Mario 101: Part Eight
I gave a 1-up to my Super Mario history series to talk Foreman Spike, Madame Broode, the Mushroom King and field horsehair plants.
Waluigi’s Wikipedia Weirdness
Is Maple from Mario Golf Peach’s secret cousin or does the internet just need to invest in critical reading skills?
Ganon’s Mysterious Origins (Revisited)
Kamen Rider might help explain where the Zelda big bad gets his name.
The Dream Machine Hiding in Super Mario Bros. 2
It’s alluded to in the game’s manual, but you have to look to Doki Doki Panic to understand what it is.
Since When Is There a Telephone in Donkey Kong?
And why was Pauline carrying a landline receiver when Donkey Kong kidnapped her?
Super Mario RPG and the Mystery of the Fifth Card Suit
Yes, there’s a reason Hudson’s Adventure Island uses the same symbol.
Why Can Pokémon Only Say Their Names?
Pikachu and friends can teach us a lot about how humans relate to the natural world.
Mario 101: For Super Players
The weird history of Super Mario, told in one hundred and one stories.
Is There a Vibrator Joke in Super Princess Peach?
It wouldn’t be the only instance of Nintendo letting Mario get risque.
Why Do We Think Mario and Luigi Are From Brooklyn?
Exploring the brothers’ alleged real world origins — and their inexplicable Italian accents.
When Did Luigi Get His Own Look?
The other plumber stood in his brother’s shadow for longer than you’d think.
Is the Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s Rosalina Reveal Canon?
Plus an argument why Shigeru Miyamoto does not, in fact, hate story elements.
Super Mario Bros. and the Legend of ‘Drain Man’
How the 1993 live-action movie connects to 1988’s Rain Man but also 1989’s The Wizard.
What Is the Etymology of ‘Power-Up’?
And how did this term become part of the western video game lexicon?
Who Put the ‘P’ in the Fire Flower?
An early build of Super Mario Bros. features a certain letter that would reappear on items in later games.
Who Put the ‘Kong’ in ‘Donkey Kong’?
The competing, contradicting explanations for the strangest name in video games.
Why Did the Super Mario Anime Make Toad Female?
A longstanding rumor states that the Mushroom Retainers were meant to be Peach’s handmaidens.
Was the Legend of Zelda Actually Named After Its Heroine?
Why the princess of Hyrule may not technically be the series’ title character.
Is There a Sex Joke Hidden in Plain Sight in Zelda II?
An investigation into those women who ask Link to “come inside.”