Mario's face
- “I'm-a bet you can't-a do this! Wheeeeeeeee! Ahahaaha!”
- —Mario's face, Mario Teaches Typing 2
Mario's face is a floating, disembodied head of Mario. The gameplay element of an interactive floating head of Mario has appeared in many games, but was first solidified in Super Mario 64.
Mario's floating head (animated with VActor technology) first appeared in Mario Teaches Typing and its sequel Mario Teaches Typing 2. He narrated players' lessons and actions as they learned to type, and also made lots of random small talk. Later the head appeared on the title screen of Super Mario 64, where players could tug and stretch his facial features, such as nose, ears, cheeks, chin, and hat, to humorous positions. As Super Mario 64 was Nintendo's first title for the Nintendo 64, an interactive Mario face served to familiarize the player to the Nintendo 64 controller without worrying about actual gameplay. Additionally, if the player gets gets a Game Over, the Mario head will appeared dazed and beat up.
Mario's face later appeared in the Mario Party 2 version of Face Lift (also in Mario Party 1, but with Bowser's face and no other faces), where the player has to alter the face of Mario or other characters in the game. The more accurately the face is changed to match a picture, the more points the player receives. The player who earns the most points wins. Soon in the next game Mario Party 3, Mario's face is one of the faces (alongside Wiggler and Toad) to appear in the minigame Picture Imperfect. The player must get his M on his hat right, nose right, mustache right, mouth right and eyes right.
In the remake Super Mario 64 DS, the Mario head appeared along with a Yoshi head. In this game, Mario's face is able to turn into an ink outline version of itself, which can be distorted with the stylus or various buttons. The player can also erase the face and draw his or her own creations.
Mario's face is also a feature in some of the mini-games in Super Mario 64 DS and New Super Mario Bros. When the player opens a chest in Boom Box, the chest makes a sound, astonishing the Mario head on the top screen. If the player makes a mistake, the Mario head frowns, while if the player succeeds, the Mario head beams joyously at the player. If the player gets a Game Over in any mini-game, Mario's face will yell and look dazed. When a player clears any mini-game round, the Mario face is astonished, then bursts out laughing.
Game Appearances
| Title | Description | Release Date | System/Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Teaches Typing 2 | Makes small talk with Player while playing. | 1996 | Computers |
| Super Mario 64 | Appears on title screen, speaks occasionally. Can be altered with hand. | 1996 | Nintendo 64 |
| Mario Party 2 | Must be altered in the mini-game Face Lift. | 1999 | Nintendo 64 |
| Pokémon Stadium 2 | Appears on a TV screen, and appears exactly as in Super Mario 64. | 2000 | Nintendo 64 |
| Super Mario 64 DS | Face appears on title screen, if touched with stylus becomes a sketch. Also it observes several mini-games. | 2004 | Nintendo DS |
| New Super Mario Bros. | Appears and observes some mini-games. | 2006 | Nintendo DS |
Beta elements
- Main article: Mario's face/Beta elements
Quotes
All from the Mario Teaches Typing series.
- "I'm-a going to-a fly for you. VRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM."
- "On, no! I'm-a fallen, and I can't-a get up! That is my impression of American advertisement."
- "Hmmm. Oh. Nice computer you've got here. Can I have it?"
- "My nose-a feels-a funny against this screen. Hmm."
- "Have you seen the Princess? PRINCESS! Hmm."
- "Hey! I'm-a tursty. You got something to drink-y?"
- "Hey! I'm-a hungry. Have you got any food?"
- "Are you ready to Mario-cize? Okey dokey, you do just like Mario, OK?"
- "That's hard for you, but easy for me. You know why?"
- "IIII ain't got no BODY!"
- "Hey, you got a good joke for Mario?"
- "Can I sing a song for you?"
- "When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's amore, that's amore."
- "When the eel comes out, and takes a bite of your snout, that's amore, that's amore."
