Mushrooms

[Yoshi Master]

I can't believe there's been no topic about this. This may also be in conjunction with the size topic.
In SMB, SMB3, and some others you start out small and at the end you get a mushroom when you meet peach. In SMB2, SML, ect. you start out big and if you get hurt you become small.

Ideas?

[Toomai]

Hmm...getting a mushroom bulks you up by adding mass to your body. But this mass must be created and is therefore unstable, and breaks up when jolted too hard by an outside force.

[Yoshi Master]

It seems Mario's normal sized in SMB2 ect. but he shrinks when hit. Even before he's had a mushroom.

And at the end of all those games he becomes the same size as Peach. Who should be normal sized.

[PDoogan]

I always figured the larger size was just an analogy for the game to show the player you are stronger and can survive more than one hit. I think mushrooms work more like the do in the RPG's, giving you more health, then actually increasing your size.

[Toomai]

But wasn't there some sort of gameplay mechaninc that had Small Mario walking through tighter spaces?

[Hammer Mario]

yoshimastar said:

It seems Mario's normal sized in SMB2 ect. but he shrinks when hit. Even before he's had a mushroom.

And at the end of all those games he becomes the same size as Peach. Who should be normal sized.

That's because SMB2 is not a Mario game, it's a japanese game called Doki Doki Panic which was changed with Mario characters in it

[PDoogan]

toomai said:

But wasn't there some sort of gameplay mechaninc that had Small Mario walking through tighter spaces?

Not really. At least I can't think of any off the top of my head.

[Yoshi Master]

Guys look I'm trying to make a point. In the games when you start out big ( normal ), you can shrink. Why does this happen?

[Toomai]

Simple. Mario had a Mushroom before the game started.

[Yoshi Master]

But the game ends with them in the same form.

And Peach is just as big.

[PDoogan]

Not Super Mario World. Mario can be big or small but the princess is always big.

[phantasia]

toomai said:

But wasn't there some sort of gameplay mechaninc that had Small Mario walking through tighter spaces?

There was in super mario world, but i don't remember what it helped to do, haven't played it in a while.

[Yoshi Master]

pdoogan said:

Not Super Mario World. Mario can be big or small but the princess is always big.

Well then besides SMW!

[L.D.]

in SMW in the vanilla fortress there is a short cut you can take only if your small

[Hammer Mario]

There was also a part in Vanilla Dome 1 where you had to be small to get 1 of the dragon coins

[Yoshi Master]

OFF TOPIC!

In SMB and SMB3 you start out small in the game and at the end when you see Peach your big. When you have a mushroom Mario's probably normal sized. So when he's small he's smaller than normal.

Could this be just a video game thing or something more?

[Claws]

Maybe it's magic that causes him to shrink. But that seems like a stretch. I'm almost willing to chalk this up to video game physics, as much as I hate to. What about you guys?

[Hammer Mario]

Well the mushroom is only a power-up, so when Mario takes some damage, the Super effect wares off

[Kamikaze Koopa]

claws said:

I'm almost willing to chalk this up to video game physics, as much as I hate to.

Unfortunately, I'm tempted to agree with you there. The fact that his two sizes in the original side-scrollers contradict his more constant size in the next-gen platformers causes me to lean more in favor of the platformers, since their sizes are more realistic. Ergo, it may be that the two sizes in the originals could possibly be moot.

[PDoogan]

I know this is pushing it, but maybe the camera just zooms in for the final cut scene?

But I still believe the whole growing/shrinking thing is more metaphoric then literal. It's a lot easier to change the size of the sprite, then go through the trouble of putting up a health bar that only has two sections on it.