With just under three weeks until the release of Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, various press outlets are posting preview footage of the game in action. The game looks just as colorful and fantastic as its Game Boy Advance predecessor if what we have seen is any indication. It’s what we have heard in the game though that is intriguing us most this morning.
Who is voicing Mario now?
Mario recently received a new voice and no, we’re not talking about Chris Pratt. If you played Super Mario Bros. Wonder, you heard Kevin Afghani’s debut behind the mic as our beloved red-capped plumber. However, the voice work for Mario in Mario Vs Donkey Kong does not sound like Kevin Afghani’s work. In fact, it will sound familiar to anyone who played the GBA Mario Vs Donkey Kong.
Is Charles Martinet voicing Mario again?
Not exactly. Though fans of his many years of being Mario’s voice have something to look forward to! It seems that Nintendo has not re-casted Mario for Mario Vs Donkey Kong. Instead, they’re retaining Charles Martinet’s voiceover work. And though it’s not the exact same lines we heard in the GBA Mario Vs Donkey Kong, Nintendo has utilized archival recordings of Charles Martinet’s numerous sessions voicing Mario. That “Heeeere we GO!” is unmistakable.
We are…surprised!
We were expecting one of two outcomes for Mario’s lines in Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Charles Martinet’s original lines would be kept in the game or Kevin Afghani would re-record Charles Martinet’s original lines. The third, and apparent, outcome is that Nintendo is treating Mario Vs Donkey Kong like a Charles-era Mario game, referencing various existing recording sessions to compile Charles’ work as Mario for the game. Specifically, the voice work matches up with Mario’s call-outs when jumping in New Super Mario 3D World, for example.
Could this be the send-off fans have been hoping for?
It would seem Nintendo is giving fans of Charles Martinet an indirect send-off, a means of closure if you will. Though Charles is now a Mario Ambassador and appearing at Comic Cons as Mario’s former voice, his work lives on. Will Nintendo continue to deploy archived Charles Martinet voice work into more Mario games? We are unsure. But this will no doubt please fans of the original game and fans who were sad to see Charles Martinet’s abrupt retirement from voicing Mario.
Mini Mario plushes inspired by Mario vs. Donkey Kong are up for pre-order in Japan
So, let’s see…New worlds, new obstacles, a graphical upgrade and more voice work from Charles Martinet’s time as Mario. We have many reasons to be excited for Mario Vs. Donkey Kong!
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Written by Matthew Powers
Nintendo has been Matthew’s preference for fun video gaming since 2004. In addition to his love for all things Mario, Metroid and beyond, Matthew also enjoys heavy metal, roller coasters, pinball machines, and being a proud cat dad.
