I don't think Mario is overrated. Yeah, it's the same game play over and over again, but the reason it's repeated is because it's fun, and it works. Nothing wrong with that.

Beastmode64 : NO NO NO. not at all. The games to simple? oh no. I'm a big mario fan so....

Beastmode64 : a lot of people like simple thats why we play mario its a nice simple game its cool and pretty much nintendos mascott

No, I think out of all of Nintendo's go to characters, their namesakes, Mario is the least overrated. Mario games were are still are great. If you want to play a good platformer on a Nintendo console, Mario is one of the very few choices you have. I love classic Mario, have no problems with it what so ever but that being said, I don't have the same feelings about new Mario games for the most part. It seems Nintendo has just gave up. "What can we do with Mario now?" "Just copy one of the other Mario games! Oh and give him a new power, maybe a cat or something." 

It kinda seems like Nintendo thinks that their fans will just keep eating the crap that they feed them forever. Not all the new Mario games are bad though, don't get me wrong but in general its a downhill ride from here.

I do not believe that Mario is overrated because pretty much all of the old games had resulted in such a high level of nostalgia. Nintendo does a great job with these games and I see no reason for them to be overrated. 

Yes I do think mostly all of the new Mario games are over rated. I think they are over rated because the plot really isn't all the different from the classic Mario games, the plot has basically been Princess Peach has been captured and it's up to Mario (or Luigi) to save her. It's gotten to the point were I feel like I'm basically paying for the same Mario game just on a different platform and or updated graphics. 

I think it deserved the hype when it first came out. Super Mario Bros. is still one of my all-time favorite video games. But in recent years, Mario games have strayed from their origin, and I don't think these games deserve all of the attention they receive. I don't think simplicity should be a factor held against them though.

I don't think he is overrated. He may have similar gameplay when it comes to platforms but that is what people enjoy. There is games like the Mario and Luigi series,Paper Mario, Kart and the rest of the Sport games.

I think that the Super Mario games are very overrated because they sell over 5 million copies, yet they are just the same game with a few new power ups and a new paint job.

I think that Mario is definitely overrated, but that does not make them any less good.

It's kind of overrated I guess and its also simple.

I feel like the games are overrated. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy them, but they are not the best. When the Mario franchise first came to fruition it deserved all the attention that it is getting now, but I feel like the series is getting a little stale. 

Beastmode64 : I live in Michigan too.  That's cool.

Mario nowadays isn't a whole lot of special but you have to remember the original Mario Bros and Super Mario Brothers came out in a different era.  No one had ever seen anything like it and while it doesn't hold up to what's good today, it was incredible back when.  I grew up with the old video games, I'm 32 years old, and that was all brand new, world shaking, record breaking stuff.  The first time Wolfenstein came out and we had a first person shooter was incredible.  Doom?  Oh, my lord!  It was the best.

None of them hold up to what is available today and the technology and graphics and sound are obviously 100 times better.  But when your first experience of Mario is the newest thing out there, it's extremely impressive.

You're not impressed by radio or TV because you've seen so many other things.  Imagine the first time people flew, drove a car, watched television or a movie.  That's what you're dealing with when you look at NES Mario Brothers.

Now?  It's all the same.  Then?  It was the best.

Mario is way over rated, though the 3D games are my favorite, as they keep rehashing the 2D games with the same artwork on each new console with New Super Mario Brothers for Wii, Nintendo DS, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS.

I use to think this but not anymore. I think he deserves to be put out there so much. He is an great money bringer for Nintendo and perhaps the savior of all video games. I love the Mario Kart series, my money always goes there.

Beastmode64 : a post from Green's 1st anniversary special! Mario the character or the franchise? The character is not overrated but for the series, it's not that overrated but most of the people prefers COD and those stupid stuffs. ~ From Green's 1st anniversary special!

Yeah most of his games are great but it's kind of inevitable as it is the most popular gaming franchise in gaming history by far. I think a lot of games are better then most Mario games from a critical standpoint but maybe that's just me. With that said it's impact on the gaming industry as a whole cannot be understated. And that doesn't change the fact that most of the are great games some are even exceptional games although not every single one are as good as people make them out to be.

I don't think it is over rated. Are games made that probably should not have been made? Yes. But over rated? Naw. Not at all.