The Nintendo Museum is preparing to open in Kyoto, Japan, and it looks to be an incredible collection of Nintendo ephemera. But it is also, perhaps inadvertently, a way to settle age-old internet disputes, and it has already supplied a definitive answer to the question: Is Yoshi’s Island (aka Super Mario World 2) a Yoshi game or a Mario game?
According to Dan Ryckert’s impressions from a special press preview of the museum, one exhibition room has space dedicated to specific franchises, separated into individual categories. The Mario franchise display was by far the largest, encompassing not just the plumber’s solo adventures but also the various spin-offs like kart racers and sports games. But he also noticed that Yoshi’s Island is not actually in the Mario display, and is rather included in a separate Yoshi franchise display.
So there you have it. According to Nintendo’s official categorization, in a space dedicated to careful cultivation of its own history, Yoshi’s Island is not a Mario game. If you had $20 riding on this very unlikely bet, now is your time to collect.
Granted, Ryckert also vowed to incessantly bother his Nintendo contacts until this so-called mistake is rectified, and we wouldn’t underestimate his ability to annoy anyone into compliance. So it’s very possible that Nintendo will recategorize, or just include Yoshi’s Island in both franchises, as space allows.
Yoshi’s Island stars Yoshi (or a series of Yoshis) as they ferry a baby Mario across colorful islands. It’s available as part of the Super NES library on the Nintendo Switch Online service, so you can play it there to judge for yourself which franchise it best fits into.
For more on the Nintendo Museum, be sure to read our detailed Nintendo Museum impressions, and check out a gallery of the Nintendo Museum displays.
