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Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 17, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
We don’t often shine a spotlight on popular YouTubers, because hey, they already get lots of eyes on them. But Matthewmatosis’ fantastic reviews of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine caught our eye. He breaks down exactly why Mario 64 was so revolutionary at the time, pointing out clever game design and tricks the developers used. He even mentions faults the game had, going into plenty of detail. His Mario Sunshine review is equally interesting, praising the strong elements of the game while also examining why so many people didn’t like it and the possible reasons behind that. Check out the videos below, and then check his channel for more! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 17, 2014 in Animation, Videogames 
Fox Animation Domination Hi-Def is a recent programming block that air late-night on Fox, featuring cartoons from a variety of creators. It lets them be a bit more loose and wild with their cartoons, and giving animators a chance to shine on smaller projects. Their latest video features “Songs You Didn’t Know Had Lyrics,” in which they examine the long-standing distrust between Mario and Yoshi — mostly the fact that Mario is just using Yosh to get ahead in the game. It’s not very long but it’s an adorable short, mainly just for Yoshi’s expressions. Check it out below! Read more…
Tags: Fox, Mario Brothers, yoshi
Posted by Bob Muir on May 1, 2014 in Cinema 
It’s always a shame when the world loses another talented actor. This time it’s Bob Hoskins, who has died at age 71. Hoskins was an accomplished actor, who has appeared in many films and TV episodes. However, there were certainly some films he was more well-known for than others. Growing up, I remember watching him in the Peter Pan sequel Hook as Smee. He played Mario in the infamously bad Super Mario Bros. movie, which has gained a cult following in recent years. For me (and many others), his defining role was Eddie Valiant in the brilliant Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Thanks for all the great performances over the years, Bob. Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 26, 2013 in Videogames 
Nintendo’s “Year of Luigi” — celebrating 30 years of both the original Mario Bros. and Mario’s younger brother Luigi — was a great success. With Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, New Super Luigi U, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Luigi Bros. in Super Mario 3D World, Dr. Luigi on December 31, and tons of merchandise, I’m almost Luigi-ed out. Nendoroid finally revealed their Luigi Nendoroid, and it’s adorable. It won’t be available by the time 2013 ends, but I suppose Club Nintendo’s Luigi statue won’t be available either. It comes with a Goomba, Bullet Bill, warp pipe, dust cloud, 2 extra faces, and running legs. Plus, look at his big head! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Nendoroid, Nintendo, Toys
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 3, 2013 in Videogames 
2013 is almost over, but it’s apparently not too late for one last celebration of “The Year of Luigi.” Not content with putting out a bunch of other limited edition 3DS XL systems this year, Nintendo has just released a Mario & Luigi 3DS XL. Besides a snazzy silver and gray color scheme, the case features the Mario Brothers. The system comes bundled with Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, which of course is pre-installed because Nintendo seems to have abandoned giving out cartridges that could be traded away. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Mario Brothers, Nintendo
Posted by Bob Muir on Nov 28, 2013 in Videogames 
One of the major new feature of Super Mario 3D World (besides it being the first must-play Mario game since Super Mario Galaxy) is the Cat Suit, which provides lots of mobility and new abilities, as well as making whoever wears it completely adorable. Mega64 brainstormed and realized that if Cat Mario loves jumping around his candy-coated world, maybe real cats would too! Hence this video, in which cats prove that they are not going to play along with your Mario fantasies. Now if only Mega64 would put out more videos like they used to, because I can’t remember how long it’s been since their last one. Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Mega64, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 16, 2013 in Fandom, Videogames 
Evan Daugherty is slowly crawling his way up in Hollywood, writing films like Snow White and the Huntsman and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His most recent project was directing and writing 4 shorts that were a gritty reinterpretation of Super Mario Bros. Yes, I know. Roll your eyes, as this has been done many times already by many other people. Daugherty definitely comes away with some differences though, especially in Toad’s video which feels heavily inspired by Guillermo del Toro’s monsters for Toad’s design. Mario and Luigi’s videos are equally interesting and silly, but Peach’s definitely feels like it’s all over the place. Still, it’s a fascinating attempt, and I did really like Toad’s film. Check out all four below! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Short Films
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 9, 2013 in Videogames 
At first I wasn’t very interested in Super Mario 3D World — it looked pretty similar to 3D Land and didn’t really seem to do much differently aside from the 4-player co-op. But these recent trailers and screenshots tell a completely different tale! Bright colors, vivid landscapes, and interesting world design! All the power ups look like a lot of fun too, and the lighting really works well with the models. Everything pops! And I really love the design and neon lighting of Bowser’s theme park world. Check out some more images below and a compilation of recent Japanese commercials. The game arrives on November 23rd along with every other video game ever. Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 24, 2013 in Videogames 
For years now, people have been saying that Mario is old and predictable. While some of the New Super Mario Bros. sub-series games are well-made, it’s safe to say that they’re all unsurprising with what they do. But if you haven’t seen anything about it yet, watch the latest Japanese trailer for Super Mario 3D World, the Wii U sort-of sequel to the 3DS’s Super Mario 3D Land. It’s made by the same team that made Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, two of the best Mario games in the last decade. The game marries the 3D Mario games with elements from the 2D games, and it looks fantastic. Plus, it has a ton of power-ups and items, offering many different gameplay mechanics. The whole thing just looks magical and fun in the way that only Nintendo can be. Hopefully it sells some Wii U units when it releases on November 22! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 18, 2013 in Videogames 
Nintendo just released their latest Nintendo Direct, their online press conference to the masses that’s full of new information from the normally tight-lipped company. As usual, it’s full of charming new titles, awkward yet endearing executives talking, and a few surprises. Let’s run down the big announcements, most of which are centered on 3DS. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Legend of Zelda, Mario Brothers, Nintendo, Nintendo Direct
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 25, 2013 in Fandom 
Brandon Laatsch has put together another very cool-looking first-person Mario video for your viewing pleasure… but as cool as it is, this video also makes one thing very clear: a first-person Mario game would never work. And it would also probably make me nauseous. Still, they’ve done a great job with the models and animation, and they’ve kept the small video in the upper-left corner to show you Mario’s movements from a more traditional perspective. I’m interested to see what other games they could tackle next! Watch the video below. Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 8, 2012 in Fandom, Videogames 
The 2012 Machinima Interactive Film Festival has been getting some pretty amazing entries. The latest one that caught my eye was First Person Goomba, a short film that shows us life from the perspective of Mario’s stumpy little enemies. This kind of idea has been tackled before, but Pipoca does it with style and some solid animation. It’s definitely one of the better entries in the contest! Check out the full video below the jump to see how life goes on for those little guys that do their best to hinder Mario. Read more…
Tags: machinima, Mario Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 22, 2012 in Videogames 
Yesterday, Nintendo announced that the 3DS will be receiving a sequel to New Super Mario Bros., the best-selling DS title (and a Wii sequel that also sold gangbusters). New Super Mario Bros. 2 will arrive in August worldwide, and it looks like more of the same old Mario. The NSMB line of games have always been great, although I feel the art style isn’t nearly as solid as Super Mario Galaxy’s. But for you fans of older Mario games, the P-meter is back, as well as the Raccoon Tail and bolted blocks. And I must say, that logo is rather eye-catching – I like it! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Mario Brothers
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 5, 2012 in Fandom, Videogames 
The Mario Bros. theme song has been done over and over again by every instrument ever (even banana). In fact, most Mario songs have received this treatment, including the Super Mario World theme, so you have to be really unique to stand out now. The latest? Tap-dancing! Scott Bradlee takes to the piano while his buddy Alex McDonald taps out the rhythm to one of the catchiest game tunes, giving us a short and sweet tribute to Mario. Classy! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Music
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 13, 2012 in Videogames 
Now this is really neat: a Mario Question Mark Block lamp! This stylish lamp was made by Pete Betcher in his TheBackPackShoppe on Etsy and is probably the coolest thing I’ve seen today. This lamp looks like an official product, and is probably the best thing to put on your end table since… well, anything! You can pick it up for $60 on their Etsy page. I’d recommend checking out their other neat products, like Pokeball coasters or a Tetris-themed drinking glass. Fantastic stuff! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 27, 2011 in Design, Videogames 
Here’s some of the coolest wedding invitations I’ve ever seen. Artist and graphic designer Larry Quach recently crafted these one-of-a-kind invitations for his friend’s wedding. Seeing as the entire wedding was Super Mario Brothers-themed, he went out of his way to include everything from the actual invitations to the party favors and even threw together a custom seating chart for the occasion. I’m incredibly impressed with the amount of work that must have went into it, but Larry did a bang up job, and it really shows.
Read more…
Tags: Customs, Mario Brothers
Posted by Gia Manry on Aug 15, 2011 in Cinema, Videogames 
Comedy studio Pixels Per Second recently launched this awesome parody trailer for a Super Mario Bros. movie. No, not that one (which…okay, which really never should have been), but a better one. Think Super Mario Bros. as an indie flick about a down-on-his-luck guy who find the spark he needs to become a hero. And maybe takes a few drugs on the way. Hit the jump for the video! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 23, 2010 in Videogames 
I’ve always been fond of pixel art, but I’ve never had the time to sit down and create some. I’ve always seen it as incredibly tedious, requiring a lot of precision and attention to detail. Of course, one could argue that it’s no different than playing with Lego blocks, but I beg to differ. Lego has always been, at least for me, a tangible experience. Well, it looks like someone decided to give pixel art some tangibility. J-List recently listed these sweet Super Mario Brothers pixel-art kits. How do they work? Instead of building blocks, you’re snapping them in place. like pins in a Light Bright — or so the product claims. It sounds neat, especially considering you can use the blocks to create the patterns provided, or whatever you feel like. You still have to import the product from Japan, but at $14, it might be worth the price of shipping.
Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Pixel Art
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Sep 29, 2010 in Star Wars, Videogames 
If you hurry, for the next 22 hours or so, TeeFury has these amazing Super Mario Bros/Star Wars cross-over tees. It’s been quite some time since anything they’ve decided to print has caught my eye, but this little gem is hard to pass up. In case, for whatever reason, you’re clueless about classic Nintendo games, the shirt depicts an 8-bit Bobba Fett in a parody of the original cover/cart art for Super Mario Brothers here in the US. Aside from being kind of awesome, owning this shirt definitely earns you some instant nerd cred. Besides, I can’t even think of a better way to determine who you’d want to socialize with or not, because either they’ll get it, or they won’t — and why would you want to socialize with anyone who doesn’t? As always, TeeFury keeps it reasonable at $9 per tee — and before that price scares you, don’t worry, they’re sturdy.
Read more…
Tags: Boba Fett, Mario Brothers, t-shirt
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 21, 2010 in Videogames 
This wonderfully creepy Mario sculpture was done by Jason Freeny who studied industrial design at Pratt Institute once upon a time. His website features a nice selection of shocking pop culture themed illustrations many of which deal with the inner workings of cute cartoon characters. Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Nintendo
Posted by Gia Manry on May 29, 2010 in Star Trek, Television 
Word came out this week that the Pee-Wee Herman Show, and its infamous star Paul Rubens, are moving on to Broadway, for a short time at least. This is one of those ideas that makes you go, “why didn’t anyone think of this YEARS ago?” because Pee-Wee and its mix of puppetry and live stars are perfect for the stage.
But it’s not the only show that I’d like to see get a Broadway adaptation. Here are just a few from my childhood* that deserve a shot.
* I watched some Nick at Nite, so this is all technically true. Read more…
Tags: 24, avatar: the last airbender, Broadway, get smart, house, law & order, Mario Brothers, married with children, Star Trek, three's company, white collar
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 5, 2010 in Videogames 
Like some of you, I spent a good portion of the early 90’s trying to master Rainbow Road with Mario, Luigi and the gang. I spent most of that time falling off the track and starting over, but that really keep me coming back for more. Its nostalgic for me, but what I remember most about Super Mario Kart was how much I loved the music. I always imagined what it’d sound like performed live, and now it seems like I finally got my wish. Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Nintendo, Videogames
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 28, 2008 in Fandom, Videogames 
It’s amazing what a bunch of Nintendo fanboys can do if they put their mind to it! I present to you the Pushpin Mario Shrine:
“This is the third revision of this project. From the first pin to the last took about two and a half semesters, though the final version was completed entirely within the first two months of Fall 2008. There are over 17,000 pins on the board, and the work was done entirely by students, mainly members of the CIS Student Association. The board is currently in the Student Computing Center at the University of the Fraser Valley.” Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Nintendo
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