A Super Mario variety blog.
Screenshots, photos, sprites, gifs, scans and more from all around the world of Super Mario Bros.
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As is well known, the game known as Super Mario Bros. 2 internationally was originally a non-Mario Japan-only game called Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, which was retooled into a Mario game for worldwide markets.
However, coincidentally, the original 1987 Japanese print ad for Doki Doki Panic did in fact feature Mario despite the game having nothing to do with him at that point in time yet*. Mario is shown shaking hands with Imajin, the protagonist of the game, to demonstrate the collaboration between Nintendo, the developers, and Fuji TV, the publishers and IP holders of Yume Kōjō, a tech event the game was originally made to promote.
As such, this ad could be seen as an inadvertent foreshadowing of the future of the game, especially with how out of the four playable characters in it, Imajin was actually the one replaced by Mario in Super Mario Bros. 2.
*at least in its released form; according to interviews, the game did start development as a Mario demo before proceeding development with the Yume Kōjō IP, which also explains the inclusion of POW Blocks and Super Stars in that game even before it became Super Mario Bros. 2.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: Wifi_h1024
In the character selection menu of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Luigi has a unique dance animation accompanied by him continuously chanting “Luigi, Luigi, oh yeah, oh yeah”. In-game, this can never be heard without the menu music in the background.
Here, the chant is isolated from the game’s files.
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Super Mario Sunshine contains an unused “violent spill” mechanic in its code that, when activated, causes Mario to involuntarily spray water in a large radius whenever he is hit by an enemy.
The droplets are not merely cosmetic, but can clean goop and affect enemies just like a regular FLUDD spray. Note the Strollin’ Stus around Mario becoming stunned as a result of the spill.
It is possible this was removed from the finished game since it makes enemies less effective, as every hit Mario takes from an enemy has a chance to stun or damage that enemy from the spill, making them much less threatening.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: sunn0
Animal Crossing: New Leaf contains a variety of fortune cookies with fortunes that may be exchanged for merchandise relating to other Nintendo franchises.
Every fortune relates either directly or tangentially to the item received upon turning it in. Here are the Mario-related fortunes in the game, from left to right (please zoom in to read the text):
Row 1: Mushroom Mural, Block Floor, Peach’s Parasol
Row 2: Toad Hat, Block, Coin
Row 3: Goal Pole, Fire Flower, Super Mushroom
Row 4: Green Shell, Super Star, 1-Up Mushroom
Row 5: ? Block, Pipe, Fire Bar
Row 6: Bill Blaster, Yoshi’s Egg, Triple Red Shells
Row 7: Bad Bro’s Stache, Big Bro’s Mustache, Triple Bananas
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Top: in Super Mario Galaxy 2, rolling Thwomp-like enemies called Rhomps appear on a slide in Slipsand Galaxy. While they appear to be simply a group of the same kind of enemy, internally, there are actually two different kinds of Rhomp objects.
Bottom: every time two Rhomps are seen rolling side by side, they are actually a separate fused “Double Rhomp” enemy (with its own dedicated model), and not merely two regular Rhomp objects next to each other. It is unknown why this implementation was chosen since putting two regular Rhomps in the same position instead results in the exact same behavior.
From an in-universe perspective, this may imply some Rhomps are fused to other Rhomps forever in a sort of symbiotic or partner relationship.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: 1, 2
Top: in 1991, a jazz arrangement album for Super Mario World was released in Japan. The arrangements were composed by Koji Kondo, but the sound producer and player of the alto and sopranino saxophones on the tracks was established jazz musician Sadao Watanabe.
Bottom: in a 1990 interview with Koji Kondo, he talked about how he was a big fan of Sadao Watanabe growing up, making it heartwarming that his own music reached a level of renown where one of his favorite musicians would later perform it for an official album.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: shmuplations
Donkey Kong 64 contains a unique built-in wireframe mode used for debugging. This is distinct from generic wireframe views used in modern games, which are a function of the game engine and look mostly the same across all games written in a specific engine. Note how the wireframes in Donkey Kong 64 are thicker than they are usually drawn.
The footage demonstrates the mode using the DK Rap.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Source: lookatthewindow3599
Unique officially licensed 2007 Mario Party 8 deck of cards from Japan. Each card except the jokers displays part of an official render of the game, with the actual value of the card only being visible when the light hits it from a certain angle, due to being printed in a glossier material (note how only specific cards have their values visible in the photos).
However, the corners of each card do have the abbreviations printed in regular ink so that they can still be used without needing to constantly shift the cards during play to see the values.
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