List of rumors and urban legends

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Being a long-running and popular franchise, there have been various rumors, misconceptions, and urban legends regarding fictional elements, production history, and gameplay elements within the Mario franchise.

Production

Donkey Kong's name origin

There are several explanations for the name origin of Donkey Kong. According to the myth and its variations, Donkey Kong is a mistranslated[1], a typo[2], or a blurred fax[3] from Monkey Kong. There is even an explanation that donkey is used to avoid copyright issues with King Kong.[4] Monkey and donkey are, first, two completely different names in Japanese, so it is unlikely to be a translation error. While typos resulting in popular names do exist, the myth's multiple variations make this explanation dubious at best.

Another explanation is that Shigeru Miyamoto looked up the English variation of "stubborn" in the dictionary and found "donkey"[5], although, normally, it would be unusual to find "donkey" lumped with other adjectives in the dictionary.

Shigeru Miyamoto himself has asserted multiple times that he used the word "donkey" from an English dictionary to convey stubbornness and stupidity.[6]

Inspiration for the Super Mushroom

Rumours have questioned the Super Mushroom's origin, and it has been suggested that they are inspired by real-life drugs.[7][8] Similarities to both mushrooms in Alice in Wonderland and Amanita Muscaria have been pointed out.[9] Miyamoto himself has denied a connection to Alice in Wonderland, and said he drew inspiration from enchanted foodstuffs in myths and folklore.[10] Miyamoto and Iwata have talked about how the Super Mushroom was first meant to be a gameplay mechanic that would appeal to the player as a "good item".[11]

Gunpei Yokoi's departure

It is frequently said that the poor commercial performance of the Virtual Boy caused Gunpei Yokoi to leave Nintendo, with variations claiming Yokoi left "out of shame" or was otherwise demoted by Nintendo prior to his departure.Template:Refneeded One article goes as far as to claim that the Virtual Boy was somehow indirectly responsible for the car incident that killed Yokoi.

However, in an interview made for the book Nintendo Magic, a business partner of Yokoi, Yoshihiro Taki, stated that he had long planned to retire from Nintendo and would've done so regardless of the Virtual Boy's performance. The biographical book 横井軍平ゲーム館 provides a similar explanation, stating Gunpei Yokoi had grown cynical about the video game industry and that the Virtual Boy actually delayed his departure, as he decided to design one last successful product (the Game Boy Pocket) as to not look like he was parting on bad terms.

Larry Koopa's namesake

Several articles (such as this one by the British Official Nintendo Magazine) purports that Larry Koopa is named after the talk show host Larry King, perhaps due to the writer's inability to think of a famous musical "Larry". According to former Nintendo of America employee Dayvv Brooks, however, Larry is also named after a musician like his siblings: in this case, Larry Mullen, Jr., the drummer for the rock band U2.[12]

Mario and Luigi's last names

With the introduction of Luigi as Mario's brother, the pair began to be collectively referred to as the Mario brothers. Because of the title, many have been led to believe that Mario and Luigi's last names are actually "Mario". This was further pushed by the Super Mario Bros. Hollywood film released in 1993, which uses "Mario" as the brothers' surname. Several other isolated cases have also appeared that use the "Mario" last name, such as the Prima Games Mario Party 2 guide. Charles Martinet, Mario's current voice actor, also gave this as his response when asked about Mario's last name.[13] However, various Nintendo employees and representatives, including creator Shigeru Miyamoto, have stated several times that Mario and Luigi do not have a last name.[14][15]

Super Mario Galaxy DS

In December 2007, a video showing a supposedly downloadable, Nintendo DS version of Super Mario Galaxy emerged.[16] The footage showed Mario and Luigi jumping from the Wii to the DS using a previously unknown, hidden galaxy unlockable after collecting every Power Star as both Mario and Luigi and the DS' Wi-Fi download capabilities and both brothers together in the game's galaxies, implying a co-op mode. The video also stated that each DS star collected would be redeemable for 10 Wii points. When asked about this, Nintendo stated that they do not comment on rumors. A slightly shorter, more stable version of the same footage was later posted on the video-sharing site Stage6 by user psycho3ler. It was shown to belong to Pablo Belmonte, a video editor behind a "Nintendo ON" hoax video posted in 2005. The extended footage on Stage6 even shows a Nintendo ON-shaped planet.

Super Mario FX

A rumour suggests that a 3D platformer named "Super Mario FX" was in development for the SNES, which would have used the Super FX chip to display 3D graphics. Variants of this rumour claim that the game became or was otherwise the inspiration for Super Mario 64.

As SnesCentral elaborated, there is no actual proof that such a game was in development (which would have been unlikely due to the timetable of Super Mario 64's development), and claims of its existence seem to originate from IGN misinterpreting an interview in the January 1996 issue of Nintendo Power, where Shigeru Miyamoto stated he got the idea of developing a 3D Mario platformer (without specifying platform) while developing Star Fox, a game released on the SNES that used the Super FX chip. Furthermore, said article's writer contacted Dylan Cuthbert, who confirms that no 3D Mario platformer was in development for the SNES and that "Super Mario FX" was actually a codename for the chip itself.[17]

Fiction

Ashley's age

It is commonly claimed among online fans that Ashley is 9/10-years old in Japanese WarioWare material and that her age was "changed" for the western localization. The claim was featured for a time on the wiki's Ashley and Red page, although it was later removed for being unsourced.

While there are hints that Ashley is meant to be younger than 15-years old (such as her voice and Ashley referring to herself in the third person in her Miiverse Sketch Masterpiece Collection video, a verbal tic that usually denotes young, immature characters in Japanese media) she has no specific stated age in any Japanese WarioWare media, including the official Japanese WarioWare: Touched! website[18].

Clawdia Koopa

A popular rumor has that an unspecified UK Nintendo magazine issue once joked that Bowser's wife is named "Clawdia Koopa". However, despite the rumor's popularity, no scan or direct quotation of the statement has surfaced. Furthermore, most sites making this claim attribute it to "Nintendo Power UK", a publication that does not exist in that region.

The idea that Bowser has a wife named Clawdia Koopa likely originates from the Mario fansite Lemmy's Land. Lemmy Koopa, the webmaster, created an original character named Clawdia to play the role of Bowser's wife in his fanfiction. She appeared on the site as early as 2002.[19] As Lemmy Koopa has always been open about Clawdia being his original character, it's most likely that a third party started the "Nintendo Power UK" rumor.

King K. Rool's costumes are separate characters in Japan

King K. Rool's trophy description in Super Smash Bros. Brawl states that "His brother, Kaptain K. Rool, made an appearance in the game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest". This lead to several fans wondering if this was a change in the Japanese localization, which, due to the broken telephone effect, was morphed into a "fact" that King K. Rool's disguises are separate characters in Japan.

In truth, Japanese material for the Donkey Kong Country series also have K. Rool's aliases being mere disguises[20], and thus the trophy description is merely an error. Furthermore, several of Super Smash Bros. Brawl's trophy descriptions features errors about the subject they describe, including ones about games director Masahiro Sakurai worked on, an example being Kirby's latest appearance, which was actually Kirby: Squeak Squad, was listed as Kirby: Canvas Curse.

Gameplay

Luigi in Super Mario 64

One of the most famous rumors surrounding Super Mario 64 is that Luigi is available as a secret playable character, often citing a statue with small characters that purportedly spelled "L is real 2401" as proof, (though the characters can also be read as "Eternal Star"). Many theories regarding the meaning of the "L is real 2401" message were circulated, such as doing 2401 laps around the statue in order to make Luigi appear[21]. After receiving several fake methods, the review site IGN eventually offered a $100 (US) reward for an authentic method of unlocking Luigi[22], but as the staff suspected, Luigi's inclusion in Super Mario 64 was a myth, and no proof to the contrary was forthcoming[23]. Nintendo itself acknowledged the rumours in the 1998 April Fools' issue of Nintendo Power, which stated that it would discuss the "L is real 2401" message on the non-existent page 128.

While his presence in the original Super Mario 64 was nothing more than a rumour, Luigi was eventually playable in the remake, Super Mario 64 DS.

Laser Suit in Super Mario World

In late 2006, a video was posted on YouTube showing off a secret exit in the Top Secret Area reached by leaping into a "Warp Pipe" between the two left question blocks. Said warp would take the player to a hidden goal, which would in turn lead to a level on the island above called "???". In this level is a Hint Block containing a congratulatory message from the Nintendo staff presenting the Laser Suit, which would have the properties of the cape and allow Mario to shoot lasers. The suit was actually created by Super Mario World hacker KPhoenix, who made the level and added the message "so people would be fooled on Youtube."[24].

Luigi's hanged shadow

File:Hanging Luigi Shadow.jpg
Luigi's shadow supposedly having been hanged.

In the game Luigi's Mansion, the player must go to the Telephone Room after beating the Boss Battle of the Area 3. Within these calls, the player must have Luigi holding the the phone and wait until a lightning strikes: Luigi's shadow appears to be much different from Luigi itself that it seems he has been hanged. After being noted, some speculation[25] began to show up: some people think the shadow indicates that Luigi is really dead. Others have suggested that Luigi's Mansion was in production a more violent and dark game than the final product.[26]

The shadow is most likely a result of the camera angle and the lighting properties: when Luigi phones, the camera slightly changes its position, angling up and zooming in. Since the lightning "strikes from the camera", the shadow is actually misplaced. The shadow matches Luigi's pose; one of his supposed arms is actually the tube of the Poltergust 3000, where the "rope" around Luigi's neck is the flashlight and the Game Boy Horror; the idea that he is being "hanged" based on the silhouette is possibly a case of pareidolia that matches the game's dark themes.

Rosalina in Mario Tennis Open

Sometime after the release of Mario Tennis Open, a Nindori magazine scan with Rosalina's head over the QR code used to unlock Black Yoshi in the game started appearing on Japanese websites.[27] At a later point, however, another scan appeared stating that she had been replaced with Luma.

Waluigi in Super Mario 64 DS

File:SM64DSWaluigi.png
The "Purple Prizes" image.

In 2007, rumors about Waluigi appearing in Super Mario 64 DS started, similar to the original Super Mario 64 Luigi rumours. Many fans even suggested that the original "L is Real 2401" statue would be involved in accessing Waluigi in the sequel, and various fake ways to unlock him were put forth[28].

One of the more popular pieces of evidence was a fake magazine scan titled "Purple Prizes." It stated that Waluigi could be unlocked by collecting every Power Star and becoming "the fastest foot racer in the land", then triggering a hidden switch to reveal his door and defeating the "Rabbit King" to collect the key; the page also described his standard and Power Flower abilities. The "scan" was created by Andrew Brown, who edited a custom-made Waluigi model into game screenshots and posted the image onto his DeviantART account as well as some small gaming forums as an April Fool's joke in 2005, though it quickly spiked in popularity. Some began to state that the image has been posted onto IGN and that the "scan" was from an issue of Nintendo Power.[29]

External links

References

  1. ^ "It seems the entire game is a misnomer. Legend has it that the Japanese wonk who developed the game made a mistake when translating the Japanese for 'Monkey Kong' into English. By the time the error was discovered millions of labels had already been printed." 1.Dougherty, Kerry."Pretendo — Oops, Nintendo — Separates Males from Females." The [Norfolk] Virginian-Pilot. 4 January 1997 (p. A11).
  2. ^ "Why exactly the giant ape is called 'Donkey Kong' is a mystery, although I heard one story that sounds plausible: The original arcade game, designed in Japan, was supposed to be called 'Monkey Kong,' but somebody misspelled it and the name stuck." Burrill, William. "Game Boy Cart More Fun Than Barrel of Donkeys." The Toronto Star. 4 August 1994 (p. F5).
  3. ^ "According to Mark Smith, editor of the Club Nintendo magazine, the game should have been called Monkey Kong — it did indeed feature a large gorilla, with nary a donkey to be seen — but there was a typing error on a fax from Nintendo (Japan) to Nintendo" Bailey, Eric. "Is There No Rescue at Hand in This Super Mario Land?" The [London] Daily Telegraph. 23 December 1991.
  4. ^ The word "donkey" is, given a poor grasp of english idiom, the opposite of the word "king" (etymology: donkey — ass — fool; fool is traditionally the opposite of king). The title "Donkey Kong" is supposed to be a clever pun, but it doesn't translate well. It also serves as a way to refer to the movie King Kong without violating copyright.
  5. ^ "[Miyamoto] consulted a Japanese-English dictionary and found 'donkey' listed as an English equivalent to the Japanese word for stupid or goofy. He decided that Kong would be a good name for the gorilla, so he called the game Donkey Kong." Mingo, Jack. How the Cadillac Got Its Fins. New York: HarperBusiness, 1994. ISBN 0-88730-677-2 (pp. 136-141).
  6. ^ "I had always been under the impression that Kong meant gorilla. So I wanted to name him "something-something" Kong. And so, because I wanted to make a dumb character, I went and looked that word up in an English dictionary. When I did that, I found that the word "donkey" had that meaning in addition to that of the animal. And so with that, I gave him the name Donkey Kong, but when we brought him to America, it was said over and over that "That's a weird name... Donkey doesn't mean dumb." But I was just like, "Well, whatever," and left the name that way. (laughs) Even after all that, Donkey Kong is still loved all over America, right? I think that when something is called "weird," there's a strong negative connotation to it, but on the other hand, by leaving it that way I think it definitely sticks in people's minds better. " [1]; "Exclusive Interview with Donkey Kong Creator Shigeru Miyamoto." Nintendo Online Magazine. 1 Feb. 2000. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. [2].
  7. ^ http://www.gamesradar.com/top-7-most-disturbing-things-about-mushroom-kingdom/
  8. ^ http://www.destructoid.com/six-sinister-things-about-super-mario-28654.phtml
  9. ^ http://www.cracked.com/article_18585_the-7-most-wtf-origins-iconic-pop-culture-franchises.html
  10. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2010/sep/13/games-gameculture
  11. ^ http://nintendoeverything.com/iwata-miyamoto-on-the-origins-of-marios-overalls-mushrooms/
  12. ^ Dayvv Brooks (former Nintendo of America employee), on July 18, 2012.
  13. ^ Mario (Charles Martinet) reveals his last name & other tales - San Diego Comic Con 2012 ""What's my last name? That's-a very good question! Uh...uh... that's right! My name's-a Mario Mario. Of course, my brother's name, a-Luigi Mario. And of course, my mama's-a Mama Mia Mario; my papa Papa Pio Mario. Of course, my grandmama Grandmama Mia Mario and my greatpapa et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, first name Mario, last name Mario. Yahoo!""
  14. ^ Totilo, Stephen (August 17, 2012). Nintendo Chief: Mario Is Part Of Gamers' DNA. Kotaku. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  15. ^ Dan Ryckert (September 24, 2014). Mario's Creators Answer Burning Questions About The Series. Game Informer. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  16. ^ [3]
  17. ^ http://www.snescentral.com/article.php?id=1032
  18. ^ Ashley's page on the Japanese WarioWare: Touched! Website, Nintendo of Japan, (accessed February 25, 2014)
  19. ^ "Disclaimer: Let's see... "Super" Mario and all related characters are property of Nintendo and I didn't make them, but I did add Clawdia, Susan, Bagels, and Playful. The stories accredited to me are indeed mine." Lemmy's Land (Archived on August 2, 2002). Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  20. ^ Japanese Wikipedia page for King K. Rool, Wikimedia foundation (accessed August 8, 2014)
  21. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G31sxNAXpks
  22. ^ In Search of Luigi. (November 13, 1996). IGN. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  23. ^ Luigi Still Missing. (November 20, 1996). IGN. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  24. ^ Post on Acmlm's Board by KPhoenix on November 11, 2006. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  25. ^ http://www.vgfacts.com/forums/thread-1559.html
  26. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYRQqqMnmdk
  27. ^ The magazine scan depicting Rosalina's head over the QR code. The katakana says, "Rosetta", Rosalina's Japanese name.
  28. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIq4PtGrOF0
  29. ^ Brown, Andrew (December 7, 2011). The time I fooled the world. Nintendo World Report. Retrieved November 25, 2014.

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