07-14-2019, 02:37 PM
What's your opinion on storytelling in Mario games? Here are my thoughts:
I want to talk first about Paper Mario. Story in the Paper Mario games is considered a very important element, hence the disappointment when it was announced that Sticker Star would not have a unique storyline. This was a core part of the Paper Mario fun, but, if you think about it, the first game doesn't stray far from the Mario formula at all. Bowser nabs Peach and Mario goes to save her. The Stars are an added plot element, but they mostly serve as an excuse to require Mario to travel to different levels. Still, the story is considered successful. It's not so much about complexity of the story, but how the story is delivered.
In Paper Mario, the story unfolds from two perspectives: we flip between Mario, who is on the battlefield, and Princess Peach, who is in the enemy base. Being able to take control of the Princess behind the scenes and get a taste of both Bowser's personality and the tension building up to the final battle from behind the enemy lines was very important in the story's delivery. I think people often undervalue the importance of those between-chapter segments. In the second game they become even more important, as Peach is now held in unfamiliar territory and everything we learn about Grodus and his wicked plans comes from her perspective. Not only does this teach us more about our nasty new foe, but it also builds that essential tension when Peach finds out Grodus's ultimate plans with her and she is caught before she gets to inform Mario (and the player). Imagine if those segments were cut. Just seeing the final boss without having had those segments to build up to it would be really out-of-nowhere and wouldn't make a lot of sense. Another element this adds is just simply being involved with the story's characters, rather than just having them wait for us at the end of the game. We actually get to see Grouds and see Peach to learn about their personalities and situations.
In Sunshine, Galaxy, and Odyssey we get something kind of similar, but not quite as intensive since the games aren't as text heavy. We don't actually get to see what's going on behind enemy lines (if we did it'd probably be quite boring anyway), but we do get to stay in touch with the main characters throughout the game.
In Sunshine, Peach is present until later on when she is taken. Bowser Junior eventually takes her to the park, where we get to see them again. Unfortunately this is where all that ends, as they fly off to the final area. We still do see Jr. every once in a while, but it's not that exciting since we just chase him around for a shine sprite.
Galaxy did this a little better, mostly due to the introduction of Rosalina. She is there the whole game and if you want to you can learn a lot about her. She's a constant character who is there to build story. We also don't forget about Peach and Bowser after the intro until the end of the game. We see them a couple of times throughout the story to remind us what our goal is and what is at stake.
Odyssey perfected this in terms of the 3D Mario games in my opinion. The storyline is constant; every world Mario travels to has been robbed by Bowser, so the characters are all conscious of the ongoing Bowser threat and there's always a bit of storyline present. On top of that, we see Bowser and Peach multiple times throughout the game, even seeing them evolve as we get closer to the wedding day. The story in this game is very minimal and quite formulaic, but the fact that it is constantly present in the game is what makes the delivery memorable.
Anyway, those are just my opinions on Mario storylines and how they can be effectively presented. I think it's a very interesting topic because, while we don't think of storyline when we think of Mario games, they do hold some considerable weight in making the games memorable. That's not to say they are necessary, but they do have an impact. What are your opinions on the subject?
I want to talk first about Paper Mario. Story in the Paper Mario games is considered a very important element, hence the disappointment when it was announced that Sticker Star would not have a unique storyline. This was a core part of the Paper Mario fun, but, if you think about it, the first game doesn't stray far from the Mario formula at all. Bowser nabs Peach and Mario goes to save her. The Stars are an added plot element, but they mostly serve as an excuse to require Mario to travel to different levels. Still, the story is considered successful. It's not so much about complexity of the story, but how the story is delivered.
In Paper Mario, the story unfolds from two perspectives: we flip between Mario, who is on the battlefield, and Princess Peach, who is in the enemy base. Being able to take control of the Princess behind the scenes and get a taste of both Bowser's personality and the tension building up to the final battle from behind the enemy lines was very important in the story's delivery. I think people often undervalue the importance of those between-chapter segments. In the second game they become even more important, as Peach is now held in unfamiliar territory and everything we learn about Grodus and his wicked plans comes from her perspective. Not only does this teach us more about our nasty new foe, but it also builds that essential tension when Peach finds out Grodus's ultimate plans with her and she is caught before she gets to inform Mario (and the player). Imagine if those segments were cut. Just seeing the final boss without having had those segments to build up to it would be really out-of-nowhere and wouldn't make a lot of sense. Another element this adds is just simply being involved with the story's characters, rather than just having them wait for us at the end of the game. We actually get to see Grouds and see Peach to learn about their personalities and situations.
In Sunshine, Galaxy, and Odyssey we get something kind of similar, but not quite as intensive since the games aren't as text heavy. We don't actually get to see what's going on behind enemy lines (if we did it'd probably be quite boring anyway), but we do get to stay in touch with the main characters throughout the game.
In Sunshine, Peach is present until later on when she is taken. Bowser Junior eventually takes her to the park, where we get to see them again. Unfortunately this is where all that ends, as they fly off to the final area. We still do see Jr. every once in a while, but it's not that exciting since we just chase him around for a shine sprite.
Galaxy did this a little better, mostly due to the introduction of Rosalina. She is there the whole game and if you want to you can learn a lot about her. She's a constant character who is there to build story. We also don't forget about Peach and Bowser after the intro until the end of the game. We see them a couple of times throughout the story to remind us what our goal is and what is at stake.
Odyssey perfected this in terms of the 3D Mario games in my opinion. The storyline is constant; every world Mario travels to has been robbed by Bowser, so the characters are all conscious of the ongoing Bowser threat and there's always a bit of storyline present. On top of that, we see Bowser and Peach multiple times throughout the game, even seeing them evolve as we get closer to the wedding day. The story in this game is very minimal and quite formulaic, but the fact that it is constantly present in the game is what makes the delivery memorable.
Anyway, those are just my opinions on Mario storylines and how they can be effectively presented. I think it's a very interesting topic because, while we don't think of storyline when we think of Mario games, they do hold some considerable weight in making the games memorable. That's not to say they are necessary, but they do have an impact. What are your opinions on the subject?