SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 9 - "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

ed note: This article originally premiered on December 9th, 2016

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 9: "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

Original air date - October 30th, 1989

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

One of the very best things about Christmas is getting a great present. During our shopping sprees, it is inevitable to find something that you want for yourself. The desire to get that one great present usually turns into an obsession. For the few weeks leading up to Christmas, we can start to get pretty self-centered about presents. We sometimes forget about all the good feelings experienced by giving other people joy around the holds. Our selfishness can make Christmas a downright icy time of the year.

In the late 1980's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!  was there to capitalize on the sudden popularity of the Mario Bros. video games on Nintendo. Each episode started and ended with a live action adventure of Mario and Luigi with their celebrity friends in New York City. Cindi Lauper, Norman Fell, Vanna White, and many other late eighties luminaries stopped by the Mario Bothers plumbing shop. In between these live action segments was an unrelated cartoon adventure of Mario, Luigi, the Princess, and Toad in the Mushroom Kingdom. The crew was constantly thwarting the evil schemes of King Koopa and his coalition of animal like bad guys (ed note: The Mario games had not named the main bad guy Bowser yet, hence the title King Koopa).

On the day before Halloween in 1989, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! presented an animated adventure titled "Koopa Klaus". The episode starts with Mario and the crew trying to dig a tunnel to HawaiiLand. Due to Toad's terrible navigation, they end up in the North Pole of the Mushroom Kingdom. Before the heroes arrived in the snowy landscape, King Koopa froze Santa's workshop and took Father Christmas hostage. King Koopa hates Christmas for some reason and wants to destroy all the toys Santa will be delivering. Our heroes decide to visit Santa's workshop on suggestion by Toad.  He is obsessed with getting presents. The Princess decides to give Toad his present early in hopes that it calms her servant down. Upon getting his new snowboard, Toad selfishly goes off to play. He never even thanks the Princess for the thoughtful gift.

The joy of Toad and his new snowboard is short lived, because King Koopa spots the crew and decides to attack. Our heroes see that Santa is a captive in King Koopa’s sleigh, and they all decide to save the big guy. Toad agrees to help, but not for Santa’s safety, he wants to save the toys. At one point, a bob-omb hits Toad and knocks him off the snowboard. He is concerned about his new toy, and the Princess scolds him for being selfish and only thinking of himself. Mario and Luigi use some good old platform jumping, some cave chasing, and other assorted video game moves to get Santa away from King Koopa and save the day.

Saint Nick was safe, but Santa’s workshop was still frozen. Toad is beside himself because he fears there will never be any new toys for the little guy. He then feels ok because at least he got a new snowboard, who cares about anyone else. The Princess tells Toad that Christmas is a time to think of others. With the spirit of the season finally coming into focus for Toad, he gives the snowboard to Santa so at least one present will make it for a Christmas delivery. The kindness of Toad’s gift causes the ice to melt, and free Santa’s workshop. Christmas is saved in the Mushroom Kingdom, and as a reward the Mario crew got to spend the evening delivering presents to all the toads, toadettes, and maybe even a few goombas and koopas.

Getting a cool gift is awesome. What we should not forget is that the feeling we get from giving someone a cool gift is what Christmas should be about. We will spend a lot of time in shops, or on the internet, looking for some great gifts. In our searches, there will be something great that catches our heart’s desire. This is not the season to be selfish. The joy of Christmas will be felt when you give someone else their heart’s desire. If your lucky, you will get that gift so someone else can feel the true holiday spirit.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of The X Millennial Man Podcast. He is still waiting for a game to feature the rad talking late eighties Link of The Legend of Zelda cartoon series.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Last Generation Gamer: Zelda II: The Adventures of Link

Last Generation Gamer is Seed Sings way of reflecting on the greatest video games that were released before the current gen systems.  These are not necessarily reviews.  Let's look at these thoughts as a walk down memory lane.  If you have any ideas for Last Generation Gamer contact us seedsing.rdk@gmail.com

It is without question that the Legend of Zelda series of games are some of the most iconic and beloved in the history of all video gaming. The latest entry, Breath of the Wild, has already been heralded as one of the greatest games ever made. The first game introduced revolutionary concepts most games did not adopt until very recently. From the very first gold cartridge to today’s open world marvel, the games that start with The Legend of Zelda in their title are sure fire masterpieces.

It almost was not that way. After the runaway success of The Legend of Zelda, the sequel soon followed. Zelda II was released in Japan in early 1987 and followed to America in late 1988. The game was a huge smash, selling out and being generally well reviewed. All seemed right with the new series of games.

Yet initial success did not help the legacy of Zelda II. If you look up the worst games in the series, Zelda II is regularly listed as the worst one Nintendo ever introduced. Yes, there were the three terrible games licensed to Phillips for their 3DO system. Outside of a terrible cartoon series, those games are not considered by anyone to be part of the Nintendo series of games. When it comes to the “main” games, Zelda II is not held in the same high esteem of any of the other games in the series.

Why such a critical fall from grace? For starters Zelda II is very different than the original. The split between a top down world and a side scroller is not found in any other game in the series. Also, Zelda II is a hard game. The game introduced leveling up by getting experience points, and those experience points take a long time to acquire. The game gives you three lives, another thing not seen in any other Zelda game, and if you lose all three lives, you lose all of the experience you gained. And believe me you needed those three lives. The games monsters also require some wait and see strategy. No barreling through enemies because you are just way too strong, Zelda II made you stop and think. Many times you would need all three lives just to test out strategies to get past a few levels of a dungeon. Once you figured out the right strategy on your last life, you died and have to start again. To make it sting even more, no matter where you lost your last life, you will begin the game right back at where you started in the very beginning. Zelda II added to the tradition known as “Nintendo Hard”.

Zelda II does not deserve the disdain time has given the game. Yes it is hard, but so what. It was so different from the first game, yet added to the charm of the series. The towns became alive, the world of Hyrule was ripe for new exploration, and the hero Link was as awesome as ever. He could jump up and stab downward, how awesome. Zelda II was a huge leap forward in concept and execution than it’s older sibling, and both games lived on the same system. Zelda II was a triumph of it’s time.

It is extremely easy to play the very difficult Zelda II: The Adventures of Link these days. The mini NES that came out a few years ago has it (that is how I am replaying it right now), and it is part of the Nintendo Switch Online catalog of games. The Switch catalog even has an easier version where Link already has many of his power ups and spells. So go find this lost gem and get exploring. Once you get over the frustration of having to play a challenging game, you will find that Zelda II deserves a place of respect in our pantheon of awesome vintage video games. Get to it, princess Zelda needs saving, again.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Up next? Why Kid Icarus of course.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Last Generation Gamer: Super NES Classic Edition

Another day, another blog about presents. But this time, it is all love.

In my family we do secret Santa with all my brothers and their spouses. It is much easier this way. Instead of buying chintzy crap for everyone, we can focus our full attention on the one person we draw from the hat. I love it this way. I like to get unique gifts that are specific for whichever person I pick. I love to make it a theme if at all possible. For example, tis year I got RD. He is very much into all things "Star Wars", as you all know, so I got him a bunch of random "Star Wars" stuff. Last year I got my oldest brother, who is notoriously hard to shop for, but I still found stuff that fit into what he likes. He likes absinthe, so I got him a specific glass that is used for absinthe, but he also likes The Grateful Dead. I searched long and hard on the internet for a Grateful Dead gift, and after about 20 minutes I got it. I found a Lego Jerry Garcia, and purchased it immediately. The very next night I got a text with a video from him which showed me him using his absinthe glass while Lego Jerry Garcia sat by as he listened to The Grateful Dead. I take very much pride in my gift giving ability. 

I was outdone by my oldest brother this year. He drew me, and I heard that he had a gift in mind for me since November. On Xmas morning, he handed me the gift and it was a mini Super Nintendo! I was pretty bummed that I didn't get my hands on a mini Nintendo last year, and I'm pretty sure my brother made a note of that. I was just as excited when I heard that Nintendo was going to make a mini SNES. That was the system I played the most as a child. I didn't really get to play too much Nintendo, being the youngest of 4 boys. But, the Super Nintendo came out right around the time of me being a pre teen, and while I didn't personally own one, most of my friends did. We played it all the time when we weren't outside. So, when I opened this gift I was thrilled. My brother knew it, my other brothers knew it, and my parents saw it. They all smiled because they all knew, and I had no idea. I was shocked that they all kept it a secret for over a month. My oldest brother is the type of guy that knows people. He knows people that help with cars, that can get sports tickets, that can get you good home insurance, and apparently, people that can get hard to get video game systems. He totally crushed it with this gift.

Needless to say, when we returned home and went through all the gifts, you all know how I feel about opening my kids presents now, my wife and I immediately set up the mini SNES. It was everything I could have hoped for. It brought me back to a time in my life that I loved. The games, there are 20 installed, are the best of the best. The range from Donkey Kong Country, my wife is AMAZING at that game, Super Punchout, Street Fighter, 2 different Kirby games, Starfox, Earthbound, Mario Kart and Super Mario World, amongst others. I played a lot of Street Fighter as a kid, so this was the first game I played. It was great. It was so cool to see the 8 bit game on my big TV in the living room. I then checked out Super Punchout. Again, it was tremendous. All the fighters I had forgotten about flooded my memory the further I got into the game. Then I did some Mario Kart. Mario Kart on the SNES, and this may be a hot take, is the best version of that game for me. It is so much easier to control compared to any other system.

The best of the best for me was Super Mario World. This is the best version of Mario Bros. Come at me. I will defend this version forever. It has the best worlds, graphics, the best side characters, the best bosses, it just flat out rules. I say again, come at me. Super Mario World is the one game that I have played every day since I got the mini SNES.

Taking my love for Super Mario World away, this is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. It is so much fun. It is nostalgic. It's a throwback. It can be played by everyone in my family. It is great. I'm forever indebted to my older brother now. He really upped the game this year with secret Santa. I'm am in awe of the greatness that is my mini SNES. I highly recommend you get one if you are a child of the 90's, and you can find one. They are the best.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has obviously not played a Mario game since the Super NES days. Super Mario World is good, but it sits well behind Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and of course Super Mario Odysey. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Holiday Television Programs: Day 9 - "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 9: "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! - Koopa Klaus"

Original air date - October 30th, 1989

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

One of the very best things about Christmas is getting a great present. During our shopping sprees, it is inevitable to find something that you want for yourself. The desire to get that one great present usually turns into an obsession. For the few weeks leading up to Christmas, we can start to get pretty self-centered about presents. We sometimes forget about all the good feelings experienced by giving other people joy around the holds. Our selfishness can make Christmas a downright icy time of the year.

In the late 1980's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!  was there to capitalize on the sudden popularity of the Mario Bros. video games on Nintendo. Each episode started and ended with a live action adventure of Mario and Luigi with their celebrity friends in New York City. Cindi Lauper, Norman Fell, Vanna White, and many other late eighties luminaries stopped by the Mario Bothers plumbing shop. In between these live action segments was an unrelated cartoon adventure of Mario, Luigi, the Princess, and Toad in the Mushroom Kingdom. The crew was constantly thwarting the evil schemes of King Koopa and his coalition of animal like bad guys (ed note: The Mario games had not named the main bad guy Bowser yet, hence the title King Koopa).

On the day before Halloween in 1989, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! presented an animated adventure titled "Koopa Klaus". The episode starts with Mario and the crew trying to dig a tunnel to HawaiiLand. Due to Toad's terrible navigation, they end up in the North Pole of the Mushroom Kingdom. Before the heroes arrived in the snowy landscape, King Koopa froze Santa's workshop and took Father Christmas hostage. King Koopa hates Christmas for some reason and wants to destroy all the toys Santa will be delivering. Our heroes decide to visit Santa's workshop on suggestion by Toad.  He is obsessed with getting presents. The Princess decides to give Toad his present early in hopes that it calms her servant down. Upon getting his new snowboard, Toad selfishly goes off to play. He never even thanks the Princess for the thoughtful gift.

The joy of Toad and his new snowboard is short lived, because King Koopa spots the crew and decides to attack. Our heroes see that Santa is a captive in King Koopa’s sleigh, and they all decide to save the big guy. Toad agrees to help, but not for Santa’s safety, he wants to save the toys. At one point, a bob-omb hits Toad and knocks him off the snowboard. He is concerned about his new toy, and the Princess scolds him for being selfish and only thinking of himself. Mario and Luigi use some good old platform jumping, some cave chasing, and other assorted video game moves to get Santa away from King Koopa and save the day.

Saint Nick was safe, but Santa’s workshop was still frozen. Toad is beside himself because he fears there will never be any new toys for the little guy. He then feels ok because at least he got a new snowboard, who cares about anyone else. The Princess tells Toad that Christmas is a time to think of others. With the spirit of the season finally coming into focus for Toad, he gives the snowboard to Santa so at least one present will make it for a Christmas delivery. The kindness of Toad’s gift causes the ice to melt, and free Santa’s workshop. Christmas is saved in the Mushroom Kingdom, and as a reward the Mario crew got to spend the evening delivering presents to all the toads, toadettes, and maybe even a few goombas and koopas.

Getting a cool gift is awesome. What we should not forget is that the feeling we get from giving someone a cool gift is what Christmas should be about. We will spend a lot of time in shops, or on the internet, looking for some great gifts. In our searches, there will be something great that catches our heart’s desire. This is not the season to be selfish. The joy of Christmas will be felt when you give someone else their heart’s desire. If your lucky, you will get that gift so someone else can feel the true holiday spirit.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of The X Millennial Man Podcast. He is still waiting for a game to feature the rad talking late eighties Link of The Legend of Zelda cartoon series.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Last Generation Gamer: Satoru Iwata 1959-2015

Last weekend Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was laid to rest. His death was a very large news story because Nintendo is one of the giants in the video game industry. There are some great features on who Satoru Inwata was, and why he is so important (my favorite piece came from Kotaku). His career, his accomplishments, and his love of video games (check out his interviews with Nintendo employees ) makes his passing one of great loss to everyone who has loved video games.

Thinking of Satoru Iwata and what he has meant to my life long love of video games makes me appreciate how influential he was not only to me, but also to my child. I am old enough to have played and enjoy an Atari 2600. It was my third favorite thing, Star Wars was number one followed by Superman comics. When I first saw the Nintendo Entertainment System, video games became my second favorite thing, still behind Star Wars. Once I entered college, the scholars I associated with were die hard Sega devotees. Nintendo fell by the wayside and I started to get interested in more modern games. The Sony Playstation was the future of my gaming life.

In the first part of the 21st century Nintendo did something different. They learned that the kids who grew up with the NES were now adults who had young children. These adults were not going to let their kids play Grand Theft Auto or Halo (even if those adults still played those games). In came the Nintendo DS, mobile gaming's father (the Gameboy is the great great grandfather). The DS had touch controls, over internet multiplayer, and incredible games. The adults who played the original Mario Kart could now play Mario Kart DS, anywhere. I had a pink DS Lite (it was a Christmas gift and I was too lazy to return it for a different color). I was working as a lobbyist and would spend a lot of time waiting for meetings in government offices. Brain Age, Animal Crossing, and of course Mario Kart were always with me and my trusty pink DS in the halls of power. 

In the spring of 2007 I was leaving a public hearing in Dayton Ohio and decided to make a stop at the local Best Buy to check out some of the goods. When I was looking at Playstation 2 games I saw a cart with four Nintendo Wiis sitting in the aisle. Suddenly I was a kid on Christmas morning, I was so excited. In less than ten minutes all of those Wiis were gone, one in my hand. I raced home and played Wii sports until after midnight with my wife. It was the second happiest day of our marriage up to that point. Shortly after we acquired our Wii, my wife and I had downloaded Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid from the virtual console. Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros: Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy 2 were soon added to our gaming library.

In 2010 my son was born. In 2013 my small family moved out of our city condo into a suburban home. While we were unpacking I decided to hook up the Wii to play some Mario Kart. Within a few months my young son was regularly winning races against his mother and me. His love for Mario Kart (Peach and Luigi were his racers) was immediate. We, I mean Santa, got him a 2DS for Christmas (the kid is young, I do not need the 3D messing his eyes up). Mario Kart 7 was the first game to be loaded into the system. A few months ago we gave him a Wii U and Mario Kart 8, plus a Luigi Amiibo. The kid uses the Wii U not only to play Mario Kart, but he is getting into the old Wii games. The other day he wanted to play Super Mario Bros, the one from the NES.

This is why Satoru Iwata's passing hit me. He is the man who steered Nintendo during the early part of the 21st century. He brought me back to Nintendo. He is the face behind the DS, Wii, and Wii U. He is the man who ran the company with not all the good games, Nintendo had the best games. Mario Galaxy 2 is far and away the best video game I have ever played. Mario Kart has no equal in the racing game genre. Any Zelda game can go toe to toe with Final Fantasy. Super Smash Brothers can never be beat down by the Mortal Kombats or Tekkens of the time.  Satoru Iwata was a game maker and a game player. The gamer press has always wanted to knock Nintendo for being a kid company, and for many years they were right. Satoru Iwata took Nintendo's reputation, and used it to build a gaming environment that my young son, my wife, and myself will participate in.

Rest in peace Satoru Iwata. Your love for the industry, and your connection to my life will be missed. The legacy you left will assure Nintendo in this home. Thank you.

RD Kulik

RD is the creator of Seed Sing. He loves video games, but is not very good at them. Come write for Seed Sing.