There’s nothing that the gaming community loves more than someone finding a ‘cursed copy’ of a beloved childhood game or a way to visit a secret world inside a game universe.
The Mario franchise has been the source of a lot of myths and secrets, including the Paper Mario serial code mystery and the elusive Minus World.
There’s a handful of other stories, with varying levels of truth to them. Some are cases of the Mandela effect, some have been confirmed by Nintendo, and others are outright false.
So, here are eight of our favourite Mario urban legends — from the sublime to the ridiculous via the outright untrue...
Mario Myth #1 - Mario Characters Are Actors (Entire Franchise)
To start, one popular theory is that all the Mario characters are actually actors in a play.
This does make sense. There are some visual nods to the idea in some games. Super Mario Bros. 3 looks like a play, with props bolted to the background and a theatre curtain opening during the introduction.
Also, why else would Bowser be trying to stop Mario in his tracks during a Super Mario Bros. stage but then be perfectly happy to play tennis with him?
Is it true? Yes, this theory has been confirmed by Nintendo. In a 2012 interview with Game Informer, Shigeru Miyamoto noted that he views the Mario characters as more of a big family or "a troupe of actors". He later confirmed that all the (Super Mario) world's a stage on Twitter.
Mario Myth #2 - Wario Apparition (Super Mario 64)
An interesting Super Mario 64 myth is that there’s AI inside the game that personalises each copy for every player. While this would be an incredible feature, you can probably see where this is going.
Something that originated from this myth is the Wario Apparition. Legend has it that if you see a white-eyed Chomp and manage to get through the door that leads to Dire Dire Docks, the Wario Apparition will appear and start chasing you. Some folk even believe that seeing the Wario Apparition can cause physical harm.
Is it true? It’s a great story, but it’s nothing more than that.
The image above is one of the commonly used images seen alongside the story, and it comes from a video used in an E3 presentation in 1996. There are other images and videos associated with the story (and even a soundtrack) but they all have dubious origins.
Mario Myth #3 - Anti-Piracy Screens (Older Mario games)
This one is a little more broad, but if you’ve explored any creepypasta forums online, you may have stumbled across some of the odd anti-piracy screens that can allegedly appear in old video games.
Are these real? While games can certainly contain interesting anti-piracy measures, the vast majority of popular creepy anti-piracy screens are fake. Here's one from Mario Party DS:
In fact, there’s a whole subculture online dedicated to creating these screens. You can find a lot of them on Reddit. The creators of these anti-piracy screens are incredibly talented editors, but for the most part, these screens are not visible in any Mario games.
Mario Myth #4 - Dorrie Eating Mario (Super Mario 64)
It would’ve been impossible to get through this list without an example of the Mandela effect.
Dorrie is a plesiosaur that can be found in Hazy Maze Cave in Super Mario 64, and many fans insist that Dorrie could eat Mario in the original game.
Is it true? This isn’t true but the idea likely comes from a nearby signpost that warns players not to get too close in case they become Dorrie’s lunch. There’s also the small possibility of Mario glitching into the character model and taking damage or drowning.
There is a creature that eats Mario, but it’s a type of giant fish called a Bubba.
Mario Myth #5 - Hell Valley Sky Tree Creatures (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
Some Mario theories are lighthearted and fun, and others are just plain spooky.
This one is more of an unsolved mystery than a legend; the question being what are the Hell Valley Sky Tree Creatures in Super Mario Galaxy 2? In the Shiverburn and Grandmaster Galaxies, eerie creatures can be seen looming over the stage, right at the top of the zone:
And!? After digging around in the game files, Girrtacos managed to find some images. There are technically four creatures, although one is hidden by the cliffs. The name 'Hell Valley Sky Tree' Creatures comes from the filename.
There’s no explicit explanation for these creatures. Fans are still theorising about them to this day, with some players thinking that they’re just part of a scrapped zone and others insisting that they’re demons, based on the file name.
Mario Myth #6 - Luigi and the Hunter Ghost (Luigi’s Mansion)
One popular myth about the original Luigi’s Mansion is that the Safari Room was meant to originally be the zone for a Portrait Ghost called the Hunter. This creepy ghost allegedly wanted to add Luigi to his taxidermy collection. Some fans even insist that they remember seeing the Hunter ghost, describing him as being blue with a mustache, carrying a rifle, and wearing a safari cap and vest.
Is it true? The Hunter ghost doesn’t actually exist in any version of the game.
The origin of this myth? Nintendo Power magazine, which originally wrote about the Portrait Ghost. The issue came out a month after the game launched in Japan and the mention of the Hunter was later said to be a joke.
Mario Myth #7 - Toad Kingdom Citizens Got Turned Into Items (Super Mario Bros.)
One of the oldest theories about Super Mario Bros. is that item bricks and other inanimate objects are actually Toad Kingdom citizens that have been transformed.
The origin of this theory is the original game manual. It states that the “Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants.” This left many fans wondering whether Mario was killing Mushroom People when breaking blocks.
Is it true? Thankfully, page 8 of the same manual references that they've only been turned into item bricks which, while useable, are unbreakable. Existential crisis averted!
Mario Myth #8 - Mario Sunshine’s Mystery Book (Mario Sunshine)
A lot of video game myths have their origins in scrapped content.
While playing through the ‘Red Coins in a Bottle’ mission in Super Mario Sunshine, several hackers found a strange book behind a door that cannot be opened during regular gameplay. The book cannot be interacted with and was found to be part of the game level’s geometry.
It’s incredibly out of place, though. You can see the book for yourself via noclip, or watch the video below for its precise location in-game:
What does it do? Nothing. Many believe that the book was part of a quest that got deleted.
The Noki Bay book is also the subject of a hoax — later disproven by players using the noclip method — that may have originated on a now-unavailable IGN message board suggesting that the book could be reached and read. It was said to contain a message from Shigeru Miyamoto himself telling players that they had no life. Owch.
That's all for today. Let us know below which of the Mario myths above you've encountered before, and any others you've heard in the deepest, darkest corners of the playground/internet over the years...
Comments 31
Making fake piracy screens is so lame and just cheapens the interesting real ones.
@bonjong23
I mean it's no worse than fanfiction. Let people make fun things.
Though I will say that I don't like people spreading misinformation. There's a fine line to balance when it comes to these things. Make fun fanworks, sure, but don't keep trying to insist it's real after the joke has run its course.
I really like the 1st one, and 5th and 6th are eerie and interesting, as a good creepy myth should
No mention of L is Real?
Mario myth #9: When you get the elephant power-up in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, elephant Mario jumps out of the screen, says “its elephantin’ time” and elephants all over the place and the player + forces them to buy Everybody 1-2 Switch
Is it true?: Find out on October 20th!
Surprisingly L is real wasn’t included.
But I also think Waluigi in 64 DS deserves a mention. Me and my brother were convinced he was in the game.
Like the old Pokemon Gameboy game cheats/myths? Mew living under a truck 🚛 please! Missingno. origins make more sense!
The Hell Valley Sky Trees always fascinated me. Same thing with the ghosts that appear in 3D World. Just neat.
I like how people thought Luigi's Mansion would have a time limit when it was just a demo. Knowing how short the game is, that would've been an interesting feature for sure if it was an extra game mode instead.
The one myth about Luigi's shadow being hung in the Telephone Room when there's lightning is actually just a glitch with the shadow's position being based on the camera angle. The 3DS version uses better lighting and shadow positioning, so it doesn't happen anymore.
This was a fun article! Thank you for this! 🙂
I really wish I could get into the Galaxy games. That camera is just not okay for me. The game feels like a bunch of bad bonus levels. Before you tell me how my tastes are awful, I know. And I mean it. Wish I liked them.
Anyway, I can't wait for SMB Wonder. Looks like a joy.
Given the fire and ice theme of the level, it is possible that Hell Valley is in reference to the Hell Valley hot springs in Hokkaido. The sky tree part is likely referencing their positioning on the skybox.
I remember hearing about "the negative world" in Super Mario Bros 1 at several poins in my childhood. I imagined it was some cool black and white stage, or had reverse coloring or something.
Years and years later, it turned out to be real. But it was just the 1-3 water level that spits you back out at the beginning when you reach the end. Still good to know that my classmates weren't entirely full of it.
The guy who made the original Mario Party DS anti piracy screen made a whole ARG out of it, it’s pretty fascinatingly weird.
@bonjong23 Joey Perleoni's (the video linked being one of them) are actually very good horror, being unsettling without gore or jumpscares. The other ones... not so much.
@LikelySatan it's all good. Different strokes for different folks. I always felt like an odd man out for not getting into Odyssey or 64. Variety is the spice of life and what have you. I loved the Galaxy games but that's why Nintendo changes it up, so there something for everyone with each new game of ideas. I'm sure everyone has "sacred" games that they hate.
There are multiple Minus Worlds in SMB. Same for the Famicom version of the game. (You can even access some of these by starting SMB, don't turn off the console, taking out the cartridge, popping in Tennis, move your character around the court, pop SMB back in, and try the last world played trick, you'll end up in a glitch world; Tennis changes specific rom values that SMB uses to determine the last world you were in before a Game Over.)
The L Is Real is myth another good one. I spent a lot of time trying to unlock Luigi in SM64. Likewise Ninja Mario.
A common red herring for me, when I was little, was that game manuals, and box arts convinced me there were secret worlds, and such. The back of the SMB3 boxart is a good example. Later, I discovered that boxarts, and manuals were printed up before the finalized version of a game, so those screenshots on the box were once legit.
Speaking of SMB3, I've always wondered about those hanging globe lights in The Sky (World 5, later renamed Sky Land in second version of SMB3), the tower that connects to the cloud portion of that world. It must be the mandella effect, because I remember them being in the game manual, though I must have been looking at the chain chomp, or the walking candle flame (can't remember the enemy name).
Slight correction on the play thing. Miyamoto only said 3 was a play, plus he said he 'views' the characters as actors, not that they were. (plus, every Miyamoto said should probably be taken with a grain of salt, he's known to give odd, playful answers about this stuff. Like when he said he's Bowser Jr's mom) When he compares them actors, it's more about the way he views story and where each character fits into that but they're not literal actors
Explaining how all the games are 'plays" with the characters as actors is one of my favorite things to do. It's a great story, most people don't know it, and people FLIP THE MOTHER F OUT LIKE I JUST TOLD THEM THEIR GOD IS A LIE.
Also I will remind Nintendolife once again that you can contact me for freelance work and research! This isn't my video, but it covers why the name is "HellVally" and the most likely reason for "Sky Tree" being in the file name.
It also gives you a much better look at the creatures and explains how they are a "sky box", meaning they are always oriented the same from the players perspective, which is why they look so creepy.
While not a slam dunk, it's a pretty solid explanation.
https://youtu.be/oSoMTCDvB8I?t=309
@smolsauce
He's said a LOT of things. I can absolutely confirm he has said all the games are a play in interviews. He's also said 3 is a play. He's also said that 1 isn't a play, contradicting his pervious statement.
He's also said that the side scrolling games are plays, the 3d games are TV shows (which is why you being recorded in Mario 64), and the "paper" games are real but a different continuity.
He has also said he didn't say that, and he sees the "paper" games as stories told by Mario fans in a sketch book. He also said the sports and collaboration games are all "real" and that's what life in the Kingdom is like.
He also said that Mario is LITERALLY HIS CHILD. He's said that more then once, and the interview I saw was actually surreal. It's like basically ...
"He's my child"
"You mean you see him like one of your children?"
"No he's actually my child"
"You mean like you ... created him so he's like your offspring?"
"I mean he's actually my child"
So they are right. So are you. And given that in 35 years of interviews he's said basically anything you can think of and then also gone back and said he changed his mind, a monkey hitting random keys has a good chance of being right.
Look at Zelda. There is an actual interview where he explains his idea of how the games fit together, the reporter responds with a different idea, and he says "Oh, I like that better. That's what it will be from now on" ... and the REPORTER'S IDEA is what's in the official guide book.
The man is not exactly a die hard when it comes to continuity.
@Captain-N Back when I was a kid, I heard a rumour that those hanging lights were traps- basically a ball-and-chain type thing- and would sometimes start swinging, making that room much more difficult.
After being lucky enough to find them dormant several times in a row, it became clear that this was completely made up!
Did anyone else talk about this, or was it a unique/local hoax?
PS: I'm going to look up other versions of that manual, just to be sure the lights aren't mentioned... sometimes revisions can throw you off, so you start doubting what you saw. See also: certain US/Canadian versions of SMB3 using the Japanese world names (e.g., "Castle of Koopa"), or the earliest PlayStation manuals including the pronunciation of each button ("eks", not cross!). These are both very real!
EDIT: Looks like the North American B&W and colour variants both have the exact same content, and Japan is pretty close. Finding PAL manuals is nearly impossible, apparently.
I never heard of #2, #6 and #7 before. I found 7 in particular to be very amusing, lol.
You think they’re bad?
Back in the 1990s I once heard somebody tell me that the 2D Mario games are better than the 2D Sonic games.
Note there is a myth.
Oh, you Hunter Ghost skeptics.
He's real I tell you! I saw him!
@LikelySatan Nah, man. I gave Galaxy a try but I just found it dull. Extremely dull. So you are not alone.
The biggest myth is that Mario is a plumber.
When Mario uses the Cherry item in 3D he gains a clone.
If the first Mario jumps of an edge, the Cherry clone remains and you control them instead. So is the Mario at the end of 3D World just a clone? Was there even an original Mario to begin with?
great article!
Trying to recall a Mario myth from the NES days in the school playgrounds.......
For the original Super Mario Bros. I recall people would talk about Minus World (which is obviously true now) and worlds after the flagpole (which was true with the Lost Levels). I don't think I've heard any of the above but I'll come back and re-edit if I remember any more from my childhood at least.
@smoreon Sorry for the very late reply. Yes, I have friends, who also heard those lights were traps similar to chain chomp/ball n chain.
It's hell valley sky tree creatures and noki bay book for me as they are the ones I actually found in game. Well actually I just found the door when it comes to Noki bay. It still intrigued me to no end though. Guess I should have fiddled just a bit more with that crazy mario sunshine camera. I swear that thing has a life of its own. Thank the nintendo gods for it though as it's definitely part of what makes this game special and I absolutely loved it and very much regretted that they opted for no camera control AT ALL in Galaxy 1 and 2, probably due to the backlash they got after sunshine.
To stay on topic though I never really cared for stuff that is entirely made up and much prefer speculation based on unexplained mysteries that really exist in game.
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