If a game has half of Mario's appeal, it should get half its sales. Yes?

And shoot them down in what way? You think that you'll be able to claim they don't contain this trope?

For old school gamer, the very first game we had play is Mario Bros. This is like our first love, and never hurt us.

You're using "appeal" to mean two different things in this post. "Appeal", when communicated, has a more or less direct correlation to sales. Mario's story cannot be half of Mario's appeal, not even in the context of the character itself and the setting. If that were all it took, no Mario game would land less than twelve million sales, ever.

Stick to the definition you use for the last word in the last sentence and you will see why your argument makes no sense.

Controls, level design and other game mechanics is all fine. The simplicity and heartfelt friendliness of the very Mario dna holds quite a bit of importance to what makes the franchise such a joy. It almost personifies it's creator miyamoto. Such a fun and happy soul. I am sure he is serious and angry at times but whenever i see him anywhere he is just so full of life and got that innocent goofy smile. :)

God dammit you were the first one to say that the setting was the "other half" of the appeal. That is the point of contention. It's not! It is a fraction. It is the tiniest fraction.

Jeesh, you two are really bickering.

I think 75+% of it has to do with the Mario name just being known. People know that Mario games are fun, well made games, that are almost guaranteed to be good and to please a majority of people. Why spend $50 on a game that may be fun, or it could just be something you place on the shelf and never play again, when you can spend $50, and more or less be guaranteed an awesome experience.

its fun to play, the levels are aweeesome, the characters are portrayed through the gameplay, and it alows for different styles of play. also, controls tight as hell

Mario is good, mariop is Great, Mario is a friend and a gentlmen.

Mario is ugly and chubby but still super happy and popular

Mario is everything we are not.

Nostalgia

Rol is correct in that games need a hook that is distinct from the game itself, though i would argue that the nature of the surrealism in Mario is so embedded in the gameplay itself that it is very difficult to untangle the hook from the game and then to clearly define said hook.

The ability to go down pipes, to transform and gain different abilities, and even the strange enemies are all integral to how the game is played, and the appeal on the part of the player to live this surrealism is tied on a deep, enduring level to actually being able to play the damn game

It is a fusion of art and gameplay that cannot be unraveled into its distinct elements without the object itself being destroyed