The tech industry might label this a streamlined, optimized user experience. There’s an abundance of riches, a dearth of obstacles to progress, a feeling nothing can stop Mario. At no point did I lack lives, flower coins (used to purchase badges, extra lives, etc.), or Wonder Seeds. Some stages amount to excuses to give the player more Wonder Seeds, offering no resistance, no adversaries, no puzzles, no thinking. After entering a new world, you get a Wonder Seed - an item you collect to open up paths in the world map - handed to you.
When you stomp an enemy, text like “Good” and “Great” explodes into existence near your mind-blowing (read: largely routine) actions. Wonder is over the top, like a person who compliments you 30 times within minutes of meeting you. It frequently reflects the series’ evolution toward back-patting game design.
during the 1980s, Mario games have moved away from hard-nosed platforming and aesthetics that elicit a mixture of emotions, morphing into a franchise that peddles a smarmy brand of joy.
