Editorials

Where in the world is Mario?

Its been over 3 years since the last Mario game, and the wait will only get longer.

By Corey

I was 12 years old. In 7th grade. The Packers were just starting on their way to a Super Bowl championship. That was the last time a brand new Mario game has been released for a Nintendo platform. Thats 3 1/2 years for those counting at home. And its a sure bet that there won't be another one released until the Game Boy Advance and Dolphin arrive. That could mean 5 years between Mario games depending on the release of those systems. Seems like a long time when you used to get a new game every 1-2 years.

Of course, in between September of 1996 and now, countless games with Mario have been released. Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Brothers, and Mario Pary 1 and 2 all for the N64; Super Mario DX for the GBC; and Mario Golf for both platforms. In addition, Mario Tennis has been announced. But none of these are normal Mario platformers that we all know and love. Not that those games aren't good, because they are. Its just that a regular Mario game would be better by now. And not to say that one should be released every year, since thats not the case either. Within the same time, series like Twisted Metal and Tomb Raider have worn themselves out with 4 games a piece.

So what are some reasons for the lack of Mario games? Maybe Nintendo doesn't want it to wear out like the two series mentioned above. Releasing games years apart makes the games more special, if you will, than they would be if there was one every year. Another possiblity is that Mario games are already being developed, and have been for quite a while, for the GBA and Dolphin. Or could it be that Pokemon and Zelda are taking the center stage for now? Both of these series have multiple games coming out in the near future. No matter what the reason is, however, it has been quite a long wait.

Of course, the reason could be because Metroid and Earthbound are just around the corner. Everyone would be happy about that.