Miyamoto: The Koopalings are NOT Bowser's children

[Phlibbit]

via Game Informer:

GI: In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Koopalings were supposed to be Bowser's children. But there's also Bowser Jr. Are they all his kids, and are they all from different mothers? Is Bowser Jr. a Koopaling?

Miyamoto: Our current story is that the seven Koopalings are not Bowser's children. Bowser's only child is Bowser Jr., and we do not know who the mother is.

[Serum]

When did this happen? Has Miyamoto lost his mind? Is this recent? Jeez, I feel sick...

[1upmushroom]

And there go millions of fan docs becoming invalid.

[Serum]

I mean, what's Miyamoto thinking? Technically speaking, he didn't even create Mario, Minoru Arakawa did.

[Redstar]

The question is whether this was always his/their intention or a decision that came after. I mean, I have no problem imagining the Koopalings as adopted generals, but to outright go against the text of the manuals and games is a bit much.

[Serum]

The question is whether this was always his/their intention or a decision that came after. I mean, I have no problem imagining the Koopalings as adopted generals, but to outright go against the text of the manuals and games is a bit much.

Hmm... it kind of sounds like my plot for my own Mario script I wrote sometime back... I wonder if Miyamoto's been scouring this site for ideas.

[Phlibbit]

The question is whether this was always his/their intention or a decision that came after. I mean, I have no problem imagining the Koopalings as adopted generals, but to outright go against the text of the manuals and games is a bit much.

Sorry to be so blunt about this, but I gotta call shenanigans on Miyamoto:





These are Bowser's kids!!

It's so blatant they gave that sentence TWO exclamation marks.

[ultimateemail5000]

This may be in the english instruction manual, but do we have a translated version of Japanese version? I have absolutely no beef with this decision, and believe that this may have always been the case.

Shigeru Miyamoto did create Mario, Minoru Arakawa just figured out the name Mario durring a fight with Mario Segale. It's like saying Lloyd Kaufman didnt create Toxic Avenger because someone to him to add the name avenger after toxic when they wanted to change the name from Health Club Horror.

[1upmushroom]

Two words: continuity reboot.

Miyamoto did say in the games current storyline so maybe this is a different reboot.

[Phlibbit]

Two words: continuity reboot.

Miyamoto did say in the games current storyline so maybe this is a different reboot.

That's my main issue with this. If the current games aren't supposed to have stories, and it's all about the gameplay...then why even bother with "rebooting" continuity like that?

They don't really explicitly say in the newer games the exact relationship between the Koopalings and Bowser, Jr...they should have just kept it ambiguous or the same. OR if it's so important, blatantly change it for a good reason.

[1upmushroom]

I'm pretty sure none of the games were supposed to be about story they always took a backseat to the gameplay so the koopaling's not being Bowser's kids shouldn't be of wild concern. My main question is why is everyone harping on this? It's just a little change that doesn't really change anything else.

[Phlibbit]

I think it's because this kind of fervor for what a character or "canon" is for a franchise builds up over the years. And when something just changes without reason, people start complaining about it.

[1upmushroom]

But there is and was very little canon in the games anyway, it's not like Zelda where story is important, the Mario games have an "Anything goes" kind of attitude when it comes to continuity so when stuff like this happens people like me don;t really care.

[Phlibbit]

But there is and was very little canon in the games anyway

Exactly! That's why some fans tend to take these small "facts" established in the games and build them up to be very important things--because there's not much else to draw from if you're trying to form any sort of "canon" out of the SMB series.

[Prime Evil]

"Are the Koopalings Bowser's children? Next on today's Maury..."

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Perhaps he got tired of the questions about their mother...

[billbot85]

I just found out about this too. It kinda bugs me too, since I grew up with the notion that the Koopalings were Bowser's kids according to the game series AND the cartoon series (they called Bowser "King Dad" for Pete's sake). Plus, they're all far more interesting than Bower Jr. IMO. I've been a big fan of the Koopalings since they came out in SMB 3, and was sad when they disappeared after Super Mario World.

"Are the Koopalings Bowser's children? Next on today's Maury..."

"King koopa....you are NOT the father."

Koops : "YES!!!" *does some goofy dance while everyone booes him*

This cracked me up so much XD.

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

I thought Bowser Jr. was more interesting because of the Koopalings, when it was thought they were his kids. I mean, here comes this youngest one who seems to be the clear favorite... there's potential for rivalry there, especially as Jr. seems to be the new leader of the whole lot in Bowser's stead.

Without the sibling dynamic, though... it hurts the whole lot collectively, I think.