Is Giana Sisters Better Than Mario?

Game: Gianna Sisters: Twisted Dreams and Rise of the Owlverlord
Developer: Black Forest Games

Gianna Sisters is one of those indie gems you would be lucky to stumble over. It has bright worlds, inventive challenges and creative game play involving switching between two Gianna forms. I doubt anyone would put it in the same league as the iconic Super Mario Bros. Well, that is exactly what I want to debate because I think Gianna Sisters is a prime contender for Mario’s 2D throne.

Utomik has both games Gianna Sisters: Twisted Dreams and Gianna Sisters: Rise of the Owlverlord. Both games drop you into worlds where you must switch between the dark world and the light to solve puzzles. The blonde sister lives in the dark world and can float on air currents, while the red head turns into a fire comet.

Here is a list of reasons why Mario should give up the crown to Gianna Sisters: Twisted Dreams and Owlverlord

1. Story: Gianna Sisters is not tied down to the same story since 1980’s. Suffice it to say the Princess in another Castle get up was coined by Mario, but it is also very over used (very very very). Gianna’s story is very similar with her sister Maria being captured by the evil Gurglewocky, but how both games progress the story is different. Mario Brothers relies on the fact that one plumber can traverse a huge kingdom and destroy a large turtle dragon at the end. Not much more filler than that. Gianna Sisters throws in the dark/light multiverse dream world. Also the Gianna sister transforming into “cute” and “punk” versions of herself adds dynamic story.

2. Graphics: When it comes to colors, shading and world development, Gianna Sisters destroys the Mario Bros U game. I mean just look at the difference.

3. Challenge: I have played both Mario and Gianna Sisters and I have to admit that Gianna Sisters packs more excitement and challenge in their game. I know Mario’s gameplay is classic and the obstacles are very fun. To be honest, I can bowl through a modern Mario game with no problem. Gianna Sisters gives me more run for my money. I believe it comes down to the market they are catering to. Lots of children play Super Mario Bros and that will always be the case. Gianna Sisters gets more room to up the difficulty and diversity of the obstacles.

4. Gianna Sisters is much more #woke: A helpless princess forced to be saved by the common blue collar male or two sisters sacrificing life and limb to unite the family dynamic. Gianna Sisters excels in female identity and true family togetherness. I would be proud to deliver this game to any feminist organization. (This bullet point is half serious)

5. Soundtrack: Mario Brothers is fun ditties. Gianna Sisters is a rock soundtrack.

Unashamedly, Gianna Sisters used to be a parody of the early Super Mario games. What is so neat about it is that Black Forest Games took the very silly property and made it bigger and better. They refused to let the creative license be a clone of a game. In doing so they were able to forge their own fresh path into 2D gaming. I think we can all learn a lesson that games don’t have to follow a legacy. They can be revolutionary.