Opinions on baby versions of existing characters

[Sweetley]

So I have heard that Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled now also introducing baby versions of certain characters into their game, in this case "Baby Crash" and "Baby Coco", which are both playable.

Before CTR, Mario Kart was already known for having a bunch of baby versions of certain characters, which are Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy as well as Rosalina. I saw often people saying how dumb those baby characters are and that their taken away the spot of other more likable characters.

So yeah... What is your opinion about baby versions of existing characters?

I find some of them kinda adorable and actually I don't mind them at all. Baby Peach for example used to be my favorite character in MKWii back then and while at first I didn't like them that much, Baby Crash and Coco are overall quite cute (however, I think it was not that necessary to give Crash and Coco baby versions of themself IMO). Although I don't need for every character now a baby version, at some point I think it would be just too much.

 

[Rusolando-Kun]

I find them a bit weird.
Yosh's New Island was pretty annoying to play mostly because of Baby Mario's screaming. XD

 

[Bcat]

Don't really care for them in mario kart. Almost never race as them but I don't mind them being there either.

 

[Stalfos]

I don't mind them in Yoshi's Island because that game works like a prequel of sort for the Mario games. Although, I'm not sure if the story is canon or not (not that it matters).

Other than that, I generally don't like them. Mario without a moustache is something no one should ever have to witness. A baby with a moustache is probably equally bad though. So I guess there's no win.

What really bugs me is how they're implemented in Mario Kart. How can baby Mario race against standard Mario, Metal Mario and Tanooki Mario all at the same time? It doesn't make sense. Even for a game like Mario Kart, and that is saying a lot.

 

[Sweetley]

What really bugs me is how they're implemented in Mario Kart. How can baby Mario race against standard Mario, Metal Mario and Tanooki Mario all at the same time? It doesn't make sense. Even for a game like Mario Kart, and that is saying a lot.

The same mystery is also with Peach. Standard Peach, Cat Peach, Pink Gold Peach and Baby Peach can
also race against each other even if makes zero sense like with Mario. Either time traveling or traveling
through various dimensions is a thing is this game or Nintendo just doesn't care for the logic here. After
all, I wish the metal versions as well as the Tanooki/Cat costumes would be alt skins for standard Mario
and Peach, the space which they are taking away could have been used for other characters which aren't
another version of Mario/Peach...

 

[MapleSilver]

Baby Mario at least made sense because he was a character in Yoshi's Island. Making characters into babies that were never shown as babies in the first place when there are plenty of more interesting characters you are ignoring? That's when it becomes annoying.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I'm still waiting for Baby Wario lmao

 

[Hat']

I LOVE them so so much!!!! I love to play them in mario kart and when I saw baby Rosalina in mario kart 8 I freaked out!!
Also baby Pauline when?? (...now that I think about it she might look a bit weird and out of place..)

 

[therandompuppy]

I don’t really mind them, i view them as a design challenge instead of taking it seriously

 

[SmoochsPLH]

I think they're overdone a little bit, but absolutely love baby versions of characters. I love Baby Peach and Crash!

 

[InstantNoodles]

I quite dislike them tbh For example I can't stand teen titans go even though I was a huge fan of the original series

 

[Xara]

i mean, they’re a cute concept but i’m not obsessed with them or anything lmao. baby yoda was cute, for example, but i definitely don’t understand the hype >_<

 

[Vanida]

I prefer characters as they are. Joan's kid grosses me out.

 

[rianne]

I prefer characters as they are. Joan's kid grosses me out.

Daisy Mae is Joan's granddaughter. Anyway, I totally get why people don't like her snotty nose lol but I find her and Cubchoo from Pokémon adorable regardless of that design detail/"flaw."

I like baby versions of characters, generally speaking. I can't think of any that I dislike as I'm reflecting on it now.

 

[Your Local Wild Child]

My family likes to use the phrase “splitting your pants” (a reference to the legendary sponge bob episode) as a term to describe something that someone is doing to death. Right now, companies are splitting their pants on baby characters. I like baby yoda and all but now mom groups and mlms are using him like minions so

 

[Chris]

I think they're cute. I would always play Baby Rosalina in MK8 until the Splatoon characters were introduced.

 

[Alienfish]

I like them. Rather babies than random AC characters and stuff lol.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

I personally am not a fan of them myself, but them being in the game doesn't take away anything for me so I guess I don't really care.

 

[Your Local Wild Child]

My family likes to use the phrase “splitting your pants” (a reference to the legendary sponge bob episode) as a term to describe something that someone is doing to death. Right now, companies are splitting their pants on baby characters. I like baby yoda and all but now mom groups and mlms are using him like minions so

I would like to elaborate that the IDEA of baby characters doesn’t get under my skin. Just the rampant overuse of them. Baby Rosalina was my main on MK8 before Link and the male villager took over.

 

[Belle T]

It depends on the character and how it's done. Nine times out of ten, I hate it, but there are some characters where it works tremendously well. Like, I think Baby Mario and Baby Luigi as a narrative mechanic (less so as a gameplay mechanic) in Yoshi's Island worked very well and added a small layer of depth to the characters that are otherwise stagnant. But when they're introduced as playable characters in OTHER Mario games, it comes across as cynical, because they don't really use it to explore the relationship between different characters or the world around them.

Ideally, I think baby versions of characters should be made to enrich the adult (or at least, normal age) versions of the characters. It should allow us to see a side of the characters we don't normally get to see, bring us back to a status quo that no longer exists, etc. It shouldn't just be "this character but now he wears a diaper and talks with a lisp."

I quite dislike them tbh For example I can't stand teen titans go even though I was a huge fan of the original series

To be fair, those aren't baby versions of the Teen Titans. They're just versions of the characters that feel as if they were written by babies.