At first glance, the Mario games exist in such a pleasant, colorful universe. Smiling clouds watch over the land with nothing but love in their soft, fluffy hearts; stars with bushy gray moustaches fly through space, laughing and playing while they make wishes come true.
Even the “villains” of the world don’t ever do anything horrible. Sure, kidnapping a princess is nothing to take lightly, but Bowser and his adorable minions are no more harmful than a rotten school teacher who randomly slaps your knuckles with a ruler from time to time.
But looking past the candy-coated exterior, there are some shockingly dark moments that cast their shadow over the Mushroom Kingdom. Dark moments that would even make Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame gasp.
And, surprisingly, one of the darkest comes from the heroic Mario himself.
The Set-Up
Super Mario World is an unbelievably solid game. Released as a pack-in with the Super Nintendo (remember those days?), the classic platformer is still one of the best-designed 2D games ever created, even all these years later.
In the game, you play as Mario, the iconic overall-wearing plumber and arguably the most recognizable videogame character of all time.
In the vein of the original Super Mario Bros. and especially Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World continues the adventure of Mario as he travels through seven beautifully-constructed worlds to save his beloved Princess Peach from the claws of the grumpy Bowser.
And like the other games before it, Super Mario World’s gameplay consists of Mario jumping through 2D levels, collecting coins and various power-ups.
But in a first for the series, Mario can proceed through most of his levels with a new loyal companion.
That loyal companion is Yoshi.
On the second level of World 1, Mario enters a lush, green forest covered with various-colored berries.
After passing a few enemies and obstacles, he reaches a small set of question mark blocks.
Familiar with these from his first adventure, Mario immediately pounds them from below (hot?), excited to see what treasures he will find waiting inside.
To his surprise, one of the question mark blocks contains a white egg with green spots.
Before he even has a chance to react, the egg hatches and a green dinosaur pops out.
This adorable, loyal dinosaur — Yoshi, as we all have come to know him — wants nothing more than to help and serve Mario on his quest. (He is even born with a saddle already on his back, for crying out loud!)
Mario, grateful for the support, immediately hops on the back of Yoshi’s saddle. The two form an immediate bond and start traversing the rest of the level right away.
Aside from being, well, awesome, Yoshi helps out Mario in many different ways. He can extend his tongue to eat almost any enemy that is in front of him; he defends his new friend by taking damage for him, therefore preventing Mario from losing his Mushroom power after being hit.
And while Yoshi panics after being attacked by running and shaking, Mario is always there to calm him down and save him from whatever danger lies ahead.
The two are best friends.
But as the game progresses, Mario begins to learn more about what Yoshi has to offer.
By swallowing certain turtle shells, Yoshi becomes ridiculously powerful. A red turtle shell, for example, grants Yoshi the power to shoot fire. A blue one even lets Yoshi fly for a limited time!
With the power only a saddle hop away, Mario begins to think of other ways he can use his friend Yoshi to his advantage.
This is when things start to turn dark. Very dark.
And this is also when this week’s Memory Card moment occurs: Sacrificing Yoshi.
The Moment
One of the moves Mario learns is the ability to leap off of Yoshi.
While seemingly not that special, this move proves vital in helping Mario on his adventure.
Yoshi has a pretty high jump on his own, but by combining the dismount with the normal jump, Mario can almost double his height and reach areas otherwise unreachable.
While Mario still shows a huge love for Yoshi, he starts thinking about the Princess, trapped in Bowser’s castle.
What would he do to save the Princess? How far would he go?
As Mario travels with Yoshi through more worlds, getting closer and closer to his goal, he starts to think about Yoshi as more of a tool than a best friend.
Mario begins to make his way through a tough level on Yoshi’s back — one filled with bottomless pits and countless enemies.
The loyal dinosaur does his best to help his new friend in any way possible. He leaps from platform to platform, eating enemies and spitting them out.
He will do whatever it takes to help Mario rescue the beautiful and surely lovely Princess.
Mario sees a tough set of jumps approaching.
His eyes slightly squint as if he is thinking of something. Something devious.
With the grace of a reptilian gymnast, Yoshi leaps through the air, trying his best to land on the skinny platform.
Mario looks ahead and sees the end-of-level gate. He focuses in on it, not realizing where he is or what he is doing.
This slight moment of distraction throws Yoshi off. He loses a little momentum on one of his jumps.
In a tragic turn of events, Yoshi misses the platform in front of him and starts to plummet into a bottomless pit.
Mario, focused as ever on the goal ahead of him, realizes there is only one thing he can do. One thing he has to do.
Without even hesitating, he leaps off of Yoshi and lands safely on the platform in front of him.
Yoshi looks up at his friend as he falls. A tear forms on the edge of his precious dinosaur eyes.
His friend has abandoned him.
As Yoshi falls, he remembers the good times he and Mario had together.
He remembers that second level in World 1, when he was nothing but an egg.
He remembers the first berry he and Mario shared.
He remembers waiting for Mario in front of their first Ghost House.
But now none of that mattered.
He was now falling into a bottomless pit as Mario stood safely above, not even looking back to say goodbye.
But instead of hating Mario, Yoshi smiles one last time. He is just happy his friend is safe and free to continue his journey to find the Princess.
With his last moment in the Mushroom Kingdom upon him, he finds solace in knowing that his sacrifice will only help Mario.
Mario. His first and final friend.
In one of the darkest things you will ever see, you can watch an entire level designed around sacrificing Yoshi right here: (Oh, the humanity!)
The Impact
Okay, raise your hand if you have ever sacrificed Yoshi to save Mario from dying before.
<reluctantly raises hand>
Yes, that’s right: I have done it as well. Numerous times.
But, really, who hasn’t? It is part of the experience of playing Super Mario World. It is one of those memorable videogame moments that no one ever seems to talk about … but everyone relates to. (Kind of like jumping through the boss doors in Mega Man … BUT WITH MORE HEARTLESS MURDER!)
But does that make it okay?
True, making a big deal about this notorious moment is a little absurd, but think about what you are actually doing for a second. You are sacrificing your adorable, completely loyal partner just to help Mario get an extra boost.
HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME!
Okay, obviously I am kidding.
Exploiting this move is nothing malicious. The very ability to mount or dismount Yoshi at anytime is bound to lead to stuff like this happening. As a player, it is natural instinct to do whatever it takes to avoid falling into a bottomless pit.
If you miss a jump, hitting all the buttons and tying to survive is only a common reflex.
Surely the sweet, innocent designers at Nintendo would never have done something like this on purpose. They never would force the player to sacrifice Yoshi in order to complete the game, right?
WATCH THIS HORRIFYING VIDEO BEFORE ANSWERING THAT QUESTION!
Yes, it’s true. To reach the secret exit on the Cheese Bridge level, players are required to float with Yoshi under the first end-of-level gate and quickly sacrifice the misunderstood dinosaur to make one final leap to safety.
DAMN YOU, NINTENDO!
Admittedly, it is possible to reach the secret gate in the Cheese Bridge level by flying with a cape (sans Yoshi) and pulling up at the perfect moment … but no one does it that way. The only way to really do it is to jump under the first gate and sacrifice Yoshi to reach the hidden area.
Terrible.
Poor, poor Yoshi.
We should all be ashamed.
The Memory Card Save Files
Season 1
.01: The return of Baby Metroid (Super Metroid)
.02: Palom and Porom’s noble sacrifice (Final Fantasy IV)
.03: The encounter with Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid)
.04: The heir of Daventry (King’s Quest III: To Heir is Human)
.05: Pey’j is captured (Beyond Good & Evil)
.06: The Opera House (Final Fantasy VI)
.07: Attack of the zombie dog! (Resident Evil)
.08: A twist on a classic (Metroid: Zero Mission)
.09: A Christmas gift (Elite Beat Agents)
.10: To the moon, Mario! (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island)
.11: The Solitary Island (Final Fantasy VI)
.12: Wander’s brave friend (Shadow of the Colossus)
.13: The submerged letter (StarTropics)
.14: The legend of Tetra (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)
.15: Snake pulls the trigger (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
.16: Riding under the missiles (Contra III: The Alien Wars)
.17: Hover bike madness! (Battletoads)
.18: Syldra’s final cry (Final Fantasy V)
.19: Death by …grappling beam? (Super Metroid)
.20: The message in the glass (BioShock)
Season 2
.21: Crono’s final act (Chrono Trigger)
.22: Ganon’s tower (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
.23: It was all a dream? (Super Mario Bros. 2)
.24: The assimilation of Kerrigan (StarCraft)
.25: A McCloud family reunion (Star Fox 64)
.26: The return of Rydia (Final Fantasy IV)
.27: The battle with the Hydra (God of War)
.28: Fight for Marian’s love! (Double Dragon)
.29: The Hunter attacks (Half-Life 2: Episode 2)
.30: The Phantom Train (Final Fantasy VI)
.31: The end of The End (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
.32: In Tentacle We Trust (Day of the Tentacle)
.33: Peach dances with TEC (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)
.34: Learning to wall jump (Super Metroid)
.35: A leap of faith (Ico)
.36: The Master Sword (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)
.37: Thinking outside the DS (Hotel Dusk: Room 215)
.38: Running outside the castle (Super Mario 64)
.39: Del Lago! (Resident Evil 4)
.40: In memoriam (Lost Odyssey)
Season 3
.41: The tadpole prince (Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars)
.42: Pyramid Head! (Silent Hill 2)
.43: Waiting for Shadow (Final Fantasy VI)
.44: Solid vs. Liquid (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)
.45: The birth of the cutscene (Ninja Gaiden)
.46: Insult swordfighting (The Secret of Monkey Island)
.47: A castle stuck in time (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)
.48: ‘That’s the magic flute!’ (The Wizard)
.49: Saving Santa (Secret of Mana)
.50: A shocking loss (Half-Life 2: Episode Two)
.51: The flying cow (Earthworm Jim)
.52: Blind the Thief (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)
.53: The nuclear blast (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
.54: Microwaving the hamster (Maniac Mansion)
.55: The fate of Lucca’s mother (Chrono Trigger)
.56: A fiery demise? (Portal)
.57: Jade’s moment of silence (Beyond Good & Evil)
.58: The Great Mighty Poo (Conker’s Bad Fur Day)
.59: With knowledge comes nudity (Leisure Suit Larry III)
.60: Flint’s rage (Mother 3)
Season 4
.61: The dream of the Wind Fish (The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening)
.62: Leaving Midgar (Final Fantasy VII)
.63: Auf Wiedersehen! (Bionic Commando)
.64: Death and The Sorrow (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
.65: A glimpse into the future (Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter)
.66: Taloon the merchant (Dragon Quest IV)
.67: Scaling the waterfall (Contra)
.68: Anton’s love story (Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box)
.69: TKO! BJ! LOL! (Ring King)
.70: Giant robot fish! (Mega Man 2)
.71: The rotating room (Super Castlevania IV)
.72: The collapsing building (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
.73: Death by funnel (Phantasmagoria)
.74: Crono’s trial (Chrono Trigger)
.75: The blind fighting the blind (God of War II)
.76: Brotherly love (Mother 3)
.77: Prince Froggy (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island)
.78: The statue of a hero (Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride)
.79: Inside the worm (Gears of War 2)
.80: The return to Shadow Moses (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)
Season 5
.81: A prayer for Ness (EarthBound)
.82: Yuna’s empty embrace (Final Fantasy X)
.83: Blast Processing! (Sonic the Hedgehog)
.84: A royal assist (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)
.85: You have chosen … wisely (Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis)
.86: Death is final (Fire Emblem)
.87: A Snake in a microwave (Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots)
.88: The mark of a THIEF (The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening)
.89: MEAT ‘SPLOSION! (‘Splosion Man)
.90: In her father’s Shadow (Final Fantasy VI)
.91: A sniper rifle and a telephone (Grand Theft Auto IV)
