Video: The Game Theorists Explain Why We Should Go Easy on Bowser

IT'S TRUE! IT'S ALL SO TRUE! Bowser is the REAL hero, Mario has been the villain all along!

Such a troubled, yet kind, soul.

Wait what

Still kinda love the idea that Miyamoto is the Koopalings' mother...

I figured out why he kept kidnapping princess peach, I had that Nintendo power magazine, but I do like how in the last 2 or 3 years Bowser has been shed in a more favorable light.

The tears!!! poor lil guy........just want to give him a hug.

I dunno, don't really care for all those theories and tuff...I just enjoy the games. But as far as I know...Bowser is probably the dumbest villain in gaming history (ok probably not the dumbest, lol) as shown in some of the RPGs and we all love him because of it. lol

My wife and I will be watching the video tonight! Ever since Super Mario RPG, AND ESPECIALLY after Paper Mario, I've always seen Bowser as being misunderstood. In Paper Mario he even treats the Princess fairly well, almost like a Beauty and the Beast type relationship in that game. Even in the main series Mario games it's referenced, with Bowser telling Jr. the Princess is his mother. She never denies it either! I know Bowser tells his son that she isn't in the end... But maybe that isn't the case. Anyway. Bowser is a hilarious character, and Miyamoto has stated the Mario cast is more like an actor's troupe than anything else.

Poor Bowser his plans are always getting ruined. ;(

I mean, Bowser is still clearly a villain, but Mario is more of a jerk than him. Heck, in Galaxy Mario lands on an egg on a small number planetoid, forcing a newborn creature out, and proceeds to beat it to death. He crushes goombas, practically helpless enemies, under his own weight. Meanwhile Bowser rarely actually kills (if ever).

I would feel bad for Bowser, but he keeps kidnapping the princess!!! DX

Still it's very hard to see him as a pure evil character, I can totally agree with that, afterall despite everything, Mario, Peach and Bowser love to do all sorts of sports togheter, more than enemies it feels like there is a weird friendship between Bowser and the rest of the Mario's games' cast XD

I absolutely loathe how the Game Theorists' favorite theory is the only one truly despised by fans - that is, Mario being supposedly insane. It's really annoying to see how Matthew Patrick always brings it up to either rub it in the face of the fans or to boast about his favorite "theory" (usually both).

I have the Super Mario Adventures comic in graphic novel form. I got it years ago and I used to read through it all the time. I'm totally gonna have break it out now and give it another read.

@AlexSora89 Yeah, I'm not a fan of MatPat at all. More often than not, he's spiteful and beyond ridiculous. He /really/ went off the deep end with that Five Nights At Freddy's 4 thing, though.

Wanted to give the video a fair shot, got welcomed by a "sociopath" caption written under Mario. Not even two minutes into the video, to boot. Wow, MatPat, just wow.

@MasterGraveheart
Yeah, the whole "Five Nights At Freddy's 4 is WRONG" thing is really mature of his, isn't it. I think that entire franchise is wrong, for completely unrelated reasons, but I know NL is not the place to discuss that.

For those of you who think Miyamoto couldn't be Bowser Jr.'s mother, think back to the Yoshi's Island games. Unlike in real life, the Stork does exist in the Mario universe. This would explain how Peach can believe even for a moment that she might be the mother without knowing for sure, which is an utter impossibility in our world, given the amount of pain involved with childbirth.

@AlexSora89 Well, Mario kind of IS a sociopath... The way he snubs his own brother when Luigi wins instead of him (look at the sports games, especially tennis), his motivations being perhaps not as altruistic as we'd like to believe (get the girl, more power, and a more favorable reputation), his complete lack of remorse towards those he kills along the way (woops, I mean, "defeats"), his undying support of a monarchy in exchange for fame and fortune as it's greatest knight and vassal (further cementing his authority), and his sickenly gleeful demeanor while doing it all (that's just his public face). Mario isn't insane, he's a cunning political mastermind. He's the real monster, I would be on Bowser's side.

Bowser in the Paper Mario games and Mario & Luigi games is a good chunk of why I like those games so much. The more you flesh out Bowser's personality, the better the game seems to get.

I mean why else would Bowser go out with Mario and friends on non battling events?

Why does this guy have to stick his own face all over the video all the time. "I'm posing a question, better get out the photo of me pondering! Now for a shot of Mario... no wait it's missing something... of course! I must photoshop my own face in place of his!". Seriously?

Couldn't watch the video, got too annoying. Bowser is whatever the game needs him to be; menacing, goofy it doesn't matter. Consistency is not the key detail of Mario games. Are we going to get a video theorising why Mario's jumping capabilities are different each game? Because I can tell you now the answer is to achieve the best gameplay result. There's no hidden message, it's just about making a mechanically great game. Bowser is no different.

Stop trying to explain things that don't need explaining by looking for things that aren't there. Just enjoy the game, accept there's not really a timeline or coherent story connecting the Mario universe together simply because there doesn't need to be one.

@Ogbert Well the point of a theory is took long between the lines of a game and not the games themselves. To interpret something out of nothing in a way. Complaining about Mat's face being plastered everywhere, while true, is a little petty to complain about.

Has anyone noticed this is the same theory as Conner the Waffle's theory? It's making me pretty mad.

@AlexSora89 "I think that entire franchise is wrong, for completely unrelated reasons"
lol
Scared of a few jump scares?

That was fun.

Well... Poor Bowser. Next time I'll LET him kidnap princess peach. Some kids need a mother.

To clarify, according to Nintendo UK (and other European Nintendo sites as well) in the "old" story the Koopalings are Bowser's offspring, i.e. biological children:
www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/NES/Super-Mario-Bros-3-279558.html

I think MatPat is a glutton for attention who obnoxiously spews clickbait titles, ridiculous hooks and exaggerated declarations, but his theories are usually on the mark, or at the very least, close enough to be interesting.

@Ogbert I don't know about the video (didn't watch it), but I would say the Mario games have a timeline, just a simple one. Everything non-Yoshi related probably happens after the previous game. (Hmmm... as I'm typing this I remember the Paper Jam trailers...)

Interesting theory. Definitely worth watching.

Mario is the real bully, Bowser is just an abused kid who grew up to become a messed up turtle.

The real mario:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Wn48geCJ8

@Ogbert MatPat is pretty obnoxious, and his videos are also often full of crap. Don't blame you for being irked over this one.

Okay, I saw a little bit of this video, not the full thing, but can someone tell me if MatPat even gave any evidence to support that Bowser is supposedly an orphan? Because I'm pretty sure I didn't hear him say anything to support that idea.

Now that I look back at GameTheory in the past, it seemed really good since it used a lot of math and science to support theories, but this doesn't really seem to be the case now. I'll admit it can be interesting to hear what he has to say, but this Bowser theory was just so.. ugh.. This is probably the first time I haven't finished watching "GameTheory" video.

Oh boy, it's this channel again >_> Everything he does is incredibly pretentious.

@Koopa-King it makes sense to do that for a game series with a continuing story and lots of things hidden or left to interpretation. Mario isn't that kind of game.

Why did they originally say the Koopalings were his kids? At the time that was the official story, Miyaymoto says it isn't the "current" story. "So how can they both be true?" the video asks. They're not. They changed the story. Theory over. Luigi can flip flop between capable and eager to cowardly and reluctant, Peach the damsel or just as capable as the rest, Bowser a lovable fool or a genuine villain. There's no deep meaning, it's to suit the individual game mechanics.

Is it petty to be irked by obnoxious behaviour? Plastering your own face over everything including the protagonists your video is about is extremely obnoxious and self-absorbed.

Very nicely done!

@Ogbert Well, that's the point of the Mario universe, and probably what Miyamoto wanted to say when he said that he views the characters as actors: there is no canon, each game should be considered in a different universe unless stated otherwise by the games themselves.
If Peach alone is perfectly able to beat Bowser in Super Princess Peach and she is still able to do so even without using Perry the umbrella as we have seen in Super Mario 3D World, why was she kidnapped so many times? How many Bowser's Castles are there in the Dark Land, since each Mario Kart has one different from the previous, and we're not even counting the various Bowser's Castles seen in the platformers and in other games? Since the Paper Mario Bowser's Castle is visible in Mario Kart Super Circuit complete with Peach's Castle on top of it, should we suppose that Mario & Co. (including Bowser!) took a break during the events of Paper Mario to race on karts?
As you said, the real point is what fit the games the best, not maintaing a coherent universe with a timeline. If sometimes it happens, well that's fine, but the developers surely aren't pursuing this goal.

P.S.: to be honest, I'm incredibly curious to see what will be written in the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia just to see what approach the writers will take regarding this lack of a coherent timeline.

Bowser has to be one of my favorite villains of all time, along with Dr. Eggman. It is kind of strange though, because I wasn't a huge fan of Nintendo when growing up. I always tended to be a Sega guy and I still love Sega games. I'm just now starting to understand what Bowser's motives and reasons for doing the things he does. I'm glad Nintendo paints him in such a positive picture, since not every villain has to be considered evil to be an antagonist. I love the humor Bowser brings out in some Mario games.

@Megumi Barthandelus from FFXIII, for me, is the dumbest villain in gaming history. His presence is lacking, as well as his motivations, and you know what they say about "re**rd strength".

@SebCroc My little brother doesn't like him either. He especially hate the "Link is Dead in Majora's Mask" theory, as well as the anti-religious theory.

As much as I like Matt and Game Theory, this was one of his weaker Theories. The proof to back up his claims wasn't as concrete as what we usually get. That said, it was still an entertaining video. Game Theory is not meant to be taken as fact or even taken seriously half the time. It's entertainment, just like the games being talked about.

I feel like Miyamoto was just joking and pointing at himself because he created the koopaling characters, not meaning that he is their mother in the fictional Mario world. People are taking this too seriously.

@Shirma_Akayaku I thought it was obvious he was an orphan. He was raised by Kamek. I guess Kamek could just be a nanny type whatever but I don't think so.

@nooneinparticular: Wow you people. You have stupid reasons for complaining...I know I know, "but you have to respect my opinions"...I don't think that's actually possible.

@Megumi His I.Q is canonicly over 9000.

@Shirma_Akayaku Bowser was shown to be raised by Magikoopa

@Ogbert Id say its less self absorbed and more a style choice. I dont see how using someones face either to use a stock image or to add a bit of style is "self-absorbed". But thats just what I think. Stuff like this is all just subjective anyway. But thats just a theory.

Please stop giving Lame Theory coverage.

@Nintendian
And this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzYwRIFwIDc