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...The War!
And this was not only two and a half years before the first game in that franchise was released; it also coincided with the North American launch of the very console that that game would eventually be released on.
So what brings this up? Well, yesterday on MSN, Jake asked me to pick four characters who appeared in the SSB franchise for a protagonist team for something of his. I chose Mario, Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Ness, but he asked that Kirby not be one of them, so I chose Link to replace him.
So anyway, it all started early in 5th grade (1996/97), ironically, with this book called The Bear Nobody Wanted. Admittedly, it was a minor part that appeared late in the book, and I only barely recall bits and pieces of the book in general, but there is a mention of different types of warfare throughout the ages, from bows and arrows to tanks and bombs. This is what inspired ideas of the aforementioned War being that in Super Mario's world. The main lineup would have consisted of the following franchises and games:
1) Super Mario:
-Super Mario Bros.
-Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
-Super Mario Bros. 2
-Super Mario Bros. 3
-Super Mario World
-Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
-Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
2) Kirby:
-Kirby's Dream Course
-Kirby Super Star
3) Bomberman:
-Super Bomberman
-Super Bomberman 2
4) Donkey Kong:
-Donkey Kong Country
-Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
5) Earthbound. Just Earthbound. Should be obvious enough, given the circumstances surrounding the other two (or three) games.
So, what made me choose these five franchises, and not other franchises such as Zelda or Metroid, or other games in those same franchises (such as Kirby's Dream Land, the first Kirby game ever released, or its sequel, one of the first games I ever read about in Nintendo Power)?
Well, first thing you need to know, is that those were the days when, not counting our computer (or the Game Gear, which we got rid of a year earlier), the only game console we had was the Super NES. That system, which we got for Christmas a year earlier (complete with the first five aforementioned Mario games all in one pak), came in a large box which showed screenshots of various other games by Nintendo on the back. (Admittedly, Super Metroid, Super Punch-Out!!, and even the more obscure Tin Star were also among the games depicted, but neither me, Brian, or any friends of his ever cared to try those out.)
So anyway, The War was initially only going to include the seven Mario games, which makes Mario the core of it all. Kirby comes in, most likely due to Mario's several cameos in Kirby Super Star. Bomberman owes his inclusion to Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!, given Wario's well-known acquaintance w/ Mario (though, thanks to the Internet, I did find out at some point that that game was just Bomberman GB in Japan, and wasn't a crossover game there). Donkey Kong, probably due to his appearances in SMRPG and presence in Super Mario Kart. And Earthbound is due to the appearance of a Mr. Saturn as a collectable treasure in KSS's The Great Cave Offensive.
(Not gonna ramble on about which games or franchises weren't included and why not. Everything was just what it was. Okay, everyone?)
So anyway, here's the lowdown:
Once I had all the games listed (although I never did own SBM2 or DKC2, and bought DKC1 more than a decade after I gave up on everything), I would play them all in order for as long as I beat each consecutive game, and would record everything that goes on in each game. If I were to get a Game Over on any game, the whole thing would end. However, if I beat all of them, there would be some more epic shit going on, involving invasions of the Mushroom Kingdom, Rose Town, Seaside Town (all in SMRPG), and Saturn Valley (in Earthbound) at the hands of GLOM (who, as mentioned during Chronicles of 7th Grade, was created by Iggy Koopa in the SMB novel Double Trouble). While the original GLOM only cloned people, this one would be capable of creating enemies from scratch and doing all sorts of other things while the five heroes battle him in each of those four locations. Five more games (those being Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Paperboy 2, Super Buster Bros., Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, and Super Mario 64) would also be added while this was all going on, and on the sidelines, I would also play Mario Teaches Typing and write a battle between Ness vs Bowser (based on a SM64 demo on a Nintendo 64 promotional tape where Mario battles Bowser in the Fire Sea, though I somehow misheard what should have been obvious).
All of this would continue with a game I dreamed of making, called Mario Star, which would utilize all graphics and music from all games in the main lineup, and then some stuff from other games or of my own creation. Long story short, I know nowadays that such a game would've constituted a damn mess, even putting aside that level designs were going to be based off of dreams I had. I didn't know at the time how designing games (or writing shows, movies, or stories in general, for that matter) actually worked and how it didn't work. Let's not get started with all the details about what Mario Star would have been. All I'm gonna say is, that was my reason for chipping in for Mario Paint on May 1, 1998 (hoping to design levels with it), and I didn't even play that for very long after buying it.
And this was not only two and a half years before the first game in that franchise was released; it also coincided with the North American launch of the very console that that game would eventually be released on.
So what brings this up? Well, yesterday on MSN, Jake asked me to pick four characters who appeared in the SSB franchise for a protagonist team for something of his. I chose Mario, Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Ness, but he asked that Kirby not be one of them, so I chose Link to replace him.
So anyway, it all started early in 5th grade (1996/97), ironically, with this book called The Bear Nobody Wanted. Admittedly, it was a minor part that appeared late in the book, and I only barely recall bits and pieces of the book in general, but there is a mention of different types of warfare throughout the ages, from bows and arrows to tanks and bombs. This is what inspired ideas of the aforementioned War being that in Super Mario's world. The main lineup would have consisted of the following franchises and games:
1) Super Mario:
-Super Mario Bros.
-Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
-Super Mario Bros. 2
-Super Mario Bros. 3
-Super Mario World
-Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
-Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
2) Kirby:
-Kirby's Dream Course
-Kirby Super Star
3) Bomberman:
-Super Bomberman
-Super Bomberman 2
4) Donkey Kong:
-Donkey Kong Country
-Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
5) Earthbound. Just Earthbound. Should be obvious enough, given the circumstances surrounding the other two (or three) games.
So, what made me choose these five franchises, and not other franchises such as Zelda or Metroid, or other games in those same franchises (such as Kirby's Dream Land, the first Kirby game ever released, or its sequel, one of the first games I ever read about in Nintendo Power)?
Well, first thing you need to know, is that those were the days when, not counting our computer (or the Game Gear, which we got rid of a year earlier), the only game console we had was the Super NES. That system, which we got for Christmas a year earlier (complete with the first five aforementioned Mario games all in one pak), came in a large box which showed screenshots of various other games by Nintendo on the back. (Admittedly, Super Metroid, Super Punch-Out!!, and even the more obscure Tin Star were also among the games depicted, but neither me, Brian, or any friends of his ever cared to try those out.)
So anyway, The War was initially only going to include the seven Mario games, which makes Mario the core of it all. Kirby comes in, most likely due to Mario's several cameos in Kirby Super Star. Bomberman owes his inclusion to Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!, given Wario's well-known acquaintance w/ Mario (though, thanks to the Internet, I did find out at some point that that game was just Bomberman GB in Japan, and wasn't a crossover game there). Donkey Kong, probably due to his appearances in SMRPG and presence in Super Mario Kart. And Earthbound is due to the appearance of a Mr. Saturn as a collectable treasure in KSS's The Great Cave Offensive.
(Not gonna ramble on about which games or franchises weren't included and why not. Everything was just what it was. Okay, everyone?)
So anyway, here's the lowdown:
Once I had all the games listed (although I never did own SBM2 or DKC2, and bought DKC1 more than a decade after I gave up on everything), I would play them all in order for as long as I beat each consecutive game, and would record everything that goes on in each game. If I were to get a Game Over on any game, the whole thing would end. However, if I beat all of them, there would be some more epic shit going on, involving invasions of the Mushroom Kingdom, Rose Town, Seaside Town (all in SMRPG), and Saturn Valley (in Earthbound) at the hands of GLOM (who, as mentioned during Chronicles of 7th Grade, was created by Iggy Koopa in the SMB novel Double Trouble). While the original GLOM only cloned people, this one would be capable of creating enemies from scratch and doing all sorts of other things while the five heroes battle him in each of those four locations. Five more games (those being Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Paperboy 2, Super Buster Bros., Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, and Super Mario 64) would also be added while this was all going on, and on the sidelines, I would also play Mario Teaches Typing and write a battle between Ness vs Bowser (based on a SM64 demo on a Nintendo 64 promotional tape where Mario battles Bowser in the Fire Sea, though I somehow misheard what should have been obvious).
All of this would continue with a game I dreamed of making, called Mario Star, which would utilize all graphics and music from all games in the main lineup, and then some stuff from other games or of my own creation. Long story short, I know nowadays that such a game would've constituted a damn mess, even putting aside that level designs were going to be based off of dreams I had. I didn't know at the time how designing games (or writing shows, movies, or stories in general, for that matter) actually worked and how it didn't work. Let's not get started with all the details about what Mario Star would have been. All I'm gonna say is, that was my reason for chipping in for Mario Paint on May 1, 1998 (hoping to design levels with it), and I didn't even play that for very long after buying it.