Board Thread:SMG4 Discussion/@comment-36426936-20190203214947/@comment-109.66.22.102-20190616152159

Here are my problems with SMG4's current videos:

1. Arcs

In my opinion, the only good arc so far is the Waluigi Arc and even then it is nothing groundbreaking. I like it over the other arcs because the Waluigi stuff happened in the background up until the end and it still left room for the more episodic comedic episodes. But the other two... The Bob Arc: As many have pointed out, started way too soon after the Waluigi Arc. Also, after the arc finished it was just kind of forgotten about by all of the main characters and everyone forgave him like nothing ever happened. Lastly, the decision to make a music video makes no sense. Whenever I see the "Darkest Hour" video while scrolling through SMG4's video I just find myself wondering "WHO ASKED FOR THIS!?!?"

The Anime Arc: Oooooooooo boy. This one is GARBAGE! I have no idea why people are praising this shit. Desti's death meant nothing since she is a side character and had no time to prove her worth. I actually said "Good riddance" when she died. Meggy turning into a human makes no sense since Inklings aren't humans so she basically changed species AND she still uses Inkling sound effects even though she's a human. It would have honestly been a better payoff if she died sacrificing herself to save everyone. Axol's existence confuses me and I do think it would have been more fitting if he was the villain; you know, the whole "power corrputs" thing. Oh yeah, and Luke voicing himself is stupid and off putting, who thought that was a good idea? But by far the thing that I hate the most is how many episodes are just POINTLESS!!! "Biggest arc yet" my ass! In 3 of the episodes, and those being "The Splatfest Incident", "The Inkling Disappearances", and "Mario And The Experiment" NO PROGRESS IS MADE! They are so boring and they are 10 to 11 minute long episodes! And there is no reason why they couldn't have just been episode. But I assume that there HAD to be a fight scene and there HAD to be a split between the main characters that wouldn't even last a single episode. So yeah. I hate this one. And I honestly never want to see another arc. But now that I'm done with the arcs...

2. Stories

At the time of me writing this, the latest SMG4 video is "Mario Does Chores" and it's boring as all hell. But it does highlight a problem with a lot of SMG4 videos recently: Structure. Let's compare it to another episode "Mario Goes Shopping". In both episodes, Mario is doing his thing until Peach shows up and asks him to do something for her and Mario does so out of fear of what Peach might do to him if he doesn't. But in the ladder of the two there is a clear end goal: Finish the list; and Mario does just that but with an SMG4 twist. In the former, it's just: Mario goes up to one of the characters asking if he can help and just ends screwing everything up. It's so predictable and it's been done to death! And none of the jokes featured in the video have enough time to develop and leave a lasting impression. The endings are also worth pointing out: In the former, Peach returns to see the castle still dirty and chases after Mario in rage. Once again, predictable and done to death. But in the ladder, Mario returns to the castle after completing the list and just when he thinks that Peach is going to reward him for his efforts, she asks him to get him more jewelry. This brings back Mario defiance towards Peach as he's had enough and he straps her to his kart and sends her driving off uncontrollably. This is a satisfying conclusion that beings the episode full circle. This is only one example and trust me, there are many.

3. Characters

New: As many have pointed out, almost none of the new characters fit in the SMG4 universe. The only one that I'd say fits is Bob. He has the "N64 Era" that the rest of the original main cast has. Also I'd give Fishy Boopkins a pass since he is based on a Mario enemy (even though he's not from the time and doesn't match the style of the time even with the custom N64 model), but Meggy is not only from a different game series with a completely different art style but also from a completely different time, so she's got nothing going for her. And the rest of the original characters are even worse. Shroomy, Saiko, Tari, and Axol share no similar attributes with one another and definitely don't share any attributes with the original main cast of SMG4. Saiko's model is also just terrible! I can't put my finger on it but something with the face, the body, and the proportions of the arms and legs is just wrong. But what I do know is that she can't even close her hands in a fist properly, which is just ridiculous. She doesn't even really look like an anime character I'd say. None of these characters (besides maybe Bob, but it's still a stretch) have a reason to be in the castle with everyone else all the time. There are many people that think that it's too late to get rid of these characters but I assure you that if SMG4 slowly phased them out by using them less and less frequently and the videos without them would be generally better in quality and originality than the ones with them, then everything will be fine. But I wouldn't mind if they stayed if they were just less prominent.

Old: I would definitely love to see the old characters like X, FM, SMG3, the Police, Sonic, Eggman, Steve, and especially the Rock/Wizard Rock come back in favor of the new ones but I don't think that's fair or realistic. There needs to be a balance between old and new. SMG4 needs to start celebrating the past and the future in order to have a unified audience.

Side characters: If SMG4 thinks that using GMOD characters as side characters is better and less confusing than multicolored Marios then he's clueless. The multicolored Marios helped make a clear coherent world with people living in it. It was very easy to understand. And speaking of GMOD...

4. GMOD

GMOD is lifeless and dull. Just compare Peach's Castle in GMOD to SM64 and it's a night and day difference. Also, the use of the Mario ragdoll has just lost all value. I remember in Mario Simulator when Mario did the triangle mouth face and I thought it was hilarious. It was quick and left a great impression, but now it's used so often that it lost all shock value. It's basically on every thumbnail! And once again, the ragdoll and lifeless in comparison to the charm of the SM64 model. I also loved how SMG4 was able to show expressions with the SM64 model with just the eye texture since it has no mouth. Problem is that all the new characters are in GMOD so they're also part of the problem. In summary: SM64 - Charming and fun GMOD - Boring and lifeless

5. Glitchy Productions

Hear me out on this... In the past, SMG4 was just a guy making videos. It was so pure and fun, and there was no limit on what he did or any criterias of what had to be in a video. But look at any SMG4 video from June 2016 onward and something becomes very clear. All his video from then onward are 10 minutes and above showing that the priority is clearly to make as much possible ad revenue as possible. That, combined with the fact that SMG4 rarely does any specials nowadays and every series but the main one is dead creates a serious lack of varity. In the past, SMG4 had multiple different series and he just did whatever the hell he wanted. Sometimes he'd make a SSENMODNAR without even reaching a milestone. But now it's just SMG4, SMG4, and SMG4 with nothing special in between. Luke himself isn't even the writer anymore! ON HIS OWN CHANNEL!!! It literaly isn't SMG4 anymore. Instead, it's just Glitchy Productions.

There is a lot more. Like how he seemingly completely ignores his older fans, but this is all I felt like writing right now. I don't hate SMG4, I actually love him (his videos and as the guy who makes them that is) and I only want to see him be the best possible version of himself. It just feels like with every new video that comes out, I desperately try to believe that it's still good and funny but I keep finding myself in disappointment. I just hope that everything I've written here wasn't for nothing.