The upcoming Mario party superstars on the Switch features 100 mini-games from the series’ long history. One of these, Tug o ‘war, makes a somewhat surprising return after what happened the last time the game could be played with an analog stick.
The game, a 1v3 showdown, has one player disguised as a powerful Bowser on one side of a ravine and the other three players in their puny standard forms on the other. Both sides have to pull a rope, and the team that can do it the fastest wins and sends their opponents into the gaping gullet of a waiting piranha plant.
That’s what it looked like then Mario party 64:
While it looks harmless enough in video form, this game was the worst! Simply the absolute worst! It was played by rotating the analog stick on the N64 controller, and while you could Just use your thumb to make the thing spin fast enough to actually win, you had to use your palm instead of your thumb and that was it agony.
It was national news too. Along with Pedal power (which is not in superstars), Tug o ‘war was mainly one of the two mini-games responsible to the Complaints from parents who said that their “children … suffered cuts, punctures, blisters and friction burns on their hands due to the intense joystick movements that some parts of the multiplayer N64 game require”. The New York attorney general responded to this news and officially complained to Nintendo about the game.
In response, the company agreed to send four pairs of protective “athletic gloves” to anyone in the United States who bought the game – and damn you, that’s not true, as this was a time before patches and updates were proof of purchase and wanted to have it. The “fingerless gloves [had] padded palms“.
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Than this CNET Story from time Reports,
“A child was given a tetanus shot,” said Christi Pritchard, a spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
“What was worrying was how little time some of these children spent playing before they were injured,” said Pritchard. “One parent said their child played the game for 15 to 20 minutes when they got a second degree burn.”
Maybe Nintendo should “only ship to colder climates,” quipped Richard Doherty, president of the Envisioneering Group.
Nintendo also has a special message just for its own Mario party Tips hotline that asked all players “to avoid injuries by simply operating the joystick with your thumb and forefinger instead of the palm of your hand”.
Now, in 2021 and with Mario party superstars this week off, Tug o ‘war is back baby (well, back, that’s where it popped up too Mario party 100 on the 3DS, but since it didn’t have a real analog stick, that wasn’t a problem). And with the switch’s Joy-Cons have enough problems as it is (and also made a comeback with the N64 controller itself) Nintendo does not take any chances.
As you can see in videos already appearing on YouTube (the game leaked before it was released), the mini-game now comes with a big, clear warning telling players to “spin stick” just below the control prompt that says “To avoid” irritating your skin and / or damaging the control stick, do not turn it with the palm of your hand “.
Will it work? People love to win and hate to read, so probably not! Will it legally cover Nintendo’s asses? Probably!
Thanks very much @KirbyCheatFurby!
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