Super Mario Odyssey producer settles the debate over Toad’s head

In a new video, Super Mario Odyssey producer Yoshiaki Koizumi addressed longstanding mysteries about Toad’s head, Mario’s belly button and the nature of Mario, Peach and Pauline’s relationship.

First, let’s address the all-important mystery of Toad’s head. Koizumi weighs in, definitively, on the oft-debated question: “Is Toad’s head a hat or a head?”

“So that, as it turns out, is actually Toad’s head,” Koizumi said, officially ruling The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 as non-canon. “I’m going to have to leave it to all of you to figure out exactly how that works out. Maybe there’s something inside…”

As for other questions in the video, Koizumi is less forthcoming with firm answers. Responding to the question “Why does Mario have nipples but no belly button?” Koizumi dodged.

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“Well to be perfectly honest, I didn’t really expect that to be a topic among fans,” he said. “Once I heard that people were talking so much about Mario’s belly button, it made me start to think about whether we should revisit the topic on the design side.”

That non-answer only raises more questions about Mario, a human, and his birth.

Finally, when asked if he could explain Mario’s relationship with Peach, and now Pauline, Koizumi again deferred. “I would appreciate it if we could respect the privacy of those three at this time,” he said. We’ll have to get our hot Mushroom Kingdom gossip elsewhere, I guess.

Koizumi answers a few more questions about the design and Easter eggs of Super Mario Odyssey in the video above, which is replete with spoilers for players if they haven’t reached the end of the game.