Now, I know what you might be thinking: when are power-up influenced characters considered their own characters?
Actually, there is a precedent. Metal Mario, as much as he is a power-up influenced character, managed to find distinct roles ever since his debut in Super Mario 64. For one, Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo 64) has him as a boss character, and even has the occasional playable role, with early examples dating back to Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) and Dr. Mario 64. Despite the lack of distinct personality from Mario's, Metal Mario managed to forge his own identity (and that leads to Pink Gold Peach, which is a love or hate character).
You might think that this would apply to other Mario power-ups or outfits, but they don't really amount to much since they didn't get to develop their own identity beyond an extension of Mario's. Quite a few managed to do it, such as Tanooki Mario (since he's included in Mario Kart 8 ) and Dr. Mario (who became known as his own character due to Super Smash Bros. Melee). Cat Mario is a bit more special in this case because, although he's introduced in Super Mario 3D World, he's got a main starring role outside of that game: "The Cat Mario Show".
If you are not aware, Cat Mario and Cat Peach have their own show called the "Cat Mario Show". In this show, Cat Mario and Cat Peach, as puppets, do some commentary about Nintendo games. In terms of personality, perhaps they don't quite have the same personality as the regular Mario and Peach, because for one, they have different voices compared to their regulars. Even in the US version of the show, Mario is not voiced by Charles Martinet that you might even think this version of Mario is distinct from regular Mario, much like the live-action film Mario, Captain Lou Albino version of Mario, and maybe Baby Mario (voiced by the same person as Mario, but have a different voice).
In terms of relevancy to the Mario fan, they might be pretty obscure, and this is understandable. Their exposure is limited to Nintendo videos, as they can only be viewed from Nintendo-based avenues, namely the Wii U/3DS eShops and their Youtube channels. Adding to this, they don't have as many episodes featured in US and Europe, as compared to Japan, which has already have 52 episodes so far (and they had a celebratory 50th episode, I must add). As such, they likely are most well-known in Japan compared to other places.
That's why it's interesting that Cat Mario is presented as a costume in Super Mario Maker, as although it's Mario in another costume, it's added in based that show rather than being from Super Mario 3D World, if the level that you have to beat to get this costume is any indication (read that level's description). Even Cat Peach is a separate character in Mario Kart 8, in addition to being a Super Mario Maker costume.
Although Cat Mario isn't treated as distinct in any game, I felt that Cat Mario is a character that is different from Mario, and the same goes for Cat Peach.
So, would you say that Cat Mario and Cat Peach are distinct characters from their regular counterparts, and why?
Thanks for reading.
Actually, there is a precedent. Metal Mario, as much as he is a power-up influenced character, managed to find distinct roles ever since his debut in Super Mario 64. For one, Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo 64) has him as a boss character, and even has the occasional playable role, with early examples dating back to Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) and Dr. Mario 64. Despite the lack of distinct personality from Mario's, Metal Mario managed to forge his own identity (and that leads to Pink Gold Peach, which is a love or hate character).
You might think that this would apply to other Mario power-ups or outfits, but they don't really amount to much since they didn't get to develop their own identity beyond an extension of Mario's. Quite a few managed to do it, such as Tanooki Mario (since he's included in Mario Kart 8 ) and Dr. Mario (who became known as his own character due to Super Smash Bros. Melee). Cat Mario is a bit more special in this case because, although he's introduced in Super Mario 3D World, he's got a main starring role outside of that game: "The Cat Mario Show".
If you are not aware, Cat Mario and Cat Peach have their own show called the "Cat Mario Show". In this show, Cat Mario and Cat Peach, as puppets, do some commentary about Nintendo games. In terms of personality, perhaps they don't quite have the same personality as the regular Mario and Peach, because for one, they have different voices compared to their regulars. Even in the US version of the show, Mario is not voiced by Charles Martinet that you might even think this version of Mario is distinct from regular Mario, much like the live-action film Mario, Captain Lou Albino version of Mario, and maybe Baby Mario (voiced by the same person as Mario, but have a different voice).
In terms of relevancy to the Mario fan, they might be pretty obscure, and this is understandable. Their exposure is limited to Nintendo videos, as they can only be viewed from Nintendo-based avenues, namely the Wii U/3DS eShops and their Youtube channels. Adding to this, they don't have as many episodes featured in US and Europe, as compared to Japan, which has already have 52 episodes so far (and they had a celebratory 50th episode, I must add). As such, they likely are most well-known in Japan compared to other places.
That's why it's interesting that Cat Mario is presented as a costume in Super Mario Maker, as although it's Mario in another costume, it's added in based that show rather than being from Super Mario 3D World, if the level that you have to beat to get this costume is any indication (read that level's description). Even Cat Peach is a separate character in Mario Kart 8, in addition to being a Super Mario Maker costume.
Although Cat Mario isn't treated as distinct in any game, I felt that Cat Mario is a character that is different from Mario, and the same goes for Cat Peach.
So, would you say that Cat Mario and Cat Peach are distinct characters from their regular counterparts, and why?
Thanks for reading.
R I'd say that Cat Mario is separate from Mario as long as it makes sense from a gameplay/brand management point of view, but this doesn't make him a distinct character.
