Nintendo Live 2024 recently took place in Sydney, Australia, where none other than Mario voice actor Charles Martinet fulfilled his duty as brand ambassador to take part in a live Q&A session.
Martinet dives into a number of topics, including how he first became the voice of one of the most recognisable video game characters of all time, his experience coming up with the voice for Super Mario 3D World's Cat Mario, and much more.
He also happened to reveal what his favourite Super Mario games are and, well, it's about as predictable as you could reasonably expect. Like many of us, he has a huge soft spot for the 3D Mario titles, stating "I love the sandbox games" before going off on a multitude of adorable tangents. He specifically highlights Super Mario Galaxy as being "unbelievable", but also mentions Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Odyssey.
Finally, Martinet gives Luigi some love by stating "Luigi's Mansion just touches my heart". Us too, Charles. Us too.
It's well worth checking out the full Q&A session via the above video. Martinet's enthusiasm and love for everything Super Mario is so infectious, it's honestly making us want to clock off work early and boot up some Super Mario Galaxy (don't worry boss, we won't). You can also check out the Q&A session from day two of the event via YouTube.
What about you? What's your favourite Super Mario game? And which part of Martinet's interview did you enjoy the most? Let us know in the comments section down below.
Comments 34
"Luigi's Mansion just touches my heart"
Ya know that's really on brand for the subseries if you read it the wrong way
My choice:
Favorite Mario games : Paper Mario Sticker Stars, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Odyssey
Least favorite Mario games : Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Mario Sunshine, Mario 3D World, New Super Mario Bros games, Mario Party games, Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Golf 3DS
Don't blame my choice.
I'm different.
I have more interest with 3D platformer games by 3rd party developers than the 3D platformer Mario games.
Mario games that I have collected are basically have good potential but mostly I felt less impressed after I played them.
Only a few of Mario games that I have better impression.
If I compared with similar games, I personally have more interest with Ratchet & Clank games on PS2 - PS5 than any 3D Mario games.
The gameplay that I felt enjoyed more was from Ratchet & Clank games.
Would be funny if he said he was 'not much of a platformer guy to be honest'
So... all of the 3d ones basically. No love for 3D land though, what an underrated game.
No love for Wario? C'mon Charles, you've voiced the anti-hero for decades. Surely, atleast one Wario game belongs on your list.
Have a rotten day everyone!
Not hotel mario? 😢
Luigi’s Mansion and Super Mario 64 are both in my top 3 favorite games of all time, glad to see Charles Martinet showing appreciation for those games too!
Now if only we could get Luigi’s Mansion on Switch… (that’s the only one listed here that’s not on Switch)
I've neved understood the appeal of Luigi's Mansion series. It's sooo boring.
@Anti-Matter Haha yeah you being different is an understatement.. Putting Sticker Star as one of your favourites and the Galaxy ones as some of your least favourites is one hell of an opinion.
My personal favourites: Galaxy series, 3D World, Bowser's Fury and of course Super Mario World
My least favourites are probably Sunshine and 3D Land.
.... And at the very, VERY bottom of my entire opinion on games list is Sticker Star.
Pretty respectable favorites list. As for me, Sunshine, Galaxy and NSMBU are the top
@Maubari
Sticker Stars felt like Final Fantasy 8 Magic using style.
And the summon of 3D objects looked like Final Fantasy summon spells.
And that's why I like Sticker Stars than other Paper Mario games.
I don't blame Martinet for giving the 3D Mario games some love. For the most part and for the time periods they released in, they're fine, high-quality platformers. Super Mario Sunshine's development was a bit rushed, and that can be detected in the final product. Yet even though it's my least favorite 3D Mario title, there's still a lot to enjoy.
No love for Super Mario Bros. Wonder…
@Tyranexx IMO it's just the way Nintendo 'rush' games tends to be by quality over quantity.
So like Sunshine lost half of its levels, but obviously as a result for the most part the levels are good, only really marred by filled and repeated level goals.
I have to agree. Super Mario Galaxy, both 1 & 2 are also my favourites. Next comes Super Mario World. I will never forget as a kid the first time I got Yoshi, it was the most magical feeling ever. A pet friend that's not a dog but a dinosaur, and you can hit him so he eats ennemies up 😍
Unsurprising, but still lovely to hear that those are among Charles's favorite Mario games (and mine as well)!
@Anti-Matter Ratchet and Clank games are very good to be fair but overall as a platform, Sony cannot compete on this genre. Mario has a very eclectic and diverse back catalogue with mostly winners in the list. A good watch on the subject is Triple Jumps "Mario Games Ranked".
Solid choices, of course. Super Mario 64, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario Bros 3 would top my personal list.
@beartown I won’t dispute overmuch with your gustibus but have you at least given the third entry a shot. One of the very best games on Switch in my view.
@JohnGuyJohn yes, I have. I always finish games, even when they are a chore, but I just couldn't push myself to play Luigi's Mansion 3 till the end. It made me sleepy.
I'm not surprised, honestly. His most iconic voice clips from from 64 and Galaxy.
@Dr_Lugae Sunshine does have some good levels - generally the ones that incorporate FLUDD. Some great locales too; Isle Delfino is one of my favorite game hubs. I know some complain about the FLUDD controls, but I found them fairly easy to adapt to. Granted, I've only played the game via Super Mario 3D All-Stars, so that likely colors my experience.
However, there are some very frustrating sections of the game, arguably moreso IMO than in any of the other 3D Mario titles. Sections that could have used more QA testing and refinement. I highly disliked most of the FLUDD-less levels due in part to the controls. It took me a bit to realize wall jumping in particular is a huge chore in the game. This wouldn't have been a problem if Sunshine had more player agency when it comes to collecting Shines, but the player HAS to obtain the first seven Shine Sprites in each stage. The manta ray boss was also an exercise in frustration, and I vaguely remember a couple other levels being frustrating as well due to how slow everything moves.
This DualShockers article encapsulates my feelings pretty well.
Nobody is asking, but my favourite Main Mario Games are:
-SMB3 (I'm an old guy)
-SMB1 and SMB2 tie (again, old guy here)
-SMB Wonder
-Galaxy
-Odissey
I really love the rest, except:
Least Favourite, by far,
-Sunshine... never felt as a Mario game for me...
He didn't exactly give a definitive answer. Kind of felt like he just listed the most recent 3D ones.
As far as 2D Mario goes, he likes New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Outside of Mario, when I saw him at a pop con in 2016, he praised Kirby: Planet Robobot, which launched earlier that Spring. I still have my strategy guide of Super Mario Galaxy I had him sign.
Awww. Genuinely what a lovely article. What a lovely man. 🥰
@Duncanballs
I personally prefer Ratchet & Clank games than 3D Mario games from these aspects:
1. Storyline
2. Dialogues
3. Gameplay
4. Connection with other series
I enjoyed the storyline of Ratchet & Clank games that have connection from other series or the way the story being told rather than watching Mario storyline with damsel in distress plot and silent Mario (except for WooHoo and Woaahh)
I prefer gameplay of Ratchet & Clank where you will never get Game Over screen if you died so it encouraged me to keep playing and keep trying without worrying about limited lives.
The design of Ratchet & Clank worlds looked more appealing for me than the cute 3D Mario World games that felt more like American Ninja Warrior.
Well, that's my opinion after playing both of them.
@Anti-Matter so basically anything starting with 3DS and Switch and nothing before it also needs to be 3d also a platformer... Yeah seems on brand.
My favorite mario games are Super mario 64 a classic, Galaxy 1&2 though I like 2 a little more, and finally Super mario 3D land this ones a little over looked but I think it's one of the 3DS's best titles.
Well he did highlight Galaxy, and what can I say, he’s right! 🏆
Super Mario 64 (especially the DS version), Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy are probably my three favorites. I did also very much enjoy Super Mario Odyssey. Basically, anything that allowed you to freely roam around the level with no time limit.
While I do enjoy games like Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, they're not my first choice for a Mario game, because they're basically a "reach the flagpole at the end of the level before the time runs out" kind of game.
I personally think that such a Mario game should be for the 2D Marios only, with the 3D Marios being more like Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Odyssey.
@beartown You had to be there.
What can I say? I like ‘em all!
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