Super Mario means a lot of things to a lot of people. Their connection with the characters and lands that make up the Super Mario Universe are as unique as the person who plays them. With generations of games touching generations of people, everyone, I feel, has a special connection to at least one of the Plumber’s expeditions into the phantasmagorical world of the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond.
Our family experience is, perhaps, somewhat traditional. Not necessarily in values per se, I mean more in that my father worked full time while my mother was a stay-at-home mom (at least until we were all in school anyhow). Additionally, the values on imaginative play indoors and outdoors, focusing on schoolwork and enrichment activities and the like, video games were not wholly commonplace.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that video games were seen as a bad thing by any means. Some of our childhood friends had at least one console. I remember playing Snow Bros, Snake Rattle n Roll and others on the NES and Sonic the Hedgehog on the Genesis. However, because money was tight we didn’t have a video game console in the house until after gaming had entered the 3rd Dimension.
That being said, we would, on occasion, have access to a video game console in our house. The local mom n’ pop rental shop near our house, in addition to having a plethora of VHS tapes (including the naughty ones in a closet-sized room separated by a diaphanous curtain), you could also rent video games and one of the few video game consoles they had on hand.
However, to be able to rent one was no easy task. Not only did you have to be a member of their rental service in good standing (no late fees, etc.), you also had to have a credit card on file to be able to reserve one of the consoles to rent, you had to place a deposit and rental charges to be able to rent the console. This is in addition to calling ahead of time to reserve the console (which was often difficult to do on weekends when demand was high).
Despite this, my parents would, on occasion, rent the Super Nintendo. For a small child, being able to play the latest and greatest console was something of note, something to look forward to, and relish when it was there. The console wars between Sega and Nintendo was at its height and was often the subject of school discussion over chicken nuggets and rectangle pizza. Nintendo Power and other magazines were recited as scripture.
So, my brothers and I had to earn this reward through good behavior at home and in school, as well as getting good grades. Most often when report cards came out we would have the chance to rent the Super Nintendo. As a further reward, my mother would allow us, on these hallowed weekends, to stay up as late as we wanted to (I dare say 10pm?!) to play video games.
But to play the Super Nintendo, you needed games to play. Renting the Super Nintendo was just that: the Super Nintendo. You also needed to rent games if you wanted something to play. Except for one game. Except for Super Mario World.
Knowing more about video games now, I realize that most SNES consoles were bundled with Super Mario World and was probably included with the rental as a consolation prize (ha!) for the rigmarole of actually renting the SNES in the first place. They could usually count on one or two games being rented as well in most cases. Sometimes we were able to rent another cartridge but, in many cases, it was the Super Nintendo and Super Mario World.
Super Mario World holds a special place in my heart because of these special events and weekends. Growing up it was special because of the magic a new console and of the unexplored worlds (ha ha) of the game. Being able to explore these new lands, find keys, and discover hidden pathways. Uncovering star road, and unlocking its mysteries. All this, in the late evening hours in a darkened living room lit only by the television screen. A few favored toys by my side being forced to endure a small child’s pre-internet Let’s Play.
Growing up and playing the game throughout the years was a constant journey of discovery. As I got older and wiser in the ways and lore of the game, I accessed new worlds, hidden levels, and secret bosses. In fact, it was only until quite recently that I fully completed the game. Soda Lake was the proverbial white whale of hidden levels. It was also a melancholy day when I finally finished the last level in Super Mario World. Because it meant that that journey was at an end. A journey that was started years prior when video games were still magical and not just another part of one’s life.
As an adult man-child, I look fondly back on these times when I was growing up in a different light. I see them as a sign of love and affection. My parents, as I said, had to keep a budget to make sure things went well for many years. To take the time to rent a Super Nintendo and spend money on what many could consider something superfluous is something I don’t take for granted now. Further, the time spent with my brothers playing Super Mario World as well as my parents taking a crack ‘at the newfangled video games’ is also something I cherish.
It may sound silly to attribute such weight to the mere renting of a video game, but it’s more than that. What are the objects we surround ourselves with but outward reflections of memories and personality? When I play Super Mario World or simply look at the cartridge, it brings back a warmth of memories, no different than a photo hanging on the wall.
So, while many of the Super Mario games each mean something else to me and Super Mario World may mean different things to other people, what it means for me, in part, is a physical reminder of how my parents loved me and tried their best to raise us right and do good by us.
That, and Super Mario World is just a plain ol’ dang good game.
The Arcade Mage loves video games new and old, cutting his teeth on the Atari 2600 and enjoying his senescence (i.e. 30s) with the Playstation VR. When he isn’t playing video games, or hanging out with his cat Belle (A level 17 Meowirror of Light), he can be found at www.arcadecastle.com. The Arcade Mage has the largest collection of video game licensed board games on the planet, and his website is the nexus of research into these games. How do you transform a video game into a board game experience? Can it be done? With a podcast, youtube videos, reviews, and news on this subject, The Arcade Mage attempts to understand video game history through the lens of the tabletop.
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:
This is a beautiful piece! I love getting such a sense of how much the experiences meant
Thank you! ^_^