History FranchiseOriginalSin / Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers

** While on the subject of Meggy, a common criticism for her character somewhere around TheNewTwenties was her over-competitiveness, and to go along with it, a bossy attitude towards her friends, particularly Mario. This was also present in earlier appearances, but she generally knew her limits, and when she took it too far, she would feel remorse and apologize in videos like "If Mario Was In... Splatoon 2" and "Meggy's Bootcamp", even crying TearsOfRemorse in the latter instance. Compare that to how easy it is for her to get EnragedByIdiocy when it comes to Mario's antics, and not even when it has anything to do with Splatfests, or competitions in general. This especially bothers fans who originally liked Meggy for both her gentility around Mario and her willingness to tolerate his stupidity, trait that were rare in the [=SMG4=] series around the time she was introduced.

** While on the subject of Meggy, a common criticism for her character somewhere around TheNewTwenties was her over-competitiveness, and to go along with it, a bossy attitude towards her friends, particularly Mario. This was also present in earlier appearances, but she generally knew her limits, and when she took it too far, she would feel remorse and apologize in videos like "If Mario Was In... Splatoon 2" and "Meggy's Bootcamp", even crying TearsOfRemorse in the latter instance. Compare that to how easy it is for her to get EnragedByIdiocy when it comes to Mario's antics, and not even when it has anything to do with Splatfests, or competitions in general. This especially bothers fans who originally liked Meggy for both her gentility around Mario and her willingness to tolerate his stupidity, a trait that was rare in the [=SMG4=] series around the time she was introduced.

** While on the subject of Meggy, a common criticism for her character somewhere around TheNewTwenties was her over-competitiveness, and to go along with it, a bossy attitudes towards her friends, particularly Mario. This was also present in earlier appearances, but she generally knew her limits, and when she took it too far, she would feel remorse and apologize in videos like "If Mario Was In... Splatoon 2" and "Meggy's Bootcamp", even crying TearsOfRemorse in the latter instance. Compare that to how easy it is for her to get EnragedByIdiocy when it comes to Mario's antics, and not even when it has anything to do with Splatfests, or competitions in general. This especially bothers fans who originally liked Meggy for both her gentility around Mario and her willingness to tolerate his stupidity, a trait that was rare in the [=SMG4=] series around the time she was introduced.

* OriginalGeneration elements were always present to some extent. A sizable portion of the original main cast was comprised of the various {{Author Avatar}}s of [=SMG4=]'s fellow machinimists and various {{One Shot Character}}s were usually [=OCs=]. These were fine because recolors were staples of the [=SM64=] machinima genre and the rest were usually just altered [=SM64=] characters, still tying them to the game. The early Modern era also went by without much of an issue, as nearly all the new [=OCs=] had something tethering them to the crazy, parodical nature of the series, whether it was having something unique to add or using models from various games. Shroomy and Saiko were the first to raise questions as the first truly original [=OCs=], but got a pass as the former was entertaining and there weren't any models for the ''DDLC'' characters at the time, making the latter a necessary stand-in that stuck around to develop into something more. However, new additions got increasingly divisive from then on, which really started ramping up around the time of Tari's inclusion, for varying reasons; they were ''entirely'' original as opposed to prior additions carrying aspects of preexisting [=IPs=], their personalities were seen as not fitting the setting nor comedic tone of the series as much, and they were immediately integrated into the cast, regardless of their reception, rather than slowly being promoted up to it over time and through fan attachment like Chris, Swag, Boopkins, Bob and Meggy all were. 2019 then saw the series slowly but gradually begin phasing out copyrighted elements in favor of entirely original ones, with Meggy's change into a full OC at the end of the Anime arc being the first big sign of this. The Lawsuit arc and the ''ITS GOTTA BE PERFECT'' movie were when people felt a line had been crossed; the former brought with it redesigns for all 4 of the major Nintendo-based [=OCs=], all of whom had been iconic and two of them (one being the channel's AuthorAvatar and both being symbols of the [=SM64=] machinima genre) having been unchanged for over a decade, through reasoning that many fans pointed out didn't make sense. The latter then destroyed Peach's Castle, the cornerstone location of the series and an iconic location in its own right, in favor of a new original location. Nowadays, fans feel that [=SMG4=] has gone from a Mario parody with some original elements to a ''Glitch Productions'' original series that just happens to feature Mario and Luigi as major characters, something that those [[JustHereForGodzilla who watch for the copyrighted elements]] have lamented.

** ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' in particular got a lot of flak for having characters and elements of the game become recurring after the first "If Mario was in" video. As many old fans of the channel will tell you, this isn't the first time a breakout game got a lot of attention from [=SMG4=]. ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' was the central focus of one of [=SMG4=]'s earliest sub-series, with Steve remaining a supporting character and Luke's admitted favorite character to this day, and ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' essentially dominated the channel for a time, with Chica becoming a recurring character too. The difference then was that the characters were some of the earliest examples and became iconic on the channel for their changed personalities. In addition, videos and elements from both series were more spaced out, with elements from those series tending to show up sporadically at most. Luke himself even implied that the latter had become a CreatorsPest after the adaptation of ''3'', only coming back to do the ''UCN'' adaptation because the fans requested it so much (though he also did a ''Security Breach'' adaptation as well once it became a trend). ''FNF'' had neither of these excuses, as the characters featured didn't have their personalities changed enough, if at all, to make them particularly memorable, and ''FNF'' quickly got just as many videos dedicated to it in only a few months time as the other 2 series got in over half a decade, including an unprecedented second "If Mario was in" episode. This made ''FNF'' more of a target than ''Minecraft'' and ''FNAF'', bringing in accusations of FNF elements continuing to show up solely because of the game's breakout popularity.

** In particular, Mario's treatment by the cast and the narrative has become a big talking point since the Genesis arc. Prior to this, there were many examples of episodes where Mario was the ButtMonkey, constantly suffering throughout episodes or [[AllForNothing outright losing in the end after going through so much]]. Most of those moments were either brought on himself or were so funny, tame or over-the-top that no one considered it KarmicOverkill, with the sole exception of "Tubbie TV". Episodes since Genesis have been accused of making Mario the butt of jokes more often with less justification than before, on top of inflicting BadassDecay on him, as they tend to have Mario placed in poor situations without him causing it, provoking anyone, being able to fight back or have his punishments come of as DisproportionateRetribution. Calls were also made of the plots and characters becoming engineered to make him the butt of jokes simply to try and be funny, with "DO NOT ENTER" and "If Mario was the Last Man on Earth" becoming infamous for featuring this at its worst. This treatment coming after the Genesis arc brought with it the baggage of [[CerebusRetcon Mario's stupidity and sociopathic behavior being explained as having been caused by SMG4's Guardian Pod effectively giving him brain damage]] and establishing that he's the most important being in the [=SMG4=] Universe only made some fans angrier at the way the Avatar and central character of the series was being treated despite these revelations, leaving them feeling bad for the plumber when the narrative expects them to [[UnintentionallySympathetic feel the opposite]] or [[HumorDissonance laugh about it]].

* The shift to ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' was set up as far back as late 2011, when episodes first began utilizing it starting with "Time Travel Tells", a mere 29 episodes in. This was accepted then because Gmod's use was sporadic and only used for specific jokes and things that were impossible to do in ''[=SM64=]'', so [=SMG4=] was still a ''[=SM64=]'' series first and foremost. Its use was also [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny entirely unprecedented and revolutionized Mario machinimas]]. It was only when ''Gmod'' started slowly overshadowing the ''[=SM64=]'' software originally used for recording, even for things ''[=SM64=]'' could easily do, that people started having a problem with it, leading to accusations of the series becoming a "Super Mario 64 Bloopers" series InNameOnly. Though this sin was addressed 2 separate times (the fan backlash to "Tubbie TV" and in 2018), the series ultimately relapsed and doubled down on it both times and rebranded itself as simply "[=SMG4=]" in 2017 to solidify the shift. Though Gmod's use now doesn't matter as much for those who got into [=SMG4=] after the fact, the shift remains divisive among those who were around from the beginning as the first sign of the series abandoning its original premise.

** ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' in particular got a lot of flak for having characters and elements of the game become recurring after the first "If Mario was in" video. As many old fans of the channel will tell you, this isn't the first time a breakout game got a lot of attention from [=SMG4=]. ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' was the central focus of one of [=SMG4=]'s earliest sub-series, with Steve remaining a supporting character and Luke's admitted favorite character to this day, and ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' essentially dominated the channel for a time, with Chica becoming a recurring character too. The difference then was that the characters were some of the earliest examples and became iconic on the channel for their changed personalities. In addition, videos and elements from both series were more spaced out, with elements from those series tending to show up sporadically at most. Luke himself even implied that the latter had become a CreatorsPest after the adaptation of ''3'', only coming back to do the ''UCN'' adaptation because the fans requested it so much. ''FNF'' had neither of these excuses, as the characters featured didn't have their personalities changed enough, if at all, to make them particularly memorable, and ''FNF'' quickly got just as many videos dedicated to it in only a few months time as the other 2 series got in over half a decade, including an unprecedented second "If Mario was in" episode. This made ''FNF'' more of a target than ''Minecraft'' and ''FNAF'', bringing in accusations of FNF elements continuing to show up solely because of the game's breakout popularity.

** ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' in particular got a lot of flak for having characters and elements of the game become recurring after the first "If Mario was in" video. As many old fans of the channel will tell you, this isn't the first time a breakout game got a lot of attention from [=SMG4=]. ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' was the central focus of one of [=SMG4=]'s earliest sub-series, with Steve remaining a supporting character and Luke's admitted favorite character to this day, and ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' essentially dominated the channel for a time, with Chica becoming a recurring character too. The difference then was that the characters were some of the earliest examples and became iconic on the channel for their changed personalities. In addition, videos and elements from both series were more spaced out, with elements from those series tending to show up sporadically at most. Luke himself even implied that the latter had become a CreatorsPest after the adaptation of ''3'', only coming back to do the ''UCN'' adaptation because the fans requested it so much. ''FNF'' had neither of these excuses, as the characters featured didn't have their personalities changed enough, if at all, to make them particularly memorable, and ''FNF'' quickly got just as many videos dedicated to it in only a few months time as the other 2 series got in over half a decade, including an unprecedented second "If Mario was in" episode. This made ''FNF'' more of a target than the other 2 series, bringing in accusations of FNF elements continuing to show up solely because of the game's breakout popularity.

** Part of this problem is rooted further in the WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants philosophy the series has always utilized. While working well back when [=SMG4=] was a total comedy that had no real lore to keep track of, its continued use started becoming increasingly divisive once story arcs became a mainstay and ''Glitch Productions'' involvement led to the series becoming increasingly ambitious. Some have pointed out that many of the problems with arcs (inconsistent pacing, mishandling plot points) could easily be fixed if more time and thought was put into them. While the early story arcs were also written as they went, they were different in that they ended up being solid in spite of it. Waluigi's surprise factor as the first and its solid structure despite having absolutely ''no'' forward planning going into it until after "Mario and the T-Pose Virus" made it well-received, Rapper Bob's story was not at all hard to follow and Anime's gradual buildup to the climax and the twists it had along the way were received quite well. It wasn't until the Anime arc's final 2 episodes that cracks started forming in this method, as noticeable {{Ass Pull}}s, retcons and questionable writing decisions started popping up from that point onward, spouting numerous issues the fanbase has had with the series to this day. The Cosmology Saga was when it started really becoming criticized, as the duology of arcs ended up both rewriting numerous aspects of the series and added a lot of worldbuilding that the crew needed to remember, making it all the more noticeable once continuity issues only got worse. Nowadays, the "writing as its made" philosophy has become seen as a big weakness, as the increased ambition in storytelling and dedication to uploading a weekly Saturday (and biweekly Wednesday once ''WebAnimation/MarioDoesThings'' ended up becoming popular view-wise) video have caused the writing quality to suffer.

* The cast being jerks to each other has become a vocal criticism since 2020, but they've pretty much always been jerks to each other, with Mario at times being the VillainProtagonist depending on the episode. This was fine then since the fully comedic tone meant the audience could laugh about it without having to worry about potential consequences and there were plenty of times where the characters [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther were shown to care about each other in spite of it all]]. It helps that back then the cast was sold on the fact that they were [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist unrepentant jerks for the sake of comedy]]. Since the Modern main cast was solidified around 2017, however, the series has since shifted to treating them as a close friend group. While this still wasn't a problem for awhile, this change ultimately ended up unearthing a disadvantage in the series taking itself more seriously; The influx of nicer, more sane characters made the jerkier cast members or moments where usually nice characters grip the JerkassBall stick out like a sore thumb. The cast being jerks to each other made it hard to take ThePowerOfFriendship moments they had seriously since they came off as artificial for the sake of the plot and just as easily go back to being at each others' throats afterward, leading some to wonder ''why'' they're good friends. 2021-2022 saw the worst of it, with many episodes showcasing the gang constantly coming to blows in spite of them being friends for years and undergoing CharacterDevelopment, with Mario and Meggy's interactions becoming the most vocally pointed out change compared to how their relationship was depicted in 2017-18. 2023 saw this getting addressed, with the cast getting more time to show why they're friends outside of the serious scenes, with the aforementioned Mario and Meggy problem getting the most attention.

* The pacing of the series started being seen as a problem as storytelling became a priority, with common issues being that the series either blitzes through plot points at breakneck speed or goes the opposite extreme instead. The first two arcs, Waluigi and Rapper Bob, had quite a few episodes where little to nothing happened and had many {{Breather Episode}}s before the climax. The first 2 arcs were forgiven for this as they're fairly short (3 months and 1 month, respectively), and most episodes moved things forward in some way while still standing out on their own. Arcs still being new also meant fans were more tolerable of comedy-based breathers since it was still the norm. The problems only really began with Anime. Once the grace period of arcs wore of, pacing flaws became less tolerable since fans felt the team had surely gained enough practice through the first arcs and ''WebAnimation/MetaRunner'' to iron them out. However, as the arcs increased in ambition, so too did they increase in length, and the wait for developments became much longer than it had been. Episodes also started to blend into each other and commonly struggled to stand out and remain entertaining in their own right as standalone episodes while also forwarding the story in a meaningful way. This was only exacerbated when the Cosmology Saga brought with it a shift to drawn-out overreaching storylines rather than the mostly self-contained stories of past arcs, pushing these issues even further; weeks to months between episodes that push developments forward (sometimes only doing so in the episode's final minutes), leading to many episodes being deemed {{filler}} or {{padding}}, before wrapping up the story [[ItsShortSoItSucks in what feels like too few episodes]].

* Similar to memes, the use of trending topics also saw criticism starting in 2018. This was in play back in "the cake is a lie" too, as the title references a ''VideoGame/Portal1'' meme at a time when ''VideoGame/Portal2'' was only a month away from releasing. Other examples include "If Mario was in Skyrim" coming 2 months after the Special Edition was released and ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' getting a lot of coverage early on following the game's first big explosion in popularity in 2011. These mostly fell under notice because these references were either brief or were for topics that were technically already around for awhile, making them more tolerable. Criticisms only really started ramping up once the topics used became more mainstream, current and fleeting, on top of said topics tending to already have ItsPopularSoItSucks and HypeBacklash baggage beforehand. This includes ''Series/SquidGame'' getting an episode dedicated to it over the less popular but still anticipated ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' Chapter 2, ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' returning to prominence after ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'' released despite Luke notably implying prior that the franchise had become a CreatorsPest and the duo of ''VideoGame/AmongUs'' and ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' getting bashed for their popularity in-series while simultaneously still getting aped via aspects of both games becoming recurring jokes. Nowadays, trending topics have joined memes in diminishing the series' rewatch value and [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece dating episodes]] in the eyes of some.

* The usage of memes has become a big criticism of post-2018 episodes. Memes were around from the start, with the first video alone using "the cake is a lie" meme from ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''. The difference was that memes back then were used sporadically, either being there to enhance jokes that were already funny or were otherwise widely known and loved memes. However, memes started to gradually grow in prominence as the years went by. Apart from the increased frequency at which they were used, the series' humor itself also noticeably began centering around memes, as episodes went from using them to add to jokes to using them for entire jokes, scenes or even whole episodes. As this shift slowly happened, memes started becoming a key part of the lore, first through [=SMG4=] getting {{flanderized}} into being "the meme machine" starting with 2017's "Marioception", and peaking with the Cosmology Saga heavily integrating memes into the backstory, worldbuilding and general lore of the series. Nowadays, memes are almost always used in episodes to the point that whether or not one finds the jokes funny heavily depends on how into meme culture they are. While some of the newer meme-based content has some standout hits for creativity in how they're implemented (The Waluigi arc as a reference to [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate "Justice for Waluigi" memes]], "Uncanny Mr. Mario", etc.), these are more exceptions than examples. As a result, people have come to see the usage of memes as episodes trying to capitalize on what's trending at the time of upload and making them come off as bland, unmemorable and dated, especially on rewatch.
* Similar to memes, the use of trending topics also saw criticism starting in 2018. This was in play back in "the cake is a lie" too, as the title references a ''VideoGame/Portal1'' meme at a time when ''VideoGame/Portal2'' was only a month away from releasing. Other examples include "If Mario was in Skyrim" coming 2 months after the Special Edition was released and ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' getting a lot of coverage early on following the game's first big explosion in popularity in 2011. These mostly fell under notice because these references were either brief or were for topics that were already technically around for awhile, making them more tolerable. Criticisms only really started ramping up when the topics used became more mainstream, current and fleeting, on top of said topics tending to already have ItsPopularSoItSucks and HypeBacklash baggage beforehand. This includes ''Series/SquidGame'' getting an episode dedicated to it over the less popular but still anticipated ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' Chapter 2, ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' returning to prominence after ''Security Breach'' released despite Luke notably implying prior that the franchise had become a CreatorsPest and the duo of ''VideoGame/AmongUs'' and ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' getting bashed for their popularity in-series while simultaneously still getting aped via aspects of both games becoming recurring jokes. Nowadays, trending topics have joined memes in diminishing the series' rewatch value and [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece dating episodes]] in the eyes of some.

* Continuity has always been inconsistent throughout [=SMG4=]'s history. After all, NegativeContinuity was one of the series' main claims to fame that made it stand out from other "bloopers" series to become so popular. Outside of some things, developments were never really set in stone. Take for example "the (TOTALLY ACCURATE) documentary of mario", which retconned "How Mario Was Born"[[note]] In the latter, Mario [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext is born from an explosion of love caused by Dialga and Palkia]], where in the former, he was born like a normal human being in a hospital[[/note]] Over the years, however, the SlidingScaleOfContinuity gradually tipped toward the higher levels until by the Anime arc, keeping up with the series was an absolute necessity to avoid ContinuityLockout. Despite this, a common criticism is that almost everything outside of certain arc developments, characters and the series' most famous episodes are either reduced to BroadStrokes, {{retcon}}ned, [[AbortedArc dropped]], forgotten or ignored at writer convenience despite the series' foray into serious storytelling.[[note]]Luke and Kevin mentioned during the beginning of "So we read the [=SMG4=] Wiki..." that they often use the wiki to help remember their characters, carrying the implication that they often forget a lot of things about the series. Luke even pointed out how broken the lore was in "Reading the Fan Wiki on Bob", the video where Hobo Theatre was declared CanonDiscontinuity.[[/note]] This came to a head with the Cosmology Saga, which saw wide sweeping changes to the canon, disregarding at least a dozen older videos in the process. Changing things was fine prior since the whole series ran on NegativeContinuity and the canon was driven on RuleOfFunny, but changes to the canon are a lot harder to swallow now that [=SMG4=] [[ContinuityCreep has real continuity]] since every action now has an impact on the story.

* Characters getting KilledOffForReal was normalized far sooner than the fanbase tends to give credit for. Though "tale of a bob-omb" is a notable early example, older videos almost always saw the standard VillainOfTheWeek dying by the end, which still happens. One particularly overlooked example is [=SLG4=], [=SMG4=]'s canonical brother (by DNA test even) from 2012's "'sup bro" that ends up being shot out of the castle's canon and exploding at the end of the video, which WordOfGod later confirmed killed him. The deaths of these characters were nonetheless overlooked since they had minor roles and didn't have enough potential to justify keeping them around. The real problem only came once characters that were well-established, had substance and still carried potential started getting killed off. Nearly every [=SMG4=] character nowadays checks at least one of those boxes and they all have their fans for their various personalities and quirks, so the act of killing one of them off to retire them is a lot less appealing than doing so to a one-off villain or random RedShirt background character. Not helping is that the deaths themselves are not only [[TooBleakStoppedCaring largely depressing]] compared to the more comedic deaths, but can come off as forced and unnecessary since they could just as easily be put on a LongBusTrip (with this being a huge criticism concerning [[spoiler:Axol]]) to retire from the series happy and alive. Nowadays, true deaths are met with just as much derision as they are sadness and the fanbase has come to begrudgingly anticipate deaths like these with every arc since Anime.
* OC prominence has been a growing criticism from older fans, but was always present to some extent. A sizable portion of the original main cast was comprised of the various {{Author Avatar}}s of [=SMG4=]'s fellow machinimists and various {{One Shot Character}}s were usually [=OCs=]. These were fine because recolors were staples of the [=SM64=] machinima genre and the rest were usually just altered [=SM64=] characters, still tying them to the game. The early Modern era also went by without much of an issue, as nearly all the new additions had something tethering them to the crazy, parodical nature of the series, whether it was having something unique to add or using models from various games. Shroomy and Saiko were the first to raise questions as the first true modern [=OCs=], but got a pass as the former was entertaining and there weren't any models for the ''DDLC'' characters at the time, making the latter a necessary stand-in that stuck around to develop into something more. However, from then on, new additions got increasingly divisive, which really started ramping up around the time of Tari's inclusion, for varying reasons; they were all ''entirely'' {{Original Character}}s as opposed to prior additions carrying aspects of preexisting franchises, their personalities were seen as not fitting the setting nor comedic tone of the series as much, and they were immediately integrated into the cast, regardless of their reception, rather than slowly being promoted up to it over time and through fan attachment like Chris, Swag, Boopkins, Bob and Meggy all were. 2020 onward then saw the series shifting gears and pushing hard for new OCs, with 2022 in particular introducing many new ones and turning every remaining major Nintendo OC into complete [=OCs=] through giving them all redesigns. Nowadays, those who watch for the copyrighted characters have lamented that the series feels less like a Mario parody series with original characters and more of a ''Glitch Productions'' original series that just happens to feature Mario and Luigi as major characters alongside the [=OCs=].
* Character overload has also become a commonly cited problem concerning the modern cast. The original cast was composed of The Mario Brothers, [=SMG4=] and the [=YouTube=] Rangers, Lakitu, Bowser, Toad, Peach and Steve among others. This alone already put the cast well into the double digits. Despite this, there wasn't much of an issue since the core cast was still small and evenly focused on enough that they all got in their fair share of screentime, with even the side characters still getting enough representation. The DiscardAndDraw of characters over the years also made sure that the cast was never continuously growing, and since some of them [[FlatCharacter weren't very memorable]], fans didn't miss them much. However, as the years went by, the series only continued to add characters without retiring the others, and all of them had distinct characterizations, leading to a huge CastOfSnowflakes by the time the modern era was in full swing. By 2020, the core cast numbered well into the 20s, with some of the newer members feeling redundant (e.g. Boopkins, Axol and Whimpu all being "weeb" characters, [=SMG4=] Belle's core traits already being filled by Tari and Saiko). Because the series now has to juggle around such a massive cast, many beloved, fleshed out and formerly prominent characters have since been rendered OutOfFocus, DemotedToExtra or [[TheCameo reduced to cameos]], to say nothing of the supporting cast, and the series now finds itself in a perpetual struggle to give most of the cast screentime, with new character introductions now eliciting a more negative response for only making the problem worse.
* Important characters [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome disappearing]] or [[DemotedToExtra getting pushed aside]] started in 2014-2015, in which Lakitu was slowly forgotten and [=SMG4=] deliberately moved away from the Mario recolors until FM and X were the only ones left. This didn't hurt the show as the characters that remained in the cast were often so strong that they retained and added to the overall comedy and substance of the series. By 2020, it became unacceptable to the fanbase that ''many'' characters who helped make the series popular, and even some that were around since the beginning, have been totally DemotedToExtra, if not removed from the series, (the ''Sonic the derphog'' cast, the ''Guard N' Retards'' cast except Swag, Toast Guy, the Teletubbies, most of the main cast and every ''Mario'' character except Mario and Luigi) and replaced with characters [[BaseBreakingCharacter that are very divisive]], to add insult to injury.
* Early signs of the modern era's notorious imbalance in CharacterFocus could already be seen in 2017 with Meggy as she quickly gained more and more screentime after returning in "MARIO'S CHALLENGE". Back then, this was tolerated as it was the first instance of a character getting such a treatment, she was admittedly [[EnsembleDarkhorse at her most popular]] at the time and her focus was an effect of her character being fleshed out and developed over time. Fast forward a few years later and this tunnel-visioned character focus has become one of the series' biggest criticisms for its effect on everyone else, compounded by the aforementioned character overload. Nowadays, development and focus are almost always on the same few characters, no matter how thoroughly developed or utilized they already are, which many fans feel hurts the rest of the cast since they aren't nearly as fleshed out and are usually reduced in [[{{Flanderization}} character]] and [[DemotedToExtra appearances]] so more focus can be put on these same characters. It also became increasingly clear after the Anime Arc that who got screentime was becoming influenced by who the crew and the wider fanbase favored the most compared to before when no special treatment was given to anyone, even admitted CreatorsFavorite Steve, to the point that any character not named Mario, Bob, Meggy or Melony is lucky to get screentime nowadays, let alone lines. As a result, heavily focused characters now tend to be seen as [[SpotlightStealingSquad spotlight stealers]], with Meggy and Melony becoming the series' most divisive characters in part because they're both notorious offenders of getting overexposure at the expense of the rest of the cast.
* Perhaps the biggest sore point of later arcs outside of MoodWhiplash are the pacing problems they've had. Waluigi and Rapper Bob had quite a few episodes where little to nothing happened and had many {{Breather Episode}}s before the climax. The first 2 arcs were forgiven for this as they're fairly short (3 months and 1 month, respectively), and episodes still mostly moved things forward in some way. Arcs still being new also meant fans were more tolerable of the comedy-based breathers since it was still the normal format. The problems only really began with Anime. As the arcs increased in ambition, so too did they increase in length, leading to gaps between story episodes becoming much longer before one episode would either barely move the plot forward or blitz through it all at once. The plot taking itself more seriously also made fans start judging it just as seriously, leaving them less tolerable of flaws in the narrative. The Cosmology Saga as a whole only exacerbated this due to shifting to an overreaching storyline rather than the mostly self-contained stories of past arcs, pushing these issues to their most extreme; weeks to months between plot-relevant episodes that barely pushed the story forward, leading to comedy-based episodes being deemed "filler" for those only interested in story content, before the climax would be solely whams that wrap up the story [[ItsShortSoItSucks in what feels like too few episodes]].
* Female characters getting preferential treatment over the guys has become an increasingly vocal criticism in the years following Meggy's debut. While hard to believe considering [[ButtMonkey how they're treated now]], Peach and Daisy (when she appeared) were often portrayed early on as the [[OnlySaneMan voices of reason]] depending on the video, and weren't subjected to nearly the same amount of slapstick the male cast members suffered. Despite this, they just as often had moments where they were NotSoStoic or NotSoAboveItAll, while also having their own quirks that made them just as flawed as the guys. Peach was also meant to be seen as an insufferable nag for ordering around Mario or being a bitch, and commonly got her just desserts for it. Even into the modern age, the girls were still exempt from this complaint due to them generally being nice and their more subtle favoritism falling under the radar in favor of their quirks and flaws... until "Boys vs Girls", the episode widely agreed to be when the girls' preferential treatment became unquestionably clear, [[NeverLiveItDown forever tainted the reputations of Meggy, Saiko and Tari]] in the eyes of some and set up a nasty precedent of DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale that gradually became more pronounced from then on. After that, fans started taking more notice of the cast's treatment as it became more skewered in favor of the girls; What flaws and slapstick the female characters started out with that made the treatment tolerable prior were gradually scrubbed and diminished to near-nothing (with new girl [=OCs=] being introduced with no flaws from the start), and they altogether started being depicted as [[WomenAreWiser smarter, saner and all-around better than the guys]] while the guys themselves, including modern male [=OCs=] introduced after, were put through the wringer more than they already were. This was something not helped by the girls in general becoming more aggressive, smug and condescending toward the guys, making them come off as insufferable at times. A common criticism that was already initially present in Meggy was that she was almost always presented as a perfect, ass-kicking ActionGirl who was never in the wrong and had no real flaws whilst lacking traits that made other characters funny, something that became more noticeable once it started applying to the rest of the girls. Contrast how the guys are commonly the ones that are in the wrong or cause problems for the girls and themselves, and often have to be helped by the female characters if they show up. Nowadays, the mere hint of preferential treatment for the girls in an episode, especially if it's at the expense of the guys, will draw ire simply for piling on more perceived CharacterShilling and tends to make fans of the guys [[DesignatedMonkey feel for them]].
* The cast being jerks to each other has become a vocal criticism since 2020, but they've pretty much always been jerks to each other, with Mario at times being the VillainProtagonist depending on the episode. This was fine then since the fully comedic tone meant the audience could laugh about it without having to worry about potential consequences and there were plenty of times where the characters [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther were shown to care about each other in spite of it all]]. It helps that back then the cast was sold on the fact that they were [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist unrepentant jerks for the sake of comedy]]. Since the Modern main cast was solidified around 2017, however, the series has since tried to portray the [=SMG4=] Gang as a close group of friends, making the times when they fight less excusable since the arcs and heartwarming moments are dependent on them being supposedly good friends. This ended up being another caveat of the series taking itself more seriously; the cast being jerks to each other makes it harder to believe they're friends as ThePowerOfFriendship moments they have tend to mostly happen during arcs and serious episodes, making them come off as artificial for the sake of the plot since they can just as easily go back to bickering and fighting afterward, leading some to wonder ''why'' they're good friends. This is something not helped by the fighting and bickering between them continuing to happen frequently in spite of them having been friends for years and supposedly undergoing CharacterDevelopment, with Mario and Meggy's interactions being the most vocally pointed out change compared to how their relationship was depicted in 2017-18.
** In particular, Mario's treatment by the cast and the narrative has become a big talking point since the Genesis arc. Prior to this, there were many examples of episodes where Mario was the ButtMonkey, constantly suffering throughout episodes or [[AllForNothing outright losing in the end after going through so much]]. Episodes since then have been accused of making Mario the butt of jokes more often with less justification than before, on top of inflicting BadassDecay on him. Most of Mario's ButtMonkey moments prior were either brought on himself or were so funny, tame or over-the-top that no one considered it KarmicOverkill, with the sole exception of "Tubbie TV". Episodes since Genesis, however, tend to have Mario placed in poor situations without him causing it, provoking anyone, being able to fight back or have his punishments come of as DisproportionateRetribution. Calls were also made of the plots and characters becoming engineered to make him the butt of jokes simply for the sake of trying to be funny, with "If Mario was the Last Man on Earth" in particular getting bashed heavily for having ''everyone'', [[OutOfCharacter including characters that logically wouldn't have]], leaving Mario to go insane over something comparatively minor compared to everything else he's done and then attacking him en masse when he unintentionally ruins everything in the end [[SelfFulfillingProphecy because of said insanity]]. The fact that this treatment came after the Genesis arc brought with it the baggage of [[CerebusRetcon Mario's stupidity and sociopathic behavior being explained as having been caused by SMG4's Guardian Pod effectively giving him brain damage]] and establishing that he's the most important being in the [=SMG4=] Universe only made some fans angrier at the way the Avatar and central character of the series was being treated despite these revelations, leaving them feeling bad for the plumber when the narrative expects them to [[UnintentionallySympathetic feel the opposite]] or [[HumorDissonance laugh about it]].

* OC prominence has been a growing criticism from older fans, but was always present to some extent. A sizable portion of the original main cast was comprised of the various {{Author Avatar}}s of [=SMG4=]'s fellow machinimists and various {{One Shot Character}}s were usually [=OCs=]. These were fine because recolors were staples of the [=SM64=] machinima genre and the rest were usually just altered [=SM64=] characters, still tying them to the game. The early Modern era also went by without much of an issue, as nearly all the new additions had something tethering them to the crazy, parodical nature of the series, whether it was having something unique to add or using models from various games. Shroomy and Saiko were the first to raise questions as the first true modern [=OCs=], but got a pass as the former was entertaining and there weren't any models for the ''DDLC'' characters at the time, making the latter a necessary stand-in that stuck around to develop into something more. However, from then on, new additions got increasingly divisive, which really started ramping up around the time of Tari's inclusion, for varying reasons; they were all ''entirely'' {{Original Character}}s as opposed to prior additions carrying aspects of preexisting franchises, their personalities were seen as not fitting the setting nor comedic tone of the series as much, and they were immediately integrated into the cast, regardless of their reception, rather than slowly being promoted up to it over time and through fan attachment like Chris, Swag, Boopkins, Bob and Meggy all were. 2020 onward then started the trend of these new characters coming in at the expense of the older, more beloved copyrighted characters (with 2022 in particular seeing a big push for new [=OCs=]), leading to them being seen as [[ReplacementScrappy inferior replacements]]. Nowadays, many have come to feel that the OC elements have greatly taken priority over the copyrighted ones, something that those who watch for the copyrighted characters have lamented.

* The cast being jerks to each other has become a vocal criticism since 2020, but they've pretty much always been jerks to each other, with Mario at times being a VillainProtagonist depending on the episode. This was fine then since the fully comedic tone meant the audience could laugh about it without having to worry about potential consequences and there were plenty of times where the characters [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther were shown to care about each other in spite of it all]]. This ended up being another caveat of the series taking itself more seriously; the cast being jerks to each other so often makes it harder to believe they're friends, making ThePowerOfFriendship moments they have during arcs and serious episodes come off as artificial for the sake of the plot since they don't have nearly enough time to show ''why'' they're good friends, not helped by most of the cast being OutOfFocus to boot. This is something not helped by wholesome moments among the cast becoming increasingly rare while the fighting and bickering between them has become more common, with Mario and Meggy's interactions being the most vocally pointed out change compared to how their relationship was depicted in 2017-18.
** In particular, Mario's treatment by the cast and the narrative has become a big talking point since the Genesis arc. Prior to this, there were many examples of episodes where Mario was the ButtMonkey, constantly suffering throughout episodes or [[AllForNothing outright losing in the end after going through so much]]. Episodes since then have been accused of making Mario the butt of jokes more often with less justification than before, on top of inflicting BadassDecay on him. Most of Mario's ButtMonkey moments prior were either brought on himself or were funny and tame enough that no one considered it KarmicOverkill, with the sole exception of "Tubbie TV". Episodes since Genesis, however, tend to have Mario placed in poor situations without him causing it, provoking anyone, being able to fight back or have his punishments come of as DisproportionateRetribution. Calls were also made of the plots and characters becoming engineered to make him the butt of jokes simply for the sake of trying to be funny, with "If Mario was the Last Man on Earth" in particular getting bashed heavily for having ''everyone'', [[OutOfCharacter including characters that logically wouldn't have]], leaving Mario to go insane over something comparatively minor compared to everything else he's done and then attacking him en masse when he unintentionally ruins everything in the end [[SelfFulfillingProphecy because of said insanity]]. The fact that this treatment came after the Genesis arc brought with it the baggage of [[CerebusRetcon Mario's stupidity and sociopathic behavior being explained as having been caused by SMG4's Guardian Pod effectively giving him brain damage]] and establishing that he's the most important being in the [=SMG4=] Universe only made some fans angrier at the way the Avatar and central character of the series was being treated despite these revelations, leaving them feeling bad for the plumber when the narrative expects them to [[UnintentionallySympathetic feel the opposite]] or [[HumorDissonance laugh about it]].

* The usage of memes has become a big criticism of post-2018 episodes. Memes were around from the start, with the first video alone using "the cake is a lie" meme from ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''. The difference was that memes back then were used sporadically, either being there to enhance jokes that were already funny or were otherwise widely known and loved memes. However, memes started to gradually grow in prominence as the years went by. Apart from the increased frequency at which they were used, the series' humor itself also noticeably began centering around memes, as episodes went from using them to add to jokes to using them for entire jokes, scenes or even whole episodes. As this shift slowly happened, memes started becoming a key part of the lore, first through [=SMG4=] getting {{flanderized}} into being "the meme machine" starting with 2017's "Marioception", and peaking with the Cosmology Saga heavily integrating memes into the backstory, worldbuilding and general lore of the series. Nowadays, memes are almost always used in episodes to the point that whether or not one finds the jokes funny heavily depends on how into meme culture they are. While some of the newer meme-based content has some standout hits for creativity in how they're implemented (The Waluigi arc, "Uncanny Mr. Mario", etc.), these are more exceptions than examples. As a result, people have come to see the usage of memes as episodes trying to capitalize on what's trending at the time of upload and making them come off as bland, unmemorable and dated, especially on rewatch.

* The usage of memes has become a big criticism of post-2018 episodes. Memes were around from the start, with the first video alone using "the cake is a lie" meme from ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''. The difference was that memes back then were used sporadically, either being there to enhance jokes that were already funny or were otherwise widely known and loved memes. However, memes started to gradually grow in prominence as the years went by. Apart from the increased frequency at which they were used, the series' humor itself also noticeably began centering around memes, as episodes went from using them to add to jokes to using them for entire jokes, scenes or even whole episodes. As this shift slowly happened, memes started becoming a key part of the lore, first through [=SMG4=] getting {{flanderized}} into being "the meme machine" starting with 2017's "Marioception", and peaking with the Cosmology Saga heavily integrating memes into the backstory, worldbuilding and general lore of the series. Nowadays, memes are almost always used in episodes to the point that whether or not one finds the jokes funny heavily depends on how into meme culture they are. While some of the newer meme-based content has some standout hits for creativity in how they're implemented (The Waluigi arc, "Uncanny Mr. Mario", etc.), these are more exceptions than examples. As a result, people have come to see the usage of memes as episodes [[WereStillRelevantDammit trying to capitalize on what's trending at the time of upload]] and making them come off as bland, unmemorable and dated, especially on rewatch.

[=SMG4=] is a series that has a fair bit of flaws, but some flaws took root far sooner than some realize.

* Continuity has always been inconsistent throughout [=SMG4=]'s history. After all, NegativeContinuity was one of the series' main claims to fame that made it stand out from other "bloopers" series to become so popular. Outside of some things, developments were never really set in stone. Take for example "the (TOTALLY ACCURATE) documentary of mario", which retconned "How Mario Was Born"[[note]] In the latter, Mario [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext is born from an explosion of love caused by Dialga and Palkia]], where in the former, he was born like a normal human being in a hospital[[/note]] Over the years, however, the SlidingScaleOfContinuity gradually tipped toward the higher levels until by the Anime arc, keeping up with the series was an absolute necessity to avoid ContinuityLockout. Despite this, a common criticism is that almost everything outside of certain arc developments, characters and the series' most famous episodes are either reduced to BroadStrokes, {{retcon}}ned, [[AbortedArc dropped]] or forgotten at writer convenience despite the series' foray into serious storytelling.[[note]]Luke and Kevin mentioned during the beginning of "So we read the [=SMG4=] Wiki..." that they often use the wiki to help remember their characters, carrying the implication that they often forget a lot of things about the series. Luke even pointed out how broken the lore was in "Reading the Fan Wiki on Bob", the video where Hobo Theatre was declared CanonDiscontinuity.[[/note]] This came to a head with the Cosmology Saga, which saw wide sweeping changes to the canon, disregarding at least a dozen older videos in the process. Changing things was fine prior since the whole series ran on NegativeContinuity and the canon was driven on RuleOfFunny, but changes to the canon are a lot harder to swallow now that [=SMG4=] [[ContinuityCreep has real continuity]] since every action now has an impact on the story.

* Characters getting KilledOffForReal was normalized far sooner than the fanbase tends to give credit for. Though "tale of a bob-omb" is a notable early example, older videos almost always saw the standard VillainOfTheWeek dying by the end, which still happens. One particularly overlooked example is [=SLG4=], [=SMG4=] canonical brother (by DNA test even) from 2012's "'sup bro" that ends up being shot out of the castle's canon and exploding at the end of the video, which WordOfGod later confirmed killed him. The deaths of these characters were nonetheless overlooked since they had minor roles and didn't have enough potential to justify keeping them around. The real problem only came once characters that were well-established, had substance and still carried potential started getting killed off. Nearly every [=SMG4=] character nowadays checks at least one of those boxes and they all have their fans for their various personalities and quirks, so the act of killing one of them off to retire them is a lot less appealing than doing so to a one-off villain or random RedShirt background character. Not helping is that the deaths themselves are not only [[TooBleakStoppedCaring largely depressing]] compared to the more comedic deaths, but can come off as forced and unnecessary since they could just as easily be put on a LongBusTrip (with this being a huge criticism concerning [[spoiler:Axol]]) to retire from the series happy and alive. Nowadays, true deaths are met with just as much derision as they are sadness and the fanbase has come to begrudgingly anticipate deaths like these with every arc since Anime.

* Ever since the first ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' video, some fans have criticized the series' overuse of ''FNF'' elements and characters in the videos following. As many old fans of the channel will tell you, this isn't the first time a series has gotten a lot of attention from [=SMG4=]. ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' got a lot of coverage as the central focus of one of [=SMG4=]'s earliest sub-series, with Steve remaining a supporting character and Luke's admitted favorite character to this day, and ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' essentially dominated the channel for a time, with Chica becoming a recurring character too. The difference then was that the characters were some of the earliest examples and became iconic on the channel for their changed personalities. In addition, videos and elements from both series were more spaced out, with elements from those series tending to show up sporadically at most. Luke himself even [[CreatorsPest got tired of]] ''[=FNaF=]'' after the adaptation of ''3'', only coming back to do the ''UCN'' adaptation because the fans requested it so much. ''FNF'' has neither of these excuses, as the characters featured don't have their personalities changed enough, if at all, to be particularly memorable, and ''FNF'' quickly got just as many videos dedicated to it in only a few month's time as the other 2 series got in over half a decade, even having the series ''be a recurring theme in the Genesis Arc''. This made ''FNF'' more of a target than the other 2 series, bringing in accusations of FNF elements only showing up for popularity and viewership sake.

* The second half of the Anime Arc was perhaps the first case in which development and focus became largely centered on one character, that being Meggy. Back then, this went mostly unnoticed as it was the first instance of a character getting such a treatment, served to flesh out and develop Meggy's character and was, [[BaitAndSwitch at the time]], believed to be finally wrapping up one of the series' retroactively longest-running subplots; Meggy winning a Splatfest. Fast forward a few years later and this tunnel-visioned character focus has become one of the series' biggest criticisms for its effect on everyone else, compounded by the aforementioned character overload. Nowadays, development and focus are almost always on the same few characters, no matter how thoroughly developed or utilized they already are, which many fans feel hurts the rest of the cast since they aren't nearly as fleshed out and are usually reduced in [[{{Flanderization}} character]] and [[DemotedToExtra appearances]] so more focus can be put on these same characters. It also became increasingly clear after the Anime Arc that there were favorites among the crew, compared to before when no special treatment was given to anyone, even admitted CreatorsFavorite Steve. As a result, characters that are heavily focused on despite the uneven limelight have become seen as [[SpotlightStealingSquad spotlight stealers]] and Meggy and Melony are now the two most divisive characters in the series in part because they're both notorious offenders of getting overexposure.
* Perhaps the biggest sore point of later arcs outside of MoodWhiplash are the pacing problems they've had. Waluigi and Rapper Bob had quite a few episodes where little to nothing happened and had many {{Breather Episode}}s before the climax. The first 2 arcs were forgiven for this as they're fairly short (3 months and 1 month, respectively), and episodes still mostly moved things forward in some way. Arcs still being new also meant fans were more tolerable of the comedy-based breathers since it was still the normal format. The problems only really began with Anime. As the arcs increased in ambition, so too did they increase in length, leading to gaps between story episodes becoming much longer before one episode would either barely move the plot forward or blitz through it all at once. The plot taking itself more seriously also made fans start judging it just as seriously, leaving them less tolerable of flaws in the narrative. The Cosmology Saga as a whole only exacerbated this due to shifting to an overreaching storyline rather than the mostly self-contained stories of past arcs, pushing these issues to their most extreme; weeks to months between plot-relevant episodes that barely pushed the story forward, leading to comedy-based episodes being deemed "filler" for those only interested in story content, before the climax would be solely whams that wrap up the story [[ItsShortSoItSucks in what feels like too few episodes]].

* Perhaps the biggest sore point of later arcs outside of MoodWhiplash are the pacing problems they've had. Waluigi and Rapper Bob had quite a few episodes where little to nothing happened and had many {{Breather Episode}}s before the climax. The first 2 arcs were forgiven for this as they're fairly short (3 months and 1 month, respectively), and episodes still mostly moved things forward in some way. Arcs still being new also meant fans were more tolerable of the comedy-based breathers since it was still the normal format. The problems only really began with Anime. As the arcs increased in ambition, so too did they increase in length, leading to gaps between story episodes becoming much longer before one episode would either barely move the plot forward or blitz through it all at once. The plot taking itself more seriously also made fans start judging it just as seriously, leaving them less tolerable of flaws in the narrative. The Cosmology Saga as a whole only exacerbated this due to shifting to an overreaching storyline rather than the mostly self-contained stories of past arcs, pushing these issues to their most extreme; weeks to months between plot-relevant episodes that barely pushed the story forward, leading to comedy-based episodes being deemed "filler" for those only interested in story content, before the climax would be solely whams that wrap up the story [[ItsShortSoItSucks in what feels like too few episodes]].
* "If Mario Was The Last Man On Earth" quickly gained notoriety for its excessive punishment of Mario by driving him mad and then having ''everyone'' dogpile him in retaliation for him unintentionally ruining their world record. Such punishments were notable in the past episodes, but said acts were at least justified in one way or another, such as "Mario gets into [=NFTs=]", in which after the gang stopped Mario from turning everyone into [=NFTs=], he himself was turned into a NFT. Here, however, not only does Mario get excessively punished for a minor mistake, but also made it so that they punished him for accidentally ruining an world record attempt, and because of this, the punishment was considered to be KarmicOverkill as a result, and made the entire cast not named Mario UnintentionallyUnsympathetic.

* Perhaps the biggest sore point of later arcs outside of MoodWhiplash are the pacing problems they've had. Waluigi and Rapper Bob had quite a few episodes where little to nothing happened and had many {{Breather Episode}}s before the climax. The first 2 arcs were forgiven for this as they're fairly short (3 months and 1 month, respectively), and episodes still mostly moved things forward in some way. Arcs still being new also meant fans were more tolerable of the comedy-based breathers since it was still the normal format. The problems only really began with Anime. As the arcs increased in ambition, so too did they increase in length, leading to gaps between story episodes becoming much longer before one episode would either barely move the plot forward or blitz through it all at once. The plot taking itself more seriously also made fans start judging it just as seriously, leaving them less tolerable of flaws in the narrative. The Cosmology Saga as a whole only exacerbated this due to shifting to an overreaching storyline rather than the mostly self-contained stories of past arcs, pushing these issues to their most extreme; weeks to months between plot-relevant episodes that barely pushed the story forward, leading to comedy-based episodes being deemed "filler" for those only interested in story content, before the climax would be solely whams that wrap up the story [[ItsShortSoItSucks in what feels like too few episodes]].