Nintendo’s Odd Move to Protect Mario and Luigi’s Brotherly Bond in NES Remix

Nintendo has taken a surprising step in their retro challenge game, NES Remix for the Wii U, by seemingly putting a stop to any hint of brotherly love between Mario and Luigi. This has left some fans scratching their heads and feeling a bit let down by the company’s apparent stance against what some might call “toxic yaoi.” Seriously, Nintendo, do you not see the growing issue of male loneliness out there?

A gaming enthusiast and Mario aficionado, Supper Mario Broth, recently shared insights about this peculiar decision on Bluesky, which were brought to light by user DavidPCM. They pointed out that NES Remix includes a graphic that acts as an “anti-brother romance failsafe” between our favorite plumber siblings.

It seems that Nintendo was so focused on this topic that they went ahead and altered a scene that, under normal circumstances, would be nearly impossible to reach in-game. While I get where they’re coming from — after all, the idea of a “NES Remix incest glitch” could easily become a meme — I can’t help but feel that the graphic they were so worried about could be seen as more of a familial love representation.

The controversy stems from the standard pink heart graphic that appears when Mario rescues Pauline in the original Donkey Kong. Interestingly, NES Remix features an edited version of this heart, transforming it into a “GOOD JOB!” message during the remixed sections with Luigi. Since Luigi never actually completes the 100m level, this heart isn’t visible, which raises some eyebrows.

Supper Mario Broth elaborated on this further, noting that in certain stages of NES Remix, the game is flipped around, making Luigi the hero who saves Mario from Donkey Kong instead of the other way around. Unfortunately, as the game is set up, it’s impossible to trigger the heart graphic that usually signifies Mario’s affection for Pauline.

This means that, in these alternate scenarios, “Mario never actually gets saved,” highlighting the ongoing struggle some characters may face in the gaming world. But just in case Mario somehow managed to escape his pixelated troubles and sought a little brotherly encouragement, the NES Remix developers opted to swap out the heart for a friendly “GOOD JOB!” message instead.

While it’s great that Mario is getting some positive reinforcement, it’s a shame that players never see him express this encouragement toward Luigi, as the game’s mechanics don’t allow for that interaction. The reasons behind this graphic change remain unclear. Perhaps the developers were planning to have the full game playable in this mode or simply wanted to avoid any romantic implications between the brothers in case someone happened to reach the 100m mark due to a glitch.

So, it looks like if you were hoping for Mario and Luigi to share a heartwarming moment, you might need to look elsewhere. In other news, Nintendo is shutting down Mario Kart Tour after seven years, but there are no plans for a similar offline version like what we saw with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.