Author Topic: You know, folks call Mario a flat character... (Read 5656 times)

Red Menace Forman · « **on:** October 14, 2011, 11:26:41 AM »

But I don't agree... in a lot of games, they paint him as as a jolly goofball. He has a lot of fun being a hero in spite of insurmountable odds (who do you know that says "whooo hoooooo!" when shot out of a cannon?)

But think about this: he's also said to "represent the player". And Mario games are all about eschewing the details in order to get right to the fun part.

I don't know if Nintendo did it on purpose, but it's clever...

BP · « **Reply #1 on:** October 14, 2011, 02:07:34 PM »

It bugs me when people claim Mario has no personality and call "especially compared to Luigi." Compared to what? Luigi's only character traits, now, are being terrified of everything, and not being Mario. Just because both are overemphasized to absurd limits doesn't give them any more depth.

PaperLuigi · « **Reply #2 on:** October 14, 2011, 06:07:15 PM »

I HATE Luigi's character relative to Mario's.

Weegee · « **Reply #3 on:** October 14, 2011, 06:17:47 PM »

Paper Mario is a pretty flat character.

The Chef · « **Reply #4 on:** October 15, 2011, 02:52:41 PM »

Here is a list of things we know about Mario as a person:

-We know he really really likes Peach, possibly to the point of being enamored.
-We know he really likes pasta, seeing how he dreams about it.
-We know playing sports or getting in fights gets him really REALLY hyped up, if his constant angry expression on all the boxarts is anything to go by.
-We know he's a very friendly guy, given his usual warm greetings to us the player.
-We know he might secretly be an egotist, given things like him stepping on Luigi's foot in Mario Power Tennis.
-We know he's almost hopelessly devoted to Peach, since he seems to reject any other women that make passes at him.
-We know he can be aggressive to the point of being thoughtless: "Who do you think you are, Bruce Lee? You can't go in there with your fists flying!"
-We know he's a really good pantomime actor, according to Super Mario RPG.
-We know he can do [darn] near any job you throw at him, given his numerous roles he's taken on.'
-We know he has some pretty unbelievable strength at his disposal. He can throw Bowser, for cripe's sake!

Anybody else has anything to add to this list, be sure to point it out.

johnny1up · « **Reply #5 on:** November 06, 2011, 05:40:51 PM »

Mario games are like a journey and Mario's like the guy who takes you through it. He esssentially represents you. He's pretty much got it together, and his conflicts are external (The princess gets kidnapped, Bowser wants him dead, ect.). He's a good guy and he's a static character, but being static isn't the same as being a bad character.

Some people think that Mario should be some sort of hard core Mafia drug dealer who's busted out of prison and lands in the Mushroom Kingdom after a hallucination, but I sure don't. I don't see why anyone would want to play as a character like that, the main character should be a role model. Mario is perfect the way he is.

The Chef · « **Reply #6 on:** November 06, 2011, 09:36:34 PM »

You and I have both noticed there are an awful lot of Mario fans who want Mario to be the complete opposite of Mario. This is why so many people seem to love the likes of Geno and Dimentio. They're some of the least Mario-ish characters in the entire series.

Red Menace Forman · « **Reply #7 on:** November 06, 2011, 10:41:15 PM »

Really though, Mario is kind of a kid in an adult's body.

He's headstrong, attracted to princesses, he has almost zero danger sense (again, he whoops and hollers with every step), he wears goofy costumes to give himself "powers", and he likes to pretend he's an airplane.

In his downtime, he goofs around on beaches and loves to eat. He's basically a celibate Charlie Sheen

billy chilly · « **Reply #8 on:** November 06, 2011, 11:23:19 PM »

I like the interpretation that Mario is a dude who doesn't save the day just because he has to, but because he wants to. It's fun for him. That's why he's always whooping and hollering as he bounces as around, and his joyful attitude just makes Bowser hate him all the more. Luigi on the other handis a lot more timid... or even just more realistic, and realizes the danger of the situation his brother charges headlong into.