Mario fans split on whether his voice in Nintendo Direct sounded like Charles Martinet

Regardless of how much you enjoyed the Super Mario Bros. Movie, odds are if you’re a big fan of the iconic plumber, you tuned into yesterday’s Nintendo Direct.

While it could never have delivered every game fans were hoping they might see, the show delivered plenty of hype-inducing reveals, including a Super Mario RPG remake, a fresh title starring Princess Peach and even the Batman Arkham Trilogy on Switch.

However, as spotted by Kotaku, the biggest talking point coming out of it surrounds the trailers for Super Mario Bros. Wonder and WarioWare: Move It!, with some feeling that the voices of the titular characters sound a little bit different than usual.

Did you think Mario’s voice sounded a bit weird at yesterday’s Nintendo Direct?

Since the Direct, fans have been debating whether the lines said by Mario and Wario in these promos sound like they’re being delivered by Charles Martinet, the iconic voice actor who’s been providing the video game voices for both characters since the 90s.

Across both Twitter and ResetEra, the issue is causing a schism among fans, with some believing that there’s nothing peculiar about the voices, while others think that one or two lines sound noticeably abnormal.

For example, user kami_sama declared: “Mario doesn't sound like usual. I don't know if it's not Martinet, but it has changed,” on the latter platform, providing a stark contrast to user RochHoch, who asserted: “Mario sounds the same as ever.”

The split has led many to try and develop theories as to why the lines could feasibly sound dissimilar to what’s gone before, with some suggesting that Martinet’s voice has evolved over time, leading it to sound different to the older recordings used in previous games, and a few going as far as worrying that his role might have been re-cast entirely.

As of now, Nintendo has yet to acknowledge the debate, leaving fans to continue their speculation.

Thankfully, if you’re not in the mood to get involved, the Direct also provided the wonderful elephant Mario, whose chunky posture and nice trunk make it easy to stare at him for hours on end without getting bored.

Regardless of what you thought of yesterday’s Direct, make sure to follow us for updates on the games that were shown off and announced during the broadcast.