DARK SOULS

Dark Souls

Dark souls is the Dark souls of Dark Souls... Or so I'm told. Why not apply the same so-hard-it-hurts difficulty to Mario and see what happens? A bit of trial and error by bonfire -- or goal in this case. Mario games typically have frustratingly challenging bonus sections following the final main world; if this degree of difficulty was applied to all sections of the game, you would have a Dark Souls platformer built for a king.

I Motion That This Hulking Version Be Used
The Obvious Frontrunner Version, A Tough Mario For A Tough Game
Adding difficulty is one thing, but the potential to further restructure Mario with Dark Souls material is another interesting option at hand. Imagine a Dark Knight take on the Mario franchise, an RPG gritty reboot of the icon and his universe.

Large Goombas would be much bigger and wield some sort of weapon, and intimidating spikes would surround the shells of Huge Koopa Troopas. There are plenty of locations and castles that could be integrated into this anger-inducing plumber incarnation. Various weapons and powers that have made previous appearances in the series could form an inventory and upgrade system. Class selections would boil down to various Mario characters, who would excel in their own alternate skill set (like Luigi's high jump).

The Dark Souls lore can be intricate, ambiguous and somewhat confusing... Seems like a perfect fit for Mario!