Seven Dragons Down
First, you meet a goomba. Later, you have to jump over a pit. There are mushrooms and flowers and turtles that fly and ice and night stages. And then you get to the end, and you fight a giant fire-breathing monster, bristling with spikes. You throw fireballs, he jumps. You jump to get past him, his spikes steal your power. You slay him, with the help of an axe and an ill-chosen location for the battle. You slay him all for a woman, precious and pure, that he has locked away from her people. A princess, a vision, a national symbol and a point of pride. You kill turtles for her.
"Thank you, but our princess is in another castle." So says the short man in the spotted turban. Just like the last six dragons you've slain. You hear about another, just past this castle. Bigger and badder than the rest, just as this one was supposed to be bigger and badder than the one before.
You're starting to suspect she really doesn't exist. That she's an illusory pipe dream fueled by drugs and magma fumes. You wonder why you've been jumping over chasms, avoiding firey chains, climbing towers of fragile bricks...all for this princess. All for this woman that some entity holds captive. You've only heard rumors. You've only faught dragons.
And you head on. Because maybe she's beyond that next flagpole. Maybe she's just a warpzone away. If you know the trick, maybe you can gain infinite lives, with which to face these infinite challenges. You believe them, though you don't know why. It's not because she actually exists. It's because you WANT her too. Because she HAS to. Because without her, none of this makes sense. Not mushroom not turtle not squid in the water levels, not flying fish, not open chasms, not hidden blocks with 1-ups. None of this makes sense without the Princess. Somehow, at the end of it all, it makes sense with her.
She's there. She's just another 4 stages away. Or maybe 8. Or maybe 12. Who knows? But seven dragons down, a possible infinity to go, you go on. Because maybe the next one will be a princess. Because maybe the next one won't be some short guy in a turban and hammer pants. Because your pursuit has meaning. Because without a princess, there wouldn't be a prusuit. What if she doesn't exist? So what. You fight because you believe she does. And if she doesn't, at least you've tried.
What's more important to you, Mario? The game or the ending? The constant challenge or the happily ever after?
He's a stoic Italian plumber. The only ones that talk are those damned mushroom retainers.
First, you meet a goomba. Later, you have to jump over a pit. There are mushrooms and flowers and turtles that fly and ice and night stages. And then you get to the end, and you fight a giant fire-breathing monster, bristling with spikes. You throw fireballs, he jumps. You jump to get past him, his spikes steal your power. You slay him, with the help of an axe and an ill-chosen location for the battle. You slay him all for a woman, precious and pure, that he has locked away from her people. A princess, a vision, a national symbol and a point of pride. You kill turtles for her.
"Thank you, but our princess is in another castle." So says the short man in the spotted turban. Just like the last six dragons you've slain. You hear about another, just past this castle. Bigger and badder than the rest, just as this one was supposed to be bigger and badder than the one before.
You're starting to suspect she really doesn't exist. That she's an illusory pipe dream fueled by drugs and magma fumes. You wonder why you've been jumping over chasms, avoiding firey chains, climbing towers of fragile bricks...all for this princess. All for this woman that some entity holds captive. You've only heard rumors. You've only faught dragons.
And you head on. Because maybe she's beyond that next flagpole. Maybe she's just a warpzone away. If you know the trick, maybe you can gain infinite lives, with which to face these infinite challenges. You believe them, though you don't know why. It's not because she actually exists. It's because you WANT her too. Because she HAS to. Because without her, none of this makes sense. Not mushroom not turtle not squid in the water levels, not flying fish, not open chasms, not hidden blocks with 1-ups. None of this makes sense without the Princess. Somehow, at the end of it all, it makes sense with her.
She's there. She's just another 4 stages away. Or maybe 8. Or maybe 12. Who knows? But seven dragons down, a possible infinity to go, you go on. Because maybe the next one will be a princess. Because maybe the next one won't be some short guy in a turban and hammer pants. Because your pursuit has meaning. Because without a princess, there wouldn't be a prusuit. What if she doesn't exist? So what. You fight because you believe she does. And if she doesn't, at least you've tried.
What's more important to you, Mario? The game or the ending? The constant challenge or the happily ever after?
He's a stoic Italian plumber. The only ones that talk are those damned mushroom retainers.