Good, I asked for examples knowing there were some. I've played the same games you have (bar Faxanadu I never actually got past the first level as a kid and never got back to it, so I don't know).

Yes, these games were all captivating, but they were not whimsical like SMB was. There is no denying that the hidden blocks, the little details that revolve around the theme of secrets (? stages, ? blocks, warp zones, magical flutes), secret white toad houses, secret ghost ships, a magic hammer, these were all whimsical items and things, from the imagination of Mr. Miyamoto. The other games, as great as they were, simply do not compare on that level.

And I love Startropics and Megaman, and Metroid, and Kid Icarus, I love those games. But I'm talking about something else.

@moreno. I'm saying that you don't know what made Mario something truly extraordinary.

You're wrong. It's a matter of correlation that the games that are critically acclaimed are games that I also loved. And you know what, Zelda II was not critically acclaimed, yet I love it to death.

So no.

You know, it took me time to like Super Mario Galaxy, despite it being critically acclaimed for the longest time, I just couldn't get into it. But once I did, I understood what the fuss was about. I can't say the same about NSMB.

Am I going to have to break you two up already?

To me Mario was inspired by Alice In Wonderland. One mushroom makes you large and one makes you small. You warp down a pipe to another world like the rabbit hole. It's stayed the same and never changed so I don't understand what point you're trying to prove Mr. Dolphin.

You must've forgotten that back in the day people talked about games in schoolyards, and Zelda II was never considered a great game, always considered some bastard child between Mario and Zelda, yet you couldn't stomp on ennemies. Forget critically acclaimed here, think popular opinion.

But I loved it.

@amp. Whether it took ideas from Alice in Wonderland or not, it was full of things we'd never seen in a video game. Giant mushrooms to walk on, hidden green mushrooms for a life, magic beanstalks, a pipe is not a rabbit hole. Also, Miyamoto is a romantic creator, he sees things where they weren't, and can create worlds nobody ever imagined. That's what was infused into Super Mario Bros.

Aren't you able to explain it? Or did you think it wasn't?

Those have turned up in fairy tales as well, haven't they?  Mushroom Kingdom was inspired by the world of fairy tales in my opinion.  That doesn't mean that it isn't brilliant.  It just isn't quite as original as you think.  Also, the princess being captured by the villain and rescued has been done in a million stories.  I'm just saying.

I don't know what this thread is about but when I was a kid I had this awesome mario PJ


and I had these awesome mario bros sneakers that I weared to school.. not to mention that Super Mario Bros 3 gum with stickers and I think I still have that McDonalds Happy Meal Toy somewhere

I understand that it's not all new, but a lot of it was new, and it's also very much in the presentation. Secret blocks and worlds in the sky, it was something of the extraordinary, really. This wasn't a game revolving around the sky like say Kid Icarus, it was a game about a regular jo who could jump really high. The concept of being flung into the sky defies reality and gives that sense of escapism. But marry that to whimsical music and adequate graphics and colors, and you have a win.

I had that one too! With the spring at the bottom? Raccoon Mario?

You REALLY don't like the New Super Mario Bros. games, we get it.

No, it should be obvious to you why Galaxy was something way beyond NSMB can ever dream of being, after having played through it. It's time you put in some describing, I've done my share.

In terms of gameplay they are good. But they are nothing like what old Super Mario Bros games were.

No, you're quite wrong. People were very picky even back then. When I got Simon's Quest, I was really dissappointed at first because I was expecting Super Mario. But I had played Castlevania before and Simon's Quest was nothing like it, I hated it, at first.

Now it's one of my favorite games, because it was actually good and grew on me.