During Nintendo's presentation of Super Mario Odyssey at E3 2017, viewers watched on with a mix of delight and horror on their faces, despite the catchy, jazzy tune playing in the background courtesy of Donk City mayor Pauline and her band.
"Delight" because the iconic plumber is back in an open-world-ish environment yet again since Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy. "Horror" because, apparently, Mario is capable of possessing a Goomba, a Bullet Bill, a T-Rex, and even a human being — yes, an ordinary man just minding his own business in the city.
However, Nintendo wants to make it clear that that's not the case at all. Presumably hoping to take the horrific and ghastly factors down a notch, the company says that Mario does not possess things. He captures them.
No, Mario Doesn't Practice Black Magic
Just to be clear, Mario "captures" things by throwing Cappy, his partner in crime in Super Mario Odyssey. His target will then get, well, the cap on their head; his thick, burly mustache; and his blue eyes (link for those who need a picture confirmation).
That kind of sounds somewhat similar to Kirby's special ability, and a lot of other fans think that too, including Sam Logan of the Sam & Fuzzy webcomic. That said, the artist took things to Twitter to post an infographic that shows the difference between Kirby having "eaten" Mario and Mario having "possessed" Kirby.
PSA pic.twitter.com/MQU6XokBdE
— Sam Logan (@samandfuzzy) June 19, 2017
Nintendo Corrects The Kirby-Mario Tweet
After the tweet started making rounds online, Nintendo of America caught wind of it and responded, clarifying that Mario "captured" Kirby, not "possessed."
Um, actually he's been "Captured" by Mario. https://t.co/RNqL1SqAGl — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 21, 2017
Regardless of whether or not Nintendo's reply will help players come to terms with Mario's newfound obsession with seizing living things' free will, it's nice to see that the social media team behind the company's official Twitter account is having fun with fans.
Still, Nintendo can't really blame anybody for thinking that Mario possesses things in Super Mario Odyssey. After all, he does throw Cappy on unsuspecting victims' heads and enter their minds to take control of their physical bodies (and soul?). In other words, that falls under the definition of "possess."
In other related news, it's worth mentioning that Super Mario Odyssey will support up to two players — player one will control Mario, while player two will get to play as Cappy. This was confirmed during Nintendo's Treehouse Live presentation, with the game's director Kenta Motokura leading the demonstration.
With everything said and done, what do you think is the right term to use for Mario's ability in Super Mario Odyssey? Is it "possess" or "capture"? Feel free to hit us up in the comments section below and let us know.
Super Mario Odyssey is expected to be released globally on Oct. 27 for the Nintendo Switch.
