Are you ready? I mean it, seriously. I don’t think you’re ready for this one, but here we go anyway!
Freelance artistBill Mudronmakes a lot of prints of his artwork andputs them up for sale. The store contains quite a few videogame-inspired pieces, though the subject matter runs the pop culture gamut — check out thecast ofArrested DevelopmentasPeanutscharacters. Last year, he made amassive map of Hyrulebased on the layouts of the original two NES games, but his latest map easily outclasses it.
What Bill has done is take the overworld layouts from everyMariogame up throughSuper Mario 64and tried to find a way to piece them all together into one seamless universe. Peach’s Castle sits at the center, and all the different lands from Mario’s adventures radiate outwards. You’ve got the simple dirt roads ofSuper Mario Bros.; the desert, islands, and icy terrain ofSuper Mario Bros. 3;Super Mario World‘s Dinosaur Land;Super Mario RPG‘s Star Realm; and even all the racetracks fromSuper Mario Kart!
In trying to unite a series that effectively reboots itself with every entry, this map highlights a number of oddities. For example, Peach has two castles: the main castle and the one in the Star Realm. A summer home, perhaps? And what of the existence of Yoshi’s Island as independent from Dinosaur Land? The very first world inSuper Mario Worldis supposed to be Yoshi’s Island, so there shouldn’t be two instances of the same area. Maybe it’s like how there are so many Springfields in the United States.
Whatever liberties Bill took, all is forgiven. This map is mind-blowing! You can order a 24″ x 36″ print yourself for $45 when it goes on sale the first week of May.
