Supper Mario Broth: Special Zone, Issue 40 (Patreon)

Welcome, everyone, to the 40th issue of Supper Mario Broth: Special Zone.

Today, I will showcase all the Mario-related special collectible card sets published in the Nintendo Power magazine.

Nintendo Power Cards

As most North American Nintendo fans know, Nintendo Power was Nintendo of America's official print publication, which ran from 1988 to 2012 for 285 issues.  During this time, many promotional and extra content campaigns held by the magazine came and went, with one in particular being collectible cards that were included on sheets towards the back of subscription-only issues and needed to be cut out manually. 

This feature ran from 1992 to 1997. Most of them were "Super Power Club" cards, of which 170 were produced. Each featured one game, with the back having a description. Here is an example card from that set:

The cards featured only previously published official art on the front, making them not hold much interest to people who wish to see unique artwork, and the only point of particular interest on the back was the "Challenge" section, that offered three challenges per game to complete, marked as "Novice", "Intermediate" and "Pro". Unfortunately, full scans of the entire set do not seem to exist and many collections for sale appear to be missing some cards, as well. However, the Super Power Club cards are not the topic of today's article.

After the run of these cards ended in 1995, there was a two-year period where cards were released in small sets instead, each containing 8 cards on a single sheet. These were no longer depicting individual games, but rather characters from a game, with the back listing a mixture of actual information and humorous lore about the character in question.

Out of these, five sets were based on games from the greater Mario franchise: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario RPG, Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2. In this article, I will showcase the front and back of all 40 of these cards, and talk about the descriptions.

Set 1: Yoshi's Island

In this set, the subjects were the game's bosses and mini-bosses. Although there are 12 of them in the game, only 8 cards exists, meaning 4 (Salvo the Slime, Prince Froggy, Marching Milde and Baby Bowser himself) were left out.

From the beginning, we have a strange case of the boss's name being different from the product: in that game, he is known as Burt the Bashful instead. For this set, the first two segments are lore while the final one is a gameplay tip. While some of the more plausible lore can be argued to have been at least partially intended to be taken seriously, a large portion of it is clearly a joke and is not meant to actually make a statement about the character. There is nothing in the game that suggests that Burt the Bashful is a dancer - although, of course, there is nothing that directly contradicts it. I am open to interpreting every piece of information given on these cards as actual character background unless it does not fit with the facts presented by the games.

The gameplay tip is usable, but does not mention a tactic that can make replenishing eggs even faster: when Burt is on the other end of the room, Ground Pound to make the egg-shooting flower simutaneously release a number of eggs equal to 6 minus the number Yoshi currently has, i.e. enough to fill them up to 6 if he can grab them all. 

For Bigger Boo, the description is relatively straightforward and contains nothing not already shown in the game outside the TV show joke. The hint simply states how to beat him without providing any information on how to make it faster or more efficient, making it only useful if the player reads the card before getting to the boss during the first playthrough of the game.

Here, the description fails to include the ghost's actual name: it is Roger the Potted Ghost, as seen in Nintendo Power's own guide for the game, released in the same year as the cards. This causes me to believe that the cards were either made in advance of the guide somehow, or the person writing the cards had no contact with the person writing the guides and was not given the guides as reference.

Interestingly, the lore mentions Aladdin rubbing a pot instead of a lamp, which is one of the many regional variations of the story. Again, the hint provides nothing in terms of making the fight more efficient, such as suggesting that the only motion necessary to win is briefly ducking when the ghost is performing the pushback attack; with the rest of the time being able to be dedicated to pushing the vase.

Here, the lore mentions the 1986 movie "Little Shop of Horrors", which featured a giant man-eating plant called Audrey II. Interestingly, in the German version of the game, Naval Piranha's name is actually Audrey. It is unknown if the person writing the card played that version (as it would only have been in the middle of localization at the time) or came up with the reference independently. 

Also, the hint refers to Naval Piranha as male, while the character was actually changed to female and the most recent reference (the Super NES Classic guide for the game) refers to Naval Piranha as female.

Here, there is not much to note outside of the description stating he is fought high in the clouds above his castle. In reality, the area is only slightly above the castle, but covered in fog that rolls in as Yoshi approaches it, likely making the writer mistake it for clouds.

Here, the hint makes it look like the author is telling the player to have 6 eggs before entering the boss room. In reality, what is meant is that Yoshi must stock up on 6 eggs from the egg-shooting plant on the left edge of the screen before running up against Sluggy, as it takes at least 3 eggs and often up to 6 to land a single hit on him and having less than 6 eggs is not ideal. 

Again, the hint merely states how the boss is meant to be defeated without offering any strategies. In reality, "hopping around" is suboptimal; the best strategy is to stand on one post, then simply wait until Raphael is in the correct spot on the other side of the planetoid to be hit, making short hops over him if he appoaches Yoshi, but staying above the post. Jumping left and right risks jumping into Raphael, or missing an opportunity to hit the post.

Here, the description is the one most clearly intended to be a joke. Once again, the hint does not offer any tips on how to shoot the eggs: the more vertical the shot, the more times the egg is likely to deflect from the ceiling and destroy more of the floor blocks.

The next set, Super Mario RPG, has a collection of 5 cards for the playable character, 2 for two of the game's very many bosses, and one for, of all characters, the NPC Frogfucius.

The description humorously suggests that rescuing Princess Toadstool is what Mario does "at the office". The cards give quotes to the characters that can be imagined to be actually said by them in most cases, but Mario being completely incapable of speech in this game and communicating only with extremely elaborate pantomime, it is unlikely he would actually say "Let's saddle up and ride, gang!"

In the description of this card, Frogfucius's name is misspelled as "Frogfucious", which is understandable given how more words in English end in "ious" than "ius". Still, Frogfucius's name is a reference to Chinese philosopher Confucius, which also does not have an "o" near the end.

The move descriptions are not particularly helpful, such as Psychopath being described as "Spies on one enemy" when it actually shows its HP and displays a random thought from the enemy; a description that makes sense in hindsight but provides no useful information until the player tries the move and sees what it does.

Here, the description says that Geno "disguised" himself as a doll when he never attempts to hide his identity. Instead, he inhabits a doll due to not having his own physical body; he immediately divulges his identity as a messenger from Star Road when Mario and Mallow catch up to him in the Forest Maze.

Also, very interestingly, the card lists his home as "Rose Town"; that is actually the "home", or rather origin, of the doll. The entity that makes up Geno's mind is actually from Star Road instead.

This card does not have much of note outside of uniquely calling Bowser the "King of the Troopas" instead of the King of the Koopas. Actual Koopa Troopas do not even appear in the game, being replaced by Terrapins (armored Koopas), and the only NPCs and enemies with "Troopa" in their names are not affiliated with Bowser, making the name ironically wrong specifically in the context of this game.

Interestingly, despite the description stating that Princess Toadstool's troubles "have just begun" after the listed events, they are actually technically over at that point. The Mushroom Kingdom is no longer being directly attacked and she willingly joins Mario and the rest of the crew to go after Smithy - however, this is not strictly required, as her abilities are no longer mandatory after that point and it is very easily possible to reach the end of the game without ever putting her in the party. 

The card gives a battle strategy without mentioning how to even get to fight Booster; the only time he is fought is if the player fails the minigame where Mario hides behind curtains while Snifits look for a lost toy. In fact, a skilled enough player would need to lose the minigame on purpose just to see the boss battle; I have personally read accounts of people not knowing for years of playing the game that Booster can actually be fought.

Here, the hint again fails to mention that Mario does not actually have to fight Johnny one on one - the prerequisite to doing so it taking out all of his minions. If at least one of them is left alive, the solo duel against Mario never happens and Johnny can be fought with the entire party.

Here, the card manages to spell Frogfucius correctly on the top of the back side, but incorrectly again at the beginning of the bottom segment.

The next set, Mario Kart 64, has cards that are in portrait view on the front and landscape view on the back, of all 8 of the game's drivers.

Note also how the front also has jokes in the form of novelty license plates, this one referring to Mario riding Yoshi. The "driver's history" mentions Mario using the Lightning Bolt frequently, but this is just confirmation bias: in this game, unlike Super Mario Kart, every opponent is equally likely to use every item. 

This card contains a piece of lore that is often cited by fans online as canon: that the reason Luigi was not in Super Mario 64 was because he was too busy working on his kart. Of course, the real reason is that the developers wanted to put him in, but couldn't, but this card is plausible enough that it could be taken as a good in-universe explanation.

Interestingly, despite the "driver's history" part being a joke, it is based on real in-game stats of Toad outside his kart, being that he is the fastest character in Super Mario Bros. 2. This was later brought back and enhanced to make him (or rather Blue Toad, standing in for the regular Toad) by far the fastest character in Super Mario 3D World. 

This card suggests in two different places that Peach both exercises property rights over all tracks and abuses royal powers to avoid punishment, which is contrary to how she acts in most games, where the only places she exercises any authority are her own castle and surrounding towns, and she almost never attempts to even gain special treatment anywhere else, much less try to enforce her powers.

As a joke, this card suggests Yoshi engages in illegal activities - however, there are hints of Yoshi not being completely upstanding in later games, such as him asking to be exempt from taxes in Fortune Street. 

This card offers another piece of lore that is often quoted: that Wario stole his kart from Koopa Troopa, who was a driver in Super Mario Kart, but is absent from Mario Kart 64. Luckily for fans of Koopa Troopa, he would return in Mario Kart: Double Dash. Interestingly, Koopa Troopa's kart in Super Mario Kart was yellow, which would have also been a color Wario would have been able to use without repainting it, in addition to the final game's purple.

Donkey Kong replaces Donkey Kong Jr. from Super Mario Kart, but during development, there was another interim character who took Donkey Kong Jr.'s place only to be replaced in the final version by Donkey Kong: Magikoopa. Magikoopa went on to not appear as a driver for an extremely long time (again being only considered in development for Mario Kart 8 but ultimately unused), until Kamek finally became playable in Mario Kart Tour in 2021.

There is a minor error stating that the Thwomp will make the player wipe out. This only happens if they are rammed at high speeds; at low speeds they act just like walls and are merely gently bumped into, so slowing down can prevent this from happening.

Finally, the two Donkey Kong Country game card sets. The first one features only enemies and bosses.

There are a few errors in this card. Note how the artwork depicts a regular Gnawty, who is brown, instead of the Very Gnawty boss, who is green. The "distinguishing features" even talk about his fur being green despite not showing the correct image. The "location" segment also says he is fought again in Gorilla Glacier; that is not actually true, as the boss of Gorilla Glacier is another reddish Gnawty called Really Gnawty instead.

Klump's card offers two possible ranks for him: sergeant and "kommander". Interestingly, in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon series, he is neither - instead, he is a general.

This card has a very interesting error, stating that Rockcrocs appear in Loopy Lights. In the finished game, they only appear in Stop & Go Station - but this is not an error that would have been made randomly; instead it indicates they were actually present in that level at some point while the person writing the cards was playing it.

Again, the artwork does not actually show the character; it shows a regular Necky instead. And as with Very Gnawty, it mistakenly refers to Master Necky and Master Necky Snr. as the same character. 

Here, the "apprehension" segment is misleading in what Diddy Kong can do. It seems to state that barrels will help Donkey Kong take out a Krusha, but that Diddy Kong cannot do anything. In reality, Diddy Kong can also take out Krushas with a barrel. In addition, there are grey Krushas that Donkey Kong cannot take out with a jump either.

This character is completely misnamed. Her name is Queen B. (which is only listed as a nickname here), Bumble B Rumble is actually the name of the level she is fought in. In addition, although she is yellow in-game and the artwork looks like her, her actual render shows her angry red form instead:

The card says Manky Kong looks like Donkey Kong's cousin, which is interesting given how in Donkey Kong 64, Lanky Kong was introduced, who is a friendly version of the Manky Kongs and is stated to be "distantly related" to the rest of the Kongs, although never exactly how. 

The card manages to correctly identify the gold part of King K. Rool's torso as a breastplate instead of just a body coloration despite this game never making it relevant or showing it being taken off. King K. Rool is seen without it only much later in DK: King of Swing. The armor only becomes relevant to gameplay in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where it can be shattered after taking too much damage.

Finally, the Donkey Kong Country 2 cards, which also feature the playable characters this time:

These cards are different from the rest in that they offer measurements of the characters. Of course, some of the measuments seem to be exaggerated, however, they are the only official ones that exist of some of these characters, so they can be used if no better alternatives are available. 

One could take the "being a superhero" part of the "turn ons" to foreshadow Dixie Kong's role as the main protagonist of Donkey Kong Country 3 after this game.

Note the extremely large weight difference between Donkey Kong and the playable Kongs. While Donkey Kong is clearly much larger, later games show that he, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong all make roughly the same impact when they land after being shot out of a Barrel Cannon, suggesting the weight difference cannot be this enormous. 

The "favorite quote" refers to the fact that in the Donkey Kong Country games, the maximum amount of lives the player can collect is 99. The tips section also suggests that all the bananas in the stages were placed there by Donkey Kong, which raises the question of who has placed them in any of the other games where Donkey Kong is not kidnapped.

For an unknown reason, Swanky's card features Squawks the Parrot despite not mentioning him in the text or Swanky having anything to do with him during gameplay.

Interestingly, the measurements seem to fit a real-life large rhinoceros. Interestingly, the hint is for a very late-game level (located in the last full-length world), which is in contrast to the very basic and early-game hints seen on most of these cards.

Again, the card misses the opportunity to provide a useful hint. Krunchas do not need carryable objects to be defeated - a team-up throw (Diddy throwing Dixie or vice versa) will also defeat them and can be used at any time provided the player is controlling both Kongs.

Curiously, this and the last card are the only two types of Kremlings that have ears, which were added to their design specifically so that they could wear earrings. Real crocodiles have small ear flaps (normally blending in with the rest of their ridges) that can be raised and lowered slightly, so this is not as much a violation of anatomy as it first appears.

There is another error here: the bananas left behind by Klobber-type enemies like Kabooms are not actually left behind by the enemy, but rather by the Kongs - they are deducted from the Kongs' banana counter and must be recollected to bring it back up, instead of being a bonus provided by the enemy.

This concludes the look at the cards. I hope the card text managed to be entertaining and my analysis was able to point out some details that could have been missed.

Thank you very much for reading.