Line #5 CommonKnowledge/SuperMarioBros


1	Common misconceptions regarding the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise.
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4	!!Examples:
5	* Mario is always viewed as using his head to smash blocks open in the games, which leads to people joking that Mario suffers brain damage or a similar injury by the end of the game. While not obvious at first, if one looks closely when Mario jumps, he raises a fist in the air as he jumps and his fist hits the block, not his head. Ironically, if Mario is using a power-up that lets him fly or he is holding something in his hands, he really does use his head to break the blocks, but this is usually due to lack of proper animations. In official media, Mario always uses his fist to hit blocks from underneath, though Luigi actually ''does'' bash blocks with his head in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars + VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''. This example is used as the page image of video games' CommonKnowledge page.
6	* Similarly, Mario does not "spit" fireballs from his mouth after collecting a Fire Flower, he "throws" them from his hands. (Again, Luigi ''does'' spit fireballs from his mouth in ''Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World''.) For that matter, apart from the Mushrooms in the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series and '' WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', he doesn't "eat" the various powerups he encounters. Even as graphics continue to improve, Mario is still depicted as simply absorbing power-ups into his body when he "collects" them. However, a ''Club Nintendo'' comic says Mario eats Fire Flowers and when Mario is talking to a Lakitu cameraman in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', the Camerman asks Mario if he eats Fire Flowers.
7	* Many fan videos joke that the manual for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' states all the blocks are Mushroom Kingdom citizens transformed into blocks and thus whenever Mario breaks a block, he's killing a citizen. The original manual actually says ''only'' the PowerUp Blocks are transformed citizens, and they are noticeably completely indestructible within the game; in fact, they actually ''help'' him by giving out the various items they hide.
8	* Everyone "knows" that Mario's original name was Jumpman, but it actually wasn't. Before the character debuted in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'', Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto called him "Mr. Video" and planned to include him in various different video games as cameos. And even before that, artwork of the character was labelled "Ossan", which is Japanese for "middle-aged guy". On top of that, while most media at the time of ''Donkey Kong'''s release calls Mario Jumpman, a flyer with story information explicitly calls him "little Mario". Likewise, Donkey Kong was always intended to be Donkey Kong (due to an assumption that the name would read as "stubborn ape" to English speakers) and is not a misspelling of "Monkey Kong".
9	* Whenever Daisy's kingdom of [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand Sarasaland]] is brought up, it is always said to be a kingdom that consists only of a desert. However, Sarasaland is made up of four different climates. Alongside the desert of Birabuto, there is the aquatic Muda Kingdom, Easton is made up of rocky terrain, and the Chai Kingdom is based on Ancient China.
10	* Everyone "knows" that Mario is abusive towards Yoshi in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', hitting the poor dinosaur on the head to make it attack his foes. In actuality, it only appears this way due to sprite limitations; [[http://www.mariowiki.com/File:SMW_Art_-_Yoshi_and_Berry.png official artwork]] has always depicted Mario pointing forward at their target, not smacking Yoshi, and this is how it has always been represented in [[http://www.mariowiki.com/File:NSMBW_Blue_Toad_and_Pink_Yoshi_Artwork.png more recent media]] with higher-fidelity graphics. As for Mario dumping Yoshi down a {{Bottomless Pit\|s}} just to save his own skin, that is a purely player choice and there is no part of the game where that is required. In 2017, it was [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mario-punching-yoshi#nintendo-confirmation "confirmed"]] in [[https://topics.nintendo.co.jp/c/article/cb34ab17-9135-11e7-8cda-063b7ac45a6d.html an interview with Takashi Tezuka and Shigefumi Hino]] that Mario has always been hitting Yoshi on the head... [[GodNeverSaidThat except it wasn't confirmed at all]]. The interview actually reveals that this was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the original intention]], but it was changed during development to Mario telling Yoshi "Go!" ''specifically to avoid'' making him seem abusive towards Yoshi. Unfortunately, misleading headlines in reports covering this interview only worsened the CommonKnowledge effect. Though Mario ''has'' displayed hostility towards Yoshi in some early 90s spin-off games (such as angrily shooting the Super Scope above his head in ''VideoGame/YoshisSafari'' and chasing him with a hammer after stealing his cookie jar in the NES and Game Boy versions of ''[[VideoGame/YoshisCookie Yoshi's Cookie]]''), ''Super Mario World'' being cited as an example of such is simply false.
11	* Mario is a middle-aged man in many gamers' eyes. While this was true in very early titles - thus why Mario was played by older men in live action adaptations - it has long since changed. Mustaches tend to make people seem [[ArtisticAge older]], after all. Mario (and Luigi, for that matter) are actually very ''young'' men in their twenties, barely older than Peach, as evidenced by games like ''VideoGame/YoshisIslandDS'' and ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'' showing the three of them as babies at the same time. In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'', he's said to be 26, and Miyamoto stated in 2016 that Mario is currently considered to be 24 years old.
12	* {{Fanon}} often is [[WordOfDante confused]] for canon:
13	** There has never been a "Clawdia Koopa" (supposedly Bowser's ex and the mother of both the Koopalings and Bowser Jr.) mentioned in any official media; as far as anyone can tell, the name comes from Website/LemmysLand.
14	** Stanley from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong3'' is not Mario's cousin and has never interacted with him except for a single ''WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade'' episode.
15	** Mario's species name is not ''homo nintendonus'', and Yoshi's full name is not T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas. Both ideas come from a 1993 character guide published by Nintendo's American branch, was written by someone unaffiliated with their Japanese branch, and uses a whimsical sense of humor throughout that indicates [[PoesLaw it is not meant to be taken seriously]].
16	* The arcade version of ''Super Mario Bros.'', ''Vs. Super Mario Bros.'', does not have levels from ''The Lost Levels'' in it. The arcade game was made first, by many of the same people, and some levels were copied into the console sequel, so it's ''The Lost Levels'' which has ''Vs.'' levels in it, not the other way around.
17	* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' is not a "rip-off" of ''VideoGame/DokiDokiPanic''. While ''Doki Doki Panic'' does count as a LicensedGame due to using characters created by Creator/FujiTV, both games were entirely developed by Nintendo. Similarly, ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' is not simply a re-skin of ''Doki Doki Panic'' either, as the former adds many gameplay changes compared to the latter, such as being able to run with the B button, characters becoming small when at 1 HP, only having to beat the game once instead of four times to see the true ending, and several other things.
18	* It's been stated matter-of-factly that the seven Koopalings were "based on" the creators of ''Super Mario Bros. 3''. This comes from a somewhat clumsily-translated interview with Miyamoto in the Nintendo Power "Mario Mania" player's guide. Read in full context, it's clear that Miyamoto is saying the various creators of ''[=SMB3=]'' each got to design their own Koopaling, not that the Koopalings were based on themselves in some way. This explains why none of the Koopalings really "match" each other, from a design perspective, and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple why there is a female one]], despite the fact that no women were part of the design team.
19	* There's a portion of the fanbase that believes Bowser used his Japanese name of Koopa in the NES games. With [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 one tiny blip]], this isn't the case; the name Bowser goes all the way back to [[AllThereInTheManual the instruction manual]] for his debut, ''Super Mario Bros.'' While he was called Koopa in [[WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBrosDic the cartoons]] and the [[Film/SuperMarioBros1993 live-action movie]], English translations of the games have consistently called him Bowser, with the exception of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', which does indeed call him Koopa in English, though this is primarily due to mistranslation.
20	* One fact that tends to come up in {{Alternative Character Interpretation}}s of Mario being less than heroic, or even straight-up [[RonTheDeathEater evil]], is that he stomps on enemies that are beyond harmless, like Goombas, who don't even try to attack Mario, they just mind their own business and walk in pre-determined paths, the only danger being from running into them. It is true that in the original game and other old 2D platformers, technical limitations made it so that enemies couldn't have complex attack patterns, so they simply walked back and forth, acting more like obstacles. In 3D platformers, and in spin-offs like the various [=RPGs=], though, it's made clear that the Goombas that work for Bowser aren't simply "minding their own business" and they ''do'' actively try to attack Mario. The same can be said about basic Koopas.
21	** A lot of people seem under the impression that the enemies are not only minding their own business, but are nothing more than the local wildlife. However, as far back as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', they have been portrayed as an invading military force.
22	* Luigi is often treated as the poster child for put-upon little brothers, with Mario being a BigBrotherBully. This seems to come from people misinterpreting or misunderstanding Luigi's second banana complex. Mario's not a GloryHound who forces Luigi out of the spotlight because he can't share it. As a matter of fact, Mario is just about the only person who actually appreciates Luigi. Luigi's issues instead stem from the fact that ''everybody else'' puts the spotlight solely on Mario, ignoring him and his accomplishments, even if he was right there alongside Mario to help. Luigi's cowardly personality also means he tends to prefer being safe at home than going on adventures, often being dragged into his latest adventure against his will, so it may even be that he actually ''prefers'' Mario to be in the spotlight. The [=RPGs=] also show that Luigi is typically left behind so he can then guard the Mushroom Kingdom while Mario is off on his adventure.
23	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psur418k86U This track]] from ''VideoGame/MarioGolf'' for the Nintendo 64 is almost exclusively referred to as "Dormie". However, not only does it play when a player has one hole left to win in Match Play/Get Character regardless of whether or not it's a Dormie, but it plays on the last hole in all other multiplayer modes.
24	* Regarding ''[[VideoGame/MarioTennis Mario Tennis Ultra Smash]]'':
25	** Gameplay-wise ''Ultra Smash'' is not "''Open'' with Mega Mushrooms". The game added two nuanced mechanics that significantly altered the gameplay, making it more strategic: the Jump Shots and the titular Ultra Smash (which serves as a way to severely punish your opponent when they are unable to return the ball properly --akin to ''Aces''[='s=] Special Shots-- negating the luck aspect of the Chance Shots, which was one of the most disliked things ''Open'' introduced). It also added a new Classic Tennis mode without Chance Shots/Power Shots for those who preferred the gameplay of the first two installments, which ''Open'' didn't have.
26	** It doesn't have only one court either, it has ''nine'': Hard, Clay, Grass, Carpet, Mushroom, Sand, Ice, Rebound and Morph; all of the variations that were previously seen in the series. What it ''doesn't'' have is non stadium-themed courts.
27	* Mario and Peach are often regarded to be an OfficialCouple by many fans and critics, with many viewing them as the video game equivalent of WesternAnimation/{{Mickey\|Mouse}} and WesternAnimation/{{Minnie\|Mouse}}. However, while there is ''a ton'' of ShipTease between them, and it ''is'' confirmed that the two have mutual romantic feelings for each other, their relationship is portrayed differently [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the source]], with some portraying their relationship in rather [[https://www.mariowiki.com/images/f/fb/SMRL-Line-Mario-Sunset.gif romantic]] [[https://youtu.be/AYBuy7i1uzQ?t=53 ways]], while some others don't address the status of the romantic relationship at all. Either way, at the very least they ''are'' officially considered to be mutual Love Interests ([[ImpliedLoveInterest if implied]]). There were plans for them to finally [[RelationshipUpgrade hook up]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', but this was scrapped from the final game likely to maintain the series' {{status quo\|IsGod}}. Likewise, Luigi and Daisy are not officially a couple either, despite the two of them having plenty of ShipTease with each other as well ever since ''NES Open Tournament Golf'' --where the pairing originated as a case of PairTheSpares-- acting as Luigi's caddie just like Peach does for Mario. Ship Teasing in various games aside, the only official mention of the relationship status to date is in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' where it's stated that "After her appearance in Mario Golf, some gossips started portraying her as Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach".
28	* Calling anything "non-canon". The ''Mario'' franchise is a QuirkyWork with explicit NegativeContinuity, and no game is more or less "canon" than any other. Not ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', not ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', and not ''VideoGame/MarioKart'', ''VideoGame/MarioParty'', or any other instance of GoKartingWithBowser.
29	* It is often believed that in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', Dimentio [[spoiler: kills Luigi, Mario, Peach, and Bowser after Chapter 6.]] Even Website/ThisVeryWiki once claimed that in many pages. In reality, he just [[spoiler: teleported them to the afterlife; hence why they aren't turned into Shaydes and are allowed to leave.]]
30	* Shy Guys are known as standard recurring enemies, much like the Goombas and Koopas. Despite this, they have only been enemies in two games of the main series, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' (with only the Fly Guy variant appearing in the latter). They've been common enemies in much of the spinoffs, most notably ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMario''. Standard Shy Guys are rare enough in the main series that the closest they've come to debuting in the 3D games is their appearance in the adjacent game ''VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker'', which is merely built with the ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' engine and assets.
31	* On November 17, 2014, [=GameSpot=] posted an [[https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-reveals-the-toads-gender-secret/1100-6423610/ article]] about an interview with Koichi Hayashida on ''VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker''. He discusses the Toads' gender, where he claims that they never went out of their way to decide the sex on them. This led to the conclusion that the Toads are ''literally [[NonHumanNonBinary genderless]]''. [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer However]], [[GodNeverSaidThat that's not the case]]. In an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUkU6O4p7Lw&t=8m44s interview]], Shigeru Miyamoto clarifies that when the Toads were first designed, they didn't focus on their genders, though their Japanese name ''Kinopio'' was chosen as a portmanteau of ''kinoko'' (mushroom) and ''Pinocchio'', Pinocchio being a boy, of course. Once [[VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash Toadette]] came into the picture, they clearly designed her to be female. Because she was the most feminine out of the others and because the character [[ADogNamedDog Toad]] was clearly referred to as he, [[ViewerGenderConfusion it led the conclusion]] [[TheSmurfettePrinciple that the rest were male]] with the [=RPGs=] being exceptions. In other words, it's likely that Hayashida's comment was implying that the Toads just have ''[[AmbiguousGender Ambiguous Genders]]'' and not entirely ''genderless'', a point that is further made with ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' with the Move Lists for both Peach and Daisy. In Peach's, it clearly states that [[ADogNamedDog Toad]] is male, while Daisy's refers to the Blue Toad as an it as the other Toad colors aren't as significant.
32	* Fans and [[CowboyBebopAtHisComputer some early official sources]] often refer to Rosalina by the term "princess" because of her crown and dress. None of her official appearances have ever referred to her as a princess, and in her debut game, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', she's implied to be a near godlike entity in the present, while her backstory suggests she originally was an ordinary girl without any sort of noble background.
33	* Several sources agree that [[VideoGame/SuperPaperMario Nastasia's]] mind-altering powers should be referred to as "hypnosis", as that is used more to describe them than "brainwashing". However, outside of one reference to "hypno-powers", they are exclusively referred to in-game as "brainwashing".
34	* Waluigi is often referred to as the "[[BigBad main villain]]" of ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolutionMarioMix''. While it is one of his more prominent appearances since Waluigi starts the plot by stealing the Music Keys, [[DiscOneFinalBoss he's beaten at the end of the first world]], a quarter of the way into the game, and never appears again after that. The ''actual'' main villain is, of course, Bowser.
35	* Many can easily assume that Wario and Waluigi are brothers, since they are the respective evil twins of Mario and Luigi (who are brothers) and are very similar in themselves. However, their relationship is deliberately meant to be [[AmbiguouslyRelated ambiguous]], with official sources often going back and forth on if they're related at all or if they're just close friends. That said, modern sources such as Waluigi's profile on Nintendo's Japanese website have indicated that the two are unrelated.
36	* When discussing ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'', it's common to claim the game was passed over for a Western release solely because it was too difficult, mainly as a point against Nintendo. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EUYSN5aFcE&t=825s However, there's a variety of factors as to why it wasn't released stateside initially.]] Not only was it too difficult (there were also many difficult games licensed by Nintendo in the US, they just didn't have the value that Mario had), the game looked too similar to the previous game, and this wouldn't bode well for a new series that came out of the ashes of UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, where one of the problems were games that looked exactly like their predecessor, but with new levels.
37	* It's easy to think that [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Peach's dress gives her the ability to float]]. In actuality, ''3D World'' has her wearing different power-up suits and still retaining her floating, meaning that it's an innate ability.
38	* It's believed by fans that Daisy used to be AmbiguouslyBrown before her redesign, to the point that some have accused Nintendo of "whitewashing" her when they redesigned her. However, Daisy has always been depicted with a fair-skinned appearance as far back as her debut in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand''. While some of her renders and models from the early '90s and early 2000s, as well as Peach's Daisy-themed PaletteSwap in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' do give her a slight tan, this was more an unintentional byproduct of the limitations of early CGI at the time rather than a deliberate creative choice, as several human Mario characters — including Mario himself — have been depicted with a tanned look in many early 3D renders around the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s.
39	* The fruits that Yoshi can eat in ''Super Mario World'' are berries according to the manual as well as the in-game files. Many players mistake them for apples, likely due to their large size and red/green coloration. The fact that they grow on bushes instead of trees (though some can be found on trees in the Forest of Illusion levels) should be telling.
40	* Mario being born from a peach that came from space is sometimes mentioned as a serious backstory Nintendo came up with for him at some point, as shown in ''Anime/AmadaAnimeSeriesSuperMarioBros''. However, the OVA where that happened was never intended to be a straight adaptation of the games and was instead an adaptation of the Japanese folk story ''Literature/{{Momotaro}}''[[note]]The title character of which was named after the fact that he was born from a peach[[/note]] that had ''Mario'' characters [[UniversalAdaptorCast playing the roles of the characters in the story]], while the other two featured them in other fairy tales.
41	* Due to one article, it is often thought that Wario's image as a tough character in games like ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' was [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore fabricated by the english localization]]. In tandem, it is also believed that Wario's goofy and gross nature was removed in American advertisements for the Wario games. In actuality, Wario has always had "macho" and "slovenly" elements to his personality from the beginning in all regions. For example, the Japanese commercial for ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'', focuses on Wario's strength. The [[VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3 first Wario Land game]] was even at one point going to have the subtitle, Kairiki Wario, meaning "Super Strength Wario". One example of Wario's sillier qualities being shown in western advertising is the American commercial for ''VideoGame/WarioLand3'', which showcases Wario's IronButtMonkey nature, wacky transformations and crude manners. Wario's Wario Land moves also occasionally show up in ''VideoGame/WarioWare'', such as his famous dash attack being used in the "Loot scoot" minigame of ''VideoGame/WarioWareIncMegaMicrogames''.
42	* It's widely believed that there are a set of strict guidelines regarding the ''Mario'' series, informally referred to as the "Mario Mandates", that prevent spinoff games (particularly [=RPGs=]) from using characters and locations that don't appear in ''Mario'' platformers. This rumor started around the time ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' released, bringing with it a ContinuityReboot that traded in the diverse cast of previous games for identical-looking Toads, and gained ground when interviews regarding ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' seemingly confirmed that the team was "no longer allowed" to create original characters based off existing ''Mario'' species. Other ''Mario'' spinoffs released around the same time as and after these, however, still feature diverse casts and settings -- most notably, the remake of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' still uses unique designs for the Chancellor and other Toad characters -- indicating that these "mandates" are strictly an internal decision on Intelligent Systems' part, fueled by an overly literal interpretation of Shigeru Miyamoto's suggestion that the team "prioritize using characters from the main ''Mario'' universe wherever possible."[[note]]Miyamoto also didn't approve of the end result, referring to a near-final build of ''Sticker Star'' as "boring." He also apparently had some choice words with co-producer Kensuke Tanabe over the game's portrayal of Bowser as TheVoiceless, which would explain why he talks again in the sequels.[[/note]]
43	* Daisy's infamous "Hi, I'm Daisy!" quote is hit with this twice. There's one crowd that thinks Daisy says this in every single appearance, but another crowd that will counteract this by saying she only says this in ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!''. Neither is true. In addition to ''Double Dash!!'' she also says this in ''Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games'' before the start of some events. ''Double Dash!!'', however, is still the only game where she says the line that frequently.
44	* A very common misconception about the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' series is that the disliked gameplay changes after ''Mario Party 8'' and ''Mario Party DS'' were due to the developers switching from Hudson Soft to [=NDCube=], this is actually incorrect. After Hudson Soft merged with Konami, various of its developers moved to [=NDCube=], including most --if not all-- of the core ''Mario Party'' team (such as [[https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Kenji_Kikuchi Kenji Kikuchi]], the series creator and director until ''Mario Party 5'', and [[https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Shuichiro_Nishiya Shuichiro Nishiya]], the series director since ''Mario Party 6'') as well as former Hudson president Hidetoshi Endo, who became the president of [=NDCube=]. This means that all gameplay changes that happened in ''Mario Party 9'' and ''Mario Party 10'' (as well as the spin-offs) and later ''Super Mario Party'' were all deliberate changes made by the original developers of the prior installments to switch things up, and not the result of developers changing. Likewise, the return to the original gameplay in ''Mario Party Superstars'' was a conscious decision to return to the roots made by the original developers, who remained involved with the series.

Context CommonKnowledge / SuperMarioBros