Mario Villain Shakeup

Mario has traversed the Mushroom Kingdom quite a few times, but it seems to fall back to a similar plot each time. Peach is kidnapped, Mario fights his way through 8 worlds only to find Bowser in the last castle with Peach hanging from a cage completely helpless. Tried and true, and a storyline nobody seems to criticize Nintendo for milking beyond it's worth.

So how do you provide some sort of shakeup to the Mario universe? Well, the easiest would be to provide a different villain of course. Most of the spin-off games have done so whether it be Smithy from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Tatanga from Super Mario Land, or even the lame Princess Shroob from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Is it impossible for Bowser to be knocked from the antagonist to no role at all in a main Mario game?

I think there are several characters that Nintendo can use that would allow for them to keep a familiar formula, but shock players when they reveal the new villain at the end. Here are some characters I wouldn't mind seeing replace Bowser:

Donkey Kong

Perhaps everyone forgot a particular game from the arcades featuring a monkey who kidnapped a woman and decided to wreak havoc on a known plumber using barrels? Well, that wasn't Donkey Kong. No, that honor would go to his father/grandfather (games conflicted with what his relationship was exactly) Cranky Kong. And while the original Donkey Kong arcade game wouldn't provide a good enough motivator for Donkey Kong to seek his revenge on Mario, the followup game does. In Donkey Kong Jr., Mario kidnaps Cranky and locks him in a cage and whips creatures at Donkey Kong Jr. to impede his rescue. Even though his revenge hasn't been sought out in the main continuity, he has done everything in his power to get back at Mario through karting and tennis matches...

Shadow Mario

Super Mario Sunshine gets a bad rap. Yes the overall idea was pretty stupid in which you jump around different world and clean up goo, but it was enough of a departure to provide an interesting take on Mario and his platforming. But I became most fascinated with the game when you notice a creepy Mario jumping around painting the world with gunk. And while the reveal of what Shadow Mario really was disappointed me and led me to more questions about potential Bowser relationships, the idea of a dark world-esque Mario hit a soft spot in my heart. He has since found a way to be incorporated into Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D Land, but not as the main force against Mario and minor differences to distinguish each version. Shadow Mario could be the Bizarro villain that Mario needs, but I guess they feel they already have that with Wario...another underutilized enemy....

Bowser Jr.'s....uh...whatever?

I really wish Nintendo would clear up everything with Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings. It was first thought that the Koopalings were his children, then his nephews, then some clones that had some extra splice to differentiate them. Then Bowser Jr. makes an appearance into the fiction and causes even more confusion. Which poses the question, what is his relationship to Bowser? If there is some creepy turtle mama out there that got the dirty on with Bowser, I would like to potentially see who that is. I see that turning out horrifically bad, so they could go the other route of him being a clone. Now, while Bowsers dark magic was able to cause the Mushroom Kingdom to be Mario's playland of killing innocent Toads and eating them (a much forgotten plot from the manual of the original game), he could have had some sort of scientist help create Bowser Jr. And in doing so, have a potential bad guy in the likes of Dr. Wily or Dr. Robotnik for the Mushroom Kingdom. Not my favorite idea, but it's still some sort of change...

Pauline

The original "princess" who wasn't really a princess. Pauline was the first love of Mario and the female who had no luck with monkeys. While she has made appearances since the Donkey Kong arcade game, she hasn't quite hit the same importance that Peach or Daisy have had. So what could possibly make her rotten against Mario? How about Mario being a "playa" who leaves Pauline for Princess Peach causing some jealous animosity between these characters. What if Pauline, who is still smitten for this world-renown kingdom-saving plumber, decides that she wants that attention back and the only way for her to get it is to remove the princess from the equation? There is absolutely no chance Nintendo would go the psycho bitch route with Pauline, but it's the one option that I'm somehow proud with coming up with.

Yoshi

Mario has put Yoshi through some shit. Not only does he donkey punch Yoshi on a regular basis, he does so to force Yoshi to eat various creatures in some awful carnivorous eating behaviors. I do believe Yoshi may very well be an herbivore as he doesn't mind eating the plants around his home. There's no creatures there, so clearly that's what they eat. But Mario don't care. He will continue smacking Yoshi on the top of the head to eat Spinies that Lakitu tosses down, he'll casually cast Yoshi off to his doom knowing there's another Yoshi egg around the corner, and force Yoshi to swim although we know he's a terrible swimmer and will die if Mario hops off. There are no characters in the Mario continuity that are treated as poorly as Yoshi. And with his fellow colorful brethren, he has the potential to overthrow (and eat) the entire Mushroom Kingdom to earn respect. And I would love seeing every moment of it.



I somehow doubt Nintendo would put any beloved characters in the villain status of a future Mario game, but there are so many choices to make it not only interesting but a huge change of pace. I'm tired of Bowser. I want someone new to make Mario's life a living hell, because he's kind of a dick. And these characters would be my choice to add some more life to the head rogue gallery of Mario.

Wii U? More like...Pii U!!!

Sorry, but the title was so dumb I had to put it. It in no way speaks for my personal beliefs on the console as they are still up in the air until I see more about it. I just found it so stupid that it made me chuckle.

So that's it. The Wii U has come to light more now than ever before. What once was shrouded in mystery is now revealed, or at least, most of it is. After Nintendo's conference last Thursday, the console has now impressed or shunned the audience at hand with both great news and less than stellar news. Here is a quick roundup of both news and my personal thoughts.

 1. The Release Date: November 18th

It is coming. Less than a week before Black Friday, Nintendo will drop the Wii U into the hands of gamers who pre-ordered the system months ahead of time. Because that's probably the only chance of getting one come November 18th as it'll take a page out of the Wii book and sell out instantly. Best of luck folks.

2. The Price: $299.99 - $349.99

There you have it. The price of the new console that we have all been curious about since the announcement back at E3 2011. Nintendo decides to go with two different versions. The first is the $299.99 Basic set which includes the staples that you should expect. A white Wii U (8 GB internal storage) with GamePad, AC adapters, an HDMI cable and a Wii Sensor Bar.

The second set would be the Premium or Deluxe version which also has the items from the Basic Set, but the Wii U itself will be black and have 32 GB of internal storage, a copy of it's mini-game bundle Nintendo Land, a stand and charging cradle for the GamePad, a stand for the Wii U, and a "Deluxe Digital Promotion" that seems to act like similar to Nintendo Club rewards in a way. When you purchase content through the eShop, you receive points that can be used on other things later.

3. The Game Lineup

The Wii U will have an explosion of games coming out within it's launch window which features more than 50 titles. Now, that launch window is a tad wide, so expect these to launch anywhere from November 18th - March 2013. While some aren't that exciting as they have released on other consoles such as Darksiders 2, Madden 13, Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City (Armored Edition); the Wii U does have more games that other consoles won't have such as the Premium/Deluxe set game Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3, Game & Wario, New Super Mario Bros. Wii U, and the most surprising, Bayonetta 2.

Also, whereas the Wii had games no higher than $49.99, the Wii U will continue the tradition set by other consoles and have them start at $59.99.

Backwards compatibility doesn't seem to be a worry as they have confirmed that both disc and digital versions of Wii games will be playable using the Wii U. However, Gamecube games will not be as fortunate, so don't expect to be able to pop in a disc of Super Mario Sunshine and play it come November 18th.

You can find the full list of launch games HERE at Joystiq.com

4. Controllers and Accessories

Other than the previously mentioned items such as the stands for the GamePad and console, the charging cradle for the GamePad, and sensor bar; the Wii U will also allow for gamers to use Nunchuks and Wii Remotes (w/Plus) as well. On top of that, they are also offering a new controller, that looks vaguely familiar to another controller from a different console, at a cost of $50 called the Pro Controller.

The GamePad themselves will not be sold separately at this time for reasons unknown. Some have speculated it's because of the potential cost (conversion from Japan price would have it at $170) and would turn away some consumers. Of all the rumors, that seems the most plausible.

The storage can also be expanded using SD memory cards or USB hard disk drives.

5. TVii

Shocking news. Wii U will support the likes of Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, and more. The biggest difference is that it is a feature that allows the GamePad to be used to watch these programs, but it also allows for TiVo as long as you have the necessary box that allows TiVo. Regardless of what cable or dish company you may use, Nintendo has confirmed that all in the US will support TVii and that it will be available come launch.

My Thoughts

So all in all, quite a bit of news and reveals for this console. But...somewhat underwhelming. With the console itself barely better than the PS3 or 360, it's hard to say that this will have the stopping power to hold up to the next consoles when they release.

While many have praised the quality of the GamePad, only having one makes me wonder what kind of couch co-op games I can play where one person has more options than other players. And when Nintendo won't announce a specific price for the GamePad, and not having any extra available, it should raise a red flag as to how they are approaching it. They just recently announced that replacing them if broken will have a "fee", but didn't comment on that price even.

Having TVii isn't that big of a deal as using a controller is hardly a pain to get through different apps like Netflix or Hulu, but perhaps I would need on hand experience to understand that fascination some have with it.

The game list is as expected. Lots of games I either don't really care about or have already played on a different console. Expecting gamers to jump at the chance to play an older game again seems absurd, but they do turn it around by having some nice additions such as ZombiU, Rayman Legends, and again (the one I would look forward to the most) Bayonetta 2. It shows they are trying to reach out to the hardcore fans, but at the same time, keep it's own player base. Regardless, the problem is that there is no wallet-wrencher of a game that will have players foaming at the mouth to purchase a new console. While the game list doesn't look bad, it just isn't solid enough to justify a purchase, especially with a launch window as large as this one.

Lastly...the price. $300-$350 seems like quite a bit for a console that many developers have said is just barely more powerful than what is already out there. It appears a chunk of that may come from the GamePad itself, it's also a deterrent when the sweet spot for most gamers will be around $250. Nintendo may have a similar road ahead with the Wii U that they did with the 3DS, and a potential price drop may happen the following year. But seeing that this is their next big console, I have a feeling that they will make a stand at keep it at that price for a while. And considering how many pre-orders have been made through Gamestop, I think they won't have to worry about sales for quite some time.