Mario’s ventures into the world of tennis have always been one of his more well-respected spin-offs, so it would make sense to expect great things with the release of Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for the Wii U. However, while the game looks beautiful, it’s criminally shy of engaging content.
Tag: mario franchise
Nerd Bacon Celebrates Mario’s 30th Anniversary!
In celebration of Mario’s 30th anniversary, we’ve compiled a list of all of The Bacon’s current Mario and Mario-related reviews. Check back frequently as we work to add as many games to this list as possible over the next couple of months!
Mario’s Time Machine – SNES
Mario’s Time Machine, another commonly derided title from Mario’s line of educational games, is a surprisingly honest trip through certain pieces of history. It’s still got that “edutainment” flair that keeps it from entering the pantheon of “real” games, though the experience is more enjoyable than you might think!
Super Mario Kart – SNES
The Mario Kart series is one of video gaming’s most popular franchises, and it all started here, with Super Mario Kart. Critics have heaped on loads of superlatives to this initial installment: best SNES graphics, top console game, one of the greatest of all time. However, I am of a slightly different persuasion…
Mario is Missing! – SNES
Mario is Missing!, one of a handful of educational Mario games released in the early 90’s, features Luigi as the main protagonist for the first time in the series. It may not be much of a “game,” but if you’re in the fourth or fifth grade and need to learn a few things about history and geography, there are certainly worse ways to go about it!
Super Mario Maker – Wii U
Super Mario Maker is an instant classic and the perfect way to celebrate Mario’s 30th birthday. Easy to learn and difficult to master, Super Mario Maker will have old and new fans alike cranking out Mario levels by the dozen, not to mention marveling at the diverse creations of others.
Super Mario Advance – GBA
Platform: Game Boy Advance Release Date (NA): June 11th, 2001 Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Platformer Nerd Rating: 7 out of 10 As one of the launch titles for the GBA, Super Mario Advance reimagines a couple of early Mario games, namely Super Mario Bros. 2 and the original Mario Bros. There’s not a whole lot of new stuff… Continue reading Super Mario Advance – GBA
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins – Game Boy
Platform: Game Boy Release Date (NA): November 2nd, 1992 Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Platformer Nerd Rating: 4.5 out of 10 What? A mere 4.5 out of 10 you might say? Well, yes, I meant to type that. Still, by my rationale, 5 equals average, meaning there’s nothing terrible remarkable about it either… Continue reading Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins – Game Boy
Hotel Mario – CD-i
Platform: Philips CD-i Release Date (NA): 1994 Developer: Philips Fantasy Factory Publisher: Philips Interactive Media Genre: Puzzle, Platforming Nerd Rating: 3.5 out of 10 Well, here it is: the much hated, exceedingly notorious, widely panned, critically derided, universally shunned…Hotel Mario! As Nerd Bacon approached its 700th article, NerdBerry and I were trying to figure out a… Continue reading Hotel Mario – CD-i
Super Mario Land – Game Boy
Platform: Game Boy Release Date: August 1989 Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Platformer Nerd Rating: 5 out of 10 I’ve had my neat little pile of Super Mario Land games lying around for quite awhile now: the first, second, and third (which is also the first Wario Land), followed by 2, 3, and 4 of the latter series. Having had… Continue reading Super Mario Land – Game Boy
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe – Game Boy Color
Super Mario Bros. gets the deluxe treatment on the Game Boy Color. And Nerd Bacon co-founder The Cubist gives it a deluxe rundown in this review.