Seán D. Walsh

I like Mario Lore (Pikmin too)

[seandwalsh]

A complete timeline of Nintendo's Mario canon

My Mario timeline is live on a lovely new page, created specially by the wonderful Lady Sophie. Please check out her Mario cartography blog, she’s amazing at what she does!

[cartographers-office]

The Ecosystem of Plack Beach

Plack Beach is, in my opinion, one of the most memorable locations in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Many areas in the game already have a strange theme to their aesthetics, but Plack Beach's giant-teeth-covered sands are so unique, nothing else has ever matched it. Today, I would like to take a closer look at this location and speculate on its creatures, so join me on this dental and marine journey!

Teeth, coral or both?

For the longest time, I never really thought about the giant teeth that are found all throughout this area. Maybe they come from a long dead giant race? Unlikely. Or they're just teeth-shaped rocks? Boring. But I think I have a more interesting answer.

Real teeth are covered in a hard tissue called enamel, which is primarily composed of calcium, and it protects its softer interior. Corals, specifically hard corals, are marine animals known for protecting their own soft interior with a hard exoskeleton also primarily made of calcium. So what if the giant teeth of Plack Beach are a colony of coral? They're found extensively around this marine environment, and could reasonably also be made of a calcium-based material. Perhaps this hypothetical coral evolved to produce an exoskeleton out of something chemically closer to teeth!

Building off from this, we can then surmise that, like real life coral, this teeth coral acts as the fundamental base for this ecosystem, providing shelter and food for all manner of life.

Pokeys and Viruses

Toothies are a species of tall Pokey-like creature composed of stacked teeth. Their nature is terribly unclear, but under this coral hypthesis, we have a few options. Maybe they are the coral creatures themselves. I find that unlikely, because most of the coral we see is scattered around, not stacked. Alternatively, they could be a highly-specialized species of Pokey which burrows inside teeth coral and stacks them up to protect its long body as it grows. Or maybe they're actually the spirit of a Pokey possessing a set of teeth, similar to the undead Skellokeys from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Funny how these are also calcium-based, being skeletons themselves.

Another creature which takes refuge inside teeth are the blue viruses occasionally seen alongside Toothies. As stand-ins for the bacteria that cause cavities, it makes sense that they would live in and potentially feed on the "teeth coral", causing the many holes we can observe on them. In nature, this interaction is known as parasitism, since one of the species lives in and causes harm to the other.

As mentioned, Toothies can spit out blue Viruses to help defend them when they are knocked down. Given they help them, the Viruses could be in a mutualistic reloationship with the Toothy. They can hide from predators by living inside them, in exchange for protecting the Toothy when it is in danger. I don't think the Viruses feed on the Toothy, since it is shown to easily spit them out when it wants to, and it has no signs of cavities on its body.

The dentists of the beach

Pendrils are small penguins with drill-like beaks which can be found on Plack Beach. While a penguin in a tropical beach might seem unusual, most real penguins, such as the Humboldt penguin, don't actually live in arctic regions, instead living on temperate beaches and rocky shores.

Pendrils are capable of using their beaks to burrow in and swim through the sand. Given the teeth theme, their beaks seem evidently designed after dentist drills. Perhaps they also them to dig into teeth, looking for food such as the Viruses, who in turn sometimes protect themselves by hiding in Toothies.

The last (new) creatures to be found at Plack Beach are Drillbit Crabs. As their name implies, they appear to be a species of hermit crab wearing drill bits. With these drills, they could also hunt for Viruses inside teeth. It's not known where they get these drill bits from, but due to their similar colors, it is possible they take them from Pendrils.

Maybe Pendrils can shed their beaks? Alternatively, Drillbits take the role of necrophages who feed on dead Pendrils and then take their beaks, but who knows. A little morbid, but it is what it is. As for why/how their drills are so much larger? I don't know. It could be that they go for unseen larger Pendrils, or that their drills come from something else entirely unrelated to them, or maybe their size is a gameplay abstraction so they can work as enemies. No answer seems satisfying to me.

Chuboombas can also be found here, but I can't think of anything for them. They're likely just on their way to and from Cavi Cape, so they don't matter much in the grand scheme of things. Also talking about what is essentially a type of Goomba as if it were a wild animal is... weird. The same goes for Kuzzle and Chakron, two characters who can also be found in this area.

With that said, here's a quick graphic illustrating all the different interactions I mentioned so far. Putting this together gave me a greater appreciation for this area, and I hope it was an interesting journey for you, so thank you for reading!

[seandwalsh]

My favourite part of the new Storybook chapter:

She starts to see hear younger self when she cries again - she hasn’t cried since she was that little girl.

It’s a beautiful way of representing that memory, reflection and reassurance of her inner child.

[seandwalsh]

It solves one of the problems I had with the original ending of the storybook from the first game. Grief is something that stays with you. It’s okay to feel it and to cry about it.

I think it’s a wonderful capstone to this story for her to have this moment.

[seandwalsh]

My favourite part of the new Storybook chapter:

She starts to see/hear her younger self when she cries again - she hasn’t cried since she was that little girl.

It’s a beautiful way of representing that memory, reflection and reassurance of her inner child.

[smallmariofindings]

In Luigi's Mansion 3, all boss ghosts have a unique animation for being captured. However, since Luigi is also part of that animation, his movements are unique to that situation as well instead of being reused from regular ghost capture animations.

During the Captain Fishook boss capture animation, there is a small detail with Luigi that is very easy to miss due to the scene only playing once per save file, the lighting being dark, and the player being more likely to look at the ghost instead of at Luigi himself. When sucking in the ghost, Luigi mimics the motion of reeling in a fishing line with his hand (which he does not do in any other capture animation) due to the ghost being shark-themed.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source: ScreenshotLaun1

[ym-loreposting]

Thwomps: (Sometimes) Two-Faced Monsters

Thwomps are common enemies in the Mario series, first debuting in Super Mario Bros. 3 in 1988, and are fairly simple design-wise: they hang in the air and when the player comes close, they fall down in an attempt to squash them. Early games also had Thwomps moving sideways, but that functionality has mostly been abandoned in modern games.

Thwomps have also gone through a variety of design changes over the years. In Super Mario Bros. 3, they started out as grey rectangles with chiseled edges and this appearance carried on through the days of the Super Nintendo Entertainment system. But as gaming became three-dimensional, Thwomps instead became blue blocks with faces, starting in Super Mario 64, likely due to technical limitations of the day. This lasted until the early 2000s, discounting remakes and some minor titles, until Super Mario 64 DS reintroduced the classic design to the main Super Mario series. Since then, Thwomps have taken two forms, one with spiked edges and one more flat edges, usually determining whether or not they can be walked on.

A design quirk that emerged partially from this history of designs is that some games now feature Thwomps with two faces. In the Mario games from before 1996, there was never a need to show the backs of Thwomps, as the games were two-dimensional. The blue cubes from the Nintendo 64 and early GameCube era also always have bare backsides.

However, in the late 2000s, some games started featuring Thwomps with two faces, one on their back and one on their front. Why this design change was made is not entirely clear, but it could have been for game design purposes: Thwomps change their expression just before falling down. If Thwomps have two faces, it can be telegraphed from any vantage point when they are about to fall.

I was curious which games after 2004 feature Thwomps with a single face and which feature Thwomps with two faces, which I have compiled here.

Games where Thwomps have two faces

Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2

Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe)

Mario Kart Tour

Mario Kart World

Mario Kart Arcade GP and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

Mario Strikers Charged

Super Paper Mario

Modern games where Thwomps have one face

Thwomps with one face just have a bare back, which can easily be seen most of the time. All Thwomps from the Nintendo 64 and early GameCube era (a.k.a. the blue cubes) have one face as well.

In the Super Mario series, Thwomps have one face in Super Mario 64 DS, Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World.

In the Mario Kart series, Thwomps have one face in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7.

In the Mario Party series, Thwomps have one face in Mario Party 7 and Mario Party 8.

In the Mario Golf series, Thwomps have one face in Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario Golf: Super Rush.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the Thwomp statues have one face.

[suppermariobroth]

An interesting character design detail added to the Nintendo Switch version of Super Mario RPG absent from the original SNES version is that the Axem Rangers have each been given a unique axe shape. In the original game's official art, their axes were all identical except for the colors. Even if such differences existed in the in-game models, they are nearly impossible to discern due to the small size of the sprites.

This is difficult to notice in-game due to the Axem Rangers only being seen close-up in a single scene, and each of them holding their axe at a different angle that makes them hard to compare.

Below are all the axe models, extracted from the game, aligned to make the differences easily visible.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source

[seandwalsh]

Liked your video! Thumbnails cute too

Thank you! Thumbnail is by @danintendude, so go check out his art!

[seandwalsh]

There’s a new video on my YouTube channel about the overlap between man-made elements and nature (when it comes to worldbuilding) in the Donkey Kong series! This has been a lot of fun to make.

Thanks to @danintendude for making the thumbnail for this one, as well as @ym-loreposting for help with footage, @cartographers-office for some art assets and @somasoa for proofreading.

[suppermariobroth]

Hey! Pikmin features support for various amiibo in the Mario series. All compatible amiibo appear within the game as a collectible treasure, and upon being collected, unlock humorous commentary about the characters and their appearances from Olimar. Please zoom in to read the text.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source

[seandwalsh]

Why do areas seen in Pikmin 1 change so much when there seen again Pikmin 2?

Great question! This is something that bothered me for quite a long time. The areas Olimar visits in Pikmin 1, with the exception of the Forest Navel, return as three of the four areas in Pikmin 2. I will use gifs gracefully provided by @somasoa to demonstrate this!

In Pikmin 2, the Forest of Hope has become the Awakening Wood:

"The interior of this hemisphere contains a chip coded with charts detailing a new region. I explored this forest the last time I was here, but it's clear that it has undergone some dramatic changes. The plants and animals have also evolved significantly. I've given this forest a new name... The Awakening Wood. I must begin to form a hypothesis to explain why the forest changed so rapidly."

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

The Distant Spring has become the Perplexing Pool:

"I've recently noted that changes in this planet's environment happen at a very rapid pace. Compared to how it was when I was here before, the Perplexing Pool has changed drastically. Due to frequent tectonic shifts, the region appears slightly different each time I enter it. It could be a natural phenomenon, but it's as if I feel the presence of a guiding hand. ...Maybe it's just my imagination running wild."

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

An artificial swimming pool set with tiles was constructed [at the Distant Spring]. "It looks as though a lot of time has passed…"

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

And the Impact Site and the Final Trial have collided to become the Wistful Wild:

"I've never tasted a nut quite like this. It's difficult to explain, but it tastes like...sorrow. PS: I can't shake the feeling that I've been here before. Aha! This must be the exact spot where I crash-landed last time!"

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

We've seen many different types of creatures, as well as the incredible speed at which they evolve and diversify. "Look closely… It's the same place!"

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

The natural cycles of the PNF-404's surface sometimes appear to accelerate at monumental speeds. As Olimar mentions there are frequent shifts in the tectonic plates. While in Pikmin 2 PNF-404's continents resemble Earth as we know it, the tectonics have shifted so much by the time of Pikmin 3 that the Pangaea Proxima supercontinent, which shouldn’t occur for another 200 million years, seemingly formed in the span of a few years at most.

"There were large-scale tectonic movements that shifted the relative positions of the continents."

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

Until very recently, I couldn't quite think of a logical explanation, but I had two leading theories:

Theory #1: Time Dilation

This theory posits that the "warp speed" travel used by the leaders in the Pikmin games to cross lightyears of distance in an instant has an impact on how those travelling through space perceive time. In essence, this theory would mean that while from Olimar's perspective only a day or so passes between Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2, for PNF-404 several years pass.

While this theory sounds promising at first, it quickly falls apart when considering other factors. If years were passing on PNF-404, years would also be passing on Hocotate - Olimar would have been missing for far longer than just a month by the time he returned home, and his family (his wife, his two young children and dog Bulbie) would have aged significantly. There's also the fact that in Pikmin 2, Olimar leaves PNF-404 after collecting enough treasure to repay the debt owed by Hocotate Freight, only to realise he left Louie behind and immediately return with the Hocotate Freight President. The time between Olimar leaving Louie behind and returning to PNF-404 in Pikmin 2 is the same length of time (if not longer due to the gold plating the S.S. Dolphin first model, or “Hocotate Ship” as it is also called, received) between his first escape from the planet in Pikmin 1 and his initial return with Louie in Pikmin 2, yet the planet does not change between both Pikmin 2 expeditions.

This idea also certainly doesn't explain the extent to which the the continents move between Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3 while the species living on PNF-404 appear to remain extant.

Theory #2: Human Meddling

This theory proposes that humans still live on PNF-404, explaining the pristine condition of several human items and structures, such as the Hero's Hideaway in Pikmin 4, and continue to inhabit the planet just out of sight. This could serve as an explanation for the "guiding hand" Olimar felt changing the Distant Spring into the Perplexing Pool:

"[The areas aren’t] exactly the same, but we intentionally made them look similar to give a sense of déjà vu that you’ve been here before… Like maybe it is the same places, but time has passed and humans have interacted with them…"

[Source: Shigefumi Hino & Masamichi Abe, Directors of Pikmin 2, Nintendo Dream Magazine, May 2004]

However, this theory similarly falls apart when considering that the Leaders we see in the Pikmin games are, in fact, humans who left PNF-404 to colonise other planets over 2000 galactic years ago - so long ago that over the generations the humans forgot where they truly came from. 21st century human food, technology and structures could not exist on PNF-404 after they had been gone for so long.

"The planet where Pikmin live is a mysterious one that shows a different side of itself with every visit, but this time players arrive in an age with the strongest traces of past civilizations. You'll be seeing plenty of familiar things that will help you feel closer to Pikmin than ever before."

[Source: Yutaka Hiramuki, Planning Director of Pikmin 4, Nintendo Co., Ltd., July 2023]

With this in mind, we may start to get closer to the actual answer - and it explains how so many people crash on PNF-404 in the first place.

As we know from caves, there appears to be a distortion in the space-time continuum surrounding the planet. Time in the interiors of certain caves on PNF-404, likely due to a powerful magnetic impacting special relativity or gravity, passes more quickly compared to time on the planet's surface.

"Because of a powerful magnetic field deep under the surface, time does not pass underground. When you climb back to the surface, you will return at the exact moment in time that you entered the hole. Time will not have passed."

[Source: Exploring Underground: Above Ground, Page 25, Instruction Booklet of Pikmin 2, August 2004]

"I calculated the difference. It looks as if about 1/6 as much time passes on the surface as you spent underground. Time seems to move differently in the underground spaces on this planet… I’m not sure how it works, but I suppose that means you can take as much time as you need to explore caves."

[Source: Collin, Member of the Rescue Corps and Comms Operator, Non-Player Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

"Subterranean Time Warp Upon returning to the surface after exploring underground, I noticed the hands of my clock had barely moved at all, and I had been down there for hours! I can only assume that on this planet, time flows differently on the surface than it does underground."

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 4, July 2023]

"The dilation of time can be observed when traveling at speeds close to the speed of light or while in the vicinity of a massive gravitational field. Perhaps the entrance leading to the cave is some kind of wormhole, which then connects to a different pocket of space-time..?"

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

Not only does this apply to time in caves, but also to the layouts of the caves themselves:

"The powerful magnetic field between the surface and underground can have peculiar, unexpected effects. You can't rely merely on your memory, as familiar areas can often appear foreign. Just focus on gathering all of the treasures, and you'll be all right."

[Source: Exploring Underground: Subterranean Q & A, Page 26, Instruction Booklet of Pikmin 2, August 2004]

"Despite entering the same cave, it seems that the layout inside may change."

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

"If there are two entrances above ground, the location of the exit will change depending on which one was used as the entrance. They look like they're in the same locations, but there are slight differences due to the phase of space-time."

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

And this also appears to extend to the surface of the planet, being the reason for some of the differences we see between Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2:

"Case 2 The position and designs of the [landing site] circles may vary even when visiting the same areas. Maybe the space-time continuum of this planet is warped...?"

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

"While exploring this warped land, I got the feeling that time passed faster than usual. Upon researching it further, I realized it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But whenever I touch this object I can feel the space-time continuum bending!"

[Source: Captain Olimar, Employee of Hocotate Freight and Captain of the S.S. Dolphin, Playable Character in Pikmin 2, August 2004]

But that still leaves the mystery of what specifically is causing the alterations in the planet's space-time.

Which brings us to...

Theory #3: PNF-404 Is Alive

and it misses us.

It's been highlighted on several occasions that a mysterious force other than gravity appears to draw ships in and cause them to crash when approaching the planet.

"I still can't shake this awful feeling that there was something more to our crash than we know... It felt almost as if some power from the planet's surface was manipulating our ship..."

[Source: Alph, Koppaite Scientist and Engineer of the S.S. Drake, Playable Character in Pikmin 3, July 2013]

"When we came in for our landing on this planet, I definitely felt like we were being pulled in by some sort of mysterious power. It clearly felt different than your typical planetary gravitational pull. I just can't seem to shake this feeling. What could it have been...?"

[Source: Alph, Koppaite Scientist and Engineer of the S.S. Drake, Playable Character in Pikmin 3, July 2013]

Paradoxically, it seems that only the spaceships capable of leaving the planet are the ones that crash in the first place. Perhaps there is some mysterious force or will at work that wishes to keep visitors to the planet in place.

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

The planet seems to change every time you visit, and it's not uncommon for the same place to look completely different.

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

Unlike the space-time continuum that we're familiar with, it's speculated that the planetary phase is shifted into a different time period each time someone crash-lands observes the planet. With these changes, it's almost as if the planet itself has a will of its own.

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

According to a certain theory, planets themselves meet the definition of a living being. Could it be the planet itself that is calling out to us with some purpose in mind? It could then be conceivable that everything we experience on this planet is being manipulated to further that very purpose.

[Source: Chet, Mihaman Scientist and Research Task Force Lead, Pikmin Garden, Nintendo Co., Ltd. website]

All of this seems to suggest that PNF-404 misses the humans that left it behind and has recreated elements from its past, such as human artefacts, fruit and so on in an attempt to lure them back there. If the planet only changes phases when it's being observed by outsiders, this explains why it changes between Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 but doesn't change when Olimar left Louie behind in Pikmin 2 - Louie was still observing it in the latter, keeping it in the same “planetary phase”.

This would also be what's happening in caves, just on a smaller scale. Every time a leader enters a cave, its phase shifts, giving it a completely different layout.

In short, to answer your original question, the planet PNF-404 is alive and shifts phases every time it is observed by outsider. This is why the areas change so much between Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2.

[seandwalsh]

Star Theories and Headcanons - Bonus: Rosalina's Ice World

[PART 1] [PART 2]

What's up with Rosalina and ice? The Comet Observatory was built by Rosalina and baby Luma on an icy comet filled with clusters of Star Bits, tools and furniture - then there's Rosalina's Ice World and now Starview Peak, both featuring Comet Observatory-like structures of their own. It's a weird pattern, right?

Rosalina is the adoptive mother of many star children. She uses the Comet Observatory to seek out newborn Lumas to take in and raise. We know that the stardust stars leave behind will eventually give way to new star children, and she uses the Comet Observatory's domes to track down star children as it flies throughout the universe. These domes double as shelter for the star children aboard the ship and are powered by the beacon, which provides power, warmth and energy to its domes and denizens.

Then in Paper Mario, we are told that newborn star children appear in the icy Starborn Valley before they travel up to Star Haven. Is it possible that there is a connection between icy regions and where stars tend to be born?

As mentioned, the ice comet Rosalina built the Comet Observatory on was full of Star Bits. Maybe these icy regions are all full of Star Bits; maybe these Star Bits form into new star children over time. Much like Starborn Valley, where Merle, some Ninjis and Toads have established a settlement to take care of the star children there, perhaps Rosalina built the beacon structure and domes in Rosalina's Ice World to provide warmth and shelter for the star children that are born on the icy planet when she's not around to collect them herself. Maybe they're even raised by the Penguins that appear to live in the region.

This would also explain Rosalina's Observatory on Starview Peak, an icy mountain, which is full of Lumas and has a library to entertain them. There's even a framed photo of the Comet Observatory, to remind the Lumas of their mama.

[seandwalsh]

Star Theories and Headcanons - Part 1: Power Stars and Star Spirits

The Stars are a sacred species that appears in various Super Mario games. They are worshipped by the people of Mario's World, who build temples in their honour and wish upon them. The Stars themselves reside in the heavens, where they are led by the seven Star Spirits, and grant the wishes of the people below, rarely descending upon the earth themselves.

Others have talked at length about this already, so here I would like to propose something new. A question often posed is: What exactly is the difference between the Stars we see in titles such as Paper Mario versus the ones we see in titles such as Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy? Today, I would like to elaborate on my own thoughts.

Our first big glimpse at the Stars came in Super Mario RPG. When the giant sword Exor flies through the Star Road, he breaks it into seven Star Pieces which fall to earth. A Star serving as a messenger of the heavens descends to collect the pieces and restore the Star Road to its former state. This is necessary because the Star Road is where wishes are transformed into small stars that speak the wish, an important part of the process for them to be granted. When these wishes are granted, the small stars carrying them turn into shooting stars and fall to Star Hill, a stardust-covered region in the Mushroom Kingdom.

While he initially appears in a more ethereal, wispy form, the Star that descends to find the Star Pieces then inhabits a doll, bringing it to life. When he meets Mario and Mallow, enlisting their help to find the Star Pieces, he adopts the doll's name "Geno". He also mentions that the Star Pieces belong to everyone and that his people already know who Mario is, presumably from his heroic exploits. Peach and Bowser join the others on their adventure and the five heroes successfully restore the Star Road after collecting the seven Star Pieces.

It is almost certain that Geno's people are the Stars we see in Paper Mario. Paper Mario started development as Super Mario RPG 2, and as a result of this several plot and worldbuilding elements from Super Mario RPG are also present in this title, despite a few connections being lost in localisation. Examples include Shamans, the Toad Minister and the Snowman Doll, to name a few. In Paper Mario, Bowser attacks Star Haven, a country in the heavens where the Stars reside, and steals their prized, wish-granting treasure, the Star Rod. The Star Rod is guarded by the seven Star Spirits, including the wise elder Eldstar, who watch over the dreams and wishes of people and grant those they deem worthy with the Star Rod's power.

it is stated by the Star Spirit Skolar that the reason Bowser steals the Star Rod in Paper Mario is because he learned that the Star Spirits were ignoring his selfish wishes. It stands to reason that Bowser would have discovered this due to the events of Super Mario RPG, where Geno outright explains the process of wishing on Stars to Bowser and how it influences things like Princess Peach being rescued after a kidnapping. As well as this, Star Hill appears once again (this time localised as "Shooting Star Summit" in English). The Star Spirits are able to use their power to open the entrance to the Star Road (this time localised as "Star Way" in English), which links Star Hill to Star Haven. Furthermore, in Paper Mario the Star Spirits already know who Mario is and put their faith in him. This all indicates that Geno is the same species as the Stars from Paper Mario and was acting on behalf of the Star Spirits to repair the Star Road in Super Mario RPG.

Paper Mario also introduces Star Kids, baby Stars that are born in the Shiver Region's Starborn Valley. This valley is near the Crystal Palace, an ancient temple once built to honour and wish upon the Stars. These Star children have no parents, so they are raised by volunteers like Toads, Ninjis and Merle, a Shaman descended from the curators of the Crystal Palace who worshipped the Stars. When they are ready, the Star Kids rise to Star Haven, where their job is to deliver and grant people's wishes.

To those of you who have played Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, this may sound somewhat familiar.

Super Mario Galaxy introduces Lumas, baby Stars that are born across the universe. These Star children have no parents, so they are raised by volunteers like Rosalina, a former Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom who began stargazing as a little girl with her father, and Lubba, a Star who was herself raised by Rosalina. Rosalina and Lubba both travel the universe in spaceships and adopt baby Lumas they find on their journeys. When they are ready, the Lumas transform in order to help someone.

Star Kids are known as "star children" (星の子) in Japanese. This same term (星の子) is used to describe Lumas in the storybooks of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, with the Japanese term for "Luma" specifically, "Chiko" (チコ), being a childlike pronunciation of a contraction of "Hoshi no Ko" (星の子), "star child".

Lumas possess the power of transformation. This allows them to become all sorts of things, such as comets, planets and, most notably, Power Stars. Lumas can also temporarily transform between other forms, like Star Bunnies, Launch Stars, Sling Stars and Pull Stars. Similarly, the Star Kids in Starborn Valley are able to temporarily transform into Monstar to frighten strangers who may endanger the valley.

It appears that Lumas often transform to help people's wishes come true. Chapter 8 of Rosalina’s Story in Super Mario Galaxy is titled “The Wish” and features Luma fulfilling Rosalina’s wish of wanting to “go home” by transforming into a Comet to take her there. As mentioned previously, it is the role of Star Kids in Paper Mario to deliver and grant people's wishes. Twink attempts to grant Princess Peach's wishes in Paper Mario, though he does not have enough power to perform "big wishes" yet.

Both Star Kids and Lumas like to play hide-and-seek, both are full of energy, both are playful and both dream about fulfilling the wishes of people and making them happy when they grow up. It seems entirely possible that Star Kids from Paper Mario are, in fact, the same thing as Lumas. There may be caretakers like Rosalina, Lubba and Merle who take on the role of guardians for star children all across the universe.

This, in turn, would mean that the Stars who live in Star Haven, including the Star Spirits themselves, are actually Power Stars.

At this point, you may want to point to certain design differences between the Stars in Paper Mario and other games - for instance, Stars and Star Kids in Paper Mario have visible mouths, unlike Power Stars and Lumas. However, it’s clear that these differences are merely due to the art style they're rendered in. In Rosalina’s storybooks, Lumas and Power Stars are frequently depicted with visible mouths, while when we see the Star Spirits in Mario Party 5 they lack mouths and look practically identical to Power Stars. Not to mention, Lubba and Hungry Lumas have a visible mouths consistently across their appearances. Power Stars have also been generically referred to as "Stars" in several instances, such as throughout the Mario Party series or by Rosalina in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

There are plenty of further parallels that can be drawn between the Stars of Star Haven and Power Stars. In Paper Mario, the Stars are held in a place of reverence. The people of Mario's World effectively pray to them. They are seen as symbols of hope and good fortune. The Star Spirits are the closest thing to gods for the people of the Mushroom Kingdom as they have protected the Star Rod and granted the wishes of the people of the world. In Super Mario Galaxy, it’s revealed that the stars literally create the universe's light and matter. They even caused the Big Bang, making them the creators of the Mario universe. This aligns with the way they are worshipped. Lastly, Power Stars, of course, are commonly used as actual sources of energy in engines - and in Mario Party 5's Super Duel Mode, the Star Spirit Skolar is used as the power source of the Skolar Engine.

At the end of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Rosalina implies that there is a guiding force in the universe, described as a “gentle pull”, and indicates that it is caused by the Stars. In the Paper Mario series, Shamans like Merlon and Merluvlee read the Stars to predict the future and guide Mario to where he needs to go next.

In Paper Mario, Goombario states that the wish-granting Stars of Star Haven aren't energetic, unlike the Star Spirits or playful Star Kids. This is very similar to the almost lethargic Power Stars, who don't often move of their own volition, compared to the young Lumas, who fly around full of energy. Despite almost appearing inanimate at times, Power Stars are indeed sapient guardians. Rosalina describes them as star people that are part of her family in Super Mario Galaxy, while some Power Stars, such as the Millenium Star, have even spoken.

In Super Mario RPG, Geno's true Star name is spelled in symbols. This may be an early form of the Star language we see Baby Luma speak in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

The way he enters the doll in Super Mario RPG is also quite reminiscent of Luma or Power Stars inhabiting Mario in titles like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64, imbuing him with their Star Power, or Power Stars (and their variants, such as Power Moons or Bananas) giving other inanimate figures life, such as Knucklotec or the Tiki Tak Tribe.

So this concludes my thoughts on Geno, the Star Spirits, Star Kids, Lumas and Power Stars - but there is one more group of Stars I have yet to discuss...

[PART 2]

[seandwalsh]

Star Theories and Headcanons - Part 2: Star Spirits and Star Sprites

[PART 1]

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Princess Peach gets in contact with the "Star Sprites" to help solve the Mushroom Kingdom's "blorbs" crisis. The Star Sprites are yellow ball-like Stars that were responsible for sealing the Dark Star beneath Toad Town over 1,000 years ago, apparently sacrificing much over many years to accomplish this. What appears to be a small altar dedicated to them can be seen in Peach's Castle in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. This all seems quite curious when, in Paper Mario, it was established that the Mushroom Kingdom's royal family had connections to the the Star Spirits, not these "Star Sprites".

In Japanese the term for Star is "Hoshi" (星). In most Super Mario titles, the term used for Star beings or items is "Sutā" (スター), a loan word of the English term Star. Power Stars, the Star Rod, the Lucky Star and the Star Road are all examples where "Sutā" (スター) is used. The Star Spirits, however, are known as "Hoshi no Sei" (星の精), with "Sei" (精) being spirit. Star Haven is also known as "Hoshi no Kuni" (星の国), meaning "Star Land".

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the introductory scene mentions that the Shroobs's planet is located beyond the darkness, where the light of "Star Land" (スターの国) does not reach. This Star Land is "Sutā no Kuni" (スターの国) rather than "Hoshi no Kuni" (星の国) from Paper Mario. Curiously, this "Star Land" is mentioned as if it is something we should already be familiar with. It is not a location ever addressed in the story again.

Later on in the game, the Mario Bros. visit "Star Hill" while seeking the Cobalt Shards, the pieces of the shattered Cobalt Star. This "Star Hill" is known as "Sutā no Oka" (スターの丘) in Japanese, while the "Star Hills" featured in Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario are known as "Hoshi no Furu Oka" (星のふるおか), meaning "Starfall Hill" in Japanese. Despite these slight differences in name, the Star Hill in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time does appear to be in the same region as the location from Super Mario RPG, as both feature the same star-shaped doors with large keyholes and are described as sacred.

At Star Hill, the "Star Sprite" that lives within the Cobalt Star is able to tap into the sacred power of the hill and speak to Mario and Luigi. This "Star Sprite" is actually the elder Shroob princess, who was trapped inside the Cobalt Star by Princess Peach before she shattered it, taking on the form of a Star Sprite to trick the heroes. However, it is also described as the "spirit of the star" by Stuffwell and, sure enough, in Japanese the term used for this "Star Sprite" is "Sutā no Sei" (スターの精), meaning "Star Spirit". This is extremely similar to the name used for Paper Mario's Star Spirits, "Hoshi no Sei" (星の精), though much like with "Star Land" and "Star Hill", "Hoshi" has been substituted for "Sutā". That's not to mention the physical appearance of this "Star Sprite" disguise used by the elder Princess Shroob, which is clearly based directly on Misstar, the Star Spirit from Paper Mario. The "Star Sprite" even summons a path made of stars at Star Hill which resembles the Star Way's appearance in Paper Mario.

Even though its "Star Sprite" is a fake, I strongly believe that all of these instances in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time are deliberate connections to the lore established surrounding Stars in Paper Mario, despite the slightly different terms used. The Shroob princess was therefore attempting to impersonate a Star Spirit.

So what does that mean for the "Star Sprites" in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story? Much like the fake Star Sprite in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the Star Sprites here are known as "Sutā no Sei" (スターの精), meaning "Star Spirits", in Japanese. So are the Star Sprites and Star Spirits actually one and the same?

At this point, you may want to point to certain design differences between the Star Sprites in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and the Stars in Paper Mario - Stars in Paper Mario have star-shaped bodies, while the Star Sprites in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story have spherical bodies with star-like appendages and, in Starlow's case, shoes. However, we learn in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and Mario & Luigi: Brothership that this ball-like form is not the true form of the Star Sprites. Starlow reveals that her true form is actually that of a "well-proportioned" beauty. While we never see this form, in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam she transforms into this form to unleash a special attack on Larry and Ludwig in a pipe. Of note is that this transformation starts with her saying something along the lines of "traaaansfooorming", similarly to when a Luma transforms in Super Mario Galaxy.

With this in mind, it's possible that, somewhat similarly to Geno, these Star Sprites take on this ball-like form temporarily when doing work in the world below - and by extension, their "true" form is one that resembles the Stars seen in other titles, such as Paper Mario - with this form being considered much more beautiful by the Stars.

I think it's probable that, at the very least, Starlow and the other "Star Sprites" are truly the same species as the Star Spirits and other Stars from Paper Mario. This may be approaching more headcanon territory (though let me indulge briefly), but it is even possible that the three figures that sealed the Dark Star are, or were, Star Spirits.

You may think that we have already seen all seven of the Star Spirits, therefore there can't be any more - but we know that the position of Star Spirit is one that is replaced as time goes on, as is stated in Paper Mario. Some Star Kids may, in time, become Star Spirits. Some Star Spirits also appear to be younger than others.

In fact, it seems quite plausible that some of the Star Spirits were replaced in the last 1000+ years, even if they are quite long-lived beings. Maybe some of the Star Spirits themselves were lost over the many years it took to seal the Dark Star, or perhaps when the Shadow Queen created Crystal Stars to "hold the essence of the heavens", she absorbed the power from some of the Star Spirits of the time, causing them to expire.

Come to think of it, the ones who sealed the Dark Star do look a little familiar...

[seandwalsh]

Finally finished Mario & Luigi: Brothership [Ending Spoilers]

Really hit the nail on the head with that one!

[seandwalsh]

It's been a couple of months since Bananza came out. Where do you think the game fits in the Mario timeline?

I have actually already placed Donkey Kong Bananza on my Super Mario timeline! The most up to date version of the timeline has been shared in the Marioverse discord server for proofreading, so if you’re very anxious to see where I’ve placed it, you can check it out there!

As for why I have placed it where it is, you can see my thoughts in this video:

[ym-loreposting]

The life cycle of forests in The Legend of Zelda

The release of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment and the Voice Memories that accompanied the Nintendo Switch 2 versions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom give some insight in how forests in the Zelda series form and spread themselves and might explain why the Lost Woods change location so often throughout the series. I also give a shout out to my friend @somasoa who helped in the formation of some of these ideas.

Deku Trees and Koroks

In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the Great Deku Tree and the Kokiri he created were introduced. It is said Kokiri will die if they leave the forest, where the Deku Tree has his influence, and a Kokiri girl wonders if the tree created all the other life in the forest as well. The Deku Tree dies over the course of the game and is replaced by the Deku Sprout, who retains his memories, after the evil plaguing the forest is defeated.

The Wind Waker would expand on these concepts, with the Deku Sprout seemingly appearing as an all grown-up Deku Tree in its own right in this game. The human-like Kokiri also appear as Koroks, small tree-like beings, a form they took once they left the forest and came to live on the Great Sea. We also see the Deku Tree produce seeds that grow into Forest Trees with faces, with the seeds themselves resembling Deku Nuts from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

The function of the Forest Trees is to be the start of new forests, which eventually should expand the islands of the Great Sea so they can form one big continent again. The Forest Trees may represent a later stage in the Deku Tree's life cycle than the Deku Tree from Ocarina of Time, with the Koroks being responsible for spreading them around.

Tears of the Kingdom further expands on the relationship between Deku Trees and Koroks by specifying the Deku Tree in that game is considered a Korok, according to his in-game profile. Koroks do appear to be different beings from Forest Trees to a degree, so perhaps Deku Nuts can sprout into different types of trees depending on different circumstances.

Koroks placing down roots

In the Voice Memories for Breath of the Wild, Zelda writes in Memory #082 Where Spirits Reside, that forest spirits may put down roots, after which a forest with its own forest spirits will appear around the initial spirit. Zelda wonders if the Forest of Spirits on the Great Plateau is one such forest.

"Here on the plateau, the Forest of Spirits is the only area dense enough to be called a forest. Back before the founding of Hyrule, however, the entire plateau was apparently covered with trees. Where the spirits plant roots, trees flourish, and forests are formed… In ancient times, this may have been a village of spirits." -Breath of the Wild Voice Memory #082 Where Spirits Reside

This general idea is further expanded upon in Age of Imprisonment via the Korok Calamo. He is a Korok from the Great Hyrule Forest, which is burned down over the course of the game. At the end of the game, he puts down roots in the east of Hyrule Field and a forest forms around him over many years. Other Koroks in turn are attracted to this forest. In time, Calamo, who had grown around a Gerudo Spear, becomes the Ancient Tree Stump. In the Voice Memories in Tears of the Kingdom, the Ancient Tree Stump is said to have a spear inside. The forest around Calamo is long gone by Breath of the Wild however.

"Previous archaeological investigations discovered a single ancient spear within this decaying tree trunk. It has stirred up spirited discussion among many researchers, but little additional information has been revealed, despite their piqued interest." -Tears of the Kingdom Zelda's Voice Memory #066 Ancient Tree Stump

The Ancient Tree Stump appears to be one of the oldest trees in Hyrule by Breath of the Wild, but it is noted in the Voice Memories and it can also be seen that many similar large trees exist or used to exist all around Hyrule. The Forest of Spirits, Korok Forest and Deya Lake house fallen logs of similar large trees, though none are as big as the Ancient Tree Stump.

"In Hyrule, there are a number of large, decaying trees that are likely over one thousand years old, not unlike this tree stump." -Breath of the Wild Voice Memory #075 Ancient Tree Stump.

In the era where Age of Imprisonment takes place, the Deku Tree from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom does not appear to be present yet. It is possible that after some time, a Deku Nut was planted in Great Hyrule Forest that eventually became that Deku Tree. This may be how the life cycle of such forests and Deku Trees is perpetuated.

Large trees in The Legend of Zelda games

Other games in the The Legend of Zelda series may also originate in similar ways to the Ancient Tree Stump. The Deku Tree from Ocarina of Time appears to be the original of its kind, as the creation of its Kokiri Forest is seen in the cutscene that depicts the creation of the world in that game. The cutscene makes it seem the forest and its trees were created by Din, the Goddess of Power, while the creatures within were created by Farore, the Goddess of Courage. The Kokiri of Kokiri Forest may have gone out into the wider world to create more forests, hence Kokiri Forest being known as "the source of life".

This may explain why the location of the Lost Woods and the Great Deku Tree keeps changing throughout the series. It is a new forest and a new tree every time, changing location due to a Forest Tree being planted in a different location. The memories of the Forest Trees are preserved as shown in Ocarina of Time, explaining why the Deku Tree in Breath of the Wild knows about the origins of the Master Sword. And due to the timespan between games, old forests and Forest Trees eventually wither away.

The lands of Labrynna and Holodrum have their own guardians called Maku Trees, which may be Forest Trees, like the varios Deku Trees. The Maku Tree in Labrynna even used to resemble the Deku Sprout in the distant past in Oracle of Ages.

The Great Tree from Skyward Sword and the trees that house the Forest Temple of Twilight Princess, as well as the surrounding large trees, may on the other hand have originated as Koroks. The Forest Temple even houses the symbol of the Kokiri. Its function appears to be to protect a part of the Fused Shadow, so perhaps multiple Koroks put down roots in that location to protect the wider world from its evil.