Luigi Awareness Society (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} luigi_news) wrote,@ 2003-10-01 15:38:00 |
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Review: Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe [Region 1 DVD]
[October 1, 2003]
Okay, so this DVD came out in July, but I figured I'd do a quick review of it, anyway.
For anyone who picked up the Mario's Greatest Movie Moments DVD released some time ago, you probably remember it as being, um, not so great, at least in terms of DVD quality and format. King Koopa Katastrophe isn't that much better, but it's a step in the right direction.
Unlike the first Mario Bros. DVD, which featured episodes from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show (minus the live action segments), the second DVD is based on The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. The DVD features 6 episodes, each running about 11 minutes.
Gone from the menus is Inspector Gadget (thank god), and they have been replaced with much more appropriate Super Mario Bros. imagery. There are still very few options on this DVD, however. You're given the option of simply playing all of the episodes straight through, beginning with the AoSMB3 theme, or selecting each individual episode. There is no scene selection option, but since the episodes are only about 11 minutes long, while still a little annoying, it's not as bad as it would have been if they were full half-hour cartoons.
Other than that, there is a language setup menu, giving you the option to choose between English and Spanish voices. It's disappointing that there is no option for subtitles like there was on the previous DVD, but the Spanish language option is new to this DVD, and the Spanish voices are well done and very similar to the English voices. Luigi's voice is actually much more pleasant in Spanish, in my opinion.
There is no quiz on this DVD as there was on the last one, however there is one "bonus episode." Those who picked up the last DVD may recall that that DVD contained two episodes of The Legend of Zelda (which was part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show). This one does not contain any Zelda episodes. Instead, the bonus episode in this case is an episode of another DiC video game adaptation, Sonic Underground, the last of DiC's three Sonic the Hedgehog-based series.
The quality of the episodes on this DVD is not great. Better than VHS, most likely, but like the previous Mario DVD, it seems that the source material itself is not high quality, and it has not been digitally remastered. The Sonic Underground series was made much more recently, and as far as I can tell, the quality there is very good. The Super Mario Bros. 3 episodes, however, were made in the very early 1990s, and are showing their age. Still, it's definitely better quality than any episodes I have taped off of TV, and I would definitely recommend the compilation to any Super Mario Bros. fan.
As for the packaging... The DVD itself is printed in full color including the image that's found on the box. The box art is... well, it's better than the first DVD. There are a couple of typos on the back of the box, but I'll save my nitpicking there. :) The design is decent, maybe a little better than the previous release, but nothing too special.
And the episode list for this DVD:
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Reptiles in the Rosegarden
Sneaky, Lying, Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas
The Beauty of Kootie
Toddler Terrors of Time Travel
Reign Storm
Never Koop a Koopa
Sonic Underground
Sonic Tonic
Also of note are the other DVDs released by DiC along side this DVD as part of their "Animation Station" series. In addition to Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe, they've put out The Legend of Zelda: Ganon's Evil Tower, which features three of the episodes that were part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and one bonus episode of Sonic Underground, and Sonic Underground: Dr. Robotnik's Revenge, which features three episodes of Sonic Underground and a bonus episode of Super Mario Bros. The Mario Bros. episode featured on this DVD is "Do You Princess Toadstool, Take This Koopa" from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Instead of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show opening preceding the cartoon, there is a compilation of the openings from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World, all put together and without lyrics to the respective themes and titled "Mario All Stars." If I recall correctly, this opening was used after the initial run of these series when any of the three was aired randomly in a cartoon block a number of years ago.
For those of us who grew up with these cartoons, it'll certainly offer some nostalgic fun. For anyone who missed these when they originally aired or is too young to remember them, these episodes are silly and a little corny at times (especially the songs), but in a way that's pretty much true to Mario and company. The shows are full of characters, music, locations, and items taken straight from the games (with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show focusing on Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2, and the latter two series focusing on the games they were named after). Peach is still referred to as "Princess Toadstool" in these shows since her US name was not officially changed to her original Japanese name until Super Mario 64. The Koopa Kids were all renamed for this show for some reason that is still entirely unknown to me.
All three DVDs can currently be found on Amazon.com (and possibly at other select retailers). They are all Region 1. If these DVDs (or any other DVDs containing similar content) were released for any other region, please let me know.
Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe - US$13.49
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de
[October 1, 2003]
Okay, so this DVD came out in July, but I figured I'd do a quick review of it, anyway.
For anyone who picked up the Mario's Greatest Movie Moments DVD released some time ago, you probably remember it as being, um, not so great, at least in terms of DVD quality and format. King Koopa Katastrophe isn't that much better, but it's a step in the right direction.
Unlike the first Mario Bros. DVD, which featured episodes from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show (minus the live action segments), the second DVD is based on The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. The DVD features 6 episodes, each running about 11 minutes.
Gone from the menus is Inspector Gadget (thank god), and they have been replaced with much more appropriate Super Mario Bros. imagery. There are still very few options on this DVD, however. You're given the option of simply playing all of the episodes straight through, beginning with the AoSMB3 theme, or selecting each individual episode. There is no scene selection option, but since the episodes are only about 11 minutes long, while still a little annoying, it's not as bad as it would have been if they were full half-hour cartoons.
Other than that, there is a language setup menu, giving you the option to choose between English and Spanish voices. It's disappointing that there is no option for subtitles like there was on the previous DVD, but the Spanish language option is new to this DVD, and the Spanish voices are well done and very similar to the English voices. Luigi's voice is actually much more pleasant in Spanish, in my opinion.
There is no quiz on this DVD as there was on the last one, however there is one "bonus episode." Those who picked up the last DVD may recall that that DVD contained two episodes of The Legend of Zelda (which was part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show). This one does not contain any Zelda episodes. Instead, the bonus episode in this case is an episode of another DiC video game adaptation, Sonic Underground, the last of DiC's three Sonic the Hedgehog-based series.
The quality of the episodes on this DVD is not great. Better than VHS, most likely, but like the previous Mario DVD, it seems that the source material itself is not high quality, and it has not been digitally remastered. The Sonic Underground series was made much more recently, and as far as I can tell, the quality there is very good. The Super Mario Bros. 3 episodes, however, were made in the very early 1990s, and are showing their age. Still, it's definitely better quality than any episodes I have taped off of TV, and I would definitely recommend the compilation to any Super Mario Bros. fan.
As for the packaging... The DVD itself is printed in full color including the image that's found on the box. The box art is... well, it's better than the first DVD. There are a couple of typos on the back of the box, but I'll save my nitpicking there. :) The design is decent, maybe a little better than the previous release, but nothing too special.
And the episode list for this DVD:
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Reptiles in the Rosegarden
Sneaky, Lying, Cheating Giant Ninja Koopas
The Beauty of Kootie
Toddler Terrors of Time Travel
Reign Storm
Never Koop a Koopa
Sonic Underground
Sonic Tonic
Also of note are the other DVDs released by DiC along side this DVD as part of their "Animation Station" series. In addition to Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe, they've put out The Legend of Zelda: Ganon's Evil Tower, which features three of the episodes that were part of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and one bonus episode of Sonic Underground, and Sonic Underground: Dr. Robotnik's Revenge, which features three episodes of Sonic Underground and a bonus episode of Super Mario Bros. The Mario Bros. episode featured on this DVD is "Do You Princess Toadstool, Take This Koopa" from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Instead of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show opening preceding the cartoon, there is a compilation of the openings from the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World, all put together and without lyrics to the respective themes and titled "Mario All Stars." If I recall correctly, this opening was used after the initial run of these series when any of the three was aired randomly in a cartoon block a number of years ago.
For those of us who grew up with these cartoons, it'll certainly offer some nostalgic fun. For anyone who missed these when they originally aired or is too young to remember them, these episodes are silly and a little corny at times (especially the songs), but in a way that's pretty much true to Mario and company. The shows are full of characters, music, locations, and items taken straight from the games (with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show focusing on Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2, and the latter two series focusing on the games they were named after). Peach is still referred to as "Princess Toadstool" in these shows since her US name was not officially changed to her original Japanese name until Super Mario 64. The Koopa Kids were all renamed for this show for some reason that is still entirely unknown to me.
All three DVDs can currently be found on Amazon.com (and possibly at other select retailers). They are all Region 1. If these DVDs (or any other DVDs containing similar content) were released for any other region, please let me know.
Super Mario Bros.: King Koopa Katastrophe - US$13.49
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de
