It sure does look different around here, doesn't it? The new and improved N-Sider comes with 100% more comments, and what better way to celebrate this feature than with a fun little round of trivia? Think you know your Nintendo esoterica? Step on in and see how you fare in my tricky ten-question quiz.

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I present to you this ten-question challenge. Post your results in the comments section. Some questions may have more than one right answer. Prizes include self-satisfaction, geek street cred, and that smug look only smart people wear! How many can you answer without running to Google for help? Let's find out.

1. When the end credits rolled for the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2, there was an error. What two characters had their names swapped?

2. What do Mario and Optimus Prime have in common?

3. Donkey Kong landed Nintendo in hot water with what movie studio and why?

4. In what game can Kirby be found as an enemy monster?

5. Where does this haiku come from?

Like the moon over
the day my genius and brawn
are lost on these fools

6. The Super Game Boy made it possible to play Game Boy games on the TV via the SNES. It also contained some fun Easter eggs. What were they?

7. Pols Voice was an enemy that appeared in the The Legend of Zelda. There was a special way to kill it, but only in Japan. What was this method and why was it in Japan only?

8. What was the first game to feature Totaka's Song?

9. To what species does Falco Lombardi belong?

10. Parents were in an uproar! What issue of Nintendo Power had the most controversial cover and why?

So how did you do? The answers are below, but no premature peeking! You have to earn that smug look!

Answer key:


1. Birdo, our lovable egg spitter, and the ostrich-looking critter named Ostro had their names switched during the end credits crawl.

2. A voice actor! Before Mario became super in his own cartoons, he was an antagonist to Donkey Kong during the DK segments of Saturday Supercade and was voiced by Peter Cullen.

3. MCA Universal studios sued Nintendo over the name and premise of Donkey Kong due to similarities with their King Kong property. Ultimately the court found that Universal had never trademarked King Kong, it was in the public domain, and Nintendo won the lawsuit.

4. An evil, Link-eating version of Kirby can be found in Eagle's Tower in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

5. Who knew Bowser was so poetic? This is from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

6. On the TV, the Game Boy games were framed within selectable borders. If left idle, the borders would begin to animate.

7. Pols Voices were sensitive to sound. Yelling into the Famicom's built in microphone would kill them. This method was unique to Japan as the NES lacked a mic.

8. Nope, not Mario Paint. The first appearance of the song was in a Game Boy game titled X. X only saw release in Japan.

9. Falco is a Blue Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). If you thought he was some sort of falcon, you're in good company. Peppy Hare? Slippy Toad? Fox McCloud? Yeah, I thought the name Falco implied he was a falcon too.

10. Look no further than issue #2. The cover featured Simon Belmont holding onto Dracula's severed head. Parents called in complaining that it gave their kids nightmares. Ahh, such bygone days of pre-Mortal Kombat innocence.