Want a straaaaange Mario game? Then definitely check this one out!
The game I am referring to is Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden coins. If you never played it I'll just give you a brief summary of the plot (because we all know how important that aspect of a Mario game is).
Mario is returning to his estate (He has an estate? Since when? I mean I guessed he was rich since he spends most of his time stealing golden coins from inexplicable boxes, but I always assumed he lived on Peaches castle grounds). He has just rescued Daisy, after the first Super Mario Land, but unfortunately his estate has been taken over by Wario (who looks absolutely INSANE!). To reclaim his domain he must collect six golden coins, which are the keys to his castle (I know. Coins are keys. Makes perfect sense right ¬¬)
And that's it...You spend the remainder of the game on the Island (Mario's estate) completing levels to get these key coin things. These levels though are some of the oddest levels of any Mario game I have ever played. The space zone for instance. You spend the entire level in an astronaut suit avoiding angry, virtually stationary stars. And Puffa Fish! Its in space! WTF!?
The strangest part of the game by far though is the Mario Zone. The entire level is a giant robot of Mario. Okay, I guess that's pretty normal considering this is Mario's island. I mean it gives Mario the added dimension of being a narcissistic, egotistical douche which kind of destroys my impression of him being mild mannered, but I suppose its not completely out there. What is completely out there is that the final bosses are the THREE LITTLE PIGS! What the hell? Why? What genius at Nitendo had that idea? 'Hey guys, so you know this level we have which is a giant Mario Robot? Well I cant think of a final boss. Any ideas' Awkward guy puts his hand up. 'Erm...A robot Mario?' Nintendo boss looks at him with a deep condescending look. 'Any other ideas...that DONT suck' Confident guy puts his hand up. 'How about the three little pigs?' Boss goes 'YEAAAH!'
I suppose when it comes down to it I cant really be that shocked. I have been playing video games my entire life and weird elements are kind of a given (Katamari anyone?). Maybe its just because this is one of the earliest games I played and it left me with a genuinely uneasy feeling that I find it a point worth mentioning. Or maybe it is a really weird game...