With the upcoming release of Mario’s new adventure, Super Mario Odyssey for the Switch, it seems Nintendo has quietly updated the profiles of the Mushroom Kingdom folk, but it’s the changes made to the main man that has piqued the interest of the internet and the gaming community.
According to the official Japanese-language profile -- via Kotaku -- Mario no longer holds the title of plumber, a widely-known trait of the iconic character since 1983.
Here’s the translated excerpt from Mario’s new profile, where it reveals that the savior of the Mushroom Kingdom isn’t a plumber any more.
“All around sporty, whether it’s tennis or baseball, soccer or car racing, he [Mario] does everything cool. As a matter of fact, he also seems to have worked as a plumber a long time ago…”
Gamers who always thought Mario was based on a plumber may be surprised to learn that’s not the case. When the character was created in 1981 for Donkey Kong, the character, then named “Jumpman,” was “basically a carpenter” according to Shigeru Miyamoto, because the game took place on a construction site.
“With (1983's) Mario Bros., we brought in Luigi and a lot of the game was played underground so we made him to fit that setting and, we decided he could be a plumber,” Miyamoto told USA Today back in 2010. “The scenario dictates his role.”
The line “the scenario dictates his role” is interesting, considering the red-clad character has held a number of jobs in the past. Some of Mario’s most notable job titles -- based on the games he appeared in -- include doctor, kart racer and baseball player, to name a few. But being a plumber has always been a foundational part of the character.
While we don’t know much about the story of Super Mario Odyssey yet, Bowser crashes Mario and Peach’s wedding and Mario will have to save Peach from the clutches of his archnemesis. To do so, Mario will have to captain the Odyssey, a magical flying ship, and traverse the different kingdoms.
Looks like Mario’s next official job title will be ship captain.
Super Mario Odyssey will release for Nintendo Switch Oct. 27.
What do you think of Mario losing his plumber title? Will he always be a plumber to you? Let us know in the comments section below.
