The Consumption

Alright, so this one’s more a blast of geeky nostalgia mixed with a bit of grade-school level “wouldn’t it be awesome if…” wish fulfillment. That hardly distracts from the fact that Mario Crossover is, well, pretty damn awesome.

The concept is simple: Take six of the original NES’s greatest heroes, throw them into the world of Super Mario Bros 1, and let fond 8-bit memories do the rest. The execution is flawless, though, nailing the control schemes of Contra, Metroid, Castlevania and Megaman (Zelda had to be tweaked a bit). Some characters are better suited to life in the Mushroom Kingdom than others — Simon from Castlevania is basically useless, while Mario’s home turf advantage means he’s still probably the best of the bunch — but balance isn’t really the point here. It’s more of an old school “who would win in a fight” scenario than a stand-alone experience.

Given how many new flash games come out on a daily basis, the shelf-life for any given one is next to nil — I’d completely forgotten about Mario Crossover until I started digging through some old blog posts. But this is one worth remembering, if only for the memories it conjures of cushion forts, chocolate milk and more platform jumping than is really healthy for an elementary schooler.

Previous best stuff:
Dominion
The Anthology Project
El Guincho’s “Bombay” (NSFW)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Eye Spy zine
Julia Tiller, illustrator
Hip: The History
Soundway compilations
No Exit
Comedy Death Ray
Metropolis + the Alloy Orchestra
Archer