The Mario Timeline

I think this is pretty neat. It links most all of the Mario series together and establishes a canon of sorts. Definitely worth a watch.

Mhmm, yeah, no.

oh yay another nintendo timeline

im so happy for this!

Mcmadness said:

Mhmm, yeah, no.

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What's wrong with it?

Everything. There is no timeline. At best you could string together certain series but the entire thing? No way.

and then the series as a whole is bizarre

i mean mario, luigi, and peach dont even look like they've aged for starters

too many things dont connect and generally dont make sense

Pretty much. Its an amusing idea to try and draw some line of continuity across the entire series but the fact of the matter is that Mario and co are the video game equivalent of old cartoon shorts where the characters are set in similar roles but are altered for the purpose of the specific cartoon, or in this case video game.

Ok I was really sceptical at first, but this is actually really cool. And it all pretty much makes sense. Really cool.

Here's the Mario timeline:

Mario games, cartoons, and comics

The end

Clunk said:

Ok I was really sceptical at first, but this is actually really cool. And it all pretty much makes sense. Really cool.

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Until you actually think about the specifics, then it just falls apart.

Mcmadness said:

Clunk said:

Ok I was really sceptical at first, but this is actually really cool. And it all pretty much makes sense. Really cool.

Click to expand...

Until you actually think about the specifics, then it just falls apart.

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What do you mean?

Its pretty simple. There are way too many inconsistentencies across the franchise's history. Ranging from locations changing, alterations of character personalities, the effects of power-ups etc etc.

Yeah well the exact same problems the Zelda timeline has. It's fair.

And that timeline only exists because fans wouldn't shut up about it.

Its simply a case of looking too hard into something that was never intended to be explored.

The 3-volume manga Mario: Sokihei no Cyguard attempts to reconcile the gaems and the cartoon with the premise that Sgt. Slaughter's appearance in the live-action segments of The Super Show are proof that the series exist in the same universe as the D.I.C produced G.I. Joe series, whose first season featured Sgt. Slaughter as a recurring character. Here's the gist of it:

(Now to find the Japanese guidebook that explains how Jem and Spiral Zone fit in the timeline...)

==Timeline branch 1: Transformers/G.I. Joe==
Following the live-action segments of the Super Mario Brothers Super Show, social and economical upheavel have resulted in the formation of dangerous armored groups, the most proeminent being COBRA. In response, the US government forms the elite task force G.I. Joe.

Meanwhile, two long-buried factions of transforming automatons, one friendly, one evil, awake from their statis and continue to wage warfare on Earth. Their struggle is chronicled in The Transformers.

An alternate, "dead-end timeline" has the Autobots and Decepticons never being reactivated, meaning the Transformers never discover Earth. The inert bodies are discovered and reverse-engineered, leading to the transformation technology being appled to combat vehicles. The resulting petty gang warfare is depicted in the events of Mobile Armored Strike Kommand.

==Timeline branch 2: G.I. Joe: The Movie==
First timeline branch. Depending on the conclusion of the 1986 animated classic G.I. Joe: The Movie. Either of the following can happen:

If G.I. Joe wins: Cobra is left in shambles and eventually completely defeated following the events of G.I. Joe Series 2. G.I. Joe is disolved and member Brad J. Armbruster, codename Ace, joins the anti-paranormal strike team Earth Corps, as depicted in Inhumanoids.

However, Cobra's defeat leave a large power vacuum, leading into the events of G.I. Joe Extreme.

If Cobra wins: Sgt. Slaughter's death leads Unicron into attacking Earth, as depicted in a slightly modified version of the events of Transformers: The Movie.

Sensing imminent doom, Mario stumbles upon Destro's time machine, sending him back into his younger years, during Donkey Kong Jr.

==Timeline Branch 3==

Unicron's defeat sends powerful space-ripples, which cause the reemergence of a long-lost continent on Earth's surface, the High Frontiers. Hosting a powerful ressource know as Phaeta 7, this unexplored region is the theater of a bloody conflict between the heroic Sky Commanders and the maleficient Raiders.

If the Sky Commanders win: Phaeta 7 is used for good, dramatically boosting the global technology level. However with this new promising age come yet more crime, as depicted in the events of COPS.

If the Raiders win: Phaeta 7 is sold to the manianical Doc Terror, leading into the events of The Centurions.

==Alternate timelines==

Challenge of the Gobots is an alternate universe where the Guardians and Renegades landed on Earth instead of the Autobots and Decepticons.

I like how it has hardly anything to do with Mario.

I'm more amused that it tried to put forward the idea that Bowser eventually gave up.

After watching it, I do not agree with it.

Why is Mario Kart DS way before all the other spinoffs? Because of that one kart?

But why would Bowser be go-karting with Mario if according to him they're still enemies at that point in time?

Also, he fails to add Super Mario Bros 2 to any part of the timeline.

Yeah, it was a dream but come on.

Mashing all the games together is a pretty fun exercise, actually: as long as you take things with a grain of salt (especially maps) and aren't above writing off the odd game as some sort of dream / hallucination / holograms, it's doable - and without nearly as much arbitrary rearranging of the titles as this guy did, which is always the weakest aspect of fan theories.

Magikrazy said:

Also, he fails to add Super Mario Bros 2 to any part of the timeline.

Yeah, it was a dream but come on.

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BSSMUSA actually revealed that it did happen - it was just set in a dream world (think M&L:DT).

Zae Eildus said:

i mean mario, luigi, and peach dont even look like they've aged for starters

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If all the games happen in a span of only a few years, they wouldn't age much.

Mcmadness said:

And that timeline only exists because fans wouldn't shut up about it.

Its simply a case of looking too hard into something that was never intended to be explored.

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Fans enjoy series different ways. Some just play the games/watch the show/read the books/etc., some draw fan art, some write fan fiction, some ponder big elaborate timelines for episodic works, some edit wikis, some post on forums, some do some or all of the above. Creators don't intend for a lot of stuff to happen with their works, but at the end of the day, whatever makes people happy and interested and coming back for more is a good thing for a series.

I'd make a Mario timeline, but I'm too lazy. I'd try to put the cartoons in somewhere.

I think of the alt-media as being stuff based on the Mario Bros. lives, with some things like the Koopalings' names and appearances getting changed to work around potential lawsuits / retaliation, etc.

If all the games happen in a span of only a few years, they wouldn't age much.

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yeah but what is the chance of that?

theres been hordes of hordes of games and you'd think there would be some age gaps, and i doubt bowser kidnaps peach every week.

I wouldn't be surprised.

Yeah, it'd actually be kinda be perfectly in character for Bowser to kidnap Peach every week. Besides, the vast majority of Mario games are spin-offs that don't involve kidnapping at all: there's only 15 non-remake Super Mario titles (not including SMB2 and BSSMUSA), 9 RPGs, and a handful of random one-offs and games with Bowser bothering people other than Peach. So, even at once a month, you can still get the entire series done in under three years (with all the spinoffs coming between the srsbsns adventures).

[quote author=list of games]
Super Mario Bros. - Sept. 13, 1985
(Super Mario Bros. Special) - 1986
(Vs. Super Mario Bros.) - 1986
(All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros.) - 1986
(Super Mario Bros. (G&W game)) - Aug. 19, 1987
(Super Mario Bros. Deluxe) - May, 1999
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - June 3, 1986
Super Mario Bros. 2 - Sept. 1, 1988
(Super Mario Advance) - March 21, 2001
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Oct. 23, 1988
(Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3) - July 11, 2003
Super Mario World - Nov. 21, 1990
(Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2) - Dec. 2001
(Super Mario All-Stars) - July 14, 1993
(Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition) - Oct. 21, 2010
BS Super Mario USA - March 31, 1996 (ends April 21, 1996)
Super Mario 64 - June 23, 1996
(Super Mario 64 DS) - Nov. 21, 2004
Super Mario Sunshine - July 19, 2002
New Super Mario Bros. - May 15, 2006
Super Mario Galaxy - Nov. 1, 2007
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Nov. 12, 2009
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - May 23, 2010
Super Mario 3D Land - Nov. 3, 2011
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - July 28, 2012
New Super Mario Bros. U - November 18, 2012
New Super Luigi U - June 19, 2013
Super Mario 3D World - November 21, 2013

Mario is Missing! - 1992
Mario's Time Machine - Dec. 1993
Yoshi's Safari - July 14, 1993
Hotel Mario - Dec. 31, 1994
Tetris Attack - Aug. 1996
Super Princess Peach - Oct. 20, 2005
Yoshi's Island DS - Nov. 13, 2006
Yoshi's New Island - March 14, 2014
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - November 13, 2014
(possibly other edutainment/etc. games)

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - March 6, 1996
Paper Mario - Aug. 11, 2000
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - July 22, 2004
Super Paper Mario - April 9, 2007
Paper Mario: Sticker Star - November 11, 2012
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - Nov. 17, 2003
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - Nov. 28, 2005
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Feb. 11, 2009
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - July 12, 2013[/quote]

yeah but wouldnt the adventures take a long time though?

it doesnt seem like they could end really easily

especially since gameplay time is shorter then the actual universe length too