Mario Mailbag > March 2001

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“March... snowy, rainy, dreary, cold March. The thermostat is moving up slowly. The server is working, though. I may as well get another one out on time, too.”

TOPIC FOR MARCH:
“With the advent of Sonic the Hedgehog being confirmed on AGB, what other Sega games do you want to see on AGB or NGC and why?”

MY REPLY:
“I actually want to see the Dreamcast game Swirl. I like puzzle games (e.g. Tetris) and I played the very interesting Shockwave version. My interest is piqued and I want to play it without buying the Dreamcast for playing that game only.”

Read Top>Bottom, Left>Right.

First letter is from Matt this month:

Hello. I emailed you guys once before about something and you were very helpful...apparently there IS no answer about Luigi's alternating facial shape.
Anyway, this may seem obvious, but....in "Paper Mario", (which I am renting at the moment) why is Mario flat? It's not clear...did Bowser make him that way? Has he laid off the mushroom pizza?And why did they have to include the most ANNOYING thing from Mario R.P.G....those idiotic BATTLES?! Mario is above this...he can simply squish a goomba, why does he bother standing back and letting them smack him? if I remember right, Mario isn't supposed to "take turns" in fights...he just wins! I mean, the thing I loved about Super Mario World was all those koopas...man, you could beat the !@#$@ out of them, and if you walked offscreen and came back, they'd be there ag ain! Fun! No turns, just hit the turtle and play games with the shell. In Mario 64, you even got to surf on them. And the dumb little goombas...just little crab-looking things you could stomp on and kill instantly.
The point is, why make Mario annoying? I liked it better when I was in control, not a computer telling me when or when not to squish a bad guy. Even in Zelda games, I controlled the battles and could feel relatively safe...I could dodge an attacker....I wasn't forced by the system to stand there and take it like a sissy. Some RPG this is...more like a Mario-trash-fest. They do Mario 64, then Mariokart, then Smash Bros...they keep getting much better....until this! This is by far Mario's darkest hour. What do you think?
-Oh, by the way....if you're going to criticize the other mailers...no matter HOW unbelievably dumb some of them are...maybe this ain't the job for you. Leave them alone...you'd get more mail if you tried being nice. I don't mean to be rude, many of your tips and facts are cool...I read this site from time to time, I like it. But I like it better when you help people, not criticize them because they're not experts like you. They're not as knowledgeable as you...that's why they ASK!

Dave: Number one, about those "idiotic" battles, those are in a true traditional role-playing style. Yes, I'm going on the offense for the game for now. Also, about Mario, that's the way it's been planned since it was called Super Mario RPG 2. He would be 2D and hand-drawn walking in a 3D world. I have not played the game yet (because Blockbuster is so [bleep]) BTW, there's another RPG called "Super Mario RPG" for the SNES which operated the same way. Now do you think that game is a Mario "Trash-fest" too? Plus, my philosophy is this: "If I can take the time to look up the URL of a site and make a link, you can at least click." -- Especially if the answer is on SMBHQ.	Steve: They sell hot food at Blockbuster?
	Mewtwo: Also, it's Paper Mario because Gold, Silver, and Crystal were taken.
	Mike: I think Mario is flat because the game takes place in a book, hence the "Chapters" and junk... he's just a cut-out. Also, if I may, webmasters get a lot of bad emails that don't deserve niceness. But since those usually aren't a good thing to put up for all to see, we unfortunately take it out on the nice emailers. It's not because we're jerks. Oh, and a true hero can take as much as he can dish out. That's why Mario rules.

Next up... Will Ferrell's other cousin, Will Merrell:

I do not know how to travel through time because whenever I try to I end up surfing.
Please tell me how to play by E-mailing back!

Dave: Number one, you have to do the "homework". What is the homework? filling in the blanks on a particular item once you have an item. You need to do the homework before you can return an item to its right time. Also, make sure you return the artifacts in the right order. That's the real key to smooshing Bowser this time... literally. About the surfing, that's part of the game. You have to collect 10 mushrooms and then put yourself in a vortex without stepping on a mine. Step on a mine, all your mushrooms are lost. To get through the game the easiest, go to GameFAQs.com and read the FAQ listed. It will give you the controls, answers, and everything else.	Steve: Wait, how can Mario travel through time, anyway?
	Mewtwo: Simple. The game is so bad that the laws of physics no longer apply. Dave: Since when does quantum physics not apply at all?
	Mike: Wow... Mario surfing. I gotta see that... Does anyone have an NES version of "Mario's Time Machine" handy?

Mini-session with RockerBaby672 leads me to giving him a hard time... all in good fun, though:

When did Yoshi and Mario become best friends?¿?

Dave: In 1991, when Super Mario World came out.	Steve: But only Psy Copy can tell you the real story! Mewtwo: We've got interviews from all the key players. Dave: I don't mind Steve being crazy, but Mewtwo- Mewtwo: If I don't humor Steve, no one will, Dave. Dave: Oh.
Mike: They're best friends? I thought they just worked together... Now I feel bad about ditching Yoshi to get across holes...

thats not what I ment Where did they meet in Mraio land!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And how did they meet

Dave: A-ha, but you said when, not where. And they did not meet in Mraio land... I don't think I ever heard of it. (P.S. I did have fun, but I told him the truth)	Steve: And if you mean Mario Land-They didn't meet there either. Mewtwo: They met on Yoshi's Island. Steve: Spoilsport.
Mike: I'm still doubtful about Yoshi and Mario being best friends... I think it's more of a knight/steed relationship.

Jordan has hate mail towards Sega! STORM HIS CASTLE!

Frankly, the only sega affiltated game Id like to see on any Nintendo system, would be one in which I could use Mario, Luigi, or any other Nintendo character, to brutally bash sonic, whom I blame for all evil things. But I do have a question for mewtwo... Why is it that the guys at SMBHQ can contain you? Dont you have ultra psychic powers? Dont you have better things to do than sit around and read othere peoples Email? Isnt It booring? Wouldnt you like to be out there getting revenge on that little electric rodent for taking up all the Glory? Its you who should be the star. You should be on the box. (Ok so thats more like 5 questions, but whose counting right?) By the way guys Kudos for such a spectactualr site.

Dave: Okay, now that was just downright biased. Granted I'm not saying I'm not (puase, halo appears then disappears)... but we have to keep an open mind. Especially now that Sega will be on Nintendo systems, and not even YOU can do anything about it.... <eyes start glowing> Fools must die... fools must die...!	Steve: I just can't believe SEGA is making games for Nintendo.
Mike: Why must people like you try to act cool by bashing Sonic? He's a good character... Not as good as Mario, granted, but he's still good. Have you ever even played a Sonic game? They're good games! Especially the two player simultaneous mode. But I do wish Nintendo would take a hint from Sega and give their star's partner his own game.	Mewtwo: Dave, please stop putting words in my mouth. Only Steve is allowed to do that. Dave: <eyes continue glowing, but it's Dave> Sorry, special effects are just too addictive to me. I love them. Mewtwo: I'm sure the writer is just jealous because he doesn't work here.

Now we hear from rob:

DO YOU HAVE THE SONG FROM THE NINTENDO CEREAL COMMERCIAL: nintendo, it's for breakfast now! nintendo its a cereal wow! you know that one?

Dave: ...I know the product you're talking about. Unfortunately, I don't on both counts. Even if I did have it, I would be violating the fair use proposition in the copyright laws if I were to distribute it.	Steve: Dave, this isn't Metallica. Mewtwo: Though one of their CDs would taste better than the cereal. Steve: No kidding. Dave: I thought my dog was the only one who had plastic for breakfast.
Mike: I've heard of that cereal. I've never eaten it, though. It was before my time... in a way.

Not every single time does my get sidetracked from letters, for instance:

Dave: Mewtwo, I need your honest opinion. On some of the pages where I write my replies, I recently have noticed one in particular. It is below:

Your response, please. Also, keep it longer than 4 or 5 letters.

Mewtwo: No connection whatsoever, Dave.

I don't think any sign of intelligent life came by KIDMAX92:

...yes, guys. That really is a blank e-mail he sent me.

Dave: ...?	Steve: I'm sorry, is this Match Game? Mewtwo: You do remind me of Charles Nelson Riley... Dave: That's "R-E-I-L-L-Y", not "R-I-L-E-Y".
Mike: Er...

Ed is wondering:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <DIV>Hi. Could you give me some info on Mario Party 3? If you can that would be great. Bye! </DIV>

Dave: All the info I can give you is on Nintendo's web site. It's easy to navigate from there.	Steve: Though we are quite pleased you wrote us.
Mike: Er... It's a board game with several different boards and a lot of mini-games? And it has Mario characters in it?	Mewtwo: Or what passes for it, in my case.

Klayton pondering something:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.3211.1700" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <DIV>A friend of mine sent me this pic asking which Mario game it was from. For the life of me I can't find any info on it. Do you recognize it?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks</DIV>

Dave: That is a picture of a hack from a game for the Genesis. Which game it is, I can only guess.	Steve: Ah, the wonders of sprite editors.
Mike: I have no idea what the name of the game is. But you can download the ROM at TMK. And it is a Genesis ROM.	Mewtwo: Just remember kids, cover your legal behind.

TOPIC FOR APRIL:
“Now that there are only 2 Mario games (7 overall) left in the life of the Nintendo⁶⁴, do you think it was a real leap in video gaming as we know it? Why?”

“St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go; I owe my soul to SMBHQ...”
-from Sixteen Tons, modified.

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