Kings

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This article is about the kings in Super Mario Bros. 3. For other uses of the term, see King.
Kings
Kings of the Mushroom World
Species Human
First appearance Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
Latest appearance Ultimate NES Remix (2014)
“Oh thank heavens! I’m back to my old self again. Thank you so much. Here is a letter from the princess.”
Kings, Super Mario Bros. 3

The kings[1] are the monarchs of the various lands of the Mushroom World. Seven of them are featured in Super Mario Bros. 3, and each was turned into a different creature by the Koopalings. The kings are unnamed individually, although The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 gave some of them unique identities, and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! even introduced several similar characters and territories. Like Princess Toadstool, they have Toad helpers.

History[edit]

Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]

Super Mario Bros. 3 artwork: The Koopalings are in an airship with Princess Toadstool; Raccoon Mario is flying away as Luigi goes up the stairs, staring at his brother flying off, while the transformed Water Land King points at the airship.
The transformed Water Land king pointing at the Koopalings' airship in Super Mario Bros. 3.

The Koopalings invaded seven kingdoms of the Mushroom World, stealing the royal magic wands and using them to transform their kings into various creatures. With the king in his vulnerable state, the evil Koopaling then ruled over the world in the king's place, with Boom Boom and the Koopa Troop forces placed all over the kingdoms. Renowned heroic brothers Mario and Luigi of the Mushroom Kingdom arrived to help them, first starting with Grass Land.

To save a king, the Mario Bros. have to go to his castle, where the Toad pleads the heroes to restore the king by taking the magic wand back from the Koopaling. After that, Mario and Luigi must assault the airship, defeat the Koopaling, and return the king back into his human shape. He thanks the Mario Bros. for saving him, and he delivers a letter from Princess Toadstool enclosed with a "jewel" (or power-up). If the player manages to restore the kings to their human forms while wearing a special suit, then they get different rescue dialog for each different suit. This continues until the brothers reach the forbidden kingdom of Dark Land, where Bowser ended up holding the princess hostage.

In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, if the player defeated Bowser before saving the kings, upon selecting the castle, the player is treated to a cutscene where it shows the Koopaling of the respective world invading the castle, snatching the magic wand and using it to transform the king, and then escaping seconds before Mario arrives. In addition, because Princess Toadstool has already been saved beforehand, the king does not give the player a letter from her.

Sea Side King
The Water Land king, after being turned into a kappa. Unlike the sprite, he does not wear a shell, and instead wears a cape.

Each king had been transformed into a creature of some sort by the Koopalings:

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[edit]

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 created personalities for several rulers. Many, if not all, of them also looked different.

Super Mario Kodansha manga[edit]

“"スーマリ3には七人も王さまが出てくるからどれがほんものかわからないのよ" ("In Super Mario Bros. 3, there are seven kings, so who knows which one is the real one.")”
Princess Peach, Super Mario Kodansha manga
The kings seen in the first 4koma volume of KC Mario
The kings seen in the first 4koma volume

The kings can be seen in the first 4koma volume of the Super Mario Kodansha manga. They appear only in the "7 Kings" (7人の王さま) strip, in which Peach states that one of the seven kings is her father. It is never fully confirmed which king is truly her father, though Peach wishes that the king from Water Land would be him. The kings' transformed states are the same as in Super Mario All-Stars.

Gallery[edit]

Human kings[edit]

Transformed kings[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese 王様[2]
Ōsama
国王[3]
Kokuō

King

Chinese (traditional) 國王[4]
Guówáng
King

Italian Regnanti del Mondo dei Funghi[5]
7 Re[6]
Sovrano[7]
Re[8][9]
Mushroom World's rulers
7 Kings
Ruler
King
Spanish Reyes
Kings

Trivia[edit]

  • If Mario defeats a Koopaling as Frog Mario, Tanooki Mario, or Hammer Mario, the king says one of the following:
    • "Oh me, oh my! You've been transformed! Shall I change you back with this wand?" (to Frog Mario)
    • "Thank you, kind raccoon. Please tell me your name." (to Tanooki Mario)
    • "Hey you! How about lending me your clothes? No dice?! What a drag." (to Hammer Mario)
  • The king of Water Land bears a striking resemblance to Mario. Also, the castle's island resembles Japan, with the castle itself placed where Kyoto, Nintendo's headquarters, would be.
  • All of the transformed kings are depicted with generic crowns either on or near them, despite the fact that only four of the non-transformed kings wear crowns.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3 English instruction booklet, pages 5 & 25
  2. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3 Japanese instruction booklet, pages 2 & 24
  3. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3 Japanese instruction booklet, page 2 (Larry's speech balloon)
  4. ^ Official Chinese website for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3 page on Nintendo.it
  6. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3, Italian booklet, pag. 5
  7. ^ Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition Italian manual, pag. 15
  8. ^ Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition Italian manual, pag. 17
  9. ^ Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 european booklet, pag. 106