Remember When Mario Tried to Sell You Rice?

In 1988, Nintendo released a port of Mario Bros for the Famicom Disk System. The twist? Between levels, Mario and Luigi would advertise rice and noodles to you. That's right - the game was sponsored! Let's check it out!
Follow me for updates! - / thomasgdocs
Sources
- www.mariowiki.com/Kaettekita_....
- strategywiki.org/wiki/Kaettek....
- www.nintendolife.com/news/2016...
- kotaku.com/digital-distributi...

[@Scienceboy0]

"Nintendo would never put advertisements in a Mario game nowadays." *Rides off in my Mario Kart 8 Mercedes GLA*

[@enigmatixthecringechampion5004]

Yeah.

[@aerospherology2001]

It's also in Super Mario Maker

[@ayhuz]

Love the RT reference lol

[@AguFungus]

D R I V I N G A R O U N D I N A F A N C Y C A R

[@AlternativeShae]

"why have anything else when you have a _Mercedes GLA™_ ?" - RT, i think.

[@tysonhemelstrand4081]

Amazing. Made public after 2 years and it fits right in with the quality level of your current videos, and I mean that in the best possible way. Please keep doing what you’re doing, and I promise I will keep watching.

[@PikaPlayz]

Yeah totally agree!

[@AlvinFlang69420]

I remember when the video came out originally. I really missed it.

[@eljaminlatour6633]

Fun fact: before Nintendo got into video games, they were a trading card company, then they were in huge debt, but they still had some job choices like being rice chefs, Taxi drivers and owners of 18+ hotels.

[@Escanimations]

Did u watch evolution of Nintendo from flatlife

[@cadefilms4072]

I think so

[@kades33]

Made 2022 early or 2021 since it is 2023

[@wilsoncatalogu1850]

0:01 Aged like milk.

[@MrPillowStudios]

1:51 That would be a GREAT deal in 2021!

[@kanalet8460]

7:47 I love that it kinda looks like the three available genders are -Man -Woman -Luigi Ah yes, my gender is Luigi

[@Escanimations]

Yooooo im also a luigi

[@kanalet8460]

@@Escanimations oh yeah luigi gang

[@Mister_Sun.]

I’m an end

[@Levelfun_the_blue_Toad]

I’m a TOAD

[@adamstanton5313]

Man Woman Luigi Where are the other ones? Like Mario

[@TreeBranchStudios]

You probably won’t see this but it’s funny that the Rice partnership is mentioned. I just stumbled upon the Mario anime movie from 1986, The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! Mario Rice appears in the movie twice and it’s so in your face about it being an advert.

[@frogonajetski]

I love this channel. I have no idea how in the world you come across this stuff, but man.. you are so good at it! Thanks for making my days brighter!

[@themisfitowl2595]

This reminds me strongly of the way cartoon characters are used to sell breakfast cereal and candy actually. It also reminds me of waaaaaay back when Disney made "Buy War Bonds" ads alongside their cartoons during World War II, famously showing the Seven Dwarfs trading in the gems from their diamond mine to buy war bonds.

[@drew5211]

Oh man so glad this was made public! Thanks Thomas!!! You’re the best

[@JCVidZ0912]

2:52 Shouldn’t have shut down, that seems amazing, we need it to come back XD

[@frostboi77]

bruh even 2 yrs ago he was still as professional and amazing to watch as tdy Thomas, your amazing :)

[@-Frosty-]

0:06 ah yes put a halo that doesnt even go around on the building and call that a day LOL

[@rhinuu045]

i really love your video style dude keep up the good work c:

[@thomaskoch748]

And at a young 83 years old, you finally release the video. Well done.

[@CallmehCat.]

Yeah I remember where he had to hit the block like 3 times and he was like MMMDHAJSJSISHHSSJSHSMM

[@user-vp8nr6xt3f]

A drop of tea just made me subscribe and I'm glad it did

[@thefnaffan8181]

The second he press the news button I got an ad for mario golf on the switch. Talk about perfect timing!!! 😂😂😂

[@dsrsdr5204]

-Hey, this video was put private 2 years ago and I just unprivate it -me seeing comment made 1 years ago

[@julianm.5726]

the songs for the ads slap so much it hurts

[@melody3741]

The title screen music is so good holy shit Also the ads are super cute i would pay MORE to see this version

[@FindingNameless]

His laugh 😍 6:01

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

In those days they were coming up with new storage solutions. One was the "Double - sided, double density" floppy disk. The older disk drives could only read one side. You had to flip them over like a cassette tape.

[@Kentanimationnnnnnnnn]

that ochazuke packet design is so iconic. hasnt changed in decades.

[@nekode1418]

8:00 starting!

[@SyntaX7777]

i own a Twin Famicom and this game. its quite interesting. funnily enough, we get annoyed at ads today, yet i find myself wanting to watch the ads in Kaettekita Mario. they feel peaceful to me for some reason.

[@meekhydra5952]

Happy birthday dude

[@absolutelycardboard]

I’m watching this again after two years

[@ripleyandweeds1288]

No sir I don't remember when Mario tried to sell me rice but by god do I wanna know more.

[@jabrown]

This just blew my mind.

[@mgrvr]

Before Donkey Kong in 1981, they sold rice about the same time as the taxi service.

[@zenonmaxis]

Yay more TGD I've never seen!

[@aqdrobert]

Luigi: I hope we sell you LOTS OF SPAGHETTI!

[@AlfiesFuntime]

One of the first games like those advert-filled free to plays

[@croppedrubbish]

Advertisements in an 8-bit game... Who would've thought.

[@howard81]

Also released in PAL-B regions without the adverts!

[@eldanomurua]

Those ads are great

[@toffoe]

he now sells you cereal

[@alvarostockle]

That new music sounds like Hip Tanaka!

[@jontheartist5918]

You really need more subs

[@ash10ashofficial63]

this version (at least the updated graphics) is the one at the arcade i go to

[@Lazer_Specter]

Look at the one pixel of hair next to Mario's eye on his Mario Bros sprite as his other eye. Now you have Terminalmontage's Wahoo! in Mario Bros. Also Nintendo made unskippable ads.

[@hanzogoat]

I'm here after it was unprivated

[@aguywhoplaysstuff2107]

Yeah I do, he came to my house and asked “Wanna buy some rice?”

[@SuperMarioAaron64]

I didn't know that you made this

[@PorkysPorky]

The fried rice advert music slaps.

[@stargamer777]

The reason you would have had to flip the disk was because data could be stored on both sides of the disk but the mechanism that reads the disk can only read one side. Nintendo could have added a second mechanism to read the bottom side at the same time by that would have cost more and made the disk system more complicated.

[@uuncoolguy6]

I own that lunchbox it has a thermos. Very cool.

[@bhirawamaylana466]

At last this Comeback

[@thewolfleader500]

the original midroll ads. this is evil

[@AzamMujahidProductions]

I read the title as "Remember when Mario tried to sell your rice"

[@_amya__]

Ah yes , perfect video to watch while eating rice

[@LoganL2008]

damn! this is in-game ads before in-game ads!

[@Zombiehunter2_0]

Why haven't I seen this 2 year old video until 2021?

[@Davybackdead]

This is your one video that sounds like your recording this in your moms house at 1:34am trying not to wake anyone up

[@memerwan38]

“Might be 17 by the time this video comes out” ah yes, he sees the future, just not very well

[@RobinRhombus2]

That's how you do product placement.

[@katiaferreira1573]

I readed "Remenber when mario tried to sell *your* rice"

[@laxmannate07]

The OG Redbox

[@wyattdeaton4106]

And you thought only new games had ads in them

[@redymedy]

ok but these ads are really entertaining

[@strasburgrailfan90]

Ya that’s my favorite game Mario the Rice Farmer

[@julianjamros9056]

Fun fact Mario in Japanese translated to English is Rio

[@sunettas9738]

7:44 Funny enough, this vid came out on my 17th birthday

[@StrikerMadio]

I started watching your content around this time or maybe a little before but I never saw this.

[@justsomerando4905]

Read his new community tab

[@StrikerMadio]

@@justsomerando4905 What why?

[@justsomerando4905]

@@StrikerMadio just do it, it explains

[@ruthw1995]

I don't, but please, go on

[@Jocobo]

No, but I'll never forget that one time he broke into my house and tried to sell me minestrone.

[@JazzCity132]

A man of culture, Icee.

[@ndrew_B]

he liked it

[@lugin.2828]

WE AT NINTENDO, WE SUE YOUR ASS

[@juno6332]

the three genders man woman luigi

[@juman9523]

*luig

[@xkower8181]

Luigi Got Big Titties

[@forrevv]

lmao i went in the comments to see if anyone noticed that

[@theunknown4834]

1:56 gimme the game Where's your Pokemon money

[@iamgameing]

i feel like that's a button to change the character in the upper left corner. even tho it's placed in a very weird way

[@nightrocc3997]

Not gonna lie, I'd buy rice from Mario

[@kanesmith8271]

True true, you'd know it's good rice if Mario is eating it

[@ni.ko3869]

nagatanien has gotten their hooks into you already...

[@cruzjunior05]

RICE IS LIFE, MARIO IS LIFE, THE PERFECT COMBINATION!

[@13fingers84]

Same

[@jumbo4billion]

I wish Mario still sold curry

[@noah5664]

“Nintendo would never ever put advertisements in mariogames nowadays” The Mercedes Cars in MK8: Am I a joke to you?

[@nolongeractive7446]

My old Mercedes car: *am I a bigger joke to the new ones*

[@kyokazuto]

Also amiibo and event levels in super Mario maker Edit: oops I meant costumes

[@j.b.5422]

Kinda

[@SpectroliteDS2400]

do not question the monkeys in Mercedes

[@OGuiBlindao]

@@kyokazuto smm2 : WAVE GOODBYE TO YOUR AMIIBO (and event levels), WANKER! (CRITICAL HIT!!!)

[@TheJfluffy]

You sound much older for being 17 Good video btw

[@dandumb]

Would have thought he was at least 20

[@ravenwraith1017]

Dan Doom certainly sounds more mature than my little brother...

[@kimgkomg]

Eh idk he sound 10 maybe 11 to me

[@SwissSauce]

TheJfluffy say sike right now

[@Goolix_Aero]

I can't believe you're only 16/17. I suppose I subconsciously make the assumption that if someone is someone is more talented and accomplished than me, they must be older. Great video nonetheless!

[@ThomasGameDocs]

Haha, you flatter me! Glad you enjoyed the video, though!

[@brittanysqueech]

@@ThomasGameDocs at least you still have a year or 2 left before you're a legal adult

[@fuki98]

Hour

[@caseys2698]

I’m the same age! That’s inspiring. :)

[@SlavicUnionGaming]

Thomas Game Docs Your younger than me and have more subs, im jealouse!!

[@kylehazachode]

Nowadays you find Pokémon stickers and cards in Nagatanien rice.

[@firefly6437]

George Moore, Really? :0

[@firefly6437]

ダークサンダーRblx, Oh wow!

[@texasgun2731]

cereal boxes sometime contain cards

[@TankEngine75]

Wow

[@waluigiwah5724]

@@texasgun2731 Recently hoarders hoarded some of the recent cereal pokémon cards, Or atleast from what I'm aware of.

[@tristallyn]

i like how the gender choices are man, woman, and luigi i identify as a luigi, thank you very much

[@Medlek]

Also noticed that, it's hilarious

[@aidanboze410]

i think that’s meant to switch which character u play as in single player but still funny af lmao

[@BloomBlanche]

#luigipride

[@XaiEia]

#luigirights

[@XaiEia]

@AlexTheMan Not gonna woosh you bc it's pointless and kinda rude but yeah I realize that it's just silly to think of that as a gender

[@superpig051]

80s kids: I won’t pay $17 for a game that’s to expensive!!! kids now: Yeah $60 seems fair

[@drewpoulos]

I was really surprised how cheap games were domestically in Japan. They were around $50 here back then too

[@Schwarzorn]

Superpig0 :P It was probably closer to US$10 for a FCD game, as shown in this video (adjusted for inflation). I forget how much cartridge games were, but they were probably about US$60.

[@LordZero666]

Adjusted for inflation it´s roughly the same, a online converter tells me US$17 are equivalent to US$53 today.

[@KairuHakubi]

what's baffling to me is games were 60 dollars in the freakin 90s. No wonder I only ever got like 4 SNES games, and always got em used. that was a LOT of money back then

[@mr.chigua3755]

£ you mean.

[@bitwize]

Given Mario and Luigi's nationality, and the popularity of Italian food in Japan, I'm surprised there wasn't an advert for microwaveable pasta or pizza or something. I love how one of the gender options is "LUIG". Sorry, Weeg, that was a sick burn.

[@yourmomwastaken]

6 9 l i k e s

[@_amya__]

I think the LUIG is for switching character ( idk if it's a joke )

[@McShmoodle]

*"Let's die quickly."* -TGD, 2K19

[@emilyz3703]

When he was picking his gender in the game for a sec I thought Luigi was an actual option I fell off my bed laughing 😆

[@theokaypot42]

It is

[@theobscurestash6537]

Wow man, you beat me to it! I had researched this _deep_ and was going to make a video myself, but you did a great job! With that said there are some interesting tidbits you left out. If you earned 200,000+ points, the raffle your name was put into as mentioned was for _SMB3_ , but also for _VS Excitebike_ and _Famicom Wars_ (all newer or unreleased games at the time.) The entire purpose of the _Slot Machine_ in 'Nagatanien Mode' is obviously for the extra lives, but those extra lives were very important for continuing your high score to send in, because once you got a _Game Over_ that was it. The mail-in contest code was only available in that mode. _Kaettekita Mario Bros_ was later re-released minus the sponsorship material only in Europe for the NES in '93 under the name _Mario Bros Classic Series_ . When it comes to the three commercials: #1 is for _Ochozuke Nori_ (a green tea and seaweed flavored powder you mix with water to pour over rice.) This is the most interesting ad, because it features a strange old man in peachy pink attire chasing the Mario Bros. This mystery man is *Kitajima Saburo* , a famous traditional Japanese Enka singer who endorsed Nagatanien products in their commercials at the time, and he appears to break up a quarrel between Mario and Luigi at a Spring festival in this scene. Throwing some rice to celebrate them making up. #2 is for Fried Rice Mix...just fried rice seasoning, lol. No rice. #3 is for _Furikake_ . A seasoning made from dried fish, seaweed, various seeds, shiso leaves, MSG, etc. that you sprinkle on top of rice. A condiment. Nagatanien also sponsored the theatrically released anime _Super Mario Bros:The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!_ two years prior (it's here on YT in HD) , which is riddled with even less subtle product placements! The typical branded lineup of products as you mentioned consisted of furikake (aka _"Mario Sprinkle"_ ), and various flavored curries which all make appearances in the anime. All the wonderfully animated commercials for these products can be found easily here on YT as well. The anime also featured Mario Ramen from a second brand deal with Myojo Foods. The prizes and promotional materials given away with those products could make an entire video themselves! Most of them so rare they're hardly ever found for sale.

[@Arkenhiem]

Wow make that video u did ur research

[@N4SCARfaN]

Ochazuke (おちゃずけ) uses hot water, to be specific. I usually put the ochazuke over the rice, then pour hot water over it.

[@Stonewulf]

@@Arkenhiem He definitely should!

[@veryexciteddog963]

The people who research this stuff are true heroes. Arigato, Gyro.

[@pixiebyrd]

I think you should still make that video you know some stuff good job

[@kriz1541]

"Remember When Mario Tried to Sell You Rice?" god i wish i could

[@evansaccount1548]

0:37 matpat wants to know your location

[@jacobschweiger5897]

ah, the three sexes. man woman and luigi.

[@MSOGameShow]

Clearly Nintendo was ahead of its time.

[@mastere72]

@AlexTheMan r/whoooooooshh

[@austinwood2818]

Mastere72 r/im14andthisiswoosh

[@BJMGaming101]

@A Random Person you really are helling good

[@captaintoad5539]

MANWOMAN lol, you forgot the comma

[@eyeballian]

Imagine throwing a disc into a machine and it coming out as a totally different game

[@KairuHakubi]

"There's something wrong with what MY Mario Stacy says.." "My Spider-sense is tingling! Anyone call for a web-slinger?"

[@tobbeborislyba]

I dont think that would work nowadays with piratery :(

[@llewelynshingler2173]

That was an advantage of Magnetic Storage. With the rise of CDs, the only way to do this now is to save a file onto the section of your computer where another file is stored

[@norealmagicever3292]

ah yes, the 3 genders. MAN WMN and LUIGI

[@Coal_XVII]

And yoshi

[@PotatoTheProgrammer]

and END

[@ClaudiaD199]

And BOWSER

[@cay7809]

AND MARIO

[@MarkThePage]

Coincidentally eating rice while watching this... I had no idea that the Famicom disk-writing service continued into the GameCube era!

[@ThomasGameDocs]

It's pretty crazy, right!

[@thorlord]

Gonna jump on the whole "can't believe you're 17" train here. I was getting a little judgemental about some of the reused clips in some of your other videos, but i mean, you are insanely skilled for 17 and no doubt your skills are gonna grow a LOT. You're already really great ignoring your age, it just puts your success in context. Your research is on-point, you present it in an interesting and entertaining way, and you create these videos as if you've crafted them from many years of experience. Subscribing, i can't wait to see how much you grow in the years to come. Keep up the good work!

[@NiIog]

2:45 Wow, i wish we had a machine like that, just $3?! That's insane.

[@TheGreenYoutuber]

You’re forgetting inflation but it’s still would be cool

[@koallante]

1:58 I was half sleep and I woke up because I thought I was playing Ace Attorney

[@deanc9195]

The fact that you called Mario the “Blue Plumber” really pisses me off Nah for real, good job man. High quality content

[@YeeeHaaw]

“Nintendo is morally righteous” Nintendo charging for the internet we already pay for: am I a joke to you?

[@pbrunet44]

Sony and Microsoft charging 3x more than Nintendo: are we a joke to you?

[@Liggliluff]

Nintendo charges you to use their internet service. If you still are able to use the internet browser, and play LAN without paying, then I don't see much issue with it.

[@Bootleg_Jones]

Server hosting is expensive and Nintendo still has the overall beat deal even with their lack of features. 99% of games I'd want to play online on PS4 or Xbox can be played on PC anyway. Splatoon is worth giving a friend a couple bucks a year to be part of his family plan.

[@savannah4113]

Wow, you're really talented making quality content like this at your age! I'm definitely subscribing.

[@bland9876]

Being used to the Game Boy Advance version of Mario Brothers I can't believe the icicles would be gone I especially remember when the ice creature would melt onto a platform and you would slip into an icicle and Mario would scream Mamma Mia like some middle-aged white woman

[@ehmzed]

You're 17???

[@socorinhapires8042]

Happy birthday !!! Your vids are so refreshing

[@ThomasGameDocs]

Thank you so much!

[@HmzAsiri]

Where have this channel been all my LIFE?? I love all your topics dude!

[@wolfetteplays8894]

10:41 sounds kinda like the FF1 victory theme, but a weird remix

[@crazymonkeyj3317]

Nobody: Literally nobody: KZbin recommendations: WANNA BUY RICE FROM MARIO

[@cabbusses]

That blasted fan translation told me to eat furikak. I will never forgive it.

[@Phobos_Anomaly]

Ah, 1988 - what a year! I was born then... I'm an old geezer.

[@ThomasGameDocs]

Haha, well I am a relative toddler, having been born in 2002. I really feel like I missed out on a lot of that exciting, early games stuff!

[@hdofu]

There was a Europe exclusive release of Mario Bros. Called Mario Bros. Classic using the updated code in the mid 90s, instead of ads though it features arcade cutscenes