PETA's latest public target is Super Mario 3D Land, specifically Mario's use of the tanooki suit, which PETA claim signify the wearing of a tanuki skin. To raise awareness, PETA had a little flash game made: Mario Kills Tanooki (warning: cartoon blood and gore), in which you play a skinless Tanuki trying to get your skin back from Mario (YT, 1:19 - slightly stuttery gameplay video). But as this Kotaku article points out, PETA's outrage is "an epic culture misunderstanding," overlooking the long, cultural history of the shape-shifting trickster. Nintendo's quick response: "Mario often takes the appearance of certain animals and objects in his games," that are "lighthearted and whimsical transformations." PETA clarifies: the graphic little game was just a joke.
posted by filthy light thief on Nov 17, 2011 - 67 comments

Violinist plays the music and sound effects of NES games. Donkey Kong. Dragon Quest III. Super Mario Bros 3. [more inside]
posted by ersatz on Feb 20, 2011 - 14 comments

Mario Adventure - SMB3 hacked into an entirely new high-quality game
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome on Feb 17, 2006 - 20 comments

SMW - The complete soundtrack to Super Mario World, covered by one man using dozens of instruments. Roughly in game order, faithful to the originals, with some bizarre artistic license thrown around. A private hobby made public. Dedicated to Koji Kondo.
posted by Pretty_Generic on Aug 13, 2005 - 20 comments