley

All stages appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All stages appearing in DKC series

Palm Beach

Poison Swamp

Secret Factory

Ice Area

All locations in Diddy Kong Racing

Minions Battlefield

Dribble & Spitz Rally

Kat & Ana's Sky Patrol

Jet 18Volt

World-9 Cloud

Battle Stadium

Sweet Sweet Kingdom

Dragon Palace

Lunar Colony

Wuhu Town

Luigi's Mansion

Battle Course 1

Urchin Underpass

Lake Lapcat

Mount Magmeow

Rookie Course

Bonny Greens

Balmy Dunes

Wildweather Woods

Ridgerock Lake

Bowser Highlands

Super Golf Stadium

New Donk City

Thanks for reading! Now, the brand new four (excuse me) five characters to be added, starting with Cat Mario!

Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World

POOCHY & YOSHI'S WOOLLY WORLD

Today, let's cover Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, a re-release of Yoshi's Woolly World, with a bonus set of levels based entirely around Poochy. The levels are fairly simple, gameplay-wise, with Poochy running at top speed through a course. He is strong enough to bash through objects on the course and spin in the air. He also has a number of Poochy pups he can rescue. Even more importantly though, a number of stop-motion animations were released alongside the game, starring Poochy and the Yoshis. Outside of just being the cutest thing ever put to video, the videos also show Poochy sliding, crouching, biting a hand, eating cake, catching a ball, carrying things, catching a frisbee, pulling on a rubber band, licking things, pushing a button with his tail, and rolling. Yes, I am in fact using all of this to give Poochy a moveset.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: handstand, jump, crouch, spin, spin on bar, hammer, spring, key, pick up and throw, giant, float, fly

Luigi: invisible

Wario: metal, Wario Man

Yoshi: fire breath, tongue

Donkey Kong: punch, barrel, stomp, jack, grow giant, throw enemies

Donkey Kong Jr.: hop, throw switches

Pauline

Birdo: Robirdo

Bowser Jr.: paintbrush, Klown Kar, hammer

All characters appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All characters appearing in the DKC series

All characters appearing in SM64

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Tiny Kong

Wizpig

Taj

Timber and the other racers

Team Captains: deny, rally, bonus block, play dead, lightning, parry, bob-omb, thwomp, face off, backup, sneak attack, shell strike, aerial, melee, long range

Best Fitness Friends: rubber bands, malatone formula, doppelganger, fire punch, barrel, spin, divebomb, screech, fire, lightning, combine, laser beam, charge, cyclone, mystery box

Poochy: run, bash through objects, spin, Poochy pups, sliding, crouching, biting a hand, eating cake, catching a ball, carrying things, catching a frisbee, pulling on a rubber band, licking things, pushing a button with his tail, rolling.

Kat & Ana

Dribble & Spitz

I8-Volt

Nabbit

Peachette

Funky Kong: surfboard

King Boo

Dry Bones

Inklings

Bosses:

King Bob-Omb

Goomboss

King Boo

Chief Chilly

Stages:

Construction Site

Big City

Forest

Ship

Jungle

Desert

Airplane

Iceberg

Rocky-Valley

All stages appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All stages appearing in DKC series

Palm Beach

Poison Swamp

Secret Factory

Ice Area

All locations in Diddy Kong Racing

Minions Battlefield

Dribble & Spitz Rally

Kat & Ana's Sky Patrol

Jet 18Volt

World-9 Cloud

Battle Stadium

Sweet Sweet Kingdom

Dragon Palace

Lunar Colony

Wuhu Town

Luigi's Mansion

Battle Course 1

Urchin Underpass

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World!

Super Mario 64 DS

SUPER MARIO 64 DS

Today, let's go over the Super Mario 64 remake for the Nintendo DS. Now, Super Mario 64 is one of my favorite games of all time, so my coverage this time may be much more in depth than previous remakes, because I know the game by heart and the differences stand out more. That said, this one seems to have much more prominent major changes as is, so maybe that's it.

Anyway, one of the biggest changes is that you now have four playable characters to choose from: Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi. Each of the four have distinct abilities that give you specific reasons to switch between them. For instance, the power-ups now come in the form of a flower instead of hats, which gives the different characters the old cap abilities. Luigi is the only one now capable of using the pixel cap (because ghosts or something), Wario is now sole user of the metal cap (because heavy, I guess), Mario now inflates like he does in Super Mario World, and Yoshi breathes fire. Mario can also access the wing cap through a feather now, and he can become a giant through a mushroom.

Other changes have been added to the castle and the stages. A playroom has been added inside the castle, allowing you to unlock the game's minigames and switch between the playable characters. Whomp's Fortress has a new grassy area around one side of it, Jolly Roger Bay makes it much simpler to raise the pirate ship, switch stars and silver stars have been added to most levels, a special King Boo area has been added to Big Boo's Haunt, the submarine remains in Dire Dire Docks after the first star, you can use the pixel cap to pass through the mirror in the Snowman's Land room, the inside of Snowman's Land's igloo is completely different and the ice maze has changed, a walkway has been added to the waterfall area in Tall Tall Mountain, and there's a floor to Tick Tock Clock instead of a bottomless pit (kinda removes the thrill a bit, honestly).

Also a few mini-worlds have been added in here and there. These include Palm Beach, Poison Swamp, Secret Factory, and Ice Area, most of which are exactly what they sound like. We also get a few new bosses, including Goomboss from Paper Mario, King Boo, and a brand-new boss Chief Chilly. King Bob-Omb has also been updated to throw bombs instead of just picking you up and throwing you.

That's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: handstand, jump, crouch, spin, spin on bar, hammer, spring, key, pick up and throw, giant, float, fly

Luigi: invisible

Wario: metal

Yoshi: fire breath, tongue

Donkey Kong: punch, barrel, stomp, jack, grow giant, throw enemies

Donkey Kong Jr.: hop, throw switches

Pauline

Birdo: Robirdo

All characters appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All characters appearing in the DKC series

All characters appearing in SM64

Bosses:

King Bob-Omb

Goomboss

King Boo

Chief Chilly

Stages:

Construction Site

Big City

Forest

Ship

Jungle

Desert

Airplane

Iceberg

Rocky-Valley

All stages appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All stages appearing in DKC series

Palm Beach

Poison Swamp

Secret Factory

Ice Area

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover the Classic NES series!

Game & Watch Galleries

GAME & WATCH GALLERIES

I wasn't going to lump these initially, but . . . ehh, I'm tired and I want to get on with it already. These aren't that different anyway. The Game & Watch Gallery series is a series of collections of old Game & Watch games, retouched with newer graphics, and replacing the generic stick-figure-esque characters with Mario characters.

The series features five games if you include their predecessor Game Boy Gallery. This one doesn't feature Mario characters like the others, but it does include Cement Factory, so I guess it technically counts. Game Boy Gallery features the games Ball, Vermin, Flagman, Manhole, and Cement Factory, all relatively the same as they originally were.

Game & Watch Gallery features Manhole, with Yoshi holding the manholes up for Mario, Donkey Kong Jr., and Toad; Fire, with Mario and Luigi holding the trampoline for Yoshi, Donkey Kong Jr., and Toad; Octopus, with Mario diving and Peach waiting on the boat; and Oil Panic, with Bowser dripping the oil, Mario collecting it, Yoshi dumping it, and Luigi and Donkey Kong as potential victims of getting splashed.

Game & Watch Gallery 2 features Parachute, with Mario steering the boat to catch Yoshi, Donkey Kong Jr., and Toad; Helmet, with Mario and Wario as the players and Paratroopas and Fly Guys dropping the objects; Chef, with Peach as the chef and Yoshi stealing the fallen food items; Vermin, with Yoshi protecting his eggs from Fly Guys and Paratroopas; and Donkey Kong (self-explanatory).

 Game & Watch Gallery 3 features Egg, with Yoshi catching cookies instead of eggs; Greenhouse, with Yoshi protecting the flowers from Ukikis and Fly Guys; Turtle Bridge, with Toad delivering items to Mario and Peach over a bridge of Goonie Birds; Mario Bros, self-explanatory; and Donkey Kong Jr., same.

Finally, Game & Watch Gallery 4 features Fire (same as before); Donkey Kong 3, with Mario standing in for Stanley; Donkey Kong Jr. (same); Mario's Cement Factory; Rain Shower, with Mario moving Toad and Donkey Kong Jr. away from Bowser's water balloons; Boxing, with Luigi up against Wiggler, Boo, and Waluigi as opponents; Chef (same); Fire Attack, with Wario protecting a statue of himself from Bob-Ombs and Bullet Bills; Octopus (same); Donkey Kong; and Mario Bros.

That's pretty much it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario/Jumpman: jump, klaptrap, cement, box a cake, bomb, juggling, hockey, trampoline, diving, bucket, rowboat, spray

Luigi: trampoline, boxing

Peach: cooking

Yoshi: eat food, hammer, hold up manhole

Donkey Kong: barrels, juggle, balance on barrel, hockey

Donkey Kong Jr.: climb vines

Bowser: oil

Wario: defend statue

Waluigi: box

Stanley: spray

Bullet Bill

Lakitu

Boo

Fly Guy

Paratroopa

Stages:

Cement Factory

Bakery

Bombs Away

Circus

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover a certain new Game & Watch game!

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

MARIO + RABBIDS: KINGDOM BATTLE

Today, let's cover one of the surprise hits of the Switch's library, an unlikely crossover between the Mario series and Ubisoft's Rabbids that surprisingly worked really well. I find myself in a bit of a tricky spot with this one, as, unlike other crossovers where the playstyle either didn't matter to any character involved, or was basically just that other series's playstyle, this game has its own playstyle and mechanics completely unique to both parties, one that I'd very much like to see represented. Let's see what we can do.

We have eight playable characters here: Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi, alongside Rabbids that got merged with a Mario fan's posters of the characters to become Rabbid Mario, Rabbid Luigi, Rabbid Peach, and Rabbid Yoshi (basically they're just dressed up in costumes of the characters). We also have Beep-O, a small Roomba-like device that acts as the controller during non-action parts of the game. During action segments, these characters work as a team, with more or less the same moveset (just kinda personalized to each). Mario has a projectile gun and a hammer, Peach has a projectile and grenade, Luigi has a projectile (the Poltergust) and a sentry he can send out, Yoshi has a projectile and an area attack, Rabbid Mario has a projectile and hammer like Mario, Rabbid Peach has a projectile and shield and also acts as the healer, Rabbid Luigi has a projectile that causes random side effects and an area attack, and Rabbid Yoshi also has a projectile and a grenade. All of these characters can also perform the team jump to bounce off of each other and get to higher places, and can use warp points to move around as well.

Outside of that, Toad and Toadette play supporting roles, and Spawny, a rabbid combined with the device that did all the combining in the first place, plays the role of damsel in distress. A talking sunflower spits up treasure chests, and random rabbids play around in the background. Finally, we have an unnamed inventor appearing at the beginning of the story, whose room gets wrecked and her life's work shot off to another dimension (and we never see it fixed, by the way).

On the enemy side, we mostly see a number of enemies made up of corrupted rabbids. There are different types, but mainly sorted in specific groups that then just have variation across the different levels. These include: Ziggies, the basic gunner enemies; Hoppers with springs on their legs; Smashers that carry around big blocks to smash you with; Supporters that heal and throw bombs; Bucklers that carry shields; Peek-a-Boos that can teleport; and Valkyries that can fire multiple rounds and ground pound.

Each level also has a boss and a midboss. The midbosses include a Piranha Plant-rabbid hybrid, a pair of sand and ice-themed rabbids, a Day of the Dead-themed rabbid named Calavera, a Wario and Waluigi rabbid, and Bowser Jr. piloting a hammer-swinging mech. The full bosses included Rabbid Kong, a temperamental monkey that doesn't do much in this boss fight, but who we'll come back to; an Icicle Golem that freezes you and wields a shield; a glorious opera-singing Phantom that throws energy balls and becomes invincible for a short time; a Lava Queen that mostly attacks with lava; and then a fusion between a lava dragon and Bowser that flies, breathes fire, butt bashes, spits meteors, and uses a shield.

We only have four main stages here, those being: Ancient Gardens, a standard Mario level that steadily changes into a towering precipice of junk; Sherbet Desert, a fusion between a desert and a snow level; Spooky Trails, a haunted level; and Lava Pit, your standard Bowser level.

Now, we have one more thing to talk about. The game received an expanded story DLC, entirely revolving around Rabbid Kong causing trouble out of jealousy and transporting himself, Rabbid Peach, and Beep-O to Donkey Kong's world, where Rabbid Peach then teams up with Donkey Kong and a Rabbid form of Cranky. Donkey and Rabbid Cranky take up the other party members' roles, and we get a new level called Tropical Island. Rabbid Kong gets an expanded boss role, making shockwaves, punching, using a banana axe by spinning it, throwing the banana as a boomerang, and spinning it like a helicopter.

I think that's about it! Here's what we've got:

Characters:

Mario: hammer, bombs, drop drum, golden hammer, pink (enemy), blue (block), yellow (metal plate), green (brick), Kanbank, throw Koopa shells, chisel, pinball, dance

Builder Mario: item blocks, arrow signs, brick blocks, rotating blocks, bridges, burners, cannons, cloud blocks, coins, conveyor belts, donut blocks, fire bars, grinders, hidden blocks, ice blocks, lifts, mushroom platforms, note blocks, one-way walls, P switches, pipes, POW blocks, spike traps, tracks, trampolines, vines, warp doors, 1-Up Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Super Leaves, Cape Feathers, Propeller Mushrooms, Super Mushrooms, Weird Mushrooms, Super Stars, Clown Car, Buzzy Beetle and Spiny Shells, Big Mushrooms, Mystery Mushrooms, Master Sword, Superball Flowers, Super Bell, Super Hammer, SMB2 Mushroom, Frog Suit, Super Acorn, Boomerang Flower, Rotten Mushroom, Cannon Box, Propeller Box, Goomba Mask, Bullet Bill Mask, reset rocket, companion characters

Luigi: same, dance

Princess Peach

Bowser, dance

Beep-O/Rabbid Mario/Luigi/Peach/Yoshi: team jump, projectile, melee, grenaduck, area attack, sentry, heal, shield

Foreman Spike: push, best option for a gimmick character, see all above

Wario: chisel, dance

Toad

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Daisy

Waluigi: dance, steal music keys

Birdo

Diddy Kong

Toadette

Toadsworth

Bowser Jr.

Petey Piranha

Rabbid Kong: shockwave, punch, spin Banana club, throw banana boomerang, helicopter spin

Koopa Troopa

Goomba

Shy Guy

Boo

Cheep Cheep

Bob-Omb

Lakitu

Pokey

Chain Chomp

Monty Mole

Ukiki

Ziggy/Rabbid Enemies: gun, springs, machine gun, block, shield, teleport, heal, bombs, ground pound

Eggplant Man: run around

Gotchawrench: run around

Slime

Platypunk

Bianca

Angelo

Jessica

Alena

Kiryl

Carver

Pudding/Princessa

Yangus

Dragonlord

Stella

Patty

Onigiri

Onnanoko

Oyazi

Dogu

Tutankoopa: float, spell

Stages:

Wrecking Crew

High Rise Building

Mario Paint

Clash House Tower

Fun Fair

Frosty Frontier

Grassy Greens

Shifting Sands

Fiery Stage

Truffle Towers

SS Brass

Corkscrew Hotel

Wario Carnival

Snowy Peak

Bowser's Castle

Yoshi's Island

Bowser's Castle

Mario Stadium

Mario Circuit

Peach's Castle

Delfino Plaza

Mushroom Kingdom

Castle Trodain

Mt. Magmageddon

Colossus

Ghost Ship

Slimenia

Alefgard

Robbin' Hood Ruins

Starship Mario

Good Egg Galaxy

Observatory

Alltrades Abbey

Mario Maker (I like the way Smash did it)

Mario Maker 2

Puzzles & Dragons

Super Mario Run

Ancient Gardens

Sherbet Desert

Spooky Trails

Lava Pit

Tropical Island

Items:

Hammers

Bombs

Drums

Blocks

Shells

Mahjong Tiles

Pinball Machine

Music Keys

1-Up Mushrooms

Fire Flowers

Super Leaves

Cape Feathers

Propeller Mushrooms

Super Mushrooms

Weird Mushrooms

Super Stars

Clown Car

Buzzy Beetle and Spiny Shells

Big Mushrooms

Mystery Mushrooms

Master Sword

Superball Flowers

Super Bell

Super Hammer

SMB2 Mushroom

Frog Suit

Super Acorn

Boomerang Flower

Rotten Mushroom

Cannon Box

Propeller Box

Goomba Mask

Bullet Bill Mask

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's finish this hodge-podge with Super Mario Bros. 35!

Super Mario Run

SUPER MARIO RUN

Today, let's cover Super Mario Run, a mobile game that sees Mario automatically running left to right across a number of levels crossing the gamut of standard Mario biomes. The gameplay is pretty simple, with you just tapping so that he jumps to avoid obstacles. Mario is the main playable character, but Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, Toadette, and Yoshi can also be unlocked. There's not really any variation between them, just letting you play as your favorite among them (Toad or Toadette for me, per se). Basically every enemy you know and love crops up, including Goombas, Koopas, Piranha Plants, Boos and Stretches, Bullet Bills, Swoops, Lakitus and Spinies, Ninjis, Buzzy Beetles, Fuzzies, Pokeys, Spikes, Rocky Wrenches, Bob-Ombs, Goombrats, Scaredy Rats, Scuttlebugs, and Ptooies, with Boom Boom and Bowser as bosses.

That's really all there is to say. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: hammer, bombs, drop drum, golden hammer, pink (enemy), blue (block), yellow (metal plate), green (brick), Kanbank, throw Koopa shells, chisel, pinball, dance

Builder Mario: item blocks, arrow signs, brick blocks, rotating blocks, bridges, burners, cannons, cloud blocks, coins, conveyor belts, donut blocks, fire bars, grinders, hidden blocks, ice blocks, lifts, mushroom platforms, note blocks, one-way walls, P switches, pipes, POW blocks, spike traps, tracks, trampolines, vines, warp doors, 1-Up Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Super Leaves, Cape Feathers, Propeller Mushrooms, Super Mushrooms, Weird Mushrooms, Super Stars, Clown Car, Buzzy Beetle and Spiny Shells, Big Mushrooms, Mystery Mushrooms, Master Sword, Superball Flowers, Super Bell, Super Hammer, SMB2 Mushroom, Frog Suit, Super Acorn, Boomerang Flower, Rotten Mushroom, Cannon Box, Propeller Box, Goomba Mask, Bullet Bill Mask, reset rocket, companion characters

Luigi: same, dance

Princess Peach

Bowser, dance

Foreman Spike: push, best option for a gimmick character, see all above

Wario: chisel, dance

Toad

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Daisy

Waluigi: dance, steal music keys

Birdo

Diddy Kong

Toadette

Toadsworth

Bowser Jr.

Petey Piranha

Koopa Troopa

Goomba

Shy Guy

Boo

Cheep Cheep

Bob-Omb

Lakitu

Pokey

Chain Chomp

Monty Mole

Ukiki

Eggplant Man: run around

Gotchawrench: run around

Slime

Platypunk

Bianca

Angelo

Jessica

Alena

Kiryl

Carver

Pudding/Princessa

Yangus

Dragonlord

Stella

Patty

Onigiri

Onnanoko

Oyazi

Dogu

Tutankoopa: float, spell

Stages:

Wrecking Crew

High Rise Building

Mario Paint

Clash House Tower

Fun Fair

Frosty Frontier

Grassy Greens

Shifting Sands

Fiery Stage

Truffle Towers

SS Brass

Corkscrew Hotel

Wario Carnival

Snowy Peak

Bowser's Castle

Yoshi's Island

Bowser's Castle

Mario Stadium

Mario Circuit

Peach's Castle

Delfino Plaza

Mushroom Kingdom

Castle Trodain

Mt. Magmageddon

Colossus

Ghost Ship

Slimenia

Alefgard

Robbin' Hood Ruins

Starship Mario

Good Egg Galaxy

Observatory

Alltrades Abbey

Mario Maker (I like the way Smash did it)

Mario Maker 2

Puzzles & Dragons

Super Mario Run

Items:

Hammers

Bombs

Drums

Blocks

Shells

Mahjong Tiles

Pinball Machine

Music Keys

1-Up Mushrooms

Fire Flowers

Super Leaves

Cape Feathers

Propeller Mushrooms

Super Mushrooms

Weird Mushrooms

Super Stars

Clown Car

Buzzy Beetle and Spiny Shells

Big Mushrooms

Mystery Mushrooms

Master Sword

Superball Flowers

Super Bell

Super Hammer

SMB2 Mushroom

Frog Suit

Super Acorn

Boomerang Flower

Rotten Mushroom

Cannon Box

Propeller Box

Goomba Mask

Bullet Bill Mask

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle!

Fortune Street

FORTUNE STREET

Fortune Street is a console sequel to Itadaki Street DS, and once again a crossover between Mario and Dragon Quest. The gameplay is mostly the same, and largely part of a different series entirely, one we will cover at a later date. All eleven characters on both sides return, plus two more for each: Diddy Kong and Bowser Jr. on the Mario side, and Patty and Stella on the Dragon Quest side (Again, don't really know who they are, but my assumption is party members). Many of the stages return with a couple of newbies: Starship Mario and Good Egg Galaxy from the Super Mario Galaxy games (I'm guessing it was a recent release at the time), and the Observatory and Alltrades Abbey from Dragon Quest.

That's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: hammer, bombs, drop drum, golden hammer, pink (enemy), blue (block), yellow (metal plate), green (brick), Kanbank, throw Koopa shells, chisel, pinball, dance

Luigi: same, dance

Princess Peach

Bowser, dance

Foreman Spike: push, best option for a gimmick character, see all above

Wario: chisel, dance

Toad

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Daisy

Waluigi: dance, steal music keys

Birdo

Diddy Kong

Toadette

Toadsworth

Bowser Jr.

Petey Piranha

Koopa Troopa

Goomba

Shy Guy

Boo

Cheep Cheep

Bob-Omb

Lakitu

Pokey

Chain Chomp

Monty Mole

Ukiki

Eggplant Man: run around

Gotchawrench: run around

Slime

Platypunk

Bianca

Angelo

Jessica

Alena

Kiryl

Carver

Pudding/Princessa

Yangus

Dragonlord

Stella

Patty

Onigiri

Onnanoko

Oyazi

Dogu

Tutankoopa: float, spell

Stages:

Wrecking Crew

High Rise Building

Mario Paint

Clash House Tower

Fun Fair

Frosty Frontier

Grassy Greens

Shifting Sands

Fiery Stage

Truffle Towers

SS Brass

Corkscrew Hotel

Wario Carnival

Snowy Peak

Bowser's Castle

Yoshi's Island

Bowser's Castle

Mario Stadium

Mario Circuit

Peach's Castle

Delfino Plaza

Mushroom Kingdom

Castle Trodain

Mt. Magmageddon

Colossus

Ghost Ship

Slimenia

Alefgard

Robbin' Hood Ruins

Starship Mario

Good Egg Galaxy

Observatory

Alltrades Abbey

Items:

Hammers

Bombs

Drums

Blocks

Shells

Mahjong Tiles

Pinball Machine

Music Keys

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover Super Mario Maker!

Itadaki Street DS

ITADAKI STREET DS

Itadaki Street DS is a crossover game between Nintendo's Mario series and Square Enix's Dragon Quest series. The game itself is a part of the Itadaki Street series of games which is sort of a mishmash between Monopoly and Mario Party. Basically, you have a board loaded up with shop squares that you can buy, and then charge others rent for if they land on them, mixed in with a bunch of other squares that mix the game up a bit. For instance, some boost the money you can make from a square, some let you draw a chance card, some make a square inactive for a turn so that the owner can't charge rent, some that let you move to a new location, and casino spaces that let you play a quick minigame to earn some cash. If you've played Monopoly, it's basically that, but EXTREME!

Much like the Mario and Sonic series, the game features an equal roster of representatives from both series, eleven respectively. The Mario side includes: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, Yoshi, Birdo, Donkey Kong, Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser. On the Dragon Quest side, we have Slimes and Platypunks, Bianca, Angelo, Jessica, Alena, Kiryl, Carver, Pudding, and Yangus, and the Dragonlord. I'm not particularly familiar with the Dragon Quest, so I'm only vaguely recognize some of those names and designs (like Slimes, Bianca, Angelo, and Jessica), but I'm fairly certain that Slimes and Platypunks are both common enemy types, the Dragonlord is either a villain or the series villain, and the rest are all party members from various games. Either way, this game is not really about any character's specific playstyle, so there's not really a whole lot to cover in that regard.

We have a few stages, mostly images and scenes from the two series with the monopoly board hovering in the air above. On the Mario side, we have Yoshi's Island, Bowser's Castle, Mario Stadium (baseball), Mario Circuit, Peach's Castle, Delfino Plaza, and Mushroom Kingdom (the original Super Mario Bros. game). On the Dragon Quest side, we have Castle Trodain, Mt. Magmageddon, Colossus, Ghost Ship, Slimenia, Alefgard, and Robbin' Hood Ruins. Once again, I'm not particularly familiar with any of these locations, but, hey, when I get to Square Enix and Dragon Quest specifically, I can say "Hey, I know that place!"

That's pretty much it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: hammer, bombs, drop drum, golden hammer, pink (enemy), blue (block), yellow (metal plate), green (brick), Kanbank, throw Koopa shells, chisel, pinball, dance

Luigi: same, dance

Princess Peach

Bowser, dance

Foreman Spike: push, best option for a gimmick character, see all above

Wario: chisel, dance

Toad

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Daisy

Waluigi: dance, steal music keys

Birdo

Diddy Kong

Toadette

Toadsworth

Bowser Jr.

Petey Piranha

Koopa Troopa

Goomba

Shy Guy

Boo

Cheep Cheep

Bob-Omb

Lakitu

Pokey

Chain Chomp

Monty Mole

Ukiki

Eggplant Man: run around

Gotchawrench: run around

Slime

Platypunk

Bianca

Angelo

Jessica

Alena

Kiryl

Carver

Pudding

Yangus

Dragonlord

Onigiri

Onnanoko

Oyazi

Dogu

Tutankoopa: float, spell

Stages:

Wrecking Crew

High Rise Building

Mario Paint

Clash House Tower

Fun Fair

Frosty Frontier

Grassy Greens

Shifting Sands

Fiery Stage

Truffle Towers

SS Brass

Corkscrew Hotel

Wario Carnival

Snowy Peak

Bowser's Castle

Yoshi's Island

Bowser's Castle

Mario Stadium

Mario Circuit

Peach's Castle

Delfino Plaza

Mushroom Kingdom

Castle Trodain

Mt. Magmageddon

Colossus

Ghost Ship

Slimenia

Alefgard

Robbin' Hood Ruins

Items:

Hammers

Bombs

Drums

Blocks

Shells

Mahjong Tiles

Pinball Machine

Music Keys

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover the game's sequel Fortune Street!