Latest Gaming News

Knock Knock, Nintendo's Search For The Greatest Joke

17th October 2003, 9:59pm
How about this for a weird press release, check out what your two plumbing pals are up to now.

Having rescued the princess for years and mastered his plumbing skills in the Mushroom Kingdom, longtime hero and defender Mario announces his latest quest: a search for the funniest knock-knock joke. Mario and his comical brother, Luigi, who co-stars in the new game Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance, have hired comedienne Kathy Griffin to help them in this mission.

"Everything that Luigi does makes me laugh; I'm surprised we ever complete a level," says Mario. "With Kathy Griffin as our judge, we'll depend on her to keep us in line while she determines a winner."

The contest runs now through Nov. 16; contestants can submit jokes online here. Each week, a finalist will be chosen from the week's entries. On Nov. 17, Griffin will select a grand prize winner from among those finalists.

"I know Nintendo will receive thousands of entries, so I hope Mario and Luigi will help me sort through these," Griffin said. "I'll be a tough knock-knock judge so make entries original, because I won't hesitate to throw those who write bad jokes into knock-knock jail."

Mario chose a knock-knock joke contest because the brothers' back-and-forth patter reflects the kind of slapstick humor that gamers will find in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. For the first time, players control both Mario and Luigi simultaneously in this hilarious, action-filled role-playing game.

"An evil witch steals Princess Peach's voice and replaces it with explosives, of all things," says Mario. "Luigi and I work together to recover her stolen voice. Even bad-boy Bowser helps us -- probably so he can kidnap her later."

Players can control Mario and Luigi separately or team them up for superhero-style combination moves. The involved storyline, puzzle-solving challenges and points system common to classic role-playing games combine with the jumping challenges and action battles of more traditional Mario games.

The grand prize winner of the knock-knock joke contest will receive a Game Boy Advance SP, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga game, Nintendo GameCube system and more.
Share |
by Benjamin Murphy