#spm no leveling up

[camprell]

Just finished my “no lvl up” run, and I must say... This game still makes my heart ache, positively, but it still hurts.

idk, something about Dimentio being irredeemable hurts me akjshd I like that he supposedly dies/vanishes in the end, it’s the ultimate ending for him, but I feel like he didn’t just betray Count Bleck and the others, he betrayed us players too, maybe that’s exaggerated to say, but ... it’s painful

And I also have to say that I had to lvl up to defeat the Underchomp because it’s just impossible to do it kjashd

[camprell-art]

Lady Merlumina, the writer(authoress?) of the Light Prognosticus

Hate how this game says that she’s the person behind the creation of the book, but also says that Merloo wrote it... 

[loki-valeska]

Something interesting I noticed about Count Bleck's writing

Other people have probably pointed this out, but I want to talk about it. Throughout SPM, the Count's minions show some level of fear over disappointing/offending him. O'Chunks is a big indicator of that, going so far as to ask for death when defeated in the Land of the Cragnons.

Similarly O'Chunks yells at Mimi for shapeshifting as him, saying it was "disrespectful", implying the Count would be mad at this.

But he's not.

He doesn't care, in fact he seems to find it amusing.

After Sammer's Kingdom, Nastasia informs Count Bleck about Mr. L's insubordination, she seems worried about his reaction. She's very quick to apologize and take full blame for it.

But he's not bothered at all. He simply brushes it off.

Even when Nastasia tells him about Mimi's insubordination, she seems more somber about it. Almost like she's expecting that this'll make him very upset and she's accepting it.

But even that doesn't bother him. He leaves the punishments to her, like he always does.

This seems to actively scare or worry Nastasia. Pointing out that something is different about him.

Now in the post Sammer cutscene we can infer that his behaviors is because he's doubting whether or not Tippi is indeed Timpani, and thus causing his goals to shift.

But in all the cutscenes before this, Count Bleck displays a similar level of disinterest in his minions failing. Nastasia is in charge of punishment, and the Count himself doesn't usually appear in those cutscenes until later irrc.

I bring these points up because I think it's a very clever way of portraying something we don't realize until we have hindsight.

Count Bleck in SPM is severely depressed by the loss of his love, Timpani. So while this drives him to want to end his own life, and end to worlds that took her from him by fulfilling the prophecy of the Dark Prognosticus; ultimately he doesn't care. He doesn't care about the universe, or love, or even his own minions failing him. He can't be bothered to care anymore. He doesn't even really care that the heroes are getting closer and closer to him. Nastasia even mentions how the Count used to love life and the universe, until he lost Timpani.

Now, he doesn't care.

I think it's a really clever way of writing depression, because that's exactly how it can feel. Not really caring about the things going on around you, even when they're directly interfering with you. Or how depression can make you feel nothing for things you used to cherish and love dearly.

Not caring about life, or death, or anything in between.

Maybe I'm looking too far into it, but I think it speaks to the masterclass of writing that is the SPM story. And I think it's a really cool detail about Count Bleck's character.

[actaphere]

Makes an entire new blog and account to disassociate from my past and my obsession with spm and the au I very loosely based on that game

Gets back into the game with the same level of obsession as before

Anyways, I will redo the entire thing from the ground up without the OCS here's an artwork I made for now

I am relearning how to draw Bowser and I really wanna have a dimentio gjinka but make him look pretty inhuman and I really can't think of any ideas for how to do so😩

[bizabumblebee]

tell us about yunobo

why's he ur funky lil guy

id love to hear why

This is a very good ask I don’t think I’ve ever actually told anyone why I like Yunobo so much

Preemptive spoiler alert for both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom by the way

(Also this turned into a bit of a character analysis on Yunobo I’m so sorry it’s so ridiculously long lmao)

Personally my favorite Zelda “race” or whatever has always been gorons, huge fellas who mine rocks and eat rocks and are rocks, just big ol walking boulders with kind souls, I think they’re very silly and cute. But I really like Yunobo because he’s not really like any of the other gorons (He’s not like other girls!!), because he’s so much more… emotional? I guess? In each of the Goron race’s appearances throughout the Zelda games they’re portrayed pretty much the same way, either tough and brave and heroic (Like Darunia, Daruk and Darmani), or chill and generally nonchalant (Like… pretty much every other goron). Though they are kind and playful, they’re also tough and unmoving as stone. Yunobo (on a surface level), is neither of these things. When you first meet him in BotW he runs and yelps in fear, and a great portion of the fan base calls him a coward because of this. He’s very unsure of himself, and unsure of a lot of things in general. In the artbook “Creating a Champion”, his description is as follows:

“Yunobo is the grandchild of the Champion Daruk. He has an adult body but still has some growing up to do. He is easily frightened by monsters and isn't exactly what one might call brave, but, driven by thoughts of protecting his people, he gathers enough courage to aid Link in quelling the Divine Beast Vah Rudania. He is earnest and naive, readily believing nearly anything anyone tells him.”

So yeah. He’s a scaredy-cat. He’s a pushover. He’s incredibly naive and a bit childish.

AND YET.

He helped save his people, and the entirety of Hyrule… TWICE. Because he is brave. Bravery is not an immediate heroic desire to face any danger for the sake of the greater good.

It is action in spite of fear.

He is afraid. He’s unsure, and he’s flighty, and he’s defensive. But he swallows these fears and chooses to act in spite of them, helping link to take back control of Vah Rudania, and saving his people. For me, seeing the journey Yunobo takes to find his courage is a lot more satisfying than if he were just already a brave go-getter from the moment you meet him.

And then things get even more interesting in the second game (again, spoilers for TotK ahead).

After he helps Link take back Vah Rudania and Calamity Ganon is defeated, Yunobo goes right to helping his people recover from the the post-calamity craziness. He’s incredibly devoted to them. He’s a helper through and through, willing to do anything it takes for the sake of others. His loyalty knows absolutely no bounds. But unfortunately, this can get the better of him.

Like when his good friend “Zelda” shows up and gives him some weird mask and tells him to put it on.

Honestly, when I saw Yunobo for the first time in TotK, I was one of the many people who was terrified that Nintendo might have made him an asshole for no reason. I mean, they gave Sidon a wife so people would stop shipping him with Link, I wouldn’t put it past them (totally backfired though lol, now they’re just a polycule).

But instead they had actually put him into one of my favorite character tropes: self-conscious but good-natured character easily susceptible to corruption (See: Luigi [SPM], Bolin [TLoK], Locksley [AS:TNC] -they’re all also green for some reason? Crazy). I really like this particular trope because it shows the very real (and frankly scary) way that those with the best intentions can most easily be led astray. As someone who’s kinda struggled with having a people-pleaser personality (incredibly susceptible to peer-pressure, neglecting my own needs over the needs of others, not able to set boundaries, etc), this trope is a relatable cautionary tale for me. Those who just want to help more often than not end up helping those with bad intentions without realizing.

Buuuuut I won’t go too far into all that (it’ll get sad fast eugh)

My main point is that Yunobo is brave, kind, and loyal (even to a fault), and for me that’s a wonderful formula for a character as nervous and dopey as him. Yeah he’s got rocks for brains, but he’s got a heart as big as a lynel’s. I don’t throw this term around liberally but I would say he could definitely count as a himbo.

Ugggghhh this is getting too long ffs. I’ll just list a couple more reasons why he’s important to me specifically.

He is… very large. Ahem. I like big fellas. You know how it is. ANYWAY

He’s a bit dopey but he’s definitely not incompetent. He’s the president of a highly successful mining company and he’s helped save Goron City (and the entirety of Hyrule) TWICE. That’s pretty cool. I’ve seen a lot of people shit on him in the first game for “always getting spotted by the drones” but like. Dude that’s your fault. He told you he would come when called and stop when told to, it’s on you if he walks into a searchlight.

He’s got very intriguing lore (to me at least), that leaves a lot of room for speculation. Like, he’s the “grandson” of Daruk, but how does that work?? Gorons are born from the mountain itself, they don’t give birth. There’s a pair of Gorons in TotK that call themselves “brothers” (still a bit confusing since most gorons throughout the series call each other brother anyway), but they explain it was because they were born in the same cave at the same time, so they’re like family. Does this mean Yunobo was just born in the same cave Daruk was, and therefore inherited his “genes” and his magical abilities? Maybe! Maybe it’s a really cool special cave, right at the summit or something, where his whole lineage was born all the way back to the first sage of fire. Cool stuff to think about!

He’s not the leader of his people, in either game. That job belongs to Bludo. In the second game he’s definitely got a lot more influence and does occupy a position of leadership, but he’s not the chief. He’s just some Goron. The role of aiding link in both games is thrust onto him entirely because of his lineage. But he takes responsibility for it. He understands the power he holds, both as a champion’s descendant and as the Sage of Fire, and he steps up to the role. He feels a responsibility to his people and his city, even despite not being its official leader like the other champion’s descendants. That’s pretty cool.

He’s very sweet! I’ve talked about how kind and caring he is already but there’s a difference between doing it with a stoic sense of heroism or duty, and doing it with a big dopey grin and a genuine care for those he cares about. He’s often unsure and self-conscious, and yet he’s surprisingly optimistic about most things a lot of the time. He has a big smile (most gorons do), but he has an absolutely heart-melting laugh. I often tear up during the cutscene in which he sees the spirit of Daruk reclaiming Vah Rudania, him laughing and waving with such genuine joy and excitement, aghhhh it’s too much. Joe Hernandez certainly did a great job putting authenticity into Yunobo’s (and Daruk’s) emotions, this cutscene especially.

He has the best secret stone ability (gameplay wise). You cannot change my mind. Tulin is great for mobility and the other two are fine for tactical combat stuff, but none of them even come close to the versatility and power of Yunobo. Don’t have any good rock-breaking weapons and don’t want to use up bombs or zonai devices? Yunobo! Using a control stick-operated machine and can’t pull out your bow to snipe that pesky aerocuda? Yunobo! Wanna separate a big group of enemies from each other without wasting bombs? Yunobo! And don’t even get me started on the fact that when he’s on a vehicle, he’s got zero cooldown. You can hop on a hoverboard and decimate a molduga just by dribbling Yunobo on its head like a basketball.

All this being said I certainly think Yunobo is too often overlooked by fans for “being a coward”, or just… being a Goron? Gorons in general have often been a bit neglected in favor of the other more serious, conventionally attractive and *cough* slimmer *cough* Zelda races. It’s a bit disheartening seeing the amount of fan artists who don’t even have a clue how to approach drawing Yunobo or Daruk, simply because they don’t know how to draw bulky, fat or muscled characters. But I won’t preach too much on the subject, haha.

Long story short, I love Yunobo a whole lot and I’d love to give him a big hug and a smooch. That’s about it :))))

Also here’s a little sketch I made of him as a bonus for reading all that haha

[legobiwan]

Another crossover SM:RPG and SPM idea...

For "reasons" (insert wild hand waving gesture by the author), the Mario gang (which includes Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Mallow, and Geno) have to team up with Bleck's minions to defeat a bigger, badder Big Bad pre-events of SPM. Think about this group of disasters interacting. It would be gold.

Mimi initially tries to hit on Geno. Geno is oblivious to what is happening until Bowser spells it out for him. Geno is appalled.

Mallow takes an immediate liking to O'Chunks and follows him around everywhere, basically adopting O'Chunks as another extended family member.

Bowser and Nastasia sit around the fire comparing notes as to how to run a bureaucracy of minions. Nastasia almost enjoys Bowser's company until he challenges O'Chunks to a best-of-100 arm wrestling competition, perhaps under the influence of the mysterious Chucklehuck grog Dimentio has conjured from...somewhere.

Speaking of Dimentio...Geno despises Dimentio on sight and basically has to be held back by Mario every time they are within 5 feet of each other. Geno senses something deeply wrong with Dimentio's magic and basically embodies the Steve Carrell "I'll kill you" meme whenever they make unsupervised eye contact.

Dimentio, of course, finds this all wildly amusing. He also is trying to figure out Geno's deal and how he can use his powers to his advantage. He can't talk to Geno directly, nor are Mario, Peach, or Bowser seemingly open to his advances, but he can try and wheedle information from the green one - Luigi, who is trying his very best to stay away from the creepy jester.

Poor Luigi is just trying to keep a low profile. He's patient with Mallow, listening to all of his stories, engaging in some games when Mallow asks. He gets sucked into refereeing the arm-wrestling matches between O'Chunks and Bowser, which ends with both men bodily threatening him whenever he makes a call against them, which in turn gets Mario riled up. This is annoying to Luigi, as all he really wants to do is curl up against a tree and read.

But even that doesn't bring him peace, as whenever he peeks over a page to see what's happening, he catches either Geno or Dimentio just staring at him, Geno's large eyes a disturbing blank, Dimentio's features crinkling with something too close to appetite, his head tilted in curiosity.

At one point, Mario gets fed up with the Bleck gang and draws a line in the dirt, delineating his side and their side. Not five minutes later, Mallow crosses over to ask Mimi to show off her spider powers again.

The first time Mimi shows off her spider powers, Geno is fascinated. Do all corporeal beings have this ability, he asks Mario, a sliver of excitement in his voice.

At some point, Geno and Nastasia have a long, private conversation. No one knows what is said, but Nastasia comes out looking shaken.

Peach and Mimi exchange fashion tips, which fascinate Mallow. He figures as a newly-donned prince, he should learn more about these types of things. Peach and Mimi are happy to oblige, especially Peach, who can give advice to Mallow about being a royal.

Peach is also the only other person to notice the way both Geno and Dimentio are examining Luigi. When she brings it up with Mario, he threatens to stuff Dimentio's hat down his throat. While Peach can't disagree with that sentiment, when she asks why Geno is also scrutinizing his brother, Mario is at a loss for an answer and shuts down the conversation.

After a hard battle, the gang gets a little tipsy on Dimentio's mystery grog. Peach ends up challenging both Bowser and O'Chunks to arm wrestling, much to their delight. Mallow and Mimi give each other makeovers. Mario and Nastasia both deem themselves the designated drivers, at it were, of their respective parties and share an awkward, stilted conversation about their pasts.

Luigi, whose stress levels are stratospheric due to the constant pseudo-stalking of Geno and Dimentio, drinks one grog too many, announces he's going to build a machine from whatever scrap he can find, pointing at Dimentio and Geno, ordering them to help him gather metal and bits. When Geno points out Luigi has no tools, Luigi just scoffs, saying he doesn't need tools.

Mario rolls his eyes at the whole scene - he's seen his brother like this before and he tells a flabbergasted Bowser to just let him get it out of his system. When Bowser exclaims he didn't know Luigi could be so bossy, Mario huffs out a laugh, saying Bowser has no idea just how demanding his little brother can be when he's in that kind of mood. Mallow pipes up that he'd like to have a little brother, too.

Later, Luigi is putting the finishing touches on some MacGuyvered piece of machinery, mumbling something about it needing electricity. Dimentio purrs that this would be difficult without a tempest arriving like a set springed snakes let loose from an unremarkable cylinder. Geno frowns at the tortured comparison, saying he'd be willing to help but Luigi just cuts him off, conjuring a bit of electricity in his palm, which sets the machine working.

Geno and Dimentio stare at each other, the machine, and then Luigi, in kind. Do that again, Dimentio sings, lip curling into a calculating smile. Geno stands abruptly, swinging his cape to the side, but all Luigi does is slur the words, "Not right now, bro," and passes out on the ground.

[year2000electronics]

HLVRAI 2, and Super Paper Mario 11?

YOU GOT IT

2. …my three favorite characters and why I love them so much.

GORDON: i love the way wayne plays such a frantic protagonist. he's simultaneously the straight man to a lot of the science team's bits but that's not the whole story because every bit of character this man is given makes him feel deeply DEEPLY abnormal. hes convinced hes the only one here but his dream is to stream on justin.tv. love it when men Yell.

COOMER: not only is holly hilarious but coomer has the strongest narrative arc in the series. she found a concept and STUCK with it. coomer perfectly interlaces "most comedic old man ever" and "deep existential dread" and neither parts of him feel like they clash with each other its just so. banger. hes so funny but i care him so much. when hl2vrai drops i just know whatever happens w him is gonna be INSANE

BENREY: yeah i mean. yeah. benrey is easy to overhype i get it especially cos theres so many ways to dilute how literally funny his character is. i love how weirdly polite he can be when hes not antagonizing gordon. hes such a little brat and yet hes so niceys. he also just works really well in the idea that like yeah he is the antithesis to improv but also narratively speaking he allows gordon to funnel a lot of negative energy into him, and having a character who is primed to NEVER agree with gordon makes the group dynamic twist up in hilarious ways. i just also think the way scorpy does bits is funny as fuck

11. …what I think of the central character(s).

THAT WOULD BE THE FOUR HEROES YEAG... i think a very common and very true critique levelled against SPM specifically is that sometimes it feels like youre happening to play a game that has mario In It. like yeah sure mario is the hero of prophecy but thats only because the game is directly telling you that. what doesnt help is that although i think the four heroes each have pretty cool and distinct flavours of being written, i think it gets lost in the waysides a little as you have them available as playable options 90% of the time, which means that the only standout moments are when control of them is wrenched from you (ie the character statement of peach being the only one who ends up in the overthere, the world 8 boss fights against the bleck minions, Luigi) so its like. i wish i could get into em more but i think its just a flaw thatd always be there. i dont know. i dont know.

luigi counts as one of the four heroes though and super paper mario luigi is one of my FAVOURITE luigis for this exact reason. because you only have him playable for a world or two, that means he makes a lot of decisions and has a lot of screentime that Only Luigi Could Have so hes BURSTING with personality. honestly spm luigi is one of the most interesting portrayals of luigi i could go on and on and on

i guess tldr theyre pretty good i wish they were connected to the story more

[lucyav13]

Passwords

(A/N): Because today is the 17 anniversary of spm... Today double chapter! Enjoy =)

In Spm, we find some situations what we need a Password or do something to pass the level. I'll tell you some of them 😉

In the world 2-1, We need to work for rubees to pay off the debt. In order not to have to work, you must go to the 2nd floor of the level, go to the left, grab the hidden Pixl, and then go up to the last floor, go to 3D and then, pass the rays with the pixl. Then, it will ask you for a password, which is: 41-26-28-16. Then you will have the necessary rubees to settle the debt.

In 3-4, we need two passwords to go to the rooms that have the keys. In one part, there are two doors, and both have different passwords, in both parts, you have to select true to all the questions it asks you (no matter how ridiculous they are) then they will ask you for the password. The one on the left door is: 2828 and the one on the right is: 2323.

The evil cubes. In 5-1 After defeat the Muths, are three blocks, right there. They need an especific order "for something interesting to happen". The order is the next, take note: Middle, Right, Left, Left, Right, Middle, Right, Left, Right, Right, Middle, Right, Right, Left, Middle, Middle, Left, Left, Left, Right, Left, Left, Left, Middle, Middle. You're welcome!

After we meet Dorguy the first, we meet Dorguy the second, and to pass we need to go through a test. The answers to the questions he asks us are the following: 3, 2, Blue, 4, Triangles. That's it.

For last, in 8-4, before the final confrontation we have to go through a maze. Like the one shown in the picture. In it, there are some arches and to see how we can pass it, we must go to 3D with Mario. The path is this: Arch 2 Right, then Arch 2 Right, Arch 3 Right, Arch 4 Right, and walk to the bottom where there will be a door, this is the first section. Then last Arch Left, Arch 2 Left, Arch 3 Left, go all the way to the door. Next section: Arc 6 Right, Arc 2 Right, last arc right, and the bottom to the door. I hope I have explained.

And I hope this chapter has been helpful to you :)

[nullen-void]

A Random Skeleton Rates the Paper Mario Games

Paper Mario: 7/10

Paper Mario is charming and cute, but decidely primitive and unrefined compared to its immediate successor. I find the controls to be finicky and unreliable, but I admit my experience is only with rereleases and emulators, so perhaps on the original N64 it worked better.

Story-wise, it's the standard Mario story where Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach. It's not special but this particular execution is bolstered by the world it's set in. All the characters we meet are entertaining, the places we go start out simple but steadily get more interesting as we go, and Princess Peach: Super Spy is a delight.

It's a good game, but it's held back by ancient graphics and, in my experience, strange controls. If and when we get a remake that upgrades it to the same level of quality as TTYD, it might move up to a great game.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: 10/10

Yes yes, it's obvious and my bias is showing. I grew up with this one, it was a Christmas present, and it's nostalgic.

But in this case the popular opinion is just true. The game plays like a dream, the partners are amazing characters, and the story is a step or three above Mario's usual fare.

Admiral Bobbery's story is simple enough for a child to understand but sincere enough for even adults to tear up, and I wish Goombella was my best friend in real life. I use to name the Yoshi Kid Gonzap because I was also playing Pokémon Colisseum at the time and I thought it matched Mario's stage name of Gonzales.

Princess Peach: Super Spy makes a return and her story with a lonely supercomputer is fascinating, and all the more so for how little we see of it. My only complaint is it needed more Bowser.

TTYD is a truly great game, and the fact it's getting a remake makes me excited to play it all over again.

Super Paper Mario: 9/10

SPM is without a doubt the greatest story in the entire Mario franchise. The only thing holding it back is the complete and total alteration to gameplay. The only real thing relating it to the previous two games is the artstyle.

But man. It's just such a good story guys. Luigi gets brainwashed, an entire world gets turned into an empty white void, Mario suffocates in space, an incomprehensible Scotsman is best friends with a little girl who turns into a spider and a clown comes within a hair's breadth of destroying all of reality on a lark.

There are no partners, no badges, no real RPG elements left... it could have easily been the most polarizing game in the series, and for a time it was. But its failings are all made up for and then some by the greatest love story in Nintendo history.

Paper Mario Sticker Star: 5/10

Some of you will think I'm being too kind (he said, knowing less than ten people will ever read this). But Sticker Star is a perfectly fine game.

I was never bothered by the backtracking. I was annoyed by the battle system but never to the point of frustration. Some of the puzzles were obtuse but I freely admit that I'm not afraid of looking up a guide when I can't solve something myself. It's fine.

But it's only fine. It's not great, and I hesitate to call it good. It can drag on and on. But I had fun with it, after I got over the fact that it wasn't TTYD2.

Because that's the real problem here. In a vacuum, it's a perfectly fine game. But compared to the other games in the series, it's just... not Paper Mario. There's Mario, and he's made of paper, but there's more to it than that that the game doesn't seem to grasp. It's sad really.

It's fine. It's okay. But it'll never be more than that.

Paper Mario Color Splash: 6/10

It's pretty good. It has a lot of the same problems as Sticker Star, but... less so. Huey is more tolerable than Kersti, the paint mechanic is more interesting than just laying stickers everywhere, the levels are all more well-developed than any of the previous game's, and it's actually very funny.

It is once again Bowser kidnapping Peach, but at least this time it's because he was possessed by evil paint. Luigi saves the day in this game, so that earns it a whole extra point right there.

And the music is phenomenal. It always is, even Sticker Star has A+ music, but Color Splash is especially good. This game has good vibes.

In the end though, while I can call it good, it's still bogged down by the battle system and the lackluster story. The characters are okay, such as they are.

Paper Mario: The Origami King: 8/10

Yeah I put it higher than the first game, what of it?

Origami King gets it. It wants to be a good Paper Mario game so badly, and it very nearly accomplishes it. Olivia is a delight, Bobby is a startlingly effective character, and the villain isn't even Bowser.

It's back to being a connected world instead of being level-based. It has an extremely simplified badge system. The story, while not on the level of TTYD or SPM, is still fairly gripping (though it takes about two-thirds of the way through before you get the big twist of what Olly's deal is), and I would actually argue that Mario the character is more expressive here than the entire rest of the series. He emotes! He feels sad! He tries to stop his friend from committing suicide and FAILS! I swear to God that's a thing that actually happens in this game.

Origami King has issues. All of the bosses are oversized office equipment, and there's just no coming back from that, but even still, it's a fun ride.

This concludes this essay. I hope the five people who will ever read this enjoyed, and please feel free to give your own thoughts in the comments.

[morfosi]

autism time

i can't stop thinking about how every mario game is so different but always hits so fucking hard (most of the time. you arent welcome here sticker star, sorry.)

i finished super mario galaxy today (not really—I beat the boss and saved peach but I have like 50 more stars to get hehe:33) and man this game is so beautiful and timeless and fun. The switch controls were ... a little awkward compared to the wii (especially when swimming. fuck you, water levels) but I cant believe how much I still love super mario galaxy after I've been playing it LITERALLY since it released. its such a unique take on mario platformers and the music is so fucking amazing and of course theres just... something about being in space that makes everything feel so magical

i wanna finish my replay of super paper mario next (i need to rebuild my emulator since my hard drive got wiped a while back and I never quite caught up with remaking my emulators). super paper mario is that same kind of eternal game where no matter how many times you play it, no matter how old you get compared to when it came out and you first played it, you still feel every bit of emotion and heartbreak and wonder. augh i really really really hope I'm right about the spm switch remake being next because spm is my favorite game of all time (yes even above the sims 2. and thats a big deal.) and i need the whole fucking world to reexperience it with me

i remember being like 7 and sitting on my dad's laptop cycling between youtube and the mario wiki absorbing every single ounce of information i could about super paper mario. i could not, and still can't, get enough of that fucking game

theres somewhat of a story in every mario game obviously but spm took it 100x farther and created the most fucking tragic unforgettable video game ever made. and no one ever believes me because its just a silly mario game. but i mean it. every time i play it i cry. i think when i got near the end the first time way back when i was a kid i laid in bed for an hour sobbing because everything was coming together and i knew even at that age that i was experiencing the craziest mario game ever released

like when you pick up a mario game you expect a fun colorful platformer where youre the hero saving someone. you dont expect to be hit with the most incredible worldbuilding, and the most chilling star crossed lovers tragedy, and the most intensely three-dimensional characters across all the mario games. i would pay millions to play it again for the first time, but if they really are remaking it and i get to watch millions of people experience it for the first time themselves.... thats the second best thing. i'll take it

anyway. smg and smp are two of the most unique, impressive, and beautiful games in the mario series (albeit for different reasons) and i will never fucking shut up about them or stop replaying them

sorry for having autism

[mumfordbrainstats]

Dear Dr. Mumford

Hi, I'm a phd student studying behavioral neuroscience.

I thank you for all your help.and contribution to the academia !

I have a question about how to control for the categorical covariate effect in one-sample t-test( I am using SPM)

I have a cross-over design in which participants overall experience condition 1 though 5 in an event-related manner but, experience condition B after A

for, example, they go through conditions A1, A2, A3, A4,A5(randomized) then, B1,B2,B3,B4,B5(randomized)

and this order was counterbalanced between participants. (some people experienced condition A first then B , some people experienced condition B first then A) And after having removed some participants with excessive head motion, I ended up getting unequal number of participants for each order group which is 19 and 24

I set up a parametric regressor for condition 1 ~ 5 and want to test the parametric regressor effect for contrast A>B,

but I want to control for the effect of A, B order.

since this order covariate is a categorical variable, I dummy coded it( 1 , 0 : 1 for A->B order participants, and 0 for B->A order participants) and put it as a covariate in the second level one sample t-test without centering it (*no centering option), and put [1 0 ] as contrast weight.

Is this the right way to control for the order effect in one-sample t-test in spm?

To make sure, I have coded it reversely ( 0 , 1 : 0 for A->B order, and 1 for B->A order), and this changes the results…

I understand dummy coding it 0,1 sets a certain reference level… but what I want to do is control for the order effect not check the difference between differently ordered groups…( or am I understanding it all wrong?)

How would I do this in SPM or in any other toolboxes?

Should I set the option to center to Overall Mean?

Any advice would be of great help,

Thank you very much in advance.

Hi,

I need to simplify your question.  Basically, at this point, you have 2 groups.  You have 19 subjects (A then B) and 24 subject (B then A) and you’ve already modeled the conditions somehow in lower level models (I don’t think I need the details on this).  You have some contrast of interest for each of your 24+19 subjects and you’d like to tell if this contrast differs in the “A then B” vs “B then A” group. This is exactly a 2-sample t-test.  The order effect is defined by the groups, unless I’m misunderstanding.  You cannot “control” for the order effect in a 1-sample t-test.  Just run a 1-sample t-test to look at the overall mean, if that’s what you want.  Generally means cannot be “controlled” for other variables.

[forthedancingandthethriving]

(Inspiration)

Mr L: Hello, Director Jayin. I'm Mr L, and I have a proposition.

"Is this a prank?" Is the first thing Jayin asks herself, leaning back in her chair as she looks at the message.

A message from a Mr L (who she was assumed was from SPM). Something about a project and wanting to work together. But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. Characters did seem to come to life, but she did have to be careful.

Director J: Before you go any further, do you have any proof of who you are? I won't tolerate pranks of this kind.

It's a few moments after, and the proof comes in. It's clearly real from the angle and the lightning, it's nothing no human can replicate.

Director J: Continue.

Mr L: I'm sure you're lightly aware of my situation. I want to create a world away from the reach of the Admins, a Perfect World, if you will.

She rests her cheek on the palm of her hand. Ah, so he was the SMG4 Mr L.

Mr L: My proposition is a MMORPG that takes place in an interconnected multiverse that's facing an eldritch cosmic threat. The starting cluster of universes would be their own original creations to give the game time to create its own following and identity, but future updates could include crossovers with existing CCC properties.

Jayin leans forward in her chair.

Director J: So what you're saying is..

Mr L: It would be your very own real Connected Cosmos, the worlds and their characters fully under her control.

Mr L: All I want is to be allowed to live there and operate unimpeded.

She exhales through her nose as she thinks. An MMORPG of that size.. TCS was open world, something a bit smaller than that, but even then it took ages. She frowns a bit.

Director J: Your proposition is quite the catch, but a game of that size would take years to create. Even if I put everyone on the company onto that, it would take ages.

An image comes through. Its strange tech.

Mr L: These are Admin-Level Dev Tools. These babies are what's used to turn basic Servers into the various cityscapes, facilities, and other such Program-Level areas that make up the bulk of the Digital Multiverse.

Mr L: At this point, they're so advanced that they'll easily cut the average time and effort needed for human game development in half, maybe even more.

Jayin leans back as she thinks. Another message.

Mr L: All with the possible patents and copyright claims completely up for you to grab, of course.

She's sold.

Director J: Just a moment.

It takes a few minutes, and an email is sent out. Intentionally vague. A starting point for the project is grabbed, an old abandoned project by an intern that was let go.

Director J: What do you want to name this?

Mr L: The game name could be Connected Cosmos, but I ask that the project be called.. Project Thunder.

Authority is shared to him, to a project called Project Thunder.

Director Jayin: I look forward to working with you, Mr L.

Mr L: Likewise, Director Jayin.

[dappledpaintbrush]

Good day, I hope that you are well;

Do you ever happen to ponder what the writers' room must have been like for Super Paper Mario? "Yeah, you know our main Wahoo go-lucky happy Mario protagonist? Yeah, well, let's make a game where he isn't relevant at all, make it touch relatively dark themes and we make my intricate and deep teenage Original Characters the real main characters with an extremely intricate plot that you wouldn't expect any game of the brand we are known for to have"

The game is so...Jarringly out of place, it's...Fascinating-

Nintendo has a few of these very large art books (Eg. Zelda and Mario Odyssey) where they go over all of the development work, conceptual stages, writer material in excruciating detail- It would be amazing if there were one of those for this particular game-

It's a shame that there isn't a lot of beta material released for this title other than some early Nastasia sprites, early animations (eg. The Dimentio Walking one and the Super Dimentio unused mouth animations) and Flip Folk character designs (And of course the early cat build) I can imagine a lot of work was put into the game's writing- I find the geometric designs to be extremely fascinating for multiple reasons too, symbolically and visually, but that's a discussion for another day. Are there other beta materials I seem to be missing?

My apologies for the long "ask"

Have a nice day.

Hello!! I hope all is well too :]

Oh my god I think about this SO MUCH. Like. One, how did they come to the conclusion this story is what they’re gonna go with, and two, how did it get approved? I’ve heard SPM be described as a “bad fanfiction,” and honestly, take “bad” out and I agree. This game strays so drastically from the norm that it does feel like a fanfiction (in the best way possible). I wonder how much DIDN’T get approved that is now lost to time.

I’ve been on many hunts for any beta content, but all I can find that is reliable is stuff from The Cutting Room Floor. It honestly upsets me. I feel like this game deserves an art book regardless of whether or not I personally wanted one. The design of SPM is incredibly creative and one of the first of its kind. The character and level designs themselves (because they really are unique), the constant references to technology in an era where it was becoming increasingly more apart of every day life, and the thought process behind implementing 3D into a 2D space are all things I want to know the details behind SO badly. Of course art is important in every video game, but in the Paper Mario series, the game almost revolves entirely around the art and design choices, and SPM is no exception. I would also go even more crazy for a book or even any information at all about the writing process, but I’m not sure how much of that has survived. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of it has to come from the writers’ own recollections. Hell, who even knows if any concept art is around anymore either, unless they kept it in a filing cabinet somewhere (or, if it’s all digital, they actually kept up with the files).

The cat build is very interesting to me because we have NO idea what it was for. Was it for another game? If so, what is it doing in SPM’s files? Is it for SPM? The “3D world builds” that were also found imply SPM was originally not going to be a side scroller and instead, you’d be able to roam around like you do in any other Paper Mario game. Unless those world builds were for the cats only- which again, were they for SPM or something else?? WHAT WERE THEY DOING THERE?? EXPLODES!!!!! AND YES!!! THE SYMBOLISM FOR THE GEOMETRIC SHAPE DESIGNS IVE HEARD ABOUT THAT SOMEWHERE. GOD ITS SO GOOD . CHEWS ON MY ARMS.

And to answer your question, there’s definitely more beta material out there, but none come to mind at this moment :O

And don’t apologize!! I love longer asks! I enjoy discussing this game with people a LOT

Have a good day to you to!! :D

[noelledeltarune]

i love the gameplay and mechanics of pokemon SOOOOO much like i know way way more about pokemon mechanics than general mario ones (my comparison here that i will use is that my pokemon knowledge is like if i knew all the catch card info and recipes in spm. which i do not. LMAO) but. the characters..... i can only think about evolution levels and shiny mechanics and level up movesets for so long. i need characters that can sustain me

[legobiwan]

I think what makes Super Paper Mario stand out from many of the other plot-based Mario games is the motivation of the villains. (And no, I have not played all of them, but I'm familiar enough with the major titles to take a leap with this idea here).

You can write a laundry list of bad guys who have wanted to take over the world: Smithy and his gang want to reforge it (literally) in their image. The Shadow Queen wants to rule over a dark, new reality. Cackletta wants the Beanstar to fulfill her crazed wishes of destruction and power. Antasma wants command through the Dream World. Princess Shroob wants, and maybe even needs, to a degree, to siphon off the life force of the Toads in an interesting twist on an alien species' resource issues. In fact, one of the few antagonists we encounter who is not 100% fueled by power-lust is King Boo, who walks a tighrope between a pedestrian desire to rule reality via ghost army and a need to exact revenge, a tightrope he eventually falls off of decidedly in the direction of bloodthirsty vengeance directed specifically at Luigi. (He built, bought, or at least took over a whole-ass, multi-level hotel for this express purpose, not only luring Luigi into this trap, but roping his brother, his friend, and some random Toad acquaintances into the whole ordeal, as well - which is categorically insane and the topic of another rant for another day).

But Count Bleck doesn't want power for power's sake. He merely wants to use the Chaos Heart to end reality. There's no throne he covets, no crown he searches for - he desires only utter annihilation of everything, including himself. It's such a nihilistic goal and is so striking in comparison to the other enemies we encounter in and around the Mushroom Kingdom. Even Dimentio, whose initial plan was to seize power and reshape the world in his own corrupted image - even Dimentio chooses this final destruction over the promise of false power in the end.

How do you fight against someone who seeks death as their ultimate goal? It's such a depressing and fascinating concept in a Mario game, of all things, and is one of the reasons I personally see SPM as a kind of climax to the events of many of the preceding games, including SM: RPG and Thousand Year Door, which you can see as the "prequels," as it were, to SPM, if you look at these games as existing along a timeline that began with the creation of the Pixls and the Tribe of Ancients and ends with Bleck and Dimentio's defeat at the threshold of apocalypse.

Anyway, I'm starting to come up with some lore ideas that would possibly tie these three games together in a slight AU where the Bleck gang would show up in 7 Stars and Geno's role is extended past the restoration of the Star Road.

[dragovid-davidas-thespmnerd]

Is Dimentio SON of Tippi and Count Bleck's future selves? - Dimentio Bleck

I think Dimentio is the unborn child of Tippi and Blumiere. That's why he hadn't killed them before the Super Dimentio fight. Because he didn't borned yet, if they die, HE DIES as well. And at the end of SPM I think Blumiere and Timpani teleported 3,000 years into the past. The reason both The Pixl Queen and Dimentio has the power of illusions is because they are siblings. The magician that created the pixls had a wife, a son and a daughter after all.When Timpani and Blumiere sacrificed themselfs they went 3,000 years back to the past. They wrote down they’re entire adventure in a book which people started calling: Dark Prognosticus. But they didn’t knew if the worlds saved or not. They only wrote what they lived and because the rest are unknown to the authors people though no more pages means no more future.According to the game whoever the magician was, he created the pixls by studying the Dark Prognoticus. And since the magician got his hands on the book and isn’t afraid of the book shows the author and the magician might be the same person. And since Timpani is a human, the magicain must be Blumiere/Count Bleck. Which means both Dimentio and The Pixl Queen are Blumiere/Count Bleck and Timpani’s children.

And remember that Carson mentains that while people thought the soul of the Pixl Queen belonged to a demon, it actually belinged to a HUMAN. We all know from experience that humans can't use magic, but ancients can. So, since the husband is a magician he can not be a human. Which shows the wife is a HUMAN. Or should I say, Timpani?

Carson also mentains Dimentio showed up out of nowhere. Dimentio must have find a way back to the future where he joined Count Bleck and his minions. Carson mentains that he approach and befriended the Count himself. If he is his father than he already knew where to look.

He doesn't knows who he is? It's one thing to not know someone's past. But no one knows WHO he is? That's a whole new level, isn't it?

Oh, also, Dimentio gots his smart and determination from his mother. By the way, I'm getting family vibes. during the game:Tippi called Blumiere: SickTippi also calls Dimentio: Physcopath. A reason to hate his mother...

Dimentio's Family Abuse: Dimentio had been throught family a b u a s e. And the reason every single part of his skin is covered in clothes is to hide his wounds. I know Tippi and Blumiere would never do something like that. But his adopted family? If Timpani died in that accident and the magician that created the pixls (Blumiere)'s game was cut short, than Dimentio would likely given to new parents. And I been reading books about the backstories of Disney villains and almost all the villains had atleast one horrible person in their family. Betrayel from the family really changes people. It's possible for Dimentio to be given to a manipulative cruel people (which would show where he learned to manipulate people). Take off the cloak and the mask, and his wounds shall be revealed.

Dimentio's Hatred towards Tippi and humanity:

We all know Dimentio hates Count Bleck. But what if he hates his mother Timpani even more?If we cosider Dimentio's sister Shadoo hates ancients... What if Dimentio hates humanity?Think about it. Dimentio ignores her mother when she sees a deja vu about him in their first encounter during the events of the game. And after he killed Mario, Mr L, Bowser and Peach he gets closer to Tippi and shows her his grudge by saying "You know who I am right? I AM YOUR ENEMY. I serve Count Bleck." The sentence in the middle seems to me like this sentence directed for NOT the team, but rather for Tippi herself. Wouldn't fetting closer to Merlon be a better idea since he is more powerful..? Also, when Tippi calls Dimentio a "physcopath" Dimentio once again shows his grudge by saying "You're the hero! Are you going to let butterfly minds influence your decision?" I know this can be just to convince Mario. But isn't it weird that the more time passes the more colder Dimentio gets towards her? Don't tell me that's just a coincidence. Cause I don't think it is. The creator of this game is a genius!When Dimentio gets his hands on the Chaos Heart, when he sends Tippi, Blumiere and Nastasia to Dimension D, he says that Count Bleck looks pathetic and that he will squeeze life out of him later. But he says doesn't even makes fun of Tippi. He doesn't even bothers. He is like "She is not worth my time"

Tippi jokes about Dimentio's current state while she knows he is about to die. It's as if she enjoys Dimentio's death. "Good-bye now, Dimentio. We'll add a footnote to the prophecy about your failure." When Tippi said the word "footnote" it was actually a pun. This is what Mario and the gang did. They crushed him under they're foot. Not to mentain that Dimentio keeps saying "Remember the name well." So, by saying this Tippi also teases him. This is a way that Tippi says "Don't worry. You won't be forgotton. We'll write one sentence about you. You are just a little detail that no one cares about. This is not YOUR story. Get the hell out of OUR story. GO TO HELL, DIMENTIO."

Or something like that, if she would say any of those outloud she could regret that later.

Carson said nothing else about the son of the magician after the accident. And Dimentio just popped out of nowhere. His mother was also in the accident. Which leads me to believe that the accident is a explosion that created Dimension D.