If you have ever thought even remotely deeply about the reality of the Super Mario universe (which we wouldn't recommend doing, seriously), then you might have bumped up against the most simple of questions: why does Mario get hurt when a Goomba hits him? As it turns out, this is something that Miyamoto was asked back in the days of the NES, and only with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, has Nintendo managed to visualise the reason.
According to a new 'Ask the Developer' interview that Nintendo has published today, Miyamoto's answer back then was because the Goombas bite Mario on impact (at least, that's the way that Wonder's art director, Masanobu Sato remembers it), and so the Wonder developers decided to add an animation into the upcoming platformer to make this statement a reality.
You can find the relevant section below in which Sato, director Shiro Mouri and game designer Koichi Hayashida all commented on the chompy new addition.
Sato: We talked about the evolution of hardware earlier – I heard that someone once asked Miyamoto-san why Mario takes damage when he bumps into a Goomba from the side in the original Super Mario Bros. game. Apparently, he answered, "It's because the Goombas bite him".
Mouri: Even if that was what was happening, due to hardware limitations at the time, the graphics weren't capable of showing that much detail.
Sato: That's right. But now we are able to show those expressions.
Hayashida: Goombas have a biting expression the moment they do damage.
Sato: Yes, and when they bite you, they'll do it with a smile on their face! (Laughs)
So there you go, while canonically the Goombas have always given Mario a little bite upon impact (at least, according to Miyamoto), Mario Wonder will be the first time that we can actually see this nibbling attack in action.
The Ask the Developer interview goes on to discuss the process of creating the new Rolla Koopa enemies, Elephant Mario's abilities and more, so we'd recommend checking out parts one and two in full on the official Nintendo site now before the latter half of the interview is released tomorrow.