Storyless

In the world of video games, with roughly forty years of history and thousands of games to look at, there are a small number of stand out classics. Games whose names are etched into the annals of history, who stand the test of time, and who are referred to as much as three decades later as the building blocks for modern gaming, and who we should look back to as an example of what to do and what not to do. These games aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but they did so many things right, that their faults can be pushed to the side and forgotten with relative ease.

Perhaps the best example one can possibly give of this is the Mario series, and specifically Super Mario Brothers on the NES. An absolute classic that every gamer is well familiarized with, and whose simple gameplay and mechanics still make for a solid game today. For some people it can be brutally difficult. For others it is so simple that they feel the need to find ways to make it harder. Personally, I can't get past the third stage, no matter which third stage I go to, and I've never so much as approached one of the castle levels. But that doesn't mean I don't recognize what it did for gaming, nor that I dislike it in anyway.

But one thing that I find interesting about it, and many other classic games, is its utter lack of a story. Today, many games, movies, and books are criticized for having a lack of a story, or a poorly constructed one, and there are some people (myself included) who will not tolerate something if it does not have a story to draw them in.

And Super Mario Bros story? Have the plumber go save the princess from the giant evil turtle. She's not in the castle? Keep going until you find the right one.

Not only does it not make any sense from a storytelling perspective, it is so bizarrely simple it hardly constitutes a story. And yet nearly every major Mario game has essentially followed this format to a T, with very few and very minor exceptions. And yet these games are universally adored and admired, and are often the first ones pointed to when someone asks about what makes gaming good.

They're hardly works of art. The music is well made. The gameplay is the biggest selling point. But the story is nearly nonexistent. And no one seems to mind when humungous games like last year's Destiny are shot to hell and back for their lack of story, despite many fan's absolutely adoring the gameplay, setting, atmosphere, music, and presentation. All things that Mario is well known for.

Yet down the line, Destiny will more than likely be lost to time, while Mario will continue to be a home name. Perhaps it is because Mario did not try to have a story like Destiny did, or because Mario understands fun so well. But could you imagine reading it as a book? Or watching it as a movie?

Actually, strike that last one. That happened. And it was terrible.