Mario
A shock second place for Mario. We'll come onto the reasons why in a sec, but first let's look at the evidence. Mario's so universally recognisable, his image will sell almost anything that's it's associated with. And so his image is associated with almost everything Nintendo-related. Fortunately, almost every game the plumber's been involved with has been of an incredibly high quality, which always helps (Sonic, take note). Just look at the list: Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf... all are brilliant examples of Nintendo fun. But there's more...
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was an attempt at making a Mario RPG on SNES. Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Partners in Time all continued the idea. Then there's Mario Strikers Charged - a decent enough kickabout. For social gaming, Mario Party is on it's eighth iteration and shows no sign of slowing down. Mario Paint was an art application for SNES, complete with a mouse, which no doubt sold many more copies for having Mario in its name. Even the worst Mario games such as Super Mario Ball and Mario Slam Basketball have got some charm. Except perhaps for Dr Mario, which seems charmless to us.
Like Sonic, Mario's friends have also enjoyed success. Princess Peach had her DS game, Luigi's Mansion is a Gamecube classic and Wario's even got his own spin-off series. But they seem to have become Nintendo's family, rather than spin-off titles, so it's hard to know where to draw the line.
Above: Mario is everywhere. It's like he is Nintendo. But is he being used with his character in mind?
So why second place? Well, many of Mario's games are simply a sport or a genre with Mario stuck onto it. It isn't that Mario's character works particularly well in each genre, just that he's recognisable and his image will likely sell anything that's related to it. But they would arguably work with any character, which can't be said of our real spin-off king. Mario Kart may well have invented the karting genre, but apart from that, which other games have been truly original? Mario's become more of a mascot than a game series.
Still, second place ain't bad. The plumber done well. Mario, we salute you. You nauseating, over-familiar moustache and hat, you. But that means there's another game more worthy even than Mario for the spin-off king crown. What's that? Pika-what?
Above: Mario is everywhere. It's like he is Nintendo. But is he being used with his character in mind?
So why second place? Well, many of Mario's games are simply a sport or a genre with Mario stuck onto it. It isn't that Mario's character works particularly well in each genre, just that he's recognisable and his image will likely sell anything that's related to it. But they would arguably work with any character, which can't be said of our real spin-off king. Mario Kart may well have invented the karting genre, but apart from that, which other games have been truly original? Mario's become more of a mascot thana game series.
Still, second place ain't bad. The plumber done well. Mario, we salute you. You nauseating, over-familiar moustache and hat, you. But that means there's another game more worthy even than Mario for the spin-off king crown. What's that? Pika-what?
