Super Mario Heroes

The air of this game is very "final battle for the fate of the universe" in nature, but its versatility would make it a great game for anyone to play if they love Super Mario games.

The format is in many ways similar to the New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and has an element of the rare demo game New Super Mario Bros. Mii. However, it is more serious and more diverse than that, as it allows someone to build their own Mario character, or "hero" for all intents and purposes.

The setting of the game is, of course the Mushroom Kingdom to start out with, in which Princess Peach has called all citizens together for a critical announcement. At the beginning of the game, Princess Peach has announced that Bowser, in conjunction with his son Bowser Jr., the crafty Koopalings, Wario, and Waluigi, is about to launch his fiercest, boldest, and most powerful attack ever.* Pursuant to this, Mario and Luigi have decided that an extreme plan is in order. Mario takes center stage and announces on behalf of himself and his friends that they are requesting help from all citizens who are brave and willing enough to fight the threat of Bowser. This population which he requests help from is very diverse; it includes minor princesses, toads, toadettes, plumbers, and the never-before-known-of female plumbers. Needless to say, there is at least one (up to four) person(s) who answer(s) the call, i.e., the player.


 * Note that no one is captured according to this plot, making this more of an action than an adventure game.

Main character(s)
This is the element of the game that sets it apart from other Mario games. The main character is not a main canon character whom you pick over all else, and is not even a Mii, which is the usual form of customized character in the Nintendo franchise. The game would have a hub within itself that would allow the player to create their own character with the attendant distinguishing features of the type of character they choose to play as. Up to four characters can customize heroes at the beginning of the game, who are then saved to the character roster. If four players indeed choose to play at the beginning, they settle the matter of their heroes and venture out into the first world. As for the number of heroes that can be saved, I would guess that either eight or twelve would be an appropriate number, depending on how advantageous each would be. However, the characters can be edited after creation, so that there is no anger-provoking limitations on the variety.

The four types of heroes, as noted, are princess, toad, toadette, plumber, and female plumber. Also as noted, the characters would be customized according to their distinguishing features, such as the hat on a toad character or the hat on a plumber character. The customization process would go into all available detail, including every factor of any hair, colors, color distribution, facial features, height, build, etc. These characteristics will also influence the gaming experience, such as greater speed for a toad character, ability of princesses to float, and a variety of speed and strength ratings for plumber characters dependent on how they are assembled. This harkens back to the idea of Super Mario Bros. 2, in which characters were different in nature depending on their phenotype (outward features).

Worlds
The game would be divided into eleven worlds, with the fortress of each containing a sub-boss based on the nature of the world, and the final castle having a major boss. The first seven would have one of the Koopalings in each as the major boss, and the last three will have more powerful and well-known villains as sub-bosses in recognition of the final bosses' gravity concerning the plot, as the last bosses are Waluigi, Wario, Bowser Jr., and Bowser. The reason there are four major bosses and three final worlds is because the last stretch, where Bowser is the final boss, is smaller, with only two levels and no fortress, and is technically a return to the first world, meaning there are still only eleven individual worlds. The worlds would be:

Mushroom Kingdom
A low-skill world, as in other Mario games. The minor boss would be the Pirhana beast from Super Mario Galaxy, and the major boss would be Lemmy Koopa.

Desert World
A semi-simple world, but with more ledges and traps. The minor boss would be an Angry Sun King, and the major boss would be Roy Koopa.

Forest World
An intermediate world, but with many strange creatures and pitfalls. The minor boss would be a Power Beetle, and the major boss would be Iggy Koopa.

Ocean World
A world full of reasons not to fall in water. The minor boss would be an Assassin Crab, and the major boss would be Wendy O. Koopa.

Mountain World
A precarious world full of objects that must be climbed. The minor boss would be huge, heat-seeking Bullet Bill, and the major boss would be Morton Koopa.

Cloud World
A world of tricky jumps and risks of falling. The minos boss would be an elite Blowing Cloud, and the major boss would be Ludwig Van Koopa.

Ice World
A slippery world that must be carefully navigated. The minor boss would be Baron Brr from Super Mario Galaxy, and the major boss would be Larry Koopa.

Storm World
A dangerous world where one must be careful of bolts of lightning and progressing clouds. The minor boss would be the King Cheep Cheep and the major boss would be Waluigi.

Cave World
A dark, confined world full of hidden dangers. The minor boss would be a Mega Swooper and the major boss would be Wario.

Fire World
A highly dangerous world with erupting lava and many death traps. The minor boss would be Kamek, and the major boss would be Bowser Jr.

Star World
A world with ten levels, each being a taxing, impressive combination of all the intrigue of the world it corresponds to, and each being unlocked by finding all of the Star Coins in the world. The minor boss would be King Boo, and the major boss would be the Hydra from Super Mario Bros. 2.

Final Battle
Despite the past finality of the Fire World, where the final battle usually takes place, Bowser is not faced in the Fire World. Instead, after the Heroes defeat Bowser Jr., a screen opens up in the back wall where Bowser promptly appears, and he reveals to the Heroes that he has launched a coup d'etat in the Mushroom Kingdom and captured Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Toad. He then dares them to come and try to save them, at which point the fallen Boswer Jr. laughs, but is then knocked back down by the Heroes playing, who rush back to the Mushroom Kingdom on a rescue mission. Two levels have to be gone through before the final battle which are filled with Bowser's minions, and Bowser cannot wait to see the Heroes fall to them. After successfully coonquering these levels, the ledges and jumps in the castle must be traversed before the final showdown.

The way to defeating Bowser is to steal four keys from him: a red, which unlocks the cage Mario is held in, a green which unlock's Luigi's cage, a pink which unlcok's Peach's cage, and a blue which unlocks Toad's cage. When Bowser is successfully injured, the keys, in order, fall away from him. One of the players then picks up the key and runs to the front of its corresponding cage. Although Bowser's attacks get progressively more daunting, the Heroes must unlock all four cages, at which point the four freed prisoners deliver the final strike to Bowser and shoot him out of a cannon to the place from whence he came, which is now ruined thanks to the Heroes.

Ending
Once the threat of Bowser has been neutralized, a cutscene is played where all heroes who were playing the final level when it was subsequently beaten are awarded hero's medals by Peach, to the wild cheers of fellow Mushroom Kingdom citizens. Meanwhile, Bowser lies in deep sorrow in the ruins of the Fire World's major castle, when Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings begin dragging him away to recuperate, at which point they hear the ground begin to crack and they all fall into a hole. At this, all of them moan in pain, and the ending credits follow, which are blocks that can be broken for potential coins by the players.

Power-ups
With all new Mario ideas, there must come new power-ups. The most difficult idea to beat is the Flight hat from NSMBW, but here's a list of all power-ups in the game, with new ones that will hopefully be a pleasant surprise.
 * 1) Super Mushroom
 * 2) 1-Up
 * 3) Fire Flower
 * 4) Ice Flower
 * 5) Bee Suit (allows user to fly at a moderate speed and climb on the sides and bottoms of objects)
 * 6) Hammer Suit
 * 7) Tanooki Suit
 * 8) Flight Hat
 * 9) Mini Mushroom
 * 10) Air Mushroom (gives user ability to hover and use air to their advantage)
 * 11) Lightning Flower (fires three diverging lightning bolts in the direction the player's facing, and also makes them glow in darkness)
 * 12) Starman
 * 13) Forest Leaf (allows the player the throws logs at opponents and break certain walls)
 * 14) Stone Suit (allows user to turn into stone three seconds at a time, but is lost when the player is harmed in vulnerable form)
 * 15) Penguin Suit