Release Date: September 29th, 2021

While researching another episode, I found a great interview with Shigeru Miyamoto from the Japanese video game magazine Nintendo Dream. In the interview, Miyamoto discusses a few of the origin stories of Mario characters. I thought it was the best part of the interview, so I wanted to do a whole video about name origins and include more Mario characters.

My last two videos were pretty heavy on obscure hardware, and I needed a break from that type of content. This video was a nice change of pace, and I had a lot of fun researching the Mario characters. If I have learned anything, it is that Nintendo isn’t super consistent with their Mario lore. Even they don’t know what is considered “correct!”

Sources

@Arc_Hound. “Arc Hound Donkey Kong Tweet,” March 10, 2018. https://twitter.com/Arc_Hound/status/972630889938202624.
Audureau, William. “The Birth of Little Mario.” In The History of Mario, 75–80. Pix’n Love, 2014.
“Donkey Kong Arcade Flyer.” Nintendo of America, 1981.
“Electronic Game Hero Is the Rage in Japan.” The Leader-Post, September 2, 1986.
“Game|Life Podcast,” n.d. https://www.wired.com/2012/02/gamelife-podcast-episode-18/.
“Gunpei Yokoi Deposition,” January 13, 1983.
Harris, Blake. “Blake Harris Nintendo Character Manual Tweet.” Twitter, October 5, 2014. https://twitter.com/blakejharrisnyc/status/496780367538302976.
How Mario Got His Mustache and His Name. Great Big Story, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ERab8P6Io.
Nintendo.com. “Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii: The Reason Mario Wears Overalls,” November 13, 2009. https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/nsmb/0/1.
Nintendo.com. “Iwata Asks: Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary: The Grand Culmination of Famicom Cartridges,” September 13, 2010. https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mario25th/1/3.
Makino, Takefumi. Gunpei Yokoi. Pix’n Love, 2010.
Mandelin, Clyde. “Why Yoshi Is Sometimes Called Yossy in Japan.” Legends of Localization (blog), July 12, 2013. https://legendsoflocalization.com/qa-why-is-yoshi-sometimes-called-yossy/.
“Minoru Arakawa Affidavit,” May 7, 1982.
“Minoru Arakawa Deposition,” August 30, 1982.
MTV.com. “Nintendo Fans Swarm Mario’s Father During New York Visit,” September 27, 2005. http://www.mtv.com/news/1510449/nintendo-fans-swarm-marios-father-during-new-york-visit/.
“Nintendo Interrogatory Response,” December 20, 1982.
“Nintendo-Manton Cork Licensing Agreement,” May 12, 1982.
Sheff, David. “For a Fistful of Quarters.” In Game Over, 123, 1994.
“Shigeru Miyamoto Deposition,” January 11, 1983.
Famitsu.com. “Shigeru Miyamoto Interview,” 2000.
“Shigeru Miyamoto Name Ideas,” January 11, 1983.
“Shigeru Miyamoto Speaks!” Nintendo Dream, January 2010.
“Shinichi Todori Deposition,” January 12, 1983.
“Shinichi Todori Name Ideas,” January 12, 1983.
“Super Mario Bros. 2 Manual.” Nintendo of America, 1988.
“Super Mario Bros. Manual.” Nintendo of America, 1985.
Shmuplations. “Super Mario Land 2 – 1992 Developer Interview,” n.d. http://shmuplations.com/supermarioland2/.
Wonderopolis. “What Is a Toadstool?,” n.d. https://wonderopolis.org/.
BabyCenter. “Yoshi – Boy’s Name Meaning, Origin, and Popularity,” n.d. https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-yoshi-4768.htm.
“Yoshi’s Safari Manual.” Nintendo of America, 1993.