Mar. 10 is Mario Day! Friday Fave #9

        Do you recognize the Nintendo System above?  It is the original NES  that came out back in the 80's I believe.  My kids pinched and saved and I matched their savings at a certain point and we purchased this system many years ago.  It came with Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt.  We still have that system, packed away and in tact.  But, since then we have had (or my son has had) N-64, GameCube and the Wii.  Mario and Luigi have been a part of our lives for a long time!  Since today is Mar 10, it is unofficially recognized as Mario Day, because when you push "Mar" and "10" together, it looks like it spells "Mario"!  So, today's Friday Fave question is...

    What is your favorite Mario Game?

   1.  I will go first!  My favorite Mario game is MarioKart for the Wii!  When I first started playing this one, I was terrible at it.   I always died on Rainbow Road and on almost every other road as well.  But, I got better and better at it until I was able to beat people on the World Wide connection!  I have to admit, I was a little addicted to this game for awhile. (It was embarrassing to my children.)  I loved being Princess Peach.  Whenever she would shoot someone with a shell or pass them on the road, she would look back and say in her high little voice, "Ha Ha!".  It made me laugh every time.  I stipulate for the Wii because I am not so great at it with the control pad. I like using the Wii steering wheel.  I am a little disappointed that Nintendo doesn't support the World Wide connection anymore on the Wii. But, it is still fun to play against my kids, who can all still beat me. 

   2.  Now we are going old school because Madalynn surprised me and chose this original Super Mario Game for the original NES! We were always way behind when it came to updating to the new game systems.  We usually ended up getting them when they were about ready to come out with the next big thing.  So, even though Madalynn is one of the younger siblings, she remembers playing this and how much fun it was back then.  Getting Mario to land at the top of the pole at the end of a level was so exciting!  The old system and the games are still available on Amazon! 

   3.  Lindsey chose a game that we all loved.   I almost picked this one as well, Dr. Mario! My kids are so good at this game, it is unreal.  I could never beat them, but I kept trying! (I think I have mentioned in this post how competitive we tend to be about game playing.)  When Lindsey was in college, some friends were having a tournament and "let" her play, warning her that they were all really good and she might not be able to keep up.  Wrong thing to suggest to Lindsey.  She wiped them all out.  This game is really challenging, but there are tricks to it and you have to be quick.  We would have big tournaments when everyone was home.  I don't know if we ever chose a grand champion, but LIndsey and her older brother, Aaron were really competitive against each other and are contenders for the title! 

   4.  Alicia chose in the same vein as Madalynn by picking Super Mario Bros, only for the Wii U.  The graphics are so much better, of course, and the Wii U is so much fun!  I feel like it hasn't taken off like it should have because having that little private screen really adds a new element to the games.  Son Tyler and his wife Jessica have one and we have all enjoyed getting everyone together and playing on the Wii U.  Plus, making your Mii on the Wii U is totally cool as well  because you actually take a photo of yourself and the Wii uses  that image to create your  Mii from that.  It is hilarious! 

   5.  This week's guest Fave picker is Adrian Maruri, my son-in-law, and Alicia's husband. (He is the one that shared the delicious Ecuadorian Recipes here and here.) We had to invite Adrian because we don't know a better connoisseur of video games than he is.  He especially loves the old school games and for his pick chose Super Nintendo's Mario Paint. Have you ever heard of Mario Paint?  Many people haven't and Adrian says that more people need to be made aware of it.  He played this game in his youth and let me tell you, I have seen him in action on it and it is pretty amazing.  Not only can you design works of art on this game, but you can write music as well.  I have seen Adrian design a tee-shirt design on it, plus he has written music that actually sounded good!  Of course, he is an artist and a sound engineer.  When I tried to make a line of music on it, it sounded like, well,  like I had written it.  Budding artists and musicians out there will really enjoy this game.  Thanks Adrian for sharing your expertise with us! 

         What is your favorite Mario game?  There are many more to choose from! Maybe you can celebrate Mario Day with a little family fun playing Mario together tonight!  Dr. Mario or MarioKart tournaments are a blast!  If it is still cold in your part of the world, Hot Cocoa Bombs turned on their sides look a lot like the bullets on Mario games. Just add an eyeball!  They can add to the theme of your impromptu party! Sometimes these are the fun moments that everyone remembers later as some of the best family times. We always experience lots of laughter and excitement.  Mario games are a fun and lighthearted ways to enjoy each other's company. 

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