The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Review

 Claridge wanted to go. A review of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) featuring stomping... koopas. Spoilers ahead! You have been warned. 

Movie felt like a bunch of references stringed together to make people cheer. The theater went wild when non-Mario Nintendo things appeared like R.O.B. and Fox and Pikmin. Bowser Jr. playing Mario Maker at the end got everyone roaring. That's what this movie was designed for: it's a string of recognizable things for audiences to get hyped over.

As such, the movie feels like a road trip movie with no progression. The whole scene with Wart after the monkey steals Toad's bag is entirely pointless and goes nowhere. It could have easily been taken out and almost nothing would change. The whole baby subplot is another roadblock that doesn't go anywhere or build to anything. They exist because we need to show Super Mario Bros 2 characters and the dinosaur island from Super Mario Odyssey. 

Mario's romance arc with Peach goes nowhere because it never pays off. Mario never asks out Peach like the movie was anticipating from the beginning. The actual denouement to the story lasts about 2 minutes and it needed some time to give this plot element a purpose.

The movie doesn't have an onslaught of 80s pop hits, as the first one did. Instead I spent half the movie listening to Gusty Garden Galaxy. At least the 80s songs were different from each other. I just got bored listening to this score.

The Egg Carrier is not in the movie.

At least Bowser Jr.'s design was pretty cool when he had the mask and the purple paint. Very Super Mario Sunshine of him.

I browse r/tomorrow too much; I saw Shiggy's name in the opening and thought it was a meme. 

Dumb pointless movie. 2/10 

E3 Wishes and Predictions 2020

Wishes- for it to not be cancelled

Predictions- it's cancelled

RIP Electronic Entertainment Expo 1995-2019 Adam Koralik is fuming

Wii U > Switch

The Wii U is a highly underrated machine, as I've stated many times in the past. The Nintendo Switch is also a great machine. I have both and I love both very much. However, I think I like the Wii U more. There are a few reasons for this, and I'll go over that here.

The Controller

The Wii U and the Nintendo Switch have comparable control schemes in 3 ways- with a big screen in front of you via the GamePad or Switch handheld mode, with a regular controller via the Wii U Pro Controller or Switch Pro Controller, and with 2 controllers via Wii Remote & Nunchuk or the Joycons. Each control scheme has its fans, but I think the Wii U has better control schemes than the Switch.

If you want a big old screen in front of you, Wii U is absolutely the way to go. The GamePad is soft in the hands and bulky enough for you to get a good grip. It doesn't feel heavy, but you can tell it has a lot of features. One thing the Wii U Gamepad does right that the Switch handheld does wrong is, the charging port is on the top of the GamePad. I understand why the Switch has the port on the bottom. However, playing while charging is much easier with the GamePad. The GamePad has a stylus as well. The Switch has a capacitive screen as opposed to a resistive screen, but I don't really mind the Wii U screen. It works really well and it seems more durable.

If you want to use a regular controller, this is where it becomes a close call. The Wii U Pro Controller and the Switch Pro Controller are both very good controllers. However, I like the Wii U controller just a bit more. The Wii U Pro Controller is what the Xbox 360 controller should have been- it has a great form factor and it fits into my hands great. The soft, yet responsive buttons are very comfortable, and the triggers feel very comfortable to hold down whereas the 360 triggers get to be painful. The Switch Pro Controller is closer in feel to the Xbox One controller. While the Xbox One controller is much better than the Xbox 360 controller, so is the Wii U Pro Controller. The controller itself is very comfortable, but it's not without its flaws. The triggers are slightly stiffer, but it's barely noticeable. The D pad on the Switch Pro Controller is not as good as it is on the Wii U Pro Controller. Pressing the center buttons on the Wii U Pro Controller is easy because of the position of the thumbsticks. However on the Switch Pro Controller, pressing the Home button becomes more difficult because the right stick is in the way. Overall both are great controllers, but the Wii U Pro Controller feels better to use.

If you're using separate controllers, it's no contest. My Joy Cons have stick drift. Need I say more? The Wii Remote and Nunchuk have the disadvantage of being tethered together by a cable, and the Joy Cons provide much more freedom with their separation. However, there are disadvantages that come along with this. Like I said earlier, the Joy Cons get stick drift eventually. The motion controls aren't as accurate, because Joy Cons use gyroscopes instead of infrared pointers. So while the sensor bar is cut out of the equation, it doesn't work as well. It's not terrible, but in a lot of games the Wii Remote Plus is better.

Online

I  don't play too many online games, but I play a few. I've put a lot of online hours into 2 games- Splatoon on Wii U, and Mario Kart 8 on Switch. I think it's fair to assume that I've put a near equal amount of time into the online gameplay of both of these games. Back in my Mario Kart 8 online days, network errors were common. At least once an hour, I would get booted out of the lobby and I'd have to rejoin. Sometimes it didn't let me join again for some time. In Splatoon on Wii U, this is rarely a problem. I have been disconnected maybe 2 or 3 times in my time playing the game. I've never been disconnected from an online game in Super Smash Bros, and Super Mario Maker has never given me trouble. So what happened to Switch Online that made it so much more faulty? I can't tell for sure what the problem is. I know that there's a problem though. You guys should play Splatoon.

Friends

The Switch friend system can maybe be considered robust, but it dropped the ball in 2 very important areas. The Wii U does one of these correctly, and the other one is okay even though it also didn't do a great job.

Nintendo Switch, just like the 3DS, uses friend codes to add buddies to your buddy list. Why? Everyone knows how bogus this is. Why can't everyone just have a username, like every other platform that exists? Why do we need these pointless codes? Remembering "Storm9CP" is much easier than remembering whatever my friend code is.

Nintendo Switch Online voice chat is a mess. To chat online in many first party games, you must have their dedicated cell phone app. The Wii U doesn't need this app! Voice Chat on Wii U and Switch could stand to be improved. The Wii U needs an overhaul in this regard too, I'll admit. Voice chat should be based on the Wii U system, not the game. This is the system that Xbox Live uses. That way everyone can play different games and still be in the party. They could be doing whatever they want on the unit while this happens. As it is, voice chat is based on the game, so all people must be playing the same game. The Switch also needs a voice chat overhaul. They can make it part of their online service, but voice chat should be part of the system. A cell phone app shouldn't be required to run voice chat. My cell phone cannot install any apps, so I can't even use this service that would otherwise be available. Another thing that Switch needs to work on is Bluetooth headset support for docked mode. Sitting really close to the TV is not comfortable, and Bluetooth adapters aren't something I've ever seen at my local big box store. This solution would solve the problem that the smartphone app solves, but in a more graceful and convenient way. 

Nintendo eShop

The Nintendo eShop has been a great place to find some of the lesser known games for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch. However, one of these stands above the others. 

The Wii U eShop is clean, neat, and well-organized. Everything is categorized and easy to find. The homepage is well designed too. The music is dope too. The homepage does a great job of showcasing the wide variety of stuff available on Wii U. Navigation is easy, and discovery is easy.

The Nintendo Switch eShop needs a revamp. Everything is very loosely categorized, and discovery is difficult. It looks very bland and uninteresting. Discovery is very difficult as well. There's just too much stuff on the Switch eShop, and finding games of quality is very hard in the eShop's current state. Things need to be categorized better so it's easier to sort out exactly what you want.

Other online features

Some of this is Nintendo's fault, and some of it isn't. Either way, the Wii U has better online features than the Nintendo Switch. The Wii U has a web browser available from the home screen. It works pretty decently too, even though it may be a bit outdated. Switch just doesn't have a web browser, or at least not one that's reasonably easy to access.

Nintendo Switch has a strange lack of media streaming software available for it. Switch has Crunchyroll, Hulu, and YouTube. This is nothing compared to Wii U. While it no longer has access to Hulu (stupid Disney), Wii U still has access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll, Youtube, and even Napster. That's a better selection than Switch, I'd argue.

I think now would be a good time to mention Miiverse and all the other online features that have been discontinued. There's no need to go in depth here because they are not around anymore, but Miiverse was awesome while it was still around. We also have Wii U Chat (a Skype-like calling platform), and Nintendo TVii (a live TV service).

Virtual Console

I'm not going to say the Wii U has the best Virtual Console out of all Virtual Consoles. That honor would go to the Wii. I can say Wii U Virtual Console is better than Virtual Console on Nintendo Switch, though.

For some, the Switch Virtual Console is quite a good deal. Pay 20 dollars a year for a few NES and SNES games. This includes save states and online play for multiplayer. I don't like this deal though. As users have pointed out, online multiplayer for these games doesn't work well. Why is it limited to NES and SNES games? Wii U had Virtual Console games for NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Wii, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and TurboGrafx-16. No Master System, Genesis, or GameCube for some reason, but I think we had an alright selection as is on Wii U. Switch's Virtual Console library is severely lacking. Was anyone asking for Smash Tennis or Eliminator Boat Duel? Is there anyone excited to try out Eliminator Boat Duel? Wii U had save states as well, so save states are nothing special. The part I dislike most about Switch Virtual Console is that it's subscription-based. It may not be a lot of money for a subscription, but I'd rather just pay 10 bucks for Mario 64 and be done with it just like on Wii or Wii U. I hate having to pay for the same thing multiple times when I could just buy it once forever. The fact that these are only available through Switch Online is disgusting and ridiculous.

The User Interface

To some people, what the User Interface is like isn't important. As long as the games are good, then the games are good. But I like me a good UI. UI happens to be one of the biggest problems with the Xbox 360- the home page is filled with ads and garbage that could easily be removed. The Wii U has a great user interface, as I've discussed previously on this site. The Switch does not have a good user interface.

The Wii U's interface looks great. Once the home menu shows up and you're signed in, everything is neat and detailed. 20 boxes line the screen for each application. 3D models of the controller buttons float in the background. On the TV the Miiverse plaza is displayed. Everything is at a high resolution and it looks fantastic. When pressing the home button during a game, the same thing can be said- everything looks great. Everything you need during the game is organized along the bottom of the screen. The digital manual is readily available. Controller settings are easy to access.

The Nintendo Switch user interface looks awful. I don't understand our modern culture's shift towards minimalism. This has ruined many great things- the Patreon logo, the Google logo, the Cartoon Network logo.... a lot of logos. It's all so terribly boring. The Nintendo Switch is the epitome of bland. Everything is so squared off. Nothing has any gradients or borders; everything is a flat color. The Home menu, friends list, eShop, and settings all need a revamp, or at least some new themes. I understand that the menu was designed to work quickly, but couldn't it work quickly and look nice at the same time? All that can be said before bringing up how clunky it is. Only 12 games appear on the menu at a time, and you can only see 4 of them on screen before scrolling. Why can't I be shown 12 or 16 at a time? The 3DS could do it, so why can't the Switch?

Conclusion

I'm not going to argue that the games on either system are better or worse. That's not my call to make, because I'm not super well versed in Switch games since 2018. Based on just the consoles themselves, I stand by my opinion that the Wii U is much more fun and interesting than the Nintendo Switch. If you wanna fight, reach out to @Icystorm9 on Twitter. Goodnight.

E3 Wishes 2018 - Recap

So EA's conference already aired, but I didn't watch it. I'll just pretend it didn't happen. What I really wanted from them were a new Simpsons console game, and ports of Battlefield V and PVZ Garden Warfare to the Switch. None of that happened, from what I've heard. I don't know. I haven't seen it yet.

Next up we have Microsoft's conference, which is later today as of the time I'm posting this. What I really want from them is some more OG Xbox compatibility with the Xbox One and a new game from Rare. Oh, and Halo 6.

After that, Bethesda has a conference. I want more info on Fallout 6, and I really want Elder Scrolls III on the Vita.

Square Enix owns Tomb Raider, so I want Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Switch. Oh, and a new Gex game, since they own Eidos and Crystal Dynamics.

From Ubisoft I want more Rayman stuff, a new Prince of Persia, and some more info on Starlink. I can't wait to play that game.

Sony needs to give us more Vita titles.

From Nintendo, I want Wii U Pro Controller support on the Switch, and I want Solid Snake to be in Smash 5. A physical Fast RMX or a new F-Zero wouldn't hurt.

With Sega and Atlus, I want a new Crazy Taxi, Saturn games on Switch (including Shin Megami Tensei), and a localization of Phantasy Star Online 2.

From Activision, I want Call of Duty WWII on Switch.

And finally, I want Capcom to stop putting only half the game on the cartridge for Switch games. I would really like a port of the first 4 Resident Evil games (including Code Veronica as a regular title).

I won't be around for the rest of E3, so I'll be able to look back on this when I come home and see what happened and what didn't. Spoilers for the rest of these E3 2018 posts, but I don't expect any of this to happen.

E3 Wishes and Predictions 2018 - Nintendo

So Nintendo has a 45 minute long Direct this year. We got a 34 minute Direct in March with Okami, Crash Bandicoot, Undertale, Dark Souls, South Park, Sploon 2 DLC, Mario Tennis, and Smash 5. Imagine what we could get in a 45-minute E3 direct, even if 10 minutes or so are dedicated only to Smash 5.

First off, I hope we'll get something from Activison. Crash and Skylanders are the only Activision games on the Switch, and I think CoDBlOpsIIII will be on Switch. I would really appreciate if CoDBlOpsIIII would be cross-platform with Xbox One and PC. I gave up hope for crossplay with PS4 last year.

I didn't make this picture. I stole it off the internet.

I might have said this in my Square Enix post, but I have a feeling that Square is going to announce a new Switch game because they have a new division devoted entirely to the Switch. What I want them to announce is Shadow of the Tomb Raider for Switch. Maybe it's in the Direct, maybe not.

You know what I want announced during the Direct? I want Nintendo to announce that the Wii U Pro Controller is compatible with the Switch. The only things the Switch Pro Controller can do that the Wii U Pro Controller can't are reading amiibos and motion controls, which aren't even used in a majority of games. The Wii U Pro Controller is cheaper than the Switch Pro Controller, better than the Joy Cons, and more compatible with the GameCube controller. The GameCube controller isn't great for some games that use the ZL or - buttons, or games that map the jump button to anything other than A. It works fantastic for Mario Kart and Minecraft, though.

This controller feels really great. The GameCube and Saturn controllers are the only controllers better.

I want Nintendo to announce a new F-Zero game. Or they could announce that Fast RMX is getting a physical release. I would be fine with both. Fast Neo got a physical release in Europe, but I can't run it, so I'm not getting any Fast Racing games.

Amazon UK has low-res images.

And finally, I hope Snake, Sonic, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Bayonetta, Ryu, Cloud, Bayonetta, Pichu, and the Ice Climbers are back for Smash 5. I think all the first-party characters from Smash 4 will return, but the 3rd-party characters and cut characters are not as likely.

Ubisoft will have a Switch game to announce. I guarantee it. Ubisoft is one of Nintendo's biggest 3rd-party allies, if ZombiU and Watch Dogs and Mario Rabbids are anything to go by. In March, they announced South Park for Switch. At E3 last year, they announced Steep and Mario Rabbids. I think it's safe to say that Ubisoft will have a big title to announce for the Switch during the Direct. I can't say that it will be an exclusive, but I would be shocked if it wasn't.

Nintendo is going to talk about Smash. I don't think Solid Snake will be back. Sonic will. Mega Man will. Bayonetta will. The rest might be back as DLC, but I'm not counting on it.

There will be some crazy announcement that nobody was expecting. Eternal Darkness? Probably not. Timesplitters? Probably not. Sonic Unleashed? I would love that, but probably not. But I'm not expecting them to announce it, so there is even more of a chance that we'll see it.

We might see more of Pokemon Pikachu/Eevee. I hope we do. That game sounds like fun, considering I really enjoyed LeafGreen.

So this whole time I've been going in order of the conferences. But Nintendo is the last conferences, and I still have companies like Sega and Activision to talk about. So what I'll do from now on is what I did last year- just pick the companies in a random order. See you later when I make a post about whatever company I decide to talk about.