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User:DatOneWeeb/Mario's Wacky Canon
When it comes to the canonicity to Mario, it's actually hardly agreed among (us) 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, etc. The purpose of this blog is to list what is and isn't connected to the main Mario video game series. This list will update as I go on to search for more Mario media.
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 (not the tier 2 stuff you nerd) of events. I will explain how I treat the basis on canon and canonicity, and how Mario connects with them.
What Is Canon?
All of it. All of Mario media that is official is canon. This is due to two interviews done with Miyamoto.
Let's quote something every Mario versus debater uses at some point.
"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."
Let's elaborate on what he's saying. Miyamoto views Mario as an actor (not an actual one) 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, or a house cat.
Miyamoto in an interview also still has this view.
Q: "So there are multiple Links, but is it always the same Mario?"
A: "Yes."
Miyamoto views each Mario as the same, including spin-offs.
So All Marios Are The Same?
This is an easy answer, no. Not at all. Despite what Miyamoto claimed, everything being canon does not mean they all share the same continuity. And what I generally mean by this is that even if all media of Mario is canon, this does not mean that they're all within the same universe. We have seen this on many many occasions. I will elaborate more in another section, but I need to explain in a general perspective.
Canon =/= Continuity, especially for Mario. For example, say you have a game where you have Mario's origin. He was taken by a stork to his parents. Then other various media depicts he was never taken by one. This would mean that they take place within a different location, as it goes against a section of their continuity. It contradicts the main source material. Things like these would mean that they clearly aren't following the main world they were adapting. But why does this matter? Well, it's because Mario very clearly has a continuity. Any reference or scene that take notes of a previous adventure would very clearly prove that they have a continuity. Because of this, this would mean that in order to qualify for the statements of "all the same Marios" or "Mario is acting as a different role" (please do not, I repeat, do not take this as him being a literal actor), you generally need to not ruin the continuity. Minor hiccups are okay, those are natural, however, major changes are what cause these to be separate. To stick the nail in the coffin, there's evidence making it clear there are many Marios. This brings us up to the next topic.
The Multiverse of Marios
If you don't know, there exists multiple variations of Mario. The existence of parallel universes has been a constant thing with the franchise. I've gone in detail with the mentions of parallel universes here, however I will go in more depth as to how these Marios exist. I'll first talk about the timelines, since that's the most famous example.
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.
We know this since no one in the main timeline ever recalls their lives changing. Basically, they would've already experienced those changes. 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 we shift 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. As we can clearly see, Luigi knows nothing about Gooigi. Luigi wouldn't just simply forget about this either, as in anytime he uses the Poltergust, he seems to know how to just well. Thus any time traveling is going into a different timeline of that time period. This is our start of proving there exists more than one Mario and thus proving that Mario indeed has a continuity across media.
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[1]. We can also see in later volumes that Koopa (Bowser), Kootie Pie (Wendy), and Mario[2] from the DiC cartoons come in as entirely different characters that directly note that they are from the DiC cartoons. This 100% confirms that the DiC cartoons are not related to the games. However, this isn't the last time we see this. In even later volumes, we actually get appearances of the Mario cast[3] from the 1993 live action film of Super Mario Bros.[4]. It's actually a bit of an on going gag[5], as they keep mentioning that they've seen the movies and know the characters. Trust me, they love referencing the movie.
In the Dr. Mario-kun manga when bringing Count Bleck, we can see Princess Peach from different various points in time. After this, we see them go back to their own times. Due to with how we established time travel, this would mean various timelines of the same general continuity have happened.
Finally, in the guidebook for Super Mario All-Stars, we can actually see Mario meet up with past versions of himself, establishing that he's actually revisiting old events. There is likely more evidence of this, but this overall proves the main point. Not every Mario is the same, and due to both multiverses and parallel universes/Marios, this would mean that generally different medias of Mario could mean it's simply a Mario from another universe.
What Is Connected
So now that we've established that in order to be connected to the "main" Mario, you'd need to not change the overall continuity of the games. Adaptations of adventures can be considered valid if it doesn't change the overall game.
Video Games
Mainline + Spinoffs
Of course, the mainline games have constant mentions of past adventures both in-game and in manuals. I'm sure not many people are doubtful they do not contradict the overall continuity. Spin offs such as Yoshi's Island and Wario Land are considered the next entries to mainline games, 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 is what we will mainly look at. Why did the two jump from 3000 to 5000? It actually didn't, as the Poltergust 4000 is made in Mario Kart: DS. This establishes that the sports are canon to Luigi's Mansion and by extension, the mainlines. The RPGs I have already discussed in the past. They're all connected and thus connected to the mainlines. Overall all Mario games seem to have some connections with the mainlines in one way or another and don't seem to ruin the continuity. This also includes Mario's jobs as Mario's costumes in Odyssey acknowledge many of them.
Donkey Kong
I think everyone and their mother knows they're connected by now.
Hotel Mario
Not canon as confirmed by Mario himself.
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.
Cartoons & Films
Saturday Supercade
This one is canon due to not having any issues in terms of continuity, and 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 are not canon as shown in the manga, but the show's intro also shows us Mario lived in another world and met Peach after entering a pipe. The cartoon also establishes a Mushroom World and Real World multiple times, thus disconnecting itself from the games.
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. Thus is not canon.
Donkey Kong Country Cartoon
In the games, Donkey Kong and Diddy are related, with Donkey Kong's nephew being Diddy. Note that the "wannabe" part is in reference to Diddy wanting to be just like DK. Anyways, the cartoon completely contradicts this.
Mario Kirby Masterpiece Video
The cartoon is just about Mario battling Wario, nothing new and doesn't contradict any games and thus is canon.
Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land
A simple adaption of Super Mario World, thus canon due to no continuity errors. While they established first meeting Yoshi here, this was true to the games at the time and can simply be a retcon and as the game makes the same mistake.
