The NES Series:
Super Mario Bros.
"Well, that was quite the mood shift," Villager said.
"I know, right?" Jazz said. "I thought this was supposed to be a comedy series."
Mario, Villager, and Jazz were walking together across a green valley road. Tall green pipes rose from the ground here and there and large brick blocks floated in the sky overhead.
"Well, you two," Mario said, "This is where I leave you." He pointed to a tall white palace with red, shingled roofing rising over the ridge of a nearby hill. "Peach will receive you at her castle. Give her the items we got from the lab. She'll know what to do with them."
Villager and Jazz glanced at the large bags slung over their shoulders full of tiny statuettes and three gamepads.
"What will you do?" Villager asked.
"I'm going to the one place I can think of to learn more about these glitches." A dark look crept into his eyes. "The Minus World."
He turned away from them and took a deep breath. He glanced back at them and saluted. "I'll be back soon," he promised.
The plumber jumped away across the grassy fields, disappearing into the distance.
Villager and Jazz looked at each other. The hefted their bags and headed to Peach's Castle.
Five minutes later, the two newcomers were walking across the stone bridge that spanned the moat around Peach's castle. Jazz put her hand on the castle's wooden front door and pulled it open.
The sound of talking met their ears. Villager and Jazz stepped inside to find Olimar and Toad reclining on a pair of plush sofas in the foyer and downing bottles of mushroom juice.
"Olimar?" Villager asked.
Olimar raised his bottle. "Hey, guys," he said. "What's up?"
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be working for Foreman Spike."
"I finished. So I came to hang out with my old buddy Toad here."
Toad raised his bottle. "Hey, guys," he said. "Want some?"
Jazz shook her head and put down the bag on her shoulder. "Is Peach around?"
"Sorry," Toad said. "She's in another castle."
"Of course she is," Villager muttered, putting down his bag.
He and Jazz sat down beside Olimar and Toad.
"Do you know when she'll be back?" Jazz asked.
"As soon as she finishes her golf game, I think," Toad said. "Unless Bowser wins and kidnaps her as his prize. It happens."
"So," Olimar said, nudging Villager. "How were the R.O.B. games? Did things get R.O. between you two?"
Villager, Jazz, and Toad collectively groaned at the pun. "Actually," Villager said. "Things got pretty serious over there."
"Oh," Olimar said, raising his eyebrows, "Serious, huh?"
"Not like that. Serious as in Smash Freshmen serious."
Oh," Olimar took a sip from his drink and looked away. "In that case, I don't want to know. I died the last time things got serious. Let's just keep doing our comedy, okay?"
Villager shook his head. "Alright," he said. "So what about Super Mario Bros., then?"
"Okay," Olimar said. "Classic game, founder of the biggest franchise in the multiverse, general groundbreaker. But we've already got Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser. Who else is there to put down?"
"Hey, I'm right here," Toad said.
Olimar grinned. "Okay, Toad," he said. "I'll put you down. Assuming, of course, you can give me an adequate moveset. What can you do?"
"What can't I do?" Toad asked. "I could be the king of items. See, I could use a super mushroom and alternate between big and small at will. I could use a fire flower, ice flower, or boomerang flower for projectiles. I could use a wing cap, raccoon tail, helicopter hat, or I could even turn my mushroom head into a parachute like in the TV show. I could pluck vegetables like Peach, I could release spores, I could ram into people with a Kart. I could be a heavy hitter or a lightweight. And for my final smash, I pull out a Mega Mushroom."
Villager and Olimar glanced at each other and grinned. "Gee, I don't know," Villager said. "You play a pretty important role as Peach's standard b-move. I'm not sure we can work around that one."
"Oh, please. Just replace me with Toadsworth. That old fogey tried to replace me a few years back anyway, might as well give him what he wants."
Olimar rolled his eyes. "Okay, Toad. We'll see what we can do."
"Thank you."
Olimar scribbled on his notepad. "Well, now that that's settled, who wants to go see if the paintings in the castle still transport you to other worlds?"
A ripple blasted its way through the palace, freezing the four characters temporarily and causing them to flash into an 8-bit form for a second.
"What was that?" Jazz asked.
Another ripple tore through the palace, stronger than the first.
"Something's wrong," Toad said, jumping to his feet. "I must find my princess."
Next Friday:
Be here for the premiere of the first chapter of
THE MII FIGHTER CHRONICLES