Nintendo has announced that Super Mario and Donkey Kong will return to the new gaming world. Super Mario will be featured on Wii U in Mario Kart 8, and Donkey Kong will be available on Wii U in Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze.
Interesting, isn’t it? Nintendo decides to bring back some old characters . . . and by gaming standards, Donkey Kong and Mario are truly ancient. Both were first featured in the Donkey Kong game that was released in the early ’80s. Most gamers weren’t even born when Donkey Kong hurled his first barrel.
So why bring them back? Because Donkey Kong and Mario are established characters who have fans. You don’t need to invent a back story for them. I remember Richard and Russell playing Mario Kart and Super Mario Three and God knows what else in the ’90s. I remember sitting with the kids and watching, vacant-eyed, as Mario raced a princess and somebody with a mushroom head and Donkey Kong and a turtle. Gah! The things parents will endure to spend some time with their kids!
Many of those early ’90s are still interested in gaming. So why not bring back characters they know, and allow them to experience a bit of the nostalgia that grips every generation of Americans at some point or another? Who knows? They might ask Mom and Dad to sit and watch them as a 3D Mario races upside down and tries to beat Donkey Kong to the finish line.
Webner House 