What is it that makes Mario so brilliant?

[Khuutra]

RolStoppable said:

Khuutra said:

Yes, it is, because we have nothing to suggest that this happens.

We have nothing that really even suggests that people read the instruction manual that often. Super Mario Bros. was designed so that such readings were unnecessary. Reading the manuals requires an existing investment in the property, which it's not safe to assume that everyone had.

I do not see any compelling reason to think that Mario's use of the "traveling to the underworld" trope is part of its appeal. You could make a better argument for Zelda for several reasons, but I don't think youv'e made a decent one for Mario.

Existing investment in the property? You mean like 40 million copies of the game being out there?

Why we play a game is about as important as how we play a game. Given how abstract games were back in their early days, it was important for developers to spark the player's imagination through text in the manual and players would read that stuff, because it helped them to better understand what they were doing and more importantly, why they should even bother doing it.

Mario's trope is part of its appeal, because it resonates well with people. Or to turn the question around: Is there any compelling reason that the trope is NOT part of the appeal?

Once you ask for negative proof, which is impossible to give, you have admitted to the fact that you cannot provide a concrete reasoning for your own argument.