Mailbag
12/29/2000
This week, J.J. tackles your questions. Got something you want us to answer next week? Send it to tmk_mailbag@usa.net.
How far can Mario from SMB3 jump in pixles?
-Zach Gogel
J.J.: After a running start, Mario can jump a maximum of a 15 block distance. Since each block is 16 pixels long, some quick calculations indicate that Mario can jump a maximum distance of approximately 240 pixels.
J.J.: The bosses in that game can be kind of tricky. Here are some basic tips:
Level 2- Top Man: Time your bomb-dropping to hit Top Man when he stops spinning.
Level 3- T-Bear: Not too hard. Bomb the big bear four times to kill him.
Level 4- P-Flower: Drop as many bombs as you can around the flower, so he is always surrounded.
Level 5- Thunder Cloud: Again, try to keep him surrounded with bombs at all times.
Level 6- Ice Bug: Lure the bug into walking into the fire from bomb explosions.
Level 7- Knight: Place bombs all around the knight so they will explode when his back is exposed.
Is there a beta version of any of the Mario games? Like Sonic 2 beta
-Alex84871
J.J.: No, unfortunately. Unlike other companies, Nintendo has not been known to release beta versions of games, with the possible exception of "Mother" / Earthbound Zero.
Just what exactly did happened to Mallow, Geno, and the rest of the Super
Mario RPG characters, and what exactly is Smithy a human, a robot or what?
And one more thing why are Bowser and Mario still fighting?
-Big Tim
J.J.: Don't hold your breath waiting for another appearance of Mallow and Geno. SMRPG was a Square / Nintendo compilation game, so Nintendo does not hold the rights to any of the new characters introduced in it. The only way they'll be reappearing is if Nintendo and Square team up again, which we all know is not very likely to happen anytime soon.
Smithy appears to be some sort of mechanical, stone creature that can change his form at will, as we saw in the final battle. However, if Smithy is anything like Geno, his true from is unknown.
Bowser repeatedly stated in SMRPG that he was only helping Mario temporarily. His opening line in SM64 where he mockingly calls Mario "friend" seems to prove this.
do you think there will ever be a smash bros. 2?
-Videotalk1
J.J.: Yes, it has been confirmed that Nintendo is at least working on some sort of sequel
to one of their most popular games. What system it will be for, however, remains unknown.
Neato mailbag. I congratulate you. ^_^ Anyway, something I've been wondering:
What is Wario's relation to Mario, specifically? Some say he's a distant
cousin...some say he's a warped, evil childhood friend...I say I want the
TRUTH! REVOLUTIONIZE! Inquiring minds want to know!
-Madam Luna, Drunk Worshipper and QuEeN rAvInG lUnAtIc
J.J.: The official word is that Mario and Wario were childhood friends turned enemies. It
seems that Wario has always been jealous of Mario's popularity, and presumably, always will be.
One of my old "friends", said that in Super Mario RPG there is a weapon for Mario that is even stronger than the Lazy Shell. Although by coincidence he said he couldn't remember the name, I was wondering if this is true. Then again he always lied about things, so I highly doubt it's true.
-ShinyKoopa
J.J.: Looks like he's lying again. The Lazy Shell is Mario's strongest weapon, there is none better.
Why do people lie? I met some kid at school (I am an 11th grader) that was
convinced in Japan they already had a Nintendo 100 (Portable) and a Nintendo 164
out with Mario 100, and Mario 164 respectively. I responded with Gamecube and
GbA to no avail. Sad sad people. Folks, in Japan, the only thing they have we
don't is the Gameboy phone system that debuted VERY recently. Everything else
isn't supported any longer (SNES Satelliete View, right?, the NES modem, etc.)
Right, Deezer?
-Chris "M3wThr33" Glass
J.J.: Yes, as you can see from the letters above, the liars are still dominant and many. Fortunately,
based on my own experiences it seems to be a stage most kids outgrow, so there is still hope.
I'm not Deezer, but you're correct aboot the Japan-only systems. While the Japanese definately
had more gimmicks for their systems, technology-wise they never really had anything
that we didn't.
First of all, let me say that your website dedicated to Mario, "The
Mushroom Kingdom" is fantastic. I like the careful research that went into
every game that features Nintendo's famous mustachioed plumber, and the
multimedia sections. (Although I'd like to see a bit more SFX .wav samples
from games.) WTMK is only the icing on the cake. (By the way, nice touch
with the title in a Christmas motif.)
Anyway, I just had a few questions for your mailbag:
1. Since now we have seen Daisy appearing in Mario Tennis and the upcoming
Mario Party 3, any chances of Pauline (from Donkey Kong) showing up in a
future Mario game? (GameCube, perhaps?)
2. What do you think will be the more "mature" attitude that Shigeru
Miyamoto was talking about in the new NGC Mario game?
-David Aranda Teixeira
J.J.:
1. Pauline may make a return appearance in a game someday, but if she does it will
almost certainly be in a sports / Mario Party type game of some sort. The spin-off companies
(Hudson, Camelot) seem more fond of bringing back old characters than Nintendo itself.
2. Miyamoto's infamous "mature" comment has often been misinterpreted. As he said in a
recent follow-up session, all he meant by "mature" is that Mario would look and behave more
like a real person, and less like a cartoon. He said to look at the demo of "Luigi's Mansion"
for an idea of what this "mature" look will be like.