Alright, let’s dive into the wild world of Mario and his mushroom munching. Or maybe not munching? Does it even matter? Who knows. Anyway, somewhere during the chaos of making Mario Kart World, the dev team hit this weirdly philosophical snag: do Mario and Luigi actually eat those mushrooms, or is a little tap on the noggin all it takes to go super? Honestly, never really thought about it before, but hey, someone’s gotta ask these burning questions.
So, you’ve got this Nintendo whiz, Shintaro Jikumaru — he’s been around for, like, forever — and even he’s scratching his head over this. Team up with producer Kosuke Yabuki, and they’re on a mission. They head straight to the source. Enter Takashi Tezuka, the sage of the Mushroom Kingdom. If anyone knows this stuff, it’s gotta be him. He’s been on board with Mario since, well, like the dawn of time (in video game years).
The whole reason behind this mind-bending question popping up? Jikumaru wanted to sprinkle in some food vibes — we’re talkin’ hamburgers — into this new, expansive Mario Kart. Suddenly, they’re cooking up ideas of characters chomping away while driving, outfit changes, transformations. What was gonna be kart racing turned into a food fest. “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if…” moments turned into real design problems. Classic.
Then here it goes. Was Mario noshing on shrooms? Does he snack or swipe them for power? They corner Tezuka on a coffee break or something. (Okay, I made up the coffee part. Kinda fits, right?) And he’s like, “Yeah, he totally eats ’em.” Mystery solved? Maybe?
If you’re deep into Mario lore, you’re probably like, “Duh, of course he eats them!” Those Mario & Luigi RPG games? The bro-tastic duo’s shoving those power-ups right in. And if you saw The Super Mario Bros. Movie, well, that play-by-play practically shouts it: eat mushrooms, get powers. Touch, say, a Fire Flower, boom, you’re a flame-throwing plumber.
Yet, every game throws its own spin. Like in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it’s like Mario’s kart eats the mushroom — something like a turbo boost, I guess. Doesn’t show him munching on it at all. In my book, makes everything more confusing but hey, that’s part of the fun, right?
Sure, you could debate all day about what Mario eats or just grazes against. But let’s face it, there’s a slew of mysteries out there. If I ever snag a chat with Tezuka (yeah, dream on), my notebook’s gonna be packed with these “life or death” questions, and pretty sure he’d roll his eyes a bit. Maybe it’s best I don’t?
