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Regarding Banzai/Bomber Bills, I remember seeing you claim that they have awareness. While Bullet Bills occasionally do show that they can emote, move, or in one case speak, the ONLY game I've seen even suggest the big guys are alive was Kingdom Battle which is non-canon. MLBIS had a whole plot point about one and it was treated as a prop with no sentience whatsoever. PMCS and MKWorld have Bomber Bill factories and they seem to be "props" there too. What exactly makes them seem alive to you?
They are treated no differently from Bullet Bills (who are also made in factories, treated as props, etc. despite being sentient), why wouldn’t they be alive? They have eyes (that move), they can get Power-Ups. They definitely seem as alive as Bullet Bills are to me.
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Super pumped to have been a part of getting this together, it’s one of my favourite details (so far) that I’ve seen in the game.
The Cars of Mario Kart World
Mario Kart World introduces a brand new open-world style to the Mario Kart series, and with it, an entire island jam-packed with details to explore. While others were focused on completing missions, finding medallions or jamming to the banger soundtrack, another detail caught my attention: The many cars, trucks and other vehicles seen all over the island.
Together with @seandwalsh, we have catalogued every type of vehicle that can be found in this game, and discovered there seems to be a surprising amount of thought over which brands each vehicle belongs to. So here's our breakdown of what the biggest car manufacturers in Mario Kart World are!
Dash
The biggest car brand in Mario Kart World seems to be Dash, represented by a mushroom emblem. What could be their main office can be seen in Crown City, plastered with advertisements and their logo all around. Their slogan is "Accelerate the fun". They appear to sell popular cars for regular use, and are responsible for most cars around the island, including taxis and sheriff cars.
Fire Flower
Fire Flower is another brand of cars for popular use found in Mario Kart World. Their emblem is a square-ish Fire Flower and their slogan, according to a sticker, is "Bloom outdoors". This fits perfectly with the types of cars that carry their emblem, those being outdoors cars such as minivans, RVs and off-road cars. Amazing attention to detail.
Fire Flower also provided the new Mario Kart Television vans.
Super Leaf
Leaving the realm of cars, Super Leaf seems to be the main seller of large vehicles, and their emblem is, adequately, a Super Leaf. They are responsible for the cargo trucks, ramp trucks and tour buses that provide service around the island. The large drivable cargo trucks also appear to be modified versions of this company's trucks.
Interestingly, they make the box trucks that run around dropping Dash Mushrooms on the road. These trucks also have Toad Manufacturing branding on them (the company that runs Toad’s Factory), suggesting that they collaborated with them (or maybe modified Super Leaf trucks).
They also have a smaller mini truck model for regular use.
Banana
The Banana brand might only have a single model of trucks found in Mario Kart World, which bears this company's banana emblem on them, but it's clear that thought was still put in this Donkey Kong-owned company. Their trucks are seen carrying barrel cannons and surfboard ramps around roads. Fitting, for the Kongs.
As a bonus, I have a small theory about this company. Taking the fact that this is a Kong company and that their trucks are used to carry surfboard ramps around, it makes me think of one specific mechanic Kong with a love of surfing…. Funky has been involved in making barrel cannons before, after all.
Nothing is confirmed, but this is fun headcanon to have.
Spiny
The last brand seen on vehicles around the island is called Spiny, and they are branded with a Spiny Shell emblem. Only one model of truck carries this emblem, a purple pickup truck with orange flames. Given the name, and how their trucks are the only ones that carry enemies, it's possible this company is owned by Bowser or Bowser's Minions.
These trucks have been seen carrying Bomber Bill cannons, Hammer Bros., Spikes and other minions, (and vending machines, apparently). A fun little detail is that, unlike other cars that have Toads, Koopa Troopas and Shy Guys driving them around, Spiny trucks have only Koopa Troopas, the most iconic forces in Bowser's Minions.
Rosalina Automobile
A Rosalina Automobile (or Automobiles, pick one, Nintendo!) building can be found in Crown City, along with other advertisements and stickers around the island, but no cars seem to bear their star-shaped emblem. For a game with so much attention to detail, it seems odd to have a car brand with no cars. Maybe they haven't opened yet? Or maybe they're actually a rental service?
Other vehicles
Lastly, a few other vehicles don't seem to carry any car brands, making it difficult to guess which company made them.
One of them is a toy-esque car with Toad Manufacturing branding that races around dropping items on the road. Unlike the Mushroom truck, this one has no apparent emblem on it. Since it looks much more cartoony, and resembles the design of Toad's Factory, it is perhaps an entirely original creation by them.
The other three of those vehicles are all the same model of pickup truck, seen carrying around pipes and lifts. They belong to a company called Hammer Bros. Repair Services, but it is unclear who provided the vehicles themselves. The truck's grill and headlights form the shape of a spanner, so perhaps they were customized by this company.
And that's all @seandwalsh and I could gather from the vehicles seen in Mario Kart World!
Thank you for reading through my ramblings, and I hope you can now appreciate this miniscule detail in an already amazing game. If I find anything else about those vehicles, I'll make sure to make a follow up post in the future!
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Do you have any ideas about what's going on with Pauline in Donkey Kong Bananza? Why is she a child when the game is set in the modern day? Time travel? A redesign just for this game? Completely seperate person with the same name (and singing talent)? It's driving me...bananas....
I wish!
These are all very good questions! However without any meaningful evidence from trailers (only happenstance), I don’t have the answers yet…
However, I’m sure there will be answers when the game releases next month. Aging a character down by 15 years or so, without explanation, is not something Nintendo, let alone Mario or Donkey Kong games have ever done. I am positive that the promotional material is being intentionally vague about why Pauline is so young and what VoidCo wants with her to drum up online discussion and intrigue - and it’s certainly worked on me!
I’ll be first in line at launch to find out exactly what the deal is here.
At the moment, the best hypothesises I’ve seen speculate that VoidCo is responsible, and that her being young was necessary for whatever they’re doing with the Banandium Root at the core of the world. Either she’s been time-displaced or magically de-aged, and this franchise is hardly a stranger to either concept. Let’s wait and see!
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The Stuffed Bellbloom and the Mystery of Sparklium: A Pikmin Theory
Hey! Pikmin (HP) is considered a black sheep in the Pikmin series, standing out by offering a much different style of gameplay compared to other entries. Because of this, HP is often overlooked and disregarded when compared to the more streamlined, numerical entries. Despite this treatment, the influence of HP on the series cannot be denied, with one of the most prominent examples being the presence of Sparklium in Pikmin 4, an energy source first introduced in HP. Given the clear story relevance that HP has on the rest of the series, it may be worth analyzing other aspects of the game to see if a greater understanding of the wider narrative can be gleaned.
In the second level of Snowfall Field, the seventh sector of the game, Olimar encounters an enemy called a Stuffed Bellbloom.

This enemy appears to be a bulbous yellow sphere, with four tiny legs supporting its massive frame. On the front of its body are what appear to be porous holes, potentially its eyes. It has a large tail on its rear, resembling the opening of a bag, fitting given it releases Sparklium Seeds from this “opening” during the fight. Upon being defeated, it drops the Fond-O-Sphere, recognizable as a marble with a heart in it. While it may be easy to overlook a strange, one-off enemy in a Pikmin game, there may be more to this creature than meets the eye. Its general appearance heavily calls to mind a more common Pikmin enemy, the Yellow Wollyhop.

While these aesthetic similarities alone are rather striking, Young Yellow Wollyhops, the juvenile form of a Yellow Wollyhop, are frequently encountered in this area, with two being located right before the chamber of the Stuffed Bellbloom, suggesting a relationship between these juveniles and the Bellbloom.

Furthermore, it can be demonstrated via gameplay footage that the Yellow Wollyhop and the Stuffed Bellbloom have very similar mannerisms and attacks; they both hop in the air before crashing down on any Pikmin below them, and upon death they turn over on their side, defeated.
Given the aesthetic similarities as well as the direct connection to Young Yellow Wollyhops, it’s a reasonable conclusion that the Stuffed Bellbloom is, somehow, a Yellow Wollyhop. However, that merely opens the door for more questions; how does a Yellow Wollyhop change so drastically to become the alien-like Stuffed Bellbloom we see in HP?
The plot of HP (and to a lesser extent, Pikmin 4) revolves around collecting the previously mentioned Sparklium, or Sparkling Energy (キラキラエネルギー), a strange type of energy that is used as fuel for space-faring vessels, such as the S.S. Dolphin II and the S.S. Shepherd. This strange fuel is acquired in various ways, including by siphoning it from a wide variety of strange items.
Indeed, Sparklium is found in many objects, from household items like a Gameboy Advance to even living things such as plants - seeds full of Sparklium, also called Sparkle Seeds (キラの実), are found in abundance in HP. The Fond-O-Sphere that the Stuffed Bellbloom drops also contains Sparklium energy. Given that Sparklium can affect flora, as demonstrated by Sparklium Seeds, is it also possible that it can affect fauna?
The final boss of HP is the Berserk Leech Hydroe, which was originally just the Leech Hydroe until an important part of Olimar’s Ship, the Sparklium Converter, was lodged in its head. Olimar has this to say about it in the ingame logbook:
Normally, this is a harmless species of plant life. We only found out later that it grew vicious because the Sparklium Converter fell from the ship during our crash landing, falling onto the Leech Hydroe as it slumbered. The influx of energy sent its parasitic urges out of control.
Olimar - Hey! Pikmin
From here, we learn exactly what caused the Leech Hydroe to become violent and change appearance; the influx of energy - that is, the Sparklium from the Converter - modified its biology, sending its “parasitic urges out of control.” Because of this, we can determine that Sparklium can affect non plant-life as well. With this in mind, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the Stuffed Bellbloom is a Yellow Wollyhop that has been “affected” by Sparklium to a degree that its physical makeup has been substantially changed from that of a typical Yellow Wollyhop.
However, that merely opens the door to another question: If Sparklium can affect creatures in this way, what is Sparklium?
The Geiger Counter ship part that can be found in both Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 4 could be particularly revelatory here. As Olimar says,
This noisy gauge is always letting off spontaneous clicks and buzzes. It can be kind of annoying.
Olimar - Pikmin
Naturally, the implication here is that the Geiger Counter is commonly surrounded by radiation. This insinuates that the surface of PNF-404 is irradiated, which suggests a possibility: Sparklium may simply be radiation.
This interpretation of Sparklium is also supported by an in-universe note from Olimar in Pikmin 4, detailing treasure. It is accompanied by the following image:
Interestingly, per Pikipedia, the fan-run Pikmin Wiki, the above image features the following sentences written in the in-universe alphabet first used in Pikmin 3:
The references to dispersion and compression in this context are interesting; compression refers to the turning of raw Sparklium into fuel - probably by a Sparklium Converter, as seen in Olimar's S.S. Dolphin II in HP. Dispersion, however, could refer to the dispersion of radioactive ions, resulting in objects and creatures being influenced by radiation energy. This seems even more likely with the separation of "ion" from the rest of the term in dispersion.
This would explain several things: why Sparklium can be found within objects as well as living things such as plants and animals, why it can be used as an energy source, and, pertinent to the original purpose of the article, why it had the effect it did on the Stuffed Bellbloom.
A Yellow Wollyhop hoarded items full of Sparklium - or, more blatantly, radiation - which severely irradiated its body and caused its molecular makeup to begin drastically changing from its previous form.
In conclusion, while this isn’t necessarily conclusive on the topic of what Sparklium is, it strongly supports the notion that Sparklium is radiation energy.
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Where do the characters get the stuff they use In the Mario Kart Games from? And did the characters design the tracks that have their names?
I’m not quite sure what stuff you’re specifically referring to, but regardless, the answer is quite complicated. Assuming you’re talking about Karts and Items, the answer is “various places”.
Back in Super Mario Kart, while Mario was likely the one who organised, funded or at least initially proposed the event, Lakitu was the coordinator of the event, and ran the tracks. In the beginning they had more conservative rules surrounding the vehicles in use on the courses:
Hi everybody! Thanks for dropping by the Super Mario Kart race track. My name is Lakitu, I run this track. If you need my help, I'll be around. We race one seater, metal pipe frame go carts here. There are two engine sizes to choose from: 50cc or 100cc.
[Source: INTRODUCTION, Page 2, Instruction Booklet of Super Mario Kart, September 1992]
Mario Kart stated out a a fun recreational event with a handful of trophies. That’s the main reason the characters take part, and it has been the reason since the very beginning, in Super Mario Kart. Each one of the characters is competing due to their connection to Mario.
An adorable little kart racetrack has been built in the Mario world! Mario and his happy-go-lucky friends have gotten so enthusiastic about kart racing that they're already causing a ruckus! Even now, they're smack in the middle of a race! Let's take a quick peek at how it's going, shall we? Oh, it's just about to start! Even the usually cute characters look a little tense. Let's watch Mario and friends fight hard!
[Source: Intro, Japanese Store Promo for Super Mario Kart, August 1992]
However, in the years since it has become the Mushroom Kingdom’s premiere racing event and grown significantly. Racers from various Kingdoms take part resulting in an incredibly diverse audience. Mario Kart now has dozens of sponsors for each Grand Prix, extended tournaments, its own television network, branded tracks and inter-dimensional courses and guest racers.
Mario Kart 64 was the first major step in this direction, but Mario Kart: Double Dash!! brought things even further. From its manual:
THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM’S PREMIER RACING EVENT IS BACK! HOWEVER, THERE’S BEEN ONE MAJOR CHANGE TO THE RULES OF THE ROAD… THERE ARE NOW TWO RIDERS PER KART! NOW, RIDERS FROM THROUGHOUT THE LAND HAVE COME TOGETHER NO TEST THEIR DRIVING SKILLS. WHICH PAIR WILL PROVE THE FASTEST?
[Source: The Double Dash Grand Prix!, Page 6, Instruction Booklet of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, November 2003]
When Mario Kart started out, standard Pipe Frames were the only legal builds for the Mario GP. These models were likely built by Mario and his friends themselves.
However, with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! the Pipe Frames were retired in favour of a variety of Karts. Many of these karts were custom-made or modified pre-existing cars. Take Luigi's kart of choice in Mario Kart DS, for example: the Poltergust 4000. This Kart is part of the Poltergust series, a line of inventions created by Professor E. Gadd.
Another pair of examples are the Wario Car, which Wario makes use of in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, and the Wario Bike, which Wario makes use of in Mario Kart Wii. These are Wario's personal car and bike, which he uses in the Wario Land and WarioWare titles, and both were built by Wario's friend Dr. Crygor:
I AM DR. CRYGOR, THE GENIUS SCHOLAR. OTHERS HAVE SAID A "DANGEROUS" SCHOLAR, BUT I PAY NO MIND TO THEIR OPINIONS. MY LABORATORY IS SET UP TO FURTHER MY EXPERIMENTS IN REALITY GAMES. FEEL FREE TO STOP BY AND CONTRIBUTE TO MY RESEARCH. IT IS QUITE FUN. DID YOU KNOW THAT I WAS THE ONE WHO CREATED WARIO'S CAR? WHAT? YOU DO NOT KNOW? DO YOUR RESEARCH!
[Source: The Laboratory Authority - Dr. Crygor, Page 21, Instruction Booklet of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, May 2003]
This odd genius lives in seclusion. He built Wario’s bike. Mona’s moped, Kat’s sword, and Jimmy’s cell phone. He wears a cryogenic suit that doesn’t protect his head.
[Source: Dr. Crygor's character profile, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!, April 2004]
The Standard Kart series of builds was then introduced as a replacement for the Pipe Frame in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 and carried into tournaments from Mario Kart DS onwards. As a result of this, in later tournaments, custom or pre-existing vehicles were allowed to enter the tournament upon being modified to be legal for the Grand Prix. The Pipe Frames did eventually return in tournaments from Mario Kart 7 onwards, which featured more in-depth kart customisation.
Speaking of which, the Mario Kart events are sponsored by other brands Mario owns, such as Mario Motors, Mario Star, etc. These sponsors, as well as the many others not otherwise connected to Mario, likely fund the events and even provide them with parts and supplies.
It stands to reason that Mushroom Piston Engines provides engines, Fuzzy Battery provides batteries, Bob-omb Plugs provides spark plugs, Dream Gliders provides gliders, 1-Up Fuel provides fuel, Bowser Oil provides oil, 100% Organic Antifreeze provides antifreeze, etc.
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 makes reference to a Grand Prix Committee, which sends letters to Cup winners to invite them to the Cup’s special Challenge stage. Their letters are closed with an “M” stamped seal. This would imply Mario is at least on this committee, if not the head of it. This is presumably the committee that organises the events and decides which participants to invite, what items will be used, etc.
As mentioned previously, all of the participants either know Mario directly or have connections to people who know Mario. The Super Mario Kart manual seems to call attention to how each of the participant racers connect to Mario specifically.
MARIO & LUIGI The Mario Brothers have pretty much the same abilities in cart driving. Mario and Luigi have had a friendly rivalry that goes back to their childhood.
[Source: THE 8 CART DRIVERS, Page 21, Instruction Booklet of Super Mario Kart, September 1992]
PRINCESS & YOSHI At first, you might think that The Princess and Yoshi would have nothing in common (except their fondness for Mario).
[Source: THE 8 CART DRIVERS, Page 22, Instruction Booklet of Super Mario Kart, September 1992]
BOWSER & DONKEY KONG JR. These two drivers have long been Mario's arch enemies.
[Source: THE 8 CART DRIVERS, Page 23, Instruction Booklet of Super Mario Kart, September 1992]
While Toad and Koopa Troopa's descriptions don't specifically connect them to Mario, Toad is of course a long-time friend of Mario and servant to Peach, while Koopa Troopa is a minion of Bowser:
Usually a faithful underling of Bowser, [Koopa Troopa] shows even the big boss no mercy during a race.
[Source: Characters and Special Items, Page 20, Instruction Booklet of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, November 2003]
Koopa Troopa, of the Turtle Tribe. Usually one of Bowser's minions, but as far as races go, it's a different story!?
[Source: Characters, Mario Kart Wii, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]
In short, Mario is what brings them all together - and in turn they each bring their own special items. The iconic Banana Peels thrown by racers in the Mario Kart series are actually from the Kong's Banana Hoard on Donkey Kong Island, having originally been brought to the races by Donkey Kong Jr. back in Super Mario Kart:
Because of Donkey Kong Jr.! He likes bananas, and the peels are slippery, so they got the okay.
[Source: Tadashi Sugiyama, Director and C.G. Designer of Super Mario Kart, Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES developer interview – Volume 4: Super Mario Kart, September 2017]
In the original game, the only CPU-controlled character who throws banana peels is Donkey Kong Jr., which was a way to characterise the characters.
[Source: Hideki Konno, Director of Super Mario Kart, Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES developer interview – Volume 4: Super Mario Kart, September 2017]
Despite Donkey Kong Jr. not appearing in tournaments after Super Mario Kart, it seems his son, the current Donkey Kong, continued to supply Bananas from Mario Kart 64 onwards. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong even brought along some Giant Bananas in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart: Arcade GP 2 and Mario Kart Tour:
Special Item GIANT BANANA Only DK and Diddy know where these monstrous fruit can be found.
[Source: Characters and Special Items, Page 19, Instruction Booklet of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, November 2003] From this we can speculate about the origins of other items. Shells are common clothing/armour worn by Koopas, but seeing as the shells in Mario Kart are standard Koopa Troopa Shells, it stands to reason that the Koopa Troopa racer or perhaps Bowser brought the Red Shells and Green Shells originally used in Super Mario Kart.
These shells are worn by Koopa Troopas, both within and outside of Bowser's Army. We can even see one of Bowser's Airships in Super Mario Galaxy equipped with a shell dispenser:
The Green Shells and Red Shells even function how you'd expect - with Green Shells flying straight forward and Red Shells heading towards the nearest target!
However, with the expansion of Mario Kart in later titles the shells, which are mass-produced, appear to be provided by a company, with sponsors for "Green Shell Strike Equipment" and "Red Shell Strike Equipment" making appearances:
Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa seem to have their own supply in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!:
Special Items TRIPLE SHELLS (GREEN / RED) Don't let Koopa and Paratroopa worry about not having enough shells.
[Source: Characters and Special Items, Page 20, Instruction Booklet of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, November 2003]
Bowser also provides his own shells for the tournaments in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart: Arcade GP 2 and Mario Kart Tour:
Bowser's Shell This big ol' shell on loan from Bowser will crash any karts it hits and keep on going. It can only be thrown forward.
[Source: Items, Tips and Tricks, Mario Kart Tour, September 2019]
On the topic of items, Super Mario Kart used ? Panels to dispense its items. These panels are likely made by the same people in the Mushroom Kingdom who make ? Blocks. While they weren't used in later Mario Kart tournaments, they have still made a few other appearances since, such as in Mario Party 9.
From the Mario Kart 64 Mario GP onwards the ? Panels were replaced with the iconic Item Boxes, which were likely much more convenient for transportation and addition to the racetracks. But it wasn't until Mario Kart Wii where we actually learned where these come from, through the course Toad's Factory.
This is actually the Item Box Factory, as we can see not only from the trackside banners with the Item Box logo and giant sign of Toad with an Item Box, but from the shipping containers with items ready to go into the Item Boxes:
Inside the factory, we can even see the process of how Item Boxes are made. The Items are put inside standard Brick Blocks, before the Brick Blocks are placed on a conveyor belt with stamps of some sort. These stamps appear to be filled with some sort of magical rainbow liquid, likely sourced from Power Stars, which transforms the Brick Blocks into the Item Boxes, giving them their translucent rainbow appearance and their ability to float:
Circling back to the Kongs for a moment, Funky Kong is actually the one responsible for the construction of the DK Barrel Cannons featured prominently throughout Mario Kart courses.
We learn this when Donkey Kong mentions Funky in the context of their creation in Mario Super Sluggers:
Oooook! (Looks like Funky Kong has been busy.)
[Source: Donkey Kong, Best Friend of Funky Kong, Playable Character in Mario Super Sluggers, August 2008]
This isn't all too surprising though, given Funky Kong's previous barrel-based mechanic work and his appearances in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart Tour, as well as the barrel-inspired Funky Stadium which he presumably also built:
Speaking of which, it's about time I discuss the stadiums, circuits and other courses and where they came from!
Mario is world-famous and incredibly wealthy from his adventures, businesses and sports stardom. Multiple of the circuits in the games are also clearly built by him or at least in honour of him. He‘s the only character with actual circuits named after him in Super Mario Kart:
State-of-the-art racetracks in the Mario world that are rich in variety. The effectiveness of the pipe obstacles is the key.
[Source: Mario Circuit's description, Japanese Store Promo for Super Mario Kart, August 1992]
Mario Circuits have also been described as the primary circuits of their respective Grand Prix:
Mario Circuit This is the main circuit in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Familiar denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom can be spotted here and there. The road's filled with curves, so this is a good place to practice drifting.
[Source: Courses, Page 31, Instruction Booklet of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, November 2003]
It stands to reason that most characters had a hand in designing the tracks that bear their names. In fact we know that's the case for several courses, such as N64 Wario Stadium:
That rascal Wario was in charge of the design and construction of this course. A fan of motocross races, he brought in major amounts of sand to fill this huge stadium in an attempt to build a course more suitable to bikes than Karts. Each lap's distance is extremely long, making it difficult to stay concentrated on the race.
[Source: MARIO KART 64 COURSE MAPS, Page 30, Instruction Booklet of Mario Kart 64, February 1997]
Meanwhile the Bowser's Castle courses are modified from or otherwise based on the real Bowser's Castle:
Surprisingly, the Bowser's Castle has been transformed into a race ground! Because it's inside the building, most of the corners are tricky right angles. However, the most difficult part of the course is where the Thwomps are. They will block your path, and if you run into one, you will spin out. Should you be stepped by one, you'll find yourself squished flat as a pancake.
[Source: MARIO KART 64 COURSE MAPS, Page 31, Instruction Booklet of Mario Kart 64, February 1997]
Bowser typically designs his courses with the help of his minions to be filled with traps in the hopes of beating Mario. This goes beyond the Mario Kart tracks and also applies to his Tennis Courts, Golf Courses, etc.:
Lord Bowser designed his course to defeat Mario, so it’s kinda full of lava and bombs and stuff like that.
[Source: Spiny, Minion of Bowser, Non-player Character in Mario Golf: Super Rush, June 2021]
Bowser enlisted his minions to create this course in hopes of defeating Mario with all the traps and hazards.
[Source: Koopa Troopa, Minion of Bowser, Non-player Character in Mario Golf: Super Rush, June 2021]
However, this isn't universally the case. For example, Peach Beach is merely Princess Peach's favourite beach resort in the Southern Isles, while Toad's Turnpike is on a public road in Toad City!
I could go on and on about the Mario Kart series and the depth to its worldbuilding, but I think that's quite enough for today. Thank you for reading!

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What do you think that the advertisements in Mario kart indicate for the Mario universe?
I've already talked a little bit about this in my previous post on the lore of the Mario Kart games, but I'd be happy to discuss this specific topic a little more in-depth by going over some highlights of the brands, businesses and sponsors seen throughout the Mario Kart games!
It's likely that given Super Mario Kart was the first tournament, Mario and his friends hadn't amassed enough of a viewership to have sponsors backing the Grand Prix. Mario Kart got its first sponsors in Mario Kart 64 in the form of trackside banners on certain courses.
Most of these sponsors are quite non-specific in what they represent and are associated with a specific character or item, such as Mario Star (Marioro in the Japanese version), Luigi's (Luigip in the Japanese version) or Koopa Air. Mario Star may have originally been a tobacco company, but it appears this has been retconned. Luigi's may have been an oil company, but as of Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Tour the sponsor merely represents N64 Luigi Raceway. Koopa Air is likely an airline owned or endorsed by Bowser.

Nintendo is also a sponsor, which is interesting given they also sponsored Mario and Formula 1 in Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race, as well as the Mario Bros. in Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally before this.
It seems they were advertising the Famicom through sponsoring Mario. Perhaps it was even a "Famicom Racing Team" of sorts.
Mario can also wear his Mechanic Outfit from Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally in Super Mario Odyssey, where we can see the patches on it feature several brands from the Mario Kart series. This outfit also ends up being depicted in the logo of Mario Motors from Mario Kart 8 onwards. This first appeared in Mario Kart Arcade GP, and it's certainly one of my favourites.
Mario Motors appears to be a chain of garages that likely builds or repairs vehicles, as we can see two locations in Mario Kart 8's renditions of Wii U Mario Circuit and GCN Yoshi Circuit. In the GCN Yoshi Circuit location several Standard 8 karts and a Yoshi Bike can be seen in the shop. They appear to use Mushroom Piston engines and Fuzzy Battery batteries, also having a pair of fuel pumps outside. Fuzzy Batteries also produce primary (disposable) batteries, as we see in Yoshi's Crafted World.
Of course, Mario can't have all the fun. Wario had to go and make his own company, Wario Motors, which presumably acts as a rival. Wario Motors seemingly built the trucks with Dash Panel ramps on the back that can be seen in courses like Mario Kart 8's rendition of N64 Toad's Turnpike.
Speaking of Wario, in Mushroom City from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! we can see a store called Wario Pharmacy. Perhaps this is a chain Wario opened after stealing the Megavitamins from Mario in Dr. Mario 64.
Mario Work Gear is another brand from Mario Kart 8 that presumably sells dungarees, gloves, etc. like the ones Mario and Luigi wear. Perhaps this company is even the supplier of the clothing we see Mario and Luigi buy from the various shops throughout the Mario & Luigi series.
There are so many things to say about all of the sponsors in the Mario Kart games, and I've barely scratched the surface here! I'm sure I'll feature them in many more posts in the future. Thank you for your question!
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There’s 2 very different versions of Donkey Kong jr. (Game & watch) but only one on your timeline. Which one is canon?
Both are canon, and they happen in a certain order. Please stay tuned for the next revision of the timeline, which addresses this!
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Why are buzzy beetles called beetles even tho they're turtles
I can’t speak as to why Nintendo of America decided to call them Buzzy Beetles, aside from their shells and posture making them vaguely resemble beetles, but in Japanese they’re referred to as “Met” (メット), which is likely derived from helmet, so they aren’t called beetles at all there.
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How did a cow, Sidestepper, Para-Biddybud, Petey Piranha, Nabbit, Fish Bone, Cataquack, Coin Coffer, possibly Stingby, and possibly Conkdor (they're called "it" like animals and unlike Toads or Piantas) apply to drive given they can't speak with Lakitu/whoever approves racers? Even if "Chain Chomp" or "Piranha Plant" can be translated, we don't know if "Biddybud" or "Cataquack" can (plus do Sidesteppers, Stingbies, or non-paint/early-RPG/Hudson-Party Cheep Cheeps even HAVE vocal chords at all?)
Sidesteppers, Biddybuds, Coin Coffers, Fish Bones, Stingbies, Conkdors and Petey Piranha are all established as Bowser’s Minions and therefore have sapience and can likely speak or at the very least communicate. Petey Piranha has been appearing in Mario Kart and sports games for a long time.
As for cows and cataquacks, who we have seen as herded animals, I’ve talked about before, the line between person and animal in the Mario universe is blurry - bordering on nonexistent - all of these characters are sapient, and can therefore learn how to drive and be invited to take part.
Nabbit is a thief. He has a home, he lives on an island. He keeps records on Mario and friends. He’s clearly an intelligent humanoid, to say the least, so I’m not quite sure why he’s being asked about alongside these other characters!
I hope this clears things up for you!
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A fun theory that me and my friend had discussed is the possibilities of Bowser's ancestors (Or maybe the greater overall Koopa Troop) have originated from the Ruined Kingdom. One excerpt from the brochure states that the swords with Bowser's emblem existed long beforehand: "Amid the ruins, these swords surely stand out. They're thought to be left over from a large battle here in Crumbleden." Maybe the reason Bowser enslaved the Dragon is due to taking it personally? An exciting thought.
A exciting theory, to be sure! However, I definitely do not think this is the case. The brochures in Super Mario Odyssey are written from the perspective of a Crazy Cap employee. Given Crazy Cap was founded in New Donk City, this employee may be a resident of the Metro Kingdom, but regardless of where they’re from they do not always have the full context for the kingdoms they write about. This is especially true of the more mysterious, uninhabited kingdoms like the Ruined Kingdom.
Firstly, Bowser is, at most, only around 30 years old (and his emblem likely even newer). The original battle in the Ruined Kingdom against the Ruined Dragon certainly would’ve occurred hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago.
Let’s look at what the brochure specifically says about the stakes once again:
One certainly feels a sense of intentionality in the way they're stuck straight down, as if fallen from the sky. Some see them not as swords, but rather nails or stakes. Perhaps the eyelets at the top allowed ropes or chains through to anchor something, but it's impossible to say what.
The lack of context has lead the writer of this brochure, and seemingly some other researchers, to believe that these are swords from a battle. While they were left behind after a battle, we learn that in reality, they aren’t swords and they aren’t from the Ruined Kingdom, having nothing to do with its destruction long ago. This is all but confirmed by the fact that Bowser has used these very same stakes to chain a matching Japanese-style helmet to the Lord of Lightning’s head, indicating both the helmet and stakes come from the recently (re)constructed sky palace Bowser’s Kingdom. Mario even has to pull out these same stakes to remove the helmet.

So it seems that these stakes were placed here when Bowser arrived and took control of the dragon shortly before the events of Super Mario Odyssey. The “swords”/stakes are not from the ancient civilisation of Crumbleden, hence it’s stated “Amid the ruins, these swords surely stand out.”
This results in a sequence of events that plays out roughly as follows:
The people of the Crumbleden built a great civilisation, using the tower as a lightning rod to collect energy from the lightning strikes produced by the Lord of Lightning’s thunderclouds.
Either out of greed or ignorance, the people of the civilisation caused the dragon to attack and destroy most of their land, building the alter to call down, confront and restrain the dragon and the arena to battle it. Given the dragon remains in the now Ruined Kingdom, they lost the battle.
Shortly before the events of Super Mario Odyssey, Bowser arrived in the Ruined Kingdom after finishing construction of Bowser’s Castle in Bowser’s Kingdom for his wedding and encountered the dragon. Bowser used stakes with eyelets to chain down the dragon and take control of it by some means, saving it to use against Mario in the event he made it that far. Some of the stakes fell from the skies to the Ruined Kingdom below or otherwise remained planted in the ground there.
In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario defeated the Lord of Lightning and likely released it from Bowser’s control.
Thank you for the question!
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Appologies if this had been asked before, but is there any reason for the exclusion of Alleyway? While not having "Mario" in the title, you are clearly playing as Mario (In all versions too), even facing off against alien grids that resemble Mario characters. At the bare minimum, it would take place sometime after SMB1. The story is simple, Mario defends the world against alien grids. Maybe prior to Dr. Mario? Is there any other Mario titles that are "can only ambiguous"?
Thank you for the question! Please see this post for information on why Alleyway wasn’t included:
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Little bit of a nitpick, but I think Donkey Kong Hockey would be better fitting of taking place sometime after Mario and the Kongs make up. To me, it doesn't really make sense to see both Mario and Cranky appear chummy at one moment, to then becoming enemies. I see the "tie" as a sign of a non-diegetic design update, even statues in the Returns series presents a 8bit DK with a tie.
The tie is, objectively, not a non-diegetic design update. The statues in Donkey Kong Country Returns depict ancient kongs with ties, not the classic Donkey Kong. We know this as in Mario Superstar Baseball it is stated that In his early days, Donkey Kong didn't wear a tie. This is reflected in Donkey Kong graffiti seen in New Donk City, which also depicts him without a tie. Hence, it does not make sense for this title to take place after Donkey Kong (Game Boy).
However, it makes more sense this way. Not only does the game feature a human audience and referee, indicating it’s set in New Donk City, but Donkey Kong was Mario’s pet, and arguably friend, prior to the Donkey Kong arcade game (which was kicked off by the Gorilla pranking his owner). There’s nothing stopping them from playing hockey in their free time before they became rivals.
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Re: Baseball (1989), Mario and Luigi are the captains of the teams in the game though, would this not be enough to warrant its inclusion in the larger canon? Similarly with Golf (1990), Mario is seemingly the playable character. All of this is just according to the wiki, I haven't played these games myself at all, just curious on your thoughts.
Again, this is only in the western release. In the Japanese version, romanisations of Japanese names are used. Golf does not feature Mario either. That character is Ossan. He has only been identified as Mario in Western sources. He’s based on Mario but that would be like making Pikmin canon because of Olimar.
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Is the Baseball game from 1989 canon? Was giving the Super Mario Wiki a quick glance and noticed it wasn't on the timeline.
I don’t consider it canon as it isn’t a Mario game. Mario was just on the cover of the Western release to help it better.
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Finally finished Mario & Luigi: Brothership [Ending Spoilers]
Really hit the nail on the head with that one!
#mario lore#super mario#mario & luigi#mario & luigi brothership#by the way can we talk about Reclusa??#heavy dimentio vibes#this game thematically parallels super paper mario in so many ways#gets the theory juices flowing#wonder if there are also lore parallels
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Just out of curiosity but why didn’t you include Mario Kart Arcade GP DX alongside the other two Mario Kart Arcade GPs?
In short, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX and Mario Kart Arcade GP VR are not canon. It was not published by Nintendo and has not been referenced. It also contradicts the previous Mario Kart Arcade GP games.
The publisher of Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 is unknown, but both have been referenced heavily since in titles such as Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart Tour.
I hope this answers your question!
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Hello! Do you think Shy Guy Bazaar from Mariokart World is supposed to be part of Sarasaland? There's even a palace with her emblem on it! (If it is, the portrayal of Shy Guys as her citizens and desert as the main theme makes it seem too much like how fans depict it, lol. There's some missed potential in my opinion)
The game hasn’t released yet, so it’s too early to say anything definitive - but my current stance is definitely not!
It’s clear that the continent in Mario Kart World is not the Mushroom Kingdom, Koopa Kingdom, Sarasaland, etc., yet it features several locales resembling (and even named after) ones found in those locations in past games. It’s more likely that the tracks on this island are recreations of tracks from previous titles, with Peach, Daisy, Rosalina and Bowser building new castles* on the island as well. This is similar to the Baseball Kingdom from Mario Super Sluggers or the islands in Super Mario Party Jamboree. I would not be surprised if this island is called “the Kart Kingdom” or “Mario Kart World” or something along those lines, with Kamek helping out in setting up the tournaments. In any case, people from Peach, Daisy, Bowser and Rosalina’s domains, such as Toads, Yoshis, Sledge Bros., Shy Guys, Lumas, Tokotokos, etc., appear to be settling on the island and interacting with one another.
*in Peach’s case it is a Stadium and in Rosalina’s an observatory, but they are still in the style of their traditional homes.

What this means for Shy Guy Bazaar and Desert Hills in Mario Kart World is that while they are very clearly themed after Sarasaland, they are not literally a part of Sarasaland - but while Daisy’s Castle in Shy Guy Bazaar is not her castle, it could very much resemble her real castle. It does resemble her room from Mario Party 4, after all…
I hope this answers your question! I’m very excited for this game.
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