Which series actually changes and copies and pastes less? Zelda or Mario?

i dont think zelda rehashes much at all. TP, while still great, only halfheartedly worked in the wolf and twilight elements and then went back doing the series standards well. otherwise, the 3D games changes a lot. OoT had the burden of transitioning zelda to 3D and did so masterfully along with adding interplay between 2 disparate time periods. MM did tons of new stuff, but probably the biggest was how it works off the single time split of OoT and transitions to small changes which makes for a completely new angle on the same subject. WW works wind into nearly every element of the game. SS does some pretty big mechanical things with input and exploration, which work their way into yet another different angle on time. and thats only the 3D games. zelda II and LoZ dont even seem like the same series.

Mario changes more. The only game that didn't really push the series forward in a meaningful way was Super Mario Sunshine. Even both Galaxy games have made pretty dramatic adjustments to the series. Galaxy 1 took away many of the exploration elements of the previous two games, to make for a more focused and essential platforming experience, while Galaxy 2 took that even further and turned out to be an abstract re-imagining of its direct predecessor, making the game play very differently despite the similar presentation.

The 3D Zeldas have not progressed that significantly since Ocarina of Time, with Majora's Mask being the odd one out. I haven't tried out Skyward Sword yet, but Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, while different in presentation, stuck to a virtually identical game design blueprint and were very predictable in that respect.

I should also note that the transition from 2D to 3D was a lot more rigorous with the Mario series. Whereas Ocarina of Time basically was a 3D version of A Link to the Past in terms of its core design, Super Mario 64 added a lot more noticeable elements to the Mario formula. Had the series previously mostly been about pretty straightforward platforming, Super Mario 64 added objectives, exploration, backtracking, and more, making it not only a revolutionary Mario game, but a pioneer in 3D gaming and a forerunner of the open world sandbox game.

Mario changes more. The only game that didn't really push the series forward in a meaningful way was Super Mario Sunshine.

DraugenCP

I dont understand how you can say that. I thought Mario Sunshine was the most unique game since its 3D inception. SMG series doest feel very different. Super Mario Sunshine was a completely different game. It tried to push Mario in a meaningfull way.

If felt more like a unqiue adventure game, & if anything it felt like it tried to do some thing different, much more so than any mario i have seen in years. Thats also why alot of gamers didnt like it, because it was too different.

[QUOTE="DraugenCP"]

Mario changes more. The only game that didn't really push the series forward in a meaningful way was Super Mario Sunshine.

brucecambell

I dont understand how you can say that. I thought Mario Sunshine was the most unique game since its 3D inception. SMG series doest feel very different. Super Mario Sunshine was a completely different game. It tried to push Mario in a meaningfull way.

If felt more like a unqiue adventure game, & if anything it felt like it tried to do some thing different, much more so than any mario i have seen in years. Thats also why alot of gamers didnt like it, because it was too different.

A lot of gamers didn't like it because it was too one-dimensional in terms of its theme and because the controls were imperfect. This becomes blatantly obvious when you play Galaxy 1 or 2 and then go back to the Bowser Jr. levels in Sunshine.

For the rest, Sunshine stayed pretty close to the design of 64, even if it did focus a little bit more on exploration and such. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the game, but I just felt it didn't add a lot to the Mario legacy on the whole.

[QUOTE="brucecambell"]

[QUOTE="DraugenCP"]

Mario changes more. The only game that didn't really push the series forward in a meaningful way was Super Mario Sunshine.

DraugenCP

I dont understand how you can say that. I thought Mario Sunshine was the most unique game since its 3D inception. SMG series doest feel very different. Super Mario Sunshine was a completely different game. It tried to push Mario in a meaningfull way.

If felt more like a unqiue adventure game, & if anything it felt like it tried to do some thing different, much more so than any mario i have seen in years. Thats also why alot of gamers didnt like it, because it was too different.

A lot of gamers didn't like it because it was too one-dimensional in terms of its theme and because the controls were imperfect. This becomes blatantly obvious when you play Galaxy 1 or 2 and then go back to the Bowser Jr. levels in Sunshine.

For the rest, Sunshine stayed pretty close to the design of 64, even if it did focus a little bit more on exploration and such. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the game, but I just felt it didn't add a lot to the Mario legacy on the whole.