Lovers or just friends? Nintendo bares the real score behind Mario and Princess Peach's relationship
Since 1985, the Super Mario games have centered on hero Mario going to great lengths to rescue the kidnapped Princess Peach from the villainous Bowser. Their relationship status has been up in the air to fans' speculation until recently.
Nintendo finally defined the relationship between the plumber and the princess in a post to the Nintendo Today app, which is not available in the Philippines. Content on the app also changes daily, but X users were able to capture screenshots of the video game company's statement regarding the Super Mario characters' relationship.
"Princess Peach and Mario are good friends and help each other out whenever they can," the post read.
The games don't directly address the nature of Mario and Peach's relationship, but in past titles, the princess appeared to kiss the plumber on the cheek after he beat Bowser. Players get this kind of ending in Super Mario Allstars (1993), Super Mario 64 (1996), Super Mario World (1990), and more. It seems like that was more of a gesture of gratitude than a romantic one with Nintendo's latest statement.
Super Mario World. ProfasiaGaming / YouTube screenshot
Super Mario Allstars. ProfasiaGaming / YouTube screenshot
Super Mario 64. ProfasiaGaming / YouTube screenshot
Super Mario World. ProfasiaGaming / YouTube screenshot
Super Mario Allstars. ProfasiaGaming / YouTube screenshot
Super Mario 64. ProfasiaGaming / YouTube screenshot
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Meanwhile, at the end of 2017's Super Mario Odyssey, where Mario stops Peach's forced wedding to Bowser, the plumber and he villain fight for the princess's attention, only for both of them to get turned down.
When Nintendo's statement hit X, several users took it as Mario getting friendzoned.
"This has 'they're just roommates' energy," one user said.
"She's just stringing our guy along," another added.
"If Mario is getting friendzoned, what chance does any other man have?" one user chimed in.
Despite the announcement, some fans said they were still going to ship the two characters together.
"Do Peach and Mario know that's how Nintendo thinks of their relationship?" one Reddit user commented.
"You can't erase history, Nintendo!" another added.
Mario and Peach aren't the only Nintendo pair whose relationship status was left undefined for years. Some fans have long wanted Link and Zelda from The Legend to be a couple.
Zelda producer Eji Aonuma, in an interview with IGN in December 2023, talked about whether the beloved characters were linked romantically in the latest game, Tears of the Kingdom.
"I will leave it to everyone's imagination. I don't think that Zelda is a type of game where the development team says, 'This is what Zelda is, this is what the story is, this is what the game is.' Everything that the development team wants to convey has already been placed into the game. And the rest is up to the player's imagination, and their reflection on how they feel… what they've experienced in the game," he said.
Nintendo recently launched its Switch 2 console, which had the new Mario Kart World game as its release title.
Earlier in July, the company also announced the cast of its live-action adaptation of Zelda, with Bo Bragason playing Princess Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link.
