Mario Minus World Glitch: Nintendo Knew The Whole Time!
Nintendo officially told the public about the Super Mario Bros. Minus World Glitch in the third issue of Nintendo Power in 1988. I have been looking for a reference for an exact date when the Minus World Glitch was first discovered. So far, I have found no such date anywhere online. There are several statements online saying the Minus World was discovered by chance by someone in the late 1980's. Even though Nintendo had an article in Nintendo Power in 1988 about the Minus World, I have made a fascinating discovery.
I am always on the lookout for interesting Mario Menkos that I may not have. I ran across a Menko of Mario in a water world. When I looked at the top of the Menko, I was shocked to see it showed the infamous "World -1" at the top. To my knowledge this is the only Menko ever made that shows the Minus World Glitch. I would consider this Menko rare on this case alone, but then it hit me that this Menko was made in 1985. I was also surprised when I translated the Japanese on the back of the Menko, which is card No. 323. It reads:
Family Computer Amada
The surface of the sea that continues forever.
Men after all, there was a mysterious Owa Eggplant IW.
Will there really be an end?
C1985 Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Family Computer/Famicom is a trademark of Nintendo.
Now, my Japanese translation may not be exact, but we can see that Nintendo definitely acknowledges that this mysterious world continues forever and even teases "will there really be an end?" This Menko was made 3 years before Nintendo acknowledges the Minus World in 1988. According to this Menko, Nintendo knew about the Minus World Glitch from the onset. They probably only acknowledged it in 1988 after someone happily stumbled on the glitch. For all we know, someone in Japan noticed the World -1 on this Menko in 1985 or 1986 and realized there has to be a way to access a Minus World. Its possible that the reason someone was even looking for a Minus World in the first place was the production of this Menko. We'll never really know, but still an interesting discovery in Nintendo history. More pics of this rare Menko below.
Update: New Minus World Menkos Discovered from 1985!
I was lucky enough to run across and purchase three more Menkos of the Minus World from 1985. In all the years of collecting Menkos, this is the first time I've seen these Minus World Menkos and to run across all of them within a few weeks of each other seems next to impossible. Once again these Menkos confirm that Nintendo kI wasnew about the Minus World Glitch from the very beginning. The first card (no. 319) shows Mario standing on the pipe getting ready to jump and clip into the wall. The second card (no. 320) shows Mario clipping through the wall. The third card (no. 322) shows Mario standing on the first pipe ready to go down and access the infamous Minus World. Once again, the Japanese translation on the back of the Menko confirms our suspicions that Nintendo knew the whole time.
The translation of Menko No. 319 of Mario getting ready to jump & clip into the wall reads:
Family Computer Amada
I wander what will start!? I wonder what they're going to do
if they open one block after all the talk.
C1985 Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Family Computer/Famicom is a trademark of Nintendo.
The translation of Menko No. 320 of Mario clipping through the wall reads:
Family Computer Amada
If you get caught in a block, you'll be dragged somewhere.
C1985 Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Family Computer/Famicom is a trademark of Nintendo.
The translation of Menko No. 322 of Mario standing on the Minus World pipe reads:
Family Computer Amada
What? Something is going to happen!!! Yes, I wonder if something strange happens when this happens. I hope something strange happens.
C1985 Nintendo Co. Ltd.
Family Computer/Famicom is a trademark of Nintendo.
Out of all the Minus World Menko translations, card no. 319 is the one I find most interesting. The statement " I wonder what they're going to do if they open one block after all the talk." What does the statement "after all the talk" mean? No one was talking about this publicly in 1985. Nintendo didn't go public with the Minus World until 1988. Nintendo made the decision to print this statement on the card obviously before they were released to the public in 1985. So, who was doing all the talking before this Menko was released to the public? Maybe Nintendo employees? It would imply there was talk about this in 1985 before this Menko was released for the public to see. The only explanation I can come up with is there was chatter about this among those in the know at Nintendo and the developers of the Super Mario Bros game.
I am still assuming that Nintendo didn't go public until 1988 because someone luckily stumbled upon this glitch which forced them to acknowledge its existence. Were these Menko cards an inspiration for people to figure out how to find and access the Minus World? Did anyone notice these Menkos and what they were telling us in 1985? Once again, we will probably never know.
This appears to be the longest consecutive stretch of any Menko card numbers on the same topic, in this case, the Minus World. Right now it looks like card numbers 319-323 (5 cards) are all of the Minus World. I am only missing card no. 321. I have card no. 318, which is not of the Minus World. I am still researching these Menkos and if I discover anymore I will post them here. Below are pics of the newly discovered Menkos and their translations.
