What’s really wrong with Super Mario Odyssey’s controversial ending

Because, in actuality, Mario is not really a character. He is an avatar into his gaming world, and he provides the ever so slightest amount of personality necessary to make him a beloved everyman. He flinches when he’s shocked, snarls when he’s angry, smiles when he’s pleased, and he gazes when he’s amazed. His brief range of emotions is dwarfed by his younger brother Luigi, who is just a warped, twisted rubberband ball of anxieties, phobias, insecurities, and meme-worthy murderous streaks.

As generic as it sounds, Mario is simply an extension of you in a video game, and he’s so endearing because his shallow pool of emotions makes it easy to imprint yourself upon him in the game.

Now, we come to Super Mario Odyssey’s ending, and I wonder how many people realize that this is actually the first time we’ve EVER seen any motivation from Mario. In over 200 games, he’s never once shown “want,” never shown any real reasons behind his actions other than simply doing what he’s supposed to do. Peach bakes him a cake, and he comes to her house to eat it. Whoops, Bowser’s here! Gotta rescue her!

We assume there are romantic connections there because the birds and the bees tell us he’s an adorable man and she’s an attractive young lady, but the most we ever see of their relationship is a thankful peck on the cheek and a deadpan, satisfied grin from our heroic plumber.

“That’ll do,” that moustachey smile says.

Outside of the occasional reaction shot or transition between levels, every action taken by Mario over the past thirty years has been controlled by the players. This is because, again, Mario is an avatar, not a deep, two-dimensional central pillar of a moving piece of literature. Super Mario Odyssey’s ending cutscene is somewhat revolutionary in that Nintendo is taking control of Mario away from us and putting him in control of his own fate for the very first time…

…and he totally blows it! He’s clingy, he’s weird, he’s a creeper, he reacts in a childish manner in front of the woman he loves, and above all else, the ultimate sin of this cutscene, he’s not the character I’ve known for the last three decades. That Mario would have played that sucker punch much cooler because I wouldn’t have let him do otherwise.

Essentially, Mario lashing out at Bowser is not an action myself or many gamers would have instructed Mario to do had we been allowed to keep control. This ending feels both like a failure and a betrayal after thirty years of seeing ourselves in Mario and watching ourselves muck up so badly without having a say in it.

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/11/26/super-mario-odyssey-ending/