BOOK TITLE: Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America
AUTHOR: Jeff Ryan
RELEASE DATE: 2011
GENRE: Nonfiction
SUBGENRE: Videogame Biography
GRADE: Pass
From Nintendo’s early days with the Donkey Kong arcade game to the present day with Super Mario Wii, Jeff Ryan documents the history of the Mario character and how over many decades he became the symbol of excellence for video gaming. This constant promotion of such a simple, let lovable character didn’t come without hardship. Nintendo had to constantly put out games and consoles that rivaled other systems like the Sega Genesis, Sony Play Station, and the Microsoft X-Box to name a few. Sometimes Nintendo won these rivalries, sometimes they were hit hard with a massive loss in revenue. Even today Nintendo struggles to keep Mario relevant in a generation full of new gadgets and principles.
First and foremost, the research Mr. Ryan conducted along with this previous knowledge of videogames shines through for this book. Every detail is so intricate that trusting this book for its word wouldn’t be too far out of bounds. The computer lingo might sound a bit confusing at first, but it’ll all make sense the closer you get to the middle and end of the book. My only question to Mr. Ryan is, how exactly did he find this information out? Did he individually ask the Nintendo execs about everything they know or did he have to surf every crevice of the web? Don’t worry, I’m not calling him out on any flaws; it just piques my curiosity, that’s all.
Many people on Good Reads have criticized Jeff Ryan’s use of pop culture references, particularly as he fused them into the writing style to make it his own. Normally, pop culture references are a no-no in literature due to the reader’s off chances that he might not know what the author is talking about. Jeff Ryan can get away with it, though, because Mario culture is pop culture. The references don’t go too far off from the videogame genre and are actually amusing to listen to from time to time. In short, I believe the energetic writing style is fun to read and would make Mr. Ryan’s job as a writer for the Huffington Post much more believable to a layman.
And now we get to my favorite part of any book I give a passing grade, the pacing. The pacing is somewhat slower than what I usually read, but that doesn’t bother me at all. It only bothered me during the opening chapters when Nintendo was just a generic entertainment company instead of a Mario and Donkey Kong giant. My patience kicked in and the book has been an enjoyable read ever since. This would be the time where I encourage all of my readers to have at least some level of patience when dealing with a new book or a new author. The excitement will happen one way or another. Such is the case with “Super Mario” by Jeff Ryan.
If you’re feeling nostalgic about your videogame-playing past, this book is for you. It’s not only good for getting that warm fuzzy feeling flowing through your bloodstream, but it’s also educational, particularly as it relates to running a business. Running a business of any kind is hard work and in this screwed up economy, most of them either don’t make it or barely make enough to survive by the skin of their teeth. I have a new appreciation for what business owners have to go through on a daily basis. It still doesn’t mean I’m letting them get away with tax cuts for billionaires or exploiting foreign workers. Just throwing that out there.
We don’t have too many working class heroes in today’s society, because in order for that to happen, you have to survive the shitty economy. If there’s one character of mine who’s capable of thriving in the American darkness on less than $100 per wrestling match, it’s someone who will stick around like the “cockroach” he’s been referred to as by the higher ups. He’s a jobber named Sid Underworld. He looks like Sid from the SNES version of Final Fight and fights like him too. He also comes out to the music of “Otherworld” from Final Fantasy X fame and psychs up the audience by doing so. How many times has a wrestling crowd really been fired up for a jobber? Maybe in 2011 when Daniel Bryan was getting shitty storylines, but other than that, it hasn’t been done since the wonderful work of Sid Underworld has been known throughout every corner of my own goddamn imagination. If a really muscular badass like Monzo Bleeder from my book “Brawl Mart” spears him in the ribs, Sid won’t exactly do a 360 degree rotation in the air. He’ll do a 720 instead! If Mitch McLeod from that same book Occu-Punches him, Sid Underworld will wake up on the moon. Even if someone like Debra Winter were to gouge him in the eyes with her long fingernails, Sid would sell that as well. In fact, he’d scream so loud in a throaty and beastly voice that he could be the lead singer for Soulfly or Five Finger Death Punch. With this uncanny ability to sell his opponents’ moves, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that he stayed at the bottom of the barrel for so long in the wrestling industry. It’s also a shame that his corporate masters wouldn’t let him move up the ladder. He is so popular with the fans that the Yes Movement can’t compare. The difference though is that Daniel Bryan’s popularity got him into a Wrestlemania 30 match with the legendary Triple H while Sid Underworld, working for KDW, would probably submit to a Finger Poke of Doom from Keegan Day. Why exactly am I making all of these Brawl Mart references if Sid Underworld never made it on the character roster? Maybe it’s wishful thinking, I don’t know. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize that Sid should have replaced Rosie Rogers in that story. Mitch McLeod had no right to elbow a woman in the jaw like he did to Rosie. At least if he did it to Sid, it’d be more believable. Plus, Debra Winter would be more likely to cheat on Mitch with Sid than she would with Rosie. Maybe I’m speaking too soon. Maybe Brawl Mart can be an instant classic despite Rosie Rogers getting the attention instead of Sid Underworld. I’m not entirely finished with writing pro-wrestling novels. Maybe Sid can make an appearance in one of them. Maybe he can poke his head out of a boiling pool of red liquid and say, “I’ll be back!” Bonus points to anybody who knows what movie that comes from.
***WRESTLING QUOTE OF THE DAY***
“Let me ask you something, Ric Flair: what the hell is a nature boy? Does it mean you like nature? Does it mean you like boys?”
-Stone Cold Steve Austin-
We all have to encounter people we absolutely have a deep hatred for at some point in our lives. Like Times New Roman, you know the type. They torment you over a long period of time to the point where their name is a curse word. I have a few names that are like that for me and therefore, when I do my writing, I won’t use them when I’m introducing characters to my stories. Who knows? I may use those names for Complete Monster villains that are going to get their comeuppance eventually in my story, but it’s highly unlikely. Until somebody somewhere makes the name “cool” again, the name will go completely ignored in my stories. For instance, I used to have an aversion to the name Aaron because I got beat up in high school by a kid with that name. But when I started watching MMA and I started hearing about people named Aaron Simpson, Aaron Rosa, and Aaron Riley, the name was cool again and I started using it more often. I have characters named Aaron Jackson “AJ” Rollins and Aaron Edge, the former being a psychotic mercenary and the latter being a dark comedian. I also used to have an aversion to the name Cody because in middle school I had an aggressive bully with that name. Ever since purchasing a copy of Final Fight for the Super Nintendo and playing as a boxer named Cody, the name stopped being forbidden. You see where I’m going with this? If the name becomes used in a positive way, then I won’t have an aversion to it and I’ll use it for my characters. The most noteworthy character for Cody is a female MMA fighter who has an I at the end of her name instead of a Y. Her last name is Oliveira, by the way, and she’s a Brazilian Jiu-Jitzu ace. But then there are some names out there that have no redemption value whatsoever, mainly because nobody names their children that anymore. The most prominent example of a name that will never be cool to me is Art. I had a step-father named Art who was verbally abusive to me and my mom, so that hits close to home. I know there are people out there with the name Art that I can like. I like Art Evans (the crazy old man from the third story of Tales From the Hood), Art Wicks (an English teacher I had in college), and Art Dent (the main character from The Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy, which is on this blog). Despite three perfectly cool people with the name Art, the name Art itself isn’t very pleasant sounding. If I ever use it in my stories, it’ll be as a last name such as Arthur or McArthur. The second and final example of a name beyond redemption is Cindy. I had a senior social studies teacher named Cindy who like Art was verbally abusive. As of today, nobody in my current life has made the name Cindy cool. I guess I should cite Cyndi Lauper as an example of someone who did, but her music sucks, so no. The only time I’ve ever used the name Cindy in a story was for someone who was a bitchy girlfriend to a comedian named Marcus Edge (Aaron Edge’s brother). As of today, the only two names that have no redemption value to me are Art and Cindy. I’ve had a lot of people express hatred toward me, but their names were made cool again, so I don’t worry about that anymore. In the words of Mike “The Streets” Skinner, do you understand or do you need an interpreter?
***LYRICS OF THE DAY***
“Did you hear the one about me giving a shit? ‘Cause if I ever did, I don’t remember it!”
-Five Finger Death Punch singing “Under and Over It”-
