Topic: Super Mario!

Where did you find this out?

On GAf. The game came out yesterday i think.

Shingi_70 is right, I saw it on Gamefaqs from someone who played the Japanese version.

Yep the english one comes with the Firmware update and without a Manuel.

That is correct.

good ! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Wait you have the game?

Yup. I do.

One more week, one more week.

Is it super duper incredibly mega awesome?

I know man I know man (as i am crying with JOy)

Is anyone else annoyed by this game having a digital manual rather than a physical one?

Not really.

I feel like to be annoyed by something as trivial as that would really be splitting hairs and just nit-picking to have something to gripe about.

@Mully I wasn't looking for something to gripe about, I just like physical instruction manuals. It hasn't affected how much I'm looking forward to it but I still would've preferred a physical instruction manual.

A little bit. It's just another part of the Mario series' recent drift away from Koizumi, who not only made sure Mario games had an engrossing hub and frame story (Sunshine and the first Galaxy) but also was one of the earliest proponents of well structured and illustrated game manuals; his first assignment at Nintendo was to create the manual for A Link to the Past, which he filled with additional artwork and backstory, securing his place as the logical choice for story director of Link's Awakening. Recently, however, Miyamoto seems to think that Koizumi's more "romantic" and story-driven style is not appropriate to Mario, hence the removal of narrative, map, hub, and now even the abandonment of a printed manual. Now Mario just means: pack of disconnected levels.

I know, I'm reading a bit too much into a minor change, and exaggerating for the sake of argument. They're probably just finding a way to save money or something. But it's fun to debate.

@mariofanatic128 That's understandable. And I guess if I were a collector of those manuals and such that I would be disappointed. Glad that it's not affecting your excitement for the game though.

@warioswoods I know that many people wanted this game to have a hub and be more like the "bigger" console 3D games, but having now played the demo at Best Buy, this does feel, to me, more like a modern-day Super Mario Land than a pocket-sized Mario 64 or Galaxy. It feels compact and easy to jump in and out of like a good portable Mario experience should. I agree that I would like to see the emphasis on story and detail come back to not only the Mario series but to Nintendo in general, but I feel like the Wii was a double-edged sword in the regard that while making everything more accessible to a wider audience, the experiences ended up getting stripped down to their barest essentials. Until Nintendo stops primarily catering to the casual demographic, all the "unnecessary" stories and manuals and such will remain MIA, sadly. It should be said, however, that at least they still bring a lot to the table with the core fun factor of these games. If the gameplay begins to suffer down the road though, then they might be in trouble.

Nice trivia, Wario. Didn't know that. I loved NES and SNES-era instruction booklets. I was never a collector and would gladly throw away boxes and such, but I held onto my manuals for a very long time before mom threw them away when I wasn't looking... a fate shared by everything awesome from childhood.

Considering the quality and style of modern manuals though, it's about time they got rid of them. Nowadays the kind of stuff they used to put in there they try to toss in an opening cinematic anyway, and tutorials defeat the purpose of actual instructions. What I mainly miss are games that had maps, but you can always print out a map online if need be for that kind of game.

And there are always player's guides, if you're willing to spend extra. Not sure if those are that well designed anymore though, as I stopped buying them around the same time I started buying games with my own money. Earthbound's guide was the pinnacle of guide/manual greatness. A bit of a tangent, but Starmen.net actually made their own similarly styled guide book for sale that is every bit as wonderful as guides of old. It would be nice if more fan sites did stuff like that for Mario, Zelda, etc., not just obscure Japan-only games.

@Warioswoods I agree about the hubs and story. I hope that a future 3D Mario paltformer at least tries to be as good as or maybe even better than the hub in SMS and I hope theres more of a story like in SMS and SMG in a future 3D Mario platformer too.

What about a 3D Mario with just a big open world. Like the world of Mario & Luigi or Paper Mario? Having a giant overworld as well as sections where you jump into specific levels (underground, etc.) would really take the game in a new direction. It all sounds good on paper, but I guess I have actually see it work in a real game to really know.