Mario

Mario Stars In Olympics Closing Ceremony

With the Rio Olympics drawing to a close, Tokyo is up next in 2020. And to mark the occasion, Mario made a surprise appearance at the closing ceremony tonight, warp-piping from Japan to Brazil and transforming into…a cosplaying Japanese Prime Miniter Shinzo Abe. Really. Here’s footage of the Rio-to-Tokyo handover show, which begins with a…

Hamster Vs. Super Mario Bros. Level 1-1

Oh, this is just a hamster trying to clear the hamster version of the very first stage in Super Mario Bros. That’s all. Yes, this stage is shorter, and yes, you can’t go down the first pipe in the real game. But put those concerns aside, because we have a Hamster trying to put on…

Anyone For A $27,000 Super Mario Bros. Watch?

Anyone? No? Designed by Swiss watchmaker Romain Jerome—who has done this sort of thing before—there will only be 85 of these made, and they’ll only be available during the rest of August as part of a “World Watch Fair” at Japan’s flagship Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi store. And no, that headline isn’t a typo. They’re selling for…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Mario And Sonic At The Real Olympic Games: The Winners

In our latest Photoshop contest I asked for images of Sonic and Mario characters at the real Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Our contestants either ignored that request completely, or went way dark. This was not entirely unexpected. I figured that the much-publicized poor quality of Rio’s water-like substance would steal the show, one way or…

Falco and Fox trump Mario in this beautifully-choreographed Smash Bros./Super Mario Bros. crossover, “Super Fox Bros.” Pixel art animator Rebaz Talei crafted a “runthrough” of a Mario World level with a Falco-Fox duo. “Come on!”

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Mario And Sonic At The Real Olympic Games

With the real Olympic games going on, there’s no reason Mario and Sonic need to remain trapped inside their colorful fantasy land. Let’s send them to Rio, and hope they survive. What I’m looking for in this week’s contest, which might be my last for awhile, is Sonic and Mario characters inserted into real images…

Mario vs The Legions Of Hell

In the US, Nintendo Power magazine had a monthly comic called Howard & Nester. It was, with one exception, totally kid-friendly. Cotton candy and rainbows. In Germany, however, they had their own comics in the official magazine Club Nintendo One comic in particular – called Die Nacht des Grauens (The Night of Horror), from 1996…

Speedrunner Crushes Super Mario World Without Using A Single Power-Up

There were some remarkable speedruns at Summer Games Done Quick 2016, but this might be the most impressive: Rezephos blazing through Super Mario World without getting a single mushroom, fire flower, cape, star, or Yoshi. You can watch the astounding run here (starts at 7:50): Those shell jumping tricks are just out of this world.…

Robot Finishes Super Mario Bros. 3 In Two Seconds

Yesterday’s tool-assisted speedrun (TAS) block at Summer Games Done Quick ended with a Super Mario Bros. 3 run that lasted barely longer than a blink. The ridiculously rapid run is the result of a newfound glitch discovered by TAS speddrunner ais523, which basically involves pressing buttons at an extremely fast rate—some 6,000 times a second.…

Yogurtland Has Mario-Themed Flavors, And I Will Eat Them All

Were you were outside today, barbecuing hot dogs in the sweltering heat, and thinking, “Gee, I wonder where I can get some Nintendo-themed frozen yogurt?” If that’s the case, have I got some fantastic news for you. Yogurtland is teaming up with Nintendo to offer yogurts based on the characters from the Mario franchise. So…

New Zelda Amiibo, Waluigi Amiibo, Boo Amiibo, All The Amiibo

Not only are we getting a trio of Amiibo figures based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild—including the first-ever articulated Amiibo—Nintendo has seven new Super Mario Amiibo coming in November, complete with a glowing ghost and the worst character ever. Nintendo’s E3 Amiibo page treats the Breath of the Wild Amiibo all…

A Look At Minecraft‘s Official New Mario World

This Minecraft statue of Mario is different than other Minecraft statues of Mario. Because this one is official. This week, Nintendo launched a brand new Mario world for Minecraft on Wii U, and it’s really intricate, full of big Mario statues, explorable pipes, and a soundtrack that loops through a bunch of iconic tracks from…

Mario vs Dark Souls. By Jason Chan

Super Mario Is Headed to Minecraft: Wii U 

On May 17, the digital version of Minecraft: Wii U Edition will get a free update that brings the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack, which features Mario skins, music, item textures, and a Super Mario-themed world. Players won’t only have to worry about Creepers, but also Super Mario foes like Dry Bones and Hammer Bros. The…

The Making (And Legacy) Of Super Mario Bros. 3

SMB3’s entire development team consisted of just eleven people: Miyamoto and Tezuka as directors and designers, four additional designers, four programmers, and Koji Kondo as composer. During SMB3’s two years of development, Miyamoto’s days at the office had no definite start or end time, and he often stayed up working late into the night. This…

Mario And Sonic At The Fast Food Drive-In

Not nearly as healthy as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games but slightly more edible, Nintendo has teamed up with exactly the right American fast food restaurant to distribute Mario & Luigi Paper Jam toys. There are several Sonic Drive-In restaurants near my home. Every time I pass one and catch a glimpse of…

Super Mario Bros. World Record Beaten With Near-Perfect Run

There’s a new world record for beating Super Mario Bros. quickly—and it may be the fastest possible time that a human can achieve. That’s why Darbian, the man behind the new record, is now hanging up his hat. Earlier this month we actually profiled Darbian and his quest to get a “perfect” run of Super…

The Rarest Animation In Super Mario Bros. 3 

Here’s a fun way to amuse yourself on this sleepy Monday afternoon: Supper Mario Broth, an old tumblr page that’s full of cool Nintendo art, screenshots, and trivia. For example: did you know that Super Mario Bros. 3 has an animation that you can only see if you get the Hammer Suit when you’re in…

Bowser at His Most Precious

This digital painting, created by veteran artist TsaoShin, will be used to demonstrate art techniques at today’s Anime Boston 2016 convention. It’s also amazingly cute. Once you’re done obsessing over Bowser’s widdle pink bandaid or his pet baby Chain Chomp, you may want to check out TsaoShin’s DeviantArt gallery for some more great fanart. Here’s…

In Japan, Nintendo is trying to trademark its iconic “coin sound” from Super Mario. It’s hard to believe that they haven’t already!