Nintendo Confirms Mario’s Connection with Mushrooms

Oh, man, where do I begin with this one? So picture this: the geniuses behind Mario Kart World are deep in thought — no, really, like existential crisis mode. They’re pondering: does our beloved plumber Mario actually munch on mushrooms? Or is it more of a casual touch-and-go transformation situation? Honestly, who thinks of this stuff? But I guess it’s crucial, right?

So, there’s this dude, Shintaro Jikumaru — been around Nintendo for, like, two decades. Even he’s scratching his head over how these mushrooms work in the Mario universe. Enter Kosuke Yabuki, the big cheese over at Mario Kart World. They decide to bug Takashi Tezuka (this guy’s been in the Mario biz since Super Mario Bros. was just a gleam in Nintendo’s eye) for answers. I mean, if anyone would know about this wacky world, it’s gotta be Tezuka, right?

Apparently, Jikumaru had this brainwave about adding food to the game. (Hamburgers, if you can believe it!) So now, the team’s thinking, “What if our characters munch while racing? Maybe a drive-thru? Yeah, because that’s not crazy at all.” Yabuki’s all, “Why not let them eat and poof! New outfits or transformations!” It’s wild. Bonkers, even.

Now they’re introducing hamburgers and all sorts of local grub to Mario Kart World, which makes them rethink some Mario rules. They’re like, “Wait, does Mario chomp on these mushrooms?” And in one of those developer interviews, Yabuki goes, “Does he eat them?” (Insert laugh-track here, because why not?)

Jikumaru’s imagining this intense moment with Tezuka: “Hey, does Mario really chow down on those shrooms?” And Tezuka’s just casually like, “Uh, yeah, he does.” Just like that. Mystery solved, folks.

But, you Mario diehards probably saw this coming — seeing as the Mario & Luigi games and even The Super Mario Bros. Movie show Mario snacking on these power-ups. Fire Flowers, Super Stars, though? Just a tap, and bam, powers unlocked. Kinda inconsistent, huh? Especially when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe makes it look like the karts gulp down the mushrooms themselves. Go figure.

I’m guessing the whole “touch versus eat” power-up saga is gonna be one of those never-ending debates. Who knows, really? And if, by some chance, I ever have a chat with Tezuka, oh boy, I’ll have a million more burning questions. Not that he’d enjoy that much.

Life’s a mystery, especially when it involves Italian plumbers and magic mushrooms. Go figure.