Topic: The Forums Stats Thread that Mop it up and Stratos Abandoned

[Mop it up]

I'm just curious enough to look that up.

[Mop it up]

Mario Wiki is failing me. It doesn't mention anything about Yoshi being referred to as a dragon in Japan. The only time it mentions the word "dragon" is with his "Super Dragon" transformation in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

I guess I'll have to search for some source material from Japan and use the dreaded Google translate...

[that Baby guy]

I second GP's motion.

[Mop it up]

Yeah most people do. But nobody forced you to click this topic you know...

[Stratos]

I second GP's motion.

Don't encourage her

I can pull out the manual for Super Mario World if you'd like. I'm not fully sure where my big box of old game manuals is but I could probably find it.

[Mop it up]

No need, I'm looking at it through Replacement Docs. And I'm not finding it to call Yoshi a dragon... in fact the introductory story says "After searching for hours for their missing friend [Peach], Mario and Luigi came upon an enormous egg in the forest. Suddenly the egg hatched, and out popped a young dinosaur named YOSHI".

SMW manual isn't supported your case. Any other sources?

[Stratos]

I was only saying that the manual calls the Yoshi coins Dragon coins.
It is corollary evidence.

Since coins with Yoshi's image on them are called dragon coins he must be a dragon.

[Mop it up]

Despite the number of sources which refer directly to Yoshi as a dinosaur, you are going to go with the one thing which refers to a crude image of Yoshi as evidence that he's a dragon? I guess you must really want him to be one that badly...

[Stratos]

Well, my original argument was that Yoshi was originally referred to as a dragon in Japan and therefore he was a dragon. The SMW manual reference to Dragon Coins is one of the only remnants aside from Yoshi's Final Smash to this in English.

If you think about it it is similar to Birdo's situation with his/her gender.

[Mop it up]

It's very possible but I want to see that for myself. Do you have any Japanese sources which refer to Yoshi as a dragon? I'm still searching but I have yet to find anything...

[Stratos]

You already searched the Mario Wiki? Because that's where I thought I read it.

I'll help you look.

Are you Googling it?

I'll try that new-fangled 'bing' thing Microsofts cooked up.

[Mop it up]

Yeah I scoured Mario Wiki using Ctrl + F search for "dragon". Nothing.

Tried searching for Smash Brothers trophy descriptions but I can't find anything in Japanese.

[Stratos]

Bingo!

Yoshi (Japanese: ヨッシー) is a dragon from some Nintendo video games. He was originally known as Super Dragon Yoshi in Japan. He is Mario's dino-dragon friend, first appearing in Super Mario World for the Super Famicom in his Japanese release. His North American and European debutes came on the SNES. Yoshi was created by Shigefumi Hino, a graphics designer and the director of Pikmin. The reason why he was created was that shortly after Shigeru Miyamoto finished Super Mario Bros, Nintendo's design staff wanted Mario to ride a dino. That concept was technically impossible until the SNES was developed. Most games containing Yoshi were developed for the Nintendo 64.

Here's the link

Yoshi apparently means 'game' in Chinese.

Also, Yoshi is slang for the SNES there since he was the first major character introduced on it.

Not fully sure of the site's credibility but at least it is a source.

[Mop it up]

Yeah it's something. Though if I'm going to use it as a piece of trivia then I need something official. But I can find that on my own.

[Stratos]

Yeah it's something. Though if I'm going to use it as a piece of trivia then I need something official. But I can find that on my own.

I'm still searching but I have yet to find anything...

  

[Stratos]

Also, I'll just sound off on my frustration with Pandora Radio right now.

I created a channel I intended to play only Femal fronted rock music.

I started with Pandora. All clear there. The next two songs are fine as well. I thumbed all of them up.

Then for the next hour it only plays bands with MALE singers.  I thumbed every one down and they just kept coming.

I think it's finally got the hint when Paramore comes back around and then Flyleaf, but what has it gone back to? Male singers! I have like 7 other channels with only male singers dominating it. Grr...

[Mop it up]

Yeah it's something. Though if I'm going to use it as a piece of trivia then I need something official. But I can find that on my own.

I'm still searching but I have yet to find anything...

  

I was (and am) searching for something official because you never know how somebody is going to interpret something.

[Stratos]

I was more teasing you saying you could find it on your own after not being able to find anything on it

So I added more female fronted bands to my list for Pandora to draw on and what to they start giving me? Freaking 'emo' music. When I said I wanted female rock I didn't want weepy, whinning boys. 

[Mop it up]

I found something!

http://themushroomkingdom.net/smw_j-e.shtml

In the message at Yoshi's house it is signed "Super Dragon Yoshi".

So there you go. I wonder why they decided to change Yoshi to a dinosaur for North America... Seems like a really arbitrary thing.

Also I have no idea what you're talking about with this whole "Pandora" thing...

[Stratos]

Dinosaur is probaly something that sounds more family friendly in their eyes. Never mind good ol' Puff The Magic Dragon or Pete's Dragon or anything.

Pandora is an online radio station. www.pandora.com

You create channels with artists and songs you like and they will play similar sounding bands. You can then thumb them up or down. Up means they will play things in the future closer to that and thumbed down songs are never played again.

It's a great way to discover new bands you'll actually like and also handy if you don't have any other way to listen to music you like. Plus there are no annoying DJs or ads for things you'll never buy. Just music they make money through banner ads on the site).

[that Baby guy]

Well, I mean, if you want to give Birdo the copy ability, you might as well say Kirby, then.

But let's be realistic here:  Wouldn't Birdo want to be the star of every Nintendo game?  It's like Wario, in a sense.  You'd have a story driven game, a strange, ambiguous genie offers to grant Birdo a single wish, and that's what Birdo wishes for: To be the star of every game, to have a chance to earn the fame and celebrity of Mario, Kirby, Link, and whatnot.

Instantly, Birdo's life becomes chaotic.  Yoshi's been Bowsernapped (Or maybe one of Birdo's eggs?)  It heads out to rescue Yoshi/the egg, and the first world is a 4 stage Super Mario Bros. parody of some sort.  At the end of each stage, there's funny dialogue, and after defeating the Bowser parody, something happens, and suddenly Birdo has to enter the F-Zero Grand Prix.

That's honestly how a Birdo game could be very successful, IMO.

Edit:  I should say this would be Birdo's foothold game.  This would be the game Nintendo would use to make it so future Birdo games would be embraced, rather than pushed away.  Games after this could be anything, but this game would be used to further define Birdo's character, and have high sales results.

[Mop it up]

Well, I mean, if you want to give Birdo the copy ability, you might as well say Kirby, then.

What are you replying to here? I don't want to give Birdo a copy ability, that's your idea.

Birdo already has three good abilities as it is: egg-spitting, vacuum snout, and a particular fashion sense. There's lots of things which can be done with these if they are explored, but we haven't seen much of them in the Mario games.

Wouldn't Birdo want to be the star of every Nintendo game?

I think that's a stretch. I mean sure, from Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga we know that Birdo is on a quest to be a superstar, but there's no indication that he wants to steal the spotlight from every other Nintendo character. Comparing him to that ugly man Wario is an insult. In Captain Rainbow his wish is to be popular with the boys, so it seems that may be higher on his list than superstardom.

There's already one huge crossover game out there and that is Super Smash Brothers, so the novelty of that has already worn off. Besides, Birdo isn't fit for the part of being the anchor of a crossover game; people want more familiar characters like Mario, Link, Sonic, etc. And I'm not so sure about a game like this acting as a foothold to boost Birdo's popularity. Peach already has defined character and that didn't help sell Super Princess Peach.

Your idea sounds like you're thinking with a capitalistic mindset rather than an artistic mindset. I know you were trying to think realistically but there is no chance of a Birdo game ever happening. He just isn't marketable, so there's not much point in thinking realistically here.

[that Baby guy]

I'm replying here because that was a Metroid thread and we were talking about Birdo.

Birdo has a Vacuum Snout?  When?

Regardless, if you wanted to make a Birdo game, that would fit the character well, and be marketable.  It's in the same vein as Pole's Big Adventure, or whatever that Sega VC game is.

Let's not forget, they made that Tingle game (and are working on a sequel.)  It didn't hit North American shores, but it was still created.  Birdo has a possibility, and with a game like that, he'd have a chance, too.  Birdo might not want to steal the spotlight (or might want exactly that...), but at least he'd want a chance to earn the spotlight for himself, wouldn't he?

[Mop it up]

Birdo has a Vacuum Snout?  When?

Since Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, I believe. In that game he could suck up a Mario brother and leech his health. In Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, Birdo can suck in the baseball to catch an otherwise out-of-reach baseball. His pitching special also involves sucking the pitch back toward the mound, then blowing it back toward the plate. In Mario Party 7 his special item allows him to suck up character spaces.

if you wanted to make a Birdo game, that would fit the character well, and be marketable.

If I created a game I would do so with an artist's mindset, and therefore I wouldn't be thinking about what is marketable. That means it wouldn't sell at all.
I've never heard of Pole's Big Adventure but now I'm curious about it.

Let's not forget, they made that Tingle game (and are working on a sequel.)  It didn't hit North American shores, but it was still created.  Birdo has a possibility, and with a game like that, he'd have a chance, too.

It has a small possibility for Japan I guess but not elsewhere. If it's created and doesn't come to North America then that's even worse. It would be like Mother 3 all over again. It's also likely to be released through means I don't like (WiiWare) or on a system I don't have (DS). Plus, if the game touched on Birdo being transgendered (and it likely would) then that gives it NO chance of being released in North America.

Birdo might not want to steal the spotlight (or might want exactly that...), but at least he'd want a chance to earn the spotlight for himself, wouldn't he?

Yes he would but I don't think he'd want to steal that away from somebody, that's treading into the territory of evil. I know Birdo has roots as an enemy but it seems to me he was more misguided than anything. Adorable creatures aren't evil but sometimes they are easily manipulated.

[that Baby guy]

See, here's where we disagree:  My idea popped in my head as a fun one, something I'd play, and then was posted because it's marketable.  I came up with a few Birdo scenarios, and this is the one I liked the most.  It's a marketable idea because it's a good one, but marketability was clearly a secondary thought after the initial reasoning.  Artistically, I'd like Birdo to have an environment where his character can be brought out, and this game uses the environments of Nintendo classics as a foil, showing differences between Birdo and the characters traditionally controlled.  It is a parody because Birdo has a bit of color in several recent outings (like Superstar Saga, for example.)

Of course, if there were a WarioWare parody world, all the Microgames would revolve around Birdo's appearance:  Tying the bow, applying make-up, etc.

And yeah, it would likely end up on the DS, since Nintendo seems to hate WiiWare themselves.  Still, it would be a fun game, and would really work for Birdo, I believe.