Mario Kart Wii has a very bizarre difference between versions whereby in the Italian and Korean versions only, the game seems to have been adjusted for light sensitivity.

Left: Luigi being repeatedly overtaken in the US English version.
Right: Luigi being repeatedly overtaken in the Korean version.

Whenever a racer’s position changes, the position indicator flashes white in nearly all language versions of the game (US English, UK English, Japanese, Canadian French, European French, German, Latin American Spanish and European Spanish). However, in the Italian and Korean versions, the flash is removed, causing the animation to appear more subtle.

While it is relatively common for such adjustments to be made for versions released later (such as the Korean version), the Italian version was released as part of the European disc, so it was finalized at the same time as all other European language versions. This presents an odd potential scenario where it was specifically the Italian localizer who looked at the animation, decided it was too bright, and removed the flash while not telling any other Nintendo of Europe colleagues, or telling them and them deciding against it. Then, the Korean localizer could have examined them all, decided the Italian localizer’s idea was worth repeating, and done the same in that version.

Alternatively, this could have been some inexplicable glitch that only appeared in those two versions somehow, which would be even more notable.

Source: B_squo

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

In Paper Mario: The Origami King, a hallway in Bowser’s Castle contains several atmospheric paintings of Bowser, as well as one of King Olly. Here are the textures for the paintings, extracted from the game’s files.

Source: noclip.website

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

Original rendition of the Super Mario World map, alongside original illustrations of some Koopalings, from a 1992 issue of the British Zero magazine (please zoom in to view details).

Source: sketch_the_cow

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

Illustration from a 1998 issue of the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine, featuring a hybrid of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. The caption translates, fittingly, to “Maric”.

Source: vghistory

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

Rare officially licensed 1991 Super Mario Bros. jigsaw puzzle depicting Mario and Peach escaping through an enemy-filled forest.

Source: k_en_d_used_items

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

In Super Mario World, Mario’s punching animation when he is climbing on the backside of a fence suffers from a discoloration in his arm, whereby part of it is pink.

Top: this can be seen most easily as Fire Mario, since the pinkness of the arm does not change even when Mario’s shirt changes colors to white. The footage uses a glitch whereby a well-timed jump off a rotating panel can cause Mario to climb while mostly unobscured, showing the pink arm more clearly.

Bottom: this is an oversight resulting from how the game stores sprites. Each sprite is made out of 8x8 pixel squares (which are called “sprites” on the hardware level, not to be confused with the colloquial term “sprite” meaning the full image of a character) whereby each is assigned a palette. The two squares on the right, containing Mario’s arm, are accidentally assigned a different palette (also visible by the outlines becoming black instead of remaining brown).

Source: MrPyt1001, Kaizoman, Mister Man

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

In Mario & Luigi: Brothership, in the build-up to Chilliam and Burnadette’s wedding, Mario and Luigi are asked to get a wedding cake. The friendly NPCs all suggest getting a cake from Slippenglide Island while the Extension Corps make a plan to lure Mario and Luigi into a trap with a brochure about a cake from Lottacoins Island.

Since getting the Lottacoins Island cake requires trusting the Extension Corps, most players are more likely to decide to get the Slippenglide Island cake instead, and would not see both cakes unless doing two playthroughs of the game.

Above are the models for the two cakes (top: Slippenglide, bottom: Lottacoins) extracted from the game’s files.

Source: DogToon64

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

In Mario Kart 7, extreme attention to detail was added to the preview of the gliders if Peach is selected as a driver.

If the Paraglider or Swooper gliders are selected, which are attached to the kart at the corners, Peach’s ponytail will be normal. If however a glider is selected that is attached via a pole in the center, Peach’s ponytail will move subtly to the side as though being pushed aside by the glider, for extra realism.

Particularly bizarre is the fact that this is only present in the driver selection screen and not during gameplay. During gameplay Peach’s hair always blows slightly to the side while gliding, regardless of whether there is a pole behind her or not. So this detail was added specifically to make the preview look as good as possible.

Source: B_squo

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings

Packaging of an officially licensed 1996 Super Mario 64 jigsaw puzzle from Japan.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: WaveRace64

A panel from a 2017 issue of the official Futurama comic series (Issue 83, “Bendocchio!”) features a reference to the Mario series by including a couple consisting of a character who is almost identical to Mario except for a lack of an M emblem and an additional set of overall buttons, and a princess character who is very similar to Rosalina except recolored to Peach’s color scheme.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: QuotesFuturama