Dear Malstrom,
You say Nintendo hates 2D Mario, but I don’t think this is true. I think Nintendo certainly prefers 3D Mario, but if they hate 2D Mario then why did they fill Super Mario Odyssey with 2D Mario levels in every world you visit? While I actually enjoy 3D Mario, I do agree that Nintendo would be foolish to stop making 2D Mario games given how well they sell and how relatively inexpensive they are to make.
Your assessment about Zelda ‘BoW’ is right on. To me, the only true weakness of the game are the puzzles you have to solve inside the shrines. From a story standpoint, this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The purpose of the shrines is to test Link to see if he is worthy of being a hero. But how does solving a puzzle make you worthy of being a hero? How does this prepare you for facing Ganon? The puzzle elements just seem completely out of place. The shrines should have all been about combat, not puzzles.
There are many combat shrines. Also, the shrines are optional.
Why does Nintendo hate 2d Mario? Let us see…
Not making a 2d Mario game for 16 to 20 years? That is a big red flag that you don’t like something.
Not putting any production assets in it? Why does 3d Mario get the orchestra symphony while the 2d Mario gets ‘wah wah’ despite it selling better?
Intentionally putting the good stuff in 3d Mario and leaving it out in 2d Mario…
-SMB2 USA has four different characters to choose from that behave differently. Fanbase has clamored for this for this return in 2d Mario, but Nintendo reserves it for the 3d entry as a fuck you to fans.
-Giant World was placed in Super Mario Galaxy and deliberately left out of NSMB entries (though there is one level in NSMB U that has it).
-There is still no Switch 2d Mario and no plans to make one. There is not even a Switch D-pad except for the intentionally broken one on the Pro Controller (Nintendo knows how to make a D pad, they simply don’t care. And Miyamoto got rid of the D pad from the 3DS. Remember that Miyamoto was part of the development of the analog stick, but D pad was done by Gunpei)
Miyamoto argued with Iwata about how he did not want to make 2d Mario. It is in the Iwata Asks.
The REASON for the 2d Mario sequences in 3d Mario is about converting 2d Mario fans to 3d Mario. The reason why Super Mario Galaxy goes 2d and is linear? To convert 2d Mario fans. The reason why 3d Land has the Tanooki suit while it was deliberately left out of the 2d Mario games was to convert 2d Mario fans. The reason why 3d World has NSMB aesthetics is to convert 2d Mario fans.
Here is a japanese commercial showing this…
Super Mario Galaxy 2 came with ‘instructional DVDs’ for Japan and Europe (where 3d Mario doesn’t sell) to teach the poor gamer how to properly play 3d Mario. These DVDs are insulting.
Clearly, Nintendo is doing a massive effort to make 3d Mario mainstream and get rid of 2d Mario.
Investors asked Iwata about this subject, and he denied it. “It isn’t true!” but their actions confirm it. Miyamoto revealed there is much bitterness about 2d Mario selling better than 3d Mario.