MIPS

MIPS
MIPS, in his original Super Mario 64 appearance
Species	Rabbit
First appearance	Super Mario 64 (1996)
Latest appearance	Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020)

“Yeeoww! Unhand me, brute! I'm late, so late, I must make haste! This shiny thing? Mine! It's mine. Finders, keepers, losers... Late, late, late... Ouch! Take it then! A gift from Bowser, it was. Now let me be! I have a date! I cannot be late for tea!”

—MIPS, Super Mario 64

MIPS, also known as the Yellow Rabbit, is a minor character found in the basement of the Mushroom Castle in Super Mario 64. He is Princess Peach's pet rabbit.

History

Super Mario 64

In Super Mario 64, MIPS first appears after the player collects 15 Power Stars. When Mario approaches MIPS, the latter runs away. After Mario catches him, he rewards Mario with a Power Star, saying that Bowser gave it to him. MIPS appears in the basement a second time after Mario has collected 50 Power Stars, and he can catch MIPS again for another Power Star. MIPS does not reappear for the rest of the game after that.

Along with Mario, MIPS was the first character created for Super Mario 64. He was used extensively in early Nintendo 64 test simulations and ultimately made it into the final game because the development team liked him so much. MIPS is named after the MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) microprocessor, the instruction set used in the Nintendo 64. Several of MIPS's lines reference the White Rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

MIPS does not make a reappearance in Super Mario 64 DS, instead being replaced by the rabbits scattered throughout the castle for each player character to find. They are modeled after MIPS, but they do not give up Power Stars. Instead, they give up keys to unlock minigames in the Rec Room. Two of Mario's, one of Wario's, and one of Yoshi's rabbits can be found in the same location MIPS was in the original game. The rabbits are also internally named "MIP" with their key known as a "MIP Key," with the former corroborated by the Shogakukan guide.

Mario no Bōken Land

MIPS in Mario no Bōken Land

MIPS makes a cameo in the Super Mario 64 storyline of Mario no Bōken Land.

Mario Party 3

MIPS makes a cameo appearance in Mario Party 3 in Woody Woods, where several can be seen gathering near the item shop. MIPS appears in three colors: yellow, pink, and orange, which are colors matching the rabbits that replace MIPS in Super Mario 64 DS (the only absent color is green).

Minecraft

In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, the Gold Rabbits are re-skinned to look like MIPS.

Gallery

• 

  Model of MIPS from Super Mario 64

• 

  Full map of Woody Woods, with yellow, pink, and orange rabbits assimilating MIPS around the Item Shop

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  Gameplay of Woody Woods at the Item Shop, where MIPS-like rabbits can be seen

• 

  A Gold Rabbit in Minecraft that looks like MIPS

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ミップ Mippu	MIP
French	MIPS[?]	-
German	MIPS[?]	-
Italian	Mips	-
	MIPS

Trivia

• Mario was originally able to throw MIPS, but this was removed.
• Originally, a rabbit that is most likely MIPS was going to be raced, but it ended up being replaced by Koopa the Quick in the final due to Mario not being able to keep up with it because it was too fast during testing.