Everything Nintendo produced had to follow a strict set of guidelines as to what it could and could not be which, while great for consistency, was stifling for innovation. (1993) movie, multiple failed animated series, and the infamous Legend of Zelda CD-i games led to Nintendo cracking down on who could use their Intellectual Property and what they could do with it. The 90s were a good decade for Nintendo in general, but it did see a great number of failures with licensing. This was just one of the many protective measures Nintendo took in the 90s. And so, after the release of Super Mario 64 (1996), Miyamoto issued a company wide ban on Mario’s cutest gesture: the peace sign. Miyamoto may have lost the battle, but he was not to lose the war. Mario was appearing on lunchboxes, pencil cases, backpacks even the internal marketing team at Nintendo began to aim Mario at small children. Though the changes were small and insignificant, over time Miyamoto became more and more disillusioned with his own creation. This change was largely headed up by Takashi Tezuka, a game designer with Nintendo, who loved all things cute. He suddenly became the kind of guy to give up his seat on the bus without being prompted. His cheeks became chubby and rosy, his physique became portly, his moustache became cartoonish. Mario had to become younger, more family friendly, and cuter. As Mario took off as a video game character though, something had to give. Miyamoto admits that he originally created Mario as a character for an older generation. He’s the sort of guy you would shift away from if you saw him sitting alone at the bar. He was originally designed to be a grubby, crotchety old carpenter, as can be seen in the early arcade cabinet artwork of Donkey Kong (1981). Mario is a character designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. This loss had been written in the stars the prophecies foretold this tragedy all the way back in 1996.

Upon the announcement that the final Smash character was going to be Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series, a note of sadness echoed throughout the community, though most knew that the battle had been long lost. Ultimate, players have been obsessing over the Big Question™ : When is Waluigi going to be in Smash? Waluigi has been a staple of the Super Mario line-up since Mario Tennis (2000) on the N64 and yet Nintendo seem more than happy to ignore this slippery, purple fan favourite. Since February 1st, with the release of Piranha Plant, the first post-launch character added to Super Smash Bros.

Mario golf switch waluigi