In the kiosk demo version of Mario Kart DS, some of the paintings on the Luigi’s Mansion track actually moved, shaking and bulging out as though trying to escape in case of the Boo paintings, and simply shaking in case of the Chauncey paintings, as seen in the footage.

This was removed completely in the finished version of the game for an unknown reason.

However, the functionality was restored when the track was brought back for Mario Kart 7, though with the alteration that all paintings in that version are Boo paintings and as such all of them move, instead of only specific ones like in the Mario Kart DS demo.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: davidevgen, bro3256

In Super Mario Bros. 3 (shown here in the Super Mario All-Stars version, but equally applicable to the NES and GBA versions), Boomerang Bros. are coded to have a 50% chance to jump every 256 frames (4.26 seconds).

However, the timer used to count these frames is not tied to whether the game is actually running, and continues counting even when the game is paused. As such, if the game is paused while the Boomerang Bro is in the middle of a jump, and unpaused when it is time for him to jump again, the Boomerang Bro will do a mid-air jump.

This is shown in the footage, where three lengthy pauses are used to force the Boomerang Bro to make a quadruple jump. With enough patience and either luck or tool-assisted luck manipulation, it is possible to make the Boomerang Bro ascend up to an arbitrary height, including completely off the top of the level.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: MrPyt1001

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, there is a unique and extremely obscure attack that a Snifit can perform whereby it will knock away one of Mario’s attack slots.

For this to occur, Mario must get a jackpot at the Battle Spinner to get 3 attack slots, then attack the Snifit, and not kill it. While a number of players must have certainly experienced this attack on their playthroughs, its existence did not receive dedicated documentation online until 2024, 12 years after the game’s release.

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

In the prototype version of Yoshi’s Island, the entire concept of Kamek creating the bosses by enlarging regular enemies has not yet been implemented, so the bosses are simply already large creatures to begin with.

This allows the game to do something that was impossible to do in the final version, which is to have the already large forms of the bosses appear before the battle starts. The footage shows the approach to the Naval Piranha boss battle in the prototype, where tendrils emerge from the water and lure Yoshi in before the actual boss appears. While not shown in the footage, the tendrils also hurt Yoshi if he touches them.

While it is unfortunate that this had to be removed as it would no longer fit the concept in the finished game, it was replaced with the equally memorable Easter egg whereby Yoshi can defeat Naval Piranha before Kamek can enlarge it, skipping the entire battle.

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Officially licensed 2026 Mario Kart World Dash Food plush keychain from Japan, depicting a Cheep Cheep taiyaki (a type of fish-shaped cake, usually filled with red bean paste) that can be found in-game in the market at Cheep Cheep Falls.

Of note is the fact that for maximum realism, the plush does not depict a perfectly shaped taiyaki. Instead, it includes bits of extraneous crust around the perimeter of the cake that is a byproduct of the baking process, whereby batter is being poured into a mold (similar to a waffle iron), and some batter may be poured over or ooze out the sides, solidifying into a thin crust.

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

The 2014 Japanese official website for Pokémon Art Academy for the Nintendo 3DS featured a gallery of images, one of which was a Pikachu with a Mario-inspired hat and a Piplup with a Luigi-inspired hat.

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Top: in the box art of Super Smash Bros., Mario seems to just be jumping towards Pikachu in an action pose.

Middle: however, zooming in extremely closely on the space between his ear and his right hand (viewer’s left) shows that there is some object behind him.

Bottom: as it turns out, the original version of this artwork that was reconfigured for use in the box art showed that Mario is in fact holding a Star Rod (and attacking Fox instead of Pikachu).

As such, Mario has been holding a Star Rod in the box art all along with only a tiny sliver of it being visible.

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

To promote the release of Super Mario Advance 2 in 2002, Nintendo of America donated $7,500 to PAWS/LA, a non-profit Los Angeles organization providing assistance with pet care to specific groups in need.

While other promotional activities at the time also featured Nintendo making donations, those appear to be related to the game in question, such as a donation of 1000 doors to Habitat for Humanity to promote Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

If any such relation was intended here, the presence of Yoshi during the promotion suggests that the angle Nintendo of America may have been going for was presenting Yoshi as Mario’s pet or equivalent.

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In Super Mario Odyssey, the shopkeepers in the Seaside Kingdom are Bubblainians riding on colorful Dorries. If Mario picks up a small seed, talks to one of them, then immediately throws the seed as soon as the shopkeeper finishes talking and presses A again as the seed hits the shopkeeper’s head, the game will become unplayable.

Everything will freeze except Mario and the shopkeeper (note the frozen Dorrie, frozen water, etc.), and the only action still available to the player is to rotate the camera, as seen in the footage. The game must be restarted to continue playing.

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

Officially licensed shy Boo mirror.

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