For all of its brilliance, the Super Mario Bros. universe has its share of weird inconsistencies and unexplained things, like Goombas and their seemingly non-existent arms. But one of the big questions that have been plaguing many over the years is the how exactly does the Super Mario canon work. Are all the games set in the same universe? Why are Mario and Bowser enemies in one game, only to buddy up in the next while racing go-karts?
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It’s a bit of a head scratcher that’s ripe for the fan theory treatment, but it turns out that there’s a surprisingly simple explanation for everything from none other than the creator of the Super Mario series, Shigeru Miyamoto.
Chatting to Game Informer about some of the biggest burning questions and theories about Super Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto was asked about how the series’ canon works and why Mario and Peach seem to flip-flop between being enemies and friends with Bowser from game to game.
But Miyamoto’s explanation into this sort of weird inconsistency in the Super Mario Bros. is that every character in the series’ universe is merely an actor in a troupe. Yeah.
So think of each Super Mario game as a “play” and each role is nothing more than a “part” played by the series’ troupe of characters, and each “part” changes depending on what type of game it is. Huh how about that.
It’s a simple yet brilliant explanation that easily waves away the issue of why the Super Mario canon can seem a bit weird and how the likes of Mario and Luigi can be mortal enemies with Bowser and Wario in one game, only to joyfully play tennis with each other in another.
Having established that the universe of Super Mario Bros. is surprisingly consistent and its canon is sound, it’s become abundantly clear that trying to ground the series into some sort of established lore is the antithesis of what the series is about.
Sure it’s good to know that every game is linked in a very wholesome meta way, but the beauty of Super Mario is its simplistic freewheeling magic where anything goes and there’s no need to place so much emphasis on something as restrictive as “canon”. It certainly explains why Nintendo hasn’t bothered to canonise an official lore for Super Mario – there’s just no need.
Now if someone could explain why Kim Cattrall wanted bang Mario that one time, that would be great.
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