So...I got my copy of the game yesterday. Played it for a good 2+ hrs before I had to break for the night. And already, I can say I enjoyed myself more in those two hours of M&L 3, than I ever did in the entirety of PiT. I will back up the notions that the sprite work and OST are awesome thus far, and the script is funny, even in its original Japanese.
Playing as Bowser is a very satisfying experience, as well. I'm hoping that this, too, will just be another step prior to him FINALLY getting his own game.
And speaking of Bowser...I think this game finally did it. If I didn't think that Bowser was "black" before (which I certainly do, he's right up there with Donkey Kong!), this game pretty much cemented the notion of such that he's a [Oil Man]. Pure and simple.
Submitted for your approval, Blues....
I mean, it's "bad" enough, that Bowser:
* Lusts after "dem white women"
* Has PLENTY of illegitimate children (from probably multiple mothers, no less)
* Is prone to getting angry at the drop of a hat ("Angry Black-Man Syndrome", much?
)
* Pounds/grinds his feet into the ground to vent his frustrations; being a turtle, he can't lie on his back and do it properly, so he stays upright, and then follows Rick James/Dave Chapelle's' example as best he can! ("[tornado fang] YO [insert background here]!!!")
* Was already a no-good hoodlum from an early age; the first truly bastardly move we saw him pull was JACKING Baby Mario's ride when they were infants, leaving a Baby Mario only to cry and basically say "[Oil Man] stole my YOSHI!!"
* "Barks" like a "dawg" (see his Side Taunt in Brawl)
...among so many others....
NOW...in this game:
* His HP-restoring items are based off of.....Chicken. So, in essence, Bowser lives and dies by the power of CHICKEN, just like any other self-respecting brutha-man. Why not just go ahead and say his ability to spit fire comes from hot sauce, while you're at it, Nintendo?
* His main rival is "Meta Boss", that Pig-Dragon thingie you may have seen in art that was posted some where on the last few pages. Really....? Something that's pork-related, is the enemy of the designated "black man" of this game? Really...?
(Then again, considering Diddy Kong had to deal with Wizpig back in Diddy Kong Racing, maybe I shouldn't be but surprised...)
But yeah...Bowser and Donkey Kong....two of gaming's oldest and most tried-n-true icons in their own right, and they're probably blacker than CJ and his crew from GTA:SA ever was. I love it.