Joystiq [Nintendo]

Pilot

Job experience: Alleyway (GB, 1989), Super Scope 6, "LazerBlazer" (SNES, 1992)

We suppose this appearance in Alleyway earns Mario the title of "Executive Space Control Engineer" or something, given its outlandish game premise, an Arkanoid clone in which Mario goes all sci-fi and boards a spaceship somehow smaller than he is. Ah, video game logic. It was easy enough to believe in giant piranha, but this is absurd.

Did you know Mario actually piloted the original Pong paddles? Yeah, it was hard to see, but he was in there pulling important levers and performing various other duties at a generic control panel you wouldn't know what to do with.

Lastly, Mario made a cameo piloting a biplane in the Super Scope 6 game "LazerBlazer." The ridiculously large Super Scope accessory was a blast to use until it broke apart two weeks after purchase. Oh well, it's back as the "Wii Zapper" now.

02/07/08