It's that time of the year again when we Brits squint at our DAY / MONTH / YEAR calendar formation and try to see the 'MAR10' hidden inside. Yes, MAR10 Day is once again here, and it's a particularly noteworthy one this time, being the 10th year that Nintendo has marked the occasion and the series' 40th anniversary.
Nintendo's celebrating in an unexpectedly flashy way with a couple of new trailers for Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (with a release date), a LEGO set, NSO drops and a Nintendo Music upload following yesterday's Mario Galaxy Movie Direct. Given all that, you might be expecting me to follow suit with a similarly optimistic take on the whole affair. But no. It's time for some cold, hard truths.
In the last two and a half years, an ominous presence has been subtly laying down roots in the background of our prized plumber's escapades. It started as nothing more than a background blur, but I fear we've all been blind to its ever-increasing presence in the months since, and we're now faced with not just an annoying NPC, but a main character in its own right. Its terrifying motto of growth and forward progression should be enough to send a shiver down anyone's spine: onward and upward.
I am talking, of course, about the Talking Flower *a clap of thunder and lightning strikes outside*.
Remember back at the reveal for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, when everyone denounced this chatty little tour guide and its constant barrage of commentary? Such protest has been lost in the years since, and where has that left us? With enough game appearances and character merch that a 'Talking Flower Joins The Fight!' message for a future Smash Bros. game feels far more real than it has any right to.
The truly scary part about the Talking Flower's rise to fame is that it's done so in the shadows, right under the noses of those of us who were quick to click the mute button on its quips back in 2023.
My feelings towards the Talking Flower have always been pretty neutral. I found its inclusion in Wonder to be perfectly harmless (far better than those darn Poplins, at least), though I fully expected it to be a one-and-done deal My surprise stems only from how, right when it seems to have wilted away, another one sprouts up in its place.
It arrived in Wonder, as you'll no doubt remember, and there were some who even confessed to finding the little fella not quite as annoying as they had first imagined. And thus, the fire was lit. The Talking Flower started popping up in Nintendo Switch Online icons and merchandise. Toy manufacturer San-ei Boeki even rolled out a talking plushie for those who really wanted a little more "WoOoAAhh" in their lives.
Things went quiet in 2024, almost to suggest that the Talking Flower's time in the limelight had come to an end. Dear reader, it had not.
It returned with a vengeance in 2025. The September Nintendo Direct not only confirmed that it would rebloom in Wonder's all-new Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, but it would also provide commentary for Mario Tennis Fever, and get another piece of physical talking merch all of its own.
The real kick in the teeth would come in January 2026, however, when Nintendo announced not only that the Talking Flower would be immortalised in amiibo form, but that it would be bundled in with the Captain Toad figure to forever taint an amiibo that we should have had years ago. Oh, the injustice!
And just like that, here we are. Unless Nintendo has some major surprises up its sleeve, we'll be seeing more merch and game appearances from the Talking Flower in 2026 than we will from Link, Samus, Tom Nook and Captain Olimar combined. Is Talking Flower one of Nintendo's big five now?
But hey, perhaps I'm alone in this. Perhaps there's a group out there lobbying for more Talking Flower that I have simply been oblivious to for the past few years. If you're a part of said group, congratulations, you're clearly smashing it.
Do you want to see more from the Talking Flower, or has it already had its day? You can let me know which side of the argument you fall on in the following poll.