I feel like the victory in secret of the pipe maze shows a rare moment of weakness in mecha sonic, with it entirely blinded by rage and caring more about getting revenge on sonic than getting the chaos emerald, which stands in contrast to episode 3, where even with 2 emeralds mecha sonic simply leaves the instant the main cast shows up.
@Zachary Cardoso You know, it's interesting to see this contrast between Shadow and Mecha Sonic (or currently, Metallix in the reboot). It shows that while Mecha Sonic is making the mistake of showing his weaknesses, Shadow has to work on his as well and be at least more open to the idea of cooperation and teamwork in order to be able to defeat the bigger threat once and for all. It's fitting since Shadow wants to do everything on his own and we see Shadow fighting Mecha Sonic on his own at the Yoshis' Island, even when he has no chance of winning at all.
@@weaponizedpizza8825 another thing is it shows how similar Mecha is to Sonic. Sonic has been blinded by cockiness before, the same way Mecha was but that cockiness turned to rage
One thing I love about SMBZ is the seeming subversion of Shadow. Like Sonic says in Episode 8, Shadow is one of the most compassionate people in the Sonic series; he's a good guy, he's not some edgelord anti hero (even Sonic comes closer to that description than Shadow does). But from Shadow's first lines, we can see something is wrong with Shadow. Shadow has to put on an act because his desire for vengeance demands an immediate no-nonsense disposal of Mecha Sonic. Sonic eventually breaks Shadow's act in Episode 8, and we see the Shadow we know and love. Though there is no more cynicism, Shadow still has a mission to fulfill, so he earnestly wishes Sonic and the gang the best of luck and leaves.
@@knightsotl796 Not just an interpretation. It's actually cannon that Shadow's recent trauma and revenge focused mindset is causing him to act OOC. He's normally VERY caring and compassionate to his friends and allies.
Especially considering how Shadow doesn't really handle the loss of his loved ones very well as we saw in Adventure 2, only for it to happen YET AGAIN in this story, yeah it makes alot more sense why he's like this. Dude isn't an edgelord, just a deeply distressed and enraged soul.
It's amazing how much personality Mario and Luigi had without any dialogue. A lot of that personality was communicated through the comedic moments but also the fight scenes. Mario is just this unrelenting beacon of hope who fights for what's right only because it was the fight thing to do. Just like in the games, Mario is just a simple, hard working guy (a plumber.) Sonic definitely sees a lot of himself in Mario, and whenever Sonic starts to doubt himself, Mario is there to say "lets-a-go!" I always loved watching Mario face off with Mecha Sonic. Sonic and Shadow have a personal grudge with Mecha Sonic, so naturally they fight the hardest against him, but I found it interesting how Mario seemed to fight with almost the same intensity as Sonic and Shadow. Mario has no personal grudge with Mecha Sonic, but he clearly gives it his all against him. Luigi, unlike the other characters, is capable of feeling fear. This makes Luigi the most human of the characters, and it translates into the way he fights. That being said, he obviously admires his brother's never-say-die attitude, and always overcomes his fear when it counts. Sometimes, Luigi's cautious nature is what saves the day. His defensive strategy allowed him to survive Captain Basilisk, and on Yoshi's island he survived long enough to revive Mario with a 1-Up. I remember a lot of copy-cats had Mario actually talk, turning him into an exposition machine. There was a subtle touch of magic involved with having Mario and Luigi be fleshed out characters despite having no dialogue, and it was a subtle touch a lot of the copy-cats didn't understand.
I don’t think Mario is fighting that way due to a grudge, rather it’s because he knows that Mecha Soni/Metallix is threat to the entire world and that if he were to fail, Mecha would kill EVERYONE
Excellent statement. Some part of me always wished that Mario and Luigi has dialogue like the others, but deep down I knew that would diminish the magic of their expressions. Something about their emotes, gestures speaking for them is so much more meaningful than if they just spoke outright. Their feelings come through very clearly in their actions, and that's enough...
@@phantomsanic3604 He fights because that's what a hero does. And he's willing to put that fight aside to help others. Something _someone_ driven by vengeance would simply not do...
Everyone talks sbout how cool the fighting scenes are, but no one talks about how Luigi overcomes his fear and fights against enemies. He's a PERFECT example of character development.
As much as Mark deserves credit for pioneering flash animation, his character work in dialogue and action is top notch. Everyone feels like a consistent character and in keeping with their established characters. This is especially impressive with Sonic who is more inconsistent in his actual properties than he is here.
I was so afraid of putting any personal feelings into my SMBZ video , but I've gotten so many lovely comments about ppl talking about why the show was important to them. I cannot express my gratitude enough Thank you
heh no problem man, i always knew there was more to SMBZ then just the sprite animation. i mean sure it's great and it improves, there was more then that. after rewatching everything after around 4 years, i can perfectly see what you mean man. the trust and the friendship like you said matters, and so does the plot and story as they are just as important as the sprite animation.
I have memories of watching this show with my brother and cousin back in the day, it got me through being picked on in elementary school years and years ago
This is the kind of video and community that actually makes me want to read and reply to every single comment, and participate in every discussion that's being had, even though I probably can't... No hate, just love and reminiscence...
SMBZ is *quite* influential. Mecha Sonic would of likely been forgotten without this, and Sprite Animations wouldn't be as big! I mean heck, I've tipped my toes into the Adobe Animate world. I think we can all agree the reboot has us all quite exited!
i think another thing to mention is just how accurately he portrayed these characters. it just feels like they were ripped straight out of their games and put into this story. it's absolutely flawless.
One thing I thought about re-watching the series is “what differentiates mecha sonic in this little fan-series from the other robots other than his design?” And now I have a guess. Simply put, I think he’s essentially an evil robot version of sonic beyond what makes that obvious. I believe he has aspects of sonic’s personality. He gets so cocky whenever he does his job well, but also gets so impatient when things begin going downhill. I believe Sonic is fighting a version of himself more than he realizes along with the others. This is my take on it.
This fits in with the contrast in episodes 6 and 7. Mecha sonic had 4 emeralds in episode 6, and when sonic says he won’t allow mecha sonic to abuse the power of the emeralds, Mecha says, “If you want them, why don’t you take them?” portraying him as cocky when he’s ahead. Sonic says the exact thing in episode 7 in the minus world when he had the emerald and Mecha wanted them. Both of them got the emerald taken from them in the same episode. The only difference between the 2 instances is that sonic had his friends help him out and take back the emerald. This also lines up with how everyone needs to work together or they won’t be able to take down Mecha sonic
Truth! This is what I was sorta thinking about and considering how evil he is and how much he hurts the other characters on such a mental level makes him so much more threatening.
Super Mario Bros Z was one of my earliest internet memories, it was introduced to me by my older brother who unfortunately passed away some time ago, but he showed me a wonderful website called Newgrounds, there we clicked on smbz because we were both fans of Super Mario and Dragon Ball Z, and honestly if we didn't watch Super Mario Bros Z, or even went on Newgrounds to begin with, my life could have been completely different, I owe a lot to Super Mario Bros Z, if it wasn't for this series I wouldn't be on the internet making videos and making my mod, so thank you Super Mario Bros Z, thank you Newgrounds, and thank you Mark Haynes, for shaping me to be the person I am today.
@@SifGreyfang Yes, he is working on the reboot. He won't continue the original series because he knows how worse it had gotten so far, and doesn't want to fix everything with even worse choices. Reboot will change Pipe Maze to King Boo battles, postpone Basilisx to the next saga and replace him with Koopalings in Episode 8. Not sure if Shadow leaving will still be a thing, which I assume it was done due to Mark's extreme downer measures.
One thing I really like about SMBZ that wasn't brought up in this video is the choice of music. Sure, it's music from the Mario and Sonic OSTs for the most part,but it's used with the same careful placement that the creators of the original games used. It also cleverly adds kickass remixes and some rather unconventional tunes, like Hype XXX in the Brawl on a vanishing Island. My favorite moments of music choice are that terrifying dark and mechanical-sounding track used as Mecha Sonic's theme and the OST Version of Doomsday Zone from Sonic 3 & Knuckles when Mecha Sonic goes super in Episode 6.
@@sprites4ever482 there's a few metroid tracks from different games that he chose for the tense moments -such as when mecha sonic obliterated the axem rangers, or the moments before mecha attacked in episode 7- that fit perfectly, too
I'm surprised you didn't make any mention of how well the characters reflect their canon depictions with such believability. Sonics confidence, bowsers tactical mind hampered by ego and childish impatience, even going as far as to have Mario and Luigi communicate how they did in Mario and Luigi, unintelligible Italian sounds that the other characters still understand and repeat back for the readers. Its ability to capture what a sonic and Mario crossover story would look like before we actually got it in the handheld Olympic games (which, surprise surprise, actually wrote Mario as mute while sonic would often communicate for him.) is something that shouldn't be understated.
Yo, that'll be insane if the creators of the Mario & Sonic Olympics Games were inspired by SMBZ too. I highly doubt it, but it's not impossible to believe.
17:08 I dunno, I'd say there is a mystery to this reveal, as anyone who's been paying attention up to this point would probably be surprised to see Eggman still alive, since he was the first victim of Mecha Sonic's rampage. We also never see how or when he got to the mushroom kingdom. Did he follow Sonic and Shadow after they left? Could he have made the jump first without them knowing? How did he survive the death egg explosion when he was on the ship? Does Mecha Sonic know he's alive? How and when did he meet Bowser? Revealing Eggman to us with all of the info we've been given adds a bit of intrigue as we can assume our hedgehog heroes don't know he's alive, and that adds an extra level of danger to the situation, as we see with him not only improving Bowser's doomship, but also with the creation of Metal Mario
Great vid As a side note, I find it really funny that the animation improves with every episode, but AlvinEarthworm still uses Comic Sans for the text boxes.
Was expecting a nice, cute tribute video to SMBZ similar to ones I've been seeing in past 2 years (love all of them). But this was a masterclass, deep-dive, and extremely entertaining analysis of EVERYTHING great about the series, right down to the blink-and-you'll-miss details. The editing, artistry, and professionalism in presentation really surprised me. You seriously deserve way more subscribers 🏅👏🏾
You have no idea how happy I am to see someone who not only understands the why the fighting was amazing but also the plot. The story was always underappreciated compared to the fight scenes, and that just doesn't do SMBZ justice. Thank you. Now I don't if I should continue making my video on the same subject... XD
I never really noticed how the subtle themes and details embedded into the story contribute to the immense enjoyment of this classic series. As you said, what makes this series so good even today is not just the amazing coreography and sprite animation but also the little things such as character traits, well-timed comedy, and the sense of a looming threat. Very nice breakdown; thank you for making this.
THANK YOU. So many reviews only talk about how cool the fights are and how terrifying mecha is (both statements extremely true) but I always felt like there was more, something in the way the story was told and the characters were portrayed. But I never managed to explain what exactly. And now you have put words to my feelings. Thank you. Btw any plans on doing the same with the reboot? The first episode already shows a different take on luigi's development.
13:46 Mecha Sonic: **WHAT'S UP BITCHEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!** "destroys the Koopa Bros and the Axem Rangers' ship" Mecha Sonic: Oh I'm sorry. Were those your ultimate attacks? Those were fucking adorable. >=)
Love this video, and love the series. I'm sad it ended prematurely, but happy it's getting a reboot. 14:46 I'm gonna need a music-less clip of you saying "Victory is no longer and option. The objective of the fight changes." The delivery of that, especially the first sentence, is just chilling.
Super Mario Bros Z got me into Shonen full time. I watched Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! (Which is great) and saw a bit of Naruto but I didn’t really invest myself and put much thought into them. It was SMBZ that left a hole inside me that I have been desperately trying to fill. Thank you, SMBZ!
Amazing breakdown bro. I remember watching SMBZ in like elementary or middle school for the first time and it's held a special place in my heart since. It's part of the reason why I write and draw my own action comic book series. Absolutely can't wait for the reboot.
I remember it because I remember I had a rivalry with Sonic & Mario at the start and I used to watch a lot of sprite animation, I love how it projects feeling into everything that's being made, and I love it for being one of the few sprite animations that teamed up Mario & Sonic instead of making them fight.
Man, I was in my early teens when Episode 8 hit. It also taught me the heartache of a series ending abruptly. When I realized the man, the myth, the legend, was going to remaster and continue the series, everything about the adult me suddenly vanished from my brain for a solid 10 minutes. I screamed of the top of my lungs to my pillow until my voice gave out. My parents showed up to ask me if I was okay. I didn't care about having to deal with that awkwardness. I was a happy man that day. I'd spend the rest of the day rewatching the entire series and gaining a new, more deeply-rooted appreciation for it as well. All the nice little intricate details and story beats I couldn't consciously parse back then. But make no mistake -- my subconscious always knew. I just lacked the words for it. I hope only the best for Mark Haynes, or should I say, Alvin Earthworm, and I hope he finally gets the chance to show us all the plan he had all those years ago, and whatever you make, know you have a lifelong fan following along.
What I liked most about this series is that it wasn't about Mario or Sonic being pitted against each other, which was what a lot of other webtoons and webcomics did at the time. This was a breath of fresh air.
SMBZ has a great story above all else. The fight animation is just a huge bonus. Some things have aged somewhat poorly, like the dialogue, but the storyline and animation was crazy. Particularly for someone doing it on their own.
I remember as a kid being terrified of the minus world concept. Throughout the years of my life, every once in a while, I’d have nightmares about being trapped in some inescapable realm. It wasn’t until watching this that I remember experiencing a similar fear from the minus world in this series. It makes me wonder if this is where the fear originated from. Guess that goes to show how effective the tension and worry was.
This was a great series and the creator himself said he was inspired by Monty Oum. When Oum died the creator said he was gonna do a reboot and we got the first episode. But it has been a few years since then so it may be dead again.
I loved coming home from Middle School, grabbing my snacks, turning on the computer and enjoy watching the first 4 episode of Super Mario Bros Z. Each episode had me on the edge of my seat wanting more.
I am so glad I clicked on this video! Not only was it entertaining, you kept it straight to the point and created the generalization as you pointed out the development, characters, conflicts, and overall writing as everything you broke down and explained step by step I could finally see it all come together as to WHY it's so great! As opposed to badass fight scenes and having the Good Guys fight the Bad Guys! You show the audience that there's much more going on here than meets the eye that can be so subtle that it's unnoticeable especially when you're young! I honestly would like to learn more from you through your presentations such as these and videos (Granted I need to put in the work of actually watching your other videos lol) Great Work man, don't let up!
Not only is this video a unique topic, but the editing is extremely clean and the overall quality is something that really blows me away, especially for a channel of this size, i am going to sub now
This video is great! As a massive fan of SMBZ, still rewatching it to this day and eagerly awaiting the reboot, this video is a perfect retrospective on the great moments and themes it presented! This video even offered me something I sort of understood about SMBZ, but didn't fully comprehend as much as I do now: The overarching theme of teamwork and togetherness, putting aside each other's differences to overcome adversity and achieve victory. This really stuck with me, and shows SMBZ was even more ahead of its time than I thought. Overall, a great job!
Bravo dude! You’ve pretty much just articulated my view and feelings about the show, great fighting animations, the dynamic friendships, the conflicts, humour and everything in general. Even though I’m 2 years late, I just want to express my gratitude as well so don’t mind if I do. Watching this as a little kid, the only thing I understood was the fighting, and the heros and villains. But after rewatching it, my love for the series, as you said, deepened. I could read the texts so the humour, intrigue, drama, and motivations was so much more visible to me than punch, kick, ow. I’m not really an artist, but I make movies in Imovie, specifically Rocky-esque movies with plushies, fight scenes where I have to act all by my own, and all of that. It’s probably not as impressive as being an artist but hey, at least I created something. I just want to thank Mark Haynes for creating such a masterpiece, and you for making a masterpiece tribute also. Don’t know if Mark can outdo the original series, but it doesn’t matter, he creates something, I appreciate. And you pretty much just articulated my feelings for the show and maybe somebody’s too, but you’ve also analyzed it into why it’s great. Such a great video dude. Sorry if this comment is too long, but just wanted to lay out all my thoughts. Wish you and Mark luck! Hopefully my Imovie skills are going to be useful lol.
This show was a HUGE deal to me growing up. The action, the sound effects, the epic moments!!! THE ENTIRITY OF EPISODE 6!!!! I'm so glad I was able to watch the entire OG series and fall in love with it.
This was undoubtedly one of, if not. THE best analysis on this series I’ve EVER seen. The fact you went so in depth with it and explained it all in proper detail is just so beautiful! Heck, a lot of the stuff in here, like Shadow kicking his teammates at Mecha and their teamwork crumbling and the bros needing each other, I didn’t even look at them in that way until you brought it up, in fact, it gave me an entire new and better view on the entire fight and series itself! But seriously though, amazing job on this analysis my guy! 👍
*SMBZ Episode 4 was my first encounter of the series* , and since then, I was hunting down the rest of it and grew into it. The way you handled explaining this was exactly the experience I felt. I felt invested into it because of the story pacing and character development (by god the fight animations were so clever too) (Aside from ep. 7, trying to fit the glitch world theme into the plot/time consumtion; the episode wasn't much growth, but the points you planted were the only good spots to follow) Aside from that, the series is still massively praised. It hasn't aged at all for its time.
This series seriously is the series that single handedly influenced me so much as a young first gen kid who didn’t know English or what the internet was. I can literally pin point this iconic series as the start for my love of story telling, anime, and video games
Another good thing about this series is that Mark had AN EPIC brain for coming up with an idea of a series like this that no one ELSE wouldn't have come up with. Because it's a combination of Dragon Ball Z, Super Mario Bros, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
I couldn't find the words either to describe what else made me love this fan made series; you explained it pretty well! I loved the gags that would be thrown in to ease the tension between the fights but also giving us an interesting story to follow along even to people who aren't familiar with the characters. Ep 5 & 6 are my favs because of the story dynamic with Mario & the Yoshi tribe
In line with your fantastic analysis, I always suspected that "Mecha Mario" would've been a wrinkle that, ironically, Sonic and Shadow would have to overcome by working together while Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi dealt with something else, a la Bio Lizard from SA2. For Sonic, it would be hope, proof even, that he can overcome Mecha Sonic and prevent that disaster from happening again, a personal redemption. For Shadow, it'd be a crucial lesson learned; he must be willing to working with others to defeat Mecha Sonic and avenge his lost friends, Rouge and Gamma. It fits in with an overall theme of the series: you can't get wrapped up in revenge and constantly go it alone. Mecha Sonic, Shadow, and Basilix embody this very well and I love it. Anyways, a magnificent look at the series, my man! I always enjoyed watching it and was sorry to see it end so soon, but I think it was a look into how "fan fiction" can be done right: it stays magnificently in character for both series, and that helps make it all the more believable.
@@FrffyVsAnime The only thing I’ll comment on is Mecha Sonic’s place in the Pipe Maze It wasn’t pointless While yes, Mecha Sonic is meant to be an insurmountable threat, the heroes just barely scraped out a victory by taking the Chaos Emeralds from him on Yoshi’s Island Showing that while he is still extremely powerful, the heroes can still win, there’s still hope Having him appear in the Pipe Maze is to not only give the heroes, especially Luigi, more confidence in showing that they can win. But it’s also meant to show Mecha Sonic his own limitations He thinks he’s all powerful, but he’s still got a long way to go Which is why he ends up fighting Shadow alone in Episode 9 Not only to seemingly emphasize how Shadow’s lust for revenge mirrors Bassilisk’s and how it will ultimately lead to his downfall, but also to show how Mecha Sonic is playing smarter He knows he can be beat now, so he’ll play the long game and pick the group off one by one At least, that’s how I see it
That show literally made my childhood and I’m so glad they’re making a remake right now. At this time there’s only two episodes of the remake, but I hope that episode three is coming soon.
I'm watching thing again before the release of the reboot's second episode, in a few hours. This is so on point. You make me fall in love with this show even more than I already am.
The Omega Doomship Arc was supposed to be from Episodes 8-10, although it ended up being cancelled. Episode 9 was supposedly going to finish the fight against Basilisx & then feature the fight against the Koopalings with the episode ending with Eggman activating Mecha Mario. I never quite agreed with the Luigi stone theory because it fails to address why Luigi didn't turn back from being stone when he was being used as a weapon against Mario. Supposedly we were going to get to see Goombella & Kolorado again in Subcon which was home to the Final Chaos Emerald. The Mecha Sonic Saga was supposed to be 15 Episodes, with Mecha Sonic being confirmed as getting all 7 Emeralds either at the end of Episode 12 or as part of Episode 13. There were also plans for a 2nd Season with a Blue Axem Ranger, which was rumored to be forged from the body of Mecha Sonic.
Absolutely amazing review. Like you said, there's even more to point out from this phenomenal series, but this still pulls out a lot. Thanks for sharing this even though it may have been difficult.
Truth! I love this series so much and what it has done for me for such a long time over the years! I love all of those characters and all of the developments that they go through all throughout the course of this journey! I seriously hope it gets the chance to continue and wrap up everything, it deserves it so much, honestly! 💯
This was such an amazing summary of the series, this is how I wish I could talk about it. I'd only be screaming about how hype it is and there'd be a lot of aspects I wouldve missed
Same. I remember being in third grade when episode 1 showed up on Newgrounds, right alongside the Seth MacFarlane Cavalcade of Cartoons pirated vids and early Dorkly stuff. It was even more exciting when it got reuploaded to RUclips, I could send that glorious series to everyone without having to worry about the "You still visit Newgrounds??" comments. Simpler times back then
Something else noteworthy about Super Mecha Sonic vs. Team Mario/Sonic. It starts with Mecha vs. Sonic, Shadow, and Yoshi. 3 opponents he's familiar with (poor Yoshi). Just before he finishes Sonic, Mario blasts him and a lot of attention is brought to Mecha acknowledging Mario's existence. Not only does this add weight to when Mecha targets Mario at the end of the fight, but it's amazing it took 6 episodes for the main protagonist and antagonist to really meet.
This is an excellent analysis video. I re-watched the series recently through the HD remaster Mark put out on his channel and I felt pretty much the same way about it - while I do think there are certain _moments_ where you can tell the series is old and where the dialogue gets a bit... eh, it most definitely did not take away from the overall experience. This series is just as good as I remember, if not even better. I don't think any one of us SMBZ fans could thank Mark enough for this series and how it not only has given us great memories, but also has affected many of our lives in general, and a big ol' round of applause to you for your fantastic work on this analysis. You absolutely deserve more views and subscribers.
I’ve always had such nostalgia for this show, but I’d never put together how much thought was actually put into the story it tells. Eager to see a version of it which hopefully reaches a conclusion one day. Also, dig the transitions.
Well made video! And it hits all the stuff that I felt watching this in high school as well. This show's story was one that I was really invested in and I while I adored the fight animation, I mainly watched it because it was so well written with excellent handling of its themes and characters. I wanted to know where it was going and what would happen next. It's great to see those elements get properly appreciated.
I really love this series, it is the best. I think it really left a mark on the internet, a good influence on future sprite fights. Mark did and continues to do such an outstanding job with his series and im excited to see where the reboot goes. One of my favorite moments was mecha’s realization that he couldnt leave the minus world. Its interesting to see the all powerful villain for the first time feel helpless. You can also really see in the minus world fights how much more hits are landed on mecha and that he gets stunned more often, due to the minus world removing a lot of powers. This entire series is just incredible, Im also really glad mark has re-booted it, and is staying strong…unlike some OTHER series I know
You really did a great job summarizing and tributing to the series! Also the little comedy edits you made are hilarious and had me i tears at some point.
I want to bring up something from my own personal experience watching this. I was also a kid or young teen watching this series, I knew about Mario and Sonic but not the other important factor in this series, Dragon Ball. I've seen Death Battles with Vegeta and Goku, I knew the "OVER NINE THOUSAND MEME!" sure, but I knew nothing about how the characters act, what the show was about, etc. Cut to years later when I was in trade school, my friend started letting me play Xenoverse 2, and I found a not so little show called: "Dragon Ball Z: Abridged". Next thing I knew I subscribed to MasakoX, the voice of Goku and Gohan in DBZA. That expanded my knowledge of the characters even more, I started to fall in love with characters like Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo. Plus, now that I know what Mark was refencing , I can look back at the original SMBZ and understand that the situation Yoshi Island getting destroyed is basically the Namek arc, Wario and Waluigi are a call out to the Pilaf Gang, Mecha Sonic is Cell, Luigi in a sense is Gohan and Krillin, Shadow was always Vegeta, we all know it Sega, don't lie to u- My point is, Mark has this way of taking the skeleton of Dragon Ball stories, and changing it in a new context with characters we already know well. Sure, it'd be easy for him to make a story based on DBZ with his own characters, or just make a Dragon Ball Fanfic. It'd be easy to just make everyone a one to one reference to their Dragon Ball counterpart, but he keeps the characters true to who they are with the dynamic of how it'd work in Dragon Ball. Like I said before, Shadow is basically Vegeta. You know this, I know this, more than likely it's slim to none that don't know this. Shadow however, still has traits that are different to Vegeta. For one, he's a lot less prideful than the Prince. Sure, he has the "Ultimate Life Form" thing going for him, but it's next to never his pride that affects his rash choices. It's more so not seeing the point of wasting time. Vegeta though most, if not all his choices were made off of his pride. Letting Semi-Perfect Cell absorb Eighteen, becoming Majin Vegeta due to not feeling good enough to beat the Low class Saiyan Warrior, killing Napa. Those were all affected by his pride. Goku and Sonic on the other hand, are kind of idiots that are willing to bend over backwards to help a guy out. Granted, Sonic has more pride than Goku, in terms of overall personality, not just fighting here. Now, we see Mark use the dynamic that Shadow and Sonic already had, but adds hints of Goku and Vegeta to make something different. Another thing that he does is keep Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi as "silent" characters. Yes they do make sound, and the Hotel Mario reference does make Mario and Luigi talk, but, if you watch the series again you start to notice... These three don't have a hint of original dialogue like the rest of the cast. The Goomba in the first episode has more original dialogue than three of the main characters. That's, again, staying true to the original source while adding something new. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi are used for visual story telling. You know what they're about without them saying a single word outside of stock sound affects, but how they respond in their actions tell use more than enough about who they are. Again, it'd be simple to write dialogue for the crew, we see great fan stories like Brawl in the Family do it. Which there's nothing wrong with it, but there is something special about seeing how close to the games this is. Now, this to wrap this up with this; you don't need to know anything about any of the series to understand and enjoy this one. Mario Bros, and Yoshi (Wario Bros as well), have clear personalities through actions alone. Those who do talk also have a clear personality you can understand. Mecha Sonic: Evil and threating, thinks the world is a bunch of Ants. Bowser: Simple minded, but surprisingly clever. Peach: Caring person who wants the best for her people. Shadow: Edgier than that pencil collection in the cabinet. It's super simple to understand who they are and what they're goals are, expect for the ones you don't need to know their goals yet. If you do though, it only improves upon it. Mecha Sonic: Seeks his revenge on Sonic after the events of Sonic Heroes, CD, and the original games. Is basically Cell with how he wants to get his higher form through absorbing things. Luigi is basically Krillin due to being out class in the fight, but is always willing to give a helping hand and give it his all when he's depended on. Shadow's basically Vegeta! It's amazing to see how much of it being it's own thing, yet so similar to the source you can pick out every detail. So, that's basically my perspective on it. It's just really good at keeping characters in character, but adding in small hints of the inspiration to keep it from being 100% the same. Mark's good at story telling and characters.
I remember have a toy story 2 Woody's Roundup feeling when I watched the series for the first time. I was really digging it and was looking forward to seeing how it would progress, only to be left in a cliffhanger (until the three minute ending came out), which I had hated since I had seen several shows be cancelled and forever left with a cliffhanger. There were so many questions left unanswered that I wanted answered. I think the biggest question I had was about Mecha Mario. What element would he add to the series? Would he be a one or more episode threat? Would he fight Mecha Sonic over a conflict of interests? Would he even be able to stand a chance against Mecha Sonic, or would be be destroyed easily? Alternatively would the two robots join forces, making the threat against our heroes even larger (though I doubt it as I assume eggman would've learned from his mistake with metal Sonic)? I was so disappointed we never got to see the potential Mecha Mario had for the series, and hope we'll get to see that potential fulfilled in the reboot.
Super Mario Bros Z will always be one of the golden moments of my youth first entering the internet. It inspired me in so many ways. I truly hope to live to see the revamp series come to life.
this series was actually my first introduction to Sonic when I waslike 9 or 10 years old, I seen his persona around before but the author of this series did an amazing job to make me fall in love with both shadow and Sonic because of how well he wrote them
What else can I say that hasn't been said yet? This series is just absolutely amazing and I can't thank you enough for giving me even more reasons to love this masterpiece that has been a HUGE part of my childhood. I rarely like or even comment on videos, but i'll have to make an exception. Outstanding work!
I like to remember this, waiting for new episodes back in the day, always happy to see a new one posted on newgrounds. Like when I used to wait for "there she is"
In the part of the video where u said that the gang getting off with a 100% no-consequence victory contradicts the death bringing and oh so consequential element of Mecha Sonic actually sums up how I felt about that encounter when I watched it as a kid. If I were to make a small change that creates more of a despondent dynamic, here’s how I would do it: In the one scene where Luigi launches out of the water to trigger Kolorado’s stopwatch, he would accidentally knock him and Goombella into the water with all the bloopers as well as knocking himself into the battlefield with the everyone else. With Mecha Sonic threatening the gang, everyone distracted by the change in energy and hastened by the rush to escape the minus world, this simply wouldn’t allow for the rescue of the two, nor would it matter given the severity of the aforementioned situation. During the chase, Mecha Sonic would assume that the change in energy couldn’t have been induced by Mario, Sonic, Yoshi, Luigi, or Shadow given that they were all in front of him in the heat of the battle before the fluctuation occurred, and so he deduces the culprits to be Goombella and Kolorado, whom he saw earlier. Also realizing that he would not be able to stop the gang from entering the pipe in time, he decides to leave a negative mental parting gift by screaming while flying (in hopes that their attention being partially shifted could slow them down) “Hey Sonic! Do you recall when I massacred your friends in Mobius? Well, history is about to repeat itself!” Seeing Sonic’s visible confusion, he decides to elucidate by locking into the heat signatures of Kolorado and Gombella as they were crawling out of the water and firing heat-seeking missiles at the two. It is only here that Sonic and the rest of the gang would realize that they had left the two behind. Sonic, thinking to himself “ No! I won’t let more people I care about be killed!”, actually turns around to try and save them. Mecha Sonic, arm still in missile mode, states just before firing “You fell for it! This proves that even a being of your speed should realize that friends are good for nothing and will only slow you down!” Shadow (with his lone wolf character contradicting his next action yet aligning with his canon decision at the start of episode 8) sees the missile hone in on Sonic and exclaims “I beg to differ! CHAOS SPEAR!” The heat of the blast redirects the missile at Mecha Sonic, who blocks it, creating a smokescreen. Shadow takes this opportunity to rush Sonic back with everyone, yelling at him “Really Sonic?! That sad attempt at a rescue operation would’ve cost us more lives than your decision ever could have saved! If you really want to prevent history from repeating itself, save the ones that are of actual importance!” (This would tie into Shadow’s disregard for Peach in the next episode, hence why he calls her a “weakling woman” that “isn’t worth the dirt on your shoes.”) Upon Shadow’s delivery of this line in the next episode, Sonic would notice Mario’s anger and would try to reason with Shadow by retorting “Oh really? I seem to recall you saying if you want to prevent our kind of history from repeating itself, then you should only save those of actual importance. And given that said history was of the massacre type, I know for a fact you consider me important, the same way I considered the two I failed to save back in the minus world important.” *Ok guys I hope you liked my version of the events that took place. While writing this, I started to feel like I should finish an alternate timeline or at least just make the dialogue a bit different. What do you think I should do? Should Sonic ask “Tell me Shadow, didn’t you ever have someone you cared about that you wanted to save in the heat of the moment?” (Sonic would ask this knowing Maria would spring to mind and possibly humble him.) Or should the story go the same way with Sonic bluntly mentioning Maria, angering Shadow? Leave me your thoughts below.
I feel like sonic asking shadow if he wanted to save someone desperately feels right for him. This way shadow can explain why he’s so hell bent on destroying mecha
Wow, I like this a lot. I think that the overwhelming loss in your scenario in addition to Sonic’s blunt mentioning of Maria in the original would definitely pair very well. It’d one, give those who don’t know much about the Sonic or Mario franchise an in-series reasoning for Sonic’s dig at Shadow but also reward the veterans that know what happened in the Sonic universe
I love Super Mario Bros. Z. It has an interesting storyline and very likeable characters. It's my childhood. I know the series since I was 8. Your analysis are pretty good. 🔥🔥
I must commend you for this, this video has definitely given me an even better perspective and appreciation for smbz, i know that many people only remember it for its fight sequences myself included but this video showed me just how cleverly written smbz was to especially for episode 7 which many fans consider to be the worst episode. Good work.
For the longest time I kept avoiding the SMBZ series just because I thought it looked dumb and nothing more. A few days ago I started watching it, and I'm so glad I finally did. It's a genuinely great story, and you made a phenomenal analysis on why that's so. Great job!
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Nicely done. Thanks for taking your time to work on this. Also, I'm glad my series was able to inspire you and a number of people over the years. 👍
Thank you so much! Good luck with your future projects!
You deserve it, Mark
You're everywhere Mark!
You're AMAZING Mark. You thought of an EPIC series that no one ELSE WOULD'VE thought of.
The lengend that never dies.
"Oh I'm sorry, were those your ultimate attacks? Those were ******* adorable."
Favorite line that is perfect for Mecha Sonic.
Where is this audio from, it's perfect
@@megaprotodude It's my voice. I recorded the line myself ;)
@@FrffyVsAnime that’s impressive
I was Howling with laughter
“WHAT’S UP, *******!”
I feel like the victory in secret of the pipe maze shows a rare moment of weakness in mecha sonic, with it entirely blinded by rage and caring more about getting revenge on sonic than getting the chaos emerald, which stands in contrast to episode 3, where even with 2 emeralds mecha sonic simply leaves the instant the main cast shows up.
@Zachary Cardoso You know, it's interesting to see this contrast between Shadow and Mecha Sonic (or currently, Metallix in the reboot). It shows that while Mecha Sonic is making the mistake of showing his weaknesses, Shadow has to work on his as well and be at least more open to the idea of cooperation and teamwork in order to be able to defeat the bigger threat once and for all. It's fitting since Shadow wants to do everything on his own and we see Shadow fighting Mecha Sonic on his own at the Yoshis' Island, even when he has no chance of winning at all.
@@MrSuperstargamer but he was holding his own which was impressive
Another thing to note is how our heroes actually improved but only enough to where they escape by the skin of their teeth.
@@weaponizedpizza8825 another thing is it shows how similar Mecha is to Sonic. Sonic has been blinded by cockiness before, the same way Mecha was but that cockiness turned to rage
One thing I love about SMBZ is the seeming subversion of Shadow. Like Sonic says in Episode 8, Shadow is one of the most compassionate people in the Sonic series; he's a good guy, he's not some edgelord anti hero (even Sonic comes closer to that description than Shadow does). But from Shadow's first lines, we can see something is wrong with Shadow. Shadow has to put on an act because his desire for vengeance demands an immediate no-nonsense disposal of Mecha Sonic. Sonic eventually breaks Shadow's act in Episode 8, and we see the Shadow we know and love. Though there is no more cynicism, Shadow still has a mission to fulfill, so he earnestly wishes Sonic and the gang the best of luck and leaves.
Nice interpretation
@@knightsotl796 Not just an interpretation. It's actually cannon that Shadow's recent trauma and revenge focused mindset is causing him to act OOC. He's normally VERY caring and compassionate to his friends and allies.
I was just about comment on why I don’t like Shadow in this because it’s technically out of character until I saw this. Thanks.
Especially considering how Shadow doesn't really handle the loss of his loved ones very well as we saw in Adventure 2, only for it to happen YET AGAIN in this story, yeah it makes alot more sense why he's like this. Dude isn't an edgelord, just a deeply distressed and enraged soul.
It's amazing how much personality Mario and Luigi had without any dialogue. A lot of that personality was communicated through the comedic moments but also the fight scenes.
Mario is just this unrelenting beacon of hope who fights for what's right only because it was the fight thing to do. Just like in the games, Mario is just a simple, hard working guy (a plumber.) Sonic definitely sees a lot of himself in Mario, and whenever Sonic starts to doubt himself, Mario is there to say "lets-a-go!" I always loved watching Mario face off with Mecha Sonic. Sonic and Shadow have a personal grudge with Mecha Sonic, so naturally they fight the hardest against him, but I found it interesting how Mario seemed to fight with almost the same intensity as Sonic and Shadow. Mario has no personal grudge with Mecha Sonic, but he clearly gives it his all against him.
Luigi, unlike the other characters, is capable of feeling fear. This makes Luigi the most human of the characters, and it translates into the way he fights. That being said, he obviously admires his brother's never-say-die attitude, and always overcomes his fear when it counts. Sometimes, Luigi's cautious nature is what saves the day. His defensive strategy allowed him to survive Captain Basilisk, and on Yoshi's island he survived long enough to revive Mario with a 1-Up.
I remember a lot of copy-cats had Mario actually talk, turning him into an exposition machine. There was a subtle touch of magic involved with having Mario and Luigi be fleshed out characters despite having no dialogue, and it was a subtle touch a lot of the copy-cats didn't understand.
>Mario and Luigi had no dialogue
*Italian gibberish and character names intensifies*
Actually, Mecha Sonic hurting Yoshi might of given Mario a personal grudge against him.
I don’t think Mario is fighting that way due to a grudge, rather it’s because he knows that Mecha Soni/Metallix is threat to the entire world and that if he were to fail, Mecha would kill EVERYONE
Excellent statement. Some part of me always wished that Mario and Luigi has dialogue like the others, but deep down I knew that would diminish the magic of their expressions.
Something about their emotes, gestures speaking for them is so much more meaningful than if they just spoke outright. Their feelings come through very clearly in their actions, and that's enough...
@@phantomsanic3604 He fights because that's what a hero does. And he's willing to put that fight aside to help others. Something _someone_ driven by vengeance would simply not do...
Everyone talks sbout how cool the fighting scenes are, but no one talks about how Luigi overcomes his fear and fights against enemies. He's a PERFECT example of character development.
As much as Mark deserves credit for pioneering flash animation, his character work in dialogue and action is top notch. Everyone feels like a consistent character and in keeping with their established characters. This is especially impressive with Sonic who is more inconsistent in his actual properties than he is here.
The voice for mecha sonic in this video just suits him perfectly
Thanks! I try
I think only the TFS VA for Cooler could do it better, that was a good impression
I was so afraid of putting any personal feelings into my SMBZ video , but I've gotten so many lovely comments about ppl talking about why the show was important to them. I cannot express my gratitude enough
Thank you
heh no problem man, i always knew there was more to SMBZ then just the sprite animation. i mean sure it's great and it improves, there was more then that. after rewatching everything after around 4 years, i can perfectly see what you mean man. the trust and the friendship like you said matters, and so does the plot and story as they are just as important as the sprite animation.
I have memories of watching this show with my brother and cousin back in the day, it got me through being picked on in elementary school years and years ago
This is the kind of video and community that actually makes me want to read and reply to every single comment, and participate in every discussion that's being had, even though I probably can't...
No hate, just love and reminiscence...
Really great summary of the whole original series, I really hope this time Mark is able to complete the story
Tbh I feel like if he was offered help by the community, it could help somewhat
SMBZ is *quite* influential. Mecha Sonic would of likely been forgotten without this, and Sprite Animations wouldn't be as big! I mean heck, I've tipped my toes into the Adobe Animate world. I think we can all agree the reboot has us all quite exited!
Even if we never got to see how the OG series ends, Mecha Sonic got a chance to redeem himself as a hero in the IDW Comics.
i think another thing to mention is just how accurately he portrayed these characters. it just feels like they were ripped straight out of their games and put into this story. it's absolutely flawless.
One thing I thought about re-watching the series is “what differentiates mecha sonic in this little fan-series from the other robots other than his design?” And now I have a guess. Simply put, I think he’s essentially an evil robot version of sonic beyond what makes that obvious. I believe he has aspects of sonic’s personality. He gets so cocky whenever he does his job well, but also gets so impatient when things begin going downhill. I believe Sonic is fighting a version of himself more than he realizes along with the others. This is my take on it.
This fits in with the contrast in episodes 6 and 7. Mecha sonic had 4 emeralds in episode 6, and when sonic says he won’t allow mecha sonic to abuse the power of the emeralds, Mecha says, “If you want them, why don’t you take them?” portraying him as cocky when he’s ahead. Sonic says the exact thing in episode 7 in the minus world when he had the emerald and Mecha wanted them. Both of them got the emerald taken from them in the same episode. The only difference between the 2 instances is that sonic had his friends help him out and take back the emerald. This also lines up with how everyone needs to work together or they won’t be able to take down Mecha sonic
Truth! This is what I was sorta thinking about and considering how evil he is and how much he hurts the other characters on such a mental level makes him so much more threatening.
6:33
Paraphrasing what Joss Whedon once said: You can make it dark, make it as dark as you want, but afterwards, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, tell a joke.
Super Mario Bros Z was one of my earliest internet memories, it was introduced to me by my older brother who unfortunately passed away some time ago, but he showed me a wonderful website called Newgrounds, there we clicked on smbz because we were both fans of Super Mario and Dragon Ball Z, and honestly if we didn't watch Super Mario Bros Z, or even went on Newgrounds to begin with, my life could have been completely different, I owe a lot to Super Mario Bros Z, if it wasn't for this series I wouldn't be on the internet making videos and making my mod, so thank you Super Mario Bros Z, thank you Newgrounds, and thank you Mark Haynes, for shaping me to be the person I am today.
I'm sorry about your brother. This was a really sweet comment
My condolences to your brother.
May your brother rest in peace
Were you two fans of Sonic The Hedgehog as well?
When the reboot comes, ohhhhh my gosh...
Exactly
It’s getting a 9th episode to so not only is it getting redone, it’s going to continue probably straight from where episode 8 ended with Basliilex.
Does the original animator even care about the series anymore?
@@joshshrum2764 REALLY?!
@@SifGreyfang Yes, he is working on the reboot. He won't continue the original series because he knows how worse it had gotten so far, and doesn't want to fix everything with even worse choices.
Reboot will change Pipe Maze to King Boo battles, postpone Basilisx to the next saga and replace him with Koopalings in Episode 8. Not sure if Shadow leaving will still be a thing, which I assume it was done due to Mark's extreme downer measures.
ILL CRUSH YOU!
A battle cry I will never forget
This series was truly spetacular and deserves every piece of praise and love it can get. Amazing analysis!
Thank you!
You did amazing work and this series will be remembered
Also good job
One thing I really like about SMBZ that wasn't brought up in this video is the choice of music.
Sure, it's music from the Mario and Sonic OSTs for the most part,but it's used with the same careful placement that the creators of the original games used. It also cleverly adds kickass remixes and some rather unconventional tunes, like Hype XXX in the Brawl on a vanishing Island.
My favorite moments of music choice are that terrifying dark and mechanical-sounding track used as Mecha Sonic's theme and the OST Version of Doomsday Zone from Sonic 3 & Knuckles when Mecha Sonic goes super in Episode 6.
Oh for sure, the music choice is great.
@@sprites4ever482 there's a few metroid tracks from different games that he chose for the tense moments -such as when mecha sonic obliterated the axem rangers, or the moments before mecha attacked in episode 7- that fit perfectly, too
I'm surprised you didn't make any mention of how well the characters reflect their canon depictions with such believability. Sonics confidence, bowsers tactical mind hampered by ego and childish impatience, even going as far as to have Mario and Luigi communicate how they did in Mario and Luigi, unintelligible Italian sounds that the other characters still understand and repeat back for the readers. Its ability to capture what a sonic and Mario crossover story would look like before we actually got it in the handheld Olympic games (which, surprise surprise, actually wrote Mario as mute while sonic would often communicate for him.) is something that shouldn't be understated.
Good comment.
Yo, that'll be insane if the creators of the Mario & Sonic Olympics Games were inspired by SMBZ too. I highly doubt it, but it's not impossible to believe.
17:08
I dunno, I'd say there is a mystery to this reveal, as anyone who's been paying attention up to this point would probably be surprised to see Eggman still alive, since he was the first victim of Mecha Sonic's rampage. We also never see how or when he got to the mushroom kingdom. Did he follow Sonic and Shadow after they left? Could he have made the jump first without them knowing? How did he survive the death egg explosion when he was on the ship? Does Mecha Sonic know he's alive? How and when did he meet Bowser?
Revealing Eggman to us with all of the info we've been given adds a bit of intrigue as we can assume our hedgehog heroes don't know he's alive, and that adds an extra level of danger to the situation, as we see with him not only improving Bowser's doomship, but also with the creation of Metal Mario
Interesting point
@@FrffyVsAnime Well, in Reboot, Mark will reveal Eggman in Episode 2.
Great vid
As a side note, I find it really funny that the animation improves with every episode, but AlvinEarthworm still uses Comic Sans for the text boxes.
You underestimate the power of Sans, Undertale taught me that.
Was expecting a nice, cute tribute video to SMBZ similar to ones I've been seeing in past 2 years (love all of them). But this was a masterclass, deep-dive, and extremely entertaining analysis of EVERYTHING great about the series, right down to the blink-and-you'll-miss details. The editing, artistry, and professionalism in presentation really surprised me. You seriously deserve way more subscribers 🏅👏🏾
Thank you!
You have no idea how happy I am to see someone who not only understands the why the fighting was amazing but also the plot. The story was always underappreciated compared to the fight scenes, and that just doesn't do SMBZ justice. Thank you. Now I don't if I should continue making my video on the same subject... XD
By all means go for it! Better discourse should always be strives for!
@@FrffyVsAnime You're right. The more the word gets out the better!
*understands why the
*I don't know if
The 2nd episode is out and it was worth the wait.....
I never really noticed how the subtle themes and details embedded into the story contribute to the immense enjoyment of this classic series. As you said, what makes this series so good even today is not just the amazing coreography and sprite animation but also the little things such as character traits, well-timed comedy, and the sense of a looming threat. Very nice breakdown; thank you for making this.
THANK YOU.
So many reviews only talk about how cool the fights are and how terrifying mecha is (both statements extremely true) but I always felt like there was more, something in the way the story was told and the characters were portrayed. But I never managed to explain what exactly. And now you have put words to my feelings. Thank you.
Btw any plans on doing the same with the reboot? The first episode already shows a different take on luigi's development.
Yes I am planning to do the reboot
@@FrffyVsAnime Awesome!
"Appearantly, unlimited can be equally divided into seven". That caught me off guard. Well done
13:46 Mecha Sonic: **WHAT'S UP BITCHEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!**
"destroys the Koopa Bros and the Axem Rangers' ship"
Mecha Sonic: Oh I'm sorry. Were those your ultimate attacks? Those were fucking adorable. >=)
I was very proud of that joke
Love this video, and love the series. I'm sad it ended prematurely, but happy it's getting a reboot.
14:46 I'm gonna need a music-less clip of you saying "Victory is no longer and option. The objective of the fight changes." The delivery of that, especially the first sentence, is just chilling.
Super Mario Bros Z got me into Shonen full time. I watched Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! (Which is great) and saw a bit of Naruto but I didn’t really invest myself and put much thought into them. It was SMBZ that left a hole inside me that I have been desperately trying to fill. Thank you, SMBZ!
Excellent analysis, editing and animation. You definitely have skills.
Thank you!
I never get tired of seeing another new smbz analysis.
Amazing breakdown bro. I remember watching SMBZ in like elementary or middle school for the first time and it's held a special place in my heart since. It's part of the reason why I write and draw my own action comic book series. Absolutely can't wait for the reboot.
I appreciate it! Thank you!
I remember it because I remember I had a rivalry with Sonic & Mario at the start and I used to watch a lot of sprite animation, I love how it projects feeling into everything that's being made, and I love it for being one of the few sprite animations that teamed up Mario & Sonic instead of making them fight.
Man, I was in my early teens when Episode 8 hit. It also taught me the heartache of a series ending abruptly. When I realized the man, the myth, the legend, was going to remaster and continue the series, everything about the adult me suddenly vanished from my brain for a solid 10 minutes. I screamed of the top of my lungs to my pillow until my voice gave out. My parents showed up to ask me if I was okay. I didn't care about having to deal with that awkwardness. I was a happy man that day. I'd spend the rest of the day rewatching the entire series and gaining a new, more deeply-rooted appreciation for it as well. All the nice little intricate details and story beats I couldn't consciously parse back then. But make no mistake -- my subconscious always knew. I just lacked the words for it. I hope only the best for Mark Haynes, or should I say, Alvin Earthworm, and I hope he finally gets the chance to show us all the plan he had all those years ago, and whatever you make, know you have a lifelong fan following along.
What I liked most about this series is that it wasn't about Mario or Sonic being pitted against each other, which was what a lot of other webtoons and webcomics did at the time. This was a breath of fresh air.
SMBZ has a great story above all else. The fight animation is just a huge bonus. Some things have aged somewhat poorly, like the dialogue, but the storyline and animation was crazy. Particularly for someone doing it on their own.
I remember as a kid being terrified of the minus world concept. Throughout the years of my life, every once in a while, I’d have nightmares about being trapped in some inescapable realm. It wasn’t until watching this that I remember experiencing a similar fear from the minus world in this series. It makes me wonder if this is where the fear originated from. Guess that goes to show how effective the tension and worry was.
I'm so glad I had the chance to watch SMBZ. It was truly a legendary work of art...
Thanks for making this.
This was a great series and the creator himself said he was inspired by Monty Oum. When Oum died the creator said he was gonna do a reboot and we got the first episode. But it has been a few years since then so it may be dead again.
According to Mark, Monty was inspired by HIM. Tho I imagine it can work both ways.
I loved coming home from Middle School, grabbing my snacks, turning on the computer and enjoy watching the first 4 episode of Super Mario Bros Z.
Each episode had me on the edge of my seat wanting more.
Mecha sonic, even to this day, is one of the most terrifying villains I've ever seen. Unbelievable.
I am so glad I clicked on this video! Not only was it entertaining, you kept it straight to the point and created the generalization as you pointed out the development, characters, conflicts, and overall writing as everything you broke down and explained step by step I could finally see it all come together as to WHY it's so great! As opposed to badass fight scenes and having the Good Guys fight the Bad Guys!
You show the audience that there's much more going on here than meets the eye that can be so subtle that it's unnoticeable especially when you're young!
I honestly would like to learn more from you through your presentations such as these and videos (Granted I need to put in the work of actually watching your other videos lol)
Great Work man, don't let up!
Thank you thats so sweet!
Not only is this video a unique topic, but the editing is extremely clean and the overall quality is something that really blows me away, especially for a channel of this size, i am going to sub now
To quote tfs krillian. "Oh my god someone finally put it into words"
This video is great! As a massive fan of SMBZ, still rewatching it to this day and eagerly awaiting the reboot, this video is a perfect retrospective on the great moments and themes it presented! This video even offered me something I sort of understood about SMBZ, but didn't fully comprehend as much as I do now: The overarching theme of teamwork and togetherness, putting aside each other's differences to overcome adversity and achieve victory. This really stuck with me, and shows SMBZ was even more ahead of its time than I thought. Overall, a great job!
thank you!
Bravo dude! You’ve pretty much just articulated my view and feelings about the show, great fighting animations, the dynamic friendships, the conflicts, humour and everything in general. Even though I’m 2 years late, I just want to express my gratitude as well so don’t mind if I do.
Watching this as a little kid, the only thing I understood was the fighting, and the heros and villains. But after rewatching it, my love for the series, as you said, deepened. I could read the texts so the humour, intrigue, drama, and motivations was so much more visible to me than punch, kick, ow. I’m not really an artist, but I make movies in Imovie, specifically Rocky-esque movies with plushies, fight scenes where I have to act all by my own, and all of that. It’s probably not as impressive as being an artist but hey, at least I created something. I just want to thank Mark Haynes for creating such a masterpiece, and you for making a masterpiece tribute also. Don’t know if Mark can outdo the original series, but it doesn’t matter, he creates something, I appreciate. And you pretty much just articulated my feelings for the show and maybe somebody’s too, but you’ve also analyzed it into why it’s great. Such a great video dude. Sorry if this comment is too long, but just wanted to lay out all my thoughts. Wish you and Mark luck! Hopefully my Imovie skills are going to be useful lol.
This show was a HUGE deal to me growing up. The action, the sound effects, the epic moments!!! THE ENTIRITY OF EPISODE 6!!!! I'm so glad I was able to watch the entire OG series and fall in love with it.
I've watched a lot of essays over the years, and this one seriously sticks out. REALLY good work here.
Thank a bunch!
This was undoubtedly one of, if not. THE best analysis on this series I’ve EVER seen. The fact you went so in depth with it and explained it all in proper detail is just so beautiful! Heck, a lot of the stuff in here, like Shadow kicking his teammates at Mecha and their teamwork crumbling and the bros needing each other, I didn’t even look at them in that way until you brought it up, in fact, it gave me an entire new and better view on the entire fight and series itself! But seriously though, amazing job on this analysis my guy! 👍
Thank you! I appreciate it!
Frffy Vs Anime you’re welcome! ^^
*SMBZ Episode 4 was my first encounter of the series* , and since then, I was hunting down the rest of it and grew into it.
The way you handled explaining this was exactly the experience I felt. I felt invested into it because of the story pacing and character development (by god the fight animations were so clever too) (Aside from ep. 7, trying to fit the glitch world theme into the plot/time consumtion; the episode wasn't much growth, but the points you planted were the only good spots to follow) Aside from that, the series is still massively praised. It hasn't aged at all for its time.
Your meme game was fucking ON POINT here. Hope this blows up
Also WTF IS A SANIC?!!!
Thank you so much! I always appreciate your comments
This series seriously is the series that single handedly influenced me so much as a young first gen kid who didn’t know English or what the internet was. I can literally pin point this iconic series as the start for my love of story telling, anime, and video games
This needs a lot more attention I love the little things that you analyze as well as the editing of the video
Glad you like it!
Another good thing about this series is that Mark had AN EPIC brain for coming up with an idea of a series like this that no one ELSE wouldn't have come up with. Because it's a combination of Dragon Ball Z, Super Mario Bros, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
I couldn't find the words either to describe what else made me love this fan made series; you explained it pretty well! I loved the gags that would be thrown in to ease the tension between the fights but also giving us an interesting story to follow along even to people who aren't familiar with the characters. Ep 5 & 6 are my favs because of the story dynamic with Mario & the Yoshi tribe
In line with your fantastic analysis, I always suspected that "Mecha Mario" would've been a wrinkle that, ironically, Sonic and Shadow would have to overcome by working together while Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi dealt with something else, a la Bio Lizard from SA2. For Sonic, it would be hope, proof even, that he can overcome Mecha Sonic and prevent that disaster from happening again, a personal redemption. For Shadow, it'd be a crucial lesson learned; he must be willing to working with others to defeat Mecha Sonic and avenge his lost friends, Rouge and Gamma. It fits in with an overall theme of the series: you can't get wrapped up in revenge and constantly go it alone. Mecha Sonic, Shadow, and Basilix embody this very well and I love it.
Anyways, a magnificent look at the series, my man! I always enjoyed watching it and was sorry to see it end so soon, but I think it was a look into how "fan fiction" can be done right: it stays magnificently in character for both series, and that helps make it all the more believable.
This analysis is fantastic!
This series has always been one of my favorites, and this video cements why
Incredible work here! Keep it up!
Thanks a lot!
@@FrffyVsAnime The only thing I’ll comment on is Mecha Sonic’s place in the Pipe Maze
It wasn’t pointless
While yes, Mecha Sonic is meant to be an insurmountable threat, the heroes just barely scraped out a victory by taking the Chaos Emeralds from him on Yoshi’s Island
Showing that while he is still extremely powerful, the heroes can still win, there’s still hope
Having him appear in the Pipe Maze is to not only give the heroes, especially Luigi, more confidence in showing that they can win. But it’s also meant to show Mecha Sonic his own limitations
He thinks he’s all powerful, but he’s still got a long way to go
Which is why he ends up fighting Shadow alone in Episode 9
Not only to seemingly emphasize how Shadow’s lust for revenge mirrors Bassilisk’s and how it will ultimately lead to his downfall, but also to show how Mecha Sonic is playing smarter
He knows he can be beat now, so he’ll play the long game and pick the group off one by one
At least, that’s how I see it
That show literally made my childhood and I’m so glad they’re making a remake right now. At this time there’s only two episodes of the remake, but I hope that episode three is coming soon.
2:13 That was personal...
But still I grew up with this series, and this analysis is absolutely spot on! Thank you Mark!!
I'm watching thing again before the release of the reboot's second episode, in a few hours. This is so on point. You make me fall in love with this show even more than I already am.
The Omega Doomship Arc was supposed to be from Episodes 8-10, although it ended up being cancelled. Episode 9 was supposedly going to finish the fight against Basilisx & then feature the fight against the Koopalings with the episode ending with Eggman activating Mecha Mario. I never quite agreed with the Luigi stone theory because it fails to address why Luigi didn't turn back from being stone when he was being used as a weapon against Mario. Supposedly we were going to get to see Goombella & Kolorado again in Subcon which was home to the Final Chaos Emerald. The Mecha Sonic Saga was supposed to be 15 Episodes, with Mecha Sonic being confirmed as getting all 7 Emeralds either at the end of Episode 12 or as part of Episode 13. There were also plans for a 2nd Season with a Blue Axem Ranger, which was rumored to be forged from the body of Mecha Sonic.
Absolutely amazing review. Like you said, there's even more to point out from this phenomenal series, but this still pulls out a lot. Thanks for sharing this even though it may have been difficult.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Truth! I love this series so much and what it has done for me for such a long time over the years! I love all of those characters and all of the developments that they go through all throughout the course of this journey! I seriously hope it gets the chance to continue and wrap up everything, it deserves it so much, honestly! 💯
This was such an amazing summary of the series, this is how I wish I could talk about it. I'd only be screaming about how hype it is and there'd be a lot of aspects I wouldve missed
I grew up watching SMBZ since 4th and 5th grade
It’s real good
I've first watched it maybe when I was in the 8th or 9th grade in maybe late 2011.
Same. I remember being in third grade when episode 1 showed up on Newgrounds, right alongside the Seth MacFarlane Cavalcade of Cartoons pirated vids and early Dorkly stuff. It was even more exciting when it got reuploaded to RUclips, I could send that glorious series to everyone without having to worry about the "You still visit Newgrounds??" comments. Simpler times back then
Something else noteworthy about Super Mecha Sonic vs. Team Mario/Sonic. It starts with Mecha vs. Sonic, Shadow, and Yoshi. 3 opponents he's familiar with (poor Yoshi). Just before he finishes Sonic, Mario blasts him and a lot of attention is brought to Mecha acknowledging Mario's existence. Not only does this add weight to when Mecha targets Mario at the end of the fight, but it's amazing it took 6 episodes for the main protagonist and antagonist to really meet.
I must say, good person, this analysis was amazing. Though I won't lie, those bits with the Mecha Sonic voice clips made me laugh my butt off.
"Its About Friendship"
me:this is not my little pony
MLP WISHES it was this awesome!
I love the fact how mecha sonic shows up and just bodies everyone
GOAT antagonist
Facts
I was a kid when I saw this. I had my first ipod at the time and this was the series I watched alot. Man, memories...
2:30 That "gasp" bit made me laugh so damn hard, well timed, my friend XD
Subscribed!
Thank you!
This is an excellent analysis video. I re-watched the series recently through the HD remaster Mark put out on his channel and I felt pretty much the same way about it - while I do think there are certain _moments_ where you can tell the series is old and where the dialogue gets a bit... eh, it most definitely did not take away from the overall experience. This series is just as good as I remember, if not even better.
I don't think any one of us SMBZ fans could thank Mark enough for this series and how it not only has given us great memories, but also has affected many of our lives in general, and a big ol' round of applause to you for your fantastic work on this analysis. You absolutely deserve more views and subscribers.
Aww thank you. I appreciate it
Truly this video shows that friendship is the greatest power of all
I love how the first Koopa Bros fight builds from 4 1v1s to a proper 4v4.
this is the best sprite animashion thank you mark haynes for making such a great sprite animation
As amazing as the animation in SMBZ is, I'm super happy you talked about the story! It deserves the appreciation, really enjoyed this hahaha
Glad you enjoyed!
I’ve always had such nostalgia for this show, but I’d never put together how much thought was actually put into the story it tells. Eager to see a version of it which hopefully reaches a conclusion one day.
Also, dig the transitions.
Thanks! I was really proud of them!
Well made video! And it hits all the stuff that I felt watching this in high school as well. This show's story was one that I was really invested in and I while I adored the fight animation, I mainly watched it because it was so well written with excellent handling of its themes and characters. I wanted to know where it was going and what would happen next. It's great to see those elements get properly appreciated.
Thank you!
Episode 2 baby!
I really love this series, it is the best. I think it really left a mark on the internet, a good influence on future sprite fights. Mark did and continues to do such an outstanding job with his series and im excited to see where the reboot goes. One of my favorite moments was mecha’s realization that he couldnt leave the minus world. Its interesting to see the all powerful villain for the first time feel helpless. You can also really see in the minus world fights how much more hits are landed on mecha and that he gets stunned more often, due to the minus world removing a lot of powers. This entire series is just incredible, Im also really glad mark has re-booted it, and is staying strong…unlike some OTHER series I know
"Because apparently unlimited can be equally divided into 7"
*Genius*
One minute melee and death battle paid homage and tribute to the series essentially finishing it out. Really great analysis
Thanks
You really did a great job summarizing and tributing to the series!
Also the little comedy edits you made are hilarious and had me i tears at some point.
Dude you just earned a sub. Loved the video
Welcome aboard!
I want to bring up something from my own personal experience watching this. I was also a kid or young teen watching this series, I knew about Mario and Sonic but not the other important factor in this series, Dragon Ball. I've seen Death Battles with Vegeta and Goku, I knew the "OVER NINE THOUSAND MEME!" sure, but I knew nothing about how the characters act, what the show was about, etc. Cut to years later when I was in trade school, my friend started letting me play Xenoverse 2, and I found a not so little show called: "Dragon Ball Z: Abridged". Next thing I knew I subscribed to MasakoX, the voice of Goku and Gohan in DBZA. That expanded my knowledge of the characters even more, I started to fall in love with characters like Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo. Plus, now that I know what Mark was refencing , I can look back at the original SMBZ and understand that the situation Yoshi Island getting destroyed is basically the Namek arc, Wario and Waluigi are a call out to the Pilaf Gang, Mecha Sonic is Cell, Luigi in a sense is Gohan and Krillin, Shadow was always Vegeta, we all know it Sega, don't lie to u- My point is, Mark has this way of taking the skeleton of Dragon Ball stories, and changing it in a new context with characters we already know well. Sure, it'd be easy for him to make a story based on DBZ with his own characters, or just make a Dragon Ball Fanfic. It'd be easy to just make everyone a one to one reference to their Dragon Ball counterpart, but he keeps the characters true to who they are with the dynamic of how it'd work in Dragon Ball. Like I said before, Shadow is basically Vegeta. You know this, I know this, more than likely it's slim to none that don't know this. Shadow however, still has traits that are different to Vegeta. For one, he's a lot less prideful than the Prince. Sure, he has the "Ultimate Life Form" thing going for him, but it's next to never his pride that affects his rash choices. It's more so not seeing the point of wasting time. Vegeta though most, if not all his choices were made off of his pride. Letting Semi-Perfect Cell absorb Eighteen, becoming Majin Vegeta due to not feeling good enough to beat the Low class Saiyan Warrior, killing Napa. Those were all affected by his pride. Goku and Sonic on the other hand, are kind of idiots that are willing to bend over backwards to help a guy out. Granted, Sonic has more pride than Goku, in terms of overall personality, not just fighting here. Now, we see Mark use the dynamic that Shadow and Sonic already had, but adds hints of Goku and Vegeta to make something different.
Another thing that he does is keep Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi as "silent" characters. Yes they do make sound, and the Hotel Mario reference does make Mario and Luigi talk, but, if you watch the series again you start to notice... These three don't have a hint of original dialogue like the rest of the cast. The Goomba in the first episode has more original dialogue than three of the main characters. That's, again, staying true to the original source while adding something new. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi are used for visual story telling. You know what they're about without them saying a single word outside of stock sound affects, but how they respond in their actions tell use more than enough about who they are. Again, it'd be simple to write dialogue for the crew, we see great fan stories like Brawl in the Family do it. Which there's nothing wrong with it, but there is something special about seeing how close to the games this is.
Now, this to wrap this up with this; you don't need to know anything about any of the series to understand and enjoy this one. Mario Bros, and Yoshi (Wario Bros as well), have clear personalities through actions alone. Those who do talk also have a clear personality you can understand. Mecha Sonic: Evil and threating, thinks the world is a bunch of Ants. Bowser: Simple minded, but surprisingly clever. Peach: Caring person who wants the best for her people. Shadow: Edgier than that pencil collection in the cabinet. It's super simple to understand who they are and what they're goals are, expect for the ones you don't need to know their goals yet. If you do though, it only improves upon it. Mecha Sonic: Seeks his revenge on Sonic after the events of Sonic Heroes, CD, and the original games. Is basically Cell with how he wants to get his higher form through absorbing things. Luigi is basically Krillin due to being out class in the fight, but is always willing to give a helping hand and give it his all when he's depended on. Shadow's basically Vegeta! It's amazing to see how much of it being it's own thing, yet so similar to the source you can pick out every detail.
So, that's basically my perspective on it. It's just really good at keeping characters in character, but adding in small hints of the inspiration to keep it from being 100% the same. Mark's good at story telling and characters.
I remember have a toy story 2 Woody's Roundup feeling when I watched the series for the first time. I was really digging it and was looking forward to seeing how it would progress, only to be left in a cliffhanger (until the three minute ending came out), which I had hated since I had seen several shows be cancelled and forever left with a cliffhanger. There were so many questions left unanswered that I wanted answered.
I think the biggest question I had was about Mecha Mario. What element would he add to the series? Would he be a one or more episode threat? Would he fight Mecha Sonic over a conflict of interests? Would he even be able to stand a chance against Mecha Sonic, or would be be destroyed easily? Alternatively would the two robots join forces, making the threat against our heroes even larger (though I doubt it as I assume eggman would've learned from his mistake with metal Sonic)? I was so disappointed we never got to see the potential Mecha Mario had for the series, and hope we'll get to see that potential fulfilled in the reboot.
Super Mario Bros Z will always be one of the golden moments of my youth first entering the internet. It inspired me in so many ways. I truly hope to live to see the revamp series come to life.
this series was actually my first introduction to Sonic when I waslike 9 or 10 years old, I seen his persona around before but the author of this series did an amazing job to make me fall in love with both shadow and Sonic because of how well he wrote them
This was a work of art. Sucks that it didn't end
Oh well. All we can do is wish him luck with the reboot
What else can I say that hasn't been said yet? This series is just absolutely amazing and I can't thank you enough for giving me even more reasons to love this masterpiece that has been a HUGE part of my childhood. I rarely like or even comment on videos, but i'll have to make an exception. Outstanding work!
:)
I like to remember this, waiting for new episodes back in the day, always happy to see a new one posted on newgrounds. Like when I used to wait for "there she is"
In the part of the video where u said that the gang getting off with a 100% no-consequence victory contradicts the death bringing and oh so consequential element of Mecha Sonic actually sums up how I felt about that encounter when I watched it as a kid. If I were to make a small change that creates more of a despondent dynamic, here’s how I would do it: In the one scene where Luigi launches out of the water to trigger Kolorado’s stopwatch, he would accidentally knock him and Goombella into the water with all the bloopers as well as knocking himself into the battlefield with the everyone else. With Mecha Sonic threatening the gang, everyone distracted by the change in energy and hastened by the rush to escape the minus world, this simply wouldn’t allow for the rescue of the two, nor would it matter given the severity of the aforementioned situation. During the chase, Mecha Sonic would assume that the change in energy couldn’t have been induced by Mario, Sonic, Yoshi, Luigi, or Shadow given that they were all in front of him in the heat of the battle before the fluctuation occurred, and so he deduces the culprits to be Goombella and Kolorado, whom he saw earlier. Also realizing that he would not be able to stop the gang from entering the pipe in time, he decides to leave a negative mental parting gift by screaming while flying (in hopes that their attention being partially shifted could slow them down) “Hey Sonic! Do you recall when I massacred your friends in Mobius? Well, history is about to repeat itself!” Seeing Sonic’s visible confusion, he decides to elucidate by locking into the heat signatures of Kolorado and Gombella as they were crawling out of the water and firing heat-seeking missiles at the two. It is only here that Sonic and the rest of the gang would realize that they had left the two behind. Sonic, thinking to himself “ No! I won’t let more people I care about be killed!”, actually turns around to try and save them. Mecha Sonic, arm still in missile mode, states just before firing “You fell for it! This proves that even a being of your speed should realize that friends are good for nothing and will only slow you down!” Shadow (with his lone wolf character contradicting his next action yet aligning with his canon decision at the start of episode 8) sees the missile hone in on Sonic and exclaims “I beg to differ! CHAOS SPEAR!” The heat of the blast redirects the missile at Mecha Sonic, who blocks it, creating a smokescreen. Shadow takes this opportunity to rush Sonic back with everyone, yelling at him “Really Sonic?! That sad attempt at a rescue operation would’ve cost us more lives than your decision ever could have saved! If you really want to prevent history from repeating itself, save the ones that are of actual importance!” (This would tie into Shadow’s disregard for Peach in the next episode, hence why he calls her a “weakling woman” that “isn’t worth the dirt on your shoes.”) Upon Shadow’s delivery of this line in the next episode, Sonic would notice Mario’s anger and would try to reason with Shadow by retorting “Oh really? I seem to recall you saying if you want to prevent our kind of history from repeating itself, then you should only save those of actual importance. And given that said history was of the massacre type, I know for a fact you consider me important, the same way I considered the two I failed to save back in the minus world important.” *Ok guys I hope you liked my version of the events that took place. While writing this, I started to feel like I should finish an alternate timeline or at least just make the dialogue a bit different. What do you think I should do? Should Sonic ask “Tell me Shadow, didn’t you ever have someone you cared about that you wanted to save in the heat of the moment?” (Sonic would ask this knowing Maria would spring to mind and possibly humble him.) Or should the story go the same way with Sonic bluntly mentioning Maria, angering Shadow? Leave me your thoughts below.
I feel like sonic asking shadow if he wanted to save someone desperately feels right for him. This way shadow can explain why he’s so hell bent on destroying mecha
Wow, I like this a lot. I think that the overwhelming loss in your scenario in addition to Sonic’s blunt mentioning of Maria in the original would definitely pair very well. It’d one, give those who don’t know much about the Sonic or Mario franchise an in-series reasoning for Sonic’s dig at Shadow but also reward the veterans that know what happened in the Sonic universe
I used to see this series in my childhood way back in my past but now in future I’m proud how where this series going!
I love Super Mario Bros. Z. It has an interesting storyline and very likeable characters. It's my childhood. I know the series since I was 8.
Your analysis are pretty good. 🔥🔥
Thanks!
I remember watching this series during the early 2000s, maybe something around 2005. Best experience yet
I must commend you for this, this video has definitely given me an even better perspective and appreciation for smbz, i know that many people only remember it for its fight sequences myself included but this video showed me just how cleverly written smbz was to especially for episode 7 which many fans consider to be the worst episode. Good work.
Thanks!
For the longest time I kept avoiding the SMBZ series just because I thought it looked dumb and nothing more. A few days ago I started watching it, and I'm so glad I finally did. It's a genuinely great story, and you made a phenomenal analysis on why that's so. Great job!
Thank you :D
15:29 everyone except the koopa bros which eventually leads to the rest of the gang losing. (+1 to sin counter)