15 Video Game Mysteries Answered Years Later

12. Super Mario 64: Was Luigi in the Game?

Few video games have had a bigger impact on the industry than Super Mario 64. Mario's first 3D outing ever changed the landscape of gaming and opened up a world of possibilities for developers. When the game was initially launched in 1996, fans of Mario noticed a glaring absentee: his brother, Luigi, was nowhere to be found in Peach's giant castle in which the game takes place.

However, it wasn't long before something was discovered. On a plaque beneath the star statue in the castle's courtyard was some blurry writing that many believed read 'L is real 2401', something that could well have been a clue pointing to the clumsy younger brother's existence somewhere in the game. For years, players searched for ways to unlock him, going so far as to collect every single item in the game or even performing bizarre stunts around the castle, but nothing seemed to work.

Decades later, in 2020, the widely-documented Nintendo leak revealed previously unseen development material for Super Mario 64, and it revealed an unused Luigi model as well as other unused assets. So even though he wasn't hiding in the castle, he was at least considered to appear in the game at some stage of development. There's no proof that the 'L is real 2401' was linked to this, though. Could it just have been a coincidence?