Mailbag
04/06/2001

Got something you want us to answer next week? Send it to tmk_mailbag@usa.net.

Hello again! I wanted to ask you something about the game Super Mario Bros. 3 BMX. I never heard much of it before and I only got to see a few screen shots of it. What exactly is Super Mario Brothers 3 BMX? I am 100% sure that it is a whole lot like the Super Mario All Stars version of the game. Thanks!
-Mchapman2000

MEGAߥTE: I believe you are referring to Super Mario Bros. 3 BS-X, or BS Super Mario Bros. 3. BSX stands for the Bandai Satellaview-X, a satellite system for the Super Famicom that was released only in Japan. SMB3 for the BSX was released in sections that were downloaded into the system, much like the other BSX games. The game was a modified version of Super Mario All-Stars' SMB3. There were some oddities added such as different locations on the map screens and time limits which determined which world you would travel to next. It does not make too much sense, but I think that's because you really needed to have played the whole game in sequence when it came out.

Pokemon Look like Mario Video games! I am not kidding even though I am not no big Pokemon fan I am only 16 I swear! I seen some episodes that have those Pokemon and one of them is that you know that first little guy with fire on his back well when he turns his head upwards he looks like baby Mario! and also one of the Pokemon have the Same exact racoon tail that Super Mario 3 had and I noticed that ash is Mario cause he wears a red cap with white in the middle and also Brock is like Luigi and Misty is like the Princess Peach becasue when they do some gestures they look like them I am not kidding Damn I wish that I could somehow prove to you guy's oh well what do you think!?
-Starman Anthony

MEGAߥTE: People keep saying that Pokémon is a lot like Mario, but I don't see that at all. The racoon tail coincidence is not surprising because some aspects of Mario and some aspects of Pokémon were based on Japanese mythology. That reminds me.. Pokémon was just banned in Saudi Arabia because supposedly it promotes Zionism and gambling.... umm yeah.

Its always been a debate what exactly the Yoshis say in the Yoshis Story Title screen but, I've sat through the title screen story 73,569 times and finally concluded that they are saying, "Oh...lack of apples!!....Oh, lack of apples!!...Oh...lack of apples, lack of apples, lack of apples!"
Of course after 73,569 times its about all I can say too!! Oh no...its a pink and red yoshi conspiracy!! Either that or the Yoshis have a serious deficiency in their diets.
-if22

MEGAߥTE: Something like Effiel 65's Blue: "I'm in need of a guy, I'm in need of a guy..."

Deezer and whoever:
Mario 64 1/2 in March 2's mailbag asked about your pronounciation of Lakitu. I've always said lah-KOO-too not LAH-ki-too or luh-KEY-too! In Mario 64, why doesn't Mario bring out the old hammer and knock down the doors to Bowser? And in Super Mario World, why not just swim from Yoshi's Island to the Valley of Bowser? In Paper Mario, after getting Eldstar back, can't Mario wish for Bowser to implode? And in Dr. Mario, just use a vaccine! There is too much of a plot in Mario games!!! Can't they make them shorter? And one more thing, if Pikachu is in another Mario game, may I puke eternally!
-Neville

MEGAߥTE: You know how in Star Wars, Qui-Gon Jinn takes forever trying to open the blast doors at the beginning even though his light saber should cut right through? It's the same thing. Why would you want the games shorter, that would make them crap, and the plot is what produces the overall theme for the game, even if they are slightly bad. In Mario 64, I'm sure his hammer would not have opened the door, that's why he had to get the power stars. Besides, he didn't bring it because he was expecting cake, not his arch-nemesis. In SMW, the point of going around Dinosaur Land was to rescue the Yoshi eggs (even though you could beat it without this). Besides, the Valley of Bowser doesn't even show up until you get there, so how would Mario know to even swim there? It's like SMB:LL, you have to rescue all of the Mushroom Retainers if you want to get to World 9. As for Dr. Mario, yes, vitamins are stupid against virii, but what good is a vaccine going to do? Vaccines are for prevention, and antibiotics are for treating bacteria. There aren't many anti-virals, but nobody cares, it's a puzzle game made interesting. Puke eternally, eh? Sounds like too much of a plot. Oh, and what's the deal with people pronouncing simple names? Lakitu is obviously pronounced phonetically, ie: La-ki-tu. Wow, that was hard.

Hey, I am just saying that is their a glove in Mario Party?
-Cindy Jensen

MEGAߥTE: To clarify the whole situation, here's the report from SafetyAlerts.com:

Hand Injuries Prompt Nintendo to Provide Protective Gloves for "Mario Party" Video Game Users
Redmond, WA (SafetyAlerts) - Nintendo of America, Inc. has agreed to provide protective gloves to all consumers throughout the nation who own the "Mario Party" video game. Nintendo had received numerous complaints that children unexpectedly sustained hand wounds while playing certain segments of this video game. The hand injuries included burns, lacerations, punctures, cuts, bleeding, tearing and blistering of skin.
Mario Party is a popular video game marketed to children between the ages of 7 - 13 and played on the Nintendo 64 home game system, which consists of a game deck and a hand-held controller with a plastic control stick with grooves etched into a circular tip.
This video game features numerous mini-games, five of which present a risk of hand injuries. In those game segments, children are encouraged to use all their might to rapidly rotate the joystick to succeed at various virtual tasks.
The mini-games associated with the injuries include: Paddle Battle, Tug O'War, Pedal Power, Cast Aways, and Deep Sea Divers, along with a practice game feature, Mecha Fly Guy. Consumers consistently have reported that they needed to use the palms of their hands to rotate the joystick with sufficient speed to succeed at those game segments, resulting in injury. As of January, 2000, approximately 1,150,000 Mario Party games had been distributed throughout the United States.
Nintendo will provide up to four protective gloves to each household of consumers who own the video game, representing a commitment by Nintendo of up to $85 million. In order to obtain a protective glove, consumers should contact Nintendo at (800) 521-0900.

eh, jus wanted to make clear um...i didnt realy wanna join staff, want emus and roms, OR want to know if geno and smithy and all were in Paper Mario, i wuz bein sarcastic *you probably already knew that, but, it wuz drivin me crazy, so i had to let ya know jus incase ya didnt O.O um, ok... and, the spice girl movie thing, i cant belive i watched it either, my sis rented it once, and i saw some bits and pieces here and there...jus to make that clear...um, k, im gone...
PS, whyz dat guy callin JJ gay gay?!
-Venom

*MEGAߥTE snickers without comment.

I have just recently visited the Mario Kingdom and let me tell you this: IT IS A FREAKING RIP-OFF!!! His website is almost exacly like the real TMK except without as much stuff! And he has the nerve to say you guys hacked his site. His site isnt even a year old, and I remember coming to your site in 1997! And you can tell by the way he writes that he is just some teenager trying to pull a prank. I think you guys should kick his ass!!!!!!!
P.S. I don't know if you guys know this already, but in the show Coach, in one episode Hayden hires an agent to improve his image. While talking to her about his new opputunities once popular, he says "I feel just like Super Mario!" Yet another Mario reference. Mario rulz!!!
-JM

MEGAߥTE: The dispute was resolved and Ali apoligized.

Waluigi...Rip off! Some think I'm crazy, well kiss my #$%. Waluigi is kinda crap, want to know why?
1. Everyone know Wario as a bad guy, a hero (kinda a hero), since 1992, Wario has been part of the Mario family, he is the best power player in Mario Tennis, he's the best.
2. Waluigi is too new, his frist appeared in 2000 for crist sake. He is not right, I'd seat him on a chair and I had a switch in my hand, JJ will also seat on the chair. Once I hit the switch spikes will come out of the seat, Waluigi and JJ will scream like there's like now one can hear them in space.
3. One more thing, I live in Canada, there is this show called Ned's Newt. In one of the shows, Ned and his Newt, Newton (his newt can grow big if he gives him newt food that can make him big) they get locked in a shopping mall, when they are in the arcade, they go to a spot where people don't play those games anyone, Ned made a statement that was true, back then there was only one Mario Brother and it's true, Luigi didn't appear in a Mario game until 1983.

P.s. I do not feel sorry for JJ anymore, calling Shiny Koopa a homily dolt. That is so dumb.
-Matt Koopa

MEGAߥTE: Yeah, I agree that Waluigi is pretty corny.

Hey Deezer its me, Ness Shady and i have some questions.
1. Where does nintendo come up with the name for its characters, they're weird (Example: Poo from Earthbound, Genreal Guy, and most of all, GOOMBA)
2. Where did you buy those Soundtracks for the Mario music you play on WTMK. I'm trying to get the "Super Mario Bros. 1,2,3 Hop! Step! Jump!" Yet i can never find it. Can you help me out?
3. How much longer do you think the whole Zero Wing thing has before it goes away?
4. Can Mr. Face say anything else besides, "Mr. Face say, WTMK AWESOME! Mr Face, Neeeeeevvvver Wrong"? He sounds like Wario with a sore throat.
5. What backround is your last name?
6. Can you just delete the "secret page"? Its getting old.
-Ness Shady

MEGAߥTE:
1. Many of the names of characters come from Japanese, which of course sounds odd to English speakers. Some names are spoofs though. Goomba is a little different. According to a source, Goomba or Goombah is an Italian expression from the Italian word "Compare" (pronounced 'cumpa') meaning "a close friend." It is considered a racial slur when used by non-Italians to describe an Italian male. Supposedly, it was first used by Louis Prima who was famous for bastardizing the Italian language in his witty songs for his American audience. So basically, it comes from Italian ebonics.
2. (I'll let Deezer answer this one)
3. What you say! Seriously, I think it will last for a while longer because it is now getting in the mainstream, ie. it's been mentioned in Time Magazine as well as numerous other news agencies.
4. Mr. Face must die.
5. Well I know you're writing to Deezer, but I can say the same for both of us, since my last name is Kaluszka. Both of our names are Polish.
6. Nah.

In last week's mailbag, you spelled swears wrong, it should be swares
swears=swares
PS: all your mario are belong to MEGABYTE
-cainofac

MEGAߥTE: What you say!

Hi there!
Your site is undoubtly the greatest Mario site in the world! (If you didn't already know that). You tell me if anyone is copying your site, I'll go and "visit" them.
You turned four. Happy Birthday! Isn't it perfect timing that Paper Mario got released around the same time as your birthday. Well, I'm going to give you a present, but it'll be late. But it will be GOOD.
It's not fair! I'm in Australia, and I have to wait for Paper Mario to come out. Nintendo is slowing down here, they haven't been bringing out games in time. I rang them up and Paper Mario is supposed come out here in late March and April. The wait is toooo long! I've got the money ready already!!
Maybe listening to WTMK will cheer me up. Hey, wouldn't it be great if you had an internet TV station... That gives me an idea...
Keep up the great work!
-Insectice>:-)

MEGAߥTE: If Deezer or I were on something faster than a modem connection, we probably would have some sort of TMK TV.

I just got Pokémon Stadium 2 last Wednesday and in the first half hour of playing it, I see a Mario cameo! In "My Room", you can access NES, SNES, N64, or Virtual Boy, if you have them. If you hook up the N64, you can see the face stretch screen from SM64. There's also Wave Race 64, and the Zelda OOT title screen. On the SNES, there's a level from Super Mario World. There's also a Kirby game, and one other game I can't really name...SNES has the title screen for SMB, a scene from a Kirby game, and the overworld from The Legend of Zelda. I hope you'll add this to the Mario cameo section. ^_^ I'd send some screens, but I don't have a scanner. <_>
-HELICEisNice

Here's some more Mario appearances for the Games section. In Pokémon Stadium 2's My Room mode, put in one of the game consoles (if you have one) and it'll show a game on the TV screen which will change if you change the room items. I've only seen what the SNES and N64 screens are. The SNES has Super Mario World (looks like the level Yoshi's Island 4) as well as Zelda: Link to the Past, F-Zero (not sure), and Kirby Super Star. The N64 has Super Mario 64 (title screen with Mario's face), Waverace 64, Star Fox 64, and Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
A few hours after my previous letter, I managed to see the screens for the NES in Pokémon Stadium 2. They are Donkey Kong (first level), Super Mario Bros. (Title screen), Legend of Zelda, and Kirby's Adventure. I'd include screenshots if I had any (or at least a way to make them). There's one console left, the Virtural Boy, but I'm not sure if it'll have screens, knowing how the VB works.
-CodeHunter64

MEGAߥTE: We definitely need to update our cameo list.

Tell Lizard Dude not to steal my references. The episode he refered to is "Parts; The Clonus Horror" which I have described previously. >:E Anyway, I set up my NES yesterday. It's weird, because I've read about people getting all this Nostalgia from playing NES after so long, but I figured it wouldn't happen to me because I play Mario games on a regular basis including Mario All-Stars and SMB deluxe, but there's just something about seeing Mario all blurry on a TV screen...
You know what was funny? When I first got it to work, the picture was seriously scrambled, but I was able to beat the first level of SMB anyway! I must have played thet level thousands of times throughout my life.
-LuigiHann

MEGAߥTE: I'm just surprised the batteries in my Star Tropics cart are still functioning.

I heard that Microsoft's (the accursed Bill Gates empire but you already knew that) X-box has every except one (Nintendo) developer and is going to crush every system (except GBA the leader of handhelds) and Nintendo is going to be puny like SEGA. But thats juat a roomer. Have a nice day!
-Orobueno

MEGAߥTE: From what I have read in various technical news, the Gamecube system is more powerful than the X-Box. So this means that they need developers. This is like what happened with N64 vs. PSX. Sega is going to be developing for all systems now. However, I don't think that Sony is going to develop for the X-box either. We'll just have to see what comes when it comes. The shortcoming of the Gamecube is probably the non-standard discs that they have opted to use. However, I do not think that Nintendo will become like Sega. The Gameboy Color (not Advance) was recently, and still might be, rated more popular than the PS2, PS1 and PSX in Japan. That is their base and they will keep their ground.

I bet your tired of Mario cameos ............... so here's a cameo on Worlds funniest (a blatant rip-off of AfV) there were 3 people that acted out SMB 2 held up cardboard boxes painted like bricks while 1 dressed up like Mario when he jumped he hit the card board boxes out of the hands
I thought it was cheesy So now you can put it in your archive if you don't have it already
-Orobueno

MEGAߥTE: That's almost as sad/scary as our last mail this week:

"To Matt Drinkall..."
Matt, I have a suggestion that may help you, unless your prom is in the first week of April. I went dressed as Mario for Halloween one time and I remember how to make the hat, so I'll show you what I did.
First, go to a hat store (I recommend 'Lids', because of what I'm going to suggest). Pick up a regular Phillies hat and a green Phillies hat (from St. Patty's Day). Then go to an arts-n-crafts store or someplace like Wal-Mart and pick up a stitch breaker. This will help you remove the "P" on there, and pick up a piece of white, green, and red felt. Cut out the appropriate shapes from each felt piece and hot-glue them on to the cap.
-Dave "Too Many Nicknames" Adams