We've been learning quite a bit about Mario recently, as earlier this month we learned he's not even a plumber anymore, and now a new interview on Nintendo's Japanese website tells us a bit more about the mascot.
The interview was with Takashi Tezuka and Shigefumi Hino and according to the former, Shigeru Miyamoto actually wanted Mario to ride a horse in the first place, instead of Yoshi.
"I think he likes horses," Tezuka said (thanks, Kotaku). "When we were making [Super Mario Bros. 3], he drew a picture of Mario riding a horse and had put it up on wall next to where he sits. When I saw that, I thought, 'I guess he wants Mario to ride something.' So, when we were making Super Mario World, we had this 'dinosaur land' concept, and I had Hino draw reptile type art." Hino added that he drew a "large lizard type creature" to start off with, which looked like a crocodile," as Tezuka explained.
We also found out something about the movement in the game that we weren't expecting either. "Lots of people think that while Mario is pointing his finger forward, he's saying 'Go,' and Yoshi's tongue comes out," said Hino. "However, the set up that I drew was that when Mario punches Yoshi in the head, the character's tongue shoots out in surprise."
"What's more," Hino added, "there's an added 'bop' sound. However, it seemed like people would say 'Poor Yoshi,' so that's why it became that Mario is saying 'Go.'"
Ouch. Are you as shocked as we are by the fact Mario is punching Yoshi?