Bowser's Inside Story: Understanding the Villain

 



WARNING: Below are great spoilers for Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, it is suggested that you do not read the following post if you have not at least gotten halfway through Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

There was always something I really loved about Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, that I noticed after playing and thinking about the game for a while. I'm pretty sure what I'm about to say would be overthinking the game, but nonetheless, I had a lot of fun with it, so let's begin!

 

The big unique thing about the third Mario & Luigi game was the fact that, you get to play as Bowser, the main villain from the Mario Universe. Now, it isn't the first Mario game to do this, no no, this has been done before in say, Super Mario RPG and Super Paper Mario, but what makes Bowser's Inside Story so special, is that of all the games to feature Bowser, none are able to capture the feeling of his character so well, and make you feel so much like Bowser himself, like that of Bowser's Inside Story.

Characters: The Old vs. The New



WARNING: Below are great big spoilers for most of the Mario RPGs, it is suggested that you do not read the following post if you have not beaten most of the Mario RPGs


Part of what I love about the Mario RPGs is their ability to create great deep worlds and characters that are ripe for exploring and learning about, as I spoke of in an earlier essay (can be found here). But you see, the thing is, the Mario RPGs don't have to focus on creating new worlds and characters, like that of Final Fantasy and other RPGs tend to always do. What makes the Mario RPG series so special, is that despite it being a huge series that spans 9 games now, and many different worlds, it still stars many familiar faces and characters, something long RPG series aren't known for doing.

Mario + RPG = ?

The Mario RPGs Analyses Collection

Analyzing Themes: Equestria Girls

Equestria Girls.............Equestria Girls!? Yeah, so, for those who aren't into the whole My Little Pony craze nowadays, there was a movie done for the new series, the very first movie for the new series in fact, only er.....the pony characters we grew to know and love.......became human.....ish.

This turned the movie into a bit of a controversial mess among the My Little Pony fans, and so when the airing time for it finally came, we were all holding our breath, wondering how in the world this would turn out. So with everyone talking about it, and me finally seeing it, I thought, why not, I'm in the mood, how about I share my thoughts on this film, see how it all goes, eh?

Like all of my write ups on MLP, this won't be a review per say. If I may go on a small tangent, I don't like doing reviews. Everyone does reviews, and they give me the feeling of being opinionated, and I don't like that, I prefer write ups that get you thinking not about the quality of things and of arguing, but about deep life related things. I prefer to discuss stories my way, not by their quality, but by their themes and connections to our lives. So in the style of my previous write ups, this will be an Analysis of Themes in Equestria Girls. If however, despite all that, you are still very curious about my opinion on the movie, as you value my opinion that highly, I must show my appreciation to your generosity by quickly telling you that, I thought it was really flawed, and I can understand why some wouldn't like it, but I still really loved it, so much so that I think I will watch it a 2nd time. Now! Onto the interesting bits, let's get to it, and let's take a look at the themes of Equestria Girls:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Analysis - One Bad Apple

Hoping to get three of these done by the middle of July, let's see how I do! Here's the first of three!

Bullying's always been a bit of touchy subject with people. Some greatly dislike it, some were very badly affected by it, etc. so when I first learned that an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic would be about the issue of bullying, I was curious to see how they'd do it, and scared of the reaction from fans. Let’s ignore the latter for this write up though, and say that after I watched the episode, I was very surprised by it. Even though the episode was clearly about bullying and overcoming it, I took away a completely different theme from it, and one that caused me to really like the episode for what it did. So with that in mind, I would like to offer my own interpretation of the events of the episode titled One Bad Apple, and what I thought a key theme of the entire experience was, and how it connects to bullying.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Analysis - Hurricane Fluttershy

And finally, after being so distracted with other things, I hope to get back to writing write ups and my own analyses for episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I will post another that I have already done and rather liked, and from there I hope to begin writing some new ones again. So without further ado, here is my next My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Episode Analysis:

MLP: FiM Theory Time: What Makes an Alicorn Special?

Just what are the alicorns? These beings in My Little Pony that seem…..special, compared to normal ponies. With the mane character becoming an alicorn in the latest episode, there has been a lot of discussion and theories about alicorns in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fandom. With that in mind, I thought a lot about alicorns too, and what they might be, and thought to release my own thoughts on the matter; what I think alicorns are, and how it ties into the 4 alicorn princesses, and makes them the way they are. So without further ado, here is my theory on the secret of Alicorns:

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The 3 Act Story

            In stories and tales told throughout all times there is a common theme used in storytelling, that being a 3 Act structure. It follows the simple path of Introduction, Progression and Build Up, and Conclusion. The first Act introduces us to the main characters and its world, the second builds on that to explore these characters and settings, as well as explore new characters and parts of the world, building the story up even more. And then the third part is the conclusion itself, which brings an ending and final hurrah to everything. As I played through The Thousand Year Door, I noticed that there were many signs in this game that pointed to this 3 Act structure being used. With that in mind, let me lay out my theory for this structure, and what in this game draws the point home. 

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The Town of Rougeport

Hello, for today’s entry, I wanted to briefly talk about a video game that I had played recently, moreso some things I noticed and really liked about the game’s structure. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door would be the name of that game, and I suspect some of you may be familiar with it. For those who don’t know much about it, the Paper Mario series is one famous for a simple RPG gameplay system,  fun deep worlds with lots of intricate characters, and a nice simple 8 (or 9) chapter structure that the game follows. For this game, I wanted to discuss 2 things; it’s beautiful central hub setting, and it’s possible 3 act story structure. Today I will discuss its central world, and after that will move on to my 3 act theory. 

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The 4 Elements - Volume I

 “Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.”
                                                                                                                                                -Iroh, Bitter Work (S2E9)

A Bastion Analysis - Part 2: Structures, Symbols, and Metaphors

Hello everyone, and welcome. This is part 2 of my two part write up of a video game I recently played and completed that goes by the name of Bastion. For the first part, I focused on the ending of Bastion, and how that fit so well with its entire story and video game format. For this part, I wanted to focus on Bastion’s entire story and characters, and point out some theories and key things I noticed about its narrative. I will be discussing its structure and how it might all flow together, and also take a look at each of its characters; seeing what they might represent with respect to the story, and its important choices at the end. So without further ado, let’s dive into Bastion’s magical world again, and explore its many wonderful pieces that I just can’t stop thinking about.

A Bastion Analysis - Part 1: The Power of an Ending

Ending

“The point in a journey in which there appear to be no more ‘directions,’ in which you can move ‘forward’.”

Stories, stories are all around us. Some long, some short, some emotional, some humorous, but all stories have their differences, and likewise, all stories have their similarities. Similarities, that which all stories share, those that are needed to craft a great narrative tale, things that you can find in each and every one of them. As an example of two of these qualities, all stories have a beginning, and all stories have an ending, and today I will be talking about one of those, the ending.

When it comes to stories, while the sum of its pieces and whole is important, and making every part as good as can be is essential, the endings of a story have always been my favorite part. The ending is what you see last, what sticks with you the most, and is what wraps up everything and concludes the entire tale.

But, this article/essay/something isn’t about why I love endings so much, this is about a video game. A game I played recently, that goes by the name of Bastion, and a game with one of the most unexpected endings I’ve ever seen. And as someone who loves endings, Bastion’s ending gave me the best final impression it could have given for the whole product. As a result, despite me not really being into the game, not greatly enjoying it, and somewhat forcing myself to get through for the majority of it, after I beat it, the curiosity and passion in my heart ignited like a fire, and I just had to do something about it, which led to this write up.

Not only that, but after completing the game, I went on to read so much about it online, its world, its characters, and I even went on to play through it a whole 2^nd time, and maybe even a 3^rd. Bastion as a game really represents why I love endings so much, because even if I wasn’t huge on the game before it, the result of that ending being so great had me fall head over heels in love with not just the ending, but the entire tale. When it comes to stories, the ending is always what comes to my mind first, because it is generally the part that the whole story was leading up to. So now, with the perfect example of this in Bastion, I’m going to talk about Bastion, and its entire tale, but more specifically, its ending, and why I loved it so so much, and won’t be forgetting it for a long long time.

As a result, the following is very spoiler heavy. Do not reading the below if you have not played and completed Bastion, as spoilers are everywhere. Part of what made Bastion such a great experience for me was how unexpected the entire narrative was, so I implore you to play through the game before reading the below, you will not regret it.

A Look at Some Characters from Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood

So I’ve been watching the series titled Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and just finished my 2^nd watch of the series, my first being about half a year ago, though I first encountered it much earlier in manga form. Regardless, I noticed a few things about this series upon this rewatch, and grew to like some characters much more than I did the first time. So now that I’ve watched the series while more calm, and able to pick up on many little things, I thought I’d talk about characters whom surprised me and I grew to really love on this rewatch, and what I noticed about them that drew me so much to them.

Paper Mario and Shy Guys - The World of Children

Last time I spoke of Paper Mario, I touched upon the intricate ways of the Shy Guy characters, and talked briefly about their world in the 4^th Chapter of the game. Today I would like to expand on their world a little, talking of things I noticed and loved about the world, and thought lots about.

Friendship is Magic: The Cycle of Character Growth

I’ve been thinking a lot lately…..well….I’m always thinking, but I’ve been doing a special kind of thinking, with regards to My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. And this time I thought I would share my thoughts, as I found them very intriguing. I was thinking about the characters of this beautiful show, and their differences in each Season, and why that was, and then I got to thinking about the friendship reports, and how they related to the characters, and how they differed from Season to Season. Let’s take a moment to talk about the friendship reports actually, while on the subject.

The friendship reports are a huge staple of the series, and my personal favorite part of the show. These came at the end of every episode, displaying a moral or message that was (usually) the central theme of the story that had just been told. They tend to involve the main character in some way, and tend to have some sort of lesson that they learn, but…..has it always been like that? And is it still like that? Let us begin by taking a look at the friendship reports from Season 1, to Season 2, to Season 3, look at how they affect the characters, and how they and the characters have changed over the course of the show.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The 4 Elements

Your First Avatar

Avatar

"Some 'thing' that is used to represent some 'one' that, for reasons unknown, cannot be shown in its current 'form.'"

Today I wanted to talk about Avatars, images or characters that we undertake to portray ourselves as, when we post in the online 'world.' I have been thinking a lot about what my first avatar was, and why. Today I'd like to share where those thoughts have led me, in the hopes of encouraging you to do the same.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Analysis - MMMystery on the Friendship Express

As you might have guessed from my picture, as well as my name 'AppleShy,' I am a fan of the new My Little Pony TV show, titled My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

If you have not seen it, I would highly recommend checking it out. There are many things I like about this show, but in short, what I perhaps like most about it, is the show's ability to have a moral and message in every episode that the viewer can relate with and sympathize with, thereby allowing them to take away something from the story, and use it to reflect, change, and grow.

One thing the show encouraged me personally to do, is rewatch episodes and search through them, to see how the writers integrated the theme and message of each episode into its story, as well as how it incorporated the characters into the central plot, and what we can learn from them.

These are what I call my analyses, when I look deep into an episode to find its message, how it was conveyed, and search for more themes present that we can learn from. So, here is the first of what I hope to be many installments in my MLP Analyses, we shall start with one of my personal  favorites, hope you enjoy it:

Hello

Hello to whomever I am lucky enough to have had grace their presence with upon my blog. My name is John in the real world, AppleShy in the online world, and Johnny AppleShy in both the real and online worlds. You may call me whichever pleases you most.

For this blog I plan to list my various writings, that include deep analysis, thinking, and speculation of stories, the world itself, people, life, and much more. I may also post other types of blogs about myself, or my own thoughts at night, but I cannot say for sure, for things will be so much more fun that way, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for both me and you.

For now, I thank you again for this visit, and I hope to see you again sometime in the future, whoever you are.

Visitor

"A 'being' that enters a world unknown to it for a brief time, with a 'life' of its own, unknown to the world being entered and its 'inhabitants'"