Returning from Super Mario Maker

So awkward.

So I have been enjoying the hell out of Super Mario Maker. Even though it has its shortcomings here and there, it is one of the most enjoyable Wii U games I have played this year. I continue to dabble pretty much every day I can find some time, and have managed to download a decent list of stages that are not crap. There are some real gems out there among the garbage. Great learning opportunities for designing my own stages.

However...

I remember back before the game was launched, Tezuka was stating how core movement/gameplay mechanics would be "modernized." This sent up a red flag for me. I hate it when games get a re-release of sorts, but have things altered simply because it's a re-release, without any rhyme or reason. See the Silent Hill HD Collection for a prime example of this.

Yet upon playing Super Mario Maker, I found no real control issues that I had anticipated. Nintendo does care about its IPs, and seeing as how Mario is the flagship one, I would expect them to take care of it, especially with the 30th Anniversary and all.

However...

I decided to go back to playing SMB/SMB3/SMW just to get an idea of what makes a good stage. Nothing wrong with going back to the source to make my stages better. And thanks to the Virtual Console, I can still do it all right from the Wii U. So I booted it up and jumped right in.

Holy crap, it is ridiculously disorienting. It's like somebody turned all the adjustment knobs every which way, and sensitivity has been cranked up to freaking 11. I could not get over how awkward it felt.

Games I have been playing regularly for twenty years are suddenly very foreign to my brain and hands. I am making mistakes and dying like it's my job. Stages I have played a million times are making me look like I've never picked up a controller before. It was so embarrassing. So many core gameplay adjustments have been made from the source material, I couldn't place them all if I tried. It's just so weird! I eventually got it under control, but it took way too long.

That Nintendo could so radically transform its crown jewels and not create an uproar is a feat in itself. They did it so effectively that really no one has noticed or been bothered enough to say anything. They have done exactly what they said they would do. They have "modernized" three of the most iconic platformers in the history of the industry. But they did it so well, with such good intention, planning, and follow-through, that it could not have felt more natural.

Bravo.

(Seriously, go back and try one of those games after exploring Super Mario Maker. Mind = Blown.)