The first video game I ever fully beat was Super Mario 3. And it what a glorious day that was! Browser was no more and I had saved the princess! My siblings were too young to decipher my song of joy, my dance of elation, or my nanny-nanny-boo-booing to all those who had yet to overcome Boswer. I stood tall in my moment of victory!
Just recently, I sped through another playthrough of Paper Mario, and I’m still reeling from and reveling in my oh so sweet victory over Bowser. I’ve played a plenty Mario/Yoshi games throughout my gaming life, and I’ve beaten most of them. And no matter the span between playthroughs or my self-conscious thoughts about how I should be playing something more “age-appropriate,” there’s something incredibly satisfying about sending that mean ol’ dinosaur to his doom. And something very nerve-wracking. Or maybe that’s just me. By the end of Paper Mario my hands were shaking and all I could squeak out was nervous laughter. There’s something about completing Mario games that’s fundamentally fulfilling. Even if I don’t get ALL the coins, ALL the power-ups, find ALL the secrets, just getting ALL the way through to the credits of any given Mario game makes my gaming soul happy.
We’ve all taken on some tough enemies: dragons, terrorists, crocodiles, Reapers, demons, zombies, Metroids, ghosts, maniacal masked villains, evil robots, and mythological creatures. I don’t think Bowser is the worst, most difficult, or scariest of the lot, but he has been, and will probably continue to be, hard to get rid of. He’s been snatching away Princess Peach from Mario for 30+ years and shows no signs of quitting any time soon. Mario’s brought his brother, friends, and countless cohorts into the mix to help stop Bowser, but all he ever does is knock out Bowser long enough to save the Princess and maybe watch some fireworks. They’ve never made it through a single vacation, never managed to move on together, never had a chance to go shopping for curtains, get a puppy, or sit by a fireplace with hot chocolate without Bowser somehow getting past guards, or customs, or security checkpoints. The Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants might need quit being so stupidly happy-go-lucky and put on their game faces if Mario and the Princess are to ever find solace.
But if Mario and Peach ever did live happily ever after, what then? No more Bowser? No more capturing? No more running, jumping, and saving? No more coins, stars, Yoshies, etc., etc.? No more nervous endings and glorious fist-pumpings at that moment of Bowser’s defeat? Hmmmm. Perhaps it’s good that Mario and Peach live in a constant state of ignorant bliss. It’s always fun to help them reunite, to help them find order, to bring them a little peace, and to once again send Bowser packing.
Mario is pretty incompetent at permanently vanquishing Bowser, isn’t he? How frustrating. But, it’s good for us, because we get more games. I think a hearty “thank you” is in order for His Horribleness. Bowser is indeed a tough enemy to beat, which only makes our victory against him that much more satisfying, especially since he seems to show up in more games than any other villain. (Recently, I had a similar experience when beating Dark Riku in “Kingdom Hearts”. Even after beating him twice before, he is always very tough for me, and when I fought him this third time, my hands were shaking so badly, I thought I’d need to pause the game and take a quick break.)
Ooo, Dark Riku is a toughy. He’s way too spry from his own good. I beat him only once, and that was quite enough!
Here’s hoping that Bowser remains Mario’s primary nemesis for many games to come. I just can’t imagine the series without him.
Hear, hear.
Also, that Bowser action figure in the photo is brilliant and I must have one.
Ah, he is pretty cool, isn’t he? It was too good a Flickr image to pass up!
I still want a Super Bowser game where Peach and Mario go on a vacation and he has to fight off boredom. Maybe mix Mario platforming with Rampage-style destruction?
Either way, this is the real kicker: HE RUNS LEFT.
A Bowser-centric is a brilliant idea! Nintendo, GET ON THAT!
Though, dear lord, should Mario ever run left in a platformer, the world might start spinning backwards. Kind of like Suprman did in the original movie to save Lois Lane. Surely that screwed up some stuff world wide.
Stay the course, Mario!
I hope that the original Superman movies are the not the blueprint for all gaming logic …