I'm sorry to break this to you, but the very first Super Mario Bothers were games that captured the imaginations of millions of kids and adults around the world. With magical beanstalks, secret warp pipes, magic mushrooms, flying battle-ships, night levels, echoey underground levels, and magic flutes, these games had a lore that could lure you in almost as powerfully as a J.R.R. Tolkien movie (haven't read his  books, sue me).

Today, Super Mario Brothers has become a cash-in revolving around cheesy voice acting, repetitive themes and well, top-notch gameplay. True the old elements are still there, but they are completely commercialized icons that have lost most of their depth especially in the deluge of cheesy voice-acting and elevator-grade music, as well as uninspiring graphics.

B-b-b-b-ut it has top-notch gameplay so that's all it needs, right?

WRONG

Mario was a great game that was fun to play, true, but that wasn't all it was. It was a magical game that was also mystical in its very own way. I'm talking mostly about all the Super Mario Brothers games before NSMB, including SMB2US and SMB2j, and even if we ignored those two odd-balls, the mainline games make the point, the series truly was magical. There was no division at the time, Super Mario Bros. was the shit that everyone played. Today, that's no longer true.

If you consider SMB a strictly gameplay series, you were never a true fan in the first place, or not old enough to know what I mean.

You're going to get mad at me for making this about you, but it needs to be done.

You're essentially complaining that you don't have the eyes of a child any more. All those things that made the first game magical? They're still there. They didn't take them away.

You just don't see them in the same way. You've grown older and more cynical.

And we're the same age, for the record.

Are you sure you're not speaking from a standpoint of nostalgia? Nostalgia can really cloud your mind on these things.

I don't think so, I can still play SMB, SMB2, SMB3, SMW, SML and still feel that same thing.

Unfortunately, Nintendo considers it a gameplay-only game.

The Super Mario series has never really considered story and storytelling very important. Sure, there are many magical, endearing characters and items in the series, but there's no intricate plot, no deep mythology.

Nor does there need to be. The series is one of the all-time best because of its level design, its replay value, its creativity, and its accessibility.

" It was a magical game that was also mystical in its very own way." maybe the best way to describe super mario world

Last time I checked, super mario bros. 3 was a pièce de théâtre. Why do you think the floor was checkered and there's a red drape at the top and bottom of this pic?

I agree, but we need to separate story and worldbuilding.

More story in Mario games = bad. That means cutscenes, dialogue, companions for Mario etc.

But, it needs to feel like you're exploring a world! In SMB1 that was the Mushroom Kingdom. In SMB3, SMW, SM64, SMS all new worlds. SMG had the wonder of space but it felt more and more like it was just things dragged together like in a level editor. SMG wasn't a plausible "world" for Mario.

And the later games are recycling the world. The NSMB setting has been done to death. Yes they can think of new puzzles, but the same art assets make it feel very repetitive regardless.

You're just no longer a kid and feel and play in a different way compared to 20 years ago. That's all.

NSMB may be less deep and stuff but that's what 3D Mario is for now. NSMB is only for family/multiplayer fun/chaos. When they push out SMB4 and don't make it feel like 1-3 you can moan, but not this way.

Also, people want change. If it doesn't change, it's bad. If it does, it's not the same anymore which equals bad as well. Nintendo pretty much covered every world (desert, snow, island, water, fire,...) and character possible and can't make up new ones..

I don't care I'm not a true fan now.