Super Mario Wiki

The 'Shroom:Issue 164/Pipe Plaza

The 'Shroom Discussion
< The 'Shroom:Issue 164
PipePlazaBanner.png


Director’s Notes

Shroom2019 Zange.png

Written by: Zange (talk)

Holy crap, 2020 is almost over... The last several months have been jam-packed with enough things happening to have its own history book. I certainly will not miss it, but I am greatly looking forward to pumpkin pie and cheesy mashed potatoes at my family's Thanksgiving. (before you ask, yes we are staying home!) Fall term is OVER for me but unfortunately my college is weird with their terms (we have three instead of the usual two) and we go right back with winter term on Monday! Save me, readers.

Poll Committee Discussion makes a highly anticipated return this month! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm definitely glad to have this section back in the mix. If you're interested in writing a section similar to this or anything else featured in Pipe Plaza, head on over to the sign up page to get started!

Happy early Thanksgiving to all you wonderful readers, and stay safe!

Section of the Month

Pipe Plaza SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place Section Votes % Writer
1st Mario Calendar 11 57.89% GPM1000
2nd NIWA News 8 42.11% Alex95
MarioWiki Sections
NIWA News
Alex95 (Talk)
Stay up-to-date with the latest happenings from the NIWA wiki network!
[read more]
Mario Calendar
GPM1000 (Talk)
Find out all about this month's Super Mario releases.
[read more]
Non-Wiki Sections
Poll Committee Discussion
Lakituthequick (Talk)
The best analysis of the polls around!
[read more]


NIWA News

Written by: Alex95 (talk)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to NIWA News, a section where I show the going ons with the wikis in our NIWA group within the last month of October 2020!

Promotions

  • Umeko was promoted to Senior Administrator on Bulbapedia!
  • Glik was promoted to Editorial Board member on Bulbapedia!

Demotions

Maintenance

  • Several wikis may be updating to the new MediaWiki version 1.35, so if something looks off, hang tight! Check with an admin on their wiki for more information.

Mario Calendar

Written by: GPM1000 (talk)

Hey guys, GPM1000 here, and it’s time for another Mario Calendar! As always, I’m assuming that most people have an idea of what’s going on here, but if not, basically I’m just recapping every Mario game that has come out in history in the month of November. It’s very self-explanatory, so let’s just do it!

Region Abbreviations

Abb. Region
ALL All Regions (JP/NA/EU/AU)
JP Japan
NA North America
EU Europe
AU Oceania/Australia
SK South Korea
CHN China
UK United Kingdom

Console Abbreviations

Abb. Console
NES Nintendo Entertainment System
Famicom Family Computer Disk System
SNES Super Nintendo Entertainment System
N64 Nintendo 64
GC Nintendo GameCube
Wii Nintendo Wii
Wii U Nintendo Wii U
GB Game Boy
GBC Game Boy Color
GBA Game Boy Advance
DS Nintendo DS
3DS Nintendo 3DS
Switch Nintendo Switch
Wii VC Nintendo Wii Virtual Console
3DS VC Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
3DS eShop Nintendo 3DS eShop
Wii U VC Nintendo Wii U Virtual Console
Wii U eShop Nintendo Wii U eShop
Switch eShop Nintendo Switch eShop
DSiWare Nintendo DSiWare
WiiWare Nintendo WiiWare
VB Virtual Boy
G&W Game and Watch
64DD Nintendo 64 Disk Drive
MS-DOS Microsoft Disk Operating System
Satellaview Satellaview
CD-i Philips CD-i
e-Reader e-Reader
Arcade Arcade
IQ iQue Player
NVS Nvidia Shield
ACPC Amstrad CPC
Atari Atari
ZX ZX Spectrum

Overall, I would say that this was an incredible month for Mario games. So many great spin-offs were created, such as Mario Party games and Smash for the Wii U, as well as the majority of the Mario & Sonic Games! And of course, classics like Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy were released. Thanks so much for reading, and I’ll see you next month!

Poll Committee Discussion

11thPollBanner.png

Written by: Lakituthequick (talk)

Hello again, it's me, LTQ, writing to you from the comfort of my home. Could you imagine an LTQ-free issue?

It's been a while since we had a Poll Committee Discussion, so allow me to get y'all updated on the recent polls! Because it's been a while, I sadly won't be updating you on the last three polls of last term, but you can always check out the archives on our MarioWiki page.

But first:

The news

This is the first PCD of the term, so not all the new things have been discussed yet! First of all, we thank The Pyro Guy (talk) for once more creating the banner you see above for us this year! This year, its focus is on the power of technology, which is used to poll information. Nicely done again!

Also a few months past, in September, the annual Awards Analysis was performed by the Poll Committee, as a deep dive to get started with the term. Give it a read if you haven't already.

Then, as established in Hooded Pitohui (talk)'s and Power Flotzo (talk)'s campaign, a rotating system has been set up in which for every two weeks, one member of the committee will fill in the role of chairperson, to encourage activity from everyone. For the first bit of the term, Hooded Pitohui has observed the poll processes, but starting 9 November, Power Flotzo has taken this role and after two weeks, 23 November, the next on schedule will take on the role.

Archives

Outfit variety in Mario games (BBQ Turtle (talk), August 2nd, 2020)

Recent games have featured members of the main Mario cast wearing new outfits. Do you like seeing the characters wearing different clothes?

I enjoy seeing the regular cast in new outfits and would like this trend to continue. 49.04% (1,023 votes)
I like seeing the characters in new outfits, but also like to see them in their usual clothes as well. 34.85% (727 votes)
I have enjoyed the new outfits in these games but would prefer the characters revert to their original outfits in future games. 2.44% (51 votes)
I prefer the characters' old outfits but don't mind occasionally seeing new ones. 7.14% (149 votes)
I dislike new outfits for the characters and would prefer for them to keep their original ones in future games. 1.97% (41 votes)
I have no opinion on the matter. 4.55% (95 votes)
Total Votes: 2,086

Paper Mario: The Origami King's battle system (Ninja Squid (talk) and Luigi 64DD (talk), August 16th, 2020)

What is your opinion on Paper Mario: The Origami King’s new ring-based battle system?

I enjoy this new battle system, both against normal enemies and bosses, and I hope that it is still present in future Paper Mario games. 14.29% (291 votes)
Overall, this ring-based system is fine, but improvements on it should be made. 14.10% (287 votes)
While I like this ring-based battle system against bosses, I feel that battles against regular enemies should change. 9.33% (190 votes)
Combat against regular enemies is fun, but combat against bosses is not. 2.11% (43 votes)
I enjoy the new battle system but I do not think it should return in future Paper Mario games. 14.44% (294 votes)
I dislike this new ring-based battle system, and I hope that future Paper Mario games adopt a different formula. 11.35% (231 votes)
I have not played Paper Mario: The Origami King, and thus, have no opinion. 34.38% (700 votes)
Total Votes: 2,036

Lego Super Mario (Goombuigi (talk) and BBQ Turtle (talk), August 30th, 2020)

What is your opinion on LEGO Super Mario?

I like the sets, and I hope that LEGO and Nintendo will release more sets in the future. 37.42% (843 votes)
I like the sets, but I think that LEGO shouldn't release any more sets after this wave. 2.22% (50 votes)
I would have enjoyed the sets, but they are too expensive. 17.04% (384 votes)
I would have enjoyed the sets if they had been released alongside traditional minifigure-scale sets. 9.23% (208 votes)
I think that the sets should have been replaced with traditional sets. 6.79% (153 votes)
I preferred the sets released by K'NEX when they had the license. 3.11% (70 votes)
I think that Mario shouldn't have any LEGO or K'NEX sets released. 2.97% (67 votes)
I don't have an opinion. 21.22% (478 votes)
Total Votes: 2,253

Leaked game ideas (BBQ Turtle (talk), September 13th, 2020)

A recent leak of Nintendo development content has revealed unused ideas for various games. Would you have liked to see this content used?

I liked a lot of the leaked ideas and would have enjoyed seeing them implemented instead in the final versions of the game. 42.63% (567 votes)
I preferred some of the early ideas to the final designs, but I think others were handled better in the final game. 29.32% (390 votes)
I disliked most of the early content, but I think some of the ideas could have been implemented. 2.86% (38 votes)
I liked some of the ideas but would have preferred for them to be implemented elsewhere. 4.59% (61 votes)
I did not like any of the leaked ideas and preferred Nintendo's final decisions. 2.03% (27 votes)
I have no opinion on any of the leaked content and whether or not it should be used. 18.57% (247 votes)
Total Votes: 1,330

Mario and Sonic series rivalry (winstein (talk) and Hooded Pitohui (talk), September 27th, 2020)

How did you feel about the intense rivalry between the Mario series and the Sonic series in the 16-bit era?

I enjoyed the fierce competition between the two series, and felt that marketing it helped both series gain more attention. 50.73% (767 votes)
I enjoyed the fierce competition, but felt it should have stayed within the fandoms and not have been promoted and used for marketing. 11.90% (180 votes)
While I did not feel strongly about it, I was okay with it because it gave both series more attention. 22.16% (335 votes)
I disliked the competition, as it highlighted the worst aspects of both series rather than focusing on what they offered. 6.35% (96 votes)
I disliked the competition, as I did not feel there was a need for it. 8.86% (134 votes)
Total Votes: 1,512

Nintendo Switch features (Lakituthequick (talk) and Hooded Pitohui (talk), October 11th, 2020)

Do you think a new Mario game could use some of the lesser used features of the Nintendo Switch, such as the infrared camera or HD Rumble?

Yes, I think it could offer some interesting gameplay. 37.22% (638 votes)
Yes, but it shouldn't become a gimmick for the sake of having it. 25.79% (442 votes)
Yes, but as long as it only used features the Switch already has and doesn't require peripherals like Labo. 14.82% (254 votes)
Not necessarily, but I would be willing to try it out if it has potential. 12.49% (214 votes)
No, as this would make the game harder to port or remake for future systems that lack these features. 4.90% (84 votes)
No, a new game should focus on using known and familiar controls. 4.78% (82 votes)
Total Votes: 1,714

Augmented reality in Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (Lakituthequick (talk), October 25th, 2020)

What is your opinion on the execution of augmented reality of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit?

I like the execution of AR on a remotely controlled car in this game and would love seeing it in future titles. 33.58% (314 votes)
I like the execution of AR in this game, but prefer AR from a first person perspective like it was on the Nintendo 3DS. 6.10% (57 votes)
I like the AR of this game and would like to see AR in more Mario games, regardless of the perspective. 13.37% (125 votes)
AR is a fun gimmick, but shouldn't be a core mechanic as it is in this game. 34.01% (318 votes)
I feel like the AR detracts from the experience, and I don't feel it fits in Mario games. 7.06% (66 votes)
I think AR can work for Mario games, but I don't like how it is executed in this game. 5.88% (55 votes)
Total Votes: 935

Analyses

Recent games have featured members of the main Mario cast wearing new outfits. Do you like seeing the characters wearing different clothes?
You see differing outfits primarily in Mario Kart Tour right now, and Super Mario Odyssey also jumps to mind, but we are also talking about Mario Tennis Aces and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in this question, in which the cast wears clothes that fit the sport being played.
That said, an overwhelming majority of the votes enjoy seeing these costumes, nearly 84% even! This is split between people that like this to continue and those who also like to see the regular clothes to keep things balanced. Diversity in clothes, and with that matching clothes to the current events, is a welcomed thing, so let's hope this continues indeed. As for the remaining part of the votes, most of these prefer the regular clothes but don't mind the occasional new ones, and only a few percent actively dislike them.

What is your opinion on Paper Mario: The Origami King's new ring-based battle system?
Let's start this one off with that the most votes were cast for the option saying they haven't played the game yet. However, the people that did still amount for two thirds of the total votes, so let's talk about those. The sounds are primarily positive, but the most votes still think that the next game should do away with the ring system despite enjoying it, as a once-off as it seems. The mechanic is vastly different from the other Paper Mario games, so that's understandable, it's unfamiliar. Less, but still a lot of people find the system perfect, and a couple less find it fine, but with room for improvement. Combined, these two amount for more votes than people that voted for a one-off.
A fair portion also finds this system fine, but only the variant against bosses, in which you make your way towards the boss instead of moving the enemy. Only a few feel the other way around is better.

What is your opinion on LEGO Super Mario?
Many positive voices about LEGO Super Mario! Most voices say they like the sets and want to see more, but many voices also say that they would have enjoyed them if they were cheaper. Considering the starting set alone goes for about 60 bucks with additional sets ranging from just 5 to a whopping 100, that can be quite the investment.
A smaller set of people would have liked to see more traditional LEGO sets, with regularly sized minifigures, either along with the current sets or just these. These would have fit better with existing LEGO sets as well. Then there's a handful of voices in favour of something entirely different: K'NEX! Not too many people that prefer it over LEGO, but they are there!

A recent leak of Nintendo development content has revealed unused ideas for various games. Would you have liked to see this content used?
Maybe unsurprisingly, but perhaps unfortunately for Nintendo, most of the votes here say that the leaked ideas should have been in the final games. Of course, developers are rarely if ever able to put all of their ideas into their games, so had these ideas been in, other elements wouldn't have made the cut. Looking further down the list, a lot of people also thought that some ideas were nice, but other things are better as they are in the final product. A balanced scale so to speak.
Smaller groups of people are mixed to negative about the leaked ideas. Most of these thought that the leaked ideas were good, but are glad they weren't put in the games of concern as they fit better in entirely other games. Others thought only some ideas were good, and some completely agree with the final products.

How did you feel about the intense rivalry between the Mario series and the Sonic series in the 16-bit era?
I'll freely admit that I don't know much about this rivalry, but let's take a shot at this poll anyway! The first thing that immediately jumps out is the overwhelming count of more than half of the total votes, which are in favour of the rivalry between the series. Evidently, most people feel that it greatly helped both series, which is a good thing for both in the end, so I can see why it would be. The second option, with half the votes of the first, which is still good for about a quarter, is for the people who also found the rivalry beneficial, but didn't feel strongly about it as it happened. The third option also likes the competition, but would have liked it better if it wasn't being marketed as much and be contained strictly within the respective fandoms.
Then the more negative, but less voted opinions, there were of course people who didn't see a need for it, or thought it highlighted the worst aspects of the series instead of the best.

Do you think a new Mario game could use some of the lesser used features of the Nintendo Switch, such as the infrared camera or HD Rumble?
The Switch is packed with hardware features, but not all are used an awful lot. The majority of the voters agree that these features could offer interesting gameplay, but another large portion does think that these should not become a gimmick for the sake of it. After all, we don't need another case of Wii U, where the tablet screen was rarely used for actual dual-screen play.
The next portion of the voters is also interested, but only if there are no peripherals such as Labo required. Peripherals would reduce the portability after all. The next portion would be interested if the game itself has potential. The last few votes are cast with the fear that this makes porting harder in the future, or only want traditional controls in their games.

What is your opinion on the execution of augmented reality of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit?
With only a four-vote difference, the overwhelming majority of the votes is split between people who don't want AR as a core mechanic, as fun as it may be, and people wanting more AR games like this. That first one is an understandable viewpoint! Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit looks like it is a good addition to the series, but because it is entirely dependent on the AR features and physical props, it is not accessible to anyone, be it because of space or monetary constraints. As awesome as the game is, that is a big ball-'n'-chain to have.
Looking further down the list, AR does get a little bit more love, as a fair amount of additional votes do like the idea of AR in general, or prefer it as it was on the Nintendo 3DS. Then, a bit fewer people actively dislike AR in Mario games, or don't like how Home Circuit executes it.

Conclusion

The first set of polls has already been very technology related, with polls around the LEGO sets (which contain interactive elements), Nintendo Switch features and augmented reality. This sort of tech is here to stay, so I can only imagine the possibilities for tech-related polls in the future. With this whole COVID thing around, people staying home will certainly be a boost for technologies to keep us entertained and connected.

That marks the end for my contributions to Poll Committee Discussion this month and probably this term unless something funny happens, so have a good one! I'll see you next month in Palette Swap. Buh-bye!

The 'Shroom: Issue 164
Staff sections Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • Awards Director Election
Features Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing
Retrieved from "https://www.mariowiki.com/index.php?title=The_%27Shroom:Issue_164/Pipe_Plaza&oldid=3071825"