So, there I was, knee-deep in this bizarre detail about Mario — yeah, like the plumber guy with the jumping and the mushrooms. Apparently, while whipping up some Mario Kart World magic, the creators hit a wall. Like, a big question mark block kind of thing: does Mario actually eat those shrooms, or just, like, bump into them to grab some power?
I mean, you’d think after 20 years in the game, folks like Shintaro Jikumaru would have a handle on it, right? But nope. He and Kosuke Yabuki, the producer, took the question all the way to Takashi Tezuka — yeah, that Tezuka, the wizard behind the original Super Mario Bros. If anyone’s got the goods, it’s him.
I guess it all kicked off when Jikumaru had this wild idea to throw in food — hamburgers, of all things — into the Mario Kart world. Like, imagine cruising through a drive-thru mid-race. You’d chomp a burger and suddenly, bam, you’re wearing a new outfit or morphing into a different character. Totally bonkers, right? Or maybe not.
But hamburgers in Mario Kart? That meant the dev team had to dive into the nitty-gritty of the Mario universe. And then came — “Does Mario eat mushrooms?” — a question that’s absurdly funny when you think about it.
Anyway, they asked Tezuka, “So, Mario eats these things, yes?” And guess what? He just says, “Yeah, he does.” Simple as that, right?
Longtime Mario fans are probably raising eyebrows right now. In stuff like the Mario & Luigi games, the bros chow down on power-ups. And in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it’s clear — mushrooms are a snack, fire flowers and stars, just a tap. But there are always those little wrinkles. Like in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario grabs that Super Mushroom, and it’s like he’s feeding his kart instead. It’s NOS, but make it Mario.
So, maybe which power-ups get gobbled versus caressed is still a head-scratcher. A mystery wrapped in a red hat. And honestly, if fate ever lands me face-to-face with Tezuka — not likely after this tale, just saying — I’d have a list of questions ready that could last late into the night (or until he loses patience).
