MarioBros
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‘Mario Bros.’ is The Switch's first classic game
Nintendo has added the first classic game you can buy on the Switch Eshop: The original Mario Bros (the arcade game, not the NES platformer). The title was announced during Nintendo Direct earlier this month as the first of several quarter crunchers headed to the Switch. It's not the Virtual Console that Nintendo fans have wanted on the company's flagship system, but it's something.
'Super Mario Odyssey' may look bizarre, but it feels just right
There's perhaps no better example of Nintendo's creativity in game design than the Super Mario Bros. franchise. At a glance, the company's mascot seems like an unchanging, static figure. In reality, every game he stars in tweaks the Mario formula ever so slightly -- adding new power-ups in Super Mario Bros. 3, rethinking level design in Super Mario World or introducing exploration in Super Mario 64. If the E3 demo of the newest game in the franchise is any indication, our favorite plumber's latest adventure is no different: Super Mario Odyssey is a creative, joyously fun remix on a formula the company has been tweaking for decades.
Nintendo's 2015 was the best of times and the worst of times
Let's face it: In the world of video games, Nintendo exists in a state of constant scrutiny. More often than not, the Japanese company is targeted for being "behind the times" or "out of touch" with what its fanbase wants. Looking back, however, we see a more dynamic mish-mash of good and bad decisions. In 2015, Nintendo teased us by promising to build mobile apps, but pleased us by adding some unexpected classics to its digital game library and announcing a new game console. The company had breakout hits like Splatoon, but also fumbled on launch dates, failing to deliver Star Fox Zero and Zelda Wii U by year's end. How is Nintendo doing, really? Let's take a look back at the highs and lows of Nintendo's year and find out.Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Insert Coin: 'Epic Mario' aims to build entire Super Mario Bros. Level 1-1 with Legos (video)
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. What's cooler than Super Mario Bros. and Legos? Why, Super Mario Bros. with Legos, of course. That's the premise behind Lego artist Zachary Pollock's "Epic Mario" project, which aims to recreate the entire Level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. using one Lego block at a time. At one brick per pixel, Pollock's project is expected to come in at around six feet tall and 90 feet wide once completed. He also estimates that he's going to need "just over 780,000 Lego studs" and some significant coinage -- to the tune of $26,400. Unfortunately, money just doesn't come from punching bricks in real life, and Pollock is turning to Kickstarter to get all the extra coin he needs for the project. This isn't the first time Legos were used to re-imagine a beloved classic -- heck, it isn't even the first Mario level to get the blocky treatment. That doesn't make the concept any less amusing, however, and Pollock promises to hold brick-building parties and take his project on the road to various conventions if it gets funded. Check out the potential project in all its blocky glory in the video after the break, as well as an update on our last Insert Coin project, the Berlin Boombox.
London Philharmonic Orchestra goes cover band with tribute to video game themes
If you've ever caught yourself humming the Angry Birds theme song, then perhaps you should check out tonight's London Philharmonic Orchestra's video game tribute concert. The group will play more than 20 songs made famous by games like Tetris, Zelda, Call of Duty and of course, Mario Bros., as part of London's annual music festival. When asked to create the ultimate gaming remix, composer and arranger Andrew Skeet vowed to keep it old school, while giving folks the best bits of music. It's not the first time someone's paid tribute to these hits, and we're hoping it's not the last. Check out the full setlist and video after the break.
Super Mario gets a Portal gun, you monster (video)
Before Portal 2 there was Portal, and before Portal there was Super Mario Bros. Bring these together and you get a mushroom-chomping Italian plumber ruling the 2D world -- outside the cold confines of Aperture Science -- with the infamous Portal gun. The next logical step? Turn this into a first-person game. Go on, Reggie, make it happen.
RFID-enabled vending machine ditches coinage, gets Mario Bros. tone (video)
A Twitter-enabled kitty door it is not, but this RFID-equipped soda machine is by far one of the most practical DIY projects we've seen in sometime. A Canadian tinkerer picked up this pop pusher a few years back, and has been using it to sling drinks in his building ever since. Unfortunately, finding the right change to feed the machine proved an issue for his neighbors, so he did what any logical hacker would do, and built in a contactless payment system. Using an Arduino, an Ethernet shield, an LCD screen, and an RFID reader, he created a system that allows customers to swipe a card and easily add funds from an online account. Best of all, every time you press that little blue button you get a Mario Bros. sample. Big ups, PopCARD. Video after the break.
This is why we're dorks
Considering the amount of remixes Mims' hit rap single "This is Why I'm Hot" set off -- R. Kelly's "This is Why I'm Cold," the NBA's "The Phoenix Suns Are Hot," and Chubbs' "This is Why I'm Fat" for example -- we're surprised that it took this long for its catchy hook to reach video gaming's catch-phrase-hungry communities. Mirroring Mims' insipid lyrics, the simplicity of SnorgTees' shirt design leaves no room for confusion on its message or the company's plans to rake in crazy money by exploiting our nostalgia-addled minds. We can imagine the office congratulations and "props" received by the young designer who paired the 8-bit fire flower with the narcissistic mantra. They all agree, this is why he's hot. The $16.95 shirt comes in royal blue and black, its lowercase Myriad Pro text staying chalky white on both colors. If you haven't heard the song several hundred times already, you have the option of checking past the post break for an embedded music video of the club track.
The plant has his time
We've played through enough Super Mario Bros. games to have learned that no pipe should be approached without caution. After a lifetime of suffering piranha plant attacks, always at the least opportune moments, we've trained ourselves to scrutinize every green tube before hopping over it. We'll sit there for up to two minutes, staking out the pipe to make sure there isn't a hidden fly trap hoping to dupe us with its delayed pattern. Sometimes, we'll even see their eyes poking out, anxious to see why we haven't jumped yet.These guys seem to pop up everywhere! In addition to their appearances in almost every Mario-related title over the past two decades, the piranha plants extended their roots to Tetris Attack and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening! They've also been spotted in last Wednesday's Extra Life comic, illustrated by the always-awesome Scott Johnson. It's a predictable punchline, but no less hilarious because of it. We implore you to check it out!
LBP taunts us with Mario Sack Boy concept art
We're more than just a tad bit envious over LittleBigPlanet, Media Molecule's ultra-cute, ultra-customizable platformer for the PS3; ever since the title was announced at GDC, we've been downright jealous. Videos of the game's cooperative possibilities have turned us into internet stalkers, following every online preview and press release in secret, constantly reloading LBP's MySpace page every five minutes to make sure that other guys aren't moving into our territory with flirtatious comments. So seeing that players will not only be able to create landscapes that mimic scenes from classic games (e.g. Super Mario Bros., World 1-2), but likely also dress up their characters to look like Nintendo's mustachioed mascot has inflamed within us the sort of covetous lust that Moses warned against after coming down from the mount. The Virtual Console has been a great way for us to play old classics, but seeing Sony's plans for its PlayStation Network and comparing it to what we've heard so far about original, downloadable games coming to the Wii has us feeling like chumps. [Thanks Elmer!]
E True Hollywood Story: Luigi edition
There's an untold story between this sibling duo of plumbers. Luckily, the E! channel is on the beat, taking the time to document the brother's split. It goes to show us even the strongest bonds between siblings or friends can be broken. Winner of best video at 2006 GenCon, the video is fairly long, so keep that in mind when you head past the post break to check it out.[Thanks, Chris!]
Super Toilet Seat Bros.
As far as we're concerned, Mario spends way too much time saving princesses, racing karts, and partying with minigames. Meanwhile, we've got leaky pipes, a shower with almost no water pressure, and no one around to fix them in sight. For a guy posing as a plumber, Mario doesn't devote much of his day to practicing his plumbing trade.Extra Life's Scott Johnson, bathroom gamer extraordinaire, devised an evil stratagem to put the lazy plumber back to work. Drawing upon the power of ancient gods whose names were long forgotten before our sun even birthed its first flames, he set off a chain of inescapable events that left Mario's visage and eternal soul trapped on a toilet seat lid. What once was an ordinary lavatory now serves as his dark prison.Scott captured the sorcery on video, which you can watch past the post break. It's impressive to see that the only tools he used throughout the entire project were a Sharpie marker, a sheet of paper, and several demonic runes blessed by shadow priests of the underworld.[Via Infendo]
Mario Bros. in ur Shopping Channel, stealing ur coinz
We've been privy to undocumented Wii features like the 192-Piece Picture Puzzle and the elusive Help Cat for a while now, but did you know that there's a secret Shopping Channel animation of Mario and Luigi swimming together while you're at the download screen?During a recent roundtable, the developers behind the Wii Shopping Channel talked about how they overcame obstacles with the project, which elements they're proud of, and what they hope to see implemented in the future. One little touch that the developers were pleased to include was this Minus World-esque scene of the Super Mario Bros. paddling through and collecting coins while you download games. It doesn't show up very often, so don't be too upset if you've never come across anything besides the Fire Mario animation before. We didn't even believe it at first, but Nintendo included a video with the interview transcript to prove its existence. It's a good thing they did too, or we would've gone through our life savings downloading Virtual Console titles, trying to get this alternate animation!
Ugliest Luigi ever
Poor Luigi. The lanky plumber already has enough problems dealing with his older brother always stealing the spotlight and Princess Daisy's failure to commit to a serious relationship, but now he has to worry about embarassing photos from 20 years ago resurfacing on the internet. We all have our fair share of unflattering pictures from the 80s, but the images posted for this vintage Super Mario Bros. doll auction are downright embarassing. This 3.5'-tall toy was a promotional item from Nintendo that was never released to the general public. Head past the post break to see what the green guy looked like before he tamed his hair and trimmed his mustache. He really let himself go back then -- look at that hat![Via GameSniped]
A very special Mega64 event
Those lovable scamps from Mega64 are at it again! There's never a dull moment when these friends go on a wild, madcap adventure that you'll never forget. Join them, as they discover... the true meaning of friendship.... what? Oh, we were thinking about a different movie. This one's just, you know, some dudes jumping around in Mario Bros. suits and stuff. But it's the patented brand of Mega64 funny-- video game characters accosting random (and not so random) people on the street-- that makes their work worth our few seconds of download time.Please, click on the limited-edition post break, and watch the movie that your whole family is sure to love!
Mario runs in the family
It is no surprise when gamer kids get their gaming love from their parents. We are happy to see this happen and in fact encourage it. Especially when it stems from Mario Bros. What started as a love for games back in the late 70's spanned to a family love for a certain plumber and his brother. This pair dress up as Mario and Luigi for Halloween each year and the kids room is nothing short of impressive. His mother and grandmother even helped out by supplying him Mario curtains and a comforter set. His walls show images of each game and painted as a border is Mario and a few items from his games. There are a ton of pics to view of "Mario" in his room and a few of the family when they aren't displaying their fandom. [Via QJ Net]
Mario nutcracker brings holiday cheer
A hand painted Mario nutcracker is what every fanboy and holiday guru needs. When we last checked the listing on eBay, this little plumber had reached $35. The creator, hazelsmrf, claims that all parts are working, with the exception of the actual nutcracker. hazelsmrf states that this is the first in a long line of custom made nutcrackers. Next on his list, and rightfully so, could be Chuck Norris. Get you wallets ready! Your mantel, desk or dashboard is getting lonely. [Via QJ Net]
Choir rejoices with the sound of Nintendo
If you haven't noticed, we have been big supporters of musical interpretations done by fans. It's kind of a kick we are on. Something about all these different types of musicians coming together to represent the powerhouse Nintendo through a variety of instruments captures our attention like a moth to flame. The newest type of musical Nintendo fandom we discovered is done by a lively choir. Not only do they sing the songs, some of the members will add a few performances for comedic purposes. Everyone seemed to do a great job, except for "Mario." Maybe it's the way he is jumping but it is way, way off. Enjoy the video after the break! [Thanks Amir Shah!]
Fuzzy new Mario Party 8 screens
Mario Party started a multiplayer frenzy back on the Nintendo 64 that has yet to die down. Now, seven years later, gamers are getting ready for Mario Party 8. We haven't heard or seen a lot about the game aside from a few seconds in a Wii trailer but judging from the blurry screens, we expect it to hold true to traditional Mario Party. From what we can tell, players will compete in activities like tightrope walking and painting. Check out a few more screens after the break! [Thanks Mickey!]
Musicians and Nintendo mix well
Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time to play name that game! The following three guitarists do a fantastic job of representing our favorite company. The question is, what games do you hear? We'd like to know. Feel free to post what you recognize! As usual, see the video after the jump. [Thanks emceenugget!]
