Mario Canon

When it comes to the canonicity to Mario, it's actually hardly agreed among fans over how Mario's canon works. Some treat is as only the mainlines are connected, some view each game as a different thing, some view the sports as non-canon, etcetera. The purpose of this page is to list what is and isn't connected to the main Mario video game series.

What Is A "Canon"

People often get canonicity as a whole mixed up. They might confuse it with continuity. A canon would be if the source material is overall related with the other source of material. While a continuity would be a timeline of events.

What Is Canon?

All of Mario media that is official is canon. This is due to two interviews done with Miyamoto.

In an official interview with him, Miyamoto had this to say regarding Mario:

If you're familiar with things like Popeye and some of the old comic characters, you would oftentimes see this cast of characters that takes on different roles depending on the comic or cartoon," Miyamoto said. "They might be businessman in one [cartoon] or a pirate in another. Depending on the story that was being told, they would change roles. So, to a certain degree, I look at our characters in a similar way and feel that they can take on different roles in different games. —Polygon Archives: Miyamoto: the Mario cast is 'a troupe of actors,' and Bowser's kids are adopted

Let's elaborate on what he's saying. Miyamoto views Mario as an actor (not literally but metaphorically) who can take on different roles. What he's referencing is how an actor can play the role of a super hero in one film, and play as a super villain in another film. They are two different characters, but it's still the exact same actor playing as them. So Mario being a doctor in one game and a chef in another game doesn't matter because it's still Mario. He's also referencing cartoon/comic book characters, in which those would commonly have a main character have varying roles or occupations in different episodes. Tom the Cat can be a knight in one episode, fight against Jerry as a musketeer, or a house cat.

Miyamoto in an interview also still has this view along with Aonuma reaffirming that Mario is like Mickey Mouse.

Q: "So there are multiple Links, but is it always the same Mario?" Miyamoto: "Yes." Aonuma: "Just like Mickey Mouse." —51 Rapid-Fire Questions About The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

Miyamoto views each Mario as the same, including spin-offs with Aonuma reaffirming that Mario is just like Mickey Mouse, who has taken on multiple roles all acknowledged by Disney as the same character.

So All Marios Are The Same?

In a complicated sense, they are. Though there are some cases for the sake of a game or plot that Marios will differ, for example, in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, the Paper World is considered a full separate world inside of a book, different from the main Mario universe. As explained in the Paper Mario canoncity page however, Paper Mario has multiple cases of existing in the same universe as the main Mario characters to the point that they're outright the same character. This is a case where for the sake of a game, the Mario characters fully split in two. As another recent example, Donkey Kong Bananza, features young Pauline in the game, which is inconsistent with the continuity. There are also characters like Baby Rosalina whose existence doesn't make sense due to Rosalina's storybooks. This is to note, all Mario are the sames but the continuity itself is loose and not consistent and will have the characters take entirely new backstories or have multiple versions of themself for the sake of a game or title.

Another example of this can be seen with the variations of Mario that exists. The existence of parallel universes has been a constant thing with the franchise. A page describing parallel universes can be read here.

For any game that has both adult Mario and Baby Mario, that baby Mario is from a different timeline. This is simply because any interactions/changes in the past timelines do not ever affect the present timeline.

This is shown as no one in the main timeline ever recalls their lives changing. A prime example is Luigi's Mansion. As shown above, E. Gadd during Dark Moon sent in a prototype of Gooigi to allow past Luigi to test it out. So Luigi during the events of the first game knew what Gooigi is. When shifting over to the third game, E. Gadd goes out of his way to explain to Luigi what he is, even noting in green text that he had help from a certain someone. Luigi knows nothing about Gooigi. Thus any time traveling is going into a different timeline of that time period.

This is when we get into the manga. In the Kodansha series, there's an entire story where Mario and Peach meet alternate versions of themselves that came via a portal. It is shown in later volumes that Koopa (Bowser), Kootie Pie (Wendy), and Mario from the DiC cartoons come in as entirely different characters that directly note that they are from the DiC cartoons. In even later volumes, there are appearances of the Mario cast from the 1993 live action film of Super Mario Bros.. It's actually a bit of an on going gag, as they keep mentioning events from the movie.

In the Dr. Mario-kun manga when bringing Count Bleck, Princess Peach from different various points in time. After this, we see them go back to their own times.

With this in mind the answer regarding if all Marios are the same is dependent on the role in the story, there may be stories where they treat Mario meeting a different entity entirely while other stories will treat both Marios as the same.

Video Games

Mainline + Spinoffs

The mainline games have constant mentions of past adventures both in-game and in manuals. Spin-offs such as Yoshi's Island and Wario Land are considered the next entries to mainline games. The same can be said with the Donkey Kong games being acknowledged as past adventures. Super Mario World and Super Mario Land respectively. Luigi's Mansion has E. Gadd and is thus within the mainline series due to his creation of the Magic Paintbrush (his logo and description). King Boo acknowledges Baby Luigi, who he has only met in various spin offs such as Mario Kart or Mario Sluggers. Additionally, the Poltergust has various versions. 3000 and 5000 as an example. What is the resaon for the jump from the 3000 to 5000? Due to the Poltergust 4000 being made in Mario Kart: DS. This establishes that the sports are canon to Luigi's Mansion and by extension, the mainlines. Paper Mario's continuity has been discussed. Many of the outfits in Mario Odyssey reference past adventures and jobs he had.

Cartoons & Films

Saturday Supercade

Surprisingly, this one actually established that Mario worked at a circus a year before Donkey Kong Circus was actually released. The Mario Mania guide even uses his design from the cartoon in the original game.

Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!

The anime film, Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!, is not canon due having a different origin for Mario and establishing he never met Peach/Bowser in his early years, which Yoshi's Island shows otherwise.

DiC Cartoons

The Super Mario Bros. Supershow, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World cartoons actually show up in the manga. As an example of one of Mario's many different roles, the show's intro also shows Mario lived in another world and met Peach after entering a pipe. The cartoon also establishes a Mushroom World and Real World multiple times.

Amada Anime Series

Each episode is based off of a Japanese tale and gives Mario a different birth origin in the first two episodes None of which follow Yoshi's Island. The last one changes Bowser into a female.

Donkey Kong Country Cartoon

In the games, Donkey Kong and Diddy are related, with Donkey Kong's nephew being Diddy. For reference, the "wannabe" comment is in reference to Diddy wanting to be just like DK. The cartoon instead notes that Donkey Kong doesn't have a nephew.

Mario Kirby Masterpiece Video

The cartoon is just about Mario battling Wario.

Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land

A simple adaption of Super Mario World. While they established first meeting Yoshi here, this was true to the games at the time.

Rare Non-Canon Series

While it is a franchise that equates to Looney Toons, there are times where creators/publishers get the rights to make Mario media, these are largely never considered canon nor acknowledged by Nintendo.

Hotel Mario

Mario himself notes he has no recollection of every opening a Hotel, on top of this the Mario Encyclopedia never lists this game.

Educational/Phillips Games

As of now, they were never really acknowledged and weren't considered to be a part of the overall Mario franchise. This is more proven by their absence in the Mario encyclopedia when listing off all games. So no Mario is Missing, Mario's Time Machine, Mario Teaches Typing, etc.

Conclusion

Asides from the rare non-canon series, all Mario works are canon though Mario does not have a consistent continuity and many can at times contradict continuity established, even in mainline games. It should be considered the equivalent of a Popeye or Looney Toons continuity, all are equally canon and as contradictive as they want to be.