They are highly toxic.
Topic question:
Miyamoto has said in interviews that he had problems with floating platforms, and like to imagine that they are just attached to a wall in the background. This works well in games like Metroid, but not so well in Mario games which usually has a sky backdrop. And since they do float in 3D-games it's already canon since long ago.
He must have even more problems with floating coins in SMB.
Besides, coins were affected by gravity in Mario Bros. And before that, Mario would be hurt by a long fall. The games became more and more unrealistic, and I think Miyamoto said sometime that he realized that this isn't a bad thing.
100 coins could be the going prize for a 1UP mushroom? It's a good thing to keep in your pocket in case you need another life.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
Kinopio Kingdom
I think you are looking for the word Kinoko Oukoku (Mushroom Kingdom). Kinopio is the Japanese name of the 7 mushroom retainers and that of Toad (although I'm not entierly sure if there is a single Toad named Toad like SMUSA and SMRPG suggests).
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How does the conversion of Kinopios into question blocks work? The more details, the better.
Black koopa magic.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How does the conversion of enemies into Daimao clones work? And why does the real Daimao fight Mario on a bridge over lava just like his imposters? And why did he put his axe anywhere near the bridge? Why didn't he use the axe in his fight with Mario?
1) More magic.
2) I assume the axe is an ornamental one hanging on the wall as often found in castles, and Mario is quick enough to grab this and cut the chain holding the bridge.
3) Koopa is a turtle demon king that fights well enough without a weapon.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
Why doesn't Peach and her Retainers leave the place when they clearly aren't even restrained in the NES version? And why do the Retainers flip you off? How ungrateful!
1) The turtle tribe aren't that dumb. The door is obviously locked.
2) The retainers properly thanks Mario but then tells him that the Princess, which he is on a quest to save, is not there.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How does Mario's instant human development work? How does his reverse instant human development work when he gets hit? Why does his reverse instant human development work when he gets touched by any enemy? How does Mario fall down from a tall height and not feel any injuries, and yet he dies from falling down a pit? If the pit's bottomless, how does that work? Is that evidence that points to each Mario being a different person named Mario who wears the same uniform?
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How can Mario break bricks when large? Not even the tallest man on Earth can break bricks with his bare hands.
He gets super powers from a super mushroom making it possible to break bricks. This wears off if he takes too much damage. Though this is probably the original intention (normal Mario vs Super Mario), DRW showed in a previous discussion good evidence that Mario the large form is Mario's true form and the small Mario is a squished form.
Bottomless pits are not literary bottomless (I think), but rather just bottomless on the screen. Although Mario can take quite a fall, there is a limit even for him.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
If Mario's a plumber, why doesn't he wear gloves in the NES version? In fact, why doesn't he use any plumbing tools at all as a makeshift weapon?
Why is the Kinopio Kingdom getting plumbers to stop the Koopa Troop? Why are they doing it one-at-a-time? Are they that cheap?
Mario does wears gloves on the boxart. He took them off after you pressed START only because the NES palette wouldn't allow enough colors for the gloves.
I really don't think there is more than one Mario. And though Mario's job is a plumber in Mario Bros, but he has tried a lot of other jobs in many different games (carpenter, circus animal trainer, wrecking crew member, doctor, bottle factory worker, cement factory worker, boxing and tennis referee, toy factory owner and he has his own land and castle in the Super Mario Land series).
And they didn't hire him. They pleaded for help and he showed up. He is also possibly a citizen of the mushroom kingdom as can be seen in Yoshi's Island. Though games aren't terribly consistent in the background story of Mario, and then we have Nintendo of America's own view (the whole Italian-plumber-from-Brooklyn thing) which have affected the western view on Mario heavily. I'm not saying it's entirely wrong though as NOA has played a part of shaping Mario, and they are the ones that gave him, Luigi and Lady/Pauline their names, but it doesn't always match up with the games.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
Why are the hills so small?
What? Hills are pretty large in most Mario games and not flat.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How do Lakitus stand on clouds? Aren't clouds just water? We all know that the clouds are not snow because they appear in non-snowy levels without melting. And how are Lakitus still floating anyway? Wouldn't the Lakitus weigh down the 'cloud'? Unless it's some more jetpack shenanigans.
Anyone can walk on clouds and there are entire lands in the sky. I guess this is inspired from kintoun from The Journy to the West. Mario was even supposed to ride a cloud and shoot in an early version of the game IIRC.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How do the Lakitus carry so many Spinies? Wouldn't it hurt to throw them because of their spikes?
He carries their eggs in the cloud trunk.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
Speaking of carrying things, how does Mario carry so many coins if they're as big as he is?
In his pocket.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
Are green mushrooms actually rare enough to be worth 100 coins?
I think 100 coins sounds extremely cheap for an extra life.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
Where does Mario eat? What foods does he eat? Is it just red mushrooms and flowers? Are fire flower plants edible? How do they give you pyrokinesis? How do they give you new clothes? Do clothing shops sell fire plants instead of actual clothes?
1) Wherever he is hungry, as anyone else.
2) I assume he likes Italian food and he dreams about this in Super Mario 64 in Charles Martinet's impression of him. Otherwise the local specialty in Mushroom Kingdom is of course various types of mushrooms as indicated in the RPG games. They are both food, medicine, super power items, buildings, enemies and citizens.
3) Possibly, it's not clear how he uses them to get their powers.
4) They are magic.
5) It's part of the transformation process. Have you never seen hero transformation spells?
6) Probably not.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How do fire flower plants and/or mushrooms grow on floating blocks? Wouldn't it be really painful if a plant and/or mushroom grew on you, using you for minerals?
I assume you refer to the fact that blocks are Mushroom Kingdom citizens in SMB1? I understood it as that they give you the powerup as thanks for breaking the spell. But the games aren't consistent and never mentions this again in later games. I assume that not all blocks are turned into from citizens, most are actual architectural objects that don't mind things growing on them.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How do Starmen make you invincible? How do Starmen make you instantly kill everything in your path? Why doesn't it affect Kuribos, Turtles, plants, squids or fish?
They are magic and gives you extreme super powers for a limited time. It would probably affect others than Mario if they used it, but they generally don't in the games.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
Why isn't the Kinopio Kingdom doing anything about the plants infesting their pipes? How does Mario go inside a pipe with a carnivorous plant in it and not get hurt? Why are the carnivorous plants' leaves so big? Why are their hairs so thick?
1) Possibly they are caused by King Koopa's magic. "Doing the plumbing" includes beating up creatures crawling in the pipes, so I assume removing the plants too is part of this job.
2) Mario is a professional plumber and knows how to use a warp pipe.
3) They are proportionally big to their overall size.
4) Ditto.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
It doesn't seem like the Kinopios take care of their pipes at all, as the pipes have lots of natural patina on them. At least the Turtle Tribe can build better pipes, since they actually use silver instead of bronze. What are the pipes built for if they're always abandoned before they're even finished? If they're transportation, why not use something more efficient like, oh I don't know, an elevator? How does Mario stand in the middle of a pipe and not automatically go down it, even when it's not clogged? If he's standing on the edge, how does he not trip?
1) See the previous answer #1.
2) Are they really bronze? Since they are green maybe they are copper? I don't think you would waste silver for pipes anyhow. The grey ones might be steel. Remember that the Koopa tribe invaded the Mushroom Kingdom, so everything you see in SMB1 might be the Mushroom Kingdom (though there's no clear evidence).
3) Warp-pipes appears very efficient for transportation to me. At least when used by a professional Italian plumber.
4) See the previous answer #2.
5) Ditto.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How does jumping on enough enemies give you a 1-up? Are the enemies so scared they're paying you 100 coins to try to get you to stop?
This is a hard one. It's obviously a point reward from the game mechanics, but I'm not sure if it can be explained in-universe. Besides Mario games are not so much about logic and tends to blend in-universe things with game mechanics.
Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:35 am
How does Mario control his jumps in mid-air? If he's using jet shoes, are they not good enough to fly with? Is that why Mario jumps so high in the first place? Probably also explains why Mario doesn't take damage from long falls, too.
Mario and Luigi are master athletes. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to beat up a whole turtle army on their own.
And now a question of my own:
How does Koopa keep lava pools in his castles? It would be very expensive to maintain unless maybe if they are built in a volcano. The walls must be well made to not melt.