One Super Mario Bros. Wonder Character Could’ve Ruined The Game

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The Flower Kingdom adventures of have entertained fans of classic side-scrolling platforming action, but some veteran Mario aficionados were concerned that Prince Florian might have held a secret that would be bad news for the high-jumping plumber. Florian is a diminutive creature with a body similar to a Wiggler, the caterpillar-like entities introduced in. Wigglers are shown with flowers growing from their heads, which makes Florian’s design a good fit for the royalty of the Flower Kingdom. However, the Flower Kingdom appeared much earlier in an obscure chapter of Mario’s history, and that connection could have set Prince Florian up as a potential rival.

[Warning: Spoilers for the story of Super Mario Bros. — The Great Mission To Rescue Princess Peach are below.]

While the recent movie was a mainstream success, earlier adaptations of Nintendo franchises were more divisive. The live-action movie from the 1990s was an odd take on the all-ages game series, but the 1986 anime might have been even stranger. included an anime original character, Kibidango. This bright blue dog led Mario and Luigi to the Mushroom Kingdom in the anime film. While Kibidango remains an ally throughout the story, Bowser’s defeat undoes the curse placed on him, revealing his true form as Prince Haru of the Flower Kingdom, Peach’s true love.

Related: Super Mario Bros. Wonder Is The Closest We'll Ever Get To M-Rated Mario

Mario is, of course, crestfallen that the princess he pined for was destined to marry Haru. The anime film is not terribly well-known, though its recent 4k restoration has brought it to the attention of a somewhat wider audience. There are multiple reasons to suspect a connection between Haru and Florian beyond their obvious