I don't think so, except maybe New Super Mario Bros. 2.
The Protomen enhanced my life.
I'm inclined to agree that it probably doesn't count. It does have some controversial games, like New Super Mario Bros. 2 & U and Paper Mario: Sticker Star. But it also has some incredibly loved games too, like Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Maker. And even some of the games that are polarizing with fans were still fairly well-regarded critically.
In response to the original post, the games were huge financial successes regardless. NSMB2 is the 5th best-selling 3DS game, and NSMBU is the 2nd best-selling Wii U game, for example. Nor have any of the games (as far as I'm aware) been outright rejected by later Mario Canon or anything.
I think it's a guarantee that pretty much any video game series that goes on long enough is going to have some installments that fare better than others. In itself, the 3DS/Wii U era doesn't seem like an extreme enough example to qualify for an outright Dork Age. It's a few cases of Contested Sequel more than anything. I am open to discussion about it if anyone feels otherwise, however.
Edited by StardustSoldier
The 3DS/Wii U era has been removed, but we still need to discuss the Game Cube/GBA era. Those games might be controversial, but last time I looked, they weren't so bad to the point they derailed the franchise.
Edited by MasterHero
Are they listed as such? That's hilariously incorrect. Sunshine is considered at least "good" though may suffer Hype Backlash due to being the first sequel to Super Mario 64, but the GBA remakes are mostly enjoyed and Superstar Saga is beloved, as is Thousand Year Door.
Also, there's still a bunch of references to the Wii U era being a Dork Age on the page.
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I agree that, yeah, the GameCube/GBA era isn't an example either, for all the reasons mentioned. The entry itself even notes that some of the best-loved RPGs came from that era.
Edited by StardustSoldier
For future reference, here's the discussion I started in Ask The Tropers about this:
Would Toad be a Creator's Pet? He's a Base Breaker to begin with, but some fans have also accused Nintendo of overusing the character/species - such as complaints back in the day about how New Super Mario Bros. Wii had 2 Toads as the two "extra" characters rather than, say, Wario and Waluigi, or how the newer Paper Mario games mostly have generic Toads as NP Cs.
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Definitely not. Of the 4 requirements for Creator's Pet he meets... maybe one of them? You could argue Character Focus, but there's no sign of being a Creator's Favorite, they're not The Scrappy by a long shot, and there's zero Character Shilling.
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Hooray! Bubble Party!
Luigi's main in most games (except 64 and Suinshine (not present) and the first two RP Gs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8yAjWvAqyM
Is the 3DS/Wii U era really a Dork Age? A Dork Age is one where:
1. The games are financial flops.
2. Any changes imposed by those games are quickly reversed, and then largely ignored by continuity.
Do any of the games in this era qualify for either of these?
Edited by MasterHero Hide / Show Replies