Season 12 is the twelfth season of the SMG4 series, and the third season of the 2020s. This season premiered on January 15, 2022 and concluded on December 24, 2022.
This season marks the debuts of Karen, a female cat whose name was inspired by a slang term, Kaizo Koorumaniru, a member of Saiko Bichitaru's band KS-2, Wheeler, a full-time criminal and Shroomy's grandfather, the true form of the Zero virus, Niles, and the overarching protagonist of the Cosmology Lore, SMG0.
The mysterious man introduced towards the end of the previous season reveals his name to be Niles, and he promises to help Melony train her powers. When it is discovered that the Box Club is trying to summon the God Box, SMG1 and SMG2 explain that the God Box is a dangerous artifact that they must prevent from being opened if it exists. Later on, SMG4: Absolute Betrayal premieres and the Revelations Arc, which had secretly been started towards the end of the previous season, begins. A day before the final exams, the Box Club abducts Melony and imprison the gang when they try to stop them. Niles is then revealed to be the imperfect Meme Guardian who possesses Melony's mind after his and SMG0's spirits got split. Niles possesses Melony and makes her open a portal to The Great Beyond to find the God Box. This is eventually followed up by a 49-minute movie: SMG4 Movie: REVELATIONS, concluding the Revelations Arc with the revelations of SMG0's past, the deaths of Niles, SMG0, the Box Club Leader, and Terrance, and Meggy and Melony's graduations from Omnia Academy and achieving their future careers (mainly by Meggy). Afterwards, Melony would acquire a pet axolotl and call it Axol Jr. in Axol's honor.
The following months later, Lawyer Kong appeared and tried to take Mario away to make Nintendo games, after his failed attempt in SMG4: SMG4 Gets Sued, he took matter into his own hands by forming a barrier into the Mushroom Kingdom in SMG4: Mario Can't Play With You Anymore.... Where only Nintendo citizens are allowed and any Non-Nintendo citizens would be sent away to prison, it's up to SMG4 and Meggy Spletzer (with the help of Phoenix Wright) to reclaim the Mushroom Kingdom, thus kickstarting the events of The Lawsuit Arc. The arc ended with the annual SMG4: War Of The Fat Italians 2022, in which SMG4 exchanges his Mario-like appearance (along with SMG3, Bob, and Fishy Boopkins' Nintendo designs) to Miyamoto for original designs in order to stay with his friends. They would soon learn to adapt in their new bodies, and life for the Glitchy Gang returns to normal, for SMG4 standards.
Events[]
The true nature of the fabled God Box is revealed.
The main antagonist of the Revelations Arc, Niles, who promises to help Melony train her deity powers until SMG4: Absolute Betrayal, where he is revealed to be the imperfect Meme Guardian created by the God Box. Niles then possesses Melony and proceeds to make a portal to The Great Beyond.
Niles was revealed to be the cause of SMG0 turning evil.
SMG0 and Niles meet their fates in the series.
The Box Club Leader is killed by the God Box.
Melony graduates from Omnia Academy.
SMG3 learns to work with SMG4, going from a villain to simply his rival.
Meggy Spletzer receives her second voice actor, Elsie Lovelock, replacing Lizzie Freeman from SMG4: DO NOT ENTER onwards. Freeman's stock voice clips would be used periodically.
This is the third season to not have Valentine specials, the previous two are Season 4 and Season 10.
TheInvertedShadow joins the SMG4 crew this season, often adding smoother animation to certain episodes; one of the most prominent cases is with Meggy, specifically in SMG4: The Pawn Business. These smoother scenes are mainly seen in the Mario Does Things series.
This is the second season to have two arcs in one season, its the first since Season 8 with the first and second arcs, The Waluigi Arc and The Rapper Bob Arc respectively.
This is the first season since Season 1 to have more than one main antagonist, specifically having three.
Both seasons have the same episode count, with a total of 48 episodes.
This season expands the usage of Garry's Mod, being used on every character far more often, with the SM64 models being used far less often, 2D sprites (for example: Old Man Hobo) were also ditched for GMOD models.
For a brief period of time, SMG4: Mario Goes Bowling was under the name Stupid Mario Bowling. Had this not been changed, it would have been the first episode of the series since SMG4: Stupid Mario Golf, but this was likely due to the lack of an official Mario bowling game.
This is the second season without a new year’s special despite December 31 being a Saturday, the first being Season10.
Criticisms and controversy[]
Despite still being likable to many, this season has the most controversial and/or unpopular episodes out of any season, frequently running into multiple controversial videos starting in late May:
SMG4: DO NOT ENTER: Criticism on Meggy and Saiko bullying Mario (though the latter had the right to do so) and the inclusion of Kaizo.
One of the main causes is the introduction of Kaizo Koorumaniru, a character that was criticized long before his official debut in the 2-part Streaming Until I Hit 5̶ ̶m̶i̶l̶l̶ 5,100,000 Subscribers live stream, being criticized for his design being depicted as edgy and for being another anime-themed character, something that's common with majority of the main characters in the series such as Saiko and Melony.
The redesigns from War Of The Fat Italians 2022 have been a major topic of discussion among fans. Fishy Boopkins' new body in particular has been extremely divisive due to its simplicity, though most fans have gotten used to the new designs over time.
Some characterizations have been unpopular among fans as well. This seems to be mainly aimed at Mario and Meggy, with episodes often portraying the two as rivals, being in SMG4: POV: You're Mario and SMG4: Mario Goes Bowling. Meggy's victories within these episodes have also made fans label her as a "mary sue" or a "golden child" who is "perfect" and "always right". This is not the first time Meggy's character has been contested; she has had similar complaints from fans during her debut season. For Mario, fans have claimed that his personality has been inconsistent, shifting from being levelheaded and partially sane (such as in SMG4: The Floor is Lava and SMG4: Mario Goes To The Zoo) to deranged, antagonistic, insane and childish, with SMG4: How To Train Your Mario and SMG4: All I Want For Christmas Is Mario To FREAKIN BEHAVE being examples of Mario at his most childish. With episodes such as SMG4: DO NOT ENTER and SMG4: If Mario Was The Last Man On Earth, fans are also split on whether Mario is sympathetic or deserves the treatment that he receives in these episodes.
Some fans also believe that many of the other characters have been neglected in favor of the trio of Mario, Meggy, and SMG4. Tari is often used as an example of this, as her appearances have decreased heavily following the end of Meta Runner; this is even used as a fourth wall joke by Tari herself when she gets saddened about having missed out on the entire Lawsuit Arc at the end of SMG4: War Of The Fat Italians 2022.
In response to this, MediExcalibur2012 (the voice of SMG1 and the Box Club Leader) has been making attempts to remedy these complaints. This is mainly seen through the Mario Does Things series, where Mario and Meggy have more positive interactions and Tari appears more regularly in brief segments.
