Jack Of All Stats isn't bad, actually.

I still don't see what's wrong with The All Rounder.

Well, it looks like we're getting more nays then yeas, so if we get outvoted let me be the first to concede defeat on the issue.

I've got another name suggestion; Mario In The Middle

Crowner is zeroed, 10 on each side. Unlikely to change too much.

All of the "compromise" names are pointless. Either give it something actually clear or leave it with the name we already know.

If I had to pick an alternate title, The All-Rounder is as good as it'll get, I think. But I voted against the rename. It's a good, descriptive name. This is one of the things Mario is known for, and anyone who has played at least one of the spinoffs would know it.

"This is one of the things Mario is known for, and anyone who has played at least one of the spinoffs would know it."

That is a myopic argument. You don't know that everyone who plays those games would pay attention to the stats. You don't know if those spinoffs are played enough to make the name clear.

I could accept your other reason, but that one is just wrong.

Short-time reader, first time commenter.

Don't know how many of you actually have Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games at home, but I do, and it turns out that Mario actually has the best long jump (9.238m) in the game (and presumably the best triple jump as well, maxing out at 18.910m), not to mention a pretty kick-ass 400m (this troper's best is 38.232 with him) with a well-timed start and good pacing. Still, as many have said before me, he fits the trope well in most non-platform games he's appeared in as being above average, but not the best, in most statistics.

I would prefer the name "Above-Average Joe" (as befits a noob like myself, I should probably make a page with this title and make the name into a red hyperlink, but am totally clueless on how to do it) for this trope, but I would like to point out that while it happens less frequently, his brother Luigi also possibly succumbs to it in a few games, such as Brawl or the aforementioned Olympics.

Another vote for Jack Of All Stats. It's whimsical and descriptive.

—R.J.

@qbsuperstar 03: AboveAverageJoe -> Above Average Joe

Anyway, I like Jack Of All Stats.

edited 2nd Nov '09 4:23:10 PM by Nyktos

"Jack of All Stats" and "The All-Rounder" both work for me. Mario is really not the best example of this trope.

• +1... yeah. That's grounds for a rename. Sure.

Also, that pro/con list is kind of... off. Most of the cons aren't exactly accurate, and I'm reasonably sure there's more than one pro.

edited 3rd Nov '09 11:53:41 AM by Known Unknown

I went ahead and did the page image swap since no one offered anything better and there wasn't much objection to it.

I like The Mario and see no problem with it. But if we have to do shitty, pointless renames, Jack Of All Stats is light years better than The All Rounder, which is boring and horrible.

...someone's bitter.

And this rename definitely has a point, since "The Mario" is simply obtuse — a cold reading of the name gives no clue of what the trope is about. At least "The Spock" works because Spock is a coldly logical alien, which is also exactly what the trope is about. Mario is a short Italian platform-jumping character, which is not what "The Mario" is about.

—R.J.

edited 4th Nov '09 7:46:20 AM by rjung

If we are to rename it, then why CAN'T we call it Jack Of All Trades, beyond the Bruce Campbell TV Series, which is named after the original saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none" I mean hell, look at this quote!

That's from the beginning of the article. Only rename I will accept for this trope now is Jack Of All Trades.

edited 4th Nov '09 2:42:28 PM by GameGuruGG

That does not appear to be an issue. The votes seem to be hovering between +1 and -3, which is nowhere near enough difference to declare some sort of trend.

edited 4th Nov '09 2:54:30 PM by BrokenChaos

"That's from the beginning of the article. Only rename I will accept for this trope now is Jack Of All Trades."

Looking at the description, that does seem to fit the trope. Would you vote for a rename if we went for that.

edited 4th Nov '09 2:54:56 PM by DragonQuestZ

Jack Of All Stats is better because it indicates the frequent presence of stats and the ske to certain game genres while differentiating from the Jack Of All Trades as a Character As Device.

If we rename, should we split just to make the difference clear (stats and skills)? Or just go with either one?

I think that the "Game stats are balanced" should be Jack Of All Stats, because we should have Jack Of All Trades for the literary/film/tv character type.

Not really contributing to the debate but, isn't mario jack of both trades and stats? Not only is he the middle grounder (average stats), he also has a diverse skill set: saving princesses, playing golf, go-karting, basketball, etc.

Jack Of All Trades is a saying that can apply to many things. This trope is specifically about games.

Mario can certainly be a Jack Of All Trades, but as for the trope in question, using that as the name can be misleading. Balanced stats doesn't necessarily mean they're (at the minimum) marginally skilled at everything.

To use D&D as an analogy, this trope would be like if the character had all 12s for Strength, Dexterity, etc. Which says nothing about how good you are at each of the skills.

(Sorry I couldn't think up a better analogy for people that don't play tabletop RPGs. Help?)

Then to try another way, and to follow from Tipz's lead: Jack Of All Trades says that Mario is a plumber, doctor, gardener, tennis star and track and fielder. Jack Of All Stats says that he is an average plumber, average doctor, average tennis player etc.