マリオ、再び

マリオの豆知識25選 (日々是遊戯)

I was reading the NINTENDO WORLD 2011 3DS hands-on report on Gamez when I saw the article on our beloved moustache guy. Of course I have to post something about this awesome trivia list! XD

1. Mario is not a plumber(!!). His official occupation is actually a carpenter.

2. The plumber identity is likely spread around thanks to the 1993 live action Super Mario movie.

Though I recall seeing an American live action Mario show prior to 1993... Can't remember what, but I think the brothers were already plumbers in the show.

3. Super Mario Brothers is the best selling separately sold game (But the best selling game in the world is Wii Sports)

4. Mario was referred to as Jump Man/Mr. Video/Mr. Video Game within Nintendo when he debuted in Donkey Kong.

5. Mario was called Mario staring in Donkey Kong Jr. The name is from Mario Seagale, the landlord of the office that Nintendo of America (NoA) was renting at the time, who looked Mario.

6. Mario's full name is Mario Mario (since it's called Mario brothers, which means Luigi would be Luigi Mario). However, this only came about because NoA took some desperation measures. Nintendo Japan does not official admit the name.

7. How Luigi's name came about is unknown. Some said it's from 類似(similar) since he's similar to Mario. Some said the NoA employee that named Mario wanted an Italian name to go with Mario and picked a name used the most by Italian designers at the time. There's also rumour that there was a pizza place near the NoA office called "Mario & Luigi's."

8. Mario's known to wear a red shirt under a blue overall, but he debuted in Donkey Kong in a blue shirt under a red overall. It wasn't until SMB3 that he's set to the colouring today.

9. Some thought クリボー/Kuribo (Goomba) is a chestnut because of the name (栗/kuri), but it's actually a shiitake mushroom. They were originally soldiers of the Mushroom Kingdom and turned traitors when Koopa (Bowser) invaded the kingdom.

10. Koopa (Bowser)'s name came from gukbap (pronounced koopa in Japanese), Korean rice soup served in BBQ restaurants.

11. Outside of Japan, Koopa is called Bowser or King Koopa, and Koopa is used to referred to the turtle race. ノコノコ and パタパタ are called Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa, respectively, outside of Japan.

12. The Koopa in World 1-7 are all fake, only the Koopa is World 8 is the real Koopa. The fake one's real identity can be seen when it's defeated by fireball.

I always wondered about why sometimes the Koopa turned into a lesser enemy when I played the game. Now I know! :D

13. The brick blocks and pipes are actually residents of the Mushroom Kingdom who are trapped in Koopa's magic.

14. Koopa wants to abduct Princess Peach because she's the only one who can dispel the magic he cast on the resident of Mushroom Kingdom. After Super Mario RPG, he attempts to kidnap Princess Peach more for wanting her as a wife.

15. Mario grows with mushroom because Miyamoto associated mushrooms with magical lands in general, not Alice in Wonderland as many believed.

16. Turtles were chosen as Mario's opponents because the team wanted an enemy that can be knocked down from under and then finished off from the top. Even better, one that can revive itself if it's only knocked down.

17. The brick blocks float in mid-air because... "the insides are actually connected. XD"

18. It's possible to jump over the flag pole without touching the flag. (But you probably still need to touch the pole to pass the stage)

19. Using a certain very dangerous unofficial trick, it's possible to play World 9 and all the way to World 256 (with many more tricks to get past the impossible stages, I'm sure).


20. SMB2 has an official trick to get to World 9 (clear World 1-8 without going through the wrap zone). At the end of 9-4, Mario gets to swim through the staff's message for playing all the way (アリガトウ！).

21. Outside of Japan, SMB2 is not the real SMB2, but Yume Koujo Doki Doki Panic. As a result, enemies such as Hey Ho (Shy Guy) and Kathrine (Birdo) become regulars in the Mario series.

22. The stage clear BGM for SMB3 is simply Do-Re-Mi-Fa So-La-Si-Do Do (same as 1st Do).

23. It's possible to clear Super Mario 64 without obtaining any stars with the help of certain tricks. There's also confirmed record where one cleared the game in roughly 7.5 minutes.

24. There was a rare Game & Watch version of SMB. (Yes, I went beyond the trivia list to find the information on the game)

Ah, Game & Watch. Another distant but nostalgic relic from my childhood... I didn't recognize the brand name so I looked online and realized that I used to play the Game & Watch Donkey Kong Jr. before Game Boy came out.

25. There was an arcade version of VS. SMB, based on a mix of SMB & SMB2 but with some differences. It was released after Nintendo pulled out of the arcade market and therefore wasn't sold in Japan. It's available in some arcade stores in Japan now thanks to parallel imports.

Conclusion:
いや～まさかスーパーマリオブラザーズにはそんなキャラ設定があったんだ、ちょっとストーリーっぽい感じですね。やっぱり日本人は細かい事でも気を付けるですね、いい意味で。さすが社会現象とも言える、ゲーム業界を代表する作品の一つに違いないでしょう。

ああ、また遊びたいとなった…