“Take notes, fellas”: Nintendo says Mario and Peach are just friends, sparking a discussion about “the friendzone”

For those well-seasoned in Nintendo games, it’s common knowledge that Mario spends pretty much his whole life rescuing Princess Peach.

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Given that he cares enough to rescue each and every time, gamers have assumed that the pair are in a romantic relationship. This has even been hinted at in some of the games. Hell, some games even involve them kissing.

However, Nintendo is now backtracking on this long-standing romance, and honestly? I don’t really know what to think.

User @KirPinkFury kicked off the fury by posting a picture from a profile of Peach on the Nintendo Today app. The text reads, “Princess Peach and Mario are good friends and help each other out whenever they can.”

Given this comes from the literal Nintendo app, fans are treating this tidbit of information as canon — but they aren’t happy about it.

Some netizens were in denial, with one X user sharing a Valentine’s Day screenshot of the Nintendo X account involving Mario and Peach. “Nintendo is such a liar,” they wrote.

Another shared that the discourse gives them the “ick” because “it reminds [them] of when men guilt women into needing a relationship with them just for doing good things for them.”

“Why can’t these characters just be happy without people making it a weird topic?” they asked.

Other users took a different perspective. A further X user wrote that “everyone always interprets this as Mario getting friend-zoned, but what if it’s the other way around? Peach keeps inviting him over and kissing him on the nose and getting kidnapped so that he’ll save her, but he’s just a genuinely good guy and doesn’t realize she wants him.”

In response to this reaction, a fellow X user disagreed, saying that “it has to be Peach friendzoning Mario, considering the ending of Odyssey (in that case deserved) and many other forms of media.”

It quickly became a meme

Naturally, netizens also couldn’t resist memeing about it all.

One X user drew a comparison between Luigi and Daisy. Sharing a picture of the giant gold Daisy and Luigi statue, the user wrote, “Peach: Oh Mario isn’t my lover, he’s just a friend that saves my life all the time. I only reward him with making a cake. Daisy: I commissioned a statue of me dancing with my boyfriend because I love him.”

Another shared a clip from The Miraculous Ladybug, which depicts the two main characters about to kiss until a malevolent figure emerges from the shadows. ‘The soul of Miyamoto entering Peach’s body the moment Mario is about to score,” the caption read.

And the memes just kept coming.

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Clearly, Nintendo has some explaining to do — but whether the games company will reply to fans is another question entirely.

“Take notes, fellas”: Nintendo says Mario and Peach are just friends, sparking a discussion about “the friendzone”

Social media users were immediately divided

It quickly became a meme