10 Censored Moments In Mario Games
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VOICE OVER: Ty Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
For as family-friendly as Mario seems here in America, changes in other regions beg to differ. For this list, we'll be looking at moments that were altered across Mario's long career in video games. Our list of censored moments in Mario games includes The Smoking Guns from “Mario Party 2” (1999), Puzzles for Adults from “Mario's Picross” (1995), Mushroom Kingdom's Freedom Fighter from “Paper Mario: The Origami King” (2020), and more!
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’ll be taking a look at our list of 10 Censored Moments in Mario Games. For as family-friendly as Mario seems here in America, changes in other regions beg to differ. Which moment of Mario censorship surprised you the most? Let us know down in the comments.
One of the strangest things about “Mario Party” is just how often the series has faced censorship compared to the other Mario spin-offs, and none of them had anything to do with alcohol (you know, the good stuff that can land a party in hot water). The first “Mario Party”, for instance, was censored because of lines uttered by Wario and Luigi that might appall more religious players outside of Japan. Rather than potentially alienate those audiences, Nintendo would change Luigi’s line to a simple wail and Wario’s to his German phrase, “O ein mist”.
Again, you would think the alcohol references would be found more in something like “Mario Party”, not a game where you etch out blocks to make pictures. Some of the puzzles featured in the Japanese version sees you creating pictures of alcoholic drinks as well as tobacco and various items that were more focused on Japanese culture. For international versions, these puzzles were replaced to etch out works that formed animals, food, and other images. This was most likely done due to Nintendo of America and various other branches having policies against featuring drinking and smoking in games, which is understandable considering how countries view those habits differently across their respective cultures.
Even though “Super Mario World” faced visual changes across different regions, most of them were done out of necessity to character names and how systems were optimized. The one big change, however, involved our adorable green dino. In the Japanese version, Yoshi is able to eat the Dolphins featured in some levels. This was removed from international versions most likely due to how other countries viewed dolphin hunting and animal cruelty (...or possibly because it was a bug or overlooked bit of code?). Regardless, the GBA port would restore this possibility in all versions of the port.
South Korea has an incredibly strict government when it comes to gambling, at least it is for Korean citizens regardless if they gamble in or out of the country. It’s viewed so negatively that a Korean citizen could face some serious time in prison. And yet, tourists are more than welcome to gamble at what few casinos reside. And so, when “Super Mario 64 DS” was released in South Korea, you could probably guess what portion of the game was removed entirely to abide by these laws. And it wasn’t just Luigi’s casino minigames - EVERY minigame got removed! Luigi, we might need to have a talk about your…”problem”. It’s affecting everyone, man.
Was this a moment of censorship? This one has admittedly never been confirmed, but given the political climate at the time, one cannot help but be suspicious. In “Origami King”, one Toad goes into a frenzy after being freed, crying out how Toads have no rights and deserve freedom. In the Chinese version, the new text translates to “Toads need to be clean! Toads need peace and quiet!” Some argue that the new quote has more cultural, economic context and still uses the general tone of injustice. But given the events of the Hong Kong protests before the game’s release, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Chinese government had a hand in the censorship.
The “Mario Kart” series has kept its hands somewhat clean, but the first bit of censorship it faced was in the very first game. The Japanese versions of “Super Mario Kart” feature two animations for Peach and Bowser that see them drink straight from champagne bottles. Champagne bottles have long had a role in celebrating victories in motorsports, so the inclusion here was totally understandable. Not so much when catering to other demographics, though, specifically in the West. Nintendo of America changed the animations to adhere to their guidelines on depicting alcohol in games.
The first “Mario Party” just faced a couple of audio changes. “Mario Party 2”, on the other hand, was hit with a double-whammy. First off, Professor Fungi’s pipe is removed from the international versions of the game because, you know, tobacco use. But the big one many of you probably know about already is the ending to Western Land where Bowser and the winner’s guns are replaced with cork poppers. For as much as we would love the somewhat more violent version, the cork poppers make the whole ending more entertaining.
Not even the good Doctor Mario is safe from the censors’ scrutiny. Thing is that this one does skirt the line to being racist. In the English versions of “Dr. Mario 64”, Octo is depicted with a blue shelling and orange interior. In the Japanese version, Octo has a more…questionable appearance. Basically, it was an alteration done very much in the same way “Pokemon” went about with changing Jynx.
“Mario Party” found itself in a bit of trouble once more, and this time, it was financially damaging. “Mario Party 8” was not in the United Kingdom market for long when it initially launched. Customers were furious over the game’s inclusion of the term “spastic”, prompting Nintendo to do a total recall. Changes were made in the game’s code (using the word “erratic” instead), reprints were made, and it inflated “Mario Party 8’s” budget a little more than the conglomerate would have liked.
“The Thousand-Year Door'' may go down as the most heavily censored game in Mario history. There were simply way too many changes thrown around for us to make separate entries about them! There’s the house with the chalked outline of a Toad, the less graphic name used for the Red Bones, the alteration of red wine turning into Chuckola Cola (but still being a clever “Mario & Luigi” reference), the Boos that wear cat ears because we can’t reference Playboy bunnies in a Mario game, and even Mario’s wave which was removed in the European version for reasons obvious to anyone who has taken a history class. And do we even dare get into the whole thing about Vivian? We’d rather not.
ESRB 3:16
“Mario Party” (1998)One of the strangest things about “Mario Party” is just how often the series has faced censorship compared to the other Mario spin-offs, and none of them had anything to do with alcohol (you know, the good stuff that can land a party in hot water). The first “Mario Party”, for instance, was censored because of lines uttered by Wario and Luigi that might appall more religious players outside of Japan. Rather than potentially alienate those audiences, Nintendo would change Luigi’s line to a simple wail and Wario’s to his German phrase, “O ein mist”.
Puzzles for Adults
“Mario’s Picross” (1995)Again, you would think the alcohol references would be found more in something like “Mario Party”, not a game where you etch out blocks to make pictures. Some of the puzzles featured in the Japanese version sees you creating pictures of alcoholic drinks as well as tobacco and various items that were more focused on Japanese culture. For international versions, these puzzles were replaced to etch out works that formed animals, food, and other images. This was most likely done due to Nintendo of America and various other branches having policies against featuring drinking and smoking in games, which is understandable considering how countries view those habits differently across their respective cultures.
Yoshi’s Seafood Snack
“Super Mario World” (1990)Even though “Super Mario World” faced visual changes across different regions, most of them were done out of necessity to character names and how systems were optimized. The one big change, however, involved our adorable green dino. In the Japanese version, Yoshi is able to eat the Dolphins featured in some levels. This was removed from international versions most likely due to how other countries viewed dolphin hunting and animal cruelty (...or possibly because it was a bug or overlooked bit of code?). Regardless, the GBA port would restore this possibility in all versions of the port.
…Go Home, Luigi
“Super Mario 64 DS” (2006)South Korea has an incredibly strict government when it comes to gambling, at least it is for Korean citizens regardless if they gamble in or out of the country. It’s viewed so negatively that a Korean citizen could face some serious time in prison. And yet, tourists are more than welcome to gamble at what few casinos reside. And so, when “Super Mario 64 DS” was released in South Korea, you could probably guess what portion of the game was removed entirely to abide by these laws. And it wasn’t just Luigi’s casino minigames - EVERY minigame got removed! Luigi, we might need to have a talk about your…”problem”. It’s affecting everyone, man.
Mushroom Kingdom’s Freedom Fighter
“Paper Mario: The Origami King” (2020)Was this a moment of censorship? This one has admittedly never been confirmed, but given the political climate at the time, one cannot help but be suspicious. In “Origami King”, one Toad goes into a frenzy after being freed, crying out how Toads have no rights and deserve freedom. In the Chinese version, the new text translates to “Toads need to be clean! Toads need peace and quiet!” Some argue that the new quote has more cultural, economic context and still uses the general tone of injustice. But given the events of the Hong Kong protests before the game’s release, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Chinese government had a hand in the censorship.
No Bubbles Allowed
“Super Mario Kart” (1992)The “Mario Kart” series has kept its hands somewhat clean, but the first bit of censorship it faced was in the very first game. The Japanese versions of “Super Mario Kart” feature two animations for Peach and Bowser that see them drink straight from champagne bottles. Champagne bottles have long had a role in celebrating victories in motorsports, so the inclusion here was totally understandable. Not so much when catering to other demographics, though, specifically in the West. Nintendo of America changed the animations to adhere to their guidelines on depicting alcohol in games.
The Smoking Guns
“Mario Party 2” (1999)The first “Mario Party” just faced a couple of audio changes. “Mario Party 2”, on the other hand, was hit with a double-whammy. First off, Professor Fungi’s pipe is removed from the international versions of the game because, you know, tobacco use. But the big one many of you probably know about already is the ending to Western Land where Bowser and the winner’s guns are replaced with cork poppers. For as much as we would love the somewhat more violent version, the cork poppers make the whole ending more entertaining.
Facing Problems
“Dr. Mario 64” (2001)Not even the good Doctor Mario is safe from the censors’ scrutiny. Thing is that this one does skirt the line to being racist. In the English versions of “Dr. Mario 64”, Octo is depicted with a blue shelling and orange interior. In the Japanese version, Octo has a more…questionable appearance. Basically, it was an alteration done very much in the same way “Pokemon” went about with changing Jynx.
A Poor Choice of Words
“Mario Party 8” (2007)“Mario Party” found itself in a bit of trouble once more, and this time, it was financially damaging. “Mario Party 8” was not in the United Kingdom market for long when it initially launched. Customers were furious over the game’s inclusion of the term “spastic”, prompting Nintendo to do a total recall. Changes were made in the game’s code (using the word “erratic” instead), reprints were made, and it inflated “Mario Party 8’s” budget a little more than the conglomerate would have liked.
Too Many to List
“Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door” (2005)“The Thousand-Year Door'' may go down as the most heavily censored game in Mario history. There were simply way too many changes thrown around for us to make separate entries about them! There’s the house with the chalked outline of a Toad, the less graphic name used for the Red Bones, the alteration of red wine turning into Chuckola Cola (but still being a clever “Mario & Luigi” reference), the Boos that wear cat ears because we can’t reference Playboy bunnies in a Mario game, and even Mario’s wave which was removed in the European version for reasons obvious to anyone who has taken a history class. And do we even dare get into the whole thing about Vivian? We’d rather not.
