The 'Shroom:Issue 126/Awards Analysis
Awards Analysis
Written by the 8th Poll CommitteeHey everyone! This is Lord Bowser, Chairman of the 8th Poll Committee, here with a quick introduction. On behalf of the Committee, I would like to present you with a rundown of all of the awards featured in this year's Mario and Fail Award ceremonies. This was a big undertaking for all of our members, and I'm glad we ended up with such a great-looking project. Special thanks goes to our fellow Awards Director, Hypnotoad (talk), for providing us with consultation and resources during the project, and to Stargazing (talk) and DragonFreak (talk) for taking the time to fill in for some of our members who weren't able to finish in time. Extra special thanks must go to Stargazing on my behalf for taking a grand total of nine analyses, which served to be a crucial help and very well-appreciated. Thank you for your help, Star!
Before we get to the awards analyses, there's one last thing I want to debut in this introduction; the beautiful new banner for our team, designed by The Pyro Guy (talk)!
TPG's artwork for the Poll Committee, both now and last year, bring a sense of unity amongst ourselves, and I'm glad he has kept up the tradition for this year. Be sure to check out his other works as hell, as he's truly a stellar artist!
And now, without further ado, I now present the analyses of the awards. Each award has a top-10 list of nominees, along with a rundown of its results. Different members of the Committee wrote for different awards, so be sure to read them all!
Mario Awards
M1 - Best Sound Design (The Pyro Guy)
Hiya. I'm The Pyro Guy, and welcome to the first analysis! Fittingly, we'll be starting with M1- Best Sound Design.
| M1 - Best Sound Design
|
|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy' - 19.45% (433 votes) |
| Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 13.88% (309 votes) |
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 - 9.75% (217 votes) |
| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - 7.23% (161 votes) |
| Super Mario 3D World - 6.56% (146 votes) |
| Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - 5.75% (128 votes) |
| Super Mario 64 - 5.62% (125 votes) |
| Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - 4.72% (105 votes) |
| Super Paper Mario - 4.18% (93 votes) |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 4.09% (91 votes) |
| Total votes: 2,226 |
Super Mario Galaxy has been winning first place for years now, and same goes for Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for their respective awards. This is to no surprise; all of these games share incredible, orchestrated soundtracks, and I love them all. SMG2 has dropped a little vote-wise, from 11.67% last year to 9.75% this year, but other than that it's the same stuff as always. Will there ever be a game that can musically dethrone these three?
M2 - Favorite Mario Kart Game (Stargazing)
Stargazing’s the name, stargazing’s my game, I just really like stars. I’m here with an analysis of M2 - Favourite Mario Kart Game! Before I begin, if you would like to view Magikrazy’s presentation of M2, please click here!
| M2 - Favourite Mario Kart Game
|
|---|
| Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 1130 (47.08%) |
| Mario Kart: Double Dash!! - 401 (16.71%) |
| Mario Kart Wii - 396 (16.50%) |
| Mario Kart DS - 183 (7.62%) |
| Mario Kart 64 - 136 (5.67%) |
| Mario Kart 7 - 106 (4.42%) |
| Super Mario Kart - 21 (0.88%) |
| Mario Kart: Super Circuit - 20 (0.83%) |
| Total votes: 2400 |
In 2015 and in 2016, the top 3 was the same: Mario Kart 8 lead the race, although sporting a new name this time, with Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! behind it in that order. However, something changed this year, with Double Dash!! and Wii swapping spots. Despite this, there have been no changes in between any of the other results, showing proof of a strong and solid opinion over the years. Mario Kart DS remains high in first place, and with Mario Kart Wii in third, you would think a newer game, Mario Kart 7 would be high in the award too. However, Mario Kart 7 is in 7th pla- huh? No? However, Mario Kart 7 is in 6th place!
One final note I'd like to make is, besides Wii and Double Dash!! swapping, the results are exactly the same. The only addition from last year is the remake of Mario Kart 8. A switchup of the formula for the next game to breathe life into this award would be extremely nice.
M3 - Favorite Mario Platformer (Tucayo)
HI, everyone! I'm your organized Poll Vice-Chairman, Tucayo, here collaborating with this Awards Analysis! My first poll is M3 - Favorite Mario Platformer.
| M3 - Favorite Mario Platformer
|
|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy — 433 (18.58%) |
| Super Mario Galaxy 2 — 328 — (14.07%) |
| Super Mario 64/Super Mario 64 DS — 323 (13.86%) |
| Super Mario Sunshine — 284 (12.18%) |
| Super Mario 3D World — 275 (11.80%) |
| Super Mario World — 219 — (9.40%) |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 — 105 — (4.50%) |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii — 94 (4.03%) |
| New Super Mario Bros. — 75 (3.22%) |
| New Super Mario Bros. U/New Super Luigi U — 52 (2.23%) |
| Total votes: 2,331 |
This award was one of the original 30 awards, in 2007 it was won by Super Paper Mario (for real), which this year got only three votes as a write-in. Super Mario World won in 2008; the award was split in 2009 and in 2010 it returned to its current form, with Super Mario Galaxy 2 taking it home four years in a row from 2010 to 2013. It's safe to say the hype for Super Mario 3D World has died; after placing first in 2014 and 2015, the two ceremonies following its release, it has now fallen to fifth place, surpassed by four games that were released before it. It's a big surprise that a game released in 2007, which had never won this award, now takes the top spot. Regardless, it's a worthy winner. New Super Mario Bros., which was removed as a nominee this year, came in as the top write-in, along with Super Mario Bros. 2. This year’s addition, Super Mario Run, performed poorly and was last among the established nominees, getting only 0.90% of the vote.
M4 - Favorite Mario Kart Course (Roserade)
Greetings, beautiful readers! Roserade here with my first poll analysis, looking at M4 - Favorite Mario Kart Course. Let's see what tracks raced ahead of the competition!
| M4 - Favorite Mario Kart Course
|
|---|
| Waluigi Pinball — 300 — 13.29% |
| N64 Rainbow Road (Wii U) — 251 —11.12% |
| Rainbow Road (3DS) — 171 — 7.58% |
| Coconut Mall — 150 — 6.65% |
| Mount Wario — 143 — 6.34% |
| Electrodrome — 142 — 6.29% |
| Baby Park — 135 — 5.98% |
| Maple Treeway — 132 — 5.85% |
| Airship Fortress — 101 — 4.47% |
| Big Blue — 98 — 4.34% |
| Total votes: 2257 |
Over the past three years, our top two racetracks have consistently been the same, with Waluigi Pinball snatching first place and N64 Rainbow Road trailing close behind. However, while the vote gap between the two was only about 1% last year, it appears that Waluigi Pinball is slowly pulling ahead from its competition, N64 Rainbow Road receiving about 5/6 of the votes Waluigi Pinball did. In 2015, Coconut Mall claimed the third place on the podium, but last year Rainbow Road (3DS) staked its flag and continues to stand its ground. Coconut Mall isn't too far behind, though, so a surprise return to the podium is always possible (which I may or may not be hoping for). Of course, I must question the authenticity of this vote count, given the name of a certain user...
M5 - Favorite DK Game (Superchao)
| M5 - Favorite DK Game
|
|---|
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 413 (20.46%) |
| Donkey Kong Country Returns/Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - 369 (18.28%) |
| Donkey Kong 64 - 308 (15.26%) |
| Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - 253 (12.53%) |
| Donkey Kong Country - 216 (10.70%) |
| Donkey Kong (Arcade/NES) - 134 (6.64%) |
| Diddy Kong Racing - 112 (5.55%) |
| Donkey Kong (Game Boy) - 73 (3.62%) |
| Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! - 51 (2.53%) |
| Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - 34 (1.68%) |
| Total votes: 2019 |
Hello, readers! Superchao here to analyze the Favorite DK Game award... whiiich hasn't really changed much at all in the past! Ever since Tropical Freeze debuted on the award in 2014, the top two have always been Returns and Freeze, with 64 a constant third. Even the lower ranks don't shake up that much, with the next three consistently DKC, DKC2, and Arcade Donkey Kong in a mixture of places, and the three after that consistently Game Boy Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong Racing, and Donkey Kong Country 3 (with Donkey Kong Jr. Math making it up there once). It's a very static award, and I believe the only way we'll ever see a major change again is if a new Donkey Kong game comes out. Looking at you, Nintendo!
M6 - Favorite Wario Game (DragonFreak)
Hey there ‘Shroom readers, DragonFreak here with my first Awards Analysis! Here we have M6 - Favorite Wario Games, which is also my favorite branch out of the Marioverse.
| M6 - Favorite Wario Game
|
|---|
| Wario Land 4 - 11.94% (225 votes) |
| Wario Land: Shake It! - 11.73% (221 votes) |
| WarioWare: Smooth Moves - 11.31% (213 votes) |
| Wario World - 11.25% (212 votes) |
| WarioWare: D.I.Y - 8.49% (160 votes) |
| WarioWare: Touched! - 7.86% (148 votes) |
| WarioWare, Inc: Mega Party Game$! - 7.32% (138 votes) |
| Wario Land 3 - 6.37% (120 votes) |
| Game & Wario - 6.21% (117 votes) |
| Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 - 5.89% (111 votes) |
| Total votes: 1,884 |
The winners of the last 3 years have changed each year of this award, with this year’s winner being Wario Land 4, my personal favorite! It co-won this award too in 2015 alongside Game & Wario somehow. Second place went to Wario Land: Shake It!, the winner of 2016 and the bronze of 2015. Seems like this game is also constantly popular just like Wario Land 4. And finally in third place is WarioWare: Smooth Moves, a really good game that hasn’t been in the top 3 since it’s second place in 2015. It seems like the top 3 this year have been fairly consistent in the previous years too. Also in 2 years, Game & Wario has slipped from tied for 1st to 9th place. I’m honestly not surprised.
M7 - Favorite Yoshi Game (DragonFreak)
Hello, I’m back again for the second time in a row for Favorite Yoshi game. Gotta love this cute green dino right?
| M7 - Favorite Yoshi Game
|
|---|
| Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island - 34.73% (739 votes) |
| Yoshi’s Woolly World/Poochy & Yoshi’s Wooly World - 33.98% (723 votes) |
| Yoshi’s Island DS - 12.83% (273 votes) |
| Yoshi’s Story - 9.02% (192 votes) |
| Yoshi’s New Island - 3.95% (84 votes) |
| Tetris Attack - 1.69% (36 votes) |
| Yoshi’s Cookie - 1.32% (28 votes) |
| Yoshi - 1.27% (27 votes) |
| Yoshi Touch & Go - 0.85% (18 votes) |
| Yoshi Topsy-Turvy - 0.38% (8 votes) |
| Total votes: 2128 |
At this point, M7 is one of the most stagnant and predictable awards we have. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners are Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Woolly World/Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World, and Yoshi's Island DS respectively, with Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World added to Yoshi's Woolly World this year. That addition did not change the votes at all; for the past three years, each of the top three even have similar percentages voted for them. No surprises here, but maybe there’ll be a change or two with the upcoming Yoshi Switch game.
M8 - Favorite Art Style (The Pyro Guy)
Hey, it's TPG again. This time, we're looking at M8- Favorite Art Style, a newer award introduced last year, and adapted from 'Favorite Art Direction', which only applied to specific games.
| M8 - Favorite Art Style
|
|---|
| Main series 3D style - 23.01% (519 votes) |
| Paper Mario Style - 20.48% (462 votes) |
| Mario & Luigi style - 18.75% (423 votes) |
| Yoshi's Woolly World style - 9.71% (219 votes) |
| Retro style sprites - 5.54% (125 votes) |
| Yoshi's Island style - 5.23% (118 votes) |
| Wario Land: Shake It! style - 5.19% (117 votes) |
| Super Mario Strikers style - 3.77% (85 votes) |
| Donkey Kong Country Style - 3.50% (79 votes) |
| Super Mario RPG style - 3.10% (70 votes) |
| Total votes: 2,256 |
Last year, the 3D and Paper styles were tied for first place, but this time the 3D style came through. Which I find pretty surprising- the Paper Mario style looks incredible in Paper Mario: Color Splash, but I suppose what we've seen of Super Mario Odyssey is equally incredible. The Mario and Luigi style has also made a slight gain in votes from last year.
M9 - Favorite DLC (Roserade)
Greetings, beautiful readers! Roserade here with another poll analysis, this time taking a glance at M9 - Favorite DLC. Let's DLC what content made the top spot!
| M9 - Favorite DLC
|
|---|
| The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 — 514 — 23.86% |
| New Super Luigi U — 477 — 22.14% |
| Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8 — 409 — 18.99% |
| Super Mario Mash-Up Pack (Minecraft) — 266 — 12.35% |
| Super Mario Maker stage (SSB4) — 201 — 9.33% |
| Mercedes-Benz x Mario Kart 8 — 142 — 6.59% |
| Peach's Castle stage (SSB4) — 137 — 6.36% |
| O. Mario Golf N64 courses (MG:WT) — 3 — 0.14% |
| O. Gold Classics pack (NSMB2) — 3 — 0.14% |
| O. Coin Rush (NSMB2) — 1 — 0.05% |
| Total votes: 2154 |
This Mario Award was first introduced last year, and thus does not have much history behind it. However, it is worth noting that The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 continues being the front runner from last year, and New Super Luigi U has overthrown Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8 for second place, being in opposite positions previously. Additionally, New Super Luigi U is gaining on our first place winner, with an approximate 2% difference in votes, as compared to 2016's 10% difference. I myself love the Mario Kart crossover content, although I wish Princess Zelda had been included in the Legend of Zelda pack. Given the lack of much Mario-related DLC, there aren't many options as to what to vote for, but it's still interesting to see that a single write-in vote made the top ten.
M10 - Favorite Partner Developer (DragonFreak)
DragonFreak again to analyze M10 - Favorite Partner Developer. This is an interesting award this year because it was directly affected by a decision from the Awards Committee.
| Favorite Partner Developer
|
|---|
| AlphaDream (Mario & Luigi series) - 21.47% (468 votes) |
| Intelligent Systems (Paper Mario series) - 15.60% (340 votes) |
| Hudson Soft (Mario Party 1-8, Mario Party DS) - 10.92% (238 votes) |
| Rare Ltd. (Donkey Kong Country series, Donkey Kong Land series) - 10.55% (230 votes) |
| Retro Studios (Mario Kart 7, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze) - 8.49% (185 votes) |
| 1UP Studio (Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World) - 6.97% (152 votes) |
| Good-Feel (Wario Land: Shake it!, Yoshi’s Woolly World) - 5.05% (110 votes) |
| Sega (Mario & Sonic series) - 5.00% (109 votes) |
| Square Enix (Super Mario RPG, Mario Sports Mix) - 4.82% (105 votes) |
| Next Level Games (Mario Strikers series, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon) - 4.40% (96 votes) |
| Total votes: 2,180 |
The decision was that no more Super Smash Bros would be included in the Awards. Because of that, the winner of the last few years, HAL Labratory, was no longer qualified to be on the ballot. RIP HAL, I still love you. But who would be the king of partner developers now? Well, apparently it’s AlphaDream! They are the developers of the great Mario & Luigi series, perhaps the Deluxe version of Superstar Saga helped with that. Intelligent Systems once again took the Silver. No matter what, fans just seems to think Paper Mario is second best. Rounding up in third place we have Hudson Soft, the developers of most of the Mario Party games. The third place winner of last year, Rare Ltd., is sitting at a respectable 4th place.
M11 - Favorite Major Character (The Pyro Guy)
Feeling a need for a British person to analyse? I've got your back; I'm TPG, but if you're reading this in order then you've probably already read a few of my works. Anyway, let's get straight into M11- Favorite Major Character.
| M11 - Favorite Major Character
|
|---|
| Luigi - 22.43% (548 votes) |
| Yoshi - 16.62% (406 votes) |
| Mario - 15.51% (379 votes) |
| Rosalina - 12.03% (294 votes) |
| Bowser - 7.78% (190 votes) |
| Wario - 6.92% (169 votes) |
| Toad - 6.55% (160 votes) |
| Bowser Jr. - 4.91% (120 votes) |
| Princess Peach - 4.75% (116 votes) |
| Donkey Kong - 2.50% (61 votes) |
| Total votes: 2,443 |
Will there ever be a year when Luigi doesn't win this award? Probably not, as he's won the last three of 'em. Yoshi and Mario have always been close, but this time Yoshi has come in second place, like he did in 2015. While Mario did come in second place last year, he's been bumped back down to third now.
M12 - Favorite Supporting Character (Tucayo)
Hey there, it's Tucayo, here back-to-back with M12 - Favorite Supporting Character and M13 - Favorite Level Theme.
| M12 - Favorite Supporting Character
|
|---|
| Waluigi — 653 (28.31%) |
| Princess Daisy — 285 (12.35%) |
| Kamek — 239 (10.36%) |
| Professor E. Gadd — 237 (10.27%) |
| Captain Toad — 235 (10.19%) |
| Poochy — 165 (7.15%) |
| Toadette — 154 (6.68%) |
| Diddy Kong — 147 (6.37%) |
| Toadsworth — 92 (3.99%) |
| Birdo — 60 (2.60%) |
| Total votes: 2,307 |
This award also debuted in the first Mario Awards; and this ceremony marked the third time in a row Waluigi has been named Favorite Supporting Character, and the fifth overall; in 2007 and 2008 he won this award, the latter in a tie with Petey Piranha (a shocking winner, who got only one write-in vote this year). Bowser Jr. - now noticeably absent from this award - placed first from 2009 to 2011, with Rosalina taking the top spot from 2012 to 2014. Anton, rejoice! Kamek has made the top three for this award, surpassing E. Gadd and Captain Toad, both of which had large drops from last year; this was to be expected, E. Gadd hasn't had a proper appearance since 2013 (he's had two cameos since, but that's about it), and Cap'n Toad's hype has passed, with him getting nothing but cameos since his game was released. I am disappointed Poochy only placed 6th in this award, may he forgive the souls of everyone who voted for other characters. It's worth noting some of these characters are very polarizing; Waluigi placed 8th in F1 - Worst Character; Daisy 6th, and Birdo 4th.
M13 - Favorite Level Theme (Tucayo)
| M13 - Favorite Level Theme
|
|---|
| Space — 270 (12.37%) |
| City/Town — 243 (11.13%) |
| Grassland — 213 (9.76%) |
| Airship — 173 (7.92%) |
| Beach — 158 (7.24%) |
| Carnival — 144 (6.60%) |
| Snow/Ice — 144 (6.60%) |
| Factory/Industrial — 142 (6.50%) |
| Ghost House — 131 (6.00%) |
| Castle — 123 (5.63%) |
| Total votes: 2,183 |
First appearing in 2016, this award has only seen Space win it. City/Town took a big jump from last year, possibly due to New Donk City from Super Mario Odyssey. Mountain, Underwater, and Desert have come among the last places in both occasions; still, it would be hard to exclude them for this award as they are some of the most classic level themes. Castle took a large dip from last year; there aren't any obvious factors driving this so it's most likely just a matter of preferences shifting.
M14 - Favorite Species (Superchao)
| M14 - Favorite Species
|
|---|
| Yoshis - 621 (27.30%) |
| Shy Guys - 281 (12.35%) |
| Toads - 219 (9.63%) |
| Boos - 189 (8.31%) |
| Lumas - 168 (7.38%) |
| Koopa Troopas - 139 (6.11%) |
| Dry Bones - 110 (4.84%) |
| Goombas - 96 (4.22%) |
| Chain Chomps - 71 (3.12%) |
| Magikoopas - 70 (3.08%) |
| Total votes: 2275 |
Favorite Species! Once Favorite Enemy, the award in those days was another very static situation in the higher ups. It was always Shy Guys, then Boos, then Koopas, then Hammer Bros and Goombas, then Chain Chomps and Dry Bones... you can see why we changed it, right? Even when Nintendo did give new enemies, they could never overcome the beloved choices of the past. That was part of why it was expanded... and Yoshi immediately became dominant. Shy Guys have also remained on top, currently in a perpetual second place and showing that many people think they're the best enemy still. However, the lower ranks have been shaking up, with Toads, Boos, and Lumas always vying for that elusive third place. The top may not be exciting, but this award shows some promise!
M15 - Hardest Boss (Lord Bowser)
Hey everyone! This is Lord Bowser here with a quick look at M15 - Hardest Boss!
| M15 - Hardest Boss
|
|---|
| Bowser X (M&L:BIS) — 329 (16.28%) |
| Cackletta's Soul — 232 (11.48%) |
| Shadow Queen — 231 (11.43%) |
| Culex — 203 (10.04%) |
| Elder Princess Shroob — 164 (8.11%) |
| Dreamy Bowser — 138 (6.83%) |
| Phantamanta — 111 (5.49%) |
| Bonetail — 107 (5.29%) |
| Boolossus — 91 (4.50%) |
| Bowser (PM) — 87 (4.30%) |
| Total votes: 2,021 |
This award has seen fairly consistent results over the last few years, with Master Core, Bowser X, and the Shadow Queen always taking the top three spots. It seems that final bosses/superbosses seem to stick out in people's minds the most, though Bonetail never even making it into the top 3 is a bit of an anomaly. However, with the axeing of Smash Bros.-related content this year as per the Awards Committee, Master Core was removed from the list. This had the unique effect of Bowser X absorbing most of its votes, instead of them otherwise spreading evenly. In a bit of an upset, however, Cackletta's Soul managed to sandwich itself in between Bowser X and the Shadow Queen, having never even been in the top three before. Perhaps the announcement of the Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga remake brought back memories of that boss fight for many, causing the surge of votes? Regardless, we can all agree that those bosses are tough as nails, and certainly deserving of top spots for this award. I still will never understand why people find Phantamanta hard, though...
M16 - Favorite Item (Superchao)
| M16 - Favorite Item
|
|---|
| Cape Feather - 253 (11.31%) |
| Tanooki Suit - 196 (8.77%) |
| Super Bell - 181 (8.09%) |
| Double Cherry - 150 (6.71%) |
| Penguin Suit - 144 (6.44%) |
| Super Star - 141 (6.31%) |
| Propeller Mushroom - 140 (6.26%) |
| Fire Flower - 136 (6.08%) |
| Mega Mushroom - 130 (5.81%) |
| Metal Cap - 100 (4.47%) |
| Total votes: 2236 |
An award that past results would have told you was completely locked in stone in the upper parts, where it wasn't even close to changing - in 2012 and 2013 the Tanooki Leaf was number 1, with the star in second. Once the Cat Suit debuted in 2014, it was locked in stone - three straight years of the Cat Suit, Tanooki Suit, and Cape Feather in that order. Time for a fourth, right? Nope! This year we've seen a surprising shakeup, as the Cape Feather rocketed forward to a first place, Cat Suit actually falling to third. I'm surprised mostly because it didn't seem like anything in particular would give this old classic hype. A rekindling of interest in SMW? Nostalgia? The curse of the blood whistle, hear its cry? Who knows! We'll just have to see if this lasts next year!
M17 - Favorite Mario RPG (Stargazing)
It’s Stargazing again, back at it with another award. This time, it’s M17 - Favourite Mario RPG! If you would like to view The Pyro Guy’s presentation for M17, please click here!
| M17 - Favourite Mario RPG
|
|---|
| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - 559 (24.37%) |
| Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - 409 (17.83%) |
| Super Paper Mario - 230 (10.03%) |
| Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - 192 (8.37%) |
| Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - 186 (8.11%) |
| Paper Mario - 166 (7.24%) |
| Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - 152 (6.63%) |
| Paper Mario: Color Splash - 118 (5.14%) |
| Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam - 108 (4.71%) |
| Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - 103 (4.49%) |
| Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition - 43 (1.87%) |
| Paper Mario: Sticker Star - 28 (1.22%) |
| Total votes: 2294 |
The Top 3 hasn’t changed at all in between 2016 and 2017, with the exception of Super Paper Mario getting 2% less of the votes. Dream Team, part of the Top 3 in 2015, has fallen to the 7th spot. Superstar Saga has gone up from 7th to 5th, Super Mario RPG has risen to the 4th place spot, and Paper Jam is still in the low-midpoint, having neither good nor bad parts in the community’s opinion. The one thing I’m sad about is Partners in Time having low votes every year, and it having the lowest votes of any Mario & Luigi game.
One other thing I would like to mention, though, is Puzzle & Dragons having consistently low votes here, but consistently high votes in M21. This would probably be because the community thinks the puzzle aspect of the game is more grasping than the RPG aspect. I still enjoyed playing it, though.
M18 - Favorite Mario Party Game (LudwigVon)
Hi! LudwigVon here, analyzing your favorite party series and looking at which is your favorite. Let’s take a closer look at M18 – Favorite Mario Party Game.
| M12 - Favorite Mario Party Game
|
|---|
| Mario Party DS 13.54% (297 votes) |
| Mario Party 8 13.50% (296 votes) |
| Mario Party 2 12.68% (278 votes) |
| Mario Party 3 8.48% (186 votes) |
| Mario Party 9 8.21% (180 votes) |
| Mario Party 7 7.75% (170 votes) |
| Mario Party 6 7.57% (166 votes) |
| Mario Party 10 7.20% (158 votes) |
| Mario Party 4 5.65% (124 votes) |
| Mario Party 5 4.74% (104 votes) |
| Total votes: 2,193 |
Interestingly, Mario Party DS and Mario Party 8 just switched places from last year, with Mario Party 2 keeping its position. Mario Party DS is actually the latest Mario Party developed by Hudson Soft. Nd Cube takes over after that game starting with Mario Party 9, but none of their recent games are high in the ranking. This is probably due to the changes to the format of the series that Nd Cube did, and those changes do not seem to please the fans at all.
M19 - Favorite Actor (Lord Bowser)
Hey there, everyone! LB here, giving you a closer look at M19 - Favorite Actor!
| M19 - Favorite Actor
|
|---|
| Charles Martinet (Mario; Luigi; various) — 53.64% (1105 votes) |
| Lou Albano (Mario, DIC cartoons) — 6.46% (133 votes) |
| Kazumi Totaka (Yoshi, 1997-present; Professor E. Gadd) — 6.02% (124 votes) |
| Kenneth W. James (Bowser, 2005-present) — 4.37% (90 votes) |
| Mercedes Rose (Rosalina, 2007-2010) — 4.13% (85 votes) |
| Samantha Kelly (Princess Peach; Toad; various) — 4.08% (84 votes) |
| Grant Kirkhope (Donkey Kong, 1999-2004) — 2.91% (60 votes) |
| Laura Faye Smith (Rosalina, 2011-present) — 2.82% (58 votes) |
| Deanna Mustard (Princess Daisy, 2003-present) — 2.72% (56 votes) |
| Danny Wells (Luigi, DIC cartoons) — 2.67% (55 votes) |
| Total votes: 2,060 |
This was a brand-new award debuted this year. As expected, Charles Martinet won by a landslide; being the voice actor for the biggest characters of the series is obviously a huge advantage. Amongst the rest, however, it's a bit more divided. Interesting to note is that people seem to have a preference for Rosalina's older voice actor, Mercedes Rose, over her new one, Laura Faye Smith. Interestingly, however, both voice actors fared somewhat lower than expected, according to GTR guesses from this year; it's possible they were overshadowed by some of the bigger names on the list. When it comes to Peach's voice actors, Samantha Kelly, her most recent VA, made it in at 6th place, while Jen Taylor, her predecessor, was near the bottom at 14th; this is likely due to Kelly's dual role as Toad, garnering her more votes from Toad fans. 6th-10th place all seemed to be pretty competitive, with its nominees only differing by one or two votes.
M20 - Favorite Sports Game (Tucayo)
Tucayo here, back with SPORTS. That's right, it's M20 - Favorite Sports Game.
| M20 - Favorite Sports Game
|
|---|
| Mario Super Sluggers — 272 (13.68%) |
| Mario Sports Mix — 219 (11.01%) |
| Mario Power Tennis — 205 (10.31%) |
| Mario Strikers Charged — 204 (10.26%) |
| Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games — 171 (8.60%) |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games — 132 (6.64%) |
| Mario Tennis (N64) — 122 (6.13%) |
| Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour — 115 (5.78%) |
| Super Mario Strikers — 99 (4.98%) |
| Mario Hoops 3-on-3 — 87 (4.37%) |
| Total votes: 1,989 |
If this were baseball, Mario Super Sluggers would have an impressive .545 average, as it has gone 6-for-11 since this award debuted in 2007, and that number climbs even higher, to .667 (6-for-9) if we take only the ceremonies after Sluggers was released. Sorry, Ted Williams. Still comparing this to baseball, because I need to keep this interesting (and because I love baseball), Mario Sports Mix would have a .857 on-base percentage (Top 3 finishes in this metaphor) since its inclusion in 2011. Sports Mix's younger brother, Sports Superstars, a rookie this season, had a lackluster debut (12th place); definitely not a candidate for Rookie of the Year. Power Tennis has Roger Federer's energy and keeps going strong even 13 years after its release. Strikers Charged lost the third-place match with an extra time goal and fell to fourth place. Absent from the podium? Mario & Sonic at the 2012 Olympics and at the Olympic Winter Games. This was fun, Nintendo should release more sports games.
M21 - Favorite Puzzle Game (Stargazing)
Count the stars, because Stargazing’s here to present M21 - Favourite Puzzle Game! If you would like to view Yoshi2’s presentation for M21, please click here!
| M21 - Favourite Puzzle Game
|
|---|
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - 791 (38.60%) |
| Dr. Mario (series) - 377 (18.40%) |
| Donkey Kong (Game Boy)/Mario vs. Donkey Kong (GBA) - 166 (8.10%) |
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2 and onwards) - 157 (7.66%) |
| Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition - 157 (7.66%) |
| Tetris Attack - 134 (6.54%) |
| Wario's Woods - 67 (3.27%) |
| Yoshi - 61 (2.98%) |
| Mario's Picross - 51 (2.49%) |
| Yoshi's Cookie - 47 (2.29%) |
| DK: King of Swing/DK: Jungle Climber - 39 (1.90%) |
| Total votes: 2049 |
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and the Dr. Mario series have been in the top 2 together for a few years, including this one. In 2015 and 2016, Puzzle & Dragons had been in the third place spot. However, since 2016, the two versions of Mario vs. Donkey Kong had swapped positions and then moved up to 3rd and 4th, bumping P&D to tie with the 4th spot. Wario’s Woods also sandwiched itself in between Tetris Attack and Yoshi. Yoshi’s Cookie and Mario Picross swapped places, which makes sense judging how close they were in votes for both 2016 and 2017.
M22 - Favorite Battle Course (Stargazing)
Hey, everyone. Stargazing here, representing M22 - Favourite Battle Course! Before I begin, if you would like to view Lakituthequick’s presentation of M22, please click here!
| M22 - Favourite Battle Course
|
|---|
| Block Fort (N64) - 333 (16.21%) |
| Luigi's Mansion - 307 (14.95%) |
| Funky Stadium - 227 (11.05%) |
| Nintendo DS - 227 (11.05%) |
| Pipe Plaza - 132 (6.43%) |
| Urchin Underpass - 126 (6.13%) |
| Battle Course 1 (SNES) - 109 (5.31%) |
| Skyscraper - 102 (4.97%) |
| Delfino Pier - 99 (4.82%) |
| Lunar Colony - 86 (4.19%) |
| Total votes: 2054 |
This is actually an award that was just introduced this year! Looking at the games that each of these courses came from, most games actually have a pair of courses in this award, with two exceptions. Super Mario Kart has only Battle Course 1, while Mario Kart DS just has Nintendo DS. Mario Kart 64 having Block Fort and Skyscraper, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! having Luigi’s Mansion and Pipe Plaza, and Mario Kart Wii having Funky Stadium and Delfino Pier all put them in a 3-way tie for first. Another interesting thing to note is no two games have both their nominees beside each other in the final poll, having at least 2 other winners in between them.
M23 - Favorite DK Character (Shokora)
Hello readers! Shokora here with the run-down on our favourite Donkey Kong characters. Check out Pyro Guy's awards presentation here!
| M23 - Favourite DK Character
|
|---|
| Donkey Kong - 521 (25.12%) |
| Diddy Kong - 367 (17.70%) |
| Funky Kong - 248 (11.96%) |
| Cranky Kong - 191 (9.21%) |
| King K. Rool - 162 (7.81%) |
| Dixie Kong - 160 (7.71%) |
| Lanky Kong - 136 (6.56%) |
| Tiny Kong - 81 (3.91%) |
| Rambi the Rhino - 47 (2.27%) |
| Chunky Kong - 45 (2.17%) |
| Total votes: 2,074 (top ten results shown only) |
The big banana this year goes to Donkey Kong! 
Our favourite tie-wearing ape has remained at the top of the awards treehouse for three years running, followed by Diddy Kong and Funky Kong. With the same top three line-up for the past three years, surely we could just save time next year by not running the award at all? Anyway, this youngster cannot conclude this awards analysis lecture-free without giving a special consolation banana to Cranky Kong, who was our fourth favourite character.
M24 - Favorite Wario Character (Shokora)
It's Shokora again for the next analysis! This time we're looking at our favourite Wario characters. First I recommend looking at GBAToad's marvelous awards presentation here!
| M24 - Favourite Wario Character
|
|---|
| Wario - 778 (37.84%) |
| Ashley & Red - 341 (16.59%) |
| 9-Volt & 18-Volt - 294 (14.30%) |
| Mona - 157 (7.64%) |
| Captain Syrup - 88 (4.28%) |
| Jimmy T. - 84 (4.09%) |
| Kat & Ana - 77 (3.75%) |
| Dribble & Spitz - 45 (2.19%) |
| Princess Shokora - 42 (2.04%) |
| Orbulon - 32 (1.56%) |
| Total votes: 2056 (top ten results shown only) |
The series' titular character Wario has once again not given up the top spot, for three years running!