Super Mario RPG character designer reveals Valentina's bird head was a reference to Donkey Kong Country and other tidbits
Ever since the Super Mario RPG remake trailer was announced in the recent Nintendo Direct fans have poured over the footage to try and uncover new details. We reported on a reference to Famicom mascot Diskun that was made more clear due to the game’s cleaned up graphics but we have another reference that was cleared up thanks to one of the original game’s character designers!
Wow! The main enemy designer from Mario RPG has confirmed that Valentina's hair was a reference to Squawks from Donkey Kong Country all along!
🦜🍸🌠 https://t.co/vfdhpQyojh pic.twitter.com/hvtgxnFlj8 — Retro64 (@Retro64__) June 23, 2023
As you can see in the Tweet above, Super Mario RPG Character Designer Kurashima Kazuhiro was asked on Twitter by fan @Retro64_ to clear up a reference in the design of the boss Valentina. Valentina’s odd parrot…hair? hat? has caused some confusion among Mario RPG fans, not just due to the bizarre anatomy but also the bird’s coloration baring a striking resemblance to animal buddy Squawks from the Donkey Kong Country Series. Kazuhiro made it very clear that yes, this was an intended reference to DK’s feathered friend which shouldn’t be that surprising considering the existence of the Chained Kong enemies.
Kurashima Kazuhiro still has more tidbits about Valentina. Fans have noticed a change to her design in the remake and Kazuhiro has commented on it, and no, we’re not just talking about the reduction of…“physics” in her taking damage animation.
roughly translated the above Tweet from Kazuhiro reads “Margarita I didn’t study enough. . We apologize for the inconvenience. .” This might seem like a random thing to say but he is actually referring to the Japanese name of Valentina, which is Margarita, and a mistake in the original that is fixed in the remake.
In Super Mario RPG, Valentina's Japanese name is "マルガリータ" (Margarita), referring to a cocktail often served with a lime slice. However, in her original artwork, she was holding a drink with a cherry in it. In the remake, her model was updated to correctly hold a margarita. pic.twitter.com/6MSsLmZCoi — Supper Mario Broth (@MarioBrothBlog) June 21, 2023
Source: GoNintendo
