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.
