Interview the author Part 2: The top 10 worst games [Special]

"Hey, hey! Welcome back to the interview! Name's Kisha Shinbun, and I'm here today to interview some Mario guy about his least favorite games in the tournament. But first off, what makes you hate a game?"

"Well, it boils down to both how much trouble I had crafting it behind the scenes and if the game just wasn't very memorable or enjoyable. To be honest, there were really only a few games I really hated writing, but there were also many I just found a bit bland and boring."

"Now with that out of the way, I'm gonna ask ya what your top 10 least favorite games of this En pass-thingy tournament are. Ready? Then take it away! Starting with..."

Number 10 and 9.

"Huh!? The hell does that mean!? Why are you combining 10 and 9!?"

"Because both these games fall into a special category, that being they were games I ended up rewriting after the respective chapters they debuted in were published."

"And those two are?"

Number 10: The original game from Chapter 28: Peter Morphy

I actually didn't have too many issues with this game at first, but after rewriting the game from Chapter 34: Desperado, I felt as though Morphy's debut game should showcase his sadistic play style a bit more. However, I didn't fully commit to changing the game until I realized that I had made a mistake in the game's notation and thus had no choice but to rewrite it.

Number 9: The original game from Chapter 34: Desperado.

While the game would eventually become Game #80: The key to victory, I actually have no problem with Game #80 as I felt it fit the chapter really well. However, when it was the game for Chapter 34: Desperado, I kept feeling it was extremely lackluster which led to me rewriting the game. Since both this game and the one at number 10 ended up being removed from the story entirely, I decided to put them at the lower end of the list. And while some might argue these shouldn't be on the list since they're no longer in the story, I do feel they're worth mentioning at least.

Number 8: Game #9: WWCF cards

Numakawa's debut game, and ironically one of his best games in the series. The match is still a bit boring though which is why it makes the list. I actually considered rewriting this game to make Numakawa dumber, but then I remembered I wanted to keep my sanity and noticed that while the game was kind of boring, it was still better than the other games on this list.

Number 7: Game #68: The Irish Gambit

To be honest, I just didn't have much fun writing this one. I feel Mimoko and Iori commenting the game ended up hurting more than helping it as Carol barely had much banter with Sorcha. Funnily enough, the next game, Game #69: A fun experience ended up being the much better game and featured the better Irish gambit, the Queen's pawn Opening: Chigorin Irish gambit. This game, much like the Irish gambit, is not very great.

Number 6: Game #22: Maestro Xiao Lin

Xiao Lin's debut chapter. To be honest, I felt just as frustrated as Peter when I wrote this. It might be because I was also writing the infamous Game #21 at the time, but I think it was the dialogue that dampened the game for me. Then again, games that feature the French defense tend to be on the more boring side. Peter also not playing crazily likely lowered this game on the favorability scale as well.

Number 5: Game #55.2: Numakawa's Bongcloud gambit.

I know it isn't fair to Daria to put this game on the list, but Numakawa was so cringe he deserves it. While Game #55.1 also featured Numakawa being a complete idiot, Iori making the dumb moves just to trick Numakawa into thinking they were genius was entertaining. This one, not so much as much like Daria, I was cringing at Numakawa the whole time.

Number 4: Game #31: Proxy

Numakawa being a complete idiot and bungling the game, were you really surprised this made the list? What gets it a spot higher than the previous game was the fact that Numakawa was just flat out stupid in this game and completely disregarded all the info Okisato had given him the night prior on the piece of shit and his proxies. To be fair, he did need to lose for the sake of the plot, but the game was still cringe enough to get it a spot on this list.

Number 3: Game #6: Knight race

The first and so far only stalemate in the series, this one makes the list due to how tedious it was to make. While I'd agree that it was narratively tense, the actual game was tedious and full of mistakes. Not to mention, it was easily one of the games I hated writing the most, but obviously not the one I hated the most as this game is only number 3 on the list.

Number 2: Game #67: The unstoppable Coca-Cola gambit

I lost brain cells making this low elo shitstorm of a game. Worst of all, I have more Coca-Cola gambit games in the works. I guess this means that all those games will be making the next top 10 most hated games list. And I'm not exaggerating, I really did hate writing this game. There were so many times I just refused to continue writing due to how cringe the game was, but fortunately, or for some, unfortunately, I managed to finish the game and unleash it upon the world.

Number 1: Game #21: One wrong move

I've been vocal in how much I hated writing this game. It took me 3 whole rewrites and I didn't enjoy it at all. Getting the game to the point where Utami was on the verge of being promoted was a nightmare. The first version was good until I realized Utami's pawn had been captured early so that game had to go. The second game was just bad. I basically had the characters intentionally making bad moves in order to set up the scenario where Utami's pawn made it to the 2nd rank. Then there was this one... It was the best, so I went with it.

"And there ya have it! Ole Mario's most hated games! Join us next time when I ask him about his favorite players in the tournament."