Races of the Marioverse

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Ok, so one of the big questions on everybodies minds when they think about Mariology is: How many actual races are there?

Well, I've thought about it and I've managed to generate a list of who I believe are the main sentient races of the Marioverse.

And they are:

Toads

Beanbeans

Koopas

Goombas

Shyguys

Humans

Piantas

Nokis

Yoshis

Moles

Nimbus's's's (I don't know how to pluralize their name ^_^)

Kongs

Kremlings

And various kinds of anthropoids.

Hmmm, that's all I can think of at the moment. Tell me if a I missed any.

[Claws]

Would anthropoids include the residents of Twilight Town, or are they normal humans? I seem to recall one of them referring to himself as human.

It's funny you mention Kongs and Kremlings. I'm not saying you're wrong (there is no wrong or right besides that set forth by the games themselves), but here's my view on the matter. Donkey Kong Island, (the now sunken) Crocodile Isle, and the Northern Kremisphere (the exact location of this area is anybody's guess, but it's possible it's attached to DK Island) are all areas shown in the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. They appear to be on earth--they bear a strong resemblance to our tropical areas, and none of the animals are very farfetched (besides the ability to speak). So I believe Donkey Kong's world is all right here on earth, off the coast of the real Congo Jungle in Africa. I learned this from the Donkey Kong Universe website, and I think it sounds reasonable enough.

All this being said, I think Kongs and Kremlings are actually races native to our dimension, not the one in which the other races you mention live. The differences in the style of DK's and Mario's world are too great to ignore.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Sadly, I have yet to play TTYD. I've been meaning to, but I'm just a slacker. lol

But by anthropoids I mean manimal type creatures. The characters from Diddy Kong Racing are a good example of anthropoids.

And I refuse to believe that any of those games besides Mario is Missing and Mario's Time Machine happened anywhere on Earth. It's just too outrageous, ya know? I've always viewed it as though everything weird and crazy in those games took place in the Mushroom World, and DKC is very very weird and crazy. ^_^

[Claws]

Well, compared to Mario's games, they're actually not. Think about it: the only unrealistic thing in the DKC trilogy is the talking animals. And this could be contributed to radiation or some kind of inherited trait, or maybe there are just new types of apes and crocodiles on islands man has not yet explored. Maybe magic was even involved, but to a small extent.

The Mario games, however, contain totally new species of animals--goombas, toads--things that could never exist in the world that we know. And while talking apes is farfetched, realize that the apes we know could speak (as in, they have the mental capacity to) if the structure of their throats didn't prevent them. And Mario games take place in magical kingdoms with equally strange events. DKC was about an abnormally intelligent gorilla clan in search of their bananas.

Also, consider the ending scene of DK GB (also known as DK'94). Before the scene, we are obviously still on DK Island--in the Rocky Valley area, where DK Sr.'s tower was. In that ending scene, we see Mario, Pauline, and DK Sr. and Jr. in a very Mario-esque setting bearing strong resemblance to the first level of SMB. There, as you probably know, Mario hoists DK Sr. above his head after grabbing a Mushroom. The important part, however, is the warp pipe in the right corner of the screen. Now, you may be saying, This warp pipe is probably a normal one leading underground. There's nothing significant about it. But I think the immediate cut from the earth-like, realistic DK Island to the fanciful Mushroom Kingdom with the warp pipe in the MK being the only transportation device shown a sign that that was indeed the link between the two areas. Do you understand what I'm saying? I think the developers intended the player's mind to connect all of this information to form the conclusion that a warp pipe was the method of travel between the two places. And I think the stark contrast between these two areas was their way of showing these places as two very different areas. Two different dimensions? Not necessarily, but possibly. And that warp pipe probably has its other end at the DK's Jungle Adventure Board area in the Kongo Jungle because we see residents of the Mushroom Kingdom travel to this area by means of a warp pipe (refer to Mario Party). So, in short, I think that DK and Mario are meant to be shown as living in two very different places, and that since DK's world so resembles our own and because of the reasons I stated and some I haven't yet divulged, I believe DK lives in our dimension.

Phew.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

lol You make a good argument, Claws. But one thing to remember is that not all of the Marioverse animals weird and new. For example, they have cows and crabs and moles. And I don't think the wildlife in DK Jungle is normal at all (i.e. Kremlings, giant barrel monsters, ect.)

I mean, I agree with you that DK and Super Mario take place in two very different places, but I just think that both those places are in the same universe. Maybe DK Jungle is just in the Mushroom World.

Oh! I forgot a critical detail!

*spoilers*

In the beginning of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, DK is hanging out in his house from Donkey Kong Country and watching TV. But he's watching transmissions from the Marioverse (a Shyguy reading the news, and commercials for the Mini-Marios). So he would have to be in the same dimension to be picking up those transmissions. That's what I think, anyway.

[Claws]

Well, I think that house DK was in was his vacation house in the Mushroom Kingdom. Notice how quickly he makes it to Twilight City in the opening. The jungle areas in that game are also very Mushroom Kingdom-esque--very different from the realistic ones seen in DKC. So that brings me to another theory that hinges on the above theory of DK being in our dimension. I believe DK has a large area of jungle in the Mushroom Kingdom called Donkey Kong Jungle (the name of the jungle area in MvsDK), and that the jungle segments in MvsDK take place in this area.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Hmm, looks like I need to make a new section for locations of the Marioverse.

[Claws]

Yeah, many of my speculations are about locations, so that would be appreciated.

[Yoshi Master]

I think DK and friends are in there own world in Mario's dimension.

Are dimension: solar system, universe, boring.

Mario's dimension: Mushroom World, possibly several other video game planets, like Kirby's or Link's. DK probably has his own world in this dimension.

Wanna here my story of DK?

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Of course we do. That's why this site was made.

[Claws]

Well, that's a theory I've never heard before. Sounds interesting.

[Yoshi Master]

Ok, I don't know much about DK, but here it goes:

Mario had a job as a carpenter and a girl friend named Pauline. One day a big ape escaped from the zoo. The ape ( being DK ) went on a rampage and went toward the construction site Mario was working at. Unfortunatly Pauline was with Mario at the time. DK grabbed Pualine, Mario tried to save her, DK knocked down, animal control, the end. But how did he get to his strange Congo Jungle that most likly isn't on the Mushroom World? Simple, warp pipe of some such.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Ah yes, the classic DK theory. ^_^

[Claws]

Here's my take on the backstory of the original DK game.

Mario and Pauline decided to take a cruise around the African coast, with various stops on the outlying islands. A huge mountain sculpted like the face of a gorilla dominated one island they stopped at. The boat would stay docked at the island for a while, so Mario and Pauline decided to do some exploring. They climbed a ways up the mountain and soon found a huge, human-like city. Pauline, being a dumb lass (pun intended), was instantly snatched up by a curious native. The large gorilla began climbing a nearby construction site. Mario pursued, and finally reclaimed his woman and dealt the ape a blow, too. He caged the animal and began heading back down the mountain. All of the gorilla's relatives were too intimidated by Mario to attempt to save DK. But as the trio made their way through the coastal jungle, DK's son decided to intervene. (This explains why DK Jr. begins in the jungle.) He pursued Mario and his captive father through the jungle, a factory, and eventually some more jungle. He finally defeated Mario (by collapsing the platform he stood on, if I remember correctly) and caught his father. Mario and Pauline then made their way back to the boat and left the island.

[Yoshi Master]

You can't count the number of races of creatures.

And it seems like your listing random things.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

I just named the races that occured to me at the time.

[Yoshi Master]

There's hundreds of races.

This is a complete failure.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

lol Again with the insults. And how do we know there are hundreds of races? I'm not talking about every single species, I only mean the sentient ones.

And instead of just criticising the thread, why don't you actually try and help out? Name something that we may have missed. Or if you don't like the thread, then just don't post in here at all.

[Yoshi Master]

I know because, well, lets just say I have a lot of free time.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Ok, let's try this again, shall we? The actual sentient species that we've seen so far include:

humans

toads

koopas

goombas

beanbeans

yoshis

nimbus people

moles

boos

bob-ombs

kongs (in my opinion)

kremlings (once again, in my opinion)

mice

penguins

That's all that occurs to me at the moment. Anybody have any ideas as to who the inhabitants of Sarasaland are?