History UrbanLegendOfZelda / SuperMarioBros

** A level described in the {{Creepypasta}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVYZpZrtomE "I HATE YOU"]]. It is supposedly accessed through a whirlpool after a secret exit from the Sunken GhostShip and featuring horrors such as blind Boos, bloody Banzai Bills, bloody graffiti such as "[[TitleDrop I hate you]]" and "WhyWontYouDie", bloody Thwomps, zombie Marios, and creepy Super Mushrooms, ending with Mario finding out that Luigi had been the one kidnapping Peach and bringing her to Bowser, and being forced to kill him.

** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard.[[note]]It's actually a generic plaque texture that was later reused in Dodongo's Cavern in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)[[/note]] It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." The rumor was perpetuated by Dan Owsen, who didn't actually claim it was real; but repeatedly gave [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspiciously vague denials]], for months on end when his audience was asking about it. Mind you, this being the early days of the internet, there weren't many fact checking sources, or sources of any kind. So an official source, during such a time, being vague and unprofessional instead of providing a simple answer like he was supposed to do, was naturally going to fuel and spread rumors. He did eventually clarify that it was meaningless, but even then, buried the answer in his FAQ, which didn't help. [[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]]

** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard.[[note]]It's actually a generic plaque texture that was later reused in Dodongo's Cavern in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)[[/note]] It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." The rumor was perpetuated by Dan Owsen, who didn't actually claim it was real; but repeatedly gave [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspiciously vague denials]], for months on end when his audience was asking about it. Mind you, this being the early days of the internet, there weren't many fact checking sources, or sources of any kind. So an official source, during such a time, being vague and unprofessional instead of providing a simple answer like he was supposed to do, was naturally going to fuel and spread rumors. He did eventually clarify that it meaningless, but even then, buried the answer in his FAQ, which didn't help. [[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]]

** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard. It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." The rumor was perpetuated by Dan Owsen, who didn't actually claim it was real; but repeatedly gave [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspiciously vague denials]], for months on end when his audience was asking about it. Mind you, this being the early days of the internet, there weren't many fact checking sources, or sources of any kind. So an official source, during such a time, being vague and unprofessional instead of providing a simple answer like he was supposed to do, was naturally going to fuel and spread rumors. He did eventually clarify that it meaningless, but even then, buried the answer in his FAQ, which didn't help. [[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]]It's actually a generic plaque texture that was later reused in Dodongo's Cavern in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)

** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard. It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." "L" is commonly thought to refer to Luigi, and one theory is that "2401" references the North American release date of ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' (which is February ''5'', 2001).[[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]]It's actually a generic plaque texture that was later reused in Dodongo's Cavern in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)

** That Luigi is a playable character. (After all, "L is real 2401"). This one, though, has a grain of truth to it; he was supposed to be in the game but he was later removed. The rumor was perpetuated by Dan Owsen, who didn't even claim it was real; he just had great fun in conspiratorially refusing to answer questions about it. A [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspiciously vague denial]], you could say. Luigi would become a playable character in the VideoGameRemake ''Super Mario 64 DS'', along with Yoshi and Wario... which led to a rumor that you can unlock [[EnsembleDarkhorse Waluigi]]. An extra door in the character select room (which really just houses a hidden star) didn't help matters.

** It was rumored that if you collect all the Shine Sprites, Mario can fight Waluigi, who is holding Luigi captive in a cage. Winning the battle makes Luigi a playable character. This is false.

** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard. It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." "L" is commonly thought to refer to Luigi, and one theory is that "2401" references the North American release date of ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' (which is February ''5'', 2001).[[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]]It's actually a generic plaque texture that was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6mNoCFjPY later reused]] in Dodongo's Cavern in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)

** A level described in the {{Creepypasta}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVYZpZrtomE "I HATE YOU"]]. It is supposedly accessed through a whirlpool after a secret exit from the Sunken GhostShip and featuring horrors such as blind Boos, bloody Banzai Bills, bloody graffiti such as "[[TitleDrop I hate you]]" and "WhyWontYouDie", bloody Thwomps, zombie Marios, and creepy Super Mushrooms, ending with Mario finding out that Luigi was working for Bowser and being forced to kill him.

** That you can find a "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Laser Suit]]" (and a congratulatory message from Nintendo™)[[note]][[CowboyBeBopAtHisComputer Yes, they used the trademark sign on a company name]][[/note]] through a secret level. This one was perpetuated by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRpAoLiEdIc this]] [=YouTube=] video, uploaded in 2007, which looked very legitimate at the time. The uploader never responded to comments, and these days consensus believes that it's a well-made hack using Lunar Magic, but the video still fools the uninitiated.

** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard. It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." "L" is commonly thought to refer to Luigi, and one theory is that "2401" references the North American release date of ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' (which is February ''5'', 2001).[[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]] It's actually a generic plaque texture that was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6mNoCFjPY later reused]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''Mario Party'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)

** That you can find Bowser's submarine after it vanishes.

** There is a book hidden in Noki Bay. Many rumors have existed on how to retrieve it and what it does. In reality, it doesn't do anything, and Mario can't interact with it. The book is actually an [[OrphanedReference unused asset]] that was left in the game. It was meant to be used in a mission to get a Shine Sprite, but the way of retrieving the Sprite was ultimately changed to getting eight red coins instead. A rumor also exists that in the Japanese version of the game the book was used in a level that was removed internationally. Another one claims that the book has a message reading "[[TakeThatAudience You have no life]] - Signed, Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto". Both of these are false.

** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard (pictured above). It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." "L" is commonly thought to refer to Luigi, and one theory is that "2401" references the North American release date of ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' (which is February ''5'', 2001).[[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]] It's actually a generic plaque texture that was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6mNoCFjPY later reused]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''Mario Party'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)

** One of Jeff Rovin's ''How to Win at Nintendo Games'' books mentions a rumor about a hidden "Chocolate Factory" level. None of his later works explains how to supposedly access it.

** That it was originally supposed to be a [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] game. This one derives from a ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' article where Shigeru Miyamoto claimed to be working on a 3D ''Mario'' game at the same time as the original ''VideoGame/StarFox'' game. It would have been called ''Super Mario FX'', which turned out to be a misunderstanding based on the fact that the Super FX chip was codenamed [[FunWithAcronyms MARIO]]; supposedly, it would have powered the game (and it did power ''VideoGame/StarFox''). The Super FX 2 chip ''is'' utilized by ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'', which contains Mario, but that's an entirely 2D game that uses the chip for its enhanced sprite-manipulation features.

* Ashley from ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' is usually stated as being 8 years old in Japan but [[AgeLift 15 internationally]]. The latter is true, but in Japan, her age is [[VagueAge never stated]] (though her voice acting and speech patterns imply she's supposed to be rather young).

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'': One rumor involves the existence of a hunter ghost in the Safari Room that was DummiedOut. Unlike other ghosts left out of the finished game, there is no evidence in the coding that there was ever going to be such a ghost. We can blame ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' for this one.

* There have been various rumors on games that don't actually exist:
** Prior to the Game Boy Advance coming out, a screencap of a supposed ''VideoGame/YoshisSafari''-like game appeared online. [[http://lsupersonicq.blogspot.com/2014/06/hardly-beta.html It showed a third-person 3D game involving a purple Yoshi.]] The veracity of the image has never been proven, though either way, no such game ever came out. See a theory regarding its origin [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qah_2QS--U here]].
** In 1996, Electronic Gaming magazine mentioned an upcoming game called ''Mario's Castle'' coming for the next Game Boy (the unreleased "Project Atlantis"). It's unknown if this rumor was accurate or not. No evidence has ever been found for the game existing.

** That you can climb the Endless Stairs without 70 stars, either by trying for an obscenely long time or by jumping at exactly the right moment. It ''is'' possible, but it requires a glitch that rockets Mario up the stairs faster than the screen can scroll. (To be specific, you're being warped backwards constantly, so if you go fast enough, you'll rocket past the part that warps you back, and you'll make it to the top). Of course, it's very unlikely that the developers intended that. You can see it in action in [[http://tasvideos.org/1893M.html this zero-star tool-assisted speedrun.]]

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'': There were many rumors on how to unlock Luigi in the base game. None of them were true. Luigi was only added in later in an update, and even then only as a minigame host, not a playable character.

** That you can ride and control Yoshi. Yoshi himself appears in the game as an easter egg upon collecting all 120 Power Stars, and a Yoshi egg texture exists in the game (complete with animation), but the feature was never actually included in the final version. Yoshi would eventually be rideable in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', and would later appear in ''Super Mario 64'''s [[VideoGame/SuperMario64DS DS remake]] as a fully playable standalone character (and he actually hijacks Mario's role as main protagonist, demoting him to an unlockable character).

** It was rumored that if you collect all the Shine Sprites, Mario can fight Waluigi, who is holding Luigi captive in a cage. Winning the battle makes Luigi a playable character. We shouldn't need to tell you this is false.

* ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'' has "Purple Yoshi", a ninth Yoshi color. Allegedly, you unlock it by collecting every single coin from every single level, from those buried in the ground to those that require the use of a Super Happy Fruit. Some unofficial hint manuals even printed the rumor. The only hidden Yoshi colors are white and black, but the game did have a purple and brown Yoshi in the beta phase; they never made the final product.

* ''VideoGame/MarioSportsMix'' has had many gaming sites say that if you beat all the minigames (or "Party Games" as the game calls them) in a certain order, you'll unlock [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Rosalina]] as a playable character. Not true in the slightest.

** That you can find a "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Laser Suit]]" (and a congratulatory message from Nintendo) through a secret level. This one was perpetuated by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRpAoLiEdIc this]] [=YouTube=] video, uploaded in 2007, which looked very legitimate at the time. The uploader never responded to comments, and these days consensus believes that it's a well-made hack using Lunar Magic, but the video still fools the uninitiated.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'': There were many rumors on how to unlock Luigi in the base game. None of them were true. Luigi was only added in later in an update.

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'':
** Various sites have claimed that ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' was going to be a DarkerAndEdgier game in its development, with some claiming that it would be the first T-rated Mario game. The claim is that the game would have a time limit; if time expired and Luigi hadn't found Mario, Mario and the mansion would disappear, and the ghosts would possess Luigi. However, the game was always intended to be family-friendly. The time limit was never intended as part of the gameplay; it was just a way of regulating play on the demos. Probably not helped by the game's [[DadaAd bizarre]] commercial claiming you have "one night to save Mario" which likely refers to the game being set over the time period of a single night; this has no bearing on actual gameplay.
** Related is the existence of a hunter ghost in the Safari Room that was DummiedOut. Unlike other ghosts left out of the finished game, there is no evidence in the coding that there was ever going to be such a ghost. We can blame ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' for this one.

** Prior to the Game Boy Advance coming out, a screencap of a supposed ''VideoGame/YoshisSafari''-like game appeared online. It showed a third-person 3D game involving a purple Yoshi. The veracity of the image has never been proven, though either way, no such game ever came out.

** Prior to the Game Boy Advance coming out, a screencap of a supposed ''VideoGame/YoshisSafari''-like game appeared online. It showed 3D a third-person game involving a purple Yoshi. It's never been clarified as real or not, however no such game ever came out and the screencap looks like a mock-up,

** That Luigi is a playable character. (After all, "L is real 2401"). This one, though, has a grain of truth to it; he was supposed to be in the game but he was later removed. The rumor was perpetuated by Dan Owsen, who didn't even claim it was real; he just had great fun in conspiratorially refusing to answer questions about it. A [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspiciously vague denial]], you could say. Luigi would become a playable character in the VideoGameRemake ''Super Mario 64 DS'', along with Yoshi and Wario... which led to a rumor that you cam unlock [[EnsembleDarkhorse Waluigi]]. An extra door in the character select room (which really just houses a hidden star) didn't help matters.

** There have been rumors on how to get a green Yoshi, due to official artwork and early videos showing it. Green Yoshi ''does'' exist in the game, but only as a warning that your yoshi is about to vanish: when they run out of juice they turn green and will spray regular water, giving about 20 seconds or so to find a piece of fruit to fill them back up.

* Various sites have claimed that ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' was going to be a DarkerAndEdgier game in its development, with some claiming that it would be the first T-rated Mario game. The claim is that the game would have a time limit; if time expired and Luigi hadn't found Mario, Mario and the mansion would disappear, and the ghosts would possess Luigi. However, the game was always intended to be family-friendly. The time limit was never intended as part of the gameplay; it was just a way of regulating play on the demos. Probably not helped by the game's [[DadaAd bizarre]] commercial claiming you have "one night to save Mario" which likely refers to the game being set over the time period of a single night; this has no bearing on actual gameplay.

** That you can access a secret World 10-1. That turned out to be false, but thanks to how NES games are programmed, you can use a GameGenie to access a world labeled "10-1", a version of World 1-1 with botched graphics.

** That you can climb the Endless Stairs without 70 stars, either by trying for an obscenely long time or by jumping at exactly the right moment. It ''is'' possible, but it requires a glitch that rockets Mario up the stairs faster than the screen can scroll. (To be specific, you're being warped backwards constantly, so if you go fast enough, you'll rocket past the part that warps you back, and you'll make it to the top). Of course, it's very unlikely that the developers intended that. You can see it in action in [[http://tasvideos.org/1893M.html this zero-star speedrun.]]

** That there is a "no death" trick. Holding down the B button on the second controller supposedly turns Mario invincible. (Most people pulled this off by stepping on the second controller.) That one turned out to be false as well.

** There have been rumors on how to get a green Yoshi, due to official artwork and early videos showing it. Green Yoshis were DummiedOut.

** One of Jeff Rovin's ''How To Win At Nintendo Games'' books mentions a rumor about a hidden "Chocolate Factory" level. None of his later works explains how to supposedly access it.

** A level described in the {{Creepypasta}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVYZpZrtomE "I HATE YOU."]] It is supposedly accessed through a whirlpool after a secret exit from the Sunken GhostShip and featuring horrors such as blind Boos, bloody Banzai Bills, bloody graffiti such as "[[TitleDrop I hate you]]" and "WhyWontYouDie", bloody Thwomps, zombie Marios, and creepy Super Mushrooms, ending with Mario finding out that Luigi was working for Bowser and being forced to kill him.

** That you can ride and control Yoshi. Yoshi himself appears in the game as an easter egg upon collecting all 120 Power Stars, and a Yoshi egg texture exists in the game (complete with animation), but the feature was never actually included in the final version. Yoshi would eventually be rideable in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', and would later appear in ''Super Mario 64'''s [[SuperMario64DS DS remake]] as a fully playable standalone character (and he actually hijacks Mario's role as main protagonist, demoting him to an unlockable character).
** That "L is real 2401" means something. This refers to an inscription on a fountain in the Big Boo courtyard (pictured above). It's illegible, but the rumors are that it reads, "L is real 2401." "L" is commonly thought to refer to Luigi, and one theory is that "2401" references the North American release date of ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' (which is February '''5'', 2001).[[note]]This one is unlikely for several reasons. Luigi's role in the game is fairly minor, North America wasn't the first region to get the game, and the date format used in Japan would render the date as 01/02/04.[[/note]] It's actually a generic plaque texture that was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6mNoCFjPY later reused]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. (Some think it says "Eternal Star", which would make the board from ''Mario Party'' a reference to this, but the texture is too blurry to tell either way.)

** That it was originally supposed to be a [[Main/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] game. This one derives from a ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' article where Shigeru Miyamoto claimed to be working on a 3D ''Mario'' game at the same time as the original ''VideoGame/StarFox'' game. It would have been called ''Super Mario FX'', which turned out to be a misunderstanding based on the fact that the Super FX chip was codenamed [[FunWithAcronyms MARIO]]; supposedly, it would have powered the game (and it did power ''VideoGame/StarFox''). The Super FX 2 chip ''is'' utilized by ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'', which contains Mario, but that's an entirely 2D game that uses the chip for its enhanced sprite-manipulation features.

** There is a book hidden in Noki Bay. There have existed many rumors on how to retrieve it and what it does. In reality, it doesn't do anything and can't be interacted with. The book is actually an [[OrphanedReference unused asset]] that was left in the game. It was meant to be used in a mission to get a Shine Sprite, but the way of retrieving the Sprite was ultimately changed to getting 8 red coins instead. A rumor also exists that in the Japanese version of the game the book was used in a level that was removed internationally. Another one claims that the book has a message reading "[[TakeThatAudience You have no life]] - Signed, Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto". Both of these are false.

* One of the companions from ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'', Bow, can be interacted with in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', while another, Parakarry, appears in a cutscene at the beginning of the game and can't be interacted with. This, on its own, started rumours that all companions from the first game, rather than just those two, are there as well. This was before hackers discovered DummiedOut sprite sets for the lot of them.

* ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'' has "Purple Yoshi," a ninth Yoshi color. Allegedly, you unlock it by collecting every single coin from every single level, from the ones buried in the ground to the ones only found by using a Super Happy Fruit. Some unofficial hint manuals even printed the rumor. The only hidden Yoshi colors are white and black, but the game did have a purple and brown Yoshi in the beta phase; they never made the final product.

* Ashley from ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' is usually stated as being eight in Japan but [[AgeLift fifteen internationally.]] The latter is true, but in Japan, her age is [[VagueAge never stated]] (though her voice acting and speech patterns imply she's supposed to be rather young).

* Various sites have claimed that ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' was going to be a DarkerAndEdgier game in its development, with some claiming that it would be the first T-rated Mario game. The claim is that the game would have a time limit; if time expired and Luigi hadn't found Mario, Mario and the mansion would disappear, and the ghosts would possess Luigi. However, the game was always intended to be family-friendly. The time limit was never intended as part of the gameplay; it was just a way of regulating play on the demos. Probably not helped by the game's [[DadaAd bizarre]] commercial claiming you have "one night to save Mario" which likely refers to the game being set over the time period of a single night; this has no baring on actual gameplay.
** Related is the existence of a hunter ghost in the Safari Room that was DummiedOut. Unlike other ghosts left out of the finished game there is no evidence in the coding there was ever going to be such a ghost. We can blame Magazine/NintendoPower for this one.