Super Mario Bros. X Forums

I've seen a lot of levels lately (see what I did there?) and a lot of their names have alliteration in them. I can see where they're coming from with the alliteration, as it makes the name sound better, but the fact nearly everyone is doing it means that this idea gets old quickly.

Why do a lot of people use alliteration in level names, who started the fad, and what is your opinion on alliteration in level names?

I have seen several alliteration in stages of Donkey Kong and Kirby games.
At Present I don't see many alliterations, but that was common in some time ago.

I don't bear a grudge against alliterated level names, but it gets ridiculous if people start using words which are too abstract to be real and only there because it alliterates with the rest of the name and kinda workes with the name. Example: Calysmatical Clay Caverns could do without the "Calysmatical". I think I just made that word up anyways but you get the point.

I only use alliteration sometimes because it does get old eventually, but it can be used to enhance the level's title.

I think those are creative and pretty good but yeah, not always good. Some of the ideas are pretty good, some of them are decent but some focused on alliteration not on the reality. Wiggler Woods, Nostlagic Nightlands, Smoky Skies, Cold Clouds, Volcanic Valley, Melting Magma Mountain, etc. were pretty good ideas. (long time ago i downloaded an smbx episode and had this names, i think the names are pretty cool but the old download link doesn't exist and i deleted the episode accidentally, just remember for these names)

This has always been something that's bothered me. I believe it was Chad that popularized it.

I think it's appropriate when used very scarcely.

Because Magmatic Mountain sounds better than Lava Mountain? Because Crazy Cavern sounds better than Maze Cave? Because Wiggler Woods sounds better than Wiggler Forest?

Also there's nothing really wrong with it, though I will say it gets overused like nobody's business, I think it's always been a thing, not just a Chad thing, because other games have been using that. Lethal Lava Land being a culprit.

I meant Chad popularized it here.

I would rather play "Super Easy Road" than "Super Simple Street".

The alliteration of level names may also be something that is influenced by Mario or other games. A big thing with Mario, though also seen sometimes in Kirby games is the use of the same adjective or noun twice (eg. Tall Tall Moutain, Green Greens). Many official games do this regularly, especially Mario games, where level names are displayed instead of just 1-1, 5-4 etc. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is the most recent game that uses this, however, the alliteration appears pretty much in every level name. In my opinion it is more than likely a Nintendo thing, as I've checked with many other games from many other companies, and most don't use name alliteration at all. (Crash, Spyro are good examples of that, however, you'll notice that some level names are based off popular sayings like "Up the Creek", "Snow Biz".)

I think level names should roll off the tongue. Alliteration usually rolls off the tongue, but it's not the only thing that does.

For pete's sake catlewars did we really need another stupid question thread like this one?
There's only one answer for this thread.
"because it sounds good"

Superiorstar wrote:For pete's sake catlewars did we really need another stupid question thread like this one?
There's only one answer for this thread.
"because it sounds good"

And because we can't think of anything better...

I guess it's like custom graphics in a way; while it doesn't automatically improve your level, but it's basically the easy way out for new designers to make the quality "good enough."

Superiorstar wrote:For pete's sake catlewars did we really need another stupid question thread like this one?
There's only one answer for this thread.
"because it sounds good"

Well, actually it isn't really stupid and I fail to see how it would cause drama at all. Yes, it does sound good, in moderation of course, but it is an interesting point to discuss, considering the whole name alliteration has been brought up several times of late, plus games outside the Nintendo "universe" don't really seem to use the whole alliteration thing as much, a point which I made in an earlier post.

Edit: Ninja'd by HenryRichard

Superiorstar wrote:For pete's sake catlewars did we really need another stupid question thread like this one?
There's only one answer for this thread.
"because it sounds good"

That's kinda rude, but I do somewhat agree with you. Is this really a question?

Ninja'd by Squishy Rex and Praesidium...

Yeah that was a little harsh Superiorstar.

I like the way alliteration sounds a lot, personally. I have no problem with the trend, and it definitely does echo the names of many actual Mario levels and stuff like that. You don't have to do it with every level, of course, but it's a nice trend.

Joey wrote:I meant Chad popularize
I would rather play "Super Easy Road" than "Super Simple Street".

Yeah, yer right

In his episode he used 65 names with alliteration (Including the hub names)

I think using alliteration is kind of neat but it does get repeditive. That's why I use words from different languages like instead of saying Green I say Viridis etc.

It can be nice and impressive but can be annoying if overused.

Thing is, naming every single level in an episode while not being generic may be difficult. Alliteration can be a way to force a bit of creativity. It's like an easy way out of being stuck trying to find a name for your level.

This isn't something that shows up just in Nintendo stage names. It comes up a lot in character names, too (Stan Lee's names come to mind).