Kenneth Caldwell

I loved the feather! I can think of several places in the newest game where leaping across a chasm with that item would have been great.

Also the Mega Mushroom, which is an occasional source of distress, too.

Is this a quibble about semantics? Metacritic thinks so.

Ah yes, the disappointed "half-empty" guy. We missed you. Even I was upset that a 12-year-old item created by a third party isn't featured here.

Sunshine is rarely seen on "best Mario games" lists, and in the the Mario-centric context of this feature I would argue it is underrated. Besides, is referencing an abstractly-weighted aggregate number on a corporate website the way we should be qualifying the games we play? I think Metacritic is a helpful tool, but we should be careful about how we approach averaged rankings, and numbered rankings in general. The individual reviewers whose opinions determine them are not necessarily offering sound criticisms, nor are they exempt from trends in the burgeoning genre of videogame reviews.

Wii Stampede: Walmart Edition

Where all vines lead. Coins and endless clouds.

How dare you compare that dirty hedgehog to anything Mario? Huh? The sound of Sonic's rings is like the sound of an alarm clock to me--it calls up pain and terror.

I watched that whole clip in anticipation. I was waiting for colored paint to start streaking along with his arm and leg movements, but it never happened. Now I'm angry at de Blob, somehow.

YES. THE WORLD NEEDS MORE OF THIS.

Kudos to the Mario content. Remember the original Mario Kart, before the lightning item, when Peach would drop those mini-mushrooms to shrink players? And the feather that let you jump! Good times.

The Yoshi's Island fuzzy rules, too. Get well soon, Kaes.