The 'Shroom:Issue 126/Awards Analysis
Awards Analysis
Written by the 8th Poll CommitteeHey everyone! This is Lord Bowser, Chairman of the 8th Poll Committee, here with a quick introduction. On behalf of the Committee, I would like to present you with a rundown of all of the awards featured in this year's Mario and Fail Award ceremonies. This was a big undertaking for all of our members, and I'm glad we ended up with such a great-looking project. Special thanks goes to our fellow Awards Director, Hypnotoad (talk), for providing us with consultation and resources during the project, and to Stargazing (talk) and DragonFreak (talk) for taking the time to fill in for some of our members who weren't able to finish in time. Extra special thanks must go to Stargazing on my behalf for taking a grand total of nine analyses, which served to be a crucial help and very well-appreciated. Thank you for your help, Star!
Before we get to the awards analyses, there's one last thing I want to debut in this introduction; the beautiful new banner for our team, designed by The Pyro Guy (talk)!
TPG's artwork for the Poll Committee, both now and last year, bring a sense of unity amongst ourselves, and I'm glad he has kept up the tradition for this year. Be sure to check out his other works as hell, as he's truly a stellar artist!
And now, without further ado, I now present the analyses of the awards. Each award has a top-10 list of nominees, along with a rundown of its results. Different members of the Committee wrote for different awards, so be sure to read them all!
Mario Awards
M1 - Best Sound Design (The Pyro Guy)
Hiya. I'm The Pyro Guy, and welcome to the first analysis! Fittingly, we'll be starting with M1- Best Sound Design.
Super Mario Galaxy has been winning first place for years now, and same goes for Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for their respective awards. This is to no surprise; all of these games share incredible, orchestrated soundtracks, and I love them all. SMG2 has dropped a little vote-wise, from 11.67% last year to 9.75% this year, but other than that it's the same stuff as always. Will there ever be a game that can musically dethrone these three?
M2 - Favorite Mario Kart Game (Stargazing)
Stargazing’s the name, stargazing’s my game, I just really like stars. I’m here with an analysis of M2 - Favourite Mario Kart Game! Before I begin, if you would like to view Magikrazy’s presentation of M2, please click here!
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In 2015 and in 2016, the top 3 was the same: Mario Kart 8 lead the race, although sporting a new name this time, with Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! behind it in that order. However, something changed this year, with Double Dash!! and Wii swapping spots. Despite this, there have been no changes in between any of the other results, showing proof of a strong and solid opinion over the years. Mario Kart DS remains high in first place, and with Mario Kart Wii in third, you would think a newer game, Mario Kart 7 would be high in the award too. However, Mario Kart 7 is in 7th pla- huh? No? However, Mario Kart 7 is in 6th place!
One final note I'd like to make is, besides Wii and Double Dash!! swapping, the results are exactly the same. The only addition from last year is the remake of Mario Kart 8. A switchup of the formula for the next game to breathe life into this award would be extremely nice.
M3 - Favorite Mario Platformer (Tucayo)
HI, everyone! I'm your organized Poll Vice-Chairman, Tucayo, here collaborating with this Awards Analysis! My first poll is M3 - Favorite Mario Platformer.
This award was one of the original 30 awards, in 2007 it was won by Super Paper Mario (for real), which this year got only three votes as a write-in. Super Mario World won in 2008; the award was split in 2009 and in 2010 it returned to its current form, with Super Mario Galaxy 2 taking it home four years in a row from 2010 to 2013. It's safe to say the hype for Super Mario 3D World has died; after placing first in 2014 and 2015, the two ceremonies following its release, it has now fallen to fifth place, surpassed by four games that were released before it. It's a big surprise that a game released in 2007, which had never won this award, now takes the top spot. Regardless, it's a worthy winner. New Super Mario Bros., which was removed as a nominee this year, came in as the top write-in, along with Super Mario Bros. 2. This year’s addition, Super Mario Run, performed poorly and was last among the established nominees, getting only 0.90% of the vote.
M4 - Favorite Mario Kart Course (Roserade)
Greetings, beautiful readers! Roserade here with my first poll analysis, looking at M4 - Favorite Mario Kart Course. Let's see what tracks raced ahead of the competition!
Over the past three years, our top two racetracks have consistently been the same, with Waluigi Pinball snatching first place and N64 Rainbow Road trailing close behind. However, while the vote gap between the two was only about 1% last year, it appears that Waluigi Pinball is slowly pulling ahead from its competition, N64 Rainbow Road receiving about 5/6 of the votes Waluigi Pinball did. In 2015, Coconut Mall claimed the third place on the podium, but last year Rainbow Road (3DS) staked its flag and continues to stand its ground. Coconut Mall isn't too far behind, though, so a surprise return to the podium is always possible (which I may or may not be hoping for). Of course, I must question the authenticity of this vote count, given the name of a certain user...
M5 - Favorite DK Game (Superchao)
Hello, readers! Superchao here to analyze the Favorite DK Game award... whiiich hasn't really changed much at all in the past! Ever since Tropical Freeze debuted on the award in 2014, the top two have always been Returns and Freeze, with 64 a constant third. Even the lower ranks don't shake up that much, with the next three consistently DKC, DKC2, and Arcade Donkey Kong in a mixture of places, and the three after that consistently Game Boy Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong Racing, and Donkey Kong Country 3 (with Donkey Kong Jr. Math making it up there once). It's a very static award, and I believe the only way we'll ever see a major change again is if a new Donkey Kong game comes out. Looking at you, Nintendo!
M6 - Favorite Wario Game (DragonFreak)
Hey there ‘Shroom readers, DragonFreak here with my first Awards Analysis! Here we have M6 - Favorite Wario Games, which is also my favorite branch out of the Marioverse.
The winners of the last 3 years have changed each year of this award, with this year’s winner being Wario Land 4, my personal favorite! It co-won this award too in 2015 alongside Game & Wario somehow. Second place went to Wario Land: Shake It!, the winner of 2016 and the bronze of 2015. Seems like this game is also constantly popular just like Wario Land 4. And finally in third place is WarioWare: Smooth Moves, a really good game that hasn’t been in the top 3 since it’s second place in 2015. It seems like the top 3 this year have been fairly consistent in the previous years too. Also in 2 years, Game & Wario has slipped from tied for 1st to 9th place. I’m honestly not surprised.
M7 - Favorite Yoshi Game (DragonFreak)
Hello, I’m back again for the second time in a row for Favorite Yoshi game. Gotta love this cute green dino right?
At this point, M7 is one of the most stagnant and predictable awards we have. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners are Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Woolly World/Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World, and Yoshi's Island DS respectively, with Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World added to Yoshi's Woolly World this year. That addition did not change the votes at all; for the past three years, each of the top three even have similar percentages voted for them. No surprises here, but maybe there’ll be a change or two with the upcoming Yoshi Switch game.
M8 - Favorite Art Style (The Pyro Guy)
Hey, it's TPG again. This time, we're looking at M8- Favorite Art Style, a newer award introduced last year, and adapted from 'Favorite Art Direction', which only applied to specific games.
Last year, the 3D and Paper styles were tied for first place, but this time the 3D style came through. Which I find pretty surprising- the Paper Mario style looks incredible in Paper Mario: Color Splash, but I suppose what we've seen of Super Mario Odyssey is equally incredible. The Mario and Luigi style has also made a slight gain in votes from last year.
M9 - Favorite DLC (Roserade)
Greetings, beautiful readers! Roserade here with another poll analysis, this time taking a glance at M9 - Favorite DLC. Let's DLC what content made the top spot!
This Mario Award was first introduced last year, and thus does not have much history behind it. However, it is worth noting that The Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 continues being the front runner from last year, and New Super Luigi U has overthrown Animal Crossing x Mario Kart 8 for second place, being in opposite positions previously. Additionally, New Super Luigi U is gaining on our first place winner, with an approximate 2% difference in votes, as compared to 2016's 10% difference. I myself love the Mario Kart crossover content, although I wish Princess Zelda had been included in the Legend of Zelda pack. Given the lack of much Mario-related DLC, there aren't many options as to what to vote for, but it's still interesting to see that a single write-in vote made the top ten.
M10 - Favorite Partner Developer (DragonFreak)
DragonFreak again to analyze M10 - Favorite Partner Developer. This is an interesting award this year because it was directly affected by a decision from the Awards Committee.
The decision was that no more Super Smash Bros would be included in the Awards. Because of that, the winner of the last few years, HAL Labratory, was no longer qualified to be on the ballot. RIP HAL, I still love you. But who would be the king of partner developers now? Well, apparently it’s AlphaDream! They are the developers of the great Mario & Luigi series, perhaps the Deluxe version of Superstar Saga helped with that. Intelligent Systems once again took the Silver. No matter what, fans just seems to think Paper Mario is second best. Rounding up in third place we have Hudson Soft, the developers of most of the Mario Party games. The third place winner of last year, Rare Ltd., is sitting at a respectable 4th place.
M11 - Favorite Major Character (The Pyro Guy)
Feeling a need for a British person to analyse? I've got your back; I'm TPG, but if you're reading this in order then you've probably already read a few of my works. Anyway, let's get straight into M11- Favorite Major Character.
Will there ever be a year when Luigi doesn't win this award? Probably not, as he's won the last three of 'em. Yoshi and Mario have always been close, but this time Yoshi has come in second place, like he did in 2015. While Mario did come in second place last year, he's been bumped back down to third now.
M12 - Favorite Supporting Character (Tucayo)
Hey there, it's Tucayo, here back-to-back with M12 - Favorite Supporting Character and M13 - Favorite Level Theme.
This award also debuted in the first Mario Awards; and this ceremony marked the third time in a row Waluigi has been named Favorite Supporting Character, and the fifth overall; in 2007 and 2008 he won this award, the latter in a tie with Petey Piranha (a shocking winner, who got only one write-in vote this year). Bowser Jr. - now noticeably absent from this award - placed first from 2009 to 2011, with Rosalina taking the top spot from 2012 to 2014. Anton, rejoice! Kamek has made the top three for this award, surpassing E. Gadd and Captain Toad, both of which had large drops from last year; this was to be expected, E. Gadd hasn't had a proper appearance since 2013 (he's had two cameos since, but that's about it), and Cap'n Toad's hype has passed, with him getting nothing but cameos since his game was released. I am disappointed Poochy only placed 6th in this award, may he forgive the souls of everyone who voted for other characters. It's worth noting some of these characters are very polarizing; Waluigi placed 8th in F1 - Worst Character; Daisy 6th, and Birdo 4th.
M13 - Favorite Level Theme (Tucayo)
First appearing in 2016, this award has only seen Space win it. City/Town took a big jump from last year, possibly due to New Donk City from Super Mario Odyssey. Mountain, Underwater, and Desert have come among the last places in both occasions; still, it would be hard to exclude them for this award as they are some of the most classic level themes. Castle took a large dip from last year; there aren't any obvious factors driving this so it's most likely just a matter of preferences shifting.
M14 - Favorite Species (Superchao)
Favorite Species! Once Favorite Enemy, the award in those days was another very static situation in the higher ups. It was always Shy Guys, then Boos, then Koopas, then Hammer Bros and Goombas, then Chain Chomps and Dry Bones... you can see why we changed it, right? Even when Nintendo did give new enemies, they could never overcome the beloved choices of the past. That was part of why it was expanded... and Yoshi immediately became dominant. Shy Guys have also remained on top, currently in a perpetual second place and showing that many people think they're the best enemy still. However, the lower ranks have been shaking up, with Toads, Boos, and Lumas always vying for that elusive third place. The top may not be exciting, but this award shows some promise!
M15 - Hardest Boss (Lord Bowser)
Hey everyone! This is Lord Bowser here with a quick look at M15 - Hardest Boss!
This award has seen fairly consistent results over the last few years, with Master Core, Bowser X, and the Shadow Queen always taking the top three spots. It seems that final bosses/superbosses seem to stick out in people's minds the most, though Bonetail never even making it into the top 3 is a bit of an anomaly. However, with the axeing of Smash Bros.-related content this year as per the Awards Committee, Master Core was removed from the list. This had the unique effect of Bowser X absorbing most of its votes, instead of them otherwise spreading evenly. In a bit of an upset, however, Cackletta's Soul managed to sandwich itself in between Bowser X and the Shadow Queen, having never even been in the top three before. Perhaps the announcement of the Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga remake brought back memories of that boss fight for many, causing the surge of votes? Regardless, we can all agree that those bosses are tough as nails, and certainly deserving of top spots for this award. I still will never understand why people find Phantamanta hard, though...
M16 - Favorite Item (Superchao)
An award that past results would have told you was completely locked in stone in the upper parts, where it wasn't even close to changing - in 2012 and 2013 the Tanooki Leaf was number 1, with the star in second. Once the Cat Suit debuted in 2014, it was locked in stone - three straight years of the Cat Suit, Tanooki Suit, and Cape Feather in that order. Time for a fourth, right? Nope! This year we've seen a surprising shakeup, as the Cape Feather rocketed forward to a first place, Cat Suit actually falling to third. I'm surprised mostly because it didn't seem like anything in particular would give this old classic hype. A rekindling of interest in SMW? Nostalgia? The curse of the blood whistle, hear its cry? Who knows! We'll just have to see if this lasts next year!
M17 - Favorite Mario RPG (Stargazing)
It’s Stargazing again, back at it with another award. This time, it’s M17 - Favourite Mario RPG! If you would like to view The Pyro Guy’s presentation for M17, please click here!
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The Top 3 hasn’t changed at all in between 2016 and 2017, with the exception of Super Paper Mario getting 2% less of the votes. Dream Team, part of the Top 3 in 2015, has fallen to the 7th spot. Superstar Saga has gone up from 7th to 5th, Super Mario RPG has risen to the 4th place spot, and Paper Jam is still in the low-midpoint, having neither good nor bad parts in the community’s opinion. The one thing I’m sad about is Partners in Time having low votes every year, and it having the lowest votes of any Mario & Luigi game.
One other thing I would like to mention, though, is Puzzle & Dragons having consistently low votes here, but consistently high votes in M21. This would probably be because the community thinks the puzzle aspect of the game is more grasping than the RPG aspect. I still enjoyed playing it, though.
M18 - Favorite Mario Party Game (LudwigVon)
Hi! LudwigVon here, analyzing your favorite party series and looking at which is your favorite. Let’s take a closer look at M18 – Favorite Mario Party Game.
Interestingly, Mario Party DS and Mario Party 8 just switched places from last year, with Mario Party 2 keeping its position. Mario Party DS is actually the latest Mario Party developed by Hudson Soft. Nd Cube takes over after that game starting with Mario Party 9, but none of their recent games are high in the ranking. This is probably due to the changes to the format of the series that Nd Cube did, and those changes do not seem to please the fans at all.
M19 - Favorite Actor (Lord Bowser)
Hey there, everyone! LB here, giving you a closer look at M19 - Favorite Actor!
This was a brand-new award debuted this year. As expected, Charles Martinet won by a landslide; being the voice actor for the biggest characters of the series is obviously a huge advantage. Amongst the rest, however, it's a bit more divided. Interesting to note is that people seem to have a preference for Rosalina's older voice actor, Mercedes Rose, over her new one, Laura Faye Smith. Interestingly, however, both voice actors fared somewhat lower than expected, according to GTR guesses from this year; it's possible they were overshadowed by some of the bigger names on the list. When it comes to Peach's voice actors, Samantha Kelly, her most recent VA, made it in at 6th place, while Jen Taylor, her predecessor, was near the bottom at 14th; this is likely due to Kelly's dual role as Toad, garnering her more votes from Toad fans. 6th-10th place all seemed to be pretty competitive, with its nominees only differing by one or two votes.
M20 - Favorite Sports Game (Tucayo)
Tucayo here, back with SPORTS. That's right, it's M20 - Favorite Sports Game.
If this were baseball, Mario Super Sluggers would have an impressive .545 average, as it has gone 6-for-11 since this award debuted in 2007, and that number climbs even higher, to .667 (6-for-9) if we take only the ceremonies after Sluggers was released. Sorry, Ted Williams. Still comparing this to baseball, because I need to keep this interesting (and because I love baseball), Mario Sports Mix would have a .857 on-base percentage (Top 3 finishes in this metaphor) since its inclusion in 2011. Sports Mix's younger brother, Sports Superstars, a rookie this season, had a lackluster debut (12th place); definitely not a candidate for Rookie of the Year. Power Tennis has Roger Federer's energy and keeps going strong even 13 years after its release. Strikers Charged lost the third-place match with an extra time goal and fell to fourth place. Absent from the podium? Mario & Sonic at the 2012 Olympics and at the Olympic Winter Games. This was fun, Nintendo should release more sports games.
M21 - Favorite Puzzle Game (Stargazing)
Count the stars, because Stargazing’s here to present M21 - Favourite Puzzle Game! If you would like to view Yoshi2’s presentation for M21, please click here!
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Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and the Dr. Mario series have been in the top 2 together for a few years, including this one. In 2015 and 2016, Puzzle & Dragons had been in the third place spot. However, since 2016, the two versions of Mario vs. Donkey Kong had swapped positions and then moved up to 3rd and 4th, bumping P&D to tie with the 4th spot. Wario’s Woods also sandwiched itself in between Tetris Attack and Yoshi. Yoshi’s Cookie and Mario Picross swapped places, which makes sense judging how close they were in votes for both 2016 and 2017.
M22 - Favorite Battle Course (Stargazing)
Hey, everyone. Stargazing here, representing M22 - Favourite Battle Course! Before I begin, if you would like to view Lakituthequick’s presentation of M22, please click here!
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This is actually an award that was just introduced this year! Looking at the games that each of these courses came from, most games actually have a pair of courses in this award, with two exceptions. Super Mario Kart has only Battle Course 1, while Mario Kart DS just has Nintendo DS. Mario Kart 64 having Block Fort and Skyscraper, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! having Luigi’s Mansion and Pipe Plaza, and Mario Kart Wii having Funky Stadium and Delfino Pier all put them in a 3-way tie for first. Another interesting thing to note is no two games have both their nominees beside each other in the final poll, having at least 2 other winners in between them.
M23 - Favorite DK Character (Shokora)
Hello readers! Shokora here with the run-down on our favourite Donkey Kong characters. Check out Pyro Guy's awards presentation here!
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The big banana this year goes to Donkey Kong! 
Our favourite tie-wearing ape has remained at the top of the awards treehouse for three years running, followed by Diddy Kong and Funky Kong. With the same top three line-up for the past three years, surely we could just save time next year by not running the award at all? Anyway, this youngster cannot conclude this awards analysis lecture-free without giving a special consolation banana to Cranky Kong, who was our fourth favourite character.
M24 - Favorite Wario Character (Shokora)
It's Shokora again for the next analysis! This time we're looking at our favourite Wario characters. First I recommend looking at GBAToad's marvelous awards presentation here! Template:Archived Poll
The series' titular character Wario has once again not given up the top spot, for three years running! 
He sure is stubborn. Ashley & Red, a favourite among loyal WarioWare fans remain our second favourite since 2016. Thirdly, sparks were flying and the awards ceremony was amplified when 9-Volt & 18-Volt shockingly placed third once again. Oh and a special mention to Princess Shokora, who came 9th!
M25 - Favorite 2D Level (DragonFreak)
Hi everyone, DragonFreak here with my last of my awards analyzing. Wait did I really not pick anything from fail? Huh weird. Nevertheless, Here I’m going to analyze my favorite new award of last year: M25 - Favorite 2D Level.
I predicted that the winners of this award would change dynamically this year. I was completely wrong. The top 3 places in this year and last year were all the same with all roughly the same percentages voted on each one. In first place we have the one, the original World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros., a classic that you just cannot mess with. Second we have the very trippy Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy from Yoshi’s Island. For extra challenge/fun, try to touch every Fuzzy you see! While third place goes to the beautifully designed Painted Swamplands from New Super Mario Bros. U.
M26 - Favorite 3D Level (Superchao)
One of our newest awards, Favorite 3D Level was only created last year, merging the old awards for 3D World level, Galaxy, and SM64/SMS Level into one mega-award! Bob-Omb Battlefield has won first twice outta twice, proving that Super Mario 64 memories run strong and continue to dominate the award - same for the double second place. Surprisingly, despite its... infamous Purple Coin mission, Toy Time has been third twice over. Except for Gusty Garden Galaxy's surprisingly strong leap forward, this award's been pretty set in stone in the upper parts. However, keep an eye on this one! With the upcoming release of Super Mario Odyssey, I expect to see a major shakeup when the next Awards rolls around!
M27 - Favorite Boss Battle (Lord Bowser)
Hey everyone! Lord Bowser again, with more boss-related news! I'll be bringing you a closer look at M27 - Favorite Boss Battle.
This award's top three spots were quite different back in 2015 compared to now; back then, Bowser in the Sky, Megaleg (hi Travis), and Rawk Hawk dominated the competition. 2016 saw some big changes among the top three nominees, with Dark Bowser, Meowser, and Bowser from Super Mario Galaxy rising up to the top. Oddly enough, 2017 saw these exact same top nominees claim the exact same spots they did in 2016, in a rather unique coincidence. It's pretty difficult to top such dramatic, spectacular fights like these, especially seeing as how they're all final bosses, so it's likely that was the reason for the consistency. Additionally, the original top three from 2015 still sit all together, directly underneath the current top three. I'm just glad the top three nominees all involve Bowser, though I'm also glad about a specific write-in this award got. Whoever put in "Deer Man (MW:KG)", my hat... er, glasses, are off to you.
M28 - Favorite Game Setting (Tucayo)
I'm Tucayo and this is M28 - Favorite Game Setting! (I can't think of much else to say)
Look at the top five vote-getters for this award and tell me what do they have in common. Come on, whisper it at your screen. Assuming you said they all come from games released ten years or more ago, you are correct. Other things may also be correct but they are not what I was looking for, so no points for any other answers. Yes, out of the top five answers, the Comet Observatory and Galaxies are actually the most recent one, having appeared in 2007. Isle Delfino? 2002. Rogueport and surrounding areas? 2004. Paper Mario's Mushroom Kingdom? 2000. And SMB's Mushroom Kingdom? That's from before 99% of our userbase was born; 1985. It's no secret that more-recent games tend to have an advantage in these polls, if only because more of our voters have played them compared to some of the older games, and as such they will be more inclined to vote for them (notable exception: Sticker Star). Why, then, do we have to go all the way down to #10 to find a recent setting (Pi'illo Island)? My educated guess is that game settings are not what they used to be. Back then, Nintendo would create entire universes we loved and could relate to with far less powerful consoles. Where did we go wrong? From this award's results, it looks like it was at some point towards the end of the Wii's lifespan. Prism Island, a newcomer in this award, performed terribly, only beating a kingdom that appeared once, decades ago.
M29 - Favorite Classic Game (Tucayo)
Hey guys, it's Tucayo back again with M29 - Favorite Classic Game (N64/GBC and older).
This award comes from one of the original awards in our ceremony, A30 - Favorite Game. Eventually, due to the ever-increasing number of nominees, and the fact that comparing newer games to older games didn’t feel completely fair, this award was split in 2015, into what now are M29 and M30. In the three ceremonies since the split, the top three have been taken by the same games (Super Mario 64, Super Mario World, and Paper Mario), albeit every time in a different order. This is Super Mario 64's second win in a row, and this also represents the highest vote percentage Super Mario World has ever gotten in this award and the original A30, a rather curious move for a game that is over two decades old and which hasn’t gotten any recent ports or remakes. Something to consider for next year is that this award will, in all likelihood, be taking the GameCube and GBA games over from M30. The biggest impact will be caused by The Thousand Year Door, which has beaten the more “Modern” games two years in a row. But M30 will tell you more about TTYD.
M30 - Favorite Modern Game (Lord Bowser)
Hey! LB here again, giving you some info on M30 - Favorite Modern Game!
This award has always been fairly consistent with the top three nominees, always having Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Super Mario Galaxy above the rest, though among the top three is a bit more fluid. Smash 4 took first place in 2015, but then was dethroned by TTYD in 2016, leaving Smash 4 in second and SMG in third. With 2017 removing Smash from the awards entirely, the award saw TTYD holding first place, and allowed Super Mario Galaxy 2 to rise to third place, directly behind its predecessor. Interesting to note is that, while Super Mario Sunshine is notorious for having some... questionable stages and levels, it still manages to hold a respectable 5th place on this award. I guess the good parts of the game strongly outweigh the bad for many voters! Next year brings some shake-ups to the award, as the Awards Committee plans to move GCN/GBA games to the Favorite Classic Game award, taking a consistent favorite, TTYD, with it. While it's quite likely that Super Mario Odyssey will simply fill up the gap TTYD leaves behind and more, it does pose some interesting scenarios for both awards.
Fail Awards
F1 - Worst Character (The Pyro Guy)
Hello, and welcome to F1- Worst Character. I'm The Pyro Guy, and I can't think of anything funny to type so let's just do this.
I don't think any other Fail Award has had such a large majority. The world really does hate Pink Gold Peach. And why shouldn't it? Anyway, it seems like more and more voters are against her existence, as her votes have risen by about 3% of the total vote since last year. Kersti is pretty much in the same position as last year, but Baby Rosalina is growing (or should I say shrinking) in popularity, going from 8% last year to 10% now.
F2 - Worst 2D Level (Superchao)
Another catch-all award, this one was established in 2016, and for two years in a row everyone's hated on Tubular. Not that I can blame them, considering that level. The other top three are the same as they were last year, as well as the entire set from 6th place to 9th place. At least 4th is a newcomer, but so far, this award seems likely to become a very static choice. We'll have to see if we get any new 2D Marios with terrible levels to really see where this is going.
F3 - Worst 3D Level (Lord Bowser)
Hey everyone! LB here with some more analysis. This time, the focus is on F3 - Worst 3D Level.
This award, first introduced in 2016, has been perfectly consistent with its top three nominees. The Panchinko Machine, the Toxic Lily Pad Ride, and Wing Mario Over the Rainbow have been pretty universally hated according to the results. Oddly enough, 3 of the nominees come from Super Mario Sunshine, and all of them are in the top 5, yet the game itself is still among the favorites in M30; it goes to show that even the best games have their ups and downs, with Sunshine being a great example of that. I can understand the hate against the Panchinko Machine and the Toxic Lily Pad Ride, but I've always felt that Wing Mario Over the Rainbow was a bit overblown. Yes, it's fairly difficult, but I'm not sure if it's really worthy of this much hate, as I feel there have been far worse levels (looking at you, Mario Squared Galaxy) that somehow never even score more than a few write-ins.
F4 - Worst RPG Area (Stargazing)
What up, what up? I’m Stargazing, the urban fairy- wait, what do you mean this isn’t the right script? Ah, whatever. Welcome to F4 - Worst RPG Area! If you would like to view my presentation of F4, please click here!
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Before we begin an analysis of the votes themselves, I will analyze the games that each area has appeared in. Superstar Saga, Paper Mario, Super Paper Mario, and Sticker Star all lead off the poll with each game listed having 3 areas. Sticker Star makes sense, however, the other 3 games are in the top 50% of M17 (Favourite Mario RPG). Partners in Time has 2 areas, while Super Mario RPG, Dream Team, The Thousand-Year Door, and Colour Splash have 1 area. Bowser’s Inside Story and Paper Jam are absent from the poll. Combining the result of Paper Jam in M17 being below average, it’s safe to assume that the reasoning behind this is the community just feels that the game is just plain-old middle ground. Meanwhile, Bowser’s Inside Story ranks second on the same poll.
Fahr Outpost from The Thousand-Year Door was replaced by Violet Passage from Colour Splash, but that replacement didn’t affect the general poll all too much. The most notable differences are Bowser’s Keep climbing up 4 places (17 to 13) and Merlee’s Mansion dropping 4 places (3 to 7), kicking it out of the Top 3. It seemed to have almost swapped with Twilight Trail, having that area climb up 3 places (6 to 3). There’s nothing to compare it from 2015, however, because this award was first introduced in 2016.
F5 - Worst Level Concept (Roserade)
Greetings, beautiful readers! Roserade here with my third poll analysis, this time looking at ever-debated F5 - Worst Level Concept. Let's see how our voters leveled out the playing field!
Our top three results are a mirror of last year's, although it appears that Automatic Levels have stolen a percentage of votes from Restrictively Low Timers, the former gaining about 1.5% of votes and the latter losing about 2%. Autoscrolling Levels was very close to its previous tally, only at a .17% difference. However, it still has yet to reclaim its throne last sat in in 2015. In fourth and fifth place are Rolling Ball Galaxies and Purple Coin Galaxies respectively, which have not reentered the top three since the Autoscrolling Levels had its victory. I personally recall the Rolling Ball and Purple Coin Galaxies causing me some hellish times, so my votes go in their direction. Overall, it looks like a majority of our voters agree: limiting somebody's ability to take time and move in a Mario level is a bad result.
F6 - Worst Spin-off (Stargazing)
Oh, we’re on? H-hi! I’m Stargazing, reporting to you live with F6 - Worst Spinoff. If you would like to view Yoshi2’s presentation of this award, please click here!
Unsurprisingly, Paper Mario: Sticker Star remains in the highest spot here, and the lowest spot in M17. Ever since Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash got introduced to this award, it has consistently remained in the 2nd place spot as well. The new addition of Super Mario Run netted an immediate 4th, an impressive feat, even if I did buy it and enjoy it. I know how and why it can be considered bad, and I know I’m in the minority. Game and Wario, another new nominee, snuck its way into the 8th spot, right in between Mario Party 9 and the Mario Kart Arcade GP games.
F7 - Worst Enemy (The Pyro Guy)
In need of a Brit- oh, I already said that one. Well, hello there- The Pyro Guy here, and for my next trick, I'm analysing F7- Worst Enemy.
These results are nearly identical to last year, with our top three worst enemies hovering around the same percentage as they did one year earlier. While the Hammer Bros. have gone down a little and the Cursyas and Fuzzies have risen a little, there's nothing out of the ordinary here.
F8 - Worst Mario Kart Course (Lord Bowser)
Hey! This is LB here for the final time, giving you a look at F8 - Worst Mario Kart Course!
This award has always had a nominee in the top three which I feel is undeserved; Banshee Boardwalk. I really like the course's aesthetic, and the music (at least in the N64 version) is just the perfect amount of unsettling, which is why I feel as if this course is severely underrated. Some of the turns are pretty nightmarish, on par with Rainbow Road standards, so it isn't entirely without fault either. The other consistent nominees this award has had are SNES Rainbow Road and Wii Rainbow Road, both of which I can definitely see why... and may or may not have voted for. 2017 saw a bit of an upset, with Bone-Dry Dunes rising to the top three and knocking off Wii Rainbow Road. The course is pretty boring and generic, so I can see why it'd be disliked, but I still wish for the day that Banshee Boardwalk gets redeemed and taken off the list. Oddly enough, Baby Park got a pretty significant amount of write-ins for this award, clocking in at 25. I personally love the chaos this course brings, but I guess that same chaos makes this course a nightmare for a lot of people.
F9 - Worst Direction of Series (Roserade)
Greetings, beautiful readers! Roserade here with my final poll analysis, directing my attention towards F9 - Worst Direction of Series. Let's get right into it!
amiibo-centric/Focused Games have once again received the top percentage of votes, with Paper Mario once again fulfilling the second position. However, it's very interesting comparing the difference between the two, with a 10% difference last year compared to this year's 20% difference. Meanwhile, Mario Party has climbed its way into the third place position, knocking WarioWare down into fifth place behind Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Personally, I'm a bit surprised to not see Paper Mario in first place, but I can definitely understand the frustration with amiibo-centric games; it's basically milking your consumers of as much money as possible. I'm still far more disappointed in Paper Mario's recent developments, though. It's definitely worth noting that Hotel Mario got 8 write-in votes, despite only being one game.
F10 - Worst Game Mechanic (The Pyro Guy)
You'll be devastated (or indifferent) to hear that this is the last time in this section that you'll be hearing from me, The Pyro Guy. So before I go, check out my other sections too, like Cook- oh, this isn't relevant to Polls. Fine. Welcome to F10- Worst Game Mechanic.
While the top 3 results are the same as last year, the gap between Stickers and Vehicles has become smaller; from 2.3% to just about 1%. Joystick Twirling has also made a gain from 14% to 16%, but it's not close to matching the levels of unpopularity as the Stickers and Vehicles.
F11 - Biggest Missed Opportunity (Stargazing)
Hey again, everyone! It’s Stargazing, and just like I often miss the target in archery, this next award is F11 - Biggest Missed Opportunity! If you would like to view Pyro Guy’s presentation of this award, If you would like to view the Awards presentation for F11, please click here!
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Many people are still very unhappy with Sticker Star, since it once again is at the top of a Fail award. Inadequate amiibo production is a choice that has fallen, from 1st in 2015, to 3rd in 2016, all the way to 7th in 2017. I feel like Nintendo has gotten a lot better at producing them since they first started. The lack of online level sharing in Super Mario Maker has gotten it 3rd on its first try, as well as the removal of fangames taking second on its first try.
Another thing I want to mention is the rewording of a nominee having an effect on its poll placement. Renaming misrepresentation of trans issues to transphobia bumped it up 2 places, from 7th to 5th. This could be the cause of the rename being more clear, or just the issue overall gaining more attention. Either way, it is a change I wanted to make note of.
F12 - Worst Game Objective (Superchao)
Terrible game objectives, surprisingly, aren't as much of a topic of constant debate as I'd expected. One Million Coins, the Rabbits, and the Blue Coins have always been up there since the beginning of my analysis point (2012), but when every level with every character debuted in 2014, it immediately set into a lock that it's held for four years, with one million coins staying in second for the four years and blue coins a solid third places for three years. The lower tiers actually do seem to change up a little more - Green Stars felt to a tie for eighth when it was previously sixth, while General White jumped up a spot this year. It feels like this award will mostly depend on how badly future games handle their objectives... so with any luck, this won't have to change!
F13 - Worst Mario Party Minigame (Stargazing)
Good evening everyone. I'm Stargazing. Gather around the fireplace, because it's time for F13 - Worst Mario Part Minigame. Before I begin, if you would like to view MrConcreteDonkey’s presentation of F13, please click here!
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The votes for this award seem to be more of an even split versus one nominee dominating the competition, but there is still a comfortable 1-2% lead above their competitor for each of the top 5. Interestingly, 2 of the Top 5 were luck-based mini games. The top spot of this award wasn’t luck based, however it requires a heavy use of rapidly turning the joystick, which definitely caused some hand and wrist pain.
Lucky number 7 for Right Oar Left, though! Too bad that luck happened to be bad enough to get you in the number 5 slot.
F14 - Worst Setting (Tucayo)
For the final time, it's Tucayo, here with the counterpart to my previous award; it's F14 - Worst Setting.
Mushroom Kingdom (PM:SS) was added to this award after being the top write-in in 2016, and, in an unprecedented scenario, went on to win this dubious honor this year. You may remember in M28 I mentioned how the settings in older games were much better; well, in our top five answers we can see games released in 2012, 2014, and 2013. Yes, there are also two "classic" games (released in 2005 and 1988), but one is one of the worst spin-offs in the series and the other is admittedly a terrible setting with no excuses to it. It should be noted that, out of the top 10 vote-getters for this award's counterpart (M28 - Favorite Game Setting), Flipside and Flopside are the only to appear as well in this Fail Award, showing contrasting opinions for the setting of Super Paper Mario.
F15 - Most Disappointing Game (Stargazing)
Stargazing here with the final award on our list, if you’re reading these in order. I’m here to present M22 - Favourite Battle Course! Before I begin, if you would like to view Edo’s presentation of F15, please click here!
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Sticker Star has the clearest definition as the community’s most disappointing game, year after year of this award. This year, it has a 412 vote lead over the next nominee, Ultra Smash. However, most of my attention has actually shifted down to the bottom of this list. Island Tour and Super Mario All-Stars are tied in vote, with Diddy Kong Racing DS only one vote ahead of it, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 being only 2 votes ahead of that. Sochi 2014 is 5 votes ahead of NSMB2. Everything else is more spread out, but it’s really interesting to me how close these 5 nominees are.
What's also interesting is the renaming of the award itself having a major effect. All the way until 2015, this award was called Worst Game. It mainly featured games such as Mario Teaches Typing, Mario is Missing!, and Hotel Mario. However, shifting the award over to Most Disappointing Game instead highlights a different part of the community. Instead of featuring games that most found laughably bad, it highlights the failed potential of games that some people may have been extremely interested in, only to be let down on.
And that's it for our analyses. Thank you for not only (hopefully) reading all the way down to the bottom, but for your consideration for this massive project!
| The 'Shroom: Issue 126 | |
|---|---|
| Staff sections | Staff Notes • 'Shroom Achievements • The 'Shroom Spotlight |
| Features | Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing |
| Specials | Meta Knight's Awards Reflections • Community Awards X • Awards Analysis • Killing Game: Closing Argument |
