What Vinnie Thinks

I know what you’re thinking. What does Super Mario Bros. have to do with Christmas? Well, plenty. It’s a well known fact that many of the Super Mario Bros. video games, including the newest installment New Super Mario Bros. Wii, are usually released at this time of the year. I can still remember when I got my 16 bit Super Nintendo game system, which came with the Super Mario World game at Christmas of 1991. I was so thrilled. These are some Mario ornaments I got last year and some old Mario Christmas decorations I had from a long time ago. And they’re still in good shape.

Super Mario World, which is part of Captain N and the New Super Mario World, is the third and final installment/season of the Super Mario Bros. cartoons. Once again, it premiered around the same time as the video game. I looked forward to this show on Saturday mornings just as I did for Super Mario Bros. 3. This time, it all takes place in a world of cave people and dinosaurs. The animation is a little different, but still contains the same video game related action the Mario team is known for.

Toad does not return, but Yoshi is a valuable new ally with his huge appetite for enemies and unusual level of metabolism. Even if he is portrayed as a baby. Yoshi is scared of water, but in the video game he does fine when swimming with Mario. I guess Yoshi just can’t swim alone.

King Koopa and his seven kids also return, living in a neon castle. Since when was King Koopa ever interested in disco? Then again, he flies a mini clown copter. Maybe he’s having a midlife crisis, or something.

It’s too bad there weren’t any more Super Mario Bros. cartoons as the video game franchise continues to expand. For instance, Wario never had a chance to be a part of it, because this show premiered one year before his very first appearance in the Game Boy title, Super Mario Land 2: The 6 Golden Coins. He just missed out. Darn it.

I still think Super Mario World is a classic along with the other two Super Mario Bros. series. I can only imagine if any of the other Mario game titles ever become a series also, like Mario Party. Now wouldn’t that be something?