Fans of Super Mario World will attest that it's one of the finest 2D platformers of all time, but it hides a troubling secret.
Since the game was released in 1990, fans have debated whether or not Mario is actually punching Yoshi on the head when he shoots his tongue out. The close proximity of Mario's fist to Yoshi's head - combined with a convincing sound effect - certainly seemed to lend some credibility to this stance.
A while back, the website Supper Mario Broth (thanks, Kotaku) decided that enough was enough and presented the case for the defence. The site argued that Nintendo's mascot couldn't possibly be so cruel, and that he was actually pointing to show Yoshi what should be licked. This theory seemed watertight, especially when combined with official art which showed Mario's index finger extended, but no contact between his hand and Yoshi's bonce.
However, a recent interview on Nintendo's Japanese site with designer Takashi Tezuka and artist Shigefumi Hino reveals the sinister truth: Mario likes hitting lizard type creatures.
Takashi Tezuka: I think [Miyamoto] likes horses. When we were making [Super Mario Bros. 3], he drew a picture of Mario riding a horse and had put it up on wall next to where he sits. When I saw that, I thought, ‘I guess he wants Mario to ride something.’ So, when we were making Super Mario World, we had this ‘dinosaur land’ concept, and I had Hino draw reptile type art.
Shigefumi Hino: Initially the keyword that I had was ‘horse,’ so I imagined something quite later and, for the time being, drew a large lizard type creature.
Takashi Tezuka: It looked like a crocodile.
Shigefumi Hino: Lots of people think that while Mario is pointing his finger foreward, he’s saying ‘Go,’ and Yoshi’s tongue comes out. However, the set up that I drew was that when Mario punches Yoshi in the head, the character’s tongue shoots out in surprise. What’s more, there’s an added ‘bop’ sound. However, it seemed like people would say ‘Poor Yoshi,’ so that’s why it became that Mario is saying ‘Go.’
So there you have it; Mario was being a jerk to Yoshi all along. First we find out he's no longer a plumber, then this. Can you really trust this guy anymore? Can you trust anyone? Tsk.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 61
@Lizuka Mario should be locked up for Yoshi abuse
You can be an even bigger jerk by shooting Yoshi in the back of the head while playing "Yoshi's Safari"
The horror... the horror...
Well considering he enters kingdoms and squashes and shoots all of its inhabitants for no other reason than to save his girl, then it should be of no surprise to learn that he punches his friend in the head.
It's all make believe anyway.
didnt know mario was mean to dinosaurs...
And how about the fact that all the blocks in Super Mario Bros. are in fact citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom? I’m sorry to say it, but this Mario fella is no good.
@crackafreeze lol. He is useful in the time of need.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
(Yoshi, in front of a chasm while riding on Mario's back, Dorkly skit)
Yoshi is invincible anyways. In yoshi's island, if he got "hurt", all that would happen is baby Mario bubbling up. Also, have you seen yoshi's demeanor when he is sinking in lava? It's almost as if he doesn't even notice...
Trust me, yoshi is doing just fine.
Idk if it was slowdown on my phone or what, but I was able to see the move in really slow motion and Yoshi clearly started the squinting animation before Mario "made contact"...so this is all just a bunch of nothing
Plus they've been presented as friends/allies in all future games.
He knows it's going to happen, also he knows he deserves it
@Lizuka I have killed so many Yoshis this way... I was a monster as a kid!
Not the sort of info you need being leaked when you're just about to launch a new game!
@AlexSora89 I don't think they ever topped that one.
Animal rights activists incoming in 3,2,1....
Mario also HAD to jump off yoshi and leave him falling to his death in order to make it to Star World on the bridge in Super Mario World. Yoshi's are disposable slaves in the mushroom kingdom. lol
Well, I guess if Yoshi wants revenge he can settle it with Mario on Smash.
I've also caught Mario mansplaining to Daisy.
I'm sure Yoshi is thick skinned, even though he looks all soft green and cute.
Please don't involve PETA in this. They'll make another parody flash game.
Woah! Well, settle it in Smash I say.
I ... Erm... Hmm. 😯
Sounds like he drew it as a "bop" but it became a point.
"so that’s why it became that Mario is saying ‘Go.’"
Read the article, Yoshi! bops
I knew it! Poor little Yoshi!
@imananjidesuka If you can’t find any info, then I’d guess a lot...
And now LameTheory is gonna flaunt this. -_-
So wait, people think Mario is a jerk for "Bopping" Yoshi in the head..........instead of the countless times Mario just ditched Yoshi in mid-air and let him fall or drown to his death.....I mean come on
I don’t think I have the mental capacity to handle this revelation...
@Damo
Proof! Just like the old Smash Bros commercial. Remember? Mario trips Yoshi and that is what starts the fighting!
People was surprise that Mario is abusing Yoshi but wasn't surprise about the countless Birdos he killed over the years in Super Mario Bros. 2?
@Aozz101x Even worst, in the upcoming Super Mario Odyssey, he could finally possess dinosaur (a real looking one this time).
Here's something I've always wondered about Peta people. What happens when they have rats? I know their disgusting and disease ridden, but they are animals.
@outsider83 They have proven that they have no qualms about killing animals. Many of the animals they 'save'(steal) gets put down no less than an hour later, even if the animal is in excellent condition and adoptable. There was one recent case where they stole a dog that was only a year old, in broad daylight and right off the family's poorch, and put her down within an hour. The saddest part, that puppy was a little girl's christmas present.
@ItalianBaptist That's only because he has hit him before and Yoshi is flinching before it happens, lol.
Poor ole Yoshi this and having to put up with that crying Baby Mario as well, it's a wonder Yoshi still has any dealings with Mario . I always thought Mario was punching Yoshi's head though .
lol
@sp_initiate-001 Thanks for the info! Which has me wondering something else. What is PETA really about?
@Kupoling Yoshi still dies instantly to spikes and lava.
But what about the countless ROM hacks that consider dropping Yoshi into a pit a necessary survival feature? Send PETA after those mod creators!
I don't remember the art but I do remember thinking Yoshi was getting sucker punched the first time I saw it back in 1991.
Poor Yoshi. It kind of makes you wonder....all the times mario gets off to go "take care of" some cute turtles.....doesn't the portly plumber ever look tasty to battered little Yoshi?
@outsider83 Many people defend them citing the goals of lower level functionaries. Plenty of people who DO care about animals join PETA, and they personally are there for the right reasons, and therefore defend the organization because they BELIEVE the organization stands for what they stand for. But it isn't. You can read what the organization stands for in their own official words right on their own website. It's a bizarre dystopian organization that would make Orwell blush. Like the Ministry of Love, (which was the torture/secret police division of Orwells Airstrip One government), which was the Ministry of Love (through use of torture and imprisonment) because they taught everyone to love Big Brother, and the Ministry of Peace (the war department) created peace through the destruction of those who oppose them, so too is PETA. They seek an end to the cruelty of animals. They've defined pet ownership as cruelty. And they've highlighted the destruction of pets and all sources of acquiring one as a satisfactory means of accomplishing this. Therefore by murdering pets, they are preventing cruelty to animals.
If you know any humans suffering from disease, disability, or just difficult circumstances in life, make sure to murder them as fast as you can. It's better for them that way! That's the PETA way!
It compounds the problem because there are many people in the organization that don't understand what the organization really is, who DO mean well for animals and are really involved with the wrong organization....but they unfortunately provide cover and legitimacy for a monstrous program.
Meanwhile they have attention-seeking campaigns for sometimes legit, often not legit issues largely for fundraising purposes. One thing we can bet on. The kind souls dedicating their lives to the protection of helpless animals doubtfully make less than seven figures and live in a home who's garage costs more than you and I will ever make in our lives combined
And let's not forget Mario's rough treatment of the large aquatic dinosaur in SM64's Hazy Maze Cave.
Clearly, this man has something against dinosaurs!
Wow, what a scandal! It's time to impeach Mario as mascot of Nintendo and bring in WARIO! WAAAA HA HA HAAAAAH!
I mean, sometimes Mario lets Yoshi fall into a pit in order to save himself, so yeah kind of a Jerk.
@Biff_ARMStrong are you referring to Cheese Bridge, where you have to go under the goal to get to the secret goal? Because that can be accomplished with a cape (that's how I've usually done it, given taking Yoshi there requires bouncing off a ton of saws as the last stretch of the level lacks solid ground and Yoshi can't hold a rope).
@GeminiSaint Dorrie! That thing always freaked me out as a kid, like every time I had to ground pound on it to get on its head I was afraid it would attack me or something...
@patbacknitro18 ditching Yoshi in a pit is usually a player's choice and not necessarily a canonic reaction of Mario. Punching him in the head is an actual mechanic required to eat things, which is Yoshi's whole shtick.
@ItalianBaptist idk if I'd dismiss it as fault if one of the designers actually just stated it as true. You don't get much more canonical than that.
@ShadJV Yeah that's true actually. I forgot that you can actually get under the goal and onto the platform with the right height momentum with the cape. Most people know the Yoshi way and there are even meme's about Mario being a Yoshi killer. lol
@outsider83
PETA is an organization that stands for animal equality with humans (treating animals with the same laws and respect that are given to humans). For example, they are against the animal food industry & any practice that harms or kills animals.
The goals of the organization are all fine and good, but why they end up being the butt of jokes is that their decision making and tactics tare beyond horrible. Instead of going about things in a sensible or logical way they tend to go to the extreme and cause great damage to their cause every step of the way. For example, instead of raising awareness of animal cruelty, they would rather throw red paint on random people they see wearing fur. They are generally hated both by those who agree & disagree with their cause.
@ShadJV Yoshi will happily eat any berries he passes without being told to. If berries are a Yoshi's natural/favorite food, then, Mario isn't even just punching him in the head to make him eat stuff, he's punching him in the head to make him eat stuff he doesn't even like.
@gutsdozier
You can only expect so much from Dorkly.
@imananjidesuka
Going by ebay, I'm seeing prices ranging from $150 up to $650. One active bid is currently at $70 (but could go up later).
I thought everyone knew Mario donkey punched Yoshi. Given how he treated DK, is it a surprise to anyone?
@Tempestryke Your forgetting that DK started it by kidnapping Pauline, trashing an entire building to prevent someone from rescuing her, and lastly tossing barrels with the intent to kill.
Next you're gonna tell me that jockeys in the Kentucky Derby are hitting the horses with those black whip-like things and not just gesturing "Go"!
From Game Theory to Game Fact! Mat Pat called it! And people doubted him! Suck it haters!
Lol!
"so that’s why it became that Mario is saying ‘Go.’"
So officially Mario isn't hitting him he's pointing, the original concept art had him hitting Yoshi, but was changed to make Mario seem like a better guy.
So Mario wasn't being a jerk all along because it never made it into the final product.
That closing statement is invalid.
Peta guest starred in Pokemon black and white as "Team Plasma" and no one liked them then either
i Knew it!
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...