How Mario Games Got Weird Again

Have you noticed how Mario games have been in a creative renaissance lately? We're seeing new games and remakes alike that are (mostly) embracing the series' inherent strangeness to explore new ideas, new takes on the usual level themes, and new evolutions of classic gameplay! Makes it hard to believe Mario was nearly the opposite for a while: From about halfway into the Wii era through the end of the Wii U's run, we mostly saw a homogenous art style, the same overdone aesthetics, and gameplay that ranged from "the same as last time with slight adjustments" to "trying so hard to re-invent everything without making sure it actually worked".

So, how did that turn around? How did Mario rediscover its original--very weird--roots in time to help propel the Nintendo Switch to the heights it's reached today? Tune in to see how and why Nintendo's brightest star went from strange to safe to strange again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support via Patreon at:   / delzethin  
Graphic design by Voyager:   / fire_voyager  
Graphic design by Slink:   / ashadowlink  
Post-production assistance by Neoxon:   / neoxon619  

Additional Sources:
Article – Mario + Rabbids Art Leak (Polygon): https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/23/156...
Article – Nintendo Wii Name Announcement (ABC News): https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sto...
Article – Super Mario Bros. Movie Sequel Announced (The Hollywood Reporter): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mov...
Misc. – Nintendo Console Sales Figures (Nintendo JP): https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/fina...
Misc. – Super Mario Bros. Wonder “Ask the Developers” Interview (Nintendo): https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/...

(For video sources, check the pinned comment! Too many to place here without running out of available space.)