Bowser vs. Koopa
Nintendo standardized Peach’s name in all territories. Why didn’t they do the same with Bowser?
Is WarioWare Hiding an Homage to a Forgotten Nintendo Heroine?
Alice from Balloon Kid (and Balloon Fight in general) lives on in Lulu from WarioWare.
Mallow’s Name Is a Better Pun in the Japanese Version of Super Mario RPG
He’s a marshmallow, obviously, but there’s a lot more wordplay going on involving Mario and mushrooms.
Localization Drift and Hidden History in Castlevania: Nocturne
The Netflix series features two vamp villains, Olrox and Drolta, that are inspired by sources from outside the Castlevania canon.
Princess Daisy’s Long Road to Being Playable in Super Mario Bros. Wonder
“Hi, I’m Daisy — and I’m no longer a B-tier Super Mario character.”
Sci-fi Stripteases in Barbarella, Metroid and Mach Rider
Metroid’s connection to the 1968 sci-fi classic may help answer a question about Mach Rider’s gender.
Is Super Mario Wonder’s Prince Florian a Nod to the Mario Anime?
Surely all these nods to the Mario anime can’t be a coincidence, right? Well…
Secrets of the Super Mario RPG Shaman
One minor Super Mario RPG character actually did make the transition to Paper Mario.
Nintendo’s First Playable Female Protagonist Isn’t Female in Japan
Clu Clu Land’s Bubbles the Bubblefish is female in English-speaking territories — and she may or may not be a fish?
Why Did Nintendo Change Foreman Spike’s Name?
This might be the first instance of the movie’s success affecting the games that inspired it.
Foreman Spike Was the Original Wario
If you saw the Super Mario Bros. movie and wondered who Spike guy was, this is the post for you.
A History of Toad’s Gender… One Way or Another
The most famous mushroom in video games wasn't supposed to be male or female.
Did Super Mario Bros. 3 Change Our Understanding of the Tanuki?
Tanuki don’t fly and don’t have ringed tails… until Mario told the world they did.
The Indie Pop Legacy of Super Mario Land 2
And the very curious way that pop music interacts with VGM… but doesn’t usually acknowledge it.
Yoshi vs. the Loch Ness Monster
The legacy of Nessie looms weirdly large in the Super Mario games.
How Final Fantasy Taught Me the Word ‘Jihad’
From censorship to sensitivity, there’s a lot to unpack in the story behind FFVI’s Crusader summon.
Bahamut and Behemoth: One and the Same?
Final Fantasy’s king of dragons has a special link to one of the game’s recurring enemies.
Sea Hag or Sagahin? A Quick History of an RPG Water Monster
Final Fantasy’s resident mermen come from D&D but draw on a richer and weirder variety of sources.
Meet Mega Man’s Brother, Bruce
It’s GamePro’s fault that I was technically wrong about Mega Man III on the playground back in 1990.
The Story Behind Super Mario RPG’s Valentina
Originally, Valentina was planned for a different storyline, but no worries — she always had a parrot on her head.