News Article

If Mario vs. King Kong was Created Today

Posted by Thomas Whitehead

On Vita, no less

It's often the subject of chilled-out debate amongst gamers: what if Mario had used a gun like Nintendo originally planned? What if Samus Aran had been a man? What if Kirby was made out of string? Well, not so much the last one any more. Still, it can be entertaining to think about some of our favourite games and wonder what they would have been like under different circumstances.

1up has done just that, producing a cover image for Mario vs King Kong, a mash-up of a modern Mario and the famous movie ape. Rather than platforming and solving puzzles — while occasionally hitting Kong with a barrel — modern Mario would be a bit more direct and to the point, going at the beast with some serious firepower. As this isn't a Mario concept that you'd expect on a Nintendo system, this title would appear on the PlayStation Vita, of course.

Nintendo did consider arming Mario with a gun in the old days, but instead he's become a mascot that uses his wits and some sturdy shoes for hopping on heads. Still, we'd be interested in taking a real Mario vs King Kong for a spin, on 3DS of course.

[via 1up.com]

More Stories

User Comments (32)

ajcismo

#1

ajcismo said:

While we're at it, lets make Link speak and the whole damn universe turn inside out.

tat2

#2

tat2 said:

I wouldn't be interested about playing it after reading that review.

SkywardLink98

#5

SkywardLink98 said:

I believe I played an internet game once that GAVE Mario a gun so you could see what it would've been like. I honestly prefer how it is now.

hydeks

#7

hydeks said:

@SkywardLink98 yay I played a hacked version of mario 1 with a gun through emulation and it was terrible :P I'm happy Mario is the way he is.

Joshers744

#9

Joshers744 said:

Wow. haha. Glad it turned out the way it did....and i never want to see Mario on a Sony system's game case again....ever...

Shiryu

#10

Shiryu said:

I often wonder how the world would be today is we would haver gone beyond the 16 bit video gaming era... a better one!?

WingedFish

#12

WingedFish said:

If Pit wasn't left in the Nintendo storage closet for 25 years... (Not counting of Myths & Monsters)

3Dash

#14

3Dash said:

If Yoshi was a Koopa, as originally planned.
That saddle on Yoshi's back? It's actually a shell.

Late

#17

Late said:

@Kyloctopus: As Luffymcduck already said, there are Pokémon cemeteries and you can even meet a dead Pokémon in first generation games (Marowak). If you want dead Pokémon read Pokémon Adventures manga.

OldBoy

#21

OldBoy said:

I'm still waiting for a Mario FPS. I think it could really work but obviously it would be more akin to MarioKart than COD. Think Ink splat guns, Koopa shell bazooka's, water jet packs (Fluud) and the like. I'd love to see a Nintendo FPS, they usually do try and put their own spin on most genres ,RTS (pikmin) , Mario Sports games,RPG's (papermario) etc and I'd love to see what they came up with :D
I wouldn't want it to look like that cover up there though -SHUDDER!!!-

famestephy09

#22

famestephy09 said:

I wish Nintendo could of teamed up with Sony as originnaly planned. Imagine Nintendo and Sony together? It would be the best of both worlds. I love Nintendo and Playstation. But the day that came I would have to open my eyes from a great dream to be dissapointed it ended and it wasnt a reality.

mushroomer

#23

mushroomer said:

Please stop it with these silly articles. Just to make it look like Nintendolife has life..

ThreadShadow

#24

ThreadShadow said:

That Mario doesn't look too bad actually. Besides the guns, and the boots (referencing the atrocious movie), but he's pretty solid otherwise. I wouldn't mind playing a good 2D game that featured him.

Super-Mario-Fan

#26

Super-Mario-Fan said:

i HATE it when people try to kind of make fun or change Mario by giving him a gun because that's like the exact opposite of what Mario is like so i really wish they kill this idea because if something like this actually happens then im going to completely quit Nintendo for the rest of my life. >=(

TimboBaggins

#27

TimboBaggins said:

if the characters in starfox were people and not cartoon animals.....

if captain falcon didn't have to say his name every time he punches someone....

Gioku

#28

Gioku said:

@OldBoy Sounds like a good idea! I'd play it! Can we say Super Smash Bros. FPS? Or just Mario FPS would be cool, too.

WaxxyOne

#29

WaxxyOne said:

They do a what-if and focus on only one detail?

If Mario were made today, he wouldn't look a thing like he's depicted on that cover art. He wouldn't have the overalls that were necessitated only by the fact that the old hardware had so few pixels to render him with, they had to have some way to convincingly separate his chest from his arms so he didn't look like a puddle of red goo. He most likely wouldn't have the hat either which was added because it was far easier than drawing hair on an 8-bit sprite, nor the mustache which was easier to draw than a mouth.

In short, Mario would look absolutely nothing like the mascot we all know and love if not for the limitations of the era he was designed in.

Also, if he wasn't created by Nintendo he wouldn't be on the Vita due to the fact that Sony would not have had anything to steal from someone else.

StarDust

#31

StarDust said:

Or a Castlevania style whip, for that matter. People forget, Mario was the villain in Donkey Kong Jr. ;)

Leave A Comment

Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...