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Nintendo needs to give Bowser a rest

Bowser is best. That being said I'd love for his RPG persona to come into the mainline games. Though, even in the mainline games, I still think of Bowser as the hopeless romantic and single father. I guess Sunshine kinda added some of that persona to him.
 
Molemitts said:
Bowser is best. That being said I'd love for his RPG persona to come into the mainline games. Though, even in the mainline games, I still think of Bowser as the hopeless romantic and single father. I guess Sunshine kinda added some of that persona to him.
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I agree, having another boss for the main game would be refreshing and then adding Bowser as a boss for the Star World would quench the thirst for any Bowser lovers.
 
Reila said:
Ganondorf is such a boring character I am always glad they use a different villain in Zelda games. Ghirahim, Majora, Cole, Yuga/Hilda > Ganondorf.
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He was a great character in Wind Waker. I loved his characterization as an old man who was just tired and only wanted his old kingdom back.
 
NEO0MJ said:
He was a great character in Wind Waker. I loved his characterization as an old man who was just tired and only wanted his old kingdom back.
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I liked him in Wind Waker too. It helps that his design is the greatest there (and the gorgeous WW art style helps a lot, too). Too bad he isn't nearly as interesting in OoT/TP.

Also too bad Smash Ganondorf isn't the WW Ganondorf :/
 
Gonzo The Great said:
It's become increasingly apparent that the Mario series is in dire need of some new villains. While gameplay is obviously their primary focus, it would be nice if Nintendo at least attempted to change the narrative once in awhile. ... Think of it this way: Nintendo keeps changing the path to the goal, but they never change the goal. While the path may be different each time, their refusal to change the goal is starting to bother me, and I know I'm not alone. Would anybody be upset if Bowser skipped out on a game or two? I don't think so.
...

In 2007, Super Mario Galaxy was released to rightfully deserved critical acclaim. The game took place in outer space, and Bowser once again served as the final boss. This would have been a perfect opportunity to bring back Tatanga, a space alien from the Super Mario Land series who was responsible for kidnapping Princess Daisy. They could have even went with the more recent Shroobs from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, but it's a well known fact that Nintendo doesn't like reusing characters that originated from the Mario RPG series. Why not? That's a good question that hasn't been answered.

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Then came New Super Mario Bros. 2 in 2012, a game about collecting as many coins as humanly possible. Why was there a sudden overabundance of gold coins scattered throughout the Mushroom Kingdom? Well... nobody knows. But what we do know is that Bowser was the final boss for some reason, even though there is another villain in the Mario series who is obsessed with money and would have been perfect for the role. Maybe they'll include Wario as an unlockable character after you collect one million coins? Yeah uh... don't hold your breath on that one. You'll get your alternate title screen and you'll like it.

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And finally, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team was released in 2013. It starred Mario and Luigi on their trip to the Pi'illo Island, where there exists a special power that makes people fall asleep. Mario then must venture into the dreamworld on a quest to acquire the coveted Dream Stone. This is starting to sound familiar. Ah yes, Mario and friends traveled to Subcon in 1987 to do battle with the villainous frog king Wart. Subcon, which is short for "subconscious", is actually a dream world that Mario is seen waking up from at the end of Super Mario Bros. 2. Wouldn't this have been the PERFECT time to bring back Wart and connect the dots regarding his origins? Was it really necessary to use Bowser YET AGAIN even though he doesn't show up until much later in the story? It wouldn't have made a huuuge difference, but it would have helped give the game a more unique identity; something I find lacking in the newer Mario games.

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Yes, I'm indeed quoting a large part of the OP. Not only because I fully agree with it up to being bothered by the same missed opportunities for not using Tatanga (my one big disappointment in Mario Galaxy), Wart and Wario when the premise of the games practically begged for it, I also feel it should be required reading by everyone in Nintendo working on the Mario series (not that they'll read Gaf, but still).

Please Nintendo, use less of Bowser in his main villain role! Heck why not make him a secondary villain or a variety of supporting character with dubious motivations like in Super Mario RPG if you really feel you need to use him? I strongly feel that having a variety in villains would help greatly in making the Mario games feel fresh again. Even Zelda nowadays changes it up a bit by having more villains than just Ganondorf - so why not do the same for the mainline Mario platformers?
 
Molemitts said:
Bowser is best. That being said I'd love for his RPG persona to come into the mainline games. Though, even in the mainline games, I still think of Bowser as the hopeless romantic and single father. I guess Sunshine kinda added some of that persona to him.
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Super Mario RPG Bowser is my headcanon Bowser. Also the Paper Mario 1&2 Bowser.
 
I agree with OP.

My first ever Mario game was Super Mario Advance and that had Wart, so when I got into Nintendo games a bit more I always thought it was weird that he was a one-off.

I have a lot of nostalgia for characters like Mouser, Birdo, the 3 headed snake/dragon etc.

So when every game I now see Bowser it is a bit of an eye roll. I do like him and I think he's cool, but it wouldn't hurt to freshen it up a bit. Jesus, just give him a new right hand man, and not in the same way as Bowser Jr. (who I also like).

What about a team of Wario and Bowser? Or Wart and Bowser? That'd be cool. I liked what they did with Sunshine and NSMB DS where Bowser Jr was the primary villain and you only saw Bowser at the very end. Unfortunately Bowser Jr has gone back to being under his dad in recent years.

And 3D World was nice in that Peach wasn't kidnapped, that was really nice to see. More of that please. In fact, Peach's role in 3D World is comparable to this whole discussion.
 
Green Mamba said:
Mario canon, you heard it here, folks.
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There's a reason why it has quotation marks, you silly condescending goose.

Fine, "official" or "main line".

Super Mario Land was not recognized in that anniversary stuff. It can't be because of "handheld", because NSMB is part of it.
 
After Toads TT, I can see a Bowser game happening, alongside having a mainline mario game where he is not starred as the main villain, but maybe appeaing as a cameo/secret char.

Btw a game starring bowser where you get to cause huge ruckus in mushrom kingdom would be awesome!
 
I don't care, honestly. Tatanga is a pretty cool character, though, and I wouldn't mind seeing them comeback.
 
I forgot where, but I've read an opinion piece about Sonic recently that mentioned Eggman not being the main villain in most/all Sonic games is a big failure of modern Sonic. Lack of identifiable and recognisable main villain makes the new villains appear even shittier than they are.

I think having a classic protagonist/antagonist rivalry going on is a good idea. Mario and Bowser, Link and Ganondorf etc etc
 
Pathfinder said:
Bowser is to Mario, as Gannon is to Link.

Neither can exist without the other. They should all stay.
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link regularly faces enemies that aren't Ganon(dorf) - while LoZ, aLttP, OoT, OoS/A (and even then only in the linked ending), FSA, tWW, and TP feature him, the list of games which don't is also quite long - AoL, LA, MM, tMC, FS, PH, ST, SS, and aLbW. In addition, Ganondorf usually goes through much more variation between games, ranging from the nearly mindless zombie pig monster in OoS/A to the cunning godlike man featured in TP.
 
I want Mario and Bowser to team up against a legit evil (in a Nintendo kind of way) villain, like Kirby and Dedede did against Nightmare. That'd be cool.
 
Haunted said:
I forgot where, but I've read an opinion piece about Sonic recently that mentioned Eggman not being the main villain in most/all Sonic games is a big failure of modern Sonic. Lack of identifiable and recognisable main villain makes the new villains appear even shittier than they are.

I think having a classic protagonist/antagonist rivalry going on is a good idea. Mario and Bowser, Link and Ganondorf etc etc
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Would replacing Bowser with somebody else for a game or two invalidate the rest of the series? And please stop mentioning Ganondorf already. Haven't we established that Link battles other villains in addition to Ganon? It doesn't have to be one or the other.

Neff said:
I want Mario and Bowser to team up against a legit evil (in a Nintendo kind of way) villain, like Kirby and Dedede did against Nightmare. That'd be cool.
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This is the kind of thing we need to see more of. I don't want them to erase Bowser from history, but he doesn't need to be the final boss in every game.
 
JazzmanZ said:
Nintendo tends not to mention Super Mario land 1 and 2, outside a few exceptions like the origins of Daisy and Wario, both games don't really get anniversary celebrations or references in other Mario games.
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This is true, but it's also a really silly arbitrary line in the sand that shouldn't really exist when you consider how popular they were.
 
This thread got away from me so I didn't read through it sorry.

Have we established who Bowser impregnated to get his kids? This is actually a critical enigma in my life.
 
Is this thread for real, or is it a parody of the God of War-thread? Does anybody seriously care about story in a Mario-game?
 
People will complain about how he is never the main enemy anymore and how much of a threat he was before. Like some dumb ass Sonic fans.
 
I think it's because story is so non-essential to the Mario games. In the first game, Toad is always a sign telling us our princess ain't there. Bowser is a sign telling us THE END. So, yeah, you could swap him out. One sign post is just as good as another. And that's why you don't really bother swapping them out.
 
Green Mamba said:
This is true, but it's also a really silly arbitrary line in the sand that shouldn't really exist when you consider how popular they were.
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Yeah but Wario has already shown he can stand on his own. Daisy is like Waluigi, only with a luxury that she starred in a non-mainline game.
 
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