#367

Tanooki Madness

Released: Oct 03, 2011

Artist & Writer

Matthew Taranto

@TriforceBun

Creator Notes:

I don’t consider myself to be very cynical when it comes to Nintendo games, but sometimes they get me scratchin’ my head. It’s clear to me that they really want to push the Tanooki suit in Super Mario 3D Land, considering its presence in the box art, marketing trailers, on Goombas, Bullet Bills, Bowser, and even the logo itself. And I suppose appealing to nostalgia is fine, especially with a series with as venerable a history as this one.

But the lack of flight or statue abilities makes me wonder if Nintendo’s completely missed the point! People didn’t just like the Tanooki Suit because it was cute and you could flutter with it–flying was the meat and potatoes of the thing, and the statue ability was the one thing separating it from its much more common cousin, the Raccoon Suit! I understand that perhaps due to the camera angle and/or mechanics in SM3DL, the Tanooki might not be represented to its fullest potential, but then why have so much of a marketing push in the first place…? Bring back the Hammer Bros Suit and let us go nuts!

So that’s a mini-rant for today because Nintendo can be silly. I’ll still be first in line to pick it up, but because it’s a Mario adventure, not because I can don the Tanooki again!

-By Matthew