Yeah, how’s that for a “weird article title?” It took us by surprise when we first heard about it, too! When it comes to Mario, he’s the biggest gaming icon in the world, despite what a certain recent list said, and people know quite a bit about him. They know his brother; they know about the various allies he’s made over the years and the seemingly infinite amount of skills he has accumulated throughout his gaming journeys. However, one of the oddest questions that has ever been asked about the powerful plumber was recently answered by Nintendo. The question is, “Does Mario feel pain?”
At first, it might seem like an “odd question” because there have been times when we see Mario wince in pain, make loud screams when something happens to him, like being set on fire, and so on. However, if you think about how quickly he bounces back and the fact that he never really shows “visible damage,” the question is kind of valid. To that end, Nintendo gave the following answer:
“It may be that Mario does feel pain,” said Takashi Tezuka to The Verge during an interview. “If the player feels that Mario is feeling pain, that’s a better experience, rather than talking about whether Mario actually does feel pain. For us, if Mario hits an enemy and the person playing goes ‘ow!’ that’s ideal.”
In other words, it doesn’t really matter whether he does or not, it just matters what you personally feel about it and how it makes you connect with Mario more. Nintendo has honestly been cryptic about their characters over the years and how they are interpreted in certain mediums, and their all-star mascot is no exception.
Think about it, we don’t know much about Mario’s backstory overall, which is why certain properties, including a certain billion-dollar movie, was able to warp it a bit to create a narrative that suited them. In that film, Mario definitely felt pain and showed it in certain ways, and when you think about the games, there are plenty of times when Mario shows emotions like shock or surprise, including when he “dies” from too much damage.
Then again, when you think about him doing things like shattering bricks, throwing enemies like Bowser as if he were nothing, and enduring the weirdness of the Wonder Flower, you have to question just how much Mario honestly feels. Or what he feels when he goes through these experiences.
In truth, we might never know the full answer.
