We seem to be riding a fashionable wave of '90s nostalgia at the moment and when you combine that with Nintendo nostalgia (which we'd argue is always in vogue), you get a wistful blast so potent that it's sure to turn your Hypercolor t-shirt entirely orange or green or whatever colour your underarms went when it got a bit toasty.

Mario fan Jesus Lopez is mixing the look of the classic kids TV show The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and applying that unique take on Nintendo's plumber (specifically the animated parts) with a 2D platformer with the help of his family. The show, which originally ran back in 1989, got several subsequent reruns and mixed animation with live-action segments for a Nintendo cash-in so memorable that we still fondly recall 'doing the Mario' three decades on.

As you can tell by looking at the video above, there's a level of polish to this effort that raises it far above what you might expect when you hear the words 'fan project'. That might have something to do with the fact that Jesus Lopez was an animator on such video games as Ducktales: Remastered and Shantae Half-Genie Hero, both of which looked rather lovely.

Seeing as this is a fun family project, Jesus has also enlisted the help of his son and daughter with coding and art direction respectively. The level above showcases Pasta Land, the first stage in the game. As you can see, the attention to detail and quality of the animation is fantastic, and it's certainly a world away from the direction Nintendo's taken with the series. There's something very strange about seeing Mario's legs whirl around like Sonic's when he runs!

PeachLuigi
Image: Jesus Lopez

Jesus has also drawn up Princess Toadstool and Luigi in their Super Show guises and we can't wait to see more. The project is a long way from completion, and if Nintendo's track record is anything to go by, we imagine this will be available for a day or two before lawyers' letters are sent. It's a position Nintendo must maintain if it wants to protect its IP from more nefarious types of infringement, but we do hope we get to try this out one day. Alternatively, can you imagine if this was a Game Style for Super Mario Maker 2? That would never happen, but imagine!

Check out the video below for more information on the thinking behind this unique take on the Mario universe:

How do you like the art style of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show? Would you like to see it make a return in an official capacity? How about a Mortal Kombat style digitised version of Lou Albano and Danny Wells? Now you're talkin'!

[source kotaku.com, via youtube.com]