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Unknown Mario - 40 obscure facts and random trivia about Nintendo's mascot

What you don't know about Mario could fill a feature

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69 comments

  • uiop - July 24, 2012 10:27 a.m.

    I've heard that the name Donkey Kong was supposed to be Monkey Kong, but was not translated correctly.
  • YamiLink03 - July 23, 2012 3:46 p.m.

    Also, a lot of people don't realize that the Zelda whistle ins Mario 3 was also used as the first 5 notes to the Ocarina of Time start menu theme. *The More You Know*
  • jhf2187 - July 23, 2012 5:52 a.m.

    MARIO PUNCHES YOSHI IN SUPER MARIO WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check it, when you make Yoshi eat something, it's not out of Yoshi's free will. Seriously, all those goombas and things look nasty. If you look closely, Mario is making Yoshi stick out his tongue by hitting him in the back of the head!!!
  • winner2 - July 23, 2012 5:27 a.m.

    i wonder how many times "Mario" appears in this article
  • jamie5lpm - July 23, 2012 4:57 a.m.

    This may not be 100% related to Mario but its still pretty funny. The reason the Popeye game was cancelled was due to the copy who owned the rights didn't believe that putting Popeye into arcades was the correct idea for them (as nintendo has been making crappy one of handheld versions of it). However the funny story is that, the same company owned the rights to the Flash Gordon movies. One day a young movie maker came up to them with a story and basic script to make a Flash Gordon remake, the company then said no as they didn't feel it was the way forward for their license. That movie maker made the film anyway and then renamed it as Star Wars. I'd really like to believe they changed the decision makers in the company after kinda letting Star Wars and Mario slip by. Then again had they said yes just image how different things could be.
  • cokelogic - July 22, 2012 11:34 p.m.

    Miyamoto wanted Mario to ride a dinosaur in the original Super Mario Bros. but it wasn't possible with the systems limitations. The idea was brought back in Super Mario World. (source: Official Super Mario World Game Guide) Miyamoto also wanted sections of the original Super Mario Bros. to be a side scrolling shooter. The idea was later used in Super Mario Land for Gameboy.
  • caseobeerz - July 22, 2012 3:37 p.m.

    you forgot mario is the referee in mike tyson's punch out for nes
  • zombi3grim - July 22, 2012 11:36 a.m.

    Some of these I knew. Alot I didnt. I usually dont like Henry Gilbert articles due to his blatant hatred of FFVII because of its mainstream status, but I'll make an exception here. Maybe one day he'll grow up.
  • Sinsational - July 22, 2012 11:38 p.m.

    Jesus, you're STILL going on about that? Sounds like you're the one that needs to grow up...
  • zombi3grim - July 23, 2012 12:40 p.m.

    Im sorry, do I know you?
  • Slider64 - July 22, 2012 4:40 a.m.

    If P-wing stands for Paratroopa Wing what about the P-bag item in Super Mario World
  • kevinw729 - July 22, 2012 3:12 a.m.

    It is always interesting to see the corporate 'spin' that is placed on cerebral classic games over time. I have watched Nintendo 'manage' Mario from arcade to console over the years and try and gloss over the origination of the title and character. Now I see "...Shigeru Miyamoto was working on his first game, one featuring cartoon character Popeye..." spin popping up again. This version of Donkey Kong's history was peddled out of Japan only a few years ago. It appeared around the time that a writer dug up the court records over the Paramount Pictures (who produced the 1976 hit King Kong) and Nintendo over the arcade game; stating that it was based on their property. It was revealed that rather than a plumber, Jumpman was a little ape (games original name Monkey Kong) trying to rescue Lady from King Kong - Nintendo settled out of court and shored up the iconography defining Marion from jumpman (it can be dangerous using Google for your research, especially as the Arcade Flyers example is a later version of the original flyer!) http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/flyers_video/nintendo/22007201.jpg The arcade version of Popeye came out from Nintendo and KingFeature the year after DK - interesting again Nintendo building off of a film popularization (Paramount Pictures releasing the film in 1980 that turned into a major flop). http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/flyers_video/nintendo/22003201.jpg Funny how Nintendo works so hard to paper over this portion of their history when in reality all the emerging coin-op companies were flaunting copyright left right and center (Atari and the JAWS fiasco a great example). This is similar to the way Namco tried to hide PUCKMAN's original title till the MAME code was found, then spent thousands trying to stop this being reported!! Shame to see Gameradar perpetuating the same all spin though.
  • zombi3grim - July 22, 2012 11:32 a.m.

    You need to try your research again. Next time, from reputable sources. Pick yourself up from the fail landing you just did, brush the dirt of your clothes and realize not everything you read on the internet is true. Take off the tinfoil hat too.
  • colafred4 - July 22, 2012 12:03 a.m.

    Mario does not cut the rope bridge, he cuts the chain that holds the bridge.
  • colafred4 - July 22, 2012 12:01 a.m.

    Mario does not cut the rope bridge, he cuts the chain that holds the bridge.
  • alexandre-bret - July 21, 2012 9:44 p.m.

    cOOL ARTICLE, I didn't follow Nintendo from 96 until 2005, so I was suprised Toadstool was changed to Peach when I finally came back
  • Shnubby - July 21, 2012 2:16 p.m.

    This was a great article! Mario has such a great history, it's a shame he's not as big as he used to be in terms of popularity... Ps: Why is that "tehtimeisnow" person leaving stupid hate comments on every article that's Nintendo related? Haha.
  • J-Fid - July 21, 2012 4:21 p.m.

    Because it secretly owns every Nintendo product ever released. It probably types its comments with a Power Glove on.
  • Shnubby - July 22, 2012 4:47 a.m.

    ahahahaha! I almost forgot about the power glove!
  • Mariofreak63 - July 21, 2012 1:14 p.m.

    To clarify, the first Mario game to be voiced is actually a game called Mario's Game Gallery. Mario's Game Gallery is a compilation of games published by Interplay Entertainment Corp. and developed by Presage Software, Inc. for the PC. It was released in 1995. It was later re-released as Mario's FUNdamentals, though it was published by Mindscape for the PC version and by Stepping Stone for the Macintosh version. It was also developed by Brainstorm Entertainment. It was released for the Macintosh in 1996, and for the PC in January 1997. It is the first video game to feature Mario voiced by Charles Martinet, though most attribute Super Mario 64 as being the first.

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