Super Mario Adventures
Encyclopedia
is an anthology
of comics that ran in Nintendo Power
magazine throughout 1992, featuring the characters from Nintendo's Mario
series and based loosely on Super Mario World
. Charlie Nozawa
, the artist who created the comics, is also known by the pen name Tamakichi Sakura. Kentaro Takekuma
was responsible for the story, which follows Mario
and Luigi
as they attempt to rescue Princess Peach
after she is abducted by Bowser with intent to marry her.
It marks the second time the Mario universe is developed into a livable place, as the comic was made after Nintendo Comic Systems and before Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
. The only other pre-story Mario is within the animated and live action series relating to Donkey Kong. It's notable for its use of the many gameplay devices in the Mario series as elements of everyday life. For example, Mario plays a psychologist and treats the social anxiety of a Boo (a ghost enemy in the video game series that covers its face whenever the player is facing it).
When the comic originally ran, it ran alongside a just-as-long serial based on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
. Both serials were later reprinted in separate trade paperbacks published at the time of the magazine's fiftieth issue.
to Princess Peach. He then leaves Peach one week to decide on his proposal, but Peach rallies her troops and takes off after him.
Mario and Luigi chase after Peach and soon find a large egg, which cracks open to reveal a grateful Yoshi
. Yoshi takes them to the nearby Yoshi Village, where they meet Friendly Floyd and discover Yoshi's backstory. Toad
arrives to inform the pair that Peach has been captured.
In a nearby tower surrounded by a lake, the Koopalings
are contacted by Bowser, who informs them of his decision to make Peach their stepmother and then orders the Koopalings to make sure she doesn't escape. She soon does, using a cape she finds that gives her the ability to fly.
On the other side of the lake, the Mario Bros., Toad, and Yoshi are trying to figure out a way to get to the tower. Mario rescues Luigi from a Bullet Bill which takes Mario across the lake. The Princess lands unconscious by Luigi, and Mario lands dazed in the clutches of the Koopalings.
Luigi poses as Peach, using a mask, and is brought to Bowser. Peach wakes up, now dressed as Luigi, and is also determined to rescue Mario. Luigi offers to order the Koopalings a pizza
, and then calls up Yoshi and Toad, who show up dressed as pizza delivery boys. But out of the boxes come Peach and Floyd, bearing a pack of bombs that Floyd had with him. Luigi runs off to rescue his brother. Eventually Peach's bomb is accidentally lit, blowing up the tower and sending all the good guys flying back over to the other side of the moat.
Floyd parts ways with the heroes, who feel victorious due to Bowser's apparent defeat. Mario realises there's no way to reach the entry pipe in the sky. Toad takes Peach's cape to fly up to the pipe and send for a rescue party. Shortly afterward, some odd-looking Mushroomites show up with a rope ladder. The leader cuts the portion of the ladder with the Mario Brothers, and it is revealed that Bowser and the Koopas have taken control of the Mushroom Kingdom.
The Mario Bros. and Yoshi give chase after the Koopas' saucer, but Bowser responds by sending down Koopa Paratroopas to attack them. Mario fights back and Yoshi eats each Paratroopa until finally he swallows a Blue Koopa Shell and grows wings. The trio eventually crash-land in front of a Ghost House. Luigi dashes into the house, smelling cheese, and Mario follows when a metal door comes down, leaving Yoshi locked out.
Mario and Luigi are surrounded by Boos, eventually meeting Big Boo. They escape through a door and when the Boos follow they find Mario dressed as a psychiatrist
, and Luigi as a nurse. Mario consults the Big Boo, who confesses that his fear of humans stems from bad childhood experiences. Now feeling better, the Big Boo and his buddies let Mario and Luigi out of the house and tell them how to get to Bowser's castle.
The Mario Bros. and Yoshi make it to the Koopa-conquered Mushroom Kingdom and find that practically every enemy character from the classic Mario games are gathering for Bowser's marriage. The trio use available pipes, and Mario gets separated from the other two.
Bowser uses Magikoopa hypnotize the Princess into loving him, but just as the ceremony begins, Mario comes out and attacks Bowser. He is astonished to hear Peach declaring her apparent love for Bowser, but he refuses to let that stop him, and he attempts to carry Peach out while Bowser orders his men to seize him.
Down in the basement, Luigi and Yoshi come upon the captured Yoshis, who are now all trapped in eggs. They get to work setting the Yoshis free. Just when the ceremony gets underway again, Luigi and the Yoshis come stampeding in, trampling all of Bowser's minions. This breaks the spell on Peach, who then proceeds to untie Mario. Bowser tries to hide in his wedding cake, which the Yoshis begin devouring. The Yoshis are freed, and peace returns to the Mushroom Kingdom.
, which ran in their January 1993 issue and was later reprinted in the graphic novel. This comic was last seen in the Greed School part of the official North American Wario Land 4
website. In this story, Mario receives a letter from his childhood playmate Wario
, who is inviting him over to his castle to "catch up on things." What Mario doesn't know, though, is that Wario is secretly plotting revenge for how much of a bully Mario was to him in their childhood. In the road between his house and Wario's castle, Mario encounters several of the bosses from the game, but doesn't suspect that they're out to eliminate him. Eventually, he reaches the castle and finds a giant Wario waiting to pummel him. In the fight that ensues, Mario finds that Wario's new size is thanks to a plug on his overalls, which he then pulls off, deflating Wario to his normal size (which is apparently the same size as Mario). Wario is upset about Mario bullying him again, but Mario, realizing this, apologizes. The story ends on them playing cowboys again, with Wario once again vowing to get even.
A year later, immediately following a comic adaptation of Star Fox, another Mario vs. Wario comic ran in the magazine, this one published in the January 1994 issue. Here, Mario and Wario (who is now drawn in his official size from the games) are invited to Princess Peach's birthday party, and they both recall of the Princess' infatuation with a super deformed
doll in the likeness of Samus Aran
(perhaps foreshadowing the Super Metroid
comic adaptation that started in the next issue). Wario heads off to the toy shop, only to find that "some guy" with "a big black moustache" already bought the last Samus doll there was. Being Mario's doppelganger, Wario assumes Mario was the customer, buys a jack-in-the-box, and has it wrapped in the same packaging. At the party, Wario sees that Mario's gift looks just like his and switches his gift with Mario's when the human plumber isn't looking. But when Wario presents Mario's gift to Peach, she opens it up to find it's a jack-in-the-box (which apparently scares her). Then, when Mario presents "his" gift, Wario claims it to be his gift, but it is also a jack-in-the-box. A big fistfight emerges between Mario and Wario until they finally realize that neither of them had the Samus doll, and it is revealed that Luigi was the one who bought it for Peach. This second Mario vs. Wario comic is the only installment of Super Mario Adventures that has never been reprinted.
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of comics that ran in Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
magazine throughout 1992, featuring the characters from Nintendo's Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
series and based loosely on Super Mario World
Super Mario World
, subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 for its original Japanese release, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fourth game in the Super Mario series...
. Charlie Nozawa
Charlie Nozawa
, also known as is a manga artist.He is the artist of Super Mario Adventures.-External links:...
, the artist who created the comics, is also known by the pen name Tamakichi Sakura. Kentaro Takekuma
Kentaro Takekuma
is a manga artist.He is one of the authors of Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga. He is also the story writer of Super Mario Adventures.-External links:*...
was responsible for the story, which follows Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
as they attempt to rescue Princess Peach
Princess Peach
is a character in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. She is the Princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the adventure series. In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of...
after she is abducted by Bowser with intent to marry her.
It marks the second time the Mario universe is developed into a livable place, as the comic was made after Nintendo Comic Systems and before Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, often shortened and officially known in Japan as , is an action role-playing game developed by Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . It was originally released on March 9, 1996 in Japan and on May 13,...
. The only other pre-story Mario is within the animated and live action series relating to Donkey Kong. It's notable for its use of the many gameplay devices in the Mario series as elements of everyday life. For example, Mario plays a psychologist and treats the social anxiety of a Boo (a ghost enemy in the video game series that covers its face whenever the player is facing it).
When the comic originally ran, it ran alongside a just-as-long serial based on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, known as in Japan, is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console, and the third installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It was first released in Japan in 1991, and was...
. Both serials were later reprinted in separate trade paperbacks published at the time of the magazine's fiftieth issue.
Synopsis
The story opens in the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario and Luigi entering the Mushroom Castle basement, where Mario gets right to work, singing as he does so. Just then, gigantic pipes start popping up in the basement and in the courtyard. Various enemies from Super Mario World pop out of the pipes and attack the guards, but the Mario Bros. fight back. Bowser comes out of the largest of the pipes in his Koopa Clown Car and proposes marriageMarriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
to Princess Peach. He then leaves Peach one week to decide on his proposal, but Peach rallies her troops and takes off after him.
Mario and Luigi chase after Peach and soon find a large egg, which cracks open to reveal a grateful Yoshi
Yoshi
, is a fictional dragon-like character who appears in video games published by Nintendo. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick , and he later established his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super...
. Yoshi takes them to the nearby Yoshi Village, where they meet Friendly Floyd and discover Yoshi's backstory. Toad
Toad (Mario)
Toad, known in Japan as , is a fictional character belonging to an anthropomorphic mushroom-like species of the same name in the Mario series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. A citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad is one of Princess Peach's most loyal attendants and is constantly working on her behalf...
arrives to inform the pair that Peach has been captured.
In a nearby tower surrounded by a lake, the Koopalings
Koopalings
The , also called the Koopa Kids, are a group of seven fictional characters in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. Their names are Ludwig von Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr. and Larry Koopa. They first appeared in the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3, and...
are contacted by Bowser, who informs them of his decision to make Peach their stepmother and then orders the Koopalings to make sure she doesn't escape. She soon does, using a cape she finds that gives her the ability to fly.
On the other side of the lake, the Mario Bros., Toad, and Yoshi are trying to figure out a way to get to the tower. Mario rescues Luigi from a Bullet Bill which takes Mario across the lake. The Princess lands unconscious by Luigi, and Mario lands dazed in the clutches of the Koopalings.
Luigi poses as Peach, using a mask, and is brought to Bowser. Peach wakes up, now dressed as Luigi, and is also determined to rescue Mario. Luigi offers to order the Koopalings a pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
, and then calls up Yoshi and Toad, who show up dressed as pizza delivery boys. But out of the boxes come Peach and Floyd, bearing a pack of bombs that Floyd had with him. Luigi runs off to rescue his brother. Eventually Peach's bomb is accidentally lit, blowing up the tower and sending all the good guys flying back over to the other side of the moat.
Floyd parts ways with the heroes, who feel victorious due to Bowser's apparent defeat. Mario realises there's no way to reach the entry pipe in the sky. Toad takes Peach's cape to fly up to the pipe and send for a rescue party. Shortly afterward, some odd-looking Mushroomites show up with a rope ladder. The leader cuts the portion of the ladder with the Mario Brothers, and it is revealed that Bowser and the Koopas have taken control of the Mushroom Kingdom.
The Mario Bros. and Yoshi give chase after the Koopas' saucer, but Bowser responds by sending down Koopa Paratroopas to attack them. Mario fights back and Yoshi eats each Paratroopa until finally he swallows a Blue Koopa Shell and grows wings. The trio eventually crash-land in front of a Ghost House. Luigi dashes into the house, smelling cheese, and Mario follows when a metal door comes down, leaving Yoshi locked out.
Mario and Luigi are surrounded by Boos, eventually meeting Big Boo. They escape through a door and when the Boos follow they find Mario dressed as a psychiatrist
Dr. Mario (video game)
is an action puzzle game designed by Gunpei Yokoi and produced by Takahiro Harada. It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy consoles and released in 1990 and 1991....
, and Luigi as a nurse. Mario consults the Big Boo, who confesses that his fear of humans stems from bad childhood experiences. Now feeling better, the Big Boo and his buddies let Mario and Luigi out of the house and tell them how to get to Bowser's castle.
The Mario Bros. and Yoshi make it to the Koopa-conquered Mushroom Kingdom and find that practically every enemy character from the classic Mario games are gathering for Bowser's marriage. The trio use available pipes, and Mario gets separated from the other two.
Bowser uses Magikoopa hypnotize the Princess into loving him, but just as the ceremony begins, Mario comes out and attacks Bowser. He is astonished to hear Peach declaring her apparent love for Bowser, but he refuses to let that stop him, and he attempts to carry Peach out while Bowser orders his men to seize him.
Down in the basement, Luigi and Yoshi come upon the captured Yoshis, who are now all trapped in eggs. They get to work setting the Yoshis free. Just when the ceremony gets underway again, Luigi and the Yoshis come stampeding in, trampling all of Bowser's minions. This breaks the spell on Peach, who then proceeds to untie Mario. Bowser tries to hide in his wedding cake, which the Yoshis begin devouring. The Yoshis are freed, and peace returns to the Mushroom Kingdom.
Dialog changes
When Super Mario Adventures was reprinted in graphic novel form half a year later, some minor changes were made to the dialogue, apparently so the dialogue would make a bit more sense. Here is a list of the lines that were changed.- Part 2, page 8, panel 6: Luigi: "Tell my stomach that!" --> "Tell your stomach that!"
- Part 3, page 4, panel 8: Luigi: "Yahoo!" --> "Yikes! What a fight!"
- Part 6, page 8, panel 2: Toad: "Onto plan B!" --> "We have a delivery to make!"
- Part 8, page 8, panel 7: Mario: "Quit clowning around, Luigi! Look!" --> "Look! I wonder if anybody's home..."
- Part 9, page 1, panel 1: Mario: "Quit clowning around, Luigi! Look!" --> "I don't see any lights on..."
- Part 9, page 5, panel 8: Koopa Kids: "He's off the royal rocker!" --> "I hate it when he's right!"
- Part 11, page 4, panel 5: Mario: "Ow ow ow!" --> "Look out!"
- Mario Vs. Wario, page 5, panel 3: Wario: "Phew! That was close!" --> Wario: "Blast! He got away!"
- Mario Vs. Wario, page 8, panel 4: Mario: "Hello there... Wario! Are you home?" --> Mario: "Wario! Long time no see!"
Mario vs. Wario
Immediately following the end of Super Mario Adventures, Nintendo Power concluded the epic with a ten-page story based on Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden CoinsSuper Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
is a platforming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1992, in North America on November 2, 1992, and in Europe on January 28, 1993...
, which ran in their January 1993 issue and was later reprinted in the graphic novel. This comic was last seen in the Greed School part of the official North American Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance system in 2001. In this game, Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva...
website. In this story, Mario receives a letter from his childhood playmate Wario
Wario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario series. The character was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
, who is inviting him over to his castle to "catch up on things." What Mario doesn't know, though, is that Wario is secretly plotting revenge for how much of a bully Mario was to him in their childhood. In the road between his house and Wario's castle, Mario encounters several of the bosses from the game, but doesn't suspect that they're out to eliminate him. Eventually, he reaches the castle and finds a giant Wario waiting to pummel him. In the fight that ensues, Mario finds that Wario's new size is thanks to a plug on his overalls, which he then pulls off, deflating Wario to his normal size (which is apparently the same size as Mario). Wario is upset about Mario bullying him again, but Mario, realizing this, apologizes. The story ends on them playing cowboys again, with Wario once again vowing to get even.
A year later, immediately following a comic adaptation of Star Fox, another Mario vs. Wario comic ran in the magazine, this one published in the January 1994 issue. Here, Mario and Wario (who is now drawn in his official size from the games) are invited to Princess Peach's birthday party, and they both recall of the Princess' infatuation with a super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
doll in the likeness of Samus Aran
Samus Aran
is the protagonist of the Metroid video game series. Introduced in the 1986 video game Metroid, Samus is a female ex-army soldier bounty hunter usually fitted with a powered armor suit with weapons that include beams and missiles...
(perhaps foreshadowing the Super Metroid
Super Metroid
, also known as Metroid 3, is an action-adventure video game and the third game in the Metroid series. It was designed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, programmed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console...
comic adaptation that started in the next issue). Wario heads off to the toy shop, only to find that "some guy" with "a big black moustache" already bought the last Samus doll there was. Being Mario's doppelganger, Wario assumes Mario was the customer, buys a jack-in-the-box, and has it wrapped in the same packaging. At the party, Wario sees that Mario's gift looks just like his and switches his gift with Mario's when the human plumber isn't looking. But when Wario presents Mario's gift to Peach, she opens it up to find it's a jack-in-the-box (which apparently scares her). Then, when Mario presents "his" gift, Wario claims it to be his gift, but it is also a jack-in-the-box. A big fistfight emerges between Mario and Wario until they finally realize that neither of them had the Samus doll, and it is revealed that Luigi was the one who bought it for Peach. This second Mario vs. Wario comic is the only installment of Super Mario Adventures that has never been reprinted.