Growing up, my brother and I played way too many computer games. Not the legendary arcade ones. Instead we grew up playing Papa’s Pizzeria, pancakeria, freezeria,wingeria, earn to die, candy crush, hay day and so many more. In ways more than you can imagine, I believe Papa’s games taught us how difficult it is to open a restaurant and keep it going.
But the game we loved the most, was Mario Forever. It was the best game ever!!! For those unfortunate people who never had the privilege to play this legendary game, let me tell you the basics.In these games, Mario, a supposedly Italian plumber, goes on a quest to save Princess Peach of Mushroom Kingdom from the evil mutant turtle, Bowser. Why has Bowser captured her? Why is Mario rescuing her? Why is Bowser a turtle? Do Italians hate turtles? Why is a human princess ruling over a kingdom of magical talking mushrooms? And why is she even struggling for her kingdom when she can start making vlogs about her magical land and earn millions from her You tube channel?
These are some of those mysterious questions which may never be answered. When Miyamoto created Mario, he thought he was a hateful character. And now many of you may or may not know him as the mascot of Nintendo. The first Mario Game appeared in 1985. Since then, the Mario franchise has been on a roller coaster that only goes up. Mario was aided with his twin brother Luigi and then his dino friend Yoshi in later games. then Mario Kart was introduced which somehow proved to be more popular than our regular Mario. And now Mario even has his own movie.
In short people love Mario. So, do I.
In these games, Mario goes through a series of different worlds to finally reach Bowser and free the princess. You get 5 lives. Each world is further made up of levels which constitute land, underground pipes, sky & clouds, underwater and castle.
Then there are power ups. Our little Mario is almost useless. He can’t properly get rid of evil turtles or break through bricks. He gets a power up and his strength increases. And then he gets fire power. He can now shoot fireballs and turtles die at a single press of the space bar.
I recently read John Green’s Essay in The Anthropocene Reviewed and he wrote 5 page essay on Mario Kart. After reading it, I can’t help but feel that real life is a lot like Mario. At first you are small and fragile, and then life gives you power ups. You get powerful. You ace through the levels of your life. Then comes that Thor turtle that can hurl a hammer at you and you lose the power up. No worries. You move further and then a brick falls at you. Now you are back to initial useless self. You have to start from scratch.
But then you have a long jump to make and you just fall. Game over? No. you start over. This time you are more careful. You make the jump. Then comes the evil flower from under a green fire and spits fire and you have to start over.
That’s how life is. It pulls you down. Then raises you up. Then pushes you off a cliff. Regardless, it keeps going.
And you reach final level and you find yourselves in a castle which seems unlikable in the game but I assure you it wouldn’t have been less than a few hundred million dollars in real life. It comes with free chandeliers that can fall on you anytime and free portraits of Bowser with red eyes fitted into walls. Theres also lava pool if you’d like a swim.
In some cases, before you reach bowser, Mario finds a fire. In some cases, he doesn’t. in some cases, even without a fire, Mario wrecks bowser. In other cases, even with a fire, Mario loses. Because unexpectedly bowser comes with 3 fire powers. And extra high jumping skills. And missiles. And when Mario loses from him, you have to start from the beginning.
That’s the point. The game is pretty fair. Life isn’t. life is unexpected. Life will give you a surprise box with a death mushroom. Life can give you a surprise box with a power up you’ll never need. Life wouldn’t give you any firepower but bowser will come with a missile. And then you’ll start over. You’ll restart. Because you won’t have a choice. Life is a game and unless you click the “YES” button when it asks you, “GAME OVER?’ you can go on and defeat bowser in as many tries as it takes.
These are some of those mysterious questions which may never be answered. When Miyamoto created Mario, he thought he was a hateful character. And now many of you may or may not know him as the mascot of Nintendo. The first Mario Game appeared in 1985. Since then, the Mario franchise has been on a roller coaster that only goes up. Mario was aided with his twin brother Luigi and then his dino friend Yoshi in later games. then Mario Kart was introduced which somehow proved to be more popular than our regular Mario. And now Mario even has his own movie.
In short people love Mario. So, do I.
In these games, Mario goes through a series of different worlds to finally reach Bowser and free the princess. You get 5 lives. Each world is further made up of levels which constitute land, underground pipes, sky & clouds, underwater and castle.
Then there are power ups. Our little Mario is almost useless. He can’t properly get rid of evil turtles or break through bricks. He gets a power up and his strength increases. And then he gets fire power. He can now shoot fireballs and turtles die at a single press of the space bar.
I recently read John Green’s Essay in The Anthropocene Reviewed and he wrote 5 page essay on Mario Kart. After reading it, I can’t help but feel that real life is a lot like Mario. At first you are small and fragile, and then life gives you power ups. You get powerful. You ace through the levels of your life. Then comes that Thor turtle that can hurl a hammer at you and you lose the power up. No worries. You move further and then a brick falls at you. Now you are back to initial useless self. You have to start from scratch.
But then you have a long jump to make and you just fall. Game over? No. you start over. This time you are more careful. You make the jump. Then comes the evil flower from under a green fire and spits fire and you have to start over.
That’s how life is. It pulls you down. Then raises you up. Then pushes you off a cliff. Regardless, it keeps going.
And you reach final level and you find yourselves in a castle which seems unlikable in the game but I assure you it wouldn’t have been less than a few hundred million dollars in real life. It comes with free chandeliers that can fall on you anytime and free portraits of Bowser with red eyes fitted into walls. Theres also lava pool if you’d like a swim.
In some cases, before you reach bowser, Mario finds a fire. In some cases, he doesn’t. in some cases, even without a fire, Mario wrecks bowser. In other cases, even with a fire, Mario loses. Because unexpectedly bowser comes with 3 fire powers. And extra high jumping skills. And missiles. And when Mario loses from him, you have to start from the beginning.
That’s the point. The game is pretty fair. Life isn’t. life is unexpected. Life will give you a surprise box with a death mushroom. Life can give you a surprise box with a power up you’ll never need. Life wouldn’t give you any firepower but bowser will come with a missile. And then you’ll start over. You’ll restart. Because you won’t have a choice. Life is a game and unless you click the “YES” button when it asks you, “GAME OVER?’ you can go on and defeat bowser in as many tries as it takes.
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