"I miss you brother."
"This game just started."
— Mr. L, right after introducing himself to Mario
Too Late.exe is a Super Mario Bros. 3 horror fangame made by Mr. Pixel Productions, the same person who made the Sonic.EXE: One More Saga. It was made for YouTuber Luigikid Gaming's EXE Challenge.
Luigi has died, and Mario has been depressed about it. One day, he enters World 1-1, and breaks down crying before the end of the level. Suddenly, a familiar voice calls out to him, and he follows it to find his brother Luigi, in the flesh... but something doesn't seem right about him.
The game can be found here
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This game contains examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Mario was fighting Bowser on the bridge in Super Mario Bros.. However, he put the axe to the bridge's chain while Luigi was still on it, causing him to fall into the lava. Mario is in deep remorse about it.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Mario, the benign and happy-go-lucky plumber, is critically depressed. Given his brother Luigi is dead, it's rather understandable why.
- Adaptational Villainy: Mr. L, Luigi's ghost, plays this for horror, to the point it flips his core characteristics on its head. Luigi is a Lovable Coward who cares a lot about his brother Mario to the point he'll fight tooth and nail to save his life, best seen in the Luigi's Mansion and Mario & Luigi series. After coming back from Mario accidentally killing him as Mr. L? Chillingly, he wants nothing more than to sadistically torment and then kill Mario out of revenge. An Easter Egg implies murdering Princess Peach is not beyond him as well.
- Arc Words: "Too late".
- Body Motifs: Mr. L is prominently associated with hands. He often uses his hands; he grabs Mario and bites his head off in World 1-1, breaks the first world map in half with his hands firmly grasping the edges, and if he catches Mario throughout the first four levels of World 2, he kills him with his hands. After Mario beats World 2-2, a scene that comes afterward has Mr. L offer him a 1-Up Mushroom, with his hand framed dead center, being the only part of him that stands out from the darkness. There are platforms in World 2-3 made out of his giant hands. When Mario starts the final level of World 2, Mr. L's hand appears to crunch up his map icon. The Wham Shot from that level that solidifies Mr. L being Luigi's Vengeful Ghost all along is Luigi's open hand before he falls into the lava below him in Bowser's castle (courtesy of Mario chopping the bridge he stood on too soon without checking for him). The next shot that briefly pops up onscreen? Luigi deep in the lava, reaching his hand out to Mario while he's screaming and melting to death.
- Cain and Abel: Played with, in that the Cain in this case was accidentally murdered first by the Abel. Mr. L puts Mario through hell for accidentally killing him when he was Luigi. Once he's had his fair share come the end, Mr. L kills Mario for good in the same manner he was killed — by destroying the bridge above lava that Mario is stuck on.
- Cameo Cluster: In the secret level of Mr. L's world, Luigikid Gaming, Spanish YouTuber Pepe El Mago, Mr. Pixel himself, and even MX from Mario '85 appear.MX: I THINK I'M IN THE WRONG WORLD.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Exaggerated with Luigi, who in this game was already dead long before it starts, and said death left Mario feeling miserable. The ending reveals Luigi was accidentally killed by being dropped into lava in Bowser's castle back in Super Mario Bros., due to Mario cutting the bridge too soon without checking if Luigi was on safe ground. Luigi henceforth subverted this and came back from death... as the vengeance-driven Mr. L.
- The Toads from the original Super Mario Bros. 3 were killed by Mr. L, with their corpses hidden in World 2's Toad houses solely to taunt Mario. The Easter Egg implies Princess Peach was also killed by Mr. L as well.
- By the end of the game, Mario is killed by Mr. L in the exact same way he accidentally killed his brother Luigi; having the bridge he's stuck on chopped by Mr. L, falling into the lava and burning to death.
- Despair Event Horizon: Mario sailed well past his breaking point after Luigi's death. There are three instances of him breaking down in tears; the title screen, upon reaching World 1-1's exit, and when Mr. L punches him down in the final level. That he feels guilt for unintentionally killing Luigi also doesn't help.Mario: I can't continue with this...
- Downer Ending: Mr. L kills Mario the exact same way Mario accidentally killed Luigi, and completely ignores Mario's apologies, saying it's too late to do so. Straight after, he turns to the screen and sadistically taunts the player.Mr. L: And you... [were] TOO LATE TO SAVE HIM!
- Easter Egg: Occasionally, booting up the game will randomly show Super Mario Bros. 3's ending slideshow of all of its worlds. Once the slideshow ends, it cuts to a "The End" card, with an eyeless Mr. L staring at you from the dark, while the music repetitively glitches out and there's a faceless Princess Peach lying on the floor, implying Mr. L killed her. The game crashes soon after.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: World 2's final level is Bowser's castle from Super Mario Bros., which is thematically unlike every level before it. The significance of this incongruity is soon revealed in the ending.
- Foreshadowing:
- With the plot having established Luigi's death from the start, the end of World 1-1 has Mr. L introduce himself to Mario by telling him he is his dear brother at the end of the first level, right before chomping his head off. He didn't lie, he is Luigi.
- If you go out of your way to find World 2-3's hidden exit and then play the secret level, a few of the friendly NPCs in it have dialogue with interesting wording in regards to what exactly happened to Luigi. One in particular, the Pepe El Mago cameo, speaks two lines in Spanish that directly refer to the Tomato Surprise.NPC #1: Luigi did not deserve to die.
NPC #3: I find it sad what happened between Luigi and you.
Pepe El Mago: Porque lo hisiste Marito. Luigi confiaba en ti.Rough translation
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: After eating Mario's head, Mr. L breaks the map to take you to the next world. In the game's ending, he jumpscares the player while telling them it's too late to save Mario.
- Hailfire Peaks: World 2-2 combines Underground Level with Blackout Basement and Stealth-Based Mission. Mario's equipped with a torch to navigate the level — the darkness is literally pitch-black, and the torch is limited, so Mario needs to move fast and continue finding fire sources throughout the level. While that's going on, Mr. L will occasionally fade in to the background in his gigantic form and look for Mario, and if his red irises scroll in and you're not behind cover, you're dead.
- Haunting the Guilty: Mr. L haunts Mario for accidentally killing him when he was alive as Luigi. Unfortunately for Mario, he's not seeking forgiveness; he's wanting to murder him out of revenge.
- Humanoid Abomination: Mr. L. He's abnormally tall, has reality warping powers and a huge jaw that can rip off heads, can increase his size at will, teleport, seemingly clone himself infinitely, and knows of the player's existence. He is also the Vengeful Ghost of Luigi, which doubles him as an Undead Abomination, too.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: Mario is already miserable due to Luigi's death. Mr. L doesn't seem to think it's enough.
- Last Grasp at Life: A brief shot in the ending shows Luigi, deep in the lava of Bowser's castle and patches of his facial skin melting off, reaching his hand out for Mario.
- Lean and Mean: Mr. L, upon first sight, has relatively human proportions... that is, until his body shifts to become tall and rail-thin, with his face having a long jaw. Right after biting Mario's head off, Mr. L starts putting him through almost-literal hell.
- The Lost Woods: World 2-1 takes place in a greyed out forest devoid of leaves, and full of dead enemies. Mr. L persistently tries to ambush Mario throughout this level, but turning to face him will temporarily stop him from doing so. Notably, it has a road and a bunch of cars near the end.
- Minimalist Cast: The only major characters that are focused on in the game are Mario and Mr. L. Played with in three ways; justified, because Luigi died offscreen before the start of the game, the Toads that managed the chests in their houses were likely killed by Mr. L as shown in World 2, an Easter Egg implies Princess Peach was also killed by Mr. L, and despite his castle showing up as the backdrop for the final level of the game, Bowser shows up only once in the first image that flashes onscreen in the ending. The presence of interactable NPCs in the secret level subverts this at first, but they only appear in said secret level, speak one or two lines of dialogue, and don't affect the overall plot, so it's a Double Subversion.
- A Molten Date with Death:
- Luigi's death is revealed to have accidentally been caused by Mario recklessly cutting the bridge in Bowser's castle while he was on it, and got dropped into lava. You get to see a wonderful, if brief, shot of Luigi with patches of his skin melting off of his face as he's drenched deep in the lava, seemingly yelling for and futilely reaching out to Mario.
- Mario meets his end this way to Mr. L, the Vengeful Ghost of Luigi, as the latter chops down the bridge Mario is stuck on, and sends him down into the lava to burn.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mario suffers critical depression throughout the game because he murdered his own brother by accident.
- Off with His Head!: Multiple of Mario's deaths feature decapitation in some way.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Mario goes down in one hit from Mr. L or his obstacles, regardless of if he has the Super Mushroom power-up or not.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. You'd be forgiven if you thought the "Mr. L" being referred to here was that Mr. L.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Mario accidentally murdering Luigi by making him fall in the lava pool in Bowser's castle kickstarts the plot, as it's the reason why Mario is so depressed and also why Mr. L is hunting Mario, as he's actually Luigi's vengeful spirit.
- Rejected Apology: Mario, when he's at the mercy of Mr. L, attempts to apologize to him upon learning he is in fact Luigi's Vengeful Ghost. Mr. L swiftly rejects it, and kills him.Mr. L: Too late to apologize.
- Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: After beating World 2-2, Mr. L offers Mario a free 1-Up, which will grant him another chance to survive. Considering the difficulty of things from here on out, Mr. L is right in that he will indeed need it.
- Tomato Surprise: It is established from the start that Luigi is dead, and Mario is depressed over it, but that's about all we see of it. In the final level, Mr. L bluntly reminds Mario of the how, which informs the why; back in Super Mario Bros., Mario cut the bridge in Bowser's castle recklessly while Luigi was on it, accidentally dropping him into the lava below and killing him. It's not just the death alone that made Mario depressed, it's his guilt for what he did. Mr. L attacking Mario didn't come out of nowhere, because he is Luigi's Vengeful Ghost.
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Back in Super Mario Bros., Mario made the horrible mistake of not double-checking to make sure his brother Luigi was anywhere off the bridge in Bowser's castle before cutting it down, and Luigi pays the price for it by dropping into the lava below and burning to death. It not only haunts Mario up to the current events of the game, it leads to Luigi coming back from death as the vengeful Mr. L, who isn't inclined to hear his brother out and keeps trying to murder him, and eventually succeeds in killing Mario for good.
- Vengeful Ghost: Mr. L turns out to be the ghost of Luigi, back from his boiling hot grave, who's eager to torment and murder his brother Mario as retribution for accidentally killing him.
- Wham Episode: World 2's final level. It takes place in Bowser's castle from Super Mario Bros., and it is here at the end that Mr. L makes it clear he is indeed Luigi, and reveals that Mario hastily cut the bridge at the end without checking to make sure if Luigi was anywhere off of it, accidentally dropping him into lava and killing him. Mario tries to apologize to him for what he did, but Mr. L rejects it, and kills Mario in the same way he died; chopping the bridge Mario's on, and sending him down into the lava beneath him.
- Wham Line: After Mr. L knocks Mario down in the final level, he says three lines to him, the last of which is followed by a chilling Wham Shot:Mr. L: Do you remember this place? [flashes an image of Mario getting past Bowser]
Do you remember what happened? [flashes an image of the bridge's chain chopped in half]
I remember what happened. [flashes an image of Luigi's raised hand just as he's falling into the lava] - Womb Level: World 2-3 is made out of visceral flesh, with gyrating eyeballs and giant skinless mouths with exposed teeth in the background. There are platforms made out of Mr. L's giant hands, and lumps in the ground that Mr. L will burst out of if you get too close, but thankfully for the latter, you'll often see a literal warning sign before it.
Mr. L: This is about to end brother.
