From Mario's perspective, the green mushrooms do absolutely nothing. amirite?

The 1Ups give him the peace of mind that if he dies he has several more chances to live. Although that being said Mario is pretty self-aware; he is aware he is in a video game, which is why he says "Let's-a-play!" and "Thank-a you so much for-a playing my game!" It would be cool if there were a Mario game (or any platformer game, really) where the character is very self-aware of their lives and if you're down to zero lives left, the character is noticeably a lot more nervous, so you're forced to go slower. And if you have lots of lives, they are really upbeat and enthusiastic, but more likely to die because they think they are immortal. Although maybe that game would be very annoying to play.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

I like this idea a lot as a creative way to tap on the fourth wall :)

by Anonymous 3 years ago

May I suggest the game Sunset Overdrive?

by Anonymous 3 years ago

You mean the game where the edge of the map is a literal invisible wall?

by Anonymous 3 years ago

yes.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

So mushrooms release anxiety and lack of mushrooms don't. Got it

by Anonymous 3 years ago

there is kind of a game like that, not a platformer though... the name escapes me, but it's an rpg where the stuff that happens to your character affects them mentally and can reduce their performance in game

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Dragon Quest?

by Anonymous 3 years ago

it's kind of recent, within like 5 years maybe and it's an indie game. has a decent following but I've never actually played it so i can't remember what it's called... like dungeon something or other

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Darkest dungeon?

by Anonymous 3 years ago

aw ye! that's what I was thinking of.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Yeah, that's what's missing in videogames: real life responsibilities, yay!

by Anonymous 3 years ago

That's called Reality

by Anonymous 3 years ago

In Binding of Isaac, Isaac leaves a little bit of pee on the ground when walking through doorways when he's down to half a heart.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

There's a Deadpool game like that

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Maybe he likes their taste.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Nobody likes the taste of mushrooms if you catch my drift

by Anonymous 3 years ago

When you hop off of Yoshi to jump to a spot that's hard to get to otherwise and Yoshi falls way down and dies..... is Yoshi aware that he's going to respawn at another part of the level?

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Nope, it's all different Yoshis

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Every good Super Mario World romhack has a good Yoshi sacrifice.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Placebo

by Anonymous 3 years ago

*It took courage to jump into that green pipe every level... not knowing... if I'd be the Mario in the next level... or just an extra life. The player knows the truth - the mushroom kingdom is simple... and miserable... jumping and running all the way through. But if you could fool the koopas, even for a second, then you can jump on their shells. And then... then you got to see something very special. You really don't know? It was... it was the look on their faces. Before they turned into bonus points or another 1-up.*

by Anonymous 3 years ago

They have a delayed deja vu effect.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

I guess the big mushrooms are filling

by Anonymous 3 years ago

That's like a philosophy question. Th counter is surely Mario must know what it does, or he wouldn't be drawn to chase it down.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

They make him high

by Anonymous 3 years ago

I live. I die. I live again!

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Hmmm.....

by Anonymous 3 years ago

I assume they're delicious though

by Anonymous 3 years ago

I kind of wish the goombas would tear Mario apart and eat his flesh and gnaw his bones.

by Anonymous 3 years ago

Reincarnated, no?

by Anonymous 3 years ago

It gives Mario more confidence and makes him less paranoid about dying

by Anonymous 3 years ago