- In 1996, the iconic Nintendo plumber went from two to three dimensions with the release of “Super Mario 64” for the Nintendo 64 game console.
- More than 25 years later, “Super Mario 64” is considered a gaming classic, and some fans are so dedicated that they have crafted elaborate conspiracy theories.
- One of the most prominent was shown to be true: Despite not appearing in the game, Mario’s brother and heroic companion Luigi is apparently buried in the game’s code.
- Using that code, which was gleaned from a massive Nintendo leak, creative fans created a picture of what luigi would have looked like in “Super Mario 64.”
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
With decades of classic games to its credit, Nintendo has inspired legions of dedicated fans, and few are more dedicated than “Super Mario 64” fans.
More than 25 years after its release, the Nintendo 64 classic has become a magnet for conspiracy theories. These unfounded myths range from the mild (unknown secret levels) to the wild (the game was “stolen” by Nintendo from a British studio). One, however, has stood out above all others: the belief that somewhere hidden within the game is a way to play like Luigi, Mario’s tallest and greenest little brother.
The details of the conspiracy are tenuous, involving a star statue in a courtyard with unreadable text that advocates believe says “L is real 2041,” in what was taken as a clue. However, nothing came out of this theory, and there was never any proof that Luigi was in the game.
Until now, that is, since it turns out that the central pillar of this theory, that Luigi was destined to be included in “Super Mario 64”, seems to be exact.
—Nitroid❗ (@Nitroid) July 27, 2020
A massive source code leak, which people call “Gigaleak”, was posted on the code-sharing site GitLab this week.
Included in the Gigaleak was a treasure trove of Nintendo from classic games, one of which was “Super Mario 64”. And within that code, fans quickly uncovered files related to a tall plumber with a penchant for green clothes over red.
As fans quickly extracted the images from the code, the reconstruction seen above Mario’s infamous partner Luigi was created.
It was the culmination of years of unswerving suspicions, searches and beliefs summed up perfectly in a video widely shared on social media:
—🤠frango🤠 (@FrangusMcDangus) July 26, 2020
Video game source code often contains unused parts of games.
In the case of “Super Mario 64”, the source code contained references to Luigi and a 3D polygonal model of the character. It’s unclear why it didn’t end in the game, and Nintendo doesn’t say so. However, in 2009, legendary Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto said in an interview that the game was originally intended to be multiplayer.
Nintendo finally added a playable Luigi, along with the main protagonists of the series Luigi and Wario, in an updated version of “Super Mario 64” for the Nintendo DS, released in 2004, but that didn’t stop fans from spending years speculating on why It was not included in the original game.
And with good reason: Before “Super Mario 64” was released in 1996, Luigi was included in every major Super Mario game.
He distinguished himself from Mario in “Super Mario Bros. 2”, where he ran faster and jumped higher than Mario. He even got leading roles in games like “Mario is Missing” and the series “Luigi’s Mansion”. In 2013, Nintendo declared it the “Year of Luigi” and released several games in which he appeared in lead or co-starring roles.
