When I first heard about this story, I couldn’t believe what the Mario Kart World development team discovered during their game creation process. They stumbled upon a question that has puzzled Mario fans for decades: Does Mario actually eat those iconic Super Mushrooms, or does he just touch them to gain their magical powers?
This question might sound silly to some people, but it became a serious concern for the game developers. Shintaro Jikumaru, who has worked at Nintendo for over 20 years, found himself genuinely confused about how mushroom power-ups work in the Mario universe. Together with Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki, they decided to get the definitive answer from someone who would know for sure.
The person they turned to was Takashi Tezuka, a Nintendo executive who worked on the original Super Mario Bros. game and has been involved in creating dozens of Mario games over the years. If anyone could settle this debate, it would be him.
Why This Question Even Came Up
The whole mushroom mystery started because Jikumaru wanted to add food items to the new open-world Mario Kart game. Specifically, he planned to include hamburgers and other regional foods that would change characters’ outfits when consumed. This required the development team to create new animations showing characters actually eating food.
“We thought, why don’t we have a drive-thru system where characters eat while driving, and eating makes them change outfits or transform into a different character?” Yabuki explained during a Nintendo developer interview. He admitted the idea sounded completely ridiculous, but it led to an important realization about Mario universe rules.
Once they started working on these eating animations, the team realized they needed to understand the basic mechanics of how Mario’s power-ups actually work. This brought up the fundamental question about Super Mushrooms and other power-ups throughout the Mario series.
The Official Answer From Nintendo
When Jikumaru and Yabuki approached Tezuka with their question about Mario eating mushrooms, his response was simple and direct: “Yeah, he is.” This confirmation settled the debate once and for all, at least according to one of the most authoritative sources at Nintendo.
This answer makes sense when you look at various Mario games throughout the years. In the Mario & Luigi role-playing games, players can clearly see the brothers putting edible power-ups into their mouths. The Super Mario Bros. Movie also shows Mario eating mushrooms to activate their effects, while other items like Fire Flowers and Super Stars work through touch alone.
However, the Mario series hasn’t always been consistent about this rule. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, when Mario uses a Super Mushroom during a race, he doesn’t appear to eat it. Instead, the game suggests the mushroom somehow powers up the kart itself, similar to how a car might use a nitrous oxide boost.
The Bigger Picture of Mario Power-Up Logic
This mushroom revelation opens up many more questions about how Mario’s world actually functions. If Mario eats regular mushrooms, what about the more unusual power-ups found throughout different games?
Consider the Mega Mushroom, which is several times larger than Mario himself. How could he possibly consume something that massive? Then there are Golden Mushrooms and Drill Mushrooms that appear to be made of metal. Can Mario actually digest metal? We know he can transform into metal, so maybe his digestive system has special properties.
What about the acorns that turn Mario into Flying Squirrel Mario? Are those considered food items too? Some mushrooms come with accessories like royal crowns or propeller hats. Are those decorative elements edible, or does Mario somehow remove them before eating?
The Boo Mushroom creates another puzzling situation. Does this item just look like a Boo ghost, or is it actually a deceased spirit? If Mario eats ghost mushrooms, does that mean he has dead souls floating around in his stomach?
Beyond mushrooms, many other power-ups exist throughout Mario games. Fruits are obviously meant to be eaten, but what about blocks, coins, or other mechanical items? Could Mario gain special abilities by licking a P-Block instead of hitting it?
The fuzzy texture of the Bee Mushroom also raises comfort questions. Most people would find eating something covered in fuzzy hair quite unpleasant, but Mario seems to handle all power-ups without any visible discomfort.
Nintendo’s confirmation about mushroom consumption provides one piece of the puzzle, but it also highlights how many mysteries still exist within the Mario universe. The development team’s thorough approach to understanding their game world shows the attention to detail that goes into creating these beloved characters and stories.
This behind-the-scenes look into Mario Kart World development reveals how even experienced game creators sometimes need to step back and examine the basic rules of the fictional worlds they work with every day.
