/vr/ - Retro Games

>>2776764
Does that seem evil to you? He is in a clown car! It is more comedic. Super Mario World never felt evil. Even Bowser’s area felt like Mushroom World’s version of Vegas with neon lights and techno music.

But Super Mario Brothers and Super Mario Brothers 3 can be experienced as Dark Fantasy if the player allows it.

In Super Mario Brothers, the premise is not much different from a RPG. The big baddie, Bowser, has taken over the world and the countryside is rampaging with monsters. Horror was a definitive experience back in 1985. Remember when you first encountered the Hammer Brothers? Or as you got close to a Bowser, the fireballs that would come at you? In the manual, the story says that Bowser turned the citizens of Mushroom World (the Toads) into blocks. This is why sometimes a mushroom would appear from some of the blocks. But what happened when you broke a brick? Was it killing a Toad? We all thought so. The game could be quite grisly when you thought of it that way.

Super Mario Brothers 3 has quite a lot in common with the RPG. It has an overhead map that is conquered by enemies. The king is always transformed. Bowser comes across as evil. The airships come across as evil. It is not Carebear fluffy. The game doesn’t fall into a comedy zone.