Mailbag
17 May 2002

Mushroom Boy TMK mascot

Got something you want us to answer next week? Send it to tmk_mailbag@kontek.net.

In the 3 May mailbag, you say to Johnny Kellingsky that the minus world in the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom Japan) game Super Mario Brothers cannot be cleared. Actually, it can. In order to clear it, some data in the ROM must be edited, so it must be done through emulation. What must be done is that the byte at offset 604 from the start of the ROM file must be changed to 0xF0. The first level in the minus world will then have a flagpole at about 240 blocks after the start. The next level will be the exact same, only the scenery is all corrupted. This will go on, with sprites and blocks all with different graphics than they should have, until level 255 levels have passed. After it has been cleared, the game will freeze. (You might want to use a hex editor to do the above editing and be sure you have backed up the ROM first since it's possible it can corrupt level data for the usual game as well.)
-Andrevan

Mushroom Boy: Lucky for me, I never swam in the Minus World because the water was a bit cold.

In that Luigi's Mansion commercial you have, the "Loveseat Terror" one, that screaming baby that is shown in the background is actually one of the bosses in the game- Chauncey, the Spoiled Baby. He is the boss of Area 1.
-Thomas

Mushroom Boy: Imagine that, a video game commercial with game footage.

i found another mario cameo that might have been mentioned but i dont know. it was on boy meets world. mr. Feeny was lecturing Cory, Shawn and Topanga about wasting their intellegence and one line went something like "and you use it for what? to beat king Koopa and save the princess?" just wanted to let you know.
-Jöhñbôb

Mushroom Boy: Yeah, it was mentioned. Plus we have "Boy Meets World" listed under the TV part of the cameos page, but Deezer hasn't filled in any info yet, the slacker.

Hey, I found a Mario reference in Invader Zim. I didn't take the time to look through the older mailbags, so shoot me if someone already sent this. I forget what happens in most of the episode, but there's this one part where someone goes to a restraunt, and there are arcade machines in there, and one of them makes the SMB coin noise, as well as the SMB2 throwing noise.
-jsix

Mushroom Boy: *shoots you*
Actually, wait, I'm not sure if it was sent in already. Ah well. *shoots you anyway*

dear dudes at tmk, u can get the mario bros dvd at www.amazon.com or ur local best buy.
-geekylink

Mushroom Boy: Thanks dude. I heard it was available at Amazon.com before, but I wonder where I heard that...

i found a mario cameo. it's on a moby video. they're playing in an arcade or something and one shows Donkey Kong with the guys from Moby in it.
-John R.

Mushroom Boy: Bonus points for whoever sends in a screen shot of that part in the video where Pauline is saying "Moby!".

Okay, I'm sure we've all seen screens of Super Mario Sunshine by now. But to me, it looks like just another Mario game.

If Super Mario Sunshine turns out to be "just another Mario game", I'm done with the series unless they can come up with something comparable with the Sonic Adventure series.

What's the opinion of whoever is answering this?
-Dave

Mushroom Boy: They put us Toads in it, I love it already.

Hi,
It's Vic again. Umm.... sorry I forgot to tell you where the glitch I told you about is. It's in the snow level.
See Ya!
-Vic again

Mushroom Boy: Ah.

To the dude who got the NES on E-Bay and it's flashing...I know they tell you not to, but have you tried rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip to clean the games? My father did that to my games when I was little and they all still work perfectly, as long as the interior of the NES is clean as well. Blowing helps too. Also, an interesting note about old NES's. My friends and I have learned that each old NES is special (I like how I continually refer to them as "old" NES's...cuz yknow there's tons of new ones running around...i digress) and because they are special, each one has a specific place you need to swiftly hit when the machine is off prior to turning on, when the game is loaded. Mine is the back left side wall. One swift hit, and like magic, the game plays. Sorry to be so long-winded.
-Allison

Mushroom Boy: I have to make this related to Mario or Deezer will fire me. "Mario and Luigi are brothers."

Hey, Deezer or whoever's doing the mailbag this week, I was reading through the latest mailbag and I read the letter from Beener, who said he was having problems with a used NES he bought on eBay. The symptoms he suggests are probably worn out connectors, which can be easily fixed. Tell him to visit the link below ---

http://www.classicgaming.com/features/articles/nesrepair/

--- and that should do it!

Keep up the great work on the site guys!

-Josh Nickerson

Mushroom Boy: "Mario first appeared in the arcade hit 'Donkey Kong'."

"... I don't let Mario appear in just any kind of game. Mario could not appear in Zelda games. They are two distinct game worlds." - Shigeru Miyamoto, 1998

It's funny he would say that - and in 1998 too. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time you can spot Mario and the whole gang in Hyrule castle! Whether this was a way to hide this little secret or he just didn't know I can't be sure. I just think it's funny.
-The Digital Phoenix

P.S. : I can send pictures of this to proove it too, just give me the word and I'll send them to you.

Mushroom Boy: P.S. We already have pictures.

Why does everyone pick on deezer? I mean sure, He doesnt update often, but in a way everyone slacks off a little......(people at Nintendo...Havent gotten a reply to my letter that I sent out two months ago) Maybe He had something better to do. Or maybe he just doesnt have the time to update often. Just dont think I'm sucking up to him because I'm not.
-super_mario123187

Mushroom Boy: Two months ago? Deezer could work at Nintendo!

What is your favorite Mario game?
-nlesjak

Mushroom Boy: Yoshi's Island.

A couple of days ago i went with to a local pharmacy and I was just browsing around. I came a across a toothbrush section and you wouldn't believe what I have found. I actually found a Super Mario Brothers Toothbrush! And the toothbrush itself was 11 years old! I was sooo happy when I found this. And it is in great condition! On the back of the toothbrush item, i also saw that there are 4 kinds of Mario Toothbrushes that you can get. They are Super Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and of course King Koopa! Me I got the Super Mario type and besides, that was the only Mario toothbrush there!
-SuperMarioBroFan

Mushroom Boy: Amazing.

1. Mario and Luigi are NOT, repeat NOT twins! I can't believe you're just ignoring all the shining game evidence that Mario is older than Luigi. For just one bit of proof, look at Luigi's character screen in Super Smash Bros.. 'Though often hidden in the shadow of his OLDER BROTHER, MARIO, Luigi is in fact very popular...' I rest my case.

2. This is even worse. Maybe it's all in mailbag letters or something, but I keep seeing Mushroom People incorrectly referred to as 'Toads'. Listen: Toad is the name of the chief Mushroom Retainer. The other mushroom-heads are just called 'Mushroom People. Look at the SMB Instruction Booklet: 'One day, the kingdom of the peaceful MUSHROOM PEOPLE... The MUSHROOM PEOPLE were turned into mere stones, bricks...' I know it calls Mushroom People 'Toads' in the awful Paper Mario, but that's just wrong.
-The MarioMaster

Mushroom Boy: I can't believe you're just ignoring all the shining game evidence that we are now called Toads.