EVERYONE calls the Galaxy games THE platformer to end all, the best the genre has to offer. I disagree.

To me, the characters and world are far more important than level design and all that the Mario games are loved for. A good platformer should be like a cartoon, full of great characters and a fun plot to push you on. Mario has that, sure, but it's the same stuff over and over, like a cartoon using the same formula season after season.

Oh, and some examples of the games I hold higher than every Mario game: The Jak games, Ratchet and Clank, Vexx, Banjo and Kazooie, Psychonauts, and many others.

I like other Platformers like A Boy And His Blob, Kirby, Castlevania, MegaMan, & LittleBigPlanet, but I wouldn't say I like them more than Mario.

Super Mario Bros has it's own little thing going that sets it apart from other Platformers, so you can't really compare them IMO.

People complain about Mario being too much of the same, but I think those people need to just take a break from Mario and play some other stuff for awhile. I'm afraid that if Nintendo tried to change Mario to much, they'd lose it's charm somewhere down the line and it just wouldn't feel like Mario anymore. *thinks of Sonic the Hedgehog* *shudders*

SMB is fine as it is, it's just that Mario games come out so often that people get sick of the same old formula. If SMB games came out more seldom like MegaMan games, then no one would notice it's the same old thing and be happy playing it. Nintendo needs to give Mario a little rest and focus more on making newer entries in lesser used IPs like Kirby, Luigi's Mansion, Eternal Darkness, Pikmin, etc.
People are getting tired of Mario, Zelda, Metroid, & Pokemon because they make new ones too often. If those games took a backseat for a generation or 2, then by the time a new one was made people wouldn't care so much it's the same formula.

People don't realize it, but they don't really want a new formula, they're just plain tired of the series and need to take a break.
And when you force a developer to try something new, you get the new Sonic games, Final Fantasy XIII, Resident Evil 5, and Modern Warfare 2.

I got kinda tired of Mario last gen with Sunshine, so I've yet to play Galaxy, Galaxy 2, or NSMBWii. I'll come back to Mario once I feel like playing Mario, and I don't want him to change while I'm away, I just need a break.

Loved the Jak games, and Psychonauts.
Can't say much for the mario 3d's, because I could never get interested in them.

I love the (old) 2d platformers though.

I like Mario 3-D platformers, but Paper Mario is probably my true Mario series love. <3 Except for the Wii game. D:

Donkey Kong Country > Super Mario Bros


imo obviously. and Sunshine is the best 3D Mario ever

This thread makes me so sa---

Boomerang Flash wrote:

Ground wrote: and Sunshine is the best 3D Mario ever omgwat Okay, Boomerang.... DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS... DIFFERENT FOLKS FOR DIFFERENT STROKES... HUFF HUFFFFFFF

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^

Okay, glad to know I'm not the only one who wasn't crazy about Sunshine, I thought I was gonna get flamed for saying that.

Nah, it's the black sheep of the series. It's just my personal favorite, tied with Galaxy. Galaxy 2 just felt lacking, and the original didn't age well (The DS remake fixed that in my opinion, since portability fixes most of that stuff for me)

@Mage: I was mostly talking about the 3D part of the series. Non Mario 2D platformers get more notice and respect but when it comes to 3D ones, Mario games seem to over shadow others. There's exceptions platformers on Sony consoles, for example, but as Boomerang pointed out games like Jak and RaC have other stuff added to them that attract a bigger audience. But straight up 3D platformers? They haven't done well since the N64 days and games like Vexx just fade into the void...

In that case, I like Mario best as far as 3D platformers go.

Banjo-Kazooie was fun, but like most RARE games gets far more praise than it deserves (IMO) and wasn't as fun as SMB64.

DK64 annoyed the hell out of me most of the time.

Bomberman Hero on the N64 was great, but never got a sequel.

Daxter for PSP was meh IMO.

God of War was fun, but more action oriented than most Platformers. (No, it's neither a Beat 'em up nor a Hack n' Slash, but a Platformer IMO. You jump constanly in those games and I say they're platformers, and I don't care if you disagree)

And those are the only 3D Platformers I've ever played, so Mario is number 1 for me.

Good God man, play Jak, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, and Psychonauts! You're missing out! All of those (minus Psychonauts) go for around five bucks.

And yeah, I hated Daxter too, no clue why people like it so much....But it isn't anything like the main series.