Just a quick gab with an Italian plumber.

CR: I would like to extend a greeting to all of our readers before we begin. I hope you’re enjoying Super Mario Week here at Jux. Today we have something very special, and interview with the man himself! Shall me begin, Mr. Mario?
Mario: I’m ready if you are.
CR: How does it feel to finally have a new game coming out in the Super Mario series after six years?
Mario: It feels great. Sure, I keep plenty busy with my side projects, but the Super Mario series is where I got my big break. Everyone who played Donkey Kong thought I was named Jump Man, and, let’s face it here, Mario Bros. wasn’t a huge success. I’m not sure if I like the huge delays that have been forming between my games since the 16-bit generation, but it is nice to not have to be constantly on call like I was on the NES. Those might have been my glory days, but they were hell.
CR: Was making Sunshine itself a sort of vacation for you? I know that you finally got to wear a shirt with short sleeves.
Mario: Unfortunately, the heat and the weight of the water cannon counter balanced my ability to wear more comfortable clothing. Even Peach was complaining about the temperature after awhile, and she was wearing that stunning sun dress the entire time.
CR: Is Princess Peach enjoying the more active role she’s been playing in your games over time?
Mario: I think so, yes. She always enjoyed her cameos in games in the old days, but I think the sheer amount of work required by Super Mario Bros. 2 turned her off to regular appearances at first. She just didn’t get as much respect as she thought she deserved for the part. What really brought her out of her shell, at least in my opinion, was the increasing role that Sonic’s stalker Amy was starting to play in his games. Peach may not act like it, but she’s very competitive. That’s when she started signing up for all of my projects. I mean, she was even in Super Smash Bros. Melee. I don’t think that was expected by all that many of my fans.
CR: You mentioned Sonic the Hedgehog there. How’s that relationship going? You two used to be quite the adversaries back in the day.
Mario: Oh, we’re good friends now. I don’t think we’ve been in direct competition since the days of the Genesis. Now that Sega has had to stop making hardware, Nintendo’s taken the boy and his whole crew in. We don’t meet up all that often, but he comes by the office occassionally. We usually go out for coffee or some quick lunch. The old rivalry still pops up sometimes, but it’s always humourous. He’ll toss out that his TV show was better, I’ll pull out some reviews and sales numbers. Good times.
CR: What about Crash Bandicoot? I know he pulled the same slander campaign that Sonic tried in the early 90’s not too long ago.
Mario: I’m sure everyone realizes just how delusional he was. Especially in retrospect.
CR: Granted. We’ve seen you in quite a few genres lately. Do you have any plans to expand further?
Mario: I’ve done racing, sports, platforming, party games, fighting, puzzle, roleplaying…you know, I’d like to do a flight sim. Seriously. Pilotwings never took off as a franchise, why not let me have a go with it? My brother Luigi, he’s going to take a second stab at the whole survival horror thing, but I don’t think he’s got it in him. A real time strategy title might be nice, but Captain Olimar has that down pat.
CR: How long has it been since you fixed a drain?
Mario: Last Thursday. I still do all of my own plumbing and Peach’s, but I don’t contract out anymore.
CR: Thank you for your time, Mr. Mario. Say hello to Miyamoto-san for all of us.
Mario: Sure thing.