The 'Shroom:Issue XLV
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| Issue XLV | December 12th, 2010 | About |
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Music & Artwork
Director’s Notes
Super Mario Bros. (talk)
Hello everybody. Excuse the tardiness, but I've had quite a few things that I've had to do...
Box-Art of the Month (Homestar Runner (talk))
This month's boxart is Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga's. It's drawn nice, the colors are very pretty and blended well, and it's not too busy but not too empty either.
Random Image of the Month (Henry Tucayo Clay (talk))
Hello, Tucayo here with the Random Image for December. I really love this image, first because it is Christmas-themed, but also because Yoshi Claus looks very cute, and he is giving a gift to a Shy Guy, who is normally an enemy and that speaks of the message of Christmas :) Merry Christmas everyone.
Screenshot of the Month (Fawfulfury65 (talk))
Welcome to this month's edition of the Screenshot of the Month! This month, I chose an image from Super Mario All-Stars to celebrate the release of Super Mario All-Stars - 25th Anniversary Edition (Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition in North America), which has recently been released in Australia, Europe, and North America. Although small, the image features a famous quote, "Thank you Luigi! But our Princess is in another castle," with Luigi's name in it instead of Mario's, of course. Well, there you have it, folks. Tune in next month for the next Screenshot of the Month!
Fun Stuff
Crossword
Mystery Images
Guess who the character in each image is!
Picross
As part of my special sections for this issue, I am remaking the Picross section. Remember, the instructions can be found here. Answers this time are at the bottom. Note: This are not Mario items, rather are daily life objects. It's easy to fill them, you can do it in any image editor by using the color bucket
Quiz
by Fawfulfury65 (talk)
- On what day was Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga released in North America?
- In Super Paper Mario, what did Mario and his allies give Princess Peach to wake her from her deep sleep in the Overthere?
- What is the name of the fourth level in Donkey Kong Land?
- What Jungle Buddy does Donkey Kong ride on during many of the ice levels in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat?
- What is the only episode in Donkey Kong Country to have Diddy Kong use the Crystal Coconut to create a hologram of himself?
- According to the Wario World instruction booklet, how much does Wario weigh?
- Who plays the voice of Bowser in Mario Kart Wii?
- What company created the game, Donkey Kong: Jungle Fever?
- What is the name of the level that was added in the Game Boy Color remake of Donkey Kong Country?
- Who is the last boss of Wario Land?
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Hiding Koopa
By General bob-omb (talk)
Where’s the Koopa?
Trivia
by Mario Fan 123 (talk)
Heeeeeeeeello, guys! It's me, Mario Fan 123, here in this new section with mind-blowing trivia from the Mario series! Let's begin. Did you know...
- ...That Baby Bowser was referred to as "King Bowser" in the English version of Yoshi's Island? Subsequent games replaced his title with "Prince" Bowser.
- ...That in the two games in which King Boo was playable in the Mario Kart series were the same games where Boo wasn't an item?
- ...That Watt's Super Paper Mario Catch Card description strangely describes her as male?
- ...That in the Super Mario World cartoons Fire Flowers are attached to Question Blocks?
Poll
If you could be the protagonist of a Mario game, which game would it be?
Answer in this topic
Mind Bogglers
Picture: 
Fake News
Director's Notes
Welcome to another Fake News! First of all, I would like to commend Tucayo for doing a fantastic job with this issue and the Mafia game. I would also like to apologize for the 9,001st time for messing up said Mafia Game.
Thanks to all the writers who have applied lately, including those whose applications have been denied.
If you want to write for us, please follow these instructions:
- Find the section you’d like to write. The current openings are for Fake Games and Character Battle. Character Battle requires image editing skills.
- Get an account on the forum. Don’t worry, it’s free. When you sign up, do not use a Gmail account. It will treat the activation message as spam and you will be unable to receive it.
- Send me a private message (my name is Sharks Territory on the forums). You can do so by finding my account name or just clicking this link.
After you send me the message saying you want to write for the Fake News, I will send you the questions you need to answer. Please remember that the current open positions are Fake Games and Character Battle. After sending me your section, the other ’Shroom staff members and I will look at it, and we will make sure your section is good to go. After that, you’ll get a reminder each month telling you to send in your section.
Happy Holidays!
Travel Guide
Visit Pagoda Peak! It's got Sticky Buns and a lot of Kung Fu. You can even meet the famed Koopa Master! If you please him, he may even give you a t-shirt with his face on it! This item can not be found in stores. But wait, there's more! You can also get a Bottle Rocket, absolutely free! Master Koopa also calls people "young cricket." Wouldn't want some people to hear that. The best thing about visiting the Peak is that it's nearly impossible to get lost on the way. Other than that, there's not really much else to say about the place so...
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty!
Fake Music
by BluePikminKong497 (talk)
Koopin Park has released their latest single; "Ain't No Ledge High Enough," which is already #2 on mTunes. The hit song, about Mario jumping very high, will be released on their new album next month. So, without further ado;
Drums....
I've been fighting For many years Killing Bowser And shedding tears Saving the princess Doing my best I can jump Whereever I want
Cause there ain't no ledge thats high enough Nowhere that I can't jump And if I fall down I will think Think about how to get back up Cause I know Yes I know That there ain't no ledge high enough for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Thank you for listening, and I, BPK, will see you later!
Fake TV
by MrConcreteDonkey (talk)
Over the Mushroom Kingdom, a crime ignored by many is committed. About 20 innocent Goombas are attacked everyday. While some work for Bowser in the Koopa Troop, most are peaceful, innocent nobodies citizens like you and me. The show Goomba Rescue is about a team of Toad cops who go around and protect these Goombas.
The team is made up of 4 Toads and their chief, PC Sweat T. Police T. (terrible name, I know). The show is on Mushroom Channel every Friday at 12PM and weekends at 12PM and 1PM. In the upcoming episode, the team find a Goomba being beaten up by an angry Gearmo, a group of Goombas being stomped on, and a Goomba being forced to listen to Justin Bieber. These shocking actions are nothing compared to the worst the team have seen, which is too immoral to put here. That never stopped me before (I mean, the Bieber thing, come on 0_o), but sometimes Goombas don't make it, and end up flat on the ground, soon to be made into some sort of cheap carpet or snowglobe, probably sold in Toad-Mart or at a Black Market, made by a fat lumberjack and his 120-year-old assistant. Or maybe they just magically disappear. But that's boring.
The show is sponsored by many Goomba saving charities, such as the Toadette Goomba Fund and the Bowser Jr. Haters Club. The families of the Goombas, or the Goombas themselves, if they make it through, talk about their experiences, how their lives have changed, and how Goomba abuse must stop. The show is very sensitive, having won many awards. Over 90,000 Goombas watch it every year, and even more members of other species. In summary, Goomba Rescue is a very depressing and uplifting show, and has helped many Goombas across the whole Mushroom Kingdom.
Fake Police Blotter
by Scorpion999 (talk)
- Who: Tatanga, Rosalina
- Where: Comet Observatory
- What: Kidnapping, murder of 2 Lumas
- Why: Reason for kidnapping unknown.
- When: Approximately: 7:09 PM Beanbean Standard Time
The Comet Observatory was found badly damaged in the Beanbean Kingdom. Two Lumas were dead and the rest were unconscious. Rosalina was missing, and a purple T was found burnt on the Map. From this evidence, as well as an interview with a Luma, we believe Rosalina has been kidnapped!!! Tatanga's whereabouts are unknown, so we asked questions about him to his former employer, Wario. He said Tatanga was dead. However, an interview with Daisy proves him false. She says Tatanga is a regular threat in Sarasaland. If Tatanga is caught, he will be charged with murder and kidnapping.
Cooking Guide
by Baby Mario Bloops (talk)
Well hello everyone, this is BMB here to give you a long awaited issue of the Cooking Guide! I am here to bring you elated users a special double event show for today. Yes, we have been awaiting this long for it, and I missed last month since it is near the holiday season, that is the reason I am doing it now. Hopefully this will work out well this month.
Sorry, but I decided that since it is our first special show, that we don't bring out a guest. But let me annouce both desserts at one! We have the....Lovely Chocolate and Golden Choco-bar!!!!! Two chocolate delights to bring the holiday joy.
Okay, let us do some color changes to keep our dishes seperated. Since I will be doing both at the same time, this will surely be helpful to all.
Golden Choco-bar
Lovely Chocolate
Both
* Mild Choco Bean
* Golden Leaf
* Fire Burst
* Bowl and Spoon
* Non-used Candy Wrapper/Heart-shaped mold
* Stove and Stove pot
* Fridge
- For both, head over to Downtown of Crag and got to the Itty Bits store there, and buy two Mild Choco Beans. There's nothing to it, as long as you have a Dottie.
- For the Golden Leaf, just find a Amazee Dayzee and beat it up until it drops one. It shouldn't take THAT long to get one, just avoid it's chaotic singing.
- For the Fire Burst, you could go Jumpman style and adventure until you find one, or just buy one in Flipside for a reasonable price.
- Head to the kitchen and start taking out all you need as listed above.
- Mix the ingredients (separately!) in a bowl, and stir until it is much like pudding.
- Heat each batch of respective recipes separately over the stove in a pan. That will allow the sugar to melt and add flavor. It should only take about 1 hour to cook.
- Use the wrapper/mold to fill in your ingredients with how they look professionally.
- Place in the fridge for about 3 1/2 hours, and then take it out to thaw slightly.
- Now you have a delicious double to snack on whenever you want to.
Hopefully I didn't go too much Christmas-like this month; I didn't even use red or green! Oh....wait.....(duh)...see you next year!
Fake Ads
by Gamefreak75 (talk)
“SOCKS!?” “UNDERWEAR?!?” “PENCILS AND PAPER?!”
Are these the gifts you get constantly every Christmas? You beg your parents to get you Kirby’s Epic Yarn, but instead they give you yarn socks. You ask for Donkey Kong Country Returns, but instead you get nothing more than DKCR underwear. You ask for Sonic Colors, but all they give you are a box of colored pencils with the name SONIC scribbled on it.
You never get what you want. Nothing ever goes your way. It’s about time that things went your way.
Well, this Christmas, buy yourself the Dizzy Dial! This amazing blue thing of mysterious proportions is…well…mysterious. And it’s blue! And it’s swirly!
Next time, don’t ask your parents for the game you want. You’ll end up with the same rubbish. This Christmas, force them into getting the game you want by means of the dial. Yes, the dial.
What’s that? How much does it cost? Well…
You see, it’s a one-use item, but it has .0001% chance of failure and only costs 50 coins in stores! Amazing, am I right?
What are you waiting for?! BUY IT NOW.
…
You fools don’t seem convinced.
*pulls out a Dizzy Dial and uses it*
YOU ARE NOW UNDER MY COMMAND! YOU WILL BUY AS MANY DIZZY DIALS AND BRICK BLOCKS. YOU WILL NOT WAKE FROM THIS TRANCE UNTIL YOU HAVE BOUGHT AT LEAST 500 COINS WORTH OF MERCHANDISE.
Interview
by Baby Mario Bloops (talk)
Welcome to the last interview of the year!!! (Applause)! This is BMB, like always, here to handle the most important show on here (I think). Just as earlier in the issue, I am going to do a team thing instead of the standard alone thing that is now starting to get monotonus. We will be doing two polar opposites of each other, which are Lava Piranha and Naval Piranha! Let us bring to what could possibly be extremely dramatic...
Lava/Naval: Quit shoving me!
Baby Mario Bloops: Welcome you two, I see you have never met before.
Lava: What's it too you? This weakling right next to me can't even match my strength, yet I still have to share it with him?!?
Naval: Who are you calling weak, at least I have been in more appearances throughout the games than you have! Come on, you were just a boss in one game. Lame.
Lava: Why I outta-
Baby Mario Bloops: Look, both of you, I see that you two aren't that very friendly with each other, but we need to get this show running. I only have a certain amount of space I can fill.
Naval: Then just settle this, why bring us together? Are you nuts?
Baby Mario Bloops: Fact that you are polar opposites means great ratings, but the fact of how alike you two are!
Lava/Naval: (Gasp) Take that back!
Baby Mario Bloops: No, it is the fact that both of you seem to hate Mario, are both the same species, and even have nearly the same appearance. And...
Lava/Naval: And.....?
Baby Mario Bloops: Well...the fact that you both are not being used much. Fading into obscurity you could call it.
Marioguy1: That's a million dollars for using that title in your section.
Baby Mario Bloops: Fine, we'll talk about it afterwards, I'm doing a show, can you leave!?!
Marioguy1: I shall be back for my money...
Baby Mario Bloops: He is just mad that he keeps on dying so early in those mafia games. Back to the issue, yes, you guys are not appearing much, nor are you that major!
Lava: You mean to tell me that even though I have protected a Star Spirit, and have two forms, and many heads that I'm not as hot as I thought?
Naval: And that even though people have looked up a cheat to defeat me in one hit, it never went farther than that?
Baby Mario Bloops: Unfortunately, that is exactly what I mean.
Lava/Naval: You're fibbing, aren't you? You can't be seriously.
Baby Mario Bloops: Well, most Paper Mario bosses only appear once, and that is one of it's games. As for Naval Piranha, you are just another piranha plant that Kamek happened to use his magic on.
Lava: Why do I have to be less cool than I thought?
Naval: Why do I have to be less hotter than I thought?
Baby Mario Bloops: Now do you see that both of you aren't that different, and opposites do attract?
Lava: Well...
Naval: Let's seeeeeee.....
Lava/Naval: NOOOOO!
Lava: That this fireball, it is all your fault that I am no fame, doppleganger!
Naval: What are you talking out? I appeared first, you made me lose interest! Enjoy this squirt of water!
Baby Mario Bloops: Ugh, can someone get the pest control and take them back to Lavalava Island and wherever Naval Piranha belongs?
Pest Control: I'm here, come on you two, let's go.
Baby Mario Bloops: Phew, got that done, hopefully they don't get mixed up, because man would that be horrible. Hopefully you guys found that interesting enough to give me a ranking above 5/10 so that I can continue doing this show! Let's hope I see you all next year!!!!
Fake Sports
It has been announced that the 2022 Bowser Cup will be held in Dry Dry Desert! This decision was made following a vote last week. The candidates included Diamond City and the Mushroom Kingdom, both of which have far more people and many state-of-the-art stadiums that could be used. Instead, Dry Dry Desert will host the tournament, and many new and extremely expensive stadiums will be built, only to dismantle them following the tournament. The committee also overlooked safety concerns such as Pokeys and these chickens that have exploding crap. Bowser, head of the committee said, "well, our entire committee is made of complete idiots who think Russia is a continent. It's also completely rigged, but we just turn a blind eye to that and pick the worst venue possible instead of a legitimate one." Reasons for the odd location of the tournament given by members of the committee included "they paid us", "we're morons" and "this has no resemblance at all to Qatar getting the 2022 World Cup." They also said that the giant tornado and vortex found on the racing course may play a part in the event.
Fake Characters
by DyegoHalliwell IceMario12 (talk)
Hola America, Asia, Africa, Oceania y otros que leen The Shroom.
It's DyegoHalliwell (Dyego Simpson Halliwell Russo for short) or IceMario, with two of the things that everyone has expected, oh, sorry, just one: The December's Issue of The Shroom!
There are potential bloggers that are trying to make me say what was the second expected thing, so I'm gonna say it, it was Joe singing to Demi "I wanna get back" but Demi is in rehab, and Joe died 345 seconds ago, sorry bloggers. Returning to the issue:
This month, the enemies have their turn to appear but footless.
Hyper-Rolling Mecha Koopa
This brand new enemy is the special, stupid, footless, Rolling MechaKoopa. He is known for being addict to the potions, and this weakness, made him an Hyper-Rolling Mecha Koopa. This new class of Mecha Koopa was made for a top secret game: Super Mario Galaxy 3. The only advantage of this enemy, is that, when he charges his attack, he makes you invincible. His most powerful ability is Drivingyoucrazy, which means you can't defeat him at least you want to make a deal with Bowser and die in the try (?). If this Mecha Koopa gives you hell when rolling, just sing about it and stop bothering Luigi.
Olite Parooctemba
Made for Paper Mario: The 3D Adventure, is the Olite Parooctemba, but with some fails, he has no wings, no feet, and no other power than Headbonk. This new Goomba was made by a Shadow Toad, who wants revenge for being confused with Black Toad. But he left his new Goomba half-made cause Black Toad killed himself. Olite Parooctemba can be found in Brainless Town, and can be defeated by throwing water at him, or telling him "a simple Octoomba". He can shapeshift to any being without wings or foots, meaning, himself with different colors, and different voices. Beware of him when becoming a 2.5-D Goomba, or he will be Supervincible.
A final message for readers, hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year See you all on January's Issue.
by MrConcreteDonkey (talk)
Yoshi the Red Nosed Reindeer
Yoshi the Red Nosed Reindeer is the son of a Yoshi and Tap-Tap the Red Nosed, which ovbiously explains while that Yoshi is still in extreme agony. Unlike regular Yoshis, this special Yoshi is able to fly. He also has antlers, apparently due to an extreme accident, where God (or whoever your god is if it isn't God) put them there. I have been asked to put it across that this was most certainly not a stupid joke and the Yoshi is a half Yoshi, quarter Tap-Tap, and half reindeer and that was also not mathematically inaccurate. If you don't want to see the image, he's a Green Yoshi with a glowing red nose and antlers.
However, this Yoshi's significance is yet to come. One day, Santa Claus caught swine flu and couldn't deliver any Christmas presents. So everyone got sad and it caused a huge depression, until this Yoshi was caught on someone's mobile phone camera falling onto a tree and getting stuck by his antlers in the tree. It soon spread to the Internet, and everyone laughed and forgot that they were sad. And so, every Christmas, some guy remembers this Yoshi. He also helped pull Santa's sleigh when all his reindeer got swine flu, but that doesn't matter much.
Weirdo the Mole and his Cheap Effects
Nobody in the Mushroom Kingdom knows exactly who this guy is. Even I don't, and I'm writing about him. He is apparently a Monty Mole. He speaks like Professor E. Gadd, so he is very creepy. One day he just appeared and acted like him and Mario knew each other. He is made of metal. Apparently people start listening to him because his eyes tell them to.
On his stomach, he has a face. The face has been seen opening its mouth and blinking, but nobody has heard its voice... It looks just like the face on the Koopa Clown Car and ovbiously has been cropped very badly from that. He also has cheap emboss and invert effects that could have been from Paint. Currently, he lives in the moat in Peach's Castle's grounds. One day, he got a Metal Cap, but, unsure what to do with it, he ate it. He then went for one of his regular swimming trips in the Cavern of the Metal Cap, but he turned metal permanently. Then, a huge wave knocked him down the waterfall.
In conclusion, this guy is really creepy. Avoid him at all costs if you value your sanity.
Fake Shop
by Super Mario Bros. (talk)
Come one, come all! Welcome to my shop review, where I review shops from all across the land! This month, I am reviewing Toad's Shroom House! Here's the ad that Toad runs in his local community (Toad Town):
Mushrooms are said to be extremely tasty, just ask the heroes of our kingdom, Mario and Luigi! The brothers have used mushrooms on their adventures, and look at how successful they are! They always win. You, my friend, can be as successful as them, if you purchase Toad's mushrooms.
What makes my mushrooms better than other shops' mushrooms, you ask? Well, I make sure that the mushrooms I sell are fresh and I make sure not to sell anything poisonous to my consumers, while other desperate stores will do anything to make money. In this economy, it is hard to find an honest producer; I am one of the few out there that you can trust! Take a look for yourself!
Indeed, they make their products sound good, but are their items really that great? Well, here is what they have to offer:
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His products look extremely healthy and/or helpful. Toad provides wonderful and thorough descriptions of all of his products (he describes how they help, what thy do, and additional benefits). Also, the prices for his items are indeed rather low in comparison to how much they cost in other parts of the Mushroom Kingdom. Overall, I'd say that Toad's Shroom House is definitely the store to visit if you happen to be heading into Toad Town.
Ask Tucayo
Hello good readers! I am your sexy Koopa host, Tucayo, with another issue of your well-loved, Ask Tucayo! We have got a record-number of questions this time! Remember, if you want to ask me something, just follow this link! Now, to this month questions:
Q: What's your favorite game(video or real-life)to play?
--KoopaTroop
A: Hello there! I’ll go with a video game, I can’t just decide for one, so I’ll give you two. Super Mario World and Ocarina of Time. Both are great games, and the first one is actually the first game I ever played Smiley
Q: Hi Tucky! Have you ever think in retiring? Also, what do you think of the fact that Stoob is winning at the Director Election 2010?
--Mario Fan 123
A: Hi! Yes, I have thought of retiring some time during 2011. *checks calendar* The 2010 election is happening as you are reading this, and Stooben isn’t running, so I don’t know what you tried to ask.
Q: Besides gaming and going online, what do you do in your spare time?
--Ralphfan
A: Hi Ralph! I normally read, watch TV, or listen to music. Those are 3 things I love to do. I also go out often, to the movies, to Starbucks, etc… To make this answer longer, my favorite books are Fiction novels, like Harry Potter, Narnia, or the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon). And my favorite artist is Coldplay, I like Alternative music. Oh, and in Starbucks I order a… umm…. You don’t have this flavor in the US, I have checked. I actually think you don’t even have a word for it in English…. Milk Candy Cream Frappuccino. I don’t like coffee Tongue
Q: What TV shows do you watch?
--Ralphfan
A: Oh look! Ralph! I like watching music videos, preferably VH1, I don’t like MTV much. 2 shows I love are Saturday Night Live, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, although I have to watch the second one in my iPod. I also watch sports often.
Q: What do you think about Mario Sports Mix having Final Fantasy characters playable along with characters from the Marioverse?
- WigglerWhoopinWarrior
A: Ohai. I love crossovers, I know some people don’t like them at all, but I absolutely love them, so I think this is really good, and I hope that for a future game they add more series characters available.
Q: Who do you think is a cuter partner in Paper Mario, Sushie, or Bow?
-IandaM
A: Cuter, huh? Well, at first I thought Sushie was a he, but then I found out he wasn’t. Bow isn’t exactly cute, she is meh. I think I choose Sushie, because she does look cute, her fins, and all.
And that is all for another issue of Ask Tucayo! Remember, YOU make this section possible and fun! Keep sending questions! BYE!
Review Corner
Welcome to another edition of Review Corner! This month, I'll be looking at one of the most popular, groundbreaking games of the past decade: Super Mario Galaxy! This game was released in November of 2007 in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia and in 2008 in South Africa and South Korea. As the third (fourth if you count SPM as 3D and as a platformer) 3D platformer in the Mario series, the game featured lots of new enemies and characters. It was so popular that a sequel was released for the Wii in 2010.
Gameplay
Plot
Again, Bowser kidnaps Peach, this time in a manner similar to how he kidnaps her in Paper Mario (lifting her castle into the sky). Mario must then rescue her one more. He meets some magical bunnies that make him chase them and play hide-and-seek with them. Now, before I go ahead and praise this game any further, let me say this: DID YOU MAKE THIS GAME FOR THREE YEAR OLDS? PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK WITH GODDAMN BUNNIES WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? THIS IS WHY PEOPLE PLAY CALL OF DUTY AND HALO INSTEAD. I KNOW THIS IS AN E-RATED GAME, AND IT'S FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, BUT YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER THAN THAT. AND NOW THE GODDAMN STAR BUNNY MUSIC IS STUCK IN MY HEAD EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME IN OVER A MONTH AND I'LL PROBABLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO METALLICA FOR THREE HOURS TO GET IT OUT! Anyway, back to the game...Mario then meets Rosalina, who is not only hot, but also the first important female character to not be a bimbo or annoy people by greeting everyone and telling them her name. She is a fantastic addition to the Mario series.
In every level, Mario must get to the end to earn a Power Star. Instead of worlds, this game has domes from which Mario can access other galaxies. There are six domes at the Comet Observatory (the hub world of the game), not to mention a few other levels. Galaxies are collections of levels with a similar theme. There are some small galaxies which have just one level each. Bigger galaxies, generally speaking, have three levels and usually a boss. You can also uncover hidden levels, such as hidden stars, Hungry Lumas (yay, suicide and overeating) and Prankster Comets. Hungry Lumas appear in many places. Some appear in the Observatory and must be fed lots of Star Bits to create a new one-level galaxy. Others are found in the middle of levels and must be fed a smaller number of Star Bits to uncover a path to a hidden star. Prankster Comets cause variations in levels such as a time limit, beating a boss with one hit point or completing a race against Cosmic Mario, which has been compared to Shadow Mario.
Many new items are introduced in the game. The Bee Mushroom can be used for a short period of time and allows Mario to fly. Mario loses it by taking damage or touching water. The Boo Mushroom allows Mario to hover and turn invisible. It has an unlimited time period, but can be lost by taking damage or touching a beam of light. The Ice Flower is given a time limit, and allows Mario to walk on water. It's only found in ice levels since Mario takes damage when staying in cold water for too much time. The Fire Flower allows Mario to light torches, which often allows him to advance in levels, and also defeat enemies. It has a time limit, unlike in previous games. The Rainbow Star gives Mario invincibility and a speed boost for a brief period of time. In one of the levels (not giving away which one for those of you who haven't played it), Mario can earn a Power Star by running into a Gold Chain Chomp while invincible. The extremely unpopular Spring Mushroom, known as such for being hard to control, allows Mario to bounce off walls and reach high places. It is lost by taking damage or touching water. The Red Star is arguably the most underused item in the game. Found in just one level, it allows Mario to fly for a brief period of time. Nintendo could've taken this concept a long way. After you complete the level the Red Star is found in, you can find it in the Comet Observatory to reach areas in the Observatory quickly and access some hidden 1-Ups.
Controls
Generally speaking I like most of the controls in this game. They're pretty easy to pick up, though the icons on the screen showing to do things like wave the remote or spin the control stick in a circle get annoying and pointless as you advance further in the game. The only controls I don't love are the Spring Mushroom and Ray Surfing because they're tough to control.
Graphics
Oh my god. The graphics on this game were amazing. Everything looked realistic (well, as realistic as you could get in a Mario game). Things like the water and grass were pretty great.
Review
Overall, this game was a big success. However, things like the lack of Yoshi (he did appear in the sequel) and a Challenge Mode brought this game down a bit. Most people, myself included, were too amazed by the game to care. I give it a 9/10.
Pipe Plaza
Director’s Notes
Super Mario Bros. (talk)
Thanks to MG1 for directing the Pipe Plaza this issue. a!!!
Marioguy1 (talk)
Hey guys! Pipe Plaza is here again! This is the Pipe Plaza’s anniversary! So everyone freak out and have a party and stuff because the Pipe Plaza is so awesome that it has survived a whole twelve issues. Other than that, we still have spots open and need writers to fill them.
Tips of the Month
FunkyK38 (talk)
Tip of the Month: You're only allowed 4 Personal Images to use on your page or signature, so make sure you don't go over that. It's generally frowned upon to have more than 4, and a sysop will be quick to tell you to delete as many as you're over their limit.
Tucayo (talk)
Hello readers! Tucayo here, with Tip of the Month. Perhaps you remember that I was the first writer this section had (it was known as Maintenance at that time), well, I am back as part of the surprise I commented about on the Sub Director Notes.
For this issue, I have various tips for when you don’t know how you can help the wiki:
- First of all, click Random Page, and when you are there, there are many things you can do to improve the article
- Add categories. Go to the bottom of the page, and see, can the article subject fit in another category? If so, add the category! Let’s say I come upon Magical Typewriter, and it is categorized under items. Since it is also an object, I could go and add [[Category:Objects]] to it. But please. Don’t create stupid categories just for the sake of categorizing.
- Images alignment. Sometimes we see articles with too many images on one side, and the text ends, and the images go on. To avoid that, it is better to alternate images (left, right, left, right, left [Congratulations if you understood the hidden reference]). Let’s say, we come upon this article. The images there end way after the text, so what we would do is, we go to one image, let’s say [[File:Joint Tower.png|thumb|The '''Joint Tower''']], and we add [[File:Joint Tower.png|thumb|left|The '''Joint Tower''']] so it is aligned to the left, and it looks beautiful like this.
- Next, if we come upon an article that is from other series (these are normally the SSB articles), like Ridley, we can add interwiki links to NIWA wikis. For example, we can link “Metroid” and “Space Pirates” to our partner wiki MetroidWiki. How to do this? It’s simple, just link this way: [[:metroidwiki:Space Pirates|Space Pirates]] and it will take you to the desired wiki, which covers the subject more detailed. Also, follow the Link Once and Only Once rule, and, if we have an article on the subject (Planet Zebes), link to us, and then, in the other article, link to the other wiki. Here is a list of the wikis you can link to (substitute the name in the link coding):
- Bulbapedia
- ZeldaWiki
- WiKirby
- MetroidWiki
- WarsWiki
- LylatWiki
- Pikipedia
- StrategyWiki
- DKWiki
- ACWiki
- SmashWiki
- WikiBound
- GoldenSun
- To compliment the interwiki linking, also add external links, such as the game page, game footage, etc. An example can be seen here.
- Add infoboxes and images. Infoboxes are a neat and organized way of summarizing an article. You can add infoboxes to many articles, and there is a type of infobox for most articles (full list). Images are too needed in most articles, I’ll take an article that needs both things. For example, Office of Film and Literature Classification, it is a company, so we use the {{company infobox}} template. We can copy the coding, and fill it ourselves, for example:
{{company infobox |logo=OFLC.png |width=250px |founded=1970 |firstgame= |lastgame= |president=Robert McClelland }}
- For the image, we can search any image in Google, and then upload it. Be sure to add the right license tag to it (logo for this one). And just add the image name, and extension, no [[File:For the info we don’t know, we can use good old Wikipedia.
- In width add something in between 200px and 300px, preferably 250px.
If there is anything it doesn’t fit here, we can leave it blank, in this case, first and last game can’t be filled.
And that is all we’ve got for this month’s tips! I hope you found them useful.
Featured (Marioguy1 (talk))
Hola everybody! It’s time for Featured! Now, I still don’t like those stupid links so I’m going to yell at 22 to fix them later today...wait...he’s the EiC?...nvm...
But I am going to get an admin to fix all those links sometime in the near future (hopefully) so don’t worry. Anyways,
- Featured
- List of Saffron and Dyllis Recipes/By Ingredient
Forum Update (Ralphfan (talk))
News:
- Drseaweed spammed the forums on the 7th. He made 26 posts.
- WigglerWhoopin'Warrior135 is on hiatus.
- Master Crash has returned.
Name changes:
- BBGArmy: BBGArmy --> KoopaTroop
- Becquerel: Becquerel --> Becsprite
- BluePikminKong397: U.S. Congress --> Galaxy Man
- DogFreak: DogFreak --> Home-Dawg
- DyegoHalliwell IceMario12: DyegoHalliwell_IceMario --> Ice_Halliwell012
- Gamefreak75: Yin-Yarn --> Gamefreak75
- Lily x: Link_Dudette --> Legend of Lily
- Mason: Lrrr --> Silly Mason
- Master Crash: Prune Juice Lord --> Macaroni Bomb Vest
- MrConcreteDonkey: E-102 γ --> MrConcreteDonkey
- MST3K: Deadpool --> クッパJr.
- New Super Mario: Super Moogle --> Mugly --> New Snowman Mario
- Rocker64: Rocker64 --> Hawk Eye
- Scorpion999: Scorpion999 --> Advisor Ragnarok --> The Necromancer --> Ebirah
- SolarBlaze: Blaze the Cat --> Mystical Ninja
- SpinyMaster347: Rtas' Vadum --> Umpire Raccoon
- Tucayo: Homely Potato --> Tucayo
- Villain11: Villain11 --> Villain
- YamiHoshi: YamiHoshi.nl --> ヤミホシ
Mafia Games:
- The Sonictians won NSM's Sonic Mafia.
- The Mafia, led by BPK, won MrConcreteDonkey's Halloween Mafia.
- The Mafia, led by Ninji, won Xzealio's XzMafia.
- MBV more or less won Shyguy27's Broken Mafia.
- The Space Pirates, led by MG1, won Gamefreak75's Metroid Mafia.
- The Mafia, led by Gamefreak75, won The 'Shroom Mafia!
Mario Calendar (No attribution)
Hey guys! WigglerWhoopinWarrior couldn’t send in his section so in its place you get a link!
NIWA News (RAP (talk))
Good day - good evening - good afternoon to readers out there! This is NIWA News, a section where you get the latest buzz on anything NIWA! Two pieces of news regarding the new wikis -
- First, Golden Sun Universe joined NIWA at the 9th of November (Monday to be exact), the same time as the North America release of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. The wiki features a new skin designed by dkpat...congrats to him for making this type of effort!
- Donkey Kong Wiki changes it's background to a "Christmas-y" theme due to the fact it's December. Speaking of December, Bulbapedia is also running a Christmas Improvement Drive. Unfortunately, it's due at the 24th of December.
- Metroid Wiki needs your help! The wiki is down...! And it needs funding in order to keep it running! Check here for the details!
And finally. I've been waiting long to reveal this: Nintendo Wiki (also called N Wiki, NintendoWiki and NIWA Wiki) joins NIWA on the December of 10th. This is the first wiki project is that composed of some of the NIWA's staff editors including tacopill, TTE, Malake256, Axiomist, and more.
Coming from the topic from NIWA forums:
Hello readers - I'm RAP, the creator of Nintendo Wiki (usually called "N Wiki"). I originate from the Super Mario Wiki as a former Sysop when NIWA was first being developed. The Nintendo Wiki covers anything Nintendo-related - primarily covering anything the company has done, along with its employees, their thoughts, and actions. Its more than just the games they produced at first glance.
The idea came up to me earlier this year when I was off the computer, having other things to do during the day. It was during the time NIWA was formed. I've been thinking of the three wikis since they formed an alliance, and seeing that there are series-less articles about Nintendo consoles, along with the people who work for Nintendo such as Shigeru Miyamoto, I thought - 'Why not put it into good use and have a wiki based on anything Nintendo-related'? Another primary purpose is that the wiki would let the rest of the world know the complete info about Nintendo instead of relying on Wikipedia for the info. People who play some of the most popular franchises should know a decent amount of info about the company. Think about it, casual people think Nintendo as a friendly company who makes "kiddie games" - but more willing readers, and the people who know Nintendo very well will know the true side of Nintendo between back then, and now.
With the idea gathering positive reception by the general staff conscious, I started gathering Nintendo links/hyperlinks, and started learning more about Nintendo by reading over time. During that period, I've been waiting and asking when the N Wiki website is going to be set up. Eventually, after waiting somewhat patiently, Archaic finally told me it's open!
At the time he told me that, I was the only one doing some of the work. It felt odd working by myself when other people were busy with their own respective wikis. Then with the assistance of some of the notable NIWA staff members such as TTE (who assisted me at an earlier time), and Tacopill (who came at a later time - also assisting me) - content was made, templates were created, and the stuff they did increased the development of the wiki as time goes. There were some wiki activity droughts here and there during the "behind the scenes" period, but relief was made thanks to these two members. In addition, credit to dkpat for making this nice, technical skin along with the logo he finalized from my concept drawing.
Nintendo Wiki launches a new era that offers unbiased information concerning Nintendo-all in one central encyclopedia. The wiki's primary focus is items that relate directly to Nintendo as a company: Its products, its people, and its actions. N Wiki also shall have a secondary focus on items that indirectly relate to Nintendo, such as notable third parties and contractors, as well as notable Nintendo-related products that they have produced. I honor the many Nintendo fan sites and communities whether they are successful or struggling for life, as well as those who have dematerialized to simple memories.
With that said, there's going to be more to come in the future, and I need your help to get there. You can help by visiting the wiki, and make a contribution by providing info, organizing info, or uploading images. http://niwanetwork.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Thank you for reading fellow MarioWikians.
Fading into Obscurity
Hey guys! This month for Fading into Obscurity I decided to do a character that I really love. However he kind of died a long time ago, this month I’m doing: Sammy Rai!
Now, Sammy Rai is the epitome of a minor character. He appears for five seconds in the Mona stage of ‘’WarioWare: Touched!’’. Now, he’s one of my favorite characters because, through Knife (talk) and his PipeProject: Unstubify (sign up today!), I found the article as a stub and expanded it with all the information I could. I love that article Cheesy
Anyways, Sammy Rai’s appearance in the game is for five seconds on a Radio Show called “Ear Candy” where he is announced the highlight artist of the week! He then has a snippet of music play and he appears on an ocean background and then he’s gone...forever. However his music plays for a bit later on in the game but that’s his last appearance. After that he just fades into obscurity.
Character Reviews
Hey everyone! Guess what time it is! It’s time for Character Reviews! Now, last month I reviewed Lord Crump (and another guy but he’s not important anymore) and he got a score of 80% so we’re gonna see if this week’s character is gonna beat it!
Now, this week I was requested to review another TTYD boss by Ralphfan (talk), but he didn’t specify which boss, so I decided that I would pick a boss that I like but nobody else does: Gus!
Storyline
Gus is part of the Robbo Gang – the rivals of the Pianta Syndicate – which gives him a pretty nice niche in the story. He has a brother and is led by a snail Cheesy
Anyways, he’s the only one in the gang that is actually battled and he’s a pretty basic member of a gang. I think the gang could have had more complete-gang appearances but it’s still pretty good so he gets a 75%.
Design
Gus is designed to look like a member of a gang. He has hairs poking out of his head at the right angle, his beard looks a lot like stubble, he has a bandanna and he’s carrying a spear. I’d say he fits his bill. And, best of all, he’s not fat. 90%
Humor
His tattle is OK funny, it makes a pun off the term “don’t judge a book by its cover”...but his most prominent form of humor is when he breaks the fourth wall. He is a lot funnier than a bumbling fat guy who likes buhuhuhuh IMO (though some people think incompetence is funny). 80%
Potential
Well, like I griped about in Storyline, he could have been so much better if he had made a gang appearance, maybe even as a boss (the entire gang) but other than that, he doesn’t have much potential outside of Rogueport. 70%.
Used Potential
I’m now obsessed with that gang-boss appearance and I need it to happen. Unfortunately it won’t so I’m going to be angry and say 75%.
Total
<GameServ>: MG1: 390/5 = 78 AND he lost to Lord Crump! I’m pretty sure he lost because he didn’t have that gang boss appearance which would have been sooo awesome. He could have even had a crystal star under his possession instead of that stupid Chapter 4 thing. Honestly? Pigs? I can’t wait until I start reviewing that chapter. Anyways, that’s all this time for Character Reviews!
Brawl Tactics
Hello, Brawlers, and a very merry Christmas to you all!
To end the year, I will help to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Mario by featuring him this month!
Mario is a medium-sized character with decent speed and a decent jump. He has above average power for someone his size and his moves are fairly easy to control. Plus, he can do a wall jump, a skill only a few characters have.
Fireball is Mario's Standard Special. Like in the main Mario series games, Mario will shoot a fireball out of his hand. If you have good rhythm, you can keep shooting for a while at a decent pace. This move is average when it comes to strength, but you get a bonus because this move can go some distance before it fizzles out. I suggest using it to hit enemies that are closing in. It will annoy your opponents, that's for sure.
Mario's Side Special is Cape. This is weaker than his Fireball, but it can reverse some projectiles back at you opponent, and that's helpful. Like Fireball again, if you have good rhythm, you can keep hitting your opponents with Mario's cape like when you use a fan. Like other cape moves, however, it doesn't have a very long reach, so make sure you opponents are close to you when you use this move.
My favorite of Mario's moves by far is Super Jump Punch. It covers a fairly good amount of distance if you use it as a recovery move. If you're using it as an attack, you can knock coins out of opponents. It doesn't do much damage, but it sure does look cool.
F.L.U.D.D. is Mario's Down Special. It's just like Squirtle's Water Gun. You can charge it up and walk around with it on Mario's back. I recommend using it near the edge of a stage, because it's pretty much useless when you use it right in the middle of a stage.
Mario Finale is Mario's Final Smash. I'm not overly impressed with this move, as you have to get a lot of things right in order to use it, and it's very easy to avoid. But, if you do want to do it right, use it on the edge of a stage when all of your opponents are on the ground. If they get hit by the fire and it catches them, it will drag them off the stage, usually far enough to result in a KO.
That's it for this month, Brawlers! Hope you enjoy playing with Mario in Brawl while you wait for all his games to come out!
Mario Kart: Wheel Tips Corner
by Coincollector (talk)
Oh yeah, after a week where I had to do intense homework, I'm ready to come back and tell you the last tip of this year in Mario Kart:Wheel Tips Corner.
Well, it's December, the month most known because we give gifts to each other and I, your friend Coincollector, have prepared a gift for you that you'll like, and if this was real, you would go from your home to the mall to buy your gifts in no time, and even Santa Claus would like having this to do his job faster. Are all you ready? Close your eyes and... Surprise!
Here it is, and yeah the gift is the Bullet Bill, one of the most amazing items you get in the, ahem... later Mario Kart games, Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii. Basically when you use this power-up, you and your kart become in this enemy that flies on the road at great speed. The best advantage when using a Bullet Bill is that you don't have to press any button as the Bullet automatically travels along the road. But there is another advantage, once you are a Bullet Bill you are invincible against any other item and as a dangerous missing bullet you can hit anybody in your path and see how they bowl over like pop-corn.
Well, these are the most basic facts about using a bullet bill, but maybe you want to know more about this item, right? Obviously it is possible to get this item from 5th to 8th place (up to 12th in Mario Kart Wii) although obtaining the bullet can be challenging as other speed boosters like the Mushrooms and the Star are also available.
I almost forgot that if you use a bullet bill, it will go automatically over the road without any help, but a it may also help you to take a shortcut that you wouldn't expect to get from an item like this. It's possible to move your bullet to the sides, if you like to trick your victim that thinks that the bullet bill always flies in the center of the road. It's just a slight turn, though, so the results will be better (and funnier) if your rivals are in a narrow road or are tightly grouped so you can knock them all in this way at once. Also, a bullet bill always goes forward; it's impossible to go in reverse.
I have another note about when you are a bullet. Once you use the item and you have stolen some places you return to normal. The duration of the bullet bill item is relative to whether you have taken a better place. In this way, it is more probable that you are a Bullet Bill for longer time if you start out in a lower place rather than a higher place. If you still don't get it, try to use a bullet bill in first place. Using a bullet in first place always lasts about four seconds, only half as long as when you use it in a place like 7th or 8th.
Are you still interested in the topic? Well I have here other curious facts about using this item, some of them made just for fun:
- although the bullet bill appears flying over the road, it falls to the water/lava or void if you go off road.
- Even though a bullet bill can make use of shortcuts and send you to a better place, you may also end up in another bad predicament like being hit by an obstacle or item once you get back to normal.
- Chain Chomp shares a similar use to the Bullet Bill. But I think that's another story that I'll tell you later.
Well guys, that's all the info about your gift and I hope you've enjoyed reading the Mario Kart tips of this year, and also the tips that will come next year. The 'Shroom staff and your friend Coincollector wish you a happy holidays and a happy new year! see ya!
Top 10
Hello dear readers, welcome to this special Top 10! You may remember that almost one year ago, on the Holiday Issue, I made a Decade Top 10, well, as part of the surprise I told you about in the Sub-Director Notes, I am writing this section again! This time, it has a different name, it is named “Tucayo’s 10 Favorite ‘Shroom Issues”, instead of Top 10. So, as you already know, this list is about my favorite ‘Shroom Issues of all the 46 there have been (not counting this one). Now, without more, let’s start with number 10
10: Issue III (Mar 07)
Issue III was released in March 2007, in this issue there were just 9 sections. In my opinion, the highlight of this issue, is that it marks the first appearance of the well-loved Fun Stuff, then known as Fun Section, but it wasn’t a team yet. For this issue there were amazing writers, such as 3dejong, 3rd-most-contributive-user Sir Grodus, then-director Wayoshi (who started promoting the Mario Awards I in this issue), WarioLoaf in the Fake News, would-be-Director Plumber, Aipom, Jorge and the Great Gonzo (Xzelion). Plumber, Sir Grodus and Xzelion debuted in this issue. Aipom retired in this issue, as well as the creator of the Fake News, Wario Loaf (he later returned for a special section).
So you have an idea of the date this was released, in Upcoming Games we had ‘’Super Paper Mario’’, ‘’Mario Party 8’’ and ‘’Mario Strikers Charged’’, in the new users section we had Bean, and the long-disappeared Trouble Center had just been created.
Wayo mentions in his director notes that then-Editor-in-Chief, HK47, missed the due date, and that next issue would be released April Fools’ Day, perhaps many people took that as a joke. Also, the Fun Stuff used the table layout that I loved so much. Oh, and it included jokes!!
Core Staff:
- Wayoshi, Director
- HK-47, EiC
- WarioLoaf, Fake News
9: Issue XVI (June 08)
*sigh* nothing better to get me nostalgic than Issue XVI, released June 2008. Why is that? Well, it marks my first issue as writer of The ‘Shroom :) It was small, having 9 sections, but it really means a lot to me. Let’s review quickly what this issue had.
Some of the writers were Stooby, Garlic, Wayo, Glitchman, RAP, InfectedShroom (Bloc Partier), Xzelion and myself (making all of the FS sections). If you see this issue’s Entertainment by RAP, you can see a really great section. The Fake News still had its old colorful self here. And apparently, in the interview, Glitchman, the writer, actually played the interviewee.
Both Garlic and myself debuted here, as well as Garlic’s section, Character Comparison, while Stooby gave control of the FN to Xze during this issue. This was BP’s last issue in a long time (he came back later for one issue on my request). Wow, we just worked together for 2 issues… I would swear it was much more… This was also Wayoshi’s last issue.
Core Staff:
- Glowsquid (then called Blitzwing), Director
- Stooby, Fake News
8: Issue IV (Apr 07)
Number 8, Issue IV, April 2007! The team was mainly the same as that of Issue III, with the notable inclusions of Confused, now-banned Maxlover2. This issue The ‘Shroom had an increment in sections, going from 9 to 12. Unlike Wayo stated in Issue III, this issue was not released in April Fools, it was released the 5th.
This issue included what we now know as Contact Us , or Ask Tucayo, perhaps. It was written then by HK47, and it had questions from Sonhis section included a peculiar section, called Mario Merchandise, written by ChrisAlassal, this section, as it name says, reviewed the merchandise related to the Marioverse. Interesting.
RAP, and his amazing Entertainment section, debuted this month, along with ChrisAlassal and his section. Even thought Entertainment and Fan Games, from Jorge, covered almost the same, both coexisted.
Core Staff:
- Wayoshi, Director
- HK-47, EiC
- Confused, Fake News
7: Issue XLI (Aug 10)
Lucky 7, Issue XLI, August 2010! This is the newest one in the countdown. This issue included Stooby as Director, and myself as Sub-Director, but due to many things, this issue had to be directed by me.
This issue includes, in my opinion, the best Fun Stuff section of the past year (awards themed, BTW). It also includes a Special Interview with none other than Porplemontage himself! RAP returned for this issue to write NIWA News after I dropped them. For this issue SMB started to use again the very useful Monthly Report tables, comparing August, July, and June. Another great section this month, was Edo’s Fake Games (“Super Mario Wars: The Great Toadstool Crusade”), it has great artwork, sense of humor, and everything needed for a successful Fake News section.
Some of the other writers during this issue were Coincollector, Leirin, Fawfulfury65, FunkyK38 and Killer Axe. Stooby was the interviewer at the time, but there was no interview in this issue. Ralphfan also had his special section, the Ultimate Character Tournament.
Core Staff:
- Stooby (absent), Director
- Tucayo, Sub-Director
- 2257, EiC
- Ralphfan, Fake News
- Z3r0 Tw0, Fun Stuff
- SMB and P Trainer (absent), Music & Art
- SMB and MG1, Pipe Plaza
6: Issue XXIII (Feb 09)
Awww, good old issue XXIII, February 2009. After the election that left Stooby with 47 votes, and myself with around 5 votes, Stooby became Director of The ‘Shroom, and I, by Glowsquid’s recommendation, became his Sub-Director. And here started a new era of The ‘Shroom. Along with those two changes, the whole Core Staff (not called that way then) changed, after a four month lack of Fake News, Xpike became the Director. The Fun Suff team was created this issue, with veteran writer, Z3r0 Tw0, as the Director.
There were 13 sections in our first issue as Leading Staff. Some of the writers were SLNO, Stooby, myself, Jafffey (with his Good Game, Bad Game section, which was later abolished), Z3r0 Tw0 (with his famous Beta Elements), Dom, Grapes (interviewed Yoshario), Yoshario (then-called Clay Mario), Bloc Partier, Luigifreak and Ralphfan (who made one of the most elaborate Fake News section, Fake Sports’ Star Cup). Music Supplier was introduced here, but the user who suggested it never got to write it. BP also started the Classic Reviews. This issue marked the debut of Corka Cola and Luigifreak. This was the only section for Grapes, as well as the last one for Dom and BP.
Core Staff:
- Stooby, Director
- Tucayo, Sub-Director
- Xpike, Fake News
- Z3r0 Tw0, Fun Stuff
5: Issue XXIX (Aug 09)
Number five, Issue XXIX, August 2009! This issue was very good, it included 17 sections, and amongst those sections, it was the first appearance of the Music & Art Team! This originated as a suggestion SMB made on my talk, SMB was the first director ever of this team.
Due to Stooby being busy in Real Life, this issue was the start of my second period as Director. The M&A Team wasn’t the only new thing introduced in this section, the rules to become a writer were greatly enforced, asking for a better grammar, spelling and punctuation, because of all the comments there were about this at the Feedback Survey. In this issue I also asked you to suggest writers for the Special Section we were having next month.
Some of the writers we had were SMB, Luigifreak, Yoshario, Z3r0 Tw0, Leirin, Mario304, Yoshi301, SuperShyGuy (Writing the now-disappeared Fangamers-report), and myself (I also co-wrote Calendar of Events with SMB). No debuts or retirement this issue. But Z3r0 Tw0 celebrated his first anniversary as writer of Beta Elements!
Core Staff:
- Tucayo, Director
- Stooby, Sub-Director
- Ralphfan, Fake News
- Z3r0 Tw0, Fun Stuff
- SMB, Music & Art
4: Holiday Issue (Winter 09)
The winner of the 1st Shroom Award to Favorite Issue, the Holiday Special, from Winter 2009! This isse took everyone by surprise, no one knew of its existence except the Core Staff. Its main purpose was to give it as a gift from us to the readers and writers, for being amazing. And it worked! It was a great success, despite only having 6 sections made by the Core Staff. This issue was the first to feature a seasonal background (winter), and the lights you also see in this issue.
The sections this issue included were (all holiday-themed!):
- Fake News Special, by Ralphfan and SMB (then named SPMB).
- Music & Art Special, by Paper Pikachu
- Pipe Plaza Special, by MG1 and SMB. (Whoever thought PP couldn’t be holiday-themed, was mistaken)
- Decade Top 10, by me, where I reviewed the Top 10 games of the last 10 years.
- And the Staff Notes, where SMB, Ralph, Stooby, Paper Pikachu, MG1, and me wished you all Happy Holidays!
Core Staff:
- Tucayo, Director (my last issue as Director)
- Stooby, Sub-Director (his last one as Sub)
- Yoshario (absent), EiC
- Ralphfan, Fake News
- Z3r0 Tw0, Fun Stuff
- Paper Pikachu and YellowYoshi127, Music & Art
- SMB and MG1, Pipe Plaza
3: Issue XXVIII (Jul 09)
We’re getting to the Top 3, and we have Issue XXVIII, July 2009! This issue featured the return of 3 veteran writers as guests to write the sections they did back in the old days, Shroobario in the Games section, Toadbert101 in Fake Ads, and WarioLoaf with a 2-page special of the Fake News. All three of them were amazing writers, and every month made great sections.
The writers we had for this section are basically the same as the ones in #5. This issue has one of the best Upcoming Games, if not the best, I have ever seen, courtesy of Paper Pikachu, who was debuting. Super Shy Guy and Clyde1998 also debuted here. Something curious that brought the attention of veteran users happened here. The inclusion of a section that had cause many problems in Plumber’s era, User of the Month. Fortunately, Zeldagirl (SMB’s sister), never sent in the section, and it was immediately removed from the Sign Up page. This was Xpike’s last issue.
The first Feedback Survey was held this issue. Stooby mentioned some changes to the Shroom in his Notes, but during the next month he had to leave, so such changes were not made, and actually, I don’t know what those changes would have been. Perhaps something we already made.
Core Staff:
- Stooby, Director
- Tucayo, Sub-Director
- Xpike and Ralphfan, Fake News
- Z3r0 Tw0, Fun Stuff
2: Issue XXXII (Nov 09)
On number 2 we have Issue XXXII, November 2009! Well, you might say, what is special about this issue? Let me tell you, it was the issue with the most sections in the history of The ‘Shroom (20), including the beginning of the Pipe Plaza Team (thanks to a proposal that merged the old dead Pipe Plaza with us), a Special Monthly Report by Yoshario, a Special Interview by Nerdy Guy, and the UTC.
But that isn’t the most important part about the issue. This issue featured one of the biggest reforms in The ‘Shroom history. This started as a proposal in the Wiki Admins board in the forum, lead by Cobold. What would this proposal do? Well, what was made and what was proposed greatly differed, but one thing took to another. The original idea was to remove fan fiction, comics, fake news, reviews; as well as make the Shroom cleaner, improve our writing standards, set a minimum length, and make it MarioWiki-related only.
What was made? The Pipe Plaza was crated, and even thought I couldn’t see how it would work, it works now. The Job Interviews were created, and now applications have to be reviewed by all the Core Staff. The EiC was brought back (Yoshario became the EiC). Some sections were removed, such as Fangamers Report; Good Game, Bad Game; Top 10 (ironic, isn’t it?); Mario, Non-Mario; Tournament Central; Monthly Mulligan and User Battles. The Core Staff term was created, too. I hardly opposed all this changes, but I have to accept now that they have certainly worked, thanks Cobold, and sorry for all the problems I gave during this.
Cmario17, FunkyK38, g.narron, Monteyaga, Nerdy Guy and Waluigi48 debuted here. Funky still writes for us! Luigifreak retired after 10 issues, and YS left his section to focus on being EiC. A History of Video Games made it first appearance (and only to the date, I think)
Core Staff:
- Tucayo, Director
- Stooby, Sub-Director
- Ralphfan, Fake News
- Z3r0 Tw0, Fun Stuff
- SMB (last one in a while) and YellowYoshi127, Music & Art
- SMB, Pipe Plaza
1: Special Issue (Sep 09)
Aaaaaand nuuuumbeeer oneee… You knew this was coming, don’t pretend you didn’t. The Special Issue!! Some people have asked me, why celebrate it in the 30th issue? Well, when I became Core Staff I wanted to direct a Special Issue, and the numbers that seemed the best to do something special are 10, 25 and 50. 10 had already passed, 25 was our third issue, and I completely missed it… and 50, well, it isn’t issue 50 yet. The other reason was that Issue XXX (30) could be target of bad jokes, so we named it Special Issue everywhere to avoid this. (And this didn’t stop all the bad jokes).
When I was planning this issue, along with my Core Staff, our plans was to make it look elegant, so we had {{Shroominvitation}} (looks fancy :3) to invite the guests. We also had {{Shroomspwarning}}, the fancy version of {{Shroomwarning}}. 36 people were invited, 10 accepted, but only 2 wrote their section (Knife and McCloud), despite this, the writers did an amazing job to make this issue special. We had 18 sections. This issue had a Welcome instead of the usual Director Notes. SMB did an amazing Calendar of Events, relating the history of The ‘Shroom, from the day of the creation of the Pipe Plaza (predecessor of The ‘Shroom), to the day of the Special Issue release. Stooby was interviewed, we had Toadbert again, User Brawl was introduced, Character Battle debuted here, we had a special comic and special Brawl Tactics and YellowYoshi127 started as M&A co-director!
Core Staff:
- Tucayo, Director
- Stooby, Sub-Director
- Ralphfan, Fake News
- Z3r0 Tw0, Fun Stuff
- SMB and YellowYoshi127, Music & Art
Thanks to everyone for reading this and I really hope you enjoyed it! Sadly, some great issues couldn’t make it to this Top 10, but only 10 could be chosen. It was a pleasure to write a Special Top 10 again. Goodbye!
Should Have Been
by MrConcreteDonkey (talk)
Hello, readers. I am MrConcreteDonkey, and welcome to my Should Have Been section. Here, I will discuss, in every 'Shroom issue, things that should have been in a game, and/or the Beta elements of said game. Today, I will be talking about New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
What Should Have Been in This Game?
New Super Mario Bros. Wii was a great game on all accounts. It brought back many old features that weren't in the Nintendo DS version of New Super Mario Bros. (which I admittedly didn't enjoy as much), and added many fantastic new features, including the 4-player co-operative mode. However, I believe there should have, and could have, been more to this game.
Firstly, the 4-player mode is fantastic as it is, but there were a few problems. Usually, it's hard to find enough people to play it with, if you even own 4 Wii Remotes.
For some minor changes, I think that there should have been more Airship levels-there were only three in this game and usually Airships have more action than regular levels, because the level is always moving, fast paced, and there are cannons everywhere. Plus, you fight Bowser Jr. at the end, each battle with an awesome innovation not to be seen ever again. I would have liked to see the Mario Car (from one of these boss battles) used in regular levels. I also would have liked to see a Sound Test, where you could listen to the music and sound effects from the game. Plus, in multiplayer, they should have stopped the 'A' button making the player retreat into their bubble. It's annoying and an unexpected way to lose lives.
There also should have been more secrets and secret parts of levels. The new Mario levels all seem more linear than the old ones, and I believe the lack of secrets, like Coin Heaven, is one of the reasons for this.
Enemies Who Should Have Appeared More
I will normally do this for enemies that didn't even appear in the game, but more or less every enemy appeared in the game, so this time I'm doing it about enemies that should've appeared more than they did.
- King Bills – These one-appearance enemies were hilarious. These chubby-faced giant Bullet Bills only appeared in the last level of World 9. They were also very destructive, even able to destroy Brick Blocks...but apparently not Goombas...
- Para-Beetles – Para-Beetles are a good idea for an enemy and should have at least appeared twice. They were more obstacles than enemies, as Mario could use them as a platform and they would not harm him willingly.
- Fuzzies – Fuzzies were arguably the funniest enemies in Paper Mario and I'm very glad to see that they have been making a comeback recently. Fuzzies only appeared in some of the later levels and were fun enemies to avoid.
- Broozers – A ghost with boxing gloves-you don't see that every day. They were fast and very aggressive enemies with a taste for ectoplasm </badjoke>.
- Wigglers – Wigglers do appear a lot in most Mario games, but, strangely, only once in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They had a lot of potential for this game, especially in some of the World 5 levels.
Beta Elements
There were a few major differences in the Beta of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but most were minor. These are all from E3 2009, so some features, songs, etc. may not have been added or just briefly touched upon. Starting off, the Propeller Mushroom was originally a Propellor Suit, much like the one the character wears when using the Mushroom. The Penguin Suit originally going to have white eyes with blue pupils, which are black in the final version. Also, there is concept art of a bizzare chicken suit, which can be seen on the image to the left. Also seen on this image is what seems to be an even earlier version of the Penguin Suit.
Coins originally had 8-Bit sound effects, and the HUD (the bar at the top) was originally transparent and in a different, more generic font. There were a few unused platforms, including a trampoline, the four rotating Ferris wheel-like platforms (like the ones Reznor was fought on in Super Mario World), a see-saw and a platform that was from two levels in the DS prequel, New Super Mario Bros. More platforms from the prequel were going to be used, including the pendulum platforms from the World 4 Castle and the one-way gate from World 2-3
The music for the underground, castle and desert levels was the same as the prequel, as was the athletic theme. Two unused enemies appear in the Beta-one is a giant Buzzy Beetle, whom Mario is able to stand on, and the other has not been seen, but is an object called 'EN_GHOST_JUGEM', which is most likely a Fishin' Boo. ? Blocks were once grey in snow levels.
Originally, Red Yoshis and Blue Yoshis were in the game, but were replaced by Pink and Cyan Yoshis, respectively. After entering a Boss door, you would drop down from the top of the screen, instead of just stand in front of the Koopaling. Finally, the Midway Point flag had a skull on it originally.
Thank you for reading my section. Sorry if I went on a bit. If you think that there should have been something in New Super Mario Bros. Wii that I have not mentioned, please PM me on the Forum and I will mention your idea in the next issue.
Special Interviews
Hello all, SMB here! What is this, you may ask? Well, all of the interviews listed below are of former or current Core Staff of The 'Shroom. We felt that with Tucky and Stooben leaving, it would be good to have accounts of The 'Shroom's history available for not just the potential new director, but also for all of our readers!
Some of the interviews have not been completed yet, and some more might be added to the next issue. This list will be updated as new ones come in.
| Xzelion (talk) – ??? | Plumber (talk) – Interview | Stooben Rooben (talk) – Interview | |||
| Tucayo (talk) – Interview | Marcelagus (talk) – Interview | Beanbean (talk) – Interview | |||
| Ralphfan (talk) – Interview | 2257 (Talk) – Interview | Confused (talk) – Interview | |||
| Xpike (talk) – Interview | SMB (Talk) – Interview | Z3r0 Tw0 (talk) – Interview | |||
| Marioguy1 (talk) – Interview | |||||
As many of you can tell, we have an election going on. This election is for selecting the next director of our beloved paper, The 'Shroom. The 'Shroom has seen its ups and downs... Our wonderful leaders, Stooben Rooben (talk) (Director) and Tucayo (talk) (Sub-director) have tried their best to pull The 'Shroom back up to glory (the paper was enduring extremely hard times in terms of reader and writer participation, among other problems). They have done a tremendous job, and the paper has vastly improved since a year ago from this point in time. However, the site's paper is not in the clear yet: there are still many promises and opportunities that could not be acted on due to the numerous amount of problems that the paper was facing that needed immediate attention.
Neither Stooben Rooben nor Tucayo have expressed interest in running for director this time around (in fact, they've expressed quite the opposite to the Core Staff members). This means that The 'Shroom is closing in on one era and is about to begin a new one. Whoever wins this election will have the power to "make it or break it." The candidate that pulls out victorious in this election will chart the course for the future.
This section was made before the release of the December 2010 issue— this means that it is a pre-election report. This special section (a collaboration between Super Mario Bros. (talk), Marioguy1 (talk), and Tucayo (talk)) is designed to increase voter awareness as well as to predict the list of potentially prominent candidates that could show up.
Before we move on to our commentary about this election, we would like to cover the results and circumstances surrounding past elections.
Past Elections
Director Election of December 2007
The Director Election of December 2007 (although it is commonly said to have happened in December 2007, it actually took place in January 2008). Plumber (talk), the director from September 2007 to January 2008, was retiring from the Super Mario Wiki. Not liking how new directors were put in place (the Editor in Chief would be thrown into the position of director upon the retirement or resignation of the outgoing director), he held off until he could think of a suitable way to have new directors appointed. Plumber considered his options, and favored a more democratic approach to the situation— Thus, the first Director Election was held.
| Candidate | Vote Count | Percent (rounded) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ended up winning the election. | |||
| Wayoshi, at this point, was a former 'Shroom Director who served from January 2007 to May 2007. | |||
| Tied for third place. | |||
| Tied for third place. | |||
| Tied for third place. | |||
| Received fourth place. | |||
| First Director Election. |
Director Election of December 2008
After a huge victory, Glowsquid became the next director of The 'Shroom. After a while, the paper's quality (and quantity of sections) decreased extremely; mostly due to the fact that a majority of writers either retired or went inactive and got fired. The only writers that were remaining often turned in their sections late (which even lead to one of the issues being released significantly late). Despite his best efforts, Glowsquid was unable to prevent what many consider the worst time in 'Shroom history (a proposal to cancel The 'Shroom was even created, which ended up failing). In the Director Election of 2008, Glowsquid decided not to run again, although Marcelagus (the first sub-director, who served under Glowsquid) threw her hat into the ring. The voters, however, decided to change things up a bit and (after the hugest voter turnout in any Director Election so far) elected another candidate (who was the Fake News director at the time).
| Candidate | Vote Count | Percent (rounded) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stooben was, at this point, the director of the Fake News. | |||
| Tucayo, who was a dedicated writer, ended up being appointed to sub-director by Stooben. | |||
| Marcelagus was the sub-director at this point. | |||
| Received fourth place. | |||
| Second Director Election. This election is notable for having the highest voter turnout out of any election in MarioWiki history. |
Director Election of December 2009
The voters were heard. Stooben knew that The 'Shroom needed improvement, and vowed that he would. Upon his winning, he appointed Tucayo to sub-director. After a few issues, Stooben had to switch with Tucayo due to a busy schedule. The two constantly switched from being director to being sub-director after every few issues, and although some confusion was caused over the matter, the two still worked together well and got quite a bit done. The Fun Stuff section was turned into a team, and the new Music & Artwork and Pipe Plaza teams were added during their tenures. The amount of sign-ups and writers were solid in the beginning, but dramatically decreased towards November and December, and even more so for a certain period of time after the election. Plagiarism also became a slight issue, but was resolved almost immediately after it was discovered. Election time came, and not everybody knew what to expect. Stooben Rooben and Tucayo both ran their second election, and Super Mario Bros. decided to give it a shot (although at first a ridiculed joke campaign, he turned his campaign into one that would have great influence on the election and the way The 'Shroom would be handled for the next year).
| Candidate | Vote Count | Percent (rounded) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stooben was the sub-director at this point. | |||
| SMB was a former Music & Artwork director and the Pipe Plaza director at this point. Although initially running a joke campaign, he managed to turn it around to a more serious, constructive campaign. | |||
| Tucayo was the director at this point. After Stooben won, he returned to the 'Shroom staff as sub-director. | |||
| Ran what many perceived to be a joke candidacy; his nomination was removed. | |||
| Third Director Election. |
Poll Chairperson Election 2010
Sunday, 23 May 2010 — a proposal concerning several changes to our current Main Page was accepted by the community and passed. This proposal can be viewed here. One point that the proposal addressed was the creation of a Poll committee, a selected group of users to create and select polls to feature on the Main Page. The members of this committee are meant to be selected by a person in charge of the committee, the Poll Committee Chairperson, who shall be elected by the community in an election hosted on The 'Shroom.
There were two candidates in the election that followed— Super Mario Bros. and Marioguy1 (talk). Both users set up their campaigns and announced their plans for the committee. This election is notable for being the only election hosted on The 'Shroom to have one of the candidates receive all of the votes.
| Candidate | Vote Count | Percent (rounded) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMB was one of the major supporters of the creation of the committee and could be considered a leading figure in the "Main Page reform movement" that was a major point of concern from mid-2009 to mid-2010. Stooben ended up being appointed as vice-chairman. | |||
| MG1 was the only candidate to run against SMB. | |||
| First Poll Committee Chairperson Election. First (and to this point, the only) election hosted on The 'Shroom to have one candidate receive all votes. |
Director Election of December 2010
Background
Stooben and Tucayo both continued to shape The 'Shroom well into 2010. Stooben, however, went into a state of semi-inactivity in mid-2010, which gave Tucayo more control (and more responsibility) over the paper. During this time, the other Core Staff members (most notably Super Mario Bros., Marioguy1, and Ralphfan) influence also grew. With time passing by, both Stooben and Tucayo have announced that they will most likely not run in the election at the end of the year.
Election Commentary
Tucayo, Super Mario Bros., and Marioguy1 decided to hold a discussion about major potential candidates, and came up with a list (organized alphabetically):
<Tucayo> Hello amazing readers! I want to welcome you to this, the Pre-Election Analysis of the 2010 'Shroom Director Election. I am your current sub-director, and former director, Tucayo, and I am very well accompanied by none other than long-time staff, Super Mario Bros. and Marioguy1! Welcome guys
<MG1> Long-time? Me? Oh...hi there!
<SMB> A!
<Tucayo> I take that as your greetings.
<SMB> Yes. :P
<MG1> :)
<Tucayo> Now, we have come together to discuss and analyze next election. First of all, we will talk a little bit about past elections. Let's start with 2007 Election, the election that brought me to The 'Shroom
<SMB> Alright.
<Tucayo> As we have seen in the first part of this analysis, this election was won by then-named Blitzwing
<MG1> Glowsquid now :3
<Tucayo> Indeed, and, many people have agreed that in that time, The 'Shroom went through its worst point, but that term also brought good things, right SMB?
<SMB> Yes, Tucky, that is correct. To explain, Glowsquid's term is notable for being one where many writers quit or didn't do their job (which ended up getting them fired). Most people that ended up doing their job turned in their sections late. However, one great thing that came from this era was the position of "sub-director," which Marcelagus (then known as Garlic Man) was appointed to after suggesting the idea of the position to Glowsquid.
<Tucayo> That is right, one of the best contributions to The 'Shroom, and a very useful in current days. Next, after that year, the 2008 election came, with Stooben, Garlic Man, and me as the contenders. This was easy as pie for Stooby, and this election ended with me being Sub-Director. In these years (2009-2010), many things were accomplished, right Marioguy?
<MG1> Yup :) Stooben and Tucky created many sub-teams that are currently existing today, added in many more core staff and increased the amount of users writing for the 'shroom drastically; as well as having several special issues written by guests and staff. In short, they did a good job :D
<Tucayo> Both of the Special Issues are one of the things I feel most proud of. Also, as you mentioned, the number of positions was improved greatly. It went from around 30 to around 60... The end of the year came, and with it, the 2009 election, where the outcome was the same, Stooben proclaiming himself winner. During the last year, there were switches between me and him, so I had already Director experience for this election. SMB also ran, SMB tell us something about your nomination, which was first a joke
<SMB> Aha, yes. I originally felt it would be fun to run a joke campaign just for kicks. But after seeing some comments, I realized that I could run an actual campaign with real suggestions. I then decided to turn my campaign around and shifted gears, and I'm pretty proud of what I did.
<Tucayo> Yes, and actually you ended getting more votes than me. heh... Halfway through the year, we also had a Poll Committee Election, where SMB and MG where the candidates, tell us a little bit about this election, which, by the way has been the only one where a single candidate gets all the votes
<MG1> OK...I guess I'll answer this one. This election was...not in my favor. As Tucky said, one candidate got all the votes and it wasn't me. However the election was still fun. Both candidates were good options and, seeing the current progress of the poll committee, the election was a success
<Tucayo> Still you ended up being in the Committee, which has done an excellent job
<MG1> And SMB hasn't teased me about it to this day :P
<Tucayo> Now, with that we ended about past elections, and now, to this year's election. We have 3 possible candidates, which are, Ralphfan, Marioguy1 and Super Mario Bros. Of course, this is not final, and there may be surprises. First, SMB, can you tell us a little bit about Marioguy's possible nomination? And of course, MG, can you tell us something about the possibilities of you running?
<MG1> Um...OK, well, my last election experience was pretty bad and that tightened my resolve not to run this year. But through comments from several of my friends and me realizing how immature that was being I decided that I would be open to running. So long as I could find some ideas to put forth
<SMB> Sure. I personally think MG1 can be a strong candidate. He has the qualities of a great leader, and he also has a great sense of humor. He can remai level-headed in even the worst of situations, which is why I think that if he plays his cards right in this election... He could definitely pull out victorious.
<Tucayo> And from my experience working with him, he is really active in the staff boards, and in making decisions, which is really important. Also, as a team director he has always done an amazing work, being on time, organized, and all the good qualities needed in a leader. He has been Pipe Plaza director for a long while, alongside Super Mario Bros, who is our next candidate. SMB, any comments on your possibilities? Will you give it another shot? And Marioguy, how do you see SMB's possible nomination?
<MG1> Well, SMB has been an excellent user on the wiki for a long time (~three years) and over that time, he has racked up many positions in the 'shroom, on the wiki, the forums and over at Userpedia. Every time it was up to me to make a decision on him, I said yes because of his amazing ability to think up new, revolutionary ideas which always turn out well in the end. He is very good at thinking ideas, proposing ideas, making them clear and then, once he has proposed an idea, he never backs down from it... Very dilligent, smart and kind person, he would be an awesome director
<Tucayo> I have worked with him some times when he works as Sub-Director, and he does an amazing job. He has even directed one issue, where Stooby and I weren't able too
<MG1> Yes, SMB is always there to fill in a tight spot
<Tucayo> Any comments, SMB?
<SMB> Yes. I'd first like to say that I'm touched by these comments from you both. Thank you both for thinking that way of me, it truly means a lot to me. Secondly, I don't really want to sound like I'm gloating or anything, but I agree with the comment that I'm there to fill in tight spots. But I'd like to point out that almost all of us have been there to help out. I've just had the most opportunities to do so.
<Tucayo> So, you are running for director, right?
<SMB> Most likely, yes.
<Tucayo> And now let's go with our next possible candidate, Ralphfan. Hero of the Fake News, completely reviving it, many users think Ralphfan has a shot at directorhood. How do you see his nomination? I first want to make clear... As far as I remember, he hasn't expressed any interest in running, but it is a possibility
<SMB> Actually, he has told me that he would consider running once or twice. But that is slightly besides the point. I think that Ralph has a great shot at directorhood. Being the "hero of the Fake News" (as you said), he was also Editr in Chief for one month and has directed The Disconnected over at Userpedia for a couple of months now. He is also the Director of the MarioWiki Awads celebration. He has great leadership qualities and tries his best at whatever he gets involved with.
<MG1> Something I noticed during the Disconnected election was that ralphfan had a lot of charisma
<Tucayo> The users certainly like him
<MG1> Yes
<Tucayo> It is something common amongst this year's possible candidates
<MG1> He obviously has excellent leadership qualities, which is why he's a major candidate in this election
<Tucayo> He indeed can win the election, being the great user and co-worker he is. He also accepts other persons opinions easily, he is very open-minded, which is a great quality in a leader. Now, we ended with the most possible candidates... Any thought about less possible candidates? I don't think Stoob will be running for a third time, since he has been really busy
<SMB> I agree. He has told me he probably won't be running this time around
<Tucayo> Now someone else will actually have chances to win haha
<SMB> You, Tucky, would probably get a good following in the election if you end up deciding to run (although you've said many times it is extremely unlikely that you will change your mind on the subject).
<MG1> But with Tucky and St00b probably out of this election, it could be anybody's game
<Tucayo> I was waiting for this part. Yes, as I have said, it is improbable I will run again, but there is a possibility. What could bring me back? Well, I love The 'Shroom, and naturally, I always want to see it succeed, so, if (no offense intended to anyone) I see that a candidate who I think won't do a good job is on the lead, I will run again. Of course, if I don't run, I will always be at the new director orders to do a guest section. But I can tell you from now that I won' be part of the Core Staff if I get invited, sorry
<SMB> Alright.
<Tucayo> And with that, we conclude this Pre-Election Analysis, we hope you liked it. We invite you to vote, or, if you feel like you would be able to, to run for director. From Super Mario Bros., Marioguy1, and myself, Tucayo, thanks, and good night! See you in the Post-Election Analysis. Thanks guys
* Tucayo orders his papers and shakes hands as lights fade out
Potential Candidates
Marioguy1
| Experience | Notes |
|---|---|
|
|
Ralphfan
| Experience | Notes |
|---|---|
|
|
Super Mario Bros.
| Experience | Notes |
|---|---|
|
|
Director Election
It's that time of the year again, the Director Election!
What is This?
- This is an election to decide the new director of The 'Shroom. Naturally, the one with the most votes wins the title.
- If a director retires, then an election is held again in the latest issue of The 'Shroom.
- An election takes place every December Issue regardless whether an election has already been held that year.
- The current director may run in elections if they wish.
- This election will start December 20nd.
- In the January issue (Sunday, January 16th 2011. 20:00), the winner will be announced, and they will have at most a week to announce their Core Staff in the comments section at the bottom of the page, as well as their calendar.
- There will be a debate between the candidates, please also state when you can participate in the debate in order to get this to work.
- You must submit your campaign at least a week ({{{2}}}) before the release of the January issue, or else it will be considered invalid and removed by the Core Staff!
- Candidate Rules
- Anyone may run for director during any time of the election (except in Overtime), but they must have a forum account.
- A user may only run for themselves, another user cannot nominate them.
- All candidates must say what changes will they make. They can also campaign to promote voting for them.
- Campaigns must use acceptable grammar (judgment is given to the Core Staff).
- Campaigns must be original. Nobody is allowed to steal another candidate's ideas. However, if campaigns, for the most part, differ from each other or have key elements to which the candidates disagree on, then sharing a few ideas here and there is allowed.
- No joke campaigns are allowed to be ran.
- No bribing voters is allowed.
- Candidates can also hold debates among them in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
- This is what a voting section should look like:
===Candidate=== What will you do, etc. #'''X''' #'''X''' #'''X'''
So as you can see, that candidate has three votes.
- Voter Rules
- Voters may vote with their username, no signatures allowed, or they opt to list themselves as X ('''X''') in order for their vote to not be immediately identifiable– note that people may see who voted in such a manner in the page editing history.
- Anonymous editors (who do not sign in to edit) are not allowed to cast votes. If you have an account and are simply logged out, please sign in to your account. If you want to vote and you do not have an account, simply create one, sign in, and vote!
- Voters may only cast one vote.
- Voters may change their vote at any time while the election is in progress.
- Ties
- In the case of a tie, the Core Staff will establish a runoff election for another week between the tying candidates. Ties beyond that will be handled if they come up by a process decided by the Core Staff.
- Duties of the Director
This is what you must do if you win, so read carefully.
- The director must accept or decline all new writers' ideas for sections they want to write.
- The director assigns a section to users who want to write, but don't know what to write.
- The director gives out a warning to users who have not yet sent in their sections one week before The 'Shroom is due.
- The director puts The 'Shroom together, and edits the front page, the single page, the 'Shroombox template, and the Shroom Issue template.
- The director writes the Director's Notes section, which comments about the month's issue.
- The director includes the due date of the next 'Shroom in the Director's Notes, and in the Shroomwarning template.
- The director gets to choose their Core Staff, this is: Fake News, Fun Stuff, Music & Art, Pipe Plaza, Critic Corner directors and Sub-Director.
- The director must send applications to users who want to become writers.
Looks easy? It is not. So get ready.
Now get out there and go!
Debates
Candidates
Super Mario Bros.
Hello, my fellow wiki members. I would like to officially announce my candidacy for Director of The 'Shroom. You might be wondering what I plan on doing for the paper if I win and such, so I won't keep you waiting much longer.
My Experience
- Super Mario Wiki
- Sysop of the wiki
- Former Patroller of the wiki
- Global Moderator (Forum Administrator) of the forum
- Owner of #mwchat, the MarioWiki's official chat room.
- Co-director of the Pipe Plaza team of The 'Shroom.
- Co-director of the Music & Artwork team of The 'Shroom.
- One-time director of the Fake News team of The 'Shroom.
- I helped direct an issue of The 'Shroom in Stooben's and Tucayo's absence.
- Poll Committee Chairman
- Userpedia
- Steward of the wiki
- Bureaucrat of the wiki
- Sysop of the wiki
- Former Patroller of the wiki
- Administrator of the forum
- Former Assistant Administrator of the forum
- Former Global Moderator of the forum
- The Disconnected staff member
- Former Disconnected director
- Former Disconnected sub-director
- Operator of #userpedia
My Plans
- I want to be able to expand our affiliates. Right now, The 'Shroom is only affiliated with 3 other news entities: Stone Watchers, BulbaNews, and The Disconnected. It's wonderful that we got these affiliates (in fact, they are the first affiliates we've ever had). I'm sure we can do better, though. If I am elected, I will try my best to affiliate The 'Shroom with other similar sites and projects.
- I want to be able to better represent the interests of The 'Shroom in the Awards Ceremony, and also increase our coverage of the Awards Ceremony next year. I want to be able to expand The 'Shroom Awards from 5 to 10; and I also want to have another Special Issue covering the results of the Super Mario Wiki Awards. If elected, I'll do my best to follow through with this.
- I want to make #mwshroom better than what it currently is. I think we have quite a few users on the chat that read the paper, yet I'd be surprised if most of them have entered the 'Shroom chat more than once. That said, I'll do my best to better advertise the 'Shroom chat room and host events in the chat throughout the year (which would be logged and posted on the forum).
- Also, I want to make sure that our forum board is constantly in use, rather than just sitting there pointlessly. As mentioned above, I'll post logs of chat events in it. I'll also be sure to host forum-specific events in The 'Shroom board, as well as continuing the trend of posting topics and polls asking users to rate each issue.
- In the past, we've had big surveys asking users about the quality of each section, about the sub-teams, who they think the best writer is, and much more. However, we've only done this infrequently. I want to see these surveys done at least every 4 months so that we can keep up-to-date on what our writers and readers think of the paper.
- If I win, I want to make 2 changes to the list of positions in the Core Staff: First off, I'd like to merge the positions of Sub-director and Editor-in-Chief. Also, I'd like to create a new position: Statistics Manager, who would help me organize the surveys, polls, making spreadsheets to enter data that we can reference to, and other duties of that sort.
- I also intend on continuing our system of requiring users to fill out applications to be able to write a section. I feel that this has helped make The 'Shroom improve on terms of quality since it was first implemented.
- I want to be able to have several special issues throughout this term. Some occasions that I'd like to do this on are Issue L (May 2011), September 2011 (the month after the Awards Ceremony) and December 2011 (Special Holidays Issue). Perhaps another one for the Poll Chairperson Elections as well (so another special issue in the June-July 2011 range).
- I will try my best to work with the Core Staff that I'll select in order to create new, unique jobs for the paper.
- I want to be able to resume the "Section of the Month" process. I was the one who initially requested its cancellation after many months of disorganized nominations and suggestions for the honor. I feel that having a section of the month should be a fun thing, so quite a bit of work would have to go into getting it set up, after which it should run smoothly and be organized.
- Finally, I want to leave this campaign off on this note: I want this year for The 'Shroom to be the best it has ever had. I'll put in all of the effort I can and will do my best if elected.
Votes
- Edofenrir (talk)
- SWFlash (talk)
- LuigiMania (talk)
- Stooben Rooben (talk)
- Freakworld (talk)
- UltimatePetey (talk)
- Bowser's luma (talk)
- Ultramariologan (talk)
- Paper Yoshi (talk)
- Baby Mario Bloops (talk)
- Smasher 101 (talk)
- MrConcreteDonkey (talk)
- Tucayo (talk)
- Mario Fan 123 (talk)
- DyegoHalliwell IceMario12 (talk)
- Ralphfan (talk)
- SuperYoshiBros (talk)
- Mario304 (talk)
- Fawfulfury65 (talk)
Marioguy1 (talk)
Hey guys! Sorry my application came up late, I’ve been searching for inspiration but I think I’ve finally got it :D
Positions
- I joined the wiki 1.5 years ago (June).
- I joined Userpedia a while after (August)
- I was temporarily promoted in October and then promoted permanently (to Patroller) later that month.
- I was promoted to sysop a month later, in November.
- About that same time, I was made co-director of the Pipe Plaza section of The ‘Shroom
- I was made Userpedia’s Steward in February 2010.
- I was a member of the 2010 Mario Awards Committee.
- I was demoted to Userpedia Bureaucrat in June this year.
- I was made a chatroom operator in September or sometime around there.
- I was promoted to Forum Games and Mafia local moderator around that time as well.
- Very recently I became a Patroller on the Super Mario Wiki.
Plans
User Contact
As SMB pointed out, the staff and users do not talk enough. So if I am elected, I will try out a new template so that users can send in suggestions to the paper year-round in a survey. This will allow people who think of ideas to send them in and have them discussed with the staff.
Special Events
Currently The Shroom has special events only around the holidays. However if I am elected, I plan to organize as many special events as possible for The ‘Shroom throughout the year.
Of course
Of course I will not forget about the Section of the Month ideas. I was one of the greatest supporters (constantly nagging St00ben to do it) but eventually it had to end. However now I hope to revive the process and finally release it to The ‘Shroom.
And finally
I will try to get more activity in the core staff. I will provide new discussions and try to get the core staff more active and thinking properly. With an active core staff, there are sure to be many more great ideas coming.
Votes
Election Comments
I have some comments I would like to make on your campaign, but I feel it is best to save them until the debates. We will have two debates, one on the 23rd, and another one on the 6th. Candidates, please say if you aren't able to attend. Tucayo (talk)
SMB: What if you win and someone other than 22 is SD? Would you keep him on the staff somehow? Also, love the idea of Award coverage. Ralphfan (talk)
- @Tucky: Alright. I'm sure I can attend. @Ralphfan: I'll announce who my staff is when I'm ready to. And thanks (for your comment about the Awards coverage). :D · SMB (Talk) · 04:16, 15 December 2010 (UTC)
Aren't there other people running? Fawfulfury65 (talk)
@FF65 I just voted for SMB, but might change it if more people run New Super Mario (talk)
@FF65: MG1 is working on his campaign, and Ralphfan is still considering. · SMB (Talk) · 14:04, 21 December 2010 (UTC)
Okay Tucayo, what time is the debate today? · SMB (Talk) · 17:43, 23 December 2010 (UTC)
- Sorry, we'll have to postpone it, perhaps to the 27th --
™ The 'Shroom 20:08, 23 December 2010 (UTC)
Er... When is the debate today (3rd january), because perhaps I can not attend if it is later than 19.00 or 20.00... -World of
Freak 
- 20:30 EST --™ The 'Shroom 14:11, 3 January 2011 (EST)
SMB is like, sure to win. :P Even through I liked MG1's ideas of chatting more. I guess you guys should stop fighting and unite yourselves. Like, The 'Shroom Duo. SMB and MG1. It would be cool, but I guess my idea wouldn't be made. Oh, and is there another debate? --Mario Fan 123 - Mario's craazy fan! 
17:42, 9 January 2011 (EST)
- No, the second debate was the last. ;)
Paper Yoshi Talk 15:41, 10 January 2011 (EST)
Director Notes
Sub Director Notes
Hello readers, I am your holiday-ish Sub-Director Tucayo! Welcome to this December Issue. I hope you really like this issue, because we have many surprises. In fact, there are so many, I have to list them, but first, let's retake an old custom I had dropped some months ago, announcing the new, and retiring users:
- Killer Axe retired
- New Super Mario is now our interviewer
- MrConcreteDonkey is writing Should Have Been now
- Edo has sadly retired from Fake Games.
- Mr bones resigned from his Games and Guess That Game positions
- Mario fan 123 is now in charge of Trivia
- Monteyaga has been fired
Now, the surprises:
- This is not exactly a surprise, but I want to thank everyone for their interest in our mafia game. It was a great success, breaking records for longest game, most posts and most participants. As of when I wrote this, Thurday the 9th, the game was midway through Day 10. I'll update this with more info when the game ends. Update: it ended that same day :P Mafia won in a very interesting way, and Garlic Man, innocent, won the MVP!!
- Now, to start with the surprises. SMB did us the great favor of making a set of special interviews to many former staff members of The 'Shroom, you can find the links to all of them in the Main Page of The 'Shroom. They are amazing, don't forget to read them!
- As you may know, this month we are holding an election. So please vote, or, if you think you have what it takes, run for Director!
- Continuing with the Election, SMB, MG1 and myself made another special section, a Pre-Election Analysis, where you can see our opinions on the subject, commentaries, and more!
- Moooore special sections; this issue marks my 30th issue, and it also marks almost the end of 2 amazing years of being in the staff, and 2 years and a half of writing for The 'Shroom, so, to commemorate this, I have re-written all the sections I wrote during these 30 issues (except the ones already being written by someone else). You can find them where they normally are, I hope you like that.
- As you seem to love games, we have made TWO more games for you! That's right, this issue you can sign up for our Family Feud game, and participate in our Mad Libs game. Both are hosted by Ralphfan.
- We also have MORE special sections, made by our special guests! They can be found at the bottom of the Main Page of The 'Shroom.
- Now, a message from Plumber (talk)!
- **Please make Plumber's birthday wish come true! Change your username to incorporate 'Henry Clay' in it somehow!**
I think that is all, I hope you like this issue as much as I do, I honestly feel proud of this issue, and proud of having the chance to work with all the amazing staff I work with, thanks guys for everything!
From part of all the 'Shroom Core Staff, I would like to wish you, writers, readers, team directors, users, a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or what you celebrate, and a happy New Year, full of success and joy in all your lives.
Thanks for reading us, and goodbye, til January, where we will see each other for the last time!
--
