Why does Ennuigi work, somehow?

Ennuigi has a lot to say, evidently, even if most of that is satirical in nature. The game knows that the idea of a world-weary, chain-smoking Luigi is inherently amusing, particularly given his gradually escalating existential crisis. Why else would it keep the original Super Mario Bros. sprites, including that of Luigi himself, rather than create its own, more depressing-looking icons? The appeal of the game comes directly from the juxtaposition between the ennui and the Luigi, the deep with the cartoonish. Fun is the main objective here: few people will claim to have truly seen the Mushroom Kingdom as a senseless wasteland, wherein Mario and Luigi wreak havoc as the godless interlopers they are. The draw seems to be how many crapsack world tropes the game can fit into the empty, context-less spaces surrounding the original Mario lore. If it is unknown, Ennuigi will likely dramatize it. Why do Bowser’s castles invariably contain an axe that can defeat him? Why are there coins in a game where they cannot be spent? Why pipes, of all things? The list goes on, dramatically so.

I would argue that this filling-in-the-blanks narrative qualifies as a particular kind of narrative, that which Boluk and LeMieux (citing Richard Terrell) include within “any larger, connecting, overarching fiction” that the game and its setting implies (55). Terrell specifically brings up Super Smash Bros. as an example: though the games occasionally have full story modes, the idea of so many universes colliding is rarely fully addressed, meaning the impetus for the games can be freely expanded upon by innovative players. Certainly, they see Master Hand’s childlike play in the original Smash intro, but what scenario is Master Hand thinking of, wherein Yoshi can beat up Samus? That kind of question offers limitless context to the fights players conduct, adding a lot of their own ennui to the fated seven-Koopaling (plus Bowser Jr., I guess) 8-Player Smash.

Similarly, all of Ennuigi rests on the conceit that there is a darkness where we cannot see. Is it silly and over-the-top? Most definitely. But where would the fun be in filling in those blanks with the average goings-on of the Mushroom Kingdom bureaucracy? Granted, there’s certainly a market for that kind of story—the years have shown that the people will write almost any kind of Mario fan fiction (please, someone else tell me they remember Lemmy’s Land, oh god, I’m so old). But few will argue that any other form than the darkly morbid plays off the cheery traditional sprites as humorously and memorably. Satire is often an art of contrasts, and here we see why something like Ennuigi is appealing to the metagaming public.