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Ever think about the kind of stuff that pops up when making a game? Like, in the wild brainstorming for Mario Kart World, the devs got caught up—big-time—in the whole “Does Mario actually chow down on those mushrooms?” debate. Crazy, right? But is he munching, or just touching them for a power-up? This stuff’s like existential for Mario nerds.
So, Shintaro Jikumaru, who’s been chillin’ at Nintendo for like two decades, found himself scratching his head. Did he really get the mushroom power-up gig? I mean, he kinda had to, right? So, he and Kosuke Yabuki, the producer guy, decided to ask Takashi Tezuka. This dude’s basically the Mario sage—worked on the original, and a zillion games after. If someone knows, it’s him.
Jikumaru was eyeing the idea of chucking food into the game. Hamburgers. Seriously. Picture characters munching as they drive. Almost sounds like a fever dream, yeah? Yabuki laughed about their wacky brainstorm—like, drive-thrus in Mario Kart! Why not? Mario changes his look after a bite? Sounds nuts but kinda fun.
Anyway, they’re in this all-deep world-crafting rabbit hole and run into the old mushroom mystery. Ask the Developer showed Yabuki and Jikumaru diving into this mess. It goes like:
Yabuki: So, does Mario eat mushrooms? (Laughs)
Jikumaru: We hauled it over to Tezuka-san, asking, “Seriously, does he?”
Yabuki: And Tezuka-san, bless him, goes, “Yep.”
For those die-hard fans, it’s kinda old news. I mean, Mario & Luigi chomp on power-ups, and remember the Super Mario Bros. Movie? Mario munches, while, like, Fire Flowers just magically do their thing. But yeah, Mario Kart World folks wanted to get it straight. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe shows those mushrooms being more of a boost for the kart, like a turbo shot or whatever. Go figure.
This whole eat-or-touch thing might be up in the air. Could be a whole debate. Tons of other mysteries in Mario land might never see daylight. Makes me think—if I ever chat with Tezuka (and maybe I shouldn’t after this whole ramble), I’d have a hundred questions spilling out. Wonder how long till he gets fed up.
