in all fairness, the DK series was more about Mario...versus Donkey Kong, when Mario vs DK came in, it came during a time when Mario attempted to sustain itself by ports or spinoffs. in comparison MvDK just looked a tad safe in comparison to Superstar Saga. as for MvDK itself, the series progressively became worse, focusing more on the toys as Lemmings, before being regulated to fremmium games.

1990 was the last time an actual, major Mario game was released with Super Mario World, sure there were games like Six Golden Coins, but they're seen more as miniaturized versions of Mario with experimental formulas. and there was 1995's Yoshi's Island, but arguably that was more for Yoshi as a mascot.

1996 had a triple threat with Mario 64, Mario RPG and Kart 64. though the latter 2 would technically count as spinoffs, though they're spinoffs that has notably improved on existing formulas or are less likely to be copypasted. you just have tons of 64 games until near the end with 2000's Paper Mario. though it'd probably be cherrypicking to think that Kart is more valid as a series compared to Party, simply because mechanics remained consistently familiar whilst feeling like there has been more effort put into it.

2001: Luigi's Mansion/Kart Super Circuit
2002: Sunshine
2003: Double Dash/Superstar Saga
2004: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
2005: Mario Kart DS/Partners in Time
2006: New Super Mario Bros
2007: Super Paper Mario/Galaxy
2009: Bowser's Inside Story
2010: Galaxy 2

just between 2001-10 alone, there's probably like 56 games, counting ports, spinoffs, one-off spinoffs (like Dance Dance Megamix), and even things like Dr Mario Rx. but not stuff that simply features mario as cameos. or even Arcade games like Mario Kart Arcade GP.

Stuff like Megamix/Kart Arcade would have the dancing bear in that they're a dancing game/Kart game featuring Namco characters respectively, but wouldn't spark that well even among fans. whereas Mario anything would probably sell. the fans of inspanidual series might stick by but progressively, spinoffs do get weaker, if the Mario&Luigi RPG and Paper Mario series is anything to go by, though the latter suffered more from a mechanics/genre shift, compared to the first 2 games.

Probably went off topic a bit. but people wasn't really that shocked for Pauline in Mario VS DK because it just gave off the sense that it was just a one-time thing, or a character that'd only be used in those games. when Pauline was revealed in Odyssey, suddenly that was the popularity boost she needed; the main Nintendo fans would be more partial towards an entirely new Mario game that looks like it's actually attempting to do something daring, instead of just doing a New Super Mario Bros for the forth/fifth time ever.

A Mario character has not gotten such large things since the days of Rosalina. she appeared in Kart Wii as a potential early-save bonus, and was revealed as a character for Smash 4. the Mario series rarely introduces new characters who'd be used as a regular part of the cast. there was that later-generation period when they used Wario, Daisy and introduced Waluigi to bulk up the roster. whereas Nintendo was scared of using Diddy for a time, he only appeared from 2003 in Toadstool Tour/Double Dash, though he dropped out of Kart since Wii.

you have new-gen characters like E Gadd and Bowser Jr. the latter had slightly bad reception due to being voiced and being a bit unbelievable as an antagonist, but his later characterization from Galaxy-onwards were more wholesome in comparison. also, Toadsworth, whose only playable role was in 2007's Mario Super Sluggers, if you're ignoring Yakuman DS. (2005, JP only)
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KoL: Plucky, currently an Disco Bandit, RSN: Plucky9
ACNL/3DS FC: 5258-3681-6830 Ricky of Farm, FFBE: Plucky, 318,533,820

So Pauline's been confirmed for Mario Tennis Aces.

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