Super Mario Bros. 64!! Super Mario
Adventure!! Late-breaking news!! New previews!! Exclusive
screens!! Recognize these? You should, I mean after all, this is
what every single Mario site on the internet is bombarding you
with, from the time you see the page on a search engine to the
time you leave the site, that's almost all they talk about. 90
percent of their info is rumor, half of the screens show stuff
that won't be in the finished game, and there are hundreds of
sites popping up every day covering them. Remind you of anything?
Starts with a Z, ends with a, has a eld in the middle, you know
what game. Why all the hype? While it's true that Mario 3 and
Super Mario World were both highly anticipated, the rest (with
maybe two exceptions) just seemed like knee-jerk sequels. And why
not? They all sold well, they were all popular after release, and
they were almost all fun. So what's the big deal over SMB64 and
SMA? In simple terms, they, or SMB64 specifically, will decide
the future of the system. Just as Mario 64 defined the future of
the 64, SMB64 will either save, or kill, the 64.
Imagine, if you will, an alternate reality. Cast your mind back
to 1996, when the SNES was fully starting to run dry, and the N64
was picking up steam. Rather than allowing the system to fall off
the map, Nintendo announces Mario World 2 for the Super. Gasp!
Suddenly, Players have a (relatively) low cost reason to keep
their SNES units around! This proves to developers that the
console isn't dead, and that they can justify making games for
it!! Now we have an extremely similar situation, only this time,
it's the N64 that's being challenged. Let's face it. Once the E3
wave of titles hit, all developmental focus is going to shift to
the Dolphin. Fact of life. Developers like bandwagons, and hop on
them quite frequently. So here we stand, idly playing our little
games, mumbling about having to shell out $200 next summer for a
Dolphin, while the fate of the N64, in all honesty, a new system,
rests in the hands of a plumber. Heck, there's a good chance that
SMB64 will get shifted to a Dolphin title! So there you have it.
If in the fall, either of the upcoming Mario games gets cut,
transferred or bombs, the 64 is "next month's garage sale
fodder" for half the people in the country once the Dolphin
comes out. But hey, who cares! Until then, Iced Gaming's sites
will be so busy with news on the new Star Fox title rumored to be
in the works, the latest on Kirby 64, the creation of Iced Gaming
it's self (For the million and 2nd time, Ice is compiling all of
his sites in to one big network called Iced Gaming), and other
event's that will undoubtedly present themselves long before the
Dolphin launch next summer. Of course, all these events iwill/i
keep you busy, and next summer is going to sneak up pretty
fast...
We could be shelling out the greenbacks for the new silicon
sooner than you think...
Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it...
~Steve Dixon~