Since Nintendo put its newest system, the Switch, under the spotlight on Thursday, a near endless barrage of parodies, fanart, and memes have proliferated online like a Doppler effect: widespread and swift.
Part of the reveal was the new 3D Mario game, entitled Super Mario Odyssey, which surprisingly saw the titular mustachioed character milling about what looks like a New York-style city — the trailer depicts an urbanscape with "New Donk City" signs — crowded with cabs, pedestrians, and alpine skyscrapers.
Of course, it took no time at all before everyone went gung-ho and played with the footage. So now that Mario's next adventure sees him trudging the chaos of a bustling city, what would it look like if one of the most iconic video game characters entered one of the most recognized franchises in history? Well, look no further, as YouTube user CrowbCat did exactly that — fusing Mario with the mournfully noxious hijinks of Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City.
Super Mario In GTA IV
In the video, Mario is a little long-legged than usual, which makes for some eerie and warped reproduction of the frenetic plumber.
From the spate of introductory acrobatics, Mario spends a whale of a time indulging in the usual GTA fare: bumping over trash bins, getting hurled cursed words — a requisite in the GTA vernacular, really — by perturbed civilians, hopping over the cars' hoods, cascading down an apartment building, and — to nobody's surprise, really — beating up a helicopter pilot.
Mario then lays limp near the mouth of a bowling alley, gets kicked out, jumps and tumbles down a street-side parasol, and runs atop a park's fountain in circles. There's more wacky and virulent deeds our usual hero does in the video, and it's absolutely not for the fainthearted, although this one seems rather meek in contrast with much more insidious activities that can be done in the GTA franchise.
Those interested in replicating the hilarious, if ghastly, adventure, CrowbCat included mod links on the video's description.
Super Mario Odyssey
If the parody is far too upsetting, there's always the legitimate Super Mario Odyssey trailer to wash it down with. Good luck erasing a long-legged Mario from your long-term memory, though.
Super Mario Odyssey is a forthcoming Mario title for the Nintendo Switch, the latest one in the mainline 3D Mario series after 2013's Super Mario 3D World, which was released for the now-discontinued Wii U.
The New York-like city, however, is just one of the game's many worlds. The reveal trailer showed other things too, such as a forest, a desert, and a plush and cutesy polygonal world that's right up Mario's wackiness.
According to Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Super Mario series, Odyssey is more in the vein of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, which offer a deeper exploration aspect than other Mario entries.
The trailer was dropped along with the Switch event last week, along with a slew of other games for the Switch either scheduled for launch or arriving down the line. Nintendo says Super Mario Odyssey comes out this Holiday, which is far too long a time.
Anyhow, there's still plenty of things to be excited about, with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launching March 3 along with the Switch. It's going to be a busy year for Nintendo since it has to double down to marketing efforts for its newest console, alongside ramping up production schedules just to deliver more Switch titles sooner.
What do you think of Super Mario in GTA? Did it also disturb you? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
