The 'Shroom:Issue 144/Pipe Plaza

Director’s Notes

Written by: The Pyro Guy (talk)

Hey guys! I'm pretty busy this month so I just wanted to say. Please enjoy the sections that my awesome team has gathered for you. Thank you and I hope you all enjoy reading this section.

Section of the Month

Congratulations to Alex95, SuperChao, and LudwigVon for winning Section of the Month! You all have deserved to be placed within SOTM for doing an amazing job. Please keep on voting for all of these wonderful writers that represent Pipe Plaza. Thank you all once again for voting!

Pipe Plaza SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Votes	%	Writer
1st	NIWA Spotlight	6	42.86%	Alex95
2nd	Interview	4	28.57%	Superchao
3rd	Monthly Report	2	14.29%	LudwigVon

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MarioWiki Sections

Monthly Report
LudwigVon (Talk)

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A look over the wiki's stats of the past month.
[read more]

Non-Wiki Sections

Interview
Superchao (Talk)

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Grab a cup of forehead coffee for this interview with Mario jc.
[read more]

NIWA Spotlight
Alex95 (Talk)

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The wikis you can help and how you can help them.
[read more]

Poll Committee Discussion
Hooded Pitohui (Talk)

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The best analysis of the polls around!
[read more]

'Shroom Recap
Hooded Pitohui (Talk)

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Analysis of The 'Shroom's history and the achievements of its writers.
[read more]

Monthly Report

Written by: LudwigVon (talk)

Hello 'Shroom readers! Are you spending a nice month so far? Above all, I hope you took the time to celebrate Mar10 Day! As far as I'm concerned, I enjoy it playing Super Mario Maker. With the sequel, Super Mario Maker 2 coming soon, I took advantage of the time remaining to train a bit before creating some great levels with slopes in the Super Mario 3D World style!

Okay, back to the serious stuff. As the Stats Manager, I'm still here to bring you an all-new Monthly Report. We'll take a look at the Mario Wiki's statistics for March and a comparison with the previous month. Without further ado, let's take a look at it.

March Statistics
Statistic	As of March 13, 2019 (21:26)**
Content Pages	21,790
All Pages	187,496
Files	105,728
Edits	2,472,920
Edits per Page	13.19
Registered Users	26,835
Active Users	363
Bots	3
'Shroom Writers	47
Autopatrolled	44
Patrollers	2
Administrators	11
Bureaucrats	4
Proprietor	1

February — March Statistics
Statistic	As of February 13, 2019 (21:03)*	As of March 13, 2019 (21:26)**	Percentage Change
Content Pages	21,624	21,790	+0.767%
All Pages	185,776	187,496	+0.925%
Files	104,424	105,728	+1.248%
Edits	2,456,070	2,472,920	+0.686%
Edits per Page	13.22	13.19	-0.226%
Registered Users	26,678	26,835	+0.588%
Active Users	362	363	+0.276%
Bots	3	3	0%
'Shroom Writers	46	47	+2.173%
Autopatrolled	43	44	+2.325%
Patrollers	2	2	0%
Administrators	12	11	-8.333%
Bureaucrats	4	4	0%
Proprietor	1	1	0%

*EST Time. **EDT Time.

Many things have gone up this month, and it's nice to see that the wiki's activity is still strong, although edits per page suffered a small decrease. In addition, there is one less administrator, due to the resignation of KPH2293 (talk). I take the time here to wish him the best of luck for his future.

And that's the end of Issue 144's Monthly Report. Thank you for taking the time to read it, and come again next month. Meanwhile, have a great time!

Interview

Written by: Superchao (talk)

Hello, 'Shroom readers! You may be wondering why I didn't have one of these little intros and outros last month. The answer to that is... I forgot about them. Whoops. But this time you'll get one, and you'll get an entire interview too! I've chosen current bureaucrat Mario jc, one of only a handful of people in the wiki's entire history to hold that rank. He primarily focuses his time on the wiki, so while we see him somewhat on the forum, he's not the kind of person you might know that much that about. That's why I'm here to fix it, with this interview!

The Interview:
Superchao: Hello, 'Shroom readers! Welcome once again to yet another of your possibly-favorite section, interview!
Superchao: And this month, I've got Wiki bureaucrat Mario jc with me!
Mario jc: Hi, glad to be here!
Superchao: So! Considering that your main claim to fame is a lot of work on the wiki, let's start at the beginning. How'd you find the wiki in the far-off days of 2010?
Mario jc: Wow, it's been 9 years already
Mario jc: Well, if I recall correctly, it was around 2008, when I needed a list of Catch Card locations for Super Paper Mario
Mario jc: That's when I stumbled across the "List of Catch Cards" page on the wiki and noticed it had the location for Piccolo's card, which I was missing
Superchao: Maan, the catch card quest. That was a fun one! Then again I liked SPM and its sidequests in general.
Mario jc: The first Paper Mario definitely stood out to me because of its sidequests
Mario jc: I've yet to play TTYD unfortunately
Superchao: Someday you desperately need to fix that. Not yet, though.
Superchao: I'm surprised to hear you found it in 2008, though! What made you not want to join at the time?
Mario jc: If I could find a copy :')
Mario jc: I'm not sure, actually. I guess I liked browsing the site a lot I never really thought about actually editing it
Superchao: That's fair, that was how I felt about Zeldawiki until I noticed things I could fill in.
Mario jc: I remember spending most of my time on the lists linked in the sidebar
Superchao: Like... the 'Shroom? Which you can read right now, reader wait it doesn't work when you try shilling it to the people reading it.
Mario jc: You end up going through a lot of pages that way
Mario jc: They can read multiple articles at the same time in different tabs
Superchao: Any particular lists stand out as ones you'd use all the time?
Mario jc: Mostly characters, items and enemies
Superchao: Educational! Man, I always forget "allies" is a thing for some reason.
Mario jc: Yeah, that is a weird category
Superchao: I actually thought "didn't we get rid of that once" but I remembered that was "affiliations". ...I think.
Mario jc: Ah, "affiliations", I remember seeing those on character pages
Mario jc: I can see why they got rid of that
Superchao: Yep, a whole bunch of reaching. I actually helped clean them off! Then I didn't edit the wiki after that because I always intend to but then I don't.
Superchao: The eternal struggle.
Mario jc: When did you start editing, if I may switch it around for a bit?
Superchao: Me? Back in 2006.
Superchao: Affilitations was in the beginning of 2014, though.
Mario jc: Wow, one year after the wiki was born!
Superchao: Indeed, I've been around for a very long time. Joined before the first anniversary, even.
Mario jc: I always forget the Mario Boards mods had a start on the wiki
Mario jc: You guys should come back some time :P
Superchao: I should. Who else will educate the masses about Mario Golf, if I don't!?
Mario jc: Only you can save usss
Superchao: Speaking of joining, I'm curious what pushed you to join, rather than just read?
Mario jc: The main reason was I wanted to add stuff I knew about Mario
Mario jc: As a kid I always liked to keep personal lists of item locations/levels/etc. on Word docs so it was pretty much kind of perfect for me
Mario jc: There was another, interesting reason, though...
Superchao: Ha, I'm glad I'm not the only one who did that! I still have my old beat-up notebook somewhere with all the Sammer Guy stats I manually calculated. The number of times I played Chapter 6 in the postgame...
Superchao: Also, oh? You can't just say that and leave us hanging, man!
Mario jc: So what's the next question? While going through the list pages, I noticed a lot of red links
Mario jc: When I clicked on one, it would say something like "You must be logged in to edit this page"
Mario jc: So for whatever reason I thought it was some sort of VIP page that only registered users can enter
Superchao: So you decided to finally solve the mystery by joining!
Mario jc: So it was January 31, 2010 when I registered...
Mario jc: ...but it turns out it was just a non-existent article.
Superchao: Tragically anticlimactic, but it hooked you, so it all worked out, no?
Superchao: This is the perfect springboard to ask you a question I've wanted to know since... probably since I ever met you.
Superchao: Namely:
Superchao: What does the jc mean???
Mario jc: The "jc" in my username is my initials
Superchao: ...Huh.
Mario jc: (Which I'm not telling, sorry guys)
Superchao: That's... surprisingly simple.
Mario jc: Truly the epitome of creative usernames, let me tell you
Superchao: I was expecting some sort of ridiculous in-joke, not gonna lie
Mario jc: Sorry I let you down
Mario jc: But yeah that's the name I went with
Mario jc: For lack of a creative name
Mario jc: And I never bothered to change it since
Superchao: It's okay. No one is ever going to say "Superchao" is the most creative or exciting name.
Superchao: the real power move is to sign up with one name, take on another later, and then switch back to your first name after literally years
Mario jc: Sounds superchaotic
Superchao: Considering people call me by different nicknames almost interchangably, yes! Meanwhile, I have the feeling that no one ever calls you anything except "JC" for short
Superchao: Mostly because on a Mariowiki, Mario as a nickname is...
Superchao: difficult to differentiate.
Mario jc: Yeah
Mario jc: I had considered renaming myself to "JC" but that's taken unfortunately
Superchao: ...It is?
Mario jc: Yep, by a currently inactive user whose last edit was in 2013
Mario jc: The hope is that they come back and request a name change, but you know...
Superchao: you're a crat now, "accidentally" rename them to something else
Mario jc: "Sorry, my mouse just slipped"
Superchao: Speaking of your status, though!
Superchao: How'd you first catch the eyes of the wiki staff and get to hear them chant One Of Us, One Of Us?
Superchao: i have heard through reliable sources that that's how the initiation works
Mario jc: That's exactly how it works
Mario jc: I guess I was just doing what I did best, adding content and creating missing pages
Mario jc: I also helped in maintenance as well
Superchao: I can't be sure myself, but it really does seem like "all-around consistent editing" is considered the #1 barometer for promotions
Superchao: Which, I mean, getting any kind of staff position in this community means you're basically a janitor, so...
Mario jc: Yeah pretty much, haha
Superchao: I'm curious - did getting promoted change your focus? Like, focus more on cleanup work rather than additions?
Superchao: Or has it pretty much been the same ride?
Mario jc: Good question... For patroller it was mostly the same ride, going about adding content
Mario jc: I didn't really do much with my patrolling powers then, admittedly
Superchao: Do patrollers even have powers that aren't just "oh, vandalism" *fixes* because I legit don't know
Mario jc: They can also hide revisions of a page from public view
Superchao: That's the objectively worst power as measured by the barometer of "now I don't get to know what that saaaaid"
Superchao: I know that like 99% are just giant masses of slurs, but I still wanna know
Mario jc: Going into sysop and crat there's definitely the greater sense of responsibility
Mario jc: So it was pretty much equal focus there
Superchao: "Here's the big red button that says "DELETE WIKI." Don't push it, ever."
Superchao: Probably not that much, but still up there.
Superchao: So, all in all... are you happy you took the job?
Mario jc: Yeah definitely!
Mario jc: More maintenance tools to play around with, plus it's nice to just throw stop signs at vandals
Superchao: It is, isn't it? The one downside of the forums being calm is I don't get to be ban-happy anymore.
Mario jc: Ban everyone
Superchao: Well, that would prevent any more rule breaking...
Superchao: Out of curiosity, do you ever use the forum much outside of staff stuff?
Mario jc: I'm on the forums often, mostly General Discussion and threads for game I'm interested in, but I don't post much
Mario jc: I'm only a Cheep Cheep
Superchao: Fair enough. Gotta spend all that free time on the wiki, after all!
Mario jc: Nowadays actually the admin board isn't that active, since a lot of discussion is done on Discord
Superchao: you'll just have to... POST IN OTHER BOARDS
Superchao: a terrifying thought, i know
Mario jc: If it's Mindless Junk, I'd imagine so
Mario jc: Back when I was first patroller I wasn't even on the Mario Boards at all, and it was kind of required to check on the admin board frequently then
Superchao: Ah, so that's how you got your boards account to begin with.
Mario jc: Yep, even though I hardly used it
Mario jc: That was part of the reason I got demoted, but I agreed on it since I wanted to devote more time to studies, since it was the final years of high school
Superchao: Waaaait, you got demoted? Now that's news to me!
Superchao: I was kinda under the impression you'd just been going up and up ever since it started!
Mario jc: Haha, yeah I forgot about that part
Mario jc: Since I was focusing more on school work, I became more inactive, so I was demoted in 2013
Superchao: I see. When'd you come back?
Mario jc: After I finished high school, I had more time to edit the wiki, so in 2016, Tucayo PM'd me asking me if I'd like to rejoin
Superchao: And as far as I can tell that... worked out pretty well!
Mario jc: That's right!
Mario jc: Except instead of chanting they offered cookies
Superchao: Ah, a sweeter deal!
Superchao: Out of curiosity, when did you become Sysop and Crat, and was there anything to it beyond "hey we want to give you a bigger toolbox, you in?"
Mario jc: Yeah that's basically it
Mario jc: I became sysop beginning of 2017 and crat beginning of 2018
Mario jc: I guess since the staff saw I was active a lot they thought "yeah let's just give him all the tools"
Superchao: Too bad there's no fourth rank, or you could have an annual thing going
Mario jc: (Twiddles thumbs waiting for proprietor rank)
Superchao: Out of curiosity, are there any wiki projects you enjoy doing these days?
Mario jc: Mostly adding foreign names to articles
Mario jc: Which is pretty much the extent of my Japanese and Chinese, translating basic phrases and words
Superchao: hey it's better than mine
Mario jc: Creating level articles is also something I like doing, though it looks like most of those have already been taken care of
Superchao: See, that's the real trouble with the wiki
Superchao: It's so active, most of the time someone else will beat you to the punch!
Superchao: Gotta find an obscure thing and latch onto it
Mario jc: Right?
Mario jc: Still, doing the Tropical Freeze ones was fun since going through that game is amazing
Superchao: Someday I gotta get that game. Good thing it was ported to a system i actually have!
Mario jc: I'd definitely recommend it for the soundtrack alone
Mario jc: The gameplay is already great but the music is godly
Superchao: Well, isn't that true of most DKC? Not from my own experience, but with how much people talk about them...
Mario jc: Oh yeah I guess that's true
Mario jc: With DKCTF though I think David Wise was at the top of his game
Superchao: Sounds like it's one of your favorites, huh?
Mario jc: Yeah for sure, haha
Superchao: What makes you such a fan, if I may ask?
Mario jc: I really enjoyed Returns, another one of my favourites
Mario jc: And almost every level is unique and looks amazing, unlike a certain other "New" series
Superchao: alas poor NSMB, you started strong and then...
Mario jc: With Mario vs. Luigi mode, it definitely did
Superchao: What other Mario games are your big favorites?
Mario jc: Mario Galaxy is my all-time favourite, followed by SPM, Mario Kart DS, and 3D Land
Superchao: If there's one game i was not expecting to see on that list, it was definitely 3D land.
Mario jc: Really? I thought it's pretty well-loved
Mario jc: It's like the only Mario game on the 3DS I really enjoyed tbh
Mario jc: I'd also add Brawl to my list of favourites (controversial statement), if that counts
Superchao: It's not considered bad, but I don't see it come up often compared to things like Sunshine or the Paper Marios, or stuff like that.
Superchao: It counts, we cover it!
Mario jc: Oh that makes sense
Superchao: What draws you to Brawl in particular, anyway?
Mario jc: Just the sheer amount of content and effort they put into the game, especially when compared to the previous game
Mario jc: Like tonnes of modes, music, trophies; they even had a dedicated DOJO website for it
Mario jc: But most of all it was the Subspace Emissary
Superchao: Subspace is interesting to reflect on because it feels like the general opinion has come in waves over time
Mario jc: Some didn't like the gameplay but I found it to be really fun, and I liked seeing Nintendo characters actually interacting with each other
Mario jc: It's also the game that got me into Smash and by extension a lot of other Nintendo games
Superchao: Reminds me of Pokemon Blue! That takes me back...
Mario jc: Full disclosure: I've never played a Pokemon game
Superchao: That is a genuine surprise.
Mario jc: Yep
Mario jc: I just never grew up with it, and I'm not big on RPGs, with some exceptions (e.g. Paper Mario)
Superchao: Fair enough. Pokemon is pretty much one of the most iconic RPGs, after all
Mario jc: Well, to correct, never played a Pokemon game aside from Go
Mario jc: Because I think everyone has played that at some point
Superchao: Not me! ...Primarily bcause I only got a smartphone last week
Mario jc: Okay see now THAT is a genuine surprise
Superchao: My old phone kept working! ...until it fell and broke
Superchao: I'm going to take a wild guess about another series you enjoy
Superchao: Do you like... Ace Attorney?
Mario jc: That's impressive an old phone was able to hold up for that long
Mario jc: I LOVE Ace Attorney
Mario jc: I have my friend to thank for introducing me to that series
Superchao: Ha, I knew that avatar couldn't just be a coincidence!
Superchao: Played every game?
Mario jc: Yep
Mario jc: The third game (Trials and Tribulations) is my favourite because it tied the knot of the original trilogy so perfectly
Superchao: The original trilogy is well-worth it... though I think Capcom might have been pushing it a BIT much lately.
Mario jc: And (not going into spoilers) my favourite video game villain of all time
Mario jc: Yeah I agree
Superchao: THe funny part is, T&T is the one that sticks least in my mind, but that's just because thanks to when and how I got it (as WiiWare) I've played it the least of the games.
Superchao: I've played AA1 at least three or four times by now, for example.
Mario jc: That's fair enough
Mario jc: At least the WiiWare version retains the original DS sprites. The later ports' art just looks... ugly
Superchao: For me it's not so much the art as it is the massive amounts of typos that makes me boggle.
Superchao: ...Not that the original games were perfect, either.
Superchao: THE MIRACLE NEVER HAPPEN
Mario jc: Oh god the typo that ruined what was supposed to be a sad moment
Mario jc: There were more typos in the ports? I thought they kept the original text word-for-word
Superchao: My favorite meme to ever come out of it was from a video game stream where characters from different series competed
Superchao: And any time Phoenix won, the chat would erupt with "THE MIRACLE HAPPEN"
Superchao: Oh god yeah, the ports were insanely bad with typos. "Stake Lunch" for example
Mario jc: How is that even possible
Superchao: The miracle happen, clearly
Superchao: So how did that friend get you into Ace Attorney, anyway?
Mario jc: I guess because he was just as big of a fan of it as I am now
Mario jc: Because he basically shoved a copy of the first game into my hand and said "Play it."
Mario jc: So I did, the story was interesting, the characters were lovable, the writing was funny, the gameplay was different from anything I've played before
Mario jc: And immediately I was hooked
Mario jc: And after you finish the first game, you have to keep going
Superchao: it's true!
Superchao: Even though the series itself originally didn't plan to.
Mario jc: Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that
Superchao: Yeah, it's weird, considering the ending feels like a sequel hook. But hey, at least we got... fuck, I think it's 10 games now
Mario jc: Wow, it is too
Mario jc: Counting Layton vs. Wright, which was... okay
Superchao: Ehhhh.
Superchao: I played Layton vs. Wright and it's like
Superchao: It's an okay game, but it's a Layton game that just so happens to have Wright too
Superchao: And when I was picking it up primary for Ace Attorney, it just felt like I didn't get what I came for
Mario jc: Ha, pretty much
Mario jc: "Professor Layton ft. Phoenix Wright"
Mario jc: "& Knuckles"
Superchao: someday I need to catch up on DGS
Superchao: in the meantime
Superchao: there's always replaying all the old games because they hold up!!
Mario jc: Yeah couldn't agree more
Superchao: So, top 5 characters and cases?
Superchao: No need to list reasons, but a list would be neat!
Mario jc: Oh boy, uhmm
Mario jc: 5. Pearl, 4. Phoenix, 3. Godot, 2. Edgeworth, 1. Iris
Mario jc: Off the top of my head
Mario jc: I probably missed one or two but w/e
Superchao: A good list! Wasn't expecting Iris, but... I don't think we can talk about that one here, unfortunately.
Mario jc: Top 5 cases: 5. Farewell, My Turnabout, 4. Turnabout Sisters, 3. Turnabout Goodbyes, 2. Reunion, and Turnabout, 1. Bridge to the Turnabout
Superchao: All original trilogy, huh?
Mario jc: ...yeah.
Mario jc: It's really hard to top the original trilogy
Superchao: Heeeeh, that's fair.
Superchao: I'd personally put 6's last case in my top 5, it was a hell of a ride
Mario jc: That's interesting. I thought it was great but it doesn't quite crack my top 5
Mario jc: Maybe 10
Superchao: As for 5's cases... some good ones but nothing Exceptional imo
Mario jc: Oh yeah I agree. Dual Destinies was the weakest title imo
Superchao: There are many complaints I have about DD's final act but they're spoilers. Alas.
Superchao: Any other games or series you like in particular?
Mario jc: Well I wouldn't be me if I didn't mention Metroid
Mario jc: Metroid Prime in particular being my all-time favourite game
Superchao: YOOOOOOOOOO
Superchao: yooooooooo
Mario jc: yoooooooo
Superchao: Metroid Prime 2 is probably my all-time favorite game and Metroid Prime 1 is a solid top ten choice so
Superchao: you're in good company
Mario jc: Prime 2 just had great atmosphere throughout
Superchao: Was that your first Metroid, or did another game get you into the series?
Mario jc: Super Metroid, when Nintendo had the NES/SNES 30 cent sale going on
Mario jc: Let's just say it was worth way more than a measly 30c
Superchao: The same can be said of all Metroid games, really! (excepttheonewedonotname)
Mario jc: Oh yeah totally
Mario jc: Then they brought the Prime Trilogy to the Wii U eShop at half price
Mario jc: If the Wii U was good for one thing, it was having a huge catalogue of old games on the eShop
Superchao: I'm super excited for Prime 4, and honestly I'm glad they told us upfront about the issue because now I don't even have to get let down when i don't see anything at E3!
Superchao: That's gonna be a great ride when it comes out
Mario jc: I'm so excited you have no idea
Superchao: Counterpoint, as someone who played every single Metroid game to 100%, I do have an idea!
Superchao: (other m is not a metroid game.)
Mario jc: What's Other M?
Superchao: a myth
Mario jc: Other Myth
Superchao: So why Prime 1, anyway? It's certainly an incredibly good choice, but I'm always curious to hear the exact reasons
Mario jc: I like exploring and being immersed in a game, and the Prime series does it exceptionally well, but the first one had varied environments that make it even better.
Superchao: Chozo Ruins is practically iconic at this point, I'd say.
Mario jc: Like Prime 2 did it too, but it was all mostly the same dark, dreary places
Mario jc: Not to say that's an entirely bad thing though
Superchao: The problem Prime 2 had, and this is coming from someone who played the entire game; it saved its best and most memorable area for the last main one
Superchao: As opposed to Prime 1, which put its dark and dreary place there instead
Mario jc: Sanctuary Fortress was definitely the most memorable of 2
Mario jc: I dread backtracking through Chozo Ruins every time
Superchao: The Chozo ghosts?
Mario jc: I can practically hear the screams
Superchao: Every time I play Prime 1, i come back after Phendrana to get the Wavebuster, get the Ice Beam, leave
Superchao: and then I use the Magmoor-Tallon elevator to skip the Chozo Ruins until one final cleanup run
Superchao: I just find them that much of a hassle
Superchao: but at least they don't lock the doors like the Dark Pirate Commandos... hoo.
Mario jc: Oh yeah they're a pain too
Mario jc: And oh god, the Pirate Commandos...
Superchao: Imagine if you couldn't dark beam shatter them. Or maybe don't, that's a terrifying thought.
Mario jc: Too late
Superchao: Oh noooooo
Superchao: Oh, how about 2D Metroid? Do you have a specific favorite there?
Mario jc: Gotta go with my first Metroid game, Super Metroid
Mario jc: Though Zero Mission comes a very close second
Superchao: Ooh, interesting choices.
Superchao: For me it'd have to be Fusion, but those are both very good picks.
Superchao: Then again, it's hard to have a bad pick with a 2D Metroid.
Mario jc: Yeah that's very true
Superchao: Guessing you prefer the relative flexibility and openness of those games to the linearity of stuff like Metroid 2 or Fusion?
Mario jc: Definitely! I love exploring as I said before, which is why I've started to branch out to other Metroidvanias.
Mario jc: SteamWorld Dig 2 being an excellent example
Superchao: Meanwhile, I think I prefer Metroidvanias with a bit of structure but letting you spread out from that. Guacamelee is a great example on my end!
Mario jc: Oh, I always thought Guacamelee was a fighting game
Superchao: Nope, it's a Metroidvania with a Mexican theme, but I can see where the name would give that impression
Mario jc: I also recently started Hollow Knight since I've heard a lot of good things about that game
Mario jc: Then of course a sequel is announced soon after
Superchao: Well, all the more reason to step it up
Mario jc: Yep
Superchao: Are there any genres that really put you off, woudl you say? You mentioned RPGs, for example
Mario jc: Sport games have never really interested me, so I've never gotten into the Mario Tennis/Golf games
Mario jc: Though I wouldn't say they're all off-putting
Superchao: But the GBA Mario sports games are both sports games and RPGs!
Superchao: What if that cancels out?
Mario jc: Oh yeah.
Mario jc: I have Power Tour
Mario jc: Didn't even get past the first minute
Mario jc: Since I didn't know what to do
Superchao: Apparently it's a multiplicative effect, not a subtractive one.
Mario jc: Guess so
Superchao: Besides video games, any other major hobbies you've got?
Mario jc: I love watching movies, and I occasionally play guitar, usually video game tunes
Superchao: You and Nabber would hit off on that first point, that's for sure!
Superchao: Also are you the mysterious man who does all those video game guitar covers?
Superchao: (guessing no)
Mario jc: Not at all, I'm not that good
Superchao: more like not yet
Mario jc: Ha, you're too kind.
Superchao: What movie genres really get you?
Mario jc: Mostly action or drama, but really anything that word of mouth says are good I'd watch
Superchao: Sounds like that leads to a bit of a movie pileup at times
Mario jc: Yeah, occasionally. My watchlist would sometimes be full of movies
Superchao: Background noise when doing wiki grunt work perhaps?
Mario jc: No, that's usually just music, haha
Superchao: Fair enough.
Superchao: Circling around to the wiki, you've been at it for a long time. I gotta know;
Superchao: Do you think it's changed over time for the better or the worse?
Mario jc: Better, I think? We have become more well known in recent times, to the point where we were, uh, referenced in the SMBE
Mario jc: I definitely think the overall writing style of articles has improved
Superchao: Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery, they (don't) say
Mario jc: There's a lot of editors that are on top of information on recent and upcoming games, which is good
Superchao: Yeah, I've noticed we cover thigns so fast it's almost hard to keep up
Mario jc: Yeah. Let's not get started on the traffic as soon as a Nintendo Direct ends.
Superchao: The real question, is, though
Superchao: Is this the last question?
Mario jc: Are you the last question?
Superchao: Perhaps I am.
Mario jc: Huh.
Superchao: Anyhow, hope you had a good time!
Mario jc: I did, thank you for this opportunity! I look forward to reading more interviews.

Conclusion:
One thing I've consistently tried to do with the interviews, especially in my return last year and this year, is to help you, the reader, learn more about people you might never have thought of outside of a passing sighting or surface-level interaction with them. And that's exactly why I picked Mario jc as one of my subjects this year! He's been around for a while, but I didn't know him very well, and perhaps you didn't either. Hopefully, that's been corrected with this interview, and you know more about Mario jc, enough to appreciate the work he's put in for the wiki! See you next month, readers!

NIWA Spotlight

Written by: Alex95 (talk)

Hello everyone! Welcome to NIWA Spotlight, a focused list that covers one article from each of our partnered wikis that need help. These can range from articles that need more information or created to images that need replacing or uploaded. Notice something on a different wiki you can't fix or aren't sure how to and want to get the word out? Let me know on my talk page or in this forum topic and it will be added to a future issue. For our Mario-related topics, check out the current The 'Shroom Spotlight!

KA467 created the Tidal Rush page on Inkipedia, Fubaka expanded the UFO page on WiKirby, Results May Vary added an image to Dinosaur Horn on Lylat Wiki, and Anthony1996 improved the Boxing Ring image on Smash Wiki! Thank you all!

• The F-Zero Wiki is undergoing an update, so editing is restricted for the time being.
• Results May Vary has been promoted to patroller on WiKirby!
• Serpent King has stepped down from his administrative role on Nintendo Wiki.

Category	Wiki	Subject	Direct Link
Wanted Article	ARMS Institute	Biff: Ayumi Fujimura portrays our young scrappy scrapper, Mechanica, but that's about all I know about that. I wonder if she does anymore roles in ARMS. …Hm, I wonder who does my voice…	Ayumi Fujimura
	Nintendo Wiki	Mario Power Tennis is a great improvement from the Nintendo 64 game, giving us more character, special moves, and minigames. The Nintendo Wiki could use an article on it and the New Play Control! game.	Mario Power Tennis
Stub Article/Section	Bulbapedia	The Spring of Resolve page is specifically asking for an item list, but the Pokémon list could using some help with the missing information signified by question marks.	Spring of Resolve
	Hard Drop Tetris Wiki	The latest Tetris game that's all the rage, Tetris 99 pits ninety-nine players against each other at once to see who come out on top. I'm sure the game has more to it than just that, though.	Tetris 99
	Lylat Wiki	Pepper: Falco, there was a point after Andross's defeat and before the Sauria mission where you just disappeared completely. We'd like to know more about what exactly you were doing. Falco: I kept that on the down-low intentionally, General, but… whatever, I guess.	Star Fox: Farewell, Beloved Falco
	Starfy Wiki	Aishack is a shark enemy that takes five hits to defeat.	Aishack
	WiKirby	Suggested by Shy Guy on Wheels (talk), ChuChu is missing some information on her article page. Other animal friends have a list of combination abilities, whereas ChuChu does not. An appearances history would also be nice to have.	ChuChu
Rewrite/Cleanup	Pikipedia	The Nugget page has some issues. Formatting and information could be double-checked, additional location images are requested, and a link to an E3 2012 demo video would be useful.	Nugget
	Strategy Wiki	The Lord of the Rings series is an amazing piece of writing, full of adventure and friendships. While LEGO The Lord of the Rings doesn't feature most of the book's writing, I'm what it does have must be better than this wall of text.	LEGO The Lord of the Rings/Prologue
Additional Images	Dragon Quest Wiki	An important character in Prince Kiefer's life, Lala has quite the story to her. She's a dancer of the Roamers tribe, the daughter of the tribe's Guardian, and the two characters connect quite well. 'Tis a shame we have no image of her.	Lala
	Golden Sun Universe	The Warrior's Hill and Harun Channel are two locations combined into one, both working together to create a hydro-powered dungeon. There's one image that shows where the Djinn Chain is, but an image of the entrance to Warrior's Hill would also be good.	Warrior's Hill
	Inkipedia	Callie: Known Occurrences are events that happen during the Salmon Run. Many things can happen here, usually events that make winning difficult! Marie: Apparently, the sky also gets dark during this time. Spooky.	Known Occurrence
	Metroid Wiki	Adam: Your Charge Beam is a useful weapon, and has been with you on many adventures. We could use more images of it in action to properly study its potential. Any objections?	Charge Beam
	Wars Wiki	Fortresses serve as obstacles in Black Hole Rising and Dual Strike. The Wars Wiki article is asking for representation, but the article could also use a clean-up and expansion.	Fortress
Image Quality	Nookipedia	This is an image of Cornimer talking about the Acorn Festival in Animal Crossing: Wild World. It's a little blurry. Should be a simple fix.	File:CornimerTalking.jpg
	Zelda Wiki	Hino is a character found the Dueling Peaks Stable in Breath of the Wild. Cropped images of the characters for Zelda Wiki should be a full body shot, whereas Hino here only has the top half from a YouTube video.	File:BotW Hino Model.png
Citation Needed	Fire Emblem Wiki	Lissa's Axe in Fire Emblem Warriors replaced her original Healing Axe. Does this mean the Healing Axe goes completely unused?	Lissa's Axe
	Icaruspedia	Pit: Hey, Pittoo! …What are you playing? Dark Pit: …I thought I'd take a look at what all the talk about your first adventure was. Playing the 3D Classics version because I couldn't get Viridi's NES to work. Pit: Oh, that adventure was tough! I kept dying, like, all the time. Dark Pit: I think that's my favorite part of the whole game. Pit: Uh…huh. That reminds me, are Reaper's still invulnerable when they summon Reapettes? They were in the original game, maybe it was fixed in the 3D Classics version. Dark Pit: I dunno. I've just been letting the screen scroll up a bit at the start and then jumping down. You were so weak in this game, hahahaha!	Reaper & Reapette
	Smash Wiki	Poké Ball's contain many different kinds of Pokémon, but the chances of each Pokémon appearing depend on the number of currently known Pokémon. Mew is quite the rare find, always having a 1-in-X amount of chances to appear; but it seems his percentage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U is uncertain.	Poké Ball
	WikiBound	For a game that never released, we sure know a lot about it. EarthBound 64 became what we know now as Mother 3, but the original concept was completely different from the finished GBA game. The EarthBound 64 article has a lot of text and grammar issues, but is mainly just missing specific references placed at specific points.	EarthBound 64

Poll Committee Discussion

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)

We arrive in that season of transition, the renewal of spring and the winding down of autumn. In such times of change, the natural world moves rapidly deliberately with bursts of activity as life prepares for the seasons to come. Just like the natural world, the Poll Committee has stayed busy with activity. Since few things in nature demonstrate the furious preparation of wildlife more visibly than do birds, it seems fitting that they sent a Pitohui to deliver the news from the Poll Committee. In case my joking is unclear, I’m Hooded Pitohui and I’m here to comment on the polls of the past month.

Archives

With Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey having been released for nearly a month now, how do you feel about the game? (Raregold (talk) and Hooded Pitohui (talk), February 3rd, 2019)

With Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey having been released for nearly a month now, how do you feel about the game?
I enjoy the game and like how the original experience was translated to the 3DS. 23.36% (332 votes)
I enjoy the game, but I enjoyed Bowser Jr.'s Journey more than the base content. 3.52% (50 votes)
I enjoy the game, but I think it should have had more content to justify the remake. 5.42% (77 votes)
I have mixed feelings about the game; it is neither particularly bad or good. 2.11% (30 votes)
I don't like the game because the changes in the remake have made the game worse in some aspects. 2.39% (34 votes)
I don't like the game because Bowser. Jr's Journey does not appeal to me and I've already played the original game. 2.25% (32 votes)
This game was an unnecessary remake and I don't like it; there are too few additions to a DS game I can still play on my 3DS. 5.91% (84 votes)
I have no opinion because I have not played the game. 55.03% (782 votes)
Total Votes: 1,421

Super Mario Maker 2 has been announced, with many new additions to the game. What is your favorite new feature of the sequel? (The Pyro Guy (talk) and Roserade (talk), February 17th, 2019)

Super Mario Maker 2 has been announced, with many new additions to the game. What is your favorite new feature of the sequel?
Updated interface (selection wheels) 2.96% (53 votes)
Custom auto-scrolling 0.67% (12 votes)
Super Mario 3D World level style 30.04% (538 votes)
New level themes (Ice, Desert, Nighttime) 17.09% (306 votes)
Slopes 13.85% (248 votes)
Rising/falling water 1.9% (34 votes)
New enemies (Angry Sun, Boom Boom, Porcupuffer) 9.27% (166 votes)
New objects (Snake Block, On/Off blocks and switches) 7.2% (129 votes)
Multiple characters 13.68% (245 votes)
Other 3.35% (60 votes)
Total Votes: 1,791

Two games in the Mario & Luigi series have already received 3DS remakes. Would you like to see more remakes of Mario & Luigi titles? (Chibiki Daisy (talk) and Hooded Pitohui (talk), February 24th, 2019)

Two games in the Mario & Luigi series have already received 3DS remakes. Would you like to see more remakes of Mario & Luigi titles?
Yes. I thought the remakes did justice to the original games. 16.14% (253 votes)
Yes, if the next remake is on the Nintendo Switch. 19.13% (300 votes)
Yes, but only if they make the future remakes significantly more worthwhile. 4.78% (75 votes)
Maybe, as long as original games are released in the future too. 15.69% (246 votes)
No. I liked at least one of the remakes but would not want any more. 4.15% (65 votes)
No. I didn't care for either of the remakes. 5.42% (85 votes)
I think they should remake Partners in Time, but should only release original titles after that. 28% (439 votes)
I have no interest in the Mario & Luigi series or its remakes. 6.7% (105 votes)
Total Votes: 1,568

Nintendo is boosting its Online Service appeal with games like Super Mario Maker 2 and Tetris 99. Have these games convinced you to buy/upgrade a subscription? (Hooded Pitohui (talk) and The Pyro Guy (talk), March 3rd, 2019)

Nintendo is boosting its Online Service appeal with games like Super Mario Maker 2 and Tetris 99. Have these games convinced you to buy/upgrade a subscription?
Yes. I upgraded my subscription status immediately in anticipation of these titles. 11.65% (125 votes)
I haven’t upgraded my subscription yet, but I am interested enough in these titles that I plan to do so. 16.5% (177 votes)
No, because I don’t have interest in paying to use online services for these titles. 19.57% (210 votes)
No, but I might upgrade if Nintendo adds SNES titles to the service. 6.71% (72 votes)
No, and I would only consider it if Nintendo made a much greater number of old titles available. 4.94% (53 votes)
No. I’d be more interested in the service if it focused more on features (e.g. save data backups and voice chat) than games. 6.15% (66 votes)
No, because I am already at the highest subscription status. 34.48% (370 votes)
Total Votes: 1,073

Analysis

• With Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey having been released for nearly a month now, how do you feel about the game?

Our first poll for this month, and the first of two to examine Mario & Luigi remakes take a look at how people felt about Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey after having had some hands-on time with the game after its launch. Just glancing at the results, it’s striking to see that nearly a quarter of respondents enjoyed the remake and were pleased with how Alphadream revisited the original experience. I was surprised by this result, as I’ve mainly seen complaints about the title. I’ve heard complaints as diverse as the new art direction being uglier than the sprites of the original, the remake feeling slower than the original, the music not holding up to people’s memories, and the game simply not having enough new content or changes to justify the cost. Stepping back and looking at the results from a fuller perspective, I have to notice that a majority of respondents report that they haven’t played the game at all. This meshes well with the game’s reportedly poor sales, matching reports from the Super Mario Wiki’s Twitter. Does this mean that over fifty percent of respondents disliked the remake? Well, not necessarily. It only reveals that they haven’t bought the game, not that they don’t like it. I doubt that’s much consolation to Nintendo or Alphadream, though. Interestingly enough, looking only at the responses of those folks who have played the game and have an opinion on it, the split between those who enjoyed the game unconditionally and picked the first option and those who ranged from enjoying the game with some reservations to actively disliking it is about fifty-fifty. For those who would have preferred some sort of change to the remake, the lack of new content seems to be the biggest issue, with ten percent of respondents expressing a desire for adding new content of some form. Interestingly enough, Bowser Jr’s Journey didn't’ seem to sway people’s opinions much, with only approximately five percent of respondents citing it as a reason they liked or disliked the remake.

• Super Mario Maker 2 has been announced, with many new additions to the game. What is your favorite new feature of the sequel?

Our next poll covers a game that hasn’t yet been released. Though we don’t yet know all of the changes and additions Super Mario Maker 2 will have, we know it has enough new content that we were able to ask about which features fans are most excited for. Despite all of the demands for slopes which have been flying around since the release of the original Super Mario Maker, fans seem to be most looking forward to the Super Mario 3D World style. There’s a number of reasons this might be the case. Perhaps the lack of a 3D World port on the Switch has left people clamoring for Clear Pipes and Super Bells on the go? It could even be the case that people are excited about the new mechanics that might come with a new style. You can Ground Pound and Wall Jump in the New Super Mario Bros. style while being unable to do so in the others, so it’s not inconceivable that this new style might bring its own unique mechanics. Approximately seventeen percent of respondents are excited about the new level themes. Most of the level themes in the original game only brought aesthetic changes, with only the water theme fundamentally changing the gameplay of a level. Here, I find it hard to believe that the new ice theme won’t similarly have an effect on gameplay. What would an ice world be without its characteristic awful traction? I admit, though, that, though it likely will only come with changes in aesthetics rather than changes in gameplay, I’m most excited for the night level theme. Clearly, there’s more than one reason people might look forward to these new themes. The ability to play as multiple characters and slopes, two new elements which promise to shake-up gameplay and the thought process behind designing a level, are highly anticipated, as well. I feel it best to point out custom auto-scrolling, which only twelve respondents were most excited for. I suppose it’s just further evidence that few enjoy the limitations and stress of an auto-scrolling level.

• Two games in the Mario & Luigi series have already received 3DS remakes. Would you like to see more remakes of Mario & Luigi titles?

We return to the topic of Mario & Luigi remakes, and we find that, in total, slightly over eighty percent of respondents are open to more Mario & Luigi remakes in some form. Again, I’m surprised by this result. I’ve mainly heard complaints or comments on indifference. Twenty-eight percent of respondents, though, say that they’d like to see a Partner’s in Time remake and then stop with the remakes after that. It makes sense. Alphadream should finish off the original trilogy and move on, and Partners in Time is one of those three titles which is arguably in most need of improvements and updates. I would guess, though, that Alphadream would be wary of remaking a game which was already less popular than Superstar Saga and Bowser’s Inside Story after the remake of the series’s most well-received title failed to sell. Nearly twenty percent of respondents would accept another remake without concern for new original titles so long as the remake moves from the 3DS to the Switch. With the 3DS finally coming to the end of its life and Pokémon, Nintendo’s flagship handheld franchise, having already made the jump to the Switch, it’s not surprising to see people clamoring for Mario & Luigi to come to the hybrid console. Alphadream made one major shift with the jump to the 3DS and the new art style which accompanied it, but moving to a console is a whole separate matter with its own challenges. Only time will tell if they’re up to the task. After that, similar numbers (approximately fifteen percent of respondents for each option) of people expressed approval for the remakes and a desire to see them continue and acceptance of future remakes on the condition that Alphadream releases more original titles. What will Alphadream’s next move be? It’s difficult to say, but, should it turn out to be a remake, it seems folks will be willing to give it chance, especially if it’s a Partners in Time remake.

• Nintendo is boosting its Online Service appeal with games like Super Mario Maker 2 and Tetris 99. Have these games convinced you to buy/upgrade a subscription?

Recently, Furukawa made mention of Nintendo’s concern that more Nintendo Switch Online users are opting for shorter one month and three-month subscriptions over twelve-month subscriptions. He announced that the company would release titles aimed at making the service more appealing in an effort to increase the number of long-term subscriptions. As part of this effort, Nintendo released Tetris 99 and announced Super Mario Maker 2. We hoped to see if Nintendo’s strategy of focusing on new games to promote Nintendo Switch Online is actually effective. Looking at the approximately thirty-five percent of respondents who are already at the highest subscription status, you might be tempted to call Nintendo’s concerns unfounded altogether. I’m going to take a guess here and say that Nintendo has access to better data than we do here at the Super Mario Wiki, but it’s still interesting to consider if the fact that this is a Nintendo fansite likely frequented by Nintendo fans might have introduced some bias. Still, it seems that Nintendo is having some success in winning consumers over. About twenty-eight percent of respondents reported having upgraded their subscription or having made plans to upgrade their subscriptions in response to these new titles. About thirty-seven percent of respondents, though, have not upgraded their online subscription. Of those respondents who haven’t upgraded their subscription, a little over half simply note that the new offerings don’t interest them but offer no information of what Nintendo could do to interest them. The half of those respondents which does point to specific areas Nintendo could improve don’t settle on anyone clear path forward, with no option really preferred over any other. All said, our look into Nintendo’s strategy for Nintendo Switch Online shows a somewhat mixed response. Plenty of people are upgrading or are interested in upgrading, but it’s not quite a clear victory for Nintendo.

In any case, that’s a wrap on new polls for this month. Be sure to continue voting in our Main Page polls, and check right back here next month to see Geeky’s take on the polls of March and April.

'Shroom Recap

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk) and Raregold (talk)

Welcome back to The 'Shroom Recap, that section where we dig into the archives to provide a full overview of one of The 'Shroom's notable writers and one long-running section. This month, we go searching vertically, horizontally, and diagonally for information on Word Search and try to track down Palkia47 by traveling not through space but back through time.

Palkia47
Team	Section	Articles
Staff Position	Critic Corner Director	80-94
Staff Position	Fun Stuff Director	95-106
Main	Trivia	17
Main	Upcoming Games	20
Main	Mario Party: Island Tournament	80-82
Main	Scavenger Hunt	81
Main	End of the Year Awards	81
Main	Director Election	81
Main	Feedback Survey	81
Main	Critic Corner Director’s Notes	82 & 85
Main	Section of the Month	82
Main	Pokémon (Gen VI) 2015 Tournament	98
Main	Please Understand: A Satoru Iwata Memorial	100
Main	Poll Chairperson Address	100
Main	Walkazo Memories	111
Fun Stuff	Director’s Notes	95-103
Fun Stuff	Guess That Game	18-21
Fun Stuff	True or False	13-14
Fun Stuff	Word Search	77-83 & 85 & 93 & 96 & 99-101 & 103
Fun Stuff	Non-Mario Crossword	99
Pipe Plaza	Poll Committee Discussion	103
Fake News	Sport Report	100
Fake News	Cooking Guide	103 & 105 & 111
Palette Swap	Packy’s Packtastical Musical Adventures	109
Palette Swap	Packy’s Songs of the Month	122-123 & 125
Critic Corner	Director’s Notes	80-81 & 83-84 & 86-94
Critic Corner	First Impressions	90 & 93

Early History: MegaMarioman9910 and Fun Stuff

How much damage can a giant space dragon even do?

Palkia47, better known as Packy, has his start with The 'Shroom in its early days. Originally writing under the name MegaMarioman9910, Packy joined The ‘Shroom as a writer for Fun Stuff, the section of the paper which he would eventually direct once it was formally established as a Sub-Team. Packy’s first section was True or False, a fairly simple game in which he presented ten statements and left readers to rely on their knowledge of Nintendo to determine whether each statement was accurate or a lie. In issue XIII, the section was themed after Mario himself, while issue XIV was all about gaming systems from Nintendo and its competitors. Like many writers at the time, Packy came and went in the early days of The 'Shroom. He disappeared for an issue before returning in issue XVII to write one edition of Trivia. Though it was under the Main Team banner back in those days, Trivia too would later get folded into Fun Stuff. From his three earliest sections, two things are clear about the community's shouting space dragon. First, he joined in a period where he was still known by two names. He's first credited as Palkia47 in issue XIV, but even in issue XVII, he’s referring to himself as MegaMarioman9910. Second, it’s clear from the start that Packy enjoys writing Fun Stuff sections, a trait we’ll return to later in this article.

After a short break from writing, Packy returned four issues later with another Fun Stuff section. Yes, for four consecutive issues, Packy provided hints as he aimed to get readers to Guess That Game. While writing this Fun Stuff section, Packy also took time to share some information on the recently released Captain Rainbow and the recently announced WarioWare D.I.Y. and Mario and Luigi RPG 3 (better known now as Bowser’s Inside Story) as the one-time writer of Upcoming Games in issue XX. After issue XXI, though, Packy disappears for quite some time, a hiatus of over fifty issues, actually.

Packy’s Grand Return: New Sections and New Positions Through Issue 100

After his last appearance in November of 2008, Packy rejoins the Fun Stuff team in August of 2013 as the new writer for Word Search. This would go on to be Packy’s longest running regular section; he would write it on-and-off from issue LXXVII to issue 103. In his first consistent run from issue LXXVII to issue LXXXIII, Packy themed his word searches around Dream Team, handheld Mario titles, Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Luigi's items, Super Mario 3D World, and the roster in Mario Kart 8. Packy puts all the essential word search elements in his section, with a large field in which to find a list of words vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, but he also goes the extra mile by including four relevant images around the field to add some color and visual appeal. Packy continues with the use of images around the search field until issue 100 even as he begins to write the section less consistently. Between issue LXXXV and issue XCIX, Packy themes his word searches on Super Mario Bros. 3, 2014 Mario titles, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, and the original Super Mario Bros.. It’s worth noting that, with that last one in issue XCIX, Packy begins setting up a series of four word searches themed around the four styles in Super Mario Maker. We’ll return to that in just a moment. Word searches from issue 100 on lack images, but the change can be excused for issue 100, which celebrated the community with a word search for names of users who signed up to be included in Packy’s list. In issue 101, Packy returns to the Super Mario Maker theme with a second word search themed around Super Mario Bros. 3. Promising a Super Mario World word search in November, Packy again interrupts the theme to have a Luigi’s Mansion word search to coincide with the October release of issue 103. Unfortunately, that’s where Packy’s time with Word Search comes to an end, leaving readers waiting on Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros.

While he stayed busy with Word Search, Packy was also working his way into higher positions in the community during this time. First, he was promoted to Critic Corner Director in issue LXXX. He remained in this position for fourteen issues, dutifully overseeing the Team and writing his Director’s Notes in issue LXXII, issue LXXXII, issue LXXXIV, issue LXXXVI, issue LXXXVII, issue LXXXVIII, issue LXXXIX, issue XC, issue XCI, issue XCII, and issue XCIII. His time as Critic Corner Director would best be described as uneventful… save for one oddity which you might have noticed in the above table or with the two issues missing from that list of his Director's Notes. See, Critic Corner’s Director's Notes weren't found in Critic Corner in issue LXXXII or LXXXV because there was no Critic Corner to put them in. Without any sections to make a page for, Packy had to move his Director's Notes and Section of the Month results to Main Team sections in issue LXXXII and issue LXXXV. At the end of his tenure as Critic Corner Director, Packy announced in issue XCIV that he would be handing his duties off to Crocodile Dippy. Packy wasn't retiring from The 'Shroom Staff, though; rather, he was going to be taking over for newly elected Director SMB as the Fun Stuff Director starting in issue XV.

Now in charge of his old stomping grounds, Packy took quickly to leading the Fun Stuff Team. He wrote his Director's Notes in issue XCV, issue XCVI, issue XCVII, issue XCVIII, and issue XCIX in a straightforward manner without much flair. In issue 100, Packy gained a Staff Portrait, allowing us to see him in his full glory with all of his Director’s Notes. He also spent issue 100 hosting a special contest involving his user-themed Word Search mentioned previously. The first three to finish it (The Fresh Prince, Freakworld, and Andymii), received gift cards for their efforts. Packy continues his work in issue 102 and issue 103, but, though he's listed as Fun Stuff Director through issue 106, he no longer carries out his duties as Fun Stuff Director after his last appearance in issue 103. In the interim, SMB and Superchao cover for him until Andymii can take over as Fun Stuff Director in issue 107.

A question which has remained surprisingly relevant over the years (image from issue 111's Cooking Guide)

Before discussing what happened with Packy, it's worth noting that he also attained another important position in this period. He was elected Poll Committee Chairperson and gave his address to open his term in issue 100. With Andymii as his Vice-Chairperson, Packy uses the address as a call for members. During his time as the head of the Poll Committee, Packy crafted and debuted the Pipe Plaza staple which is Poll Committee Discussion. Unlike its modern incarnation, which offers a committee member’s commentary on the featured polls, the initial version Packy showed off in issue 103 was strictly the news of the Poll Committee and an uncompensated look at the archived polls.

You may have noticed that Packy's time as both the Fun Stuff Director and Poll Committee Chairperson ends rather abruptly in issue 103. Around that time, Packy found himself unable to effectively carry out the duties of both positions and had to leave them unexpectedly. After a short time, though, Andymii rose to the challenge and succeeded Packy in both positions.

That’s not all that Packy accomplished during this busy period, though. As a member of The 'Shroom Core Staff, he had a hand in the Mario Party: Island Tournament which spanned from issue LXXX to issue LXXXII and was a part of four separate Staff projects in Holiday issue LXXXI. In collaboration with his fellow Staff members, Packy wrote pieces of issue 100’s tribute to Satoru Iwata. He shared his thoughts on Super Smash Bros for 3DS and The Adventures of Bouapha: Spooky Castle in First Impressions, offers a Non-Mario Crossword themed around E3, provides information on Roger the Potted Ghost’s tennis match, and reflects on his 2015 Pokémon Tournament.

The period from issue LXXVII to issue 100 was Packy's golden age with The 'Shroom. He rose to high places and wrote numerous sections. Even though parts of this period ended abruptly, it didn’t mark the end of Packy's time with The 'Shroom. Though he left some positions behind, one section in issue 103 would continue to keep Packy with The ‘Shroom moving forward.

Recent History: Collaborative Cooking and Making Music

In issue 103, Packy worked with Crocodile Dippy and SMB to create a Cooking Guide unlike any other. A lengthy story with appearances from plenty of users, it is truly a section which must be read to be believed. Though Packy left his other positions after issue 103, he returned to work again on these unique collaborative takes on Cooking Guide in issue 105 and issue 111. The last of these actually features a search for Packy prominently, to the point he’s in the banner at the start of the section.

Before moving on to new sections, Packy also contributed some poignant reflections of his experiences with Walkazo to the collection of the community’s memories featured in issue 111.

Packy’s most recent work in The ‘Shroom, though, has been all about music. Making his new home in Palette Swap, Packy gave us an overview of the group Pentatonix in issue 109’s Packy’s Packtastical Musical Adventures. Packy took a break before debuting a different music section, Packy’s Songs of the Months in issue 122. Packy followed up this collection of songs in the next issue, with Banjonator working on that edition of the section as a special guest. Finally, Packy gave us one more edition of the section in issue 125, after which he once again went on an extended hiatus from The ‘Shroom.

Clearly, Packy's time with the 'Shroom since issue 100 hasn’t been quite as busy, but what he has contributed has been just as impactful and rich as any of his work in The 'Shroom. While he's been on hiatus for a while now, perhaps he’ll buck past trends and we won’t have to wait until issue 175 to see him again. If you happen to see Packy and can drown out the screams of They Might Be Giants music, be sure to remind him that he still owes The 'Shroom two Super Mario Maker word searches!

Word Search
Writer	Issues
Shoobario	XI
Edofenrir	L
Gamefreak75	L-LII, LIV-LVI, LVIII-LXI, LXIII-Special Issue 64, and LXVI-LXXVI
Palkia47	LXXVII-LXXXIII, LXXXV, XCIII, XCVI, XCIX-101, and 103
Super Mario Bros.	XC
Viper26	109
LudwigVon	111-124
Superchao	141

Introduction

Welcome to the March issue of ‘Shroom Recap, dear readers. This month’s section feature was a hard one to find. So as Pitohui is featuring the work of Palkia47 (talk), I’ll be tackling a section he did for a long time as well, Word Search! Please enjoy this month’s issue and I will see you again in May.

Debut and Early History

Word search got its start in Issue XI through the work of Shroobario (talk). Though they were a one time writer they helped to establish the basic format of the section through a handmade graphic. Shroobario’s take on the section included an example word highlighted in red as well to help the reader get a start on finding the Mario themed words. After the user is finished they are directed to a separate image to check their answers.

Edofenrir (talk)}’s single edition of Word search and the work of Gamefreak75 (talk) up until Issue LXIII is unviewable due to a lack of files and external image hosting. However, what is viewable follows a similar formula to Shroobario’s take in Issue XI. While much more expansive in scope Gamefreak75 holds onto the Mario theme and even includes several pictures related to the subtheme of the word search itself. Though it does not include solutions.

Starting in Special Issue 64 Gamefreak75 includes the last month’s word search as a fully viewable image as opposed to an out of the way text link. This addition continued to be a part of the format for the rest of Gamefreak75’s tenure until Issue LXXVI.

Palkia47 (talk)’s work did not differ much from Gamefreak75’s approach to the section, especially for many of their earlier issues. Though in their work after Issue 100 they did remove images and significantly increased the number of words for readers to find.

Similar to Palkia47’s later work Super Mario Bros. (talk)’s single issue did not use any images and actually separated the word box from the main puzzle.

Recent History

Stylistically, Viper26 (talk) and LudwigVon (talk) continued in the same trend as many of the writers preceding them and made no changes to the section.

Superchao (talk) took a step away from the longtime formula of the section and wrote a Metroid themed issue as opposed to all the Mario themed word searches before it. The graphic was also changed as the word bank was put off to the side of the issue as opposed to below it.

Final Thoughts

Word Search is a classic case of “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” The section used the same formula with virtually no changes for several years with the only notable difference between GameFreak75 and LudwigVon’s takes being the presence of images in the puzzle. Even if something is old, that does not always mean it is necessary to change it. But to any future writers of the section reading this now, don’t listen to this old coot and make the section truly yours.

Thanks are offered to Crocodile Dippy (talk) for the tables and LudwigVon (talk) for allowing us to modify them. All information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of Issue 143.

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