Fourth wall
From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
|
It has been suggested that this article be moved to Fourth wall breaks. (discuss) |
It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this article. Remove this notice only after the additional images have been added. Specifics: Can we get an image of every instance? If not, at least one per game would also work.
- “And hey! You! Out there in front of the TV! Yeah, I'm talking to YOU!”
- —Lord Crump, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Sometimes, characters from the Super Mario franchise perform an action that implies that they are aware of their fictional nature. This is known as breaking the fourth wall, a phrase originating from stage plays. Because traditional box set stages have a wall at the back and another on each side, an imaginary "fourth wall" at the front turns the stage, and thereby the world of the story, into an enclosed space separate from the audience. The term is used, in many forms of media even beyond theater, to refer to a separation between the fictional characters and setting, and the work of fiction as it is experienced by the audience. As such, when the former acknowledges the latter, the metaphorical fourth wall is broken.
Note: Video games frequently break the fourth wall in order to address the player with directions (e.g. "Press B to jump"). These instances are not to be recorded here, unless the characters otherwise show awareness that they are in a video game due to the remark.
Games[edit]
Super Mario series[edit]
This section needs Super Mario improvement. Specifically:
Requested improvements must be clear, pertinent, and well-formed. Please refrain from adding bullet points such as "Add more information" or "Write the rest of the article".
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels[edit]
- In the final level of World 9, World 9-4, groups of tile blocks can be found spelling out "アリガトウ！" (Arigatō!, meaning "Thank You" in Japanese). Also, the opening of World 9-1 features a message saying "WE PRESENT FANTASY WORLD. LET'S TRY '9' WORLD WITH ONE GAME.", and the Game Over screen for World 9 has a message saying "YOU'RE A SUPER PLAYER! WE HOPE WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN. MARIO & STAFF."
World 9 Game Over screen
Super Mario World[edit]
- After the Yoshi's Eggs hatch during the ending sequence, the words "THANK YOU" appear as Mario gives the V for victory sign to the player while Princess Toadstool (or Peach in the GBA remake) waves to the player. At the end of the remake, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, there is no text, though the princess still waves at the player and Mario and Luigi still flash the peace sign. In the last level of the Special Zone, Funky, a group of coins spells out the phrase "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!!" near the end of the level. In the Japanese version of the original game, the "A" is absent.
The ending sequence
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]
- At the game's title's screen, Mario speaks to the player with lines such as "It's-a me, Mario!", "Hello!", and "Press Start to play!"
- In the two versions, after Bowser is defeated in Bowser in the Sky, he exclaims, "C'mon, troops! Let's watch the ending together! Gwa ha ha!" Additionally, if Mario retrieves all 120 Power Stars (or 150 Power Stars in the case of the DS version) and then defeats Bowser, he says, "Just you wait until next time. Until then, keep that Control Stick smokin'! Bwaa ha ha!" In the case of Super Mario 64 DS, Bowser mentions the Touch Screen instead of the Control Stick, as the Nintendo DS does not feature a control stick; in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars version of Super Mario 64, he specifically refers to the L Stick.
- After the end credits in both versions, Mario is heard saying, "Thank you so much-a for-to playing my game!" He uses the same phrase in Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Super Mario Odyssey, though he removes the "-a" from "much" and the "to" from "for."
- In the N64 version, after Mario collects all 120 Stars, shoots to the top of the castle, and talks to Yoshi, he gives Mario the following message: "Thanks for playing Super Mario 64! This is the end of the game, but not the end of the fun. We want you to keep on playing, so we have a little something for you. We hope you like it! Enjoy! --The Super Mario 64 Team" This is followed by Mario's lives counter going up to 100 and getting an enhanced triple jump.
- In the case of Super Mario 64 DS, upon closing the Nintendo DS while playing, Mario says "Buh-bye!" to the player, after which the system goes into standby. When the system is opened, he says "It's-a me, Mario!" This also happens in New Super Mario Bros.
- When the player defeats the Big Bob-omb in Bob-omb Battlefield, the Big Bob-omb says, "Just select this Star from the menu."
- In Super Mario 64 DS, if the player talks to Koopa the Quick after a race, he tells the player, "If you want to race me again, come back later. All you have to do is press START to pause and then select Exit Course."
Super Mario Sunshine[edit]
- In the mission "Scrubbing Sirena Beach", the hotel manager tells Mario that time is running out and he must hurry, alluding to the timer on the bottom left of the screen indicating how much time Mario has left to clean up the beach. The mentions of the timer are also present in a few other missions, such as Piantas in Need.
- After Mario defeats Bowser and Bowser Jr. or enters Corona Mountain for the first time, a certain yellow Pianta in Delfino Plaza ponders whether the game is over and expresses his hopes of something else happening when Mario talks to him.
New Super Mario Bros.[edit]
- In the intro, when Mario is hit by the green shell, the words "Super Mario Bros." fall from the sky. A few seconds later, Small Mario runs near it, notices it is misaligned, and jumps to hit the words and straighten them, also causing "New" to appear next to "Super". This only happens after waiting a few seconds on the title screen.
- After the end credits, the Touch Screen shows Bowser Jr. dragging his unconscious father back to their home. Bowser Jr. looks to the camera and threateningly growls at the player. He then resumes dragging Bowser.
- Similar to Super Mario 64 DS, Mario also says "Buh-bye!" to the player when closing the Nintendo DS. He also says "It's-a me! Mario!" when the player opens the DS and resumes the game, similar to the opening title screen in Super Mario 64 and similar to that in its remake.
- The enemies and power-ups do a small dance when there is a little "Paah" vocal (or a windchime when underwater) in the music, such as Goombas jumping up in the air and Koopa Troopas turning to the screen for a split-second and rocking their fists.
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
- Much like the ending to Super Mario 64, after the credits roll, Mario or Luigi says "Thank you so much for playing my game" (Luigi, however, removes the "so much" part of the sentence). When 120 Power Stars are collected, after Mario or Luigi thanked the player, Rosalina also thanks the player and says "I will watch over you from beyond the stars."
New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]
- In the credits, the players play a minigame where they break blocks to earn coins. These blocks have the credits written on them. If less than four players are playing, the characters not controlled will dance to the music.
- The enemies still do a dance to the "Paah" vocals in the music, along with the items and flowers bouncing and blooming to the beat. Also, when underwater, the Cheep Cheeps do a spin whenever there is a windchime in the music and Dry Bones rotate their head when a xylophone sound plays in the fortresses.
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
- If the player's Wii Remote batteries are low, and they talk to Lubba, she warns the player about the batteries running out in a dangerous place. She frequently makes these kinds of references, such as suggesting that the player go to bed when it is late, or to turn off the game after a certain playing time, especially after getting a Game Over, or tell the player to take a break before playing again. Additionally, if the player plays the game at an early time, Lubba says she is sleepy and that it is rather late to be adventuring.
- Sometimes, when the player gets extra lives while there are either two or three save files in the game, Mailtoad says "So this person you share a special bond... Could it be someone from another save file?".
- If the player has 70 to 120 Power Stars, then at the end of the credits, Mario says "Thank you so much for playing my game", much like in the previous game and Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. When playing as Luigi, he says the same thing as its predecessor.
- If the player gets a Game Over or goes to a world for the first time, Lubba speaks to the player.
Super Mario 3D Land[edit]
- Before the final battle in World 8-Bowser: Part 2, as the floor beneath him and Mario begins to crack, Bowser looks at the player with a worried look.
- In Special 8-Crown, a group of Flip Panels near the end activate to spell out the phrase "THANK YOU!!" similar to other thanking messages in Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels and Super Mario World.
New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]
- Near the end of the game intro, Ludwig uses his magic wand to make the title and multiple coins fall from the sky. This only happens when watching the intro after a few seconds on the title screen.
- In the credits, Roy hangs off the D of "Nintendo EAD" with his tail.
- After Bowser's battle in the Gold Classics Coin Rush pack, many coins form the sentence "THANK YOU!!" once again.
- The enemies still do a dance at the "Paah" vocals.
New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]
- On the title screen, the characters ground pound to make the title and two Super Acorns appear.
- During a level, if any of the characters are left idle when the player does not pause the game, after a certain amount of time, the characters will turn and stare at the player.
- The enemies still do a dance to the vocals in the music. Baby Yoshis have an added choir to all the music that they mouth to.
- In the credits, the characters not being played dance to the music, and when a character being played runs near the credit letters, they spin around.
Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
- When the player starts up the game, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad yell out the game's name, followed by one of them saying, "Meow!", along with Rosalina if the player has unlocked her.
- The flowers and bushes move along to the music.[1]
- The green Sprixie Princess waves to the screen near the end of the credits scene.
- Upon completion of Bowser's Lava Lake Keep for the first time, once the transition occurs, shortly after, Bowser's voice can be heard as he pulls back the transition to reveal that he has captured the Sprixies once more.
- At the end of Champion's Road is a series of Clear Pipes forming the message "THANK YOU!!" just before the Goal Pole area.
- During the credits for Bowser's Fury, Bowser Jr. appears and hums to the music. He waves to the player before he leaves.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
- Like the previous game, when the player starts up the game, Mario yells out the game's name.
- In the E3 demo for Super Mario Odyssey, a New Donker says, "We'll have to wait for the full game to go any further."[2]
- The Mario 64 Cap and Outfit could possibly be considered a fourth wall break, as it is a reference to the polygonal textures used in Super Mario 64, where the outfit originated. Additionally, the Toad blocking the doorway to the Courtyard room in the Mushroom Kingdom states that he misses "Mario's blocky polygonal look", which also refers to the block like textures used in said game.
- In a similar vein to the Mario 64 Cap and Outfit, the 8-Bit Mario Cap could possibly also be considered a fourth wall break as well, as it is a reference to the sprites used in Super Mario Bros., which was the outfit's origin.
- In the Darker Side, a series of power lines that Mario must travel across by capturing a spark pylon spell out the message "THANK YOU" just before the Warp Pipe that leads Mario to the area containing the "Long Journey's End" Multi Moon.
- After the credits that appear after the player completes the main game, Mario says, "Thank you so much for playing my game!" like several other games in the series.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]
- If the player reaches WONDER?, the final level, the message inside thanks them for playing and calls them a "super wonder".
- Talking Flowers also break the fourth wall occasionally:
- If the player turns off their voice in the menu, a flower will exclaim, "Oh! Was it something I said?"
- In the Badge House in Pipe-Rock Plateau, one of the Talking Flowers instructs the player on how to use the Parachute Cap badge by saying "Press
in midair!" before commenting "What is , anyway?" - After the end credits, a Talking Flower can be heard saying "Come back again sometime, yeah?"
- If the player revisits WONDER?, a group of Talking Flowers will thank the player for playing.
Mario's Time Machine (PC)[edit]
- The final area is Novato in 1993 (1994 in the Deluxe re-release), where the game itself is being developed. Bowser had used the timulator to steal the Floppy Disk containing the final version of the game in an attempt to prevent the game from ever existing so that Mario cannot stop him. Mario encounters several of the game's developers, including David Grenewetzki, Andrew Iverson, Don Lloyd, and Jeff Griffeath, and helps them finish development of the game, eventually returning the Floppy Disk to David Grenewetzki so that the game can be released.
Hotel Mario[edit]
- During the intro of the game, after Mario says that they must find Princess Toadstool, Luigi points to the screen and says "And you gotta help us!" In turn, Mario says "If you need instructions on how to get through the hotels, check out the enclosed instruction book."
- Throughout the other cutscenes of the game, Mario and Luigi continue to speak with the player. These lines include Luigi saying "Looks can be deceiving when Koopas are involved" whilst facing the screen, and Mario saying "Remind me to check", "You know what they say, all toasters toast toast", "Get the hint?", and "Be careful! When you pinch Wendy's pennies, they pinch back" whilst facing the screen.
- At the end of the game, after Princess Toadstool thanks Mario and Luigi for saving her, she turns to the screen and thanks the player as well. Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool then all wave to the player while saying "You're the best player ever!"
"And you gotta help us!"
"You're the best player ever!"
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars[edit]
- After Mario and Mallow join Geno while he is fighting Bowyer, Bowyer retorts that a three-on-one fight is not fair. To compensate for this, the Y, X, and A buttons of the SNES controller appear in front of him. Bowyer then fires an Aero at one of the buttons, which effectively locks the ability to use that button's commands (magic, items, or attacks). Only one button can ever be locked at once, although Bowyer continually fires Aeroes at the buttons every few turns until he is defeated. This also happens when fighting Machine Made copies of Bowyer.
- While Dodo is pecking the statues at Nimbus Castle, he runs outside of the room's boundaries to sneakily peck Mario disguising as In Search of Lost Brother.
- Upon defeating Culex, he mentions that "Perhaps in another time, another game, [he and Mario] may have been mortal enemies...", which also references how Culex parodies bosses from the Final Fantasy franchise.
- During the ending sequence, there is a scene where Mario, Princess Toadstool, Yoshi, Toad, and the Chancellor wave at the player, with the words "THANK YOU" displayed at the top of the screen. The scene ends as the camera irises out on Mario, who then winks at the player.
- In the Nintendo Switch remake, Guerrilla's Thought Peek quote, "Don't confuse me with someone else!", is changed to "I am a work of fiction. Any resemblance to preexisting apes is purely coincidental." This is a more accurate translation of their thought quote in the Japanese version of the original game.
Dodo beyond the room's boundaries
The ending screen
Mario Kart series[edit]
Mario Kart 64[edit]
- After the credits, Mario says, "Hey, you're very good! See you next time!"
Mario Kart 7[edit]
The ending screen of Mario Kart 7, with all of the characters.
- After the credits, Mario shouts "Thanks for playing! Way to go!" or "Thanks for playing! You're the best! Ha ha!" depending on how much the player has progressed during the game, and the default characters or all of the characters wave to the player, including their own Mii.
Mario Kart 8[edit]
- Mario yells out the game's name when the game starts; additionally, Mario has the chance to say "Start your engines!", followed by Toad saying, "Let's go!" After playing the Mario Kart 8 demo, Mario also says, "Hey! Thanks for playing!"
- In N64 Toad's Turnpike, trucks with Mario Kart 8 on the back and sides can be seen.
- While in Mario Kart TV, the player can tap on the Miis to elicit an annoyed response from them.
- Additionally, some tracks feature posters of the Mario Kart 8 box art.
Mario Golf series[edit]
Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)[edit]
- At the end of the game's intro, Wario's voice is heard quietly saying, "It should've been called Wario Golf. ...You're gonna love it!"
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour[edit]
- Most celebrations have the characters facing the screen at the end of each hole. For example, if Waluigi gets an eagle or better, he dances and spins all across the green until he points to the player, turning around upon realizing he is pointing the wrong way.
- Prior to the opening, Wario and Waluigi hold up signs for both Nintendo and Camelot, respectively. This also occurs at the start of Mario Power Tennis.
Mario Golf: World Tour[edit]
- This is done in the same manner as in the previous game. For example, if Bowser gets an eagle or better, he runs to the screen and breathes fire, or punches the screen if he gets a bogey or worse.
- Birdo breaks the fourth wall by kissing the screen if she gets an eagle or better, or shoots eggs at the screen if she gets worse than a bogey. Yoshi breaks the fourth wall by turning into an egg and rolling into the screen if he gets worse than a bogey. Bowser Jr. breaks the fourth wall by using his magic brush to paint the screen if he gets an eagle, albatross, hole in one, or bogey.
Birdo after kissing the camera in her eagle animation
The screen broken after Birdo's double bogey animation
The screen covered in paint in Bowser Jr.'s bogey animation
Bowser holding the camera in his birdie animation
Bowser waving his finger at the camera in his par animation
The screen broken after Bowser's bogey animation
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix[edit]
- In the Chain-Chomp Chase minigame, if a Chain Chomp hits Mario or Luigi, he will go flying into the screen and break the camera.
Paper Mario series[edit]
- In every game except Super Paper Mario, Mario turns to the camera and gives a thumbs up pose.
Paper Mario[edit]
- If Goombario uses Tattle on a Goomba, the tattle mentions that they have been around since Super Mario Bros.
- While Mario is fighting Bowser???, the Koopa Bros. try to lower his confidence by telling him that the phony Bowser is invincible. One of the lines they say is "The sequel should be called Paper Bowser!"
- At the beginning of the fourth fight against Jr. Troopa, he actually notices his HP bar when it has dropped to half, and comments that he lost his HP due to swimming across the ocean.
- At the end of the game, a Bumpty mentions that Herringway plans to write about Mario's story, coming up with the title "Paper Mario".
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door[edit]
- If Mario gets in the Danger status while fighting Gus, he breaks the fourth wall by acknowledging that "[…] it'll be Game Over for you!" and that the player can choose their Tactics menu. After Mario defeats Gus, he says that "dumb video-game heroes" like him always pull these things off, calling it ridiculous.
- A young Toad in Petalburg says, "There's this one game that just absolutely rules. It's called 'Fire Emblem'...". This reference was written shortly after the international release of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the first game in the series to be released outside Japan and seventh installment overall. Paper Mario and Fire Emblem are both developed by Intelligent Systems. In the Japanese version of the game, the Toad kid mentions Super Mario Bros. for the Family Computer instead. Later on, he states that he is a fan of Luigi and says he wants a game called "Paper Luigi". Afterwards, he mentions that he is actually playing the game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and ends up beating it before the player does.[3]
- In the original game, after rescuing Koopley from Hooktail, Koops says: "For ten long years we all thought you'd...you know! We thought your game was over!"
- While describing how the Happy Lucky Lottery works, Lucky explains that the daily number changes every day in real-time and that he uses the Nintendo GameCube's clock as a reference. If the player sets the GameCube's date back in an attempt to cheat the system, Lucky penalizes them.
- In Chapter 3, Hamma Jamma says that 7-1 was his grandfather's 'hood'. In the Spanish version of the game, Rawk Hawk says "The weaklings should stay home playing Super Smash Bros. Melee!" after he beats The Koopinator. In the Nintendo Switch remake, this line was altered to instead mention Super Smash Bros. as a series. When Goombella tattles on Stewart in Glitzville, she tells Mario that Cheep Cheeps have been a part of the Super Mario franchise for a while. In fact, Goombella even notices this by saying, "Oh, gosh. I just broke through the fourth wall there, didn't I?"
- The same occurs when she tattles on the gatekeeper of Twilight Town, in which she says that the game would be too easy without him. Rather than directly referring to breaking the fourth wall, she only says, "Hee hee... Let's never speak of it again."
- Koops breaks the fourth wall after the fight with Doopliss where he says "Sort of easy for a boss battle as it were." Unlike Goombella though, he does not seem to notice that he broke the fourth wall. Doopliss also breaks the fourth wall during the chapter by removing the letter "p" from the naming screen.
Lord Crump (disguised) referring to the person "in front of the TV" in the original game (left) and remake (right)
- Just before Mario begins Chapter 5, Professor Frankly is about to tell them very important and long information concerning the Thousand-Year Door. He asks if they are ready to hear it, and then says, "And you there! In front of the TV! You listen up, too!". In the remake, this line was changed to mention a screen instead of a TV to compensate for how the game can be played in handheld mode. Mario's current partner out questions Professor Frankly's statement:
- Goombella: "TV? You don't have a TV! What in the world are you talking about?" (GameCube) / "Screen? What screen?! What in the world are you talking about?" (Switch)
- Koops: "Ummm... Who are you talking to, sir?"
- Flurrie: "I declare, you've gone batty. What TV? To whom are you speaking, Frankly?" (GameCube) / "Pardon? What screen? If I may speak frankly, Frankly, you're speaking utter nonsense!" (Switch)
- Yoshi Kid: "Did someone pile-drive your head, or what? I don't see any TV here, nutjob!" (GameCube) / "Did someone piledrive your head, or what? I don't see any screen here, Professor Poindexter!" (Switch)
- Vivian: "Maybe I'm missing something... Are you talking to no one?"
- Ms. Mowz: "You strange, strange man. What did THAT mean?"
Frankly then yells at them, saying to disregard it as he continues. Later during the chapter, Lord Crump (under his alias, "Four Eyes") tells the player that they had better not tell Mario who he really is, though it is impossible to even use Mario to attack him until the end of the chapter. This line was also changed in the remake to mention a screen instead of a TV.
- Outside of the room which contains the black chest, Goombella says in her tattle, "We're inside Pirate's Grotto. There's a sunken ship here. Something good inside? 'Cause that's how it always is in video games... right? ♥"
- After Chapter 6, when Bowser makes it to Rawk Hawk's secret training facility, Rawk Hawk appears. As soon as he appears, he points at the camera insultingly asking the player if they forgot him. If the player returns to the Excess Express, a young Toad appears in Cabin 007. Should the player talk to him, he asks Mario a quiz: "What did Bowser nab in the last Paper Mario?" The options are "The Star Cookie", "The Star Rod", and "Someone's Lunch".
- In the Palace of Shadow, if Mario allows the Dry Bones to force him to the center of the room, Mario's partner warns him that the floor will swallow them up. If Mario does not move to prevent this, his partner screams that they are doomed. If Yoshi Kid is Mario's partner at the time, he says, "Awww, game over, man! WHOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAA!" However, this one may be a reference to a famous line from Aliens.
Super Paper Mario[edit]
- Several characters, the first one being Bestovius, refer to a certain button when explaining how to perform an action. When Mario asks what they mean by pressing that certain button, the character assures them not to worry, and that the "great being that watches them" (the player) will know what it means. For example, when encountered, Thoreau says: "What's this
, you say? You need not worry. The great being that watches us will know what it is." However, during Garson's story "Stylish Moves," he states that Mario can perform one by shaking the Wii Remote; when Mario asks what the remote is, Garson replies, "What? What's a 
? ...Don't worry. As long as the player gets it, we're fine," outright stating the existence of the player rather than alluding to them. - Before fighting him in Chapter 3-1, Bowser shouts to Mario, "No more sequels!" and that he will finish him off, describing himself as "Grade A, 100% prime-cut final boss."
- During Chapter 3-4, the last option for Princess Peach on the Swoon.exe results in her angrily demanding to know who is picking these answers for her.
- The <