Mario Teaches Geography
Apr. 22nd, 2009 07:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatOne subject I've been meaning to tackle for a while now is the geography of the Mushroom World. I mean, I like video games and maps, so why not? We know of several significant locations on this world, including:
Mushroom Kingdom - The setting of several games, and a home base in some of the others. The capital is Toad Town, and Mushroom City is probably also located there. According to Paper Mario, Toad Town has a harbor, which means its location on a plateau in Super Mario RPG is kind of unlikely.
Koopa Kingdom - Known as Dark Land in the American translation of Super Mario Bros. 3, although I believe the original Japanese game just called all of World 8 "Castle of Koopa." The manual for the original SMB refers to Bowser's territory as the Turtle Empire. Regardless of what it's called, its location is not entirely clear. This map suggests that Dark Land is to the east of the Mushroom Kingdom, while SMRPG places it in a rocky land to the west of Peach's castle. But then, we know that Bowser has multiple castles, and that at least one of them can fly, so that could explain the different locations. I tend to think it's supposed to be the same castle as long as it has Bowser's face on it (which it definitely does in SMB3, SMRPG, and Superstar Saga), but this is never made explicit.
Subcon - The setting of SMB2. Being known as the Land of Dreams, it's unlikely that it has a physical location.
Dinosaur Land - A group of islands that serve as the setting for Super Mario World. One of them, Yoshi's Island (not to be confused with Yo'ster Isle), is where several other games take place.
Sarasaland - Princess Daisy's kingdom, and the setting of Super Mario Land. It's made up of four different lands, each based on a part of our own world.
Mario Land - In Super Mario Land 2, we learn that Mario is the ruler of a country. How he got that gig (and on top of apparently being a full-time plumber and princess-rescuer, at that) is never entirely clear, but he has his own castle, which he has to take back from Wario.
Beanbean Kingdom - The setting of Superstar Saga shares a border with the Mushroom Kingdom. Its focus on beans and the fact that Mario gets sick from eating food there suggest its relationship to the Mushroom Kingdom is similar to that of Mexico to the United States.
There are also other locations scattered throughout this world, including Pianta Island (Super Mario Sunshine), Kitchen Island (Wario Land), Vibe Island (Super Princess Peach), and the Waffle Kingdom (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door). I think it would also make a certain amount of sense for the locations in the Donkey Kong Country series to be included; I don't think it's ever explicitly stated, but it would explain how Mario and Donkey Kong keep running into each other.
If I were making a map of the Mushroom World (which I've tried before, even though I suck at drawing), I'd probably also want to include the locations from the Super Show cartoons, since they helped to shape my perception of the series. Most of the episodes take place in presumably small areas, although I would imagine the Linguine Empire from "The Great Gladiator Gig" would have to be pretty sizeable. Maybe the Empire contains Pasta Land, the setting of "The Pied Koopa" and "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa." In other words, it would probably contain all of the places listed on this page.
Mushroom Kingdom - The setting of several games, and a home base in some of the others. The capital is Toad Town, and Mushroom City is probably also located there. According to Paper Mario, Toad Town has a harbor, which means its location on a plateau in Super Mario RPG is kind of unlikely.
Koopa Kingdom - Known as Dark Land in the American translation of Super Mario Bros. 3, although I believe the original Japanese game just called all of World 8 "Castle of Koopa." The manual for the original SMB refers to Bowser's territory as the Turtle Empire. Regardless of what it's called, its location is not entirely clear. This map suggests that Dark Land is to the east of the Mushroom Kingdom, while SMRPG places it in a rocky land to the west of Peach's castle. But then, we know that Bowser has multiple castles, and that at least one of them can fly, so that could explain the different locations. I tend to think it's supposed to be the same castle as long as it has Bowser's face on it (which it definitely does in SMB3, SMRPG, and Superstar Saga), but this is never made explicit.
Subcon - The setting of SMB2. Being known as the Land of Dreams, it's unlikely that it has a physical location.
Dinosaur Land - A group of islands that serve as the setting for Super Mario World. One of them, Yoshi's Island (not to be confused with Yo'ster Isle), is where several other games take place.
Sarasaland - Princess Daisy's kingdom, and the setting of Super Mario Land. It's made up of four different lands, each based on a part of our own world.
Mario Land - In Super Mario Land 2, we learn that Mario is the ruler of a country. How he got that gig (and on top of apparently being a full-time plumber and princess-rescuer, at that) is never entirely clear, but he has his own castle, which he has to take back from Wario.
Beanbean Kingdom - The setting of Superstar Saga shares a border with the Mushroom Kingdom. Its focus on beans and the fact that Mario gets sick from eating food there suggest its relationship to the Mushroom Kingdom is similar to that of Mexico to the United States.
There are also other locations scattered throughout this world, including Pianta Island (Super Mario Sunshine), Kitchen Island (Wario Land), Vibe Island (Super Princess Peach), and the Waffle Kingdom (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door). I think it would also make a certain amount of sense for the locations in the Donkey Kong Country series to be included; I don't think it's ever explicitly stated, but it would explain how Mario and Donkey Kong keep running into each other.
If I were making a map of the Mushroom World (which I've tried before, even though I suck at drawing), I'd probably also want to include the locations from the Super Show cartoons, since they helped to shape my perception of the series. Most of the episodes take place in presumably small areas, although I would imagine the Linguine Empire from "The Great Gladiator Gig" would have to be pretty sizeable. Maybe the Empire contains Pasta Land, the setting of "The Pied Koopa" and "Mario and the Red Baron Koopa." In other words, it would probably contain all of the places listed on this page.
