Mario Clash: The Forgotten Sequel
by GVeltaine
When you hear the name Mario, what comes to mind? If it’s a video game character, this little delve into the archives of gaming history is for you. The mighty flighty hero that will never hesitate to take an adventure into the unknown has spawned many games about his life and will likely continue to do so for as far as we may humanly know. In order to appreciate what the man has been through, let’s take a look into a game that could have waved how games are played today, but only ended up being a ripple. Games 20 years ago were fundamentally different, that were challenging in order to make you learn from your mistakes and improve and didn’t hold your hand constantly with rewards for merely participating (although I love me some of those games too.). Although I haven’t played as much of the red plumber these days, every time I pick up one of his outings it always gives me a cheek to cheek smile. Innovation and wonder is abundant in most of his adventures. Whether it’s platforming over the mushroom kingdom, jumping into a party board, or teaching how to type, there is something for everyone it seems nowadays that will star the iconic plumber.
In this plethora of Mario games, what if I told you that Mario lived in a parallel universe that was created by one of the very founders of our red-hatted mustache beaming hero? How would it make you feel knowing that the original Mario Bros game had a single-player sequel?
The Original Mario Bros Game,
co-created by Miyamoto and Yokoi
The original Mario Bros was a simple puzzle game, walk around under platforms and hit your enemies into submission then run em over with your mighty body. Co-created by 2 legendary people in the big N’s history, Miyamoto and Yokoi made a huge splash in the gaming world. Miyamoto to this day has created the games many have come to know and love as he’s created endless spinoffs and main entry staples. Yokoi wanted to take things in a different direction, however, and found a new way to present a classic, albeit short-lived as the platform it was put on would also be its doom.
Got your attention yet? Welcome to Mario Clash, a Virtual Boy game created by Yokoi that has a charm and uniqueness unlike others in the series that I have seen personally. The very charm that makes it unique however can be a bit jarring, however, as this retrospect has obviously already seen the writing on the wall for this game’s future.
Being a gamer since I was very young, I’ve always enjoyed new tech gadgets. My earliest memory of what I started off with was a Gameboy and Tetris my aunt gave me. Although the 4AA batteries never lasted long in the system, it was a blast to play and hours of fun were to be had. Then my mother one year bought me Super Mario Land, and the wonders burst open on how much potential this little thing had! I carried around my little boy everywhere I went, always trying to find an excuse to play. When kids would run around and play outside, I always insisted on staying behind and gaming out trying to beat that level in Mario Land that eluded me (among other strange games I bought for my systems, this is a little foreshadow on how I came to attain certain games).
Fast forward to 1996, and it was around Easter that my mom told me she had a big surprise for me this year. Getting big gifts wasn’t a thing, so I was excited to find out what this meant exactly. Anticipating impatiently for themorning. Easter Sunday finally arrived and we were given our gifts. Sitting down in my sisters room we opened our gifts and there was the surprise, a Virtual Boy!
Look how happy I was to get my very own Virtual Boy! If only I used it for more than 5 minutes at a time!
Two of the games I had the most fun with on the system were Galactic Pinball and Mario Clash. The pinball game I’ll come back to another time, we are here for the flighty amazing plumber after all!
This game took what made the original Mario Bros good, the one before the amazing platformer we all know and love, and almost perfected the recipe of what made it fun. Shifting it to more of a puzzle game with a myriad of stages and patterns with many types of enemies that you have come to know and love.
For this little take back on this classic game, I decided to find a way to play it again. Without having the actual hardware, I didn’t think this was going to be possible. I was proven wrong however with the advent of great people and innovation in technology, when I found an emulator and the ROM perfectly intact on the great internets. While I don’t usually condone this style, with this unique system and the fact that the big N is doing everything it can to hide this part of history, it doesn’t leave many options. Playing this game today, one of the joys that brought me back into it was how familiar it mostly felt. From the simple opening theme music to the classic motif of the whole game made me feel like a kid again, only this time I was able to use an excellent emulator, so no straining or headache from prolong playing sessions!
Using an emulator you can play Virtual Boy games, but without the 3D feel.
Giving it that all star throw, look at how Mario grits his teeth! Now if only it worked against these shelled meanies…
Mario Clash is a single screen puzzle game that stars our brave hero climbing through the floors to rid the tower of enemies in order to reach… well, I’m unsure, to be honest. A game that was released exclusively on the Virtual Boy, it takes advantage of the 3D effect by placing objects in the foreground and background and utilizes this in its gameplay. The way to beat enemies is to jump on a Koopa that is supplied by the pipes above and to lob them at your enemies. Different enemies will require strategy and this is where the puzzle aspect comes in, as every few levels the layouts will change causing you to think of different ways to solve the level and continue up the tower.
With 99 levels in the entire game, there’s plenty to dig your teeth into, and certainly is fun when you finally figure out that puzzle. With no save slots or passwords however, going through level 41-99 can be quite daunting as you can only select up to level 40 on the starting screen. The lack of a boss at the end of the game though feels strange, almost like it was forgotten? Important to note too at the beginning of the opening sequence you see an airship fly in and drop enemies into the tower, but never really see who’s the one behind it all.
What’s enjoyable about the Virtual Boy is how unique the games are, but also sad because they have been kept in this time machine, never to be seen again. Hopefully, with more public interest and the general direction Nintendo is being more open to trying more things, this game can be fleshed out for a rerelease or a sequel with more story that helps understand what is going on in this tower of tubular mayhem!
Starting at level 40 and I can already see the scariness.
Very little instruction was given on how to play these or beat the monsters. I’m sure the instruction manual included how to do it, but who reads them, just have pretty pictures right? Nonetheless, being given an excuse to play this game again was truly a wonder and I’m very appreciative to have taken another dive into what could have had so much more potential. Mario Clash wasn’t a game that failed because of what it was, but because of where it was, right time, wrong place.
Mario “jumps” out of the level and towards the screen when he meets his demise. Which happens often!
Level screen, warning you of what’s to come…
This was a game that can keep one entertained for a while if you enjoy puzzles and challenges, I certainly think they are both well implemented in this game. While I am not a fan of the lack of continues, or having to brave through lvl 41-99 without any help or continues, it’s still a game that was fun to revisit and will be on my repertoire of games to play and share with others.
While the whole 3D aspect of the Virtual Boy wasn’t ultimately for me, it still keeps a sense of charm and curiosity that makes me want to keep going back to see if I could enjoy it once again. I can say however with the emulator, the options of playing games like Mario Clash and other gems locked away are now free to play again, but with a more manageable view. It’s a game I would love to put on stream as well to let more people be exposed to the wonder, and hopefully this little delve into Mario’s history helps give you new appreciation of what Mario Bros could have been if it didn’t turn into the platformer we know and love today.
If you wanna check me out on other platforms, you can find me on the interwebs usually under the GVeltaine moniker. I’m still getting used to everything
Twitter: @gveltaine
Facebook: Gennario Veltaine
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Note: The screenshots in this article were taken by me during gameplay using an emulator.
Now check out some really basic tips I left below to help you on your way!
Not so secret tips!
Bonus levels are an easy way to get extra lives, watch for the coin’s shadow!
When you hit an enemy on the opposite layer you are standing from, it will bounce back to you. Get a shiny shell and free lives by beating multiple monsters with the same shell! C-c-c-c-ombo!
Wahoo! You are a Super Reader! But the adventure doesn’t stop here… There’s more of this project in another castle! This article is just one level in an entire Super Mario Multiverse, a galactic collaboration between writers around the world sharing a bit of our hearts and memories about our favorite Mario games. Visit the Center of the Multiverse to see more:
