The 'Shroom:Issue 210/Palette Swap
Director's Notes
We've made it to September, all! Welcome back to The 'Shroom!
Gotta say, it has been pretty quiet. I've been getting a lot of reading done and I'm looking forward to fall starting! Don't forget, next month is our celebration of Anton's 100th issue! We've got a lot of fun in store for him and y'all, so be sure to come back next month to see everything we have!
This month is once again a little short, but, we do have some guest sections from Waluigi Time (talk) and Shoey (talk). I hope you enjoy! Happy reading!
~FunkyK38
Section of the Month
We're looking at August's Section of the Month results! In a massive lead, we have winstein (talk)'s The ? Panel! In second place, we have Waluigi Time (talk)'s guest section of Featured Sprite. Not to be outdone, we have the Waluigi Time Comic collab of Waluigi Time (talk) and MightyMario (talk) in third. Thank you to everyone who voted, and we hope you'll keep it up for this month as well!
| PALETTE SWAP SECTION OF THE MONTH | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Section | Votes | % | Writer |
| 1st | The ? Panel | 27 | 69.23% | winstein (talk) |
| 2nd | Featured Sprite | 7 | 17.95% | Waluigi Time (talk) |
| 3rd | Waluigi Time Comic | 5 | 12.82% | Waluigi Time (talk) and MightyMario (talk) |
Random Image of the Month
Hello, and welcome back to Random Image of the Month, The 'Shroom's most-sometimes-appearing voluntary section. Now usually we look at various Mario-related images, mostly from the godless 80s or the even more godless 90s, but this month we're going to be looking at something different. We're going to be looking at an image featuring 90s edutainment star Putt-Putt. More specifically, we're looking at the box art for the hit PC game Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon.
If you're from the 90s like me, you probably remember Putt-Putt. Created by children's point-and click-adventure/Backyards Sports machine Humongous Entertainment, Putt-Putt was the line of game made for, like, actual babies, as opposed to Pajama Sam and Freddie Fish that were made for mature adults like me! A talking car in a horrible world of talking cars, Putt-Putt and his dog Pep went on a bunch of adventures like saving the zoo, traveling through time, and going to a parade, all of which required you to just click on everything!
I think it's kind of the funny that the first Putt-Putt game, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade is super low-stakes. All you're doing is finding a dog so you can join the pet parade. Which raises questions! Like, why do organic animals exist in a world that seems to be populated entirely by talking cars? Did humans used to exist? Did we make the cars too smart and they overthrew us? I don't know, and, unfortunately, thanks to a recent court ruling, I'm no longer allowed to send letters to Humongous Entertainment (Joe Biden's America). The stakes in Putt-Putt are very random. Sometimes he's getting ready for the big NASCAR race, and at other times he's traveling through time to find his history homework. I assume he's attempting to prevent said history homework from Butterfly Effect-ing the timeline into a world where Segways are the dominant species! Anyways, the second game in the franchise, Putt-Putt Goes the Moon, said "low stakes are dumb" and instead trapped Putt-Putt on the moon after an accident at the old fireworks factory. But more importantly, the game opens with a banger song!
♪ He's Brave and he's cheerful♪
♪But could have been more careful ♪
♪Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon!♪
You can tell right off the bat that this is an old Putt-Putt game. How, you ask? Well, not only is Putt-Putt scrunched up like an accordion, but just look at Pep! Look at that coat of fur. He looks sick! Like, I know canonically speaking Putt-Putt found him half-starving and living in a cave, but, come on, Putt-Putt, that was months ago! Take him to the vet! Get him some vitamin C! Do something; he looks like he's dying! All I'm trying to say is that Humongous Entertainment did a poor job with this early design of Pep. I'm pretty sure Pep is supposed to be the cute animal mascot, but no way man, this design looks awful. I wouldn't pet that dog! If I saw that version of Pep, I'd call animal control assuming it was one of those mean feral dogs you hear about on the news! I do, however, like the little space helmet Pep is wearing. That's a cute little feature even though it's not hooked up to an oxygen source, making it completely worthless! You'll notice though that Putt-Putt isn't wearing a helmet, 'cause he's car. Is Putt-Putt alive? Does Putt-Putt have a soul? I don't know. All I know is that, canonically speaking, he doesn't need to breath oxygen to live, apparently!
I think my big thing with this box art and really the game in general is how accurate the moon is, 'cause, you know, I think that accuracy is important in an edutainment game. I know it was a little hard for the developers to program such an accurate moon, since, you know, we've never been there (open your eyes, Sheeple), but, you know, just looking at the moon with some binoculars will confirm they got at least the basic details right. I like the moon town a lot, which is like a 1950s diner, a snowcone shop, and some apartments on the outskirts of town. There's even a car wash! Which raises questions! The people on the Moon outside of Rover aren't cars. Does the moon have cars? How did the moon get the industry to build cars??? YOU'RE RAISING A LOT OF QUESTIONS I DON'T THINK YOU'RE WILLING TO ANSWER, HUMONGOUS ENTERTAINMENT!!! Sorry... Uh, we've got the mailman because, as we all know, the moon has an excellent postal service! Even though I don't think the mailman really does much in-game, I'm still happy to see such a proud tradition represented on the box! Next, we've got the Big Moon Door. That's where the Man on the Moon lives. He wants a picture of himself because he's a narcissist. Finally, there's Rover, who I don't like! He got left behind during the moon mission, which... wait, no, wait a second. Everybody stop talking and let me think. IN THE FLASHBACK HE TELLS YOU THERE ARE ASTRONAUTS DRIVING HIM!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HUMANS IN THE PUTT-PUTT FRANCHISE??? WHAT ARE YOU NOT TELLING US??? I don't like Rover; his smile makes me not trust him and in-game his voice makes me think there's a reason he was left behind.
I'd say this is a pretty good box art. Things really stick out. A lot of stuff pops out to catch your attention. And it does a good job of showing you what you'll see in the game, since it highlights some of the more important things you'll see in game. I suppose that's it for this month; I'll leave you all with more lyrics from that banger intro.
♪ We're glad that you're happy!♪
♪But Putt-Putt make it snappy! ♪
♪Putt-Putt come back from the Mooooooooooooooooon♪
TV Tomorrow Tribute
Drawn by: Waluigi Time (talk)
In honor of Quizmelon's 100th edition of TV Tomorrow and a tribute to the Fake News team!
Thank you Quizmelon, Shoey, Hooded Pitohui, ClawgripFan9001, TheBlueCatMenace, Legend 8, Boo1268, and DryBonesBandit!
Waluigi Time Comic
Drawn by: Waluigi Time (talk)
"Angler Anger" - Waluigi Time Comic
Panel 1
[Shmaluigi and Shmwario are sitting in a boat on a lake. They're holding fishing poles and wearing fishing gear.]
Panel 2
SHMWARIO: This is boring, why's it takin' so long?
SHMALUIGI: We've been here five minutes...
Panel 3
SHMWARIO: Well I'm gonna take matters into my own hands!
Panel 4
[Shmaluigi turns back to look at Shmwario with unpleasant surprise on his face as a huge splash of water comes up at him.]
Panel 5
[Shmwario is underwater and looks mischievously at a shocked Cheep Cheep.]
Panel 6
[Shmwario surfaces from underwater, holding the grumpy Cheep Cheep by its tail. Shmaluigi looks at him, very unsure.]
SHMWARIO: Now THAT'S how you go fishin'! Bwahaha!
The ? Panel
{Mario is playing tennis with an unseen opponent. The score is currently in tiebreaker}
Announcer: The score is now at 6-6, with Mario at a disadvantage. How will he turn this around?
Announcer: It's comes down to this, folks! Will Mario be number one and take the win home, somehow?
Panel 2:
{Mario returns the tennis ball with his racket}
Panel 3:
{Mario returns the tennis ball again with the racket}
Panel 4:
{The scene is black with Lakitu turning his head left and right to observer the ball. The trails of the tennis ball are coloured}
Panel 5:
{Mario jumps up high in the air to deliver a jump shot}
Panel 6:
{The crowd intensely watches the match}
Panel 7:
{High up in the air, Mario returns the shot}
Panel 8:
{Mario lands on the court after jumping, readying the racket}
Panel 9:
{The shot returns past Mario, bouncing past him. Mario is surprised}
Announcer: IN!
Mario: Ah!
Announcer: Game, Set and Match!
Panel 10:
Mario: {Mario shrugs off the loss} Oh well, can't win 'em all.
Panel 11:
{Mario walks towards the net and ready his hand to shake with his opponent}
Mario: That was fantastic! We should play again in the future!
Panel 12:
{Two hands are shown shaking as a gesture of conviviality, close up}
Panel 13:
{Mario is shaking hands with another Mario, one holding the net down while the other is still holding his racquet}
Mario: You play so well too! Let's do this again another time!
{In the sidelines, Toadsworth and Bubbles are talking while each hold a cup of tea}
Toadsworth: That was a splendid match, wouldn't you say, old bean?
Bubbles: Why yes, I enjoy the part where that chap Mario is the winner!
Mario 1: Hey paisano, what say we go karting for a friendly race?
Mario 2: Good idea, my man! But first, let's eat! I'm hungry from all the tennis-ing!
Mario (Umpire): {Runs towards the other two Marios} Guys, can I join? I'm craving for spaghetti and driving!
Ace: {Surprised} W-w-huh? Three Marios?
Alex: I stopped asking those kind of things years ago...
| The 'Shroom: Issue 210 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • Poochy's Picks • Credits |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |
| Specials | TV Tomorrow Commentary Tracks |
