Topic: 2020 Mario Spinoff Madness Tournament

[John Rairdin]

Mario has had a lot of spinoffs over the years. What is the best one? We try to figure it out.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/53422/2020-mario-spinoff-madness-tournament

We got to thinking recently: what Mario game is the best one? Well, we're going to save that debate for a later date, because that spun off into another question: what Mario spinoff is the best one? Nintendo's age-old mascot has had his fair share of side gigs, whether it's kart racing, sports, parties, or healthcare.

Turns out, Mario's spinoff amount is crawling up the near the triple digits, so we had to make some cuts to fit in with our inspired-by-March-Madness 68-game bracket. We then loosely sorted the games by MetaCritic score and developed four regions, each represented by the top seed (some of which may surprise you): Mario Kart Super Circuit, Paper Mario, Mario Tennis 64, and Mario Golf 64. Turns out people reviewed Mario spinoffs extremely highly around the turn of the century!

The full brackets are below if you want start making your predictions. Our first round will be four match-ups as eight game compete for the 12 seeds in the overall bracket. All voting will be done on Twitter, so share, be rowdy, and have fun.

Our Mario Spinoff Madness Tournament kicks off with the First Four (winners determine our 12 seeds in the tourney). If you're not a bracketologist, just vote with your heart in the four match-ups threaded below! https://t.co/xs3deVht5m pic.twitter.com/pyGQqR7DyT

— Nintendo World Report (@Nintendo_NWR) April 14, 2020

Our first match-ups are:

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (GameCube) vs. Mario Party 4 (GameCube) Winner plays Mario Kart Wii
Mario Super Sluggers (Wii) vs. Mario Tennis Open (3DS) Winner plays Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Mario Party 5 (GameCube) vs. Mario Paint (SNES) Winner plays Mario Kart 64
Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (DS) vs. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure (3DS) Winner plays Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

[Khushrenada]

I was about to say that it this was just going to be Mario Kart in a walk but it isn't just about the spin-off series in general but nearly every spin-off game. Then I saw Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and realized there may actually be a bit of a competition to this whole thing. That said, despite personal preferences people playing Mario Kart may have as to which iteration they consider the best, I'm still predicting it now that the winner will be Mario Kart 8 (with Mario Kart Wii as my second choice champion if nostalgia plays a bigger factor for voters).

[Khushrenada]

Holy Crap. This seeding is crazy. Now that I've had a chance to examine the brackets a bit, I don't know what is going to happen. The NorthWest (Top Left) bracket is madness. Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario: TTYD, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 are all in that section and only one will make it to the Final Four?!? At this point, Double Dash or Mario Kart DS may actually have a better chance of pulling off the win for the Mario Kart series (which would be my preference  ).

I have a feeling the sports titles (Tennis, Golf, Baseball, Soccer) will get eliminated by the time things get to the Final 8 but haven't followed all of the branches to see if that would be the case. I think the RPGs, Parties and Karts will end up claiming those end of the tourney spots but we shall see. I'm realizing how many Mario spin-offs I've never played and/or only dabbled in like some of the sports games. I've always felt I've kept up well with Mario's spinoff forays but that is when looking at them divided into their subsections. With all of the games together (including a few I forgot existed), it all adds up to many, many games I've yet to play in the Mario spinoff collection.


Also, Mario Golf World Tour is misspelled as Mario Gold World Tour in the NorthEast (Top Right) bracket section.

[that Baby guy]

I think Mario Gold War Tour was an edutainment follow-up to Mario is Missing that focused on macro-economics and world trade.

[Khushrenada]

I think Mario Gold War Tour was an edutainment follow-up to Mario is Missing that focused on macro-economics and world trade.

I know the title was controversial because players often won by having their manufacturing of sporting goods and go-karts done overseas in the Koopa Kingdom using cheap Goomba labor. Despite that, I still think the game was highly popular enough to overcome that issue and win this Tournament but I guess we won't know that for sure since it wasn't included.

[that Baby guy]

Mario Gold World Tour is PAL name. In NTSC territories, it was War Tour. My bad.

[Spak-Spang]

Strong spinoff franchises:  Mario Golf, Mario Kart, Mario & Luigi Sagas, and new entry Mario Maker.

The interesting thing is, this is about genre preference...more than quality.

[Lafayette]

Mario Party 2 over Mario Tennis 64 is just criminal.

[Spak-Spang]

I kinda wonder what would have happened if you we had a Kart Bracket, a Sports Bracket, an RPG bracket, and a misc. Bracket.  Then we would at least learn what people think are the best of the Kart games, the best of the sports games, and the best of the RPG games. 

I am bummed that some of the best Mario sports games are getting voted out early.  I mean I absolutely hate sports games in general, but Mario Tennis 64 and Mario Golf 64 are some of the best absolute sports games ever.

[Spak-Spang]

Double Dash and the Super Star Saga that should be close. I am all in for Mario Golf 64.

[BeautifulShy]

For the final 4 between Thousand Year Door and  Mario Kart Double Dash I have to go with Thousand Year Door. 
Mario Kart 64 and Captain Toad:Treasure Tracker I am going with Captain Toad.

[Spak-Spang]

I loved Double Dash and 1000 year door was hard to get into. So DD for me.

[Khushrenada]

I've only played TTYD once and that was when it had just come out. I've felt like replaying for some time but that goes for the original Paper Mario too. I've put it off for various reasons I won't get into to keep this post short. On the other side, I'm pretty certain Double Dash is still and probably always will be the GameCube I have put the most time into playing. Kept playing in during the Wii years since my brother and I were not big fans of Mario Kart Wii. Heck, there's a good chance it is the Mario Kart I've played the most out of all the other Mario Kart versions. (It's possible the original Super Mario Kart is the longest. Without time tracking on these older systems, I've got no way to track the time of my misspent youth.  )

For that longevity and time, Double Dash is why I'm rooting for it in this battle.

[NES_RPG_NERD]

Sorry, but DD is the worst Kart game...MK64 FTW.

[Spak-Spang]

I have to go the Mario Kart 64.  The game has aged poorly when you put it up against the more modern Mario Karts, but that is what is supposed to happen.  Mario Kart's formula is defined and in some ways perfected in Mario Kart 64.  Mario Kart 64 has my personal favorite version of the Blue Turtle Shell, and I think a better less chaotic weapon system.  It is equally about combat and racing, which I think is lost in some of the more modern Mario Karts. 

[Rancid Planet]

 Double Dash (easily the best Kart game in the series) would beat it's GCN brother Thousand Year Door. But not 64. 64 has been improved upon time and agan. Meanwhile Thousand Year Door is STILL the best Paper Mario Game.

[BeautifulShy]

Thousand Year Door is the best between it and Mario Kart 64. 

[Morningshark]

Well done, everyone.