Are the fans the ones to blame for 'mission pack' sequels like New Super Mario Bros 2?

[CM30]

Bit of a controversial thought this, but are us fans the ones to blame for the fact the Mario series seems to almost be stuck in limbo to some degree? With the same plots, same villains, same world themes and ideas, etc?

Think about it. Back in the olden days of the SNES, Nintendo 64 and Gamecube fans were always complaining about things like the lack of Koopalings, lack of classic enemies like Hammer Bros and Lakitus and whatever, the lack of Super Mario Bros 3's power ups like the Tanooki Suit, Raccoon Leaf and Kuribo's Shoe... How Mario was on a tropical island and not in the Mushroom Kingdom. How things like Bowser Jr, Petey Piranha, etc sucked.

And what do you know, Mario Sunshine bombed. To a lesser degree, all Mario 3D games did.

But New Super Mario Bros sold. And if you're literal mind, games like the New Super Mario Bros series really have brought back everything fans were saying were missing in the older Mario games.

Why be 'original' when cashing in on nostalgia sells? It's quite clear Nintendo have realised with Mario that whenever they rock the boat the series sinks. That whenever they change something up or add this much wanted originality it doesn't sell. So they just said 'eh, have what you want'.

So yep. All those people on sites like DeviantArt and forums talking about how much they wanted the Koopalings in Mario Galaxy and to revisit Super Mario Bros 3? Enjoy it, since you're technically getting everything you ever asked for.

Anyone see my point here?

 

[Gelivable]

People will always find reasons to complain...

...

...including me.

But still, a appreciate new ideas instead of nostalgic throwback.

 

[pie595]

It seems in today's video game market fans will just complain about a games' series, no matter what the company does, people still complain, the Sonic series is a good example because no matter what Sega does the fans still complain. Its like an endless loop. In times like this it makes me wonder what the video game market in US will be like if the nes never came out... of course that's a topic for a later time.

 

[Lord Regal]

I do see your point Nin. I personally liked all the 3D mario games to an extent, and I also liked the early Mario games. NSMB was good, NSMBWii was fun because I could play with my dad. However, Super Mario 3D Land was just boring to me. The concept was cool, but the short, repetitive levels (A lot of the special levels were the original levels with restrictions), coupled with the fact that you never could actually hurt Bowser just turned me off of the game. Now we're getting two more games similar to to NSMB...the only reason I thought Wii was worthwhile was the multiplayer play...the formula's getting kind of old now...and I agree that it's because everyone immediately disliked the 3D games because they were "different". As I'm constantly trying to explain to my brother (he's not much younger than me) different doesn't automatically mean bad.

As for the Sonic games, responding to the above comments, that's a bit of a different story. Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Unleashed, Shadow the Hedgehog...all those are just gimmicks that happen to have Sonic in them. For me, the best Sonic game ever was Sonic Adventure 2 (Battle). A lot of people complained that the non Sonic/Shadow levels weren't fun, but for me it perfected the formula that Sonic Adventure tried to do (Amy and Big's levels...ughh....) and the story was engaging...I enjoyed the difference in the walker and treasure levels. It helped give each character a clear personality, and it helped mix things up. The early Sonic games were good, but they got repetitive too eventually. Sonic Heroes was a good game too...the team aspect added a challenge without taking away from what Sonic really is. Sonic Battle was interesting...it wasn't a classic Sonic game, but its lack of gimmicks and strong character lineups made it good. Secret Rings is where it all crashed...having to replay the levels several times just to move forward in the story...not being able to explore the levels at all...no fun at all. Sonic Unleashed...great daytime levels, terrible night levels. Sonic and the Black Knight...meh. Sonic Colors? One big gimmick. I say return Sonic to the end of the Dreamcast era, when the formula was as good as it's ever been...Sonic Rush was a good example of a classic Sonic Game...but we haven't had any games like the Adventure games since the second one. Let's get some more of the good formulas...not these gimmicky games.

In short, it's ok to experiment with the formula a little (ex: Fludd, Some levels where Sonic isn't the star) but make sure to keep some classic elements that have always been appreciated (Jumping around without Fludd at times, Classic Sonic Levels)

 

[DonnyKD]

Miyamoto himself said that he doesn't do story because it'll interfere with the gameplay.

And really, Mario games should be like Super Mario 3D Land, where the theme is not set in stone.

I want a desert level, an ice level, a cave level, a sky level, and forest lava level all in a row.

 

[TheUltimateKoopa]

This is the current Nintendo fanbase (although it might be like this with other fanbases I don't know).

This game doesn't have this, it sucks.

This game now has the thing that I really wanted it to have... but now it sucks because some how I don't want it now, so I'm going to complain even though I said I wanted it before.

 

[SpoonySage]

We show support with our money. I bought the Mario Galaxy games to show my support. I will not be buying NSMB2 to show my protest. Will their sales show a drop like before? Probably not. But that's about as much as I can do as a consumer.

 

[CM30]

^And that's kind of the problem. All the games with the standard 'formula' have outsold the games without it by a large margin. Do you know what the lowest selling Mario games are? Both Super Mario Bros 2 games, Super Mario Land 2, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Know what the highest ones are? Super Mario Bros 1, New Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 3.

 

[Darkrai]

im really not sure about all this, maybe it is this way because of the fans

ill be honest, im easy to please, there really hasnt been ANY mario game i didnt like (maybe just because im a fanboy) althought some i like better than others, i think sunshine was the best mario game out of all of them

i really dont mind either way if mario stays the same forever, or always has new ideas, im sure i wont complain, im just wondering now where mario will go next (hell, make a remake or a galaxy 3, or a sunshine 2, i dont care) although i admit it does feel like mario is stuck in a rut, but i dont mind it much

ill admit, 3D Land was a short game and it doesnt have much replay value to me, but it was fun while it lasted

as for NSMB, i think U and 2 are fine except U should wait longer to be release (in fact, i think the Wii U should be released next year or something, i can wait this time) but i dont think the series should die, 1 per system is fine, i will be getting NSMB2 (i alredy reserved it in full)

and i admit i say i admit too much