It's the first post of Pride Month! You know who SHOULDN'T be proud?
Hammer Bro and his ilk, that's who! They should be ASHAMED, because they are emblematic of an issue I have with emblems in Mario spinoffs. Look at his emblem. That's just his head from the side! What's the point of that? His head is already well-represented by virtue of being a prominent part of his actual design, which we are already looking at. That makes this, to me, a bad emblem!
An emblem, generally, to me, should not just be a depiction of the character. It should be some kind of iconography they're known for. In Mario Party 8, Hammer Bro's emblem was a hammer. That's what I mean! That's his thing, and it's not immediately visible in his design. As an Italian chef would say, "Splendid! (but with an Italian accent)"! I can see what they might be going for with the Bros, maybe giving them a more soldier-like aesthetic and emphasizing the helmets, but it is simply boring. Give Hammer Bro a hammer, Fire Bro a fireball, Ice Bro an iceball, and Boomerang Bro a boomerang. As a French chef would say, "Bellissimo!" Now, I want to- hold on, what? That chef is a fraud! Get outta here.
Now, I want to emphasize that a Depiction Emblem, as I'll call them, is not by default a bad thing. Here are some I find quite good, due to how they work with established concepts and imagery! Shy Guy's mask is the core of the character, so it's a good emblem. Dry Bones is a skeleton, and a Skull is basically the mascot of the "Skeletons" franchise, so I'm fine with that. Bowser's stylized face has been representing him and the Koopa Troop as a whole for a LONG time, so it works perfectly for him. Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings follow suit, which makes perfect sense. Toad's icon looks not just like his head, but like a Super Mushroom. And Petey Piranha's is not only simplified, but facing directly upward, in a Piranha Plant's favorite attack pose. These and others all work quite nicely!
Now I'd like to discuss some that work poorly. Some Mario characters who got their picture taken for their karting license, took one look, and thought "yep, that's me. That's what I'm all about." And they're technically not WRONG... but they need to learn about the pizzazz!
WIGGLER
This is one I remember being disappointed by way back in 2012, well before I was the Super Mario Scholar I now fancy myself. On the low 3DS resolution, I initially thought it was a strange flower, but then I realized it's just Wiggler's face! It's cute, but so predictable. Even if there's not specifically a problem with the emblem, I wish there was a little more thought put into choosing it, you know?
For Wiggler, I would suggest a flower! It had a flower emblem in Mario Power Tennis, representing the one on its head, and I think a rare birds-eye view of that flower would be cute. Alternatively, they could do something like Diddy Kong's icon, which is more of a pattern than an individual icon, and make it look like a Wiggler segment. The emblem is already round, and Wiggler's length and segments are one of its major aspects!
MONTY MOLE
I like Monty Mole. I like Monty Mole's face. But again, no pizzazz! Maybe the framing is supposed to evoke Whack-A-Mole, but I think that's a stretch. Monty Mole is never really associated with any props, besides rocks and dirt clumps, but those are not very visually interesting. In this case, I actually think a full-body depiction would be good! Monty Mole's signature pose is the one it does with its arms up while popping out of the ground. Mario Kart knows this well, with it featured in Monty's trick animations, and the arms being present on the Monty Mole Mii costume's helmet. So, for Monty's emblem, I would suggest a depiction or perhaps silhouette of this pose, possibly including the hole beneath, if it's not too cluttered!
KAMEK
This is one that especially bothers me, because I love Kamek so much, and love to play as him! This emblem does immediately strike one as Kamek, yes, but you know by now that I will die without an IV pumping Stylistic Representative Mario Pizzazz into my bloodstream. Kamek ABSOLUTELY has unique imagery associated with him, and by that I mean the shapes seen whenever he uses his magic! Whether on their own, from a wand, in a puff of smoke, or on a full purple background, I think they would make an excellent icon.
These next two will have backgrounds because they're from Mario Party instead of Mario Kart. Sowwy
NINJI
This one seems obvious. Ninji gets a shuriken. It may not have used any in mainline games, but it has in Paper Mario. Easy! But not as easy as the next one!
SPIKE
Spike Pog may be powerful, but it is also a bit baffling. WHY Spike Pog? This is indeed the side profile of Spike as it throws a spike ball. And that is its Iconic Action. So its emblem represents that it throws spike balls... but it shows its face while doing it, rather than the spike ball itself! What the heck!
It was his icon in Mario Golf where he was an NPC. Maybe they thought it looked a little bland? I think they could make it look better. Just so strange!
That's MOST of the characters, this applies to, but there are some I'm just sort of split on: Funky Kong, Nabbit, King Bob-omb, and Poochy. They are all Depictions, but I kind of can't think of anything better for them? Funky's is nicely stylized, Nabbit's is stylized nicely enough, and the other two, I just can't really think of something. King Bob-omb, I think, NEEDS his mustache represented, and Poochy is a bit too weird of a dog to be represented by something like a paw print.
All of this has been my opinion, of course! I would like to hear what YOU think of these emblems, and if YOU think there are better options, and even if YOU think my suggestions for replacement are idiotic poopy garbage! (don't say it like that though please be nice)
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In Super Mario 3D Land, Boomerang Bros. occasionally drop Boomerang Flowers when they are defeated. This may indicate that Boomerang Flowers give Boomerang Bros. the ability to throw boomerangs.
Their relatives may also be using Power-Ups in a similar fashion.
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Artfight has finally started and time for me to try and kick it a lil notch, for at least as much as I can! this one goes for klunets_eggmaster (@klunets) in Artfight of their char Subject 2!
and of course, Subject 2 rightfully belongs to klunets_eggmaster! <3
