Darunia-Saria 2008
| Darunia-Saria 2008 | |
|---|---|
| No image | |
| Developer(s) | VinnyVideo |
| Announce Date | July 25, 2008 |
| Release Date | October 27, 2008 |
| Genre | Platform |
| Players | 1 |
| Input | Standard keyboard |
| Medium | Game Maker 7 |
| Platform | Windows |
| Status | Released |
Released only on the MFGG message board, Darunia-Saria 2008 is a controversial work that combines Mario elements with Zelda and other games.
Darunia-Saria 2008, also known as D-S 2008, is one of the most experimental fan games ever. Its lead character, Saria from Zelda 64, does not appear in any Mario games except as a filler character in Mario Golf's tournament modes. More controversial is the game's exploration of political matters, where it proceeds to insult just about every thing that can be insulted. Saria visits Guantanamo Bay, illegally immigrates from Mexico, goes to a church that may be hypocritical or watered-down, watches the Dow hit zero, and engages in battle with Michael Chertoff, Barack Obama, John McCain, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney in this wacky game. In the Second Quest, Saria can even enjoy an alcoholic beverage - a rarity in the low-naughtiness world of fan games - that usually reduces life but about 33% of the time will randomly increase her energy.
D-S 2008 uses a renovated Hello Super Mario Bros. Engine and is essentially a traditional 2-D platform game based on Super Mario Bros. 3, with a few SMB 2, SMW, and YI elements thrown in as well. As in VinnyVideo's first game, Marioy 2, players can play a more difficult Second Quest after defeating the final boss.
More radical is the Zelda II-style hit point system VinnyVideo has implemented. Saria usually loses between approximately 16 and 32 HP when hit by an enemy. However, when Saria is "small" (not wearing her trademark headband), a single hit from an enemy may do her in. Each coin restores 1 HP, Super Mushrooms 32, and Fire Flowers 48.
By finding a well-hidden Piece of Heart, Saria can boost her maximum HP to 80. Also worth noting are the three special transformations; these well-hidden power-ups can transform Saria into a Sarah Palin impersonator, a Guadalajara Chivas soccer player, or a Saudi Arabian.
VinnyVideo says Darunia-Saria took approximately 50 hours to produce.
Contents
Music
Every level in Darunia-Saria 2008 uses a different background MIDI. VinnyVideo does a creative job at using music in this game, although some of the references were obscure, and not everyone liked the use of music originating from non-Mario games such as Banjo-Kazooie and the Zelda series. Some memorable usages of music include "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" for the Wall Street level and the national anthem of Mexico for the Illegal Immigration level.
Story
The full story is available in the in-game help. In summary: Link's greenish-haired, big-eared girl friend had grown tired of being a sage in the Lost Woods. When a traveling Pidgit tried to enlist her aid in laundering money, breaking campaign-finance laws, and robbing banks, Saria knew it was time for a decisive career move. She found a Warp Zone to the United States, and by chance won the nomination for the Libertarian-Prohibition-Tory-Anarchist Party. From here, Saria is participating in debates and interviews, trying to win precious electoral votes for an obscure third party while stomping on her real-life opponents and detractors.
Many felt the storyline was stupid, while others found in refreshingly unique because it didn't involve kidnapping. VinnyVideo himself noted that the theme of a character abandoning a futile, uneventful lifestyle for someone more dynamic appears in the Marioy 2 story with Boom-Boom.
Reception
In contrast to [Marioy 2], Darunia-Saria 2008 did not receive many positive reviews from the message boards. Mecha Bowser said D-S 2008 was worse than Paper Mario World, and the view of several players was that D-S 2008 was poorly crafted and that the references were needlessly obscure.
Future
The last update of D-S 2008 added a primitive save feature. VinnyVideo has said that he will not be producing any more updates for this game and that it's unlikely that he will release another "allegory" game. However, WhiskyRaccoon says that rumors have been spreading that one of the levels in VinnyVideo's upcoming [Aventura de Luigi] alludes to Darunia-Saria 2008 in an unspecified way, and Finnish Burrito thinks another game of this sort will be released in 2012.
