Mario

Throwing Paper Mario‘s Confetti Is My Happy Place

Sadly, it feels like I’m reaching the end of my time with Paper Mario: The Origami King. I’ve loved everything about it—well, almost everything—but my favorite part has got to be the simple act of tossing confetti around. The Mushroom Kingdom is in total disarray by the time you get to explore it thanks to…

Now This Is Some Nintendo LEGO

Anyone left as disappointed by Nintendo’s first LEGO offerings as I was—I wanted huge Mushroom Kingdom/Hyrule playsets!—can find solace in the fact that, since this is LEGO we’re talking about, you can just make and remake whatever the hell you want. So @crownavy took the weird blocky Mario figure that’s shipping with the first official…

Waluigi Debuted 20 Years Ago Today, And I Respect Him A Lot

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Waluigi’s debut in Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. In the decades since, the lanky loser has become something of a meme among gamers. But I’m here to say that, no, my love for Waluigi is pure, and I’m sick of hiding it behind a veil of irony. There…

Nintendo Veteran Explains Some Of The Restrictions Around Creating New Paper Mario Characters

Last month, Nintendo revealed that some of Paper Mario: The Origami King’s boss fights would be against office supplies instead of traditional Mario villains, and a new interview sheds some light on why. “Since Paper Mario: Sticker Star, it’s no longer possible to modify Mario characters or to create original characters that touch on the…

Rare Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Sells At Auction For Record-Breaking $114,000

A mint-condition sealed copy of the original Super Mario Bros. sold at auction for $114,000 on July 10, setting a new record for the sale of a single collectible video game. The previous record, a private sale for $100,150 in February 2019, was another sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. “How the heck did they…

How Paper Mario: Origami King‘s Puzzle Battles Work

Nintendo’s next big Switch game is Paper Mario: The Origami King, announced less than two months ago via a humble tweet and arriving on July 17. The Paper Mario series’ reputation has been a bit spotty as of late, but Origami King has by and large gotten rid of the more annoying parts of the…

The Designer Of The NES Dishes The Dirt On Nintendo’s Early Days

When discussing Nintendo’s rise as a digital dreamsmith in the ‘80s, game designers like Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi get most of the limelight. But it was the hardware designed by Masayuki Uemura that served up their fantasies to millions around the globe. I spent 2019 criss-crossing Japan researching my book Pure Invention: How Japan’s…

Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World Delayed Due To Covid-19

This summer, Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World was slated to open. As Kotaku has previously reported, the park is coming along nicely. However, due to the novel coronavirus, the Mario-themed area will not open. The state of emergency has been lifted in Japan, and USJ re-opened on June 8. Visitors, however, have been restricted,…

Nintendo’s stocks have hit a two-year high in Japan over second-wave covid-19 concerns. “The stock had been struggling the past two months with demand for stay-at-home stocks dropping as the economy re-opened…” said analyst Katsuyuki Fujii. “But as fears for the second wave of coronavirus grow, people are taking a second look at those stocks.” 

Human Toad Is Freaky And Terrifying

Artist Miguel Vasquez is a genius at taking beloved video game and cartoon characters and turning them into nightmare fuel. His latest? Toad from Super Mario Vasquez uses a 2D image of each character as a reference but then gives them realistic human eyes. He also takes inspiration from movie make-up effects artists like Rick…

The Full Lego Super Mario Launch Lineup Will Run You Nearly $600

Today Nintendo and Lego revealed the full range of Lego Super Mario sets launching on August 1. Between the starter kit, ten expansion packs, four power-up kits, and a series of blind bag characters, the whole starting lineup will run collectors around $590. Don’t worry, parents of young children. There is no reason to collect…

Super Mario LEGO Is Launching First In Japan

Previously, Kotaku reported that Super Mario LEGO was launching on August 1 in North America. Today, Nintendo announced that the Starter Course and two expansion sets will launch first in Japan on July 10. As you can see, besides the Starter Course, the two expansion sets include Piranha Plant Power Slide and Desert Pokey Expansion.…

Mario And Luigi Make Magnificent Mechs

Singapore-based artist ClogTwo makes wonderfully detailed works imagining mechanical art. His Mechasoul series imagines iconic characters as pilots inside their own massive mechs. Mario and Luigi are the subjects of his latest work, and they are magnificent. The brothers Mario prepare for battle inside giant robot versions of themselves. Cutaways show off the insides of shock-absorbing…

Let’s Check In With Universal Studios Japan’s Super Nintendo World

The last time we checked in with Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, it was coming along nicely. Now, the theme park looks like it’s nearly finished. USJ’s Super Nintendo World was slated to open this summer, and it’s still unclear how the new Mario-themed area will debut. The state of emergency has been…

As Expected, Nintendo Is Taking Down That Unofficial Super Mario 64 PC Port

With the world in turmoil, it’s important to hold onto the few constants we have left. The sun still rises in the east, the sky is still (mostly) blue, and Nintendo is still devoted to taking down unofficial ports of its games. Earlier this month, a PC port of Super Mario 64 appeared that could…

Mario, Meet Ultraman & Godzilla

Bid Toys have made this incredible pair of figures depicting Mario and Bowser as Ultraman and Godzilla respectively. Going on sale in a few hours (at time of posting), Mario stands 13cm tall and costs USD$42 shipped worldwide, while Bowser is 15cm and costs USD$49 shipped. If you manage to get one, they’ll ship in…

Mario Is Ready To Protect Tokyo From Godzilla Bowser

The crossover that the world has long deserved is here: Mario as Ultraman duking it out with Bowser as Godzilla. Bid Toys, known for mash-ups like this Tetsujin 28-meets-Pinocchio, is releasing these soft vinyl “Manultra” and “Koopala” figures later this month. I don’t see any copyright on these official images from the maker Bid Toys’…

Super Mario Bros. 3‘s Angry Sun Gave Me Anxiety

I’ve been playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on my Nintendo Switch lately. It’s been reminding me how the Angry Sun, an enemy that appears in the fifth level of the game’s Desert Land, provoked terror in me when I was young. Its implementation is a lesson in narrative level design and accomplishing less with more.…

Sony Pulls Popular Mario Creation From Dreams After Nintendo Complaint

One of the most popular and downloaded Mario character models in the PS4 game Dreams has been removed after Sony received a complaint from Nintendo. As reported by Eurogamer, a Dreams creator by the name of PieceofCraft, who made the popular Mario model, recently Tweeted the news that Sony had pulled their Mario from the…

First-Person Mario Lets You Shoot Goombas In The Dang Face

As part of Nintendo’s forced MAR10 holiday (March 10, Mario, get it?), developer Sean Noonan has released a beautiful rendition of Super Mario Bros. as a first-person shooter. Sure, the gun only shoots plungers, but I have to imagine Mario would take some satisfaction from being able to blow away hordes of Goombas. Noonan, a…