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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Cover of a 1988 issue of the Japanese Famicom Hisshoubon magazine, featuring original pixel art of Super Mario Bros. 3.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: VGArtAndTidbits
Full 1991 Japanese commercial for Kirin Lemon soda, featuring a Super Mario World cross-promotion. Note how despite creating a variety of Super Mario World-inspired scenes with drawings and claymation, no assets from the game were used, and the level layouts are original designs as well.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: JohnAndersen21
Poster with a stylized Mario scene, included with a 2006 issue of Nintendo Power (please zoom in to view details). This poster was designed by artist Gabe Swarr, known for artwork showcased at the iam8bit video game art exhibition.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Source: NP (US), Issue 204, 2006
In Super Mario RPG, Fireworks are an expensive item that can be bought from a mole in Moleville for 500 coins (half of Mario’s maximum coin carrying capacity). The game never suggests these are used for anything except being part of a trade sequence where they can be exchanged for a Shiny Stone, which can open the secret Culex boss battle or itself be further exchanged.
However, a secret use for these is that - independent of how many Mario actually has in his inventory - the game keeps track how many of them were purchased on that save file. Depending on the number of Fireworks Mario has purchased before beating the final boss, the shape of the fireworks in the credits will change between a Mushroom, a Fire Flower and a Star.
The same is also true for the Nintendo Switch version.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: VGMuseum1
In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the zero-gravity space section during the Wonder Effect of the Cosmic Hoppos level is reached by jumping on a special Hoppo that bounces Mario many screens up into the sky.
The combination of the Bubble Flower and the Boosting Spin Jump badge allows Mario to gain arbitrary height by blowing a bubble, spinning, bouncing off the bubble, and repeating this indefinitely. This can actually be used to very slowly manually make one’s way to space, which has been sped up in the footage.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: LooygiBros
Concept artwork for the 2023 Super Mario Bros. movie.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: NinEverything
Unused sleeping animation found in the files of Wario Land 4, likely intended to be used when Wario is left idle for long enough, similar to how Mario falls asleep in many different games under the same circumstances.
Interestingly, in the finished game, Wario does the opposite of sleeping when left idle - beginning to do exercise with dumbbells or a jumping rope instead. It is possible that this more standard sleeping animation was created early on in development before the designers decided that Wario’s personality would be more suited for being always active.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: WL4 (NA, GBA)
Top: unique illustration of a glitch found in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels whereby Mario is immune to Hammer Bros.’ hammers as long as he is touching the left side of the screen, seen in a 1986 issue of the Japanese Family Computer Magazine.
Bottom: game footage of the glitch in action, for reference. Note that the glitch also exists in Super Mario Bros., but since Hammer Bros. do not usually move to the left in the same way in that game (only doing this if Mario spends too much time lingering on the same screen), the glitch is far less useful.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Source: FCM (Japan), Issue 25, 1986
Top: in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario and Luigi’s stage entrance animations involve them jumping out of Warp Pipes. It is difficult to notice during regular gameplay unless comparing them directly, but Mario’s pipe is a darker green than Luigi’s.
Bottom: however, internally, the textures for the two pipes are actually swapped in their brightness relative to the objects as they are seen in-game. On the left is Mario’s pipe texture, which is light green but is made darker at runtime with a shader. On the right is Luigi’s pipe texture, which is dark green but made much lighter with a shader.
It is unknown why the developers chose such a bizarre way of implementing the pipe colors.
Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source