Collin's Blog Post Idea: Super Mario Brothers Music!

While browsing the Internet tonight, my 4-year-old son, Collin, came in to sit on my lap. While he was with me, I loaded up this blog to take a look at some of the comments I've been left recently. My son noticed it was his daddy's picture at the top of the page and started asking questions about the site.

Thankfully Collin was satisfied with the overly simplified answer that this blog is a place where, "daddy writes about all kinds of stuff." I went on to show him where I've written about Super Mario Brothers 3 coming out for the Nintendo Wii, and about music from Super Mario Brothers.

So Collin asks me, "what about Super Mario Brothers 2?" Smart kid. Yes, what about Super Mario Brothers 2?

The music from Super Mario Brothers 2 is just as catchy as Super Mario Brothers 1 and 3, but never gets the same "air time". This is probably due to the fact that Super Mario Brothers 2 was a departure from the previous formula, and was never played as much as the others. Super Mario Brothers 2 had no level time limits, the bonus game took mastering to earn extra lives, you could select different players between levels, and to beat enemies you had to throw things at them instead of jumping on their heads. Seemed more like Megaman than a Super Mario Brothers game.

Everyone played the original Super Mario Brothers because it came packaged with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Everyone played Super Mario Brothers 3 because it was so widely anticipated and packed full of surprises and fun features. Super Mario Brothers 2 never got the same play, period.

Collin helped me do a little Super Mario Brothers 2 research on YouTube, and we came across this little gem posted by ceedjay. Here's a couple of guys, having fun playing one of the beloved tunes from Super Mario Brothers, but they did something very interesting with it. They combined piano with guitar, and the result is absolutely amazing. The fact that it only has 319 views (as of this posting) tells you that Super Mario Brothers 2 just wasn't as well received as the rest of the series. The performance these two guys give deserves many, many more views than that.

With no further ado, Collin and I present to you the sound of Super Mario Brothers 2.




If you like what you heard, swing over and give them a Digg, will ya?

Father of the Year

My 4-year-old son Collin bowls the game of his life, a 219, and I crack him over the head with a 300 game. Man I'm such an awesome dad.



At least I didn't get up and ride the bull. I reserve that for when I beat my buddy Matt by 2 pins.

Wii Bowling: 2nd Perfect Game in Two Nights

I found my pocket. I found that sweet spot where I can do no wrong. I am the greatest Wii Bowler on the face of the planet. It's just a game and I don't care. Don't steal my glory, punk.

Why do I love the music from Super Mario Brothers?

I always get a thrill out of seeing videos of people playing piano themes from the Super Mario Brothers games.

Perhaps it's just a little video game nostalgia, or I just can't get enough of that funky piano beat. Whatever it is, it's pretty cool.

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Nostalgia #1

I'm going to throw out a little something different here, and perhaps we'll do this again from time to time.

I'm going to give you two random screenshots from old Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games.

In the comments, guess the name of the games and share your fondest memory of each game as well.

Let's see who can get them right!

Game #1: I'm tossing you a softball here. If you spent any time playing the NES in the 80s, you had to have come in contact with this game at least once. Hint: You picked up weapons and car upgrades off of the track as you raced.


Game #2: A little harder. Hint: This was an SNK title, and one of the cool parts about it was when you picked up the machine gun. You could shoot your enemies or punish them with a vicious physical blow from the blunt side of the gun!

Me and My Son: Our Seesmic Debut

Signed up for an alpha testing account on Seesmic.com and this is the first video I captured on the service.

Seesmic is best described as a video version of Twitter. Don't know what Twitter is? It's a platform for shouting to the world what you are doing at that very moment... 140 characters at a time.



For the record, Collin's favorite website is the free flash game website friv.com, and I have no advertisement agreement with them. (To friv.com: My son just plugged you, and he's pretty cute, so if you want to drop some dough this way, I won't say no.)

Also, as my boy just admitted, he's pretty hooked on Super Mario Brothers 3, which gets the kid in me pretty pumped as it was a favorite of mine in my pre-pubescent years.

I'll keep you posted on what I think about Seesmic.com as I get to use the service more.

Duck Hunt: The Game, The Tattoo

From nintendowiifanboy.com

How much can you love a video game? Enough to get a tattoo of it on your back?

Duck Hunt was a great classic, but I didn't love it enough to have it permanently etched in my flesh, especially in a place that will be given a lot of visual attention in certain compromising positions while engaged in intimacy with your significant other.

Then again, to each their own.

I ask you: Is a video game the most foolish thing to get tattooed with? If not, what is?

Reliving my childhood: Super Mario Brothers 3 released for the Wii Virtual Console

Finally it's here on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. The game I loved to death as a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) fanatic, and still my favorite installment of the Super Mario Brothers series: Super Mario Brothers 3. Nintendo released the title for the Wii Virtual Console today.

I remember when the game came out there was such anticipation for it in the metro Detroit area that you could literally call every major retailer in a 20 mile radius and nobody would have it in stock.

All I wanted for my 12th birthday was Super Mario Brothers 3. I'd been reading up on it in Nintendo Power, and seeing previews and commercials on TV. Forget Reebok Pumps, I had to have Mario!

My mom gave me the phone book and let me call every store I could think of. I dialed the phone for two hours straight and I was striking out all over the place. Then I decided to take a shot in the dark and call Kohl's Department Store. I didn't think they even sold video games, let alone have Super Mario Brothers 3. To my surprise they did, and they just received 20 copies in stock. I asked them to place one on hold but because they were so hot, they refused. The race was on.

Mom, little brother Randy and little sister Wendy hopped in the Beckmobile and shot off down M-59 at 60 miles per hour. Would they have any left when I got there? What do I do if they don't? My mind was racing faster than my mom was driving.

We pulled up to the front of Summit Place Mall and the Kohl's entrance. My mom let me out of the car to race inside and get my hands on a copy while she parked and got the little ones out.

Adrenaline kicked in and I felt like the Flash running to the door, complete with blurred tunnel vision. I ran past the registers and began to scout out the electronics or toy department. Where in the world is my game?

And there, to my left, in a glass counter display case was that unmistakeable yellow box with a giant raccoon Mario on the front. They still had Super Mario Brothers 3 in stock. I trotted up to the counter and waited until the clerk helped someone else complete their purchase of the same glorious game I was about to get my hands on.

"Can I help you, son?" asked the clerk.
"Yeah, can I get a copy of Mario 3?" I replied in the same manner as Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" telling Santa he wanted an "Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!"
"No problem," said the clerk as he unlocked the case with his key-on-a-coil and took a copy out.

By then my mother came walking in with little kids in tow and we bought the game.

Once out in the car I pulled the game out of the plastic Kohl's bag and sat there in a moment of silence as I ran my fingers along the shrink wrapped seam, taking in the newness and crispness of this bold yellow box. Then I ripped off the plastic and started thumbing through the illustrated instruction manual, imagining myself bashing bricks and shooting fireballs once again.

After enduring 12 miles of anticipation and "you know you have to wait until your birthday on Friday to play that" jokes, we were finally home.

I don't remember if my feet ever touched grass or carpet on my way to the television and the Nintendo. All I remember is pushing the cartridge in, having it turn on without having to blow into the cartridge for once and then the curtain lifted to one of my favorite games of all time.

Super Mario Brothers 3 shaped the way I looked at video games to come. It seemed like no matter how many times you beat the game, you always came back for another round since there were so many paths you could take. It was a challenge to find all of the secrets, and to see how many different suits and special items you could collect.

Now that Super Mario Brothers 3 has come out for the Wii Virtual Console I'm sure I'll be investing many more hours rediscovering why I thought this game was so great. Ever since I first got my hands on a Nintendo Wii there are 4 games I have been waiting for on Virtual Console: Super Mario Brothers 3, Baseball All-Stars, Guerilla War, and Super Mario Kart.

One down, three to go.