10 Video Game Questions You Didn't Realise Had Been Answered

Video game lore is arguably deeper and more expansive than in movies, TV, or books, given that players are themselves able to explore the world and uncover those glorious secrets lying in wait.

But the more wide-open nature of gaming worlds also means that players have to deal with the fact they're sure to be left with many crushingly unanswered questions.

Yet even as fans bicker online about burning video game questions and try to push their favourite fan theories, it's worth taking a moment to consider that the answers might already be out there.

These 10 video game questions, among the more fiercely debated and discussed throughout the history of gaming, have all actually been answered by someone in a position of authority to do so.

The answer may have been off-the-cuff or perhaps not even in English, but for those prepared to do the digging, they are nevertheless out there waiting to be found.

While not all the answers will ultimately be the ones you'll want to hear, at least they'll provide some sense of clarity, even closure, straight from the horse's mouth itself...

Perhaps the single most passionately discussed aspect of Mario's character is his surname.

Though the series' title "Super Mario Bros." seems to suggest Mario and Luigi share the last name "Mario," in 1989 Nintendo confirmed that Mario's name was not in fact "Mario Mario."

But a more mainstream lens was shone on the issue in the much-maligned 1993 live-action movie Super Mario Bros., where Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo) announced their surnames to be Mario.

From that point numerous official Prima strategy guides adopted the namesake, and in 2012 Mario voice actor Charles Martinet also referred to the character as Mario Mario.

It wasn't long before late Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata reiterated that, in fact, Mario had no last name, which was also confirmed by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.

By this point the back-and-forth had been exhausting enough that most fans assumed there was no clear-cut, final decision on the matter.

But in 2015 Miyamoto finally put the matter to rest at the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary festival, where he asserted once and for all that Mario's full name was Mario Mario.

Though you'd be forgiven for taking this with a truckload of salt considering the amount of flip-flopping Nintendo has done on the matter, this truth has held firm for almost six years without rebuttal, so it's surely safe to accept as canon.