Darunia-Saria 2008
| Darunia-Saria 2008 | |
|---|---|
| |
| 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 forum, Darunia-Saria 2008 is a controversial work by VinnyVideo that combines Mario elements with Zelda and other games.
Darunia-Saria 2008, also known as D-S 2008, is an extremely experimental fan game. 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 SMB1 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.
Music
Every level in Darunia-Saria 2008 uses a different background MIDI. VinnyVideo varies the music in this game to fit the atmospheres, 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.
Ending
Quoted from VinnyVideo.
| Spoilers! Plot/ending information may follow (highlight to read): |
| "Saria didn't like the way things were looking. With 99% of precincts reporting, she had received only 41 votes, putting her behind even Gene Amondson. 39 of those votes came from absentee ballots in Welaka, Florida, and while many gave names like George W. Bush, Paris Hilton, Oprah Winfrey, Napoleon Bonaparte, and King Henry VII, all were signed with the noble signature of Bubba Wilcox III. Rather than conceding defeat, Saria knew it was time to take decisive action. She removed the strap on her hand, yanked the plug out of the outlet, and slammed her Wiimote into the wall." |
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, as well as in Aventura de Luigi and Mario's Steroid Adventure.
Documentation
Despite its relative obscurity, D-S 2008 is one of the most-documented fangames around. Its manual weighs in at over 30 kilobytes, some of which is merely notes VinnyVideo used during the game's production. The large help file fails to note that the hidden soccer ball power-up in the Immigration Level comes from World Soccer '94: Road to Glory, an obscure soccer game for which VinnyVideo has written a strategy guide.
Reception
In contrast to Marioy 2, Darunia-Saria 2008 did not receive many positive reviews from the message boards. MechaBowser 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. Even though the author makes it very clear that D-S 2008 is not designed to promote any particular candidate or party, some players have taken offense at the idea of a fangame being used in a political or social context.
Future
The last update of D-S 2008 added a primitive save feature. VinnyVideo has said that he will produce one more small update for this game, fixing some of the inherent engine glitchiness and bettering Saria's appearance, and that it's unlikely that he will release another "allegory" game. However, one of the levels in VinnyVideo's later game Aventura de Luigi alludes to Darunia-Saria 2008 with a campaign sign marked, "Saria-Darunia 2012." A Darunia-Saria 2012 is rumored but will likely place Bowser, Birdo, or another character in the starring role. VinnyVideo claims this game helped earn him a brief piece of in his community but won't specify how.
Gallery
Saria climbs a ladder.
Saria beats a level.
Saria goes to the U.S.
Saria in Iraq.
External links
- The official topic on the MFGG board
- FilePlanet (dead link)
