CHAPTER 12: The Mario Trivia Challenge

Following EShyGuy’s successful warm-up session, it was time for me to host the main event: The Mario Trivia Challenge. Despite my profession as an assassin, I took great pride in hosting a successful trivia challenge when the time was at hand. About thirty-five users were seated in front of me as I stood onstage, ready to deliver the first question. Each of these users had a laptop positioned in front of them, each ready to attempt to answer the question as soon as it was presented. A large white screen was displayed behind me, which showed a column of users participating and their scores on the right side and an empty area in the center, although that would quickly be filled with user submissions once the first question was asked. When I verbally asked a question over the microphone, users had to be the first to type it on their laptops and submit it, which would cause the answers to appear on the large screen behind me in the order in which they were sent. Users are allowed to submit their answers while I am still asking the question, but that has resulted in some embarrassing mishaps in the past, so it is generally not a common occurrence. Due to partially being a test of speed, spelling errors and other complications that arise when trying to type quickly often arose, which lead to some shocking upsets and surprising results.

Regardless, though, I tried to design the questions in such a way that they would be exigent and not simply a test of speed but of knowledge, too. Questions that featured numbers as part of their answers or were limited to a small number of choices were strictly not allowed, as some users could post multiple answers in quick succession and claim the question without really knowing the answer. This high standard that I held for myself in terms of question quality is partially why my contest has achieved such a high reputation on the Mario Board. Trivia tonight was one of the most crowded yet, so it was up to me to deliver a successful contest. It was time for the festivities to begin.

“Allow me to get my introduction out of the way first…” I said in front of the anxious audience, “Hello everyone and welcome to SM41’s Mario Trivia Challenge #47!” Applause echoed in the room as I continued, “I have a very exciting show for you all this evening, despite my extended absence. You should all know the rules and regulations so… without further ado… let’s-a go!” Everyone clapped again before the room fell silent and all of the lights dimmed so that the participants could see the bright white screen behind me. Looking out to the crowd, the backlights of their laptops illuminated their faces and I could quickly recognize a few familiar users. Even EShyGuy, who hosted warm-up trivia, decided to stick around for the main event, so I wanted to be sure to put on a good show.

“As all of you know,” I spoke loudly, “the first ten questions can be about anything and everything related to Mario, so let’s get started.” After being taunted by HoneySyrup, scrutinized by Dr. Peppy, and mocked by the Freak Bandits, it was a nice change of pace to have people listen to me for once. “Question one…” I paused for a moment so that users would have time to prepare themselves. “In Super Mario Sunshine, what is name of the area that Mario encounters F.L.U.D.D. for the first time?” Mere instants after I finished reading the question, answers started pouring in. After a few initial guesses that were incorrect and one unfortunate typo, the correct answer of “Delfino Airstrip” came up in the list. “Ah! EShyGuy, the warm-up host, shows that he’s not all talk after all and claims the first point!” Even though I could not see his face because of both the darkness of the room and the mask he was wearing, I could tell he was happy that he made his threatening level of skill known right on the first question. A few of the users that have participated regularly looked over, still questioning the abilities of this newcomer. However, others knew that beginner’s luck was not a factor here and another trivia expert was in their midst.

“OK…moving on…it’s time for the second question…” Before I could ask, however, another voice spoke out in the audience. “Wait just a second!” I could tell immediately that this was the voice of MushroomKingdomKnight, a user who often participated in trivia and had a reputation for making the most out of the contest’s item system. “I want to use my Toad item to give EShyGuy an extra point. He can win the trivia so ThePastaKing doesn’t.” For as long as he’s been participating in trivia, MushroomKingdomKnight has always tried to prevent veterans from winning and benefit newcomers (or himself) with a bizarre repertoire of items. From what I could gather about his character, he did not seem to take many situations seriously, often responding with a sarcastic comment or joke. I would imagine that he could rise to the challenge if necessary, but I have never observed him in such a scenario. “Ha!” ThePastaKing spoke out from a few rows in front of him, “You think you can prevent the king from getting gold? Even if he has two points, it’s not a big deal. Besides, I’ve got a special something up my sleeve that I can use later…” Discussions like this always broke out, especially with the implementation of the item system, so it was not anything out of the ordinary. They were never overly malicious and were just part of the competitive nature of the contest, but sometimes they did tend to slow things down. After about thirty seconds of waiting, I finally had to quell the commotion and attempt to move on, “Come on…” I said, cutting off ThePastaKing’s monologue, “I haven’t even gotten through two questions and already you two are at it.” “He started it!” MushroomKingdomKnight said in hopes of provoking ThePastaKing further, but I promptly quickly intervened, “Let’s just move on…here is the next question…”

“Question two: In Super Mario World, what is the only non-Special World level to feature Sumo Bro. enemies?” Looking towards the audience, I could tell that I stumped some users with this question, as they had to pause and think of a probable answer. Others, though, seemed to know rather quickly and began feverishly typing away. The wait this time was a little longer than the last question, but answers started pouring in just the same. This time ThePastaKing stayed true to his word and quickly silenced MushroomKingdomKnight by getting this question correct by answering “Cookie Mountain,” which resulted in a few envious looks and crude comments. “How about that…” I said, “ThePastaKing is here to play after all. You wouldn’t know it based on those pitiful warm-up results…” Many of the users started laughing at the sound of the joke, as poking fun of ThePastaKing during a trivia contest was rather commonplace between myself and other long-time participants. “Hey man,” he exclaimed defensively, “Leave your stupid comments in your pocket!” Everyone chuckled at ThePastaKing’s rather bland comeback, but eventually we all regained our composure and moved on. I was personally surprised that no one used an item against the poor user just to add insult to injury.

“The score is EShyGuy with two and ThePastaKing with one. So far it’s a battle of newcomer versus veteran, but let’s see what question three will be!” Almost everyone was used to these transitions I made by now and it was mostly to create some sense of action and suspense during the game. Upon hearing this, the participants all fell silent and allowed me to proceed with the contest at hand. “Question three: What was the most recent Mario game to feature the Mr. Blizzard enemy?” Questions not about a particular game but about the series in general usually took slightly longer for users to answer, mostly because it required the knowledge of several games as opposed to just one. When answers started to flood the screen, I was surprised that no one knew the answer right away and several people were guessing incorrectly. Finally, after approximately twenty seconds, someone submitted the correct answer. “It looks like Revoloution98 is correct with Mario Party 7!” I said, congratulating the user for earning a point on somewhat of a tricky question. However, before I could advance the contest, I noticed that several users were conversing amongst themselves and I could hear indecipherable murmurs coming from the crowd. “Uhh… ShadowMario41…” YoshiRider123 spoke out from the front row, “There were Mr. Blizzards in Mario Party 8…” “Really?” I said, doubting that this information was accurate, “They were an item in Mario Party 7, not in Mario Party 8.” “Yes but,” YoshiRider123 continued, “They were seen in the mini-game Alpine Assault, remember?”

As soon as he said this, I knew he was right and had no choice but to declare this question as “VOID.” Although I did not like this route of action, it was one that had to be taken to ensure the contest’s validity. Whenever my logic was flawed or someone pointed out a technicality within the question, the question had to be replaced with a new one of the same subject matter, known as a void in this contest. Pressing a button under the podium at which I was standing, a large graphic of “VOID” being stamped on the white screen in bright red letters appeared which resulted in mixed reactions from the audience. Some groaned, others laughed, and others seemed like they expected at least one question to be voided, so they were not the least bit surprised. “Aha! Who’s laughing now!?” ThePastaKing exclaimed in an attempt to get back at me for the previous comment, “Maybe you should spend more time on questions and less time on other endeavors.” “Oh shut it.” Toadster_04 said from across the room in a low yet nasally voice, “This happens all the time. Don’t give the man too much grief.” “Thanks Toadster_04…” I said, “Let me think of a replacement for you guys…just give me a minute…” It is always somewhat shameful for me when this happens, as I have no choice but to generate another question on the spot to use in its place, but my sharp training and focused mind usually produced a valid question in a timely manner. This time, it took me just seconds before another question was already formulated and ready to be asked. “I have one.” I said, which quieted the audience, “Here is the real question three: In Mario Party 4, what is the name of the mini-game in which players had to dodge snowballs thrown by Mr. Blizzard enemies?”

Even though I didn’t consider this question to be as challenging as the one it was replacing, it was a valid question nonetheless. When I saw the correct answer of “Mr. Blizzard’s Brigade” flash on the screen, I looked to see whose name was next to the submission. “Good job, PaperMarioGuy3,” I said over the microphone, causing some users who were still typing to stop and delete what they had onscreen in frustration, “You are on the board!” PaperMarioGuy3 had only entered the trivia scene recently, but he has proven that he can compete with the top contenders. He has a reputation for winning contests through knowledge alone, not making use of the item system, for which he is well-liked throughout the trivia community. “You know…” ThePastaKing remarked, “The offer still stands, PaperMarioGuy3. I can take you under my wing and we…” “Why would he want training from you?” MushroomKingdomKnight shouted from his seat, interrupting the self-proclaimed king of trivia, “He wants to get better at trivia, not worse!” I admit that I even chuckled a bit at this statement and ThePastaKing was unable to deliver a timely comeback. Distractions and discussion like this often arise in between question, hence why a single contest could last for up to two hours, but it was all part of the grand experience.

Suddenly, the doors to my left onstage emerged and someone emerged, panting as if he was out of breath. “What the…?” I said before I realized who it was, “Oh…what do you know? It’s our good friend BlueLink16!” BlueLink16 had the reputation of being a trivia “failure,” which was a running gag amongst the participants. When my contest was in its early stages, BlueLink16 showed up confident that he would easily be able to take first place. However, in his first appearance, he did not even muster up one point and the only question he answered correctly was for negative value, resulting in a final score of negative one point. Although he was often made fun of, he played up his role and took pride in being the target of everyone’s attempts at humor. Despite his trivia shortcomings, he was actually fairly competent in battle, as I witnessed him involved in a brief skirmish with another user a few weeks ago. He always carries a very large and heavy silver bow on his back with a matching quiver filled to the brim with arrows. He was wearing a sleeveless royal blue tunic, a brown belt with a golden buckle, and dark brown boots. His trademark cap was blue with a silver brim and a red feather sticking out of it. He also carried a knife on his person just in case he had to resort to close combat. He was of average weight but did have rather muscular arms, which probably helped in wielding the gargantuan bow. “Hey…” he said, still struggling for air, “Sorry I’m late…I came…as fast as…I could…” He paused for a moment and looked out towards the audience before asking, “Did I come in through the wrong door?” I shook my head in disbelief and several users from the crowd started laughing; I calmly and sarcastically responded, “Yes…please take your seat…”

Even though there were some initial problems in this particular trivia contest, the rest of it ran without a hitch. By the end of the first round, ThePastaKing and EShyGuy were neck-and-neck with PaperMarioGuy3, Toadster_04, and FireStriker-10 putting up some points as well. BlueLink16 was at his usual position of zero, but he did not seem to mind his lowly spot on the leader board. The second round of trivia was based on spin-offs of the Mario franchise, which caused many newcomers to score some points while the trivia juggernauts were at bay. ThePastaKing lost his lead when MushroomKingdomKnight used a Red Shell item against him, taking away two points. Even though ThePastaKing had a counter-attack planned, it did not matter to MushroomKingdomKnight; as long as he was able to disrupt ThePastaKing, he was happy. By the end of round two, PaperMarioGuy3 was catching up to the leader, EShyGuy, and ThePastaKing was just a point behind second place. Other users who scored in the first round didn’t have as much luck here – Toadster_04 and FireStriker-10 remained at a score of just one point – but ZeldaMSTR447, Aggron333, and MSuperStar were now on the board, too. With round three came the Mario RPG games, which was ThePastaKing’s strong suit. On the twenty-sixth question, he claimed victory by scoring ten points, much to the dismay of the other participants. When question thirty was reached and the trivia ended, EShyGuy finished in a close second with eight points, PaperMarioGuy3 was in third with five points, MSuperStar and FireStriker-10 had two points each, and ZeldaMSTR447, AllAboutTheFood, and Super_Tanooki managed to get themselves a point. I announced the results and after about an hour and forty-five minutes of hosting trivia, called it a night.

When the contest officially concluded, several users waved goodbye and headed out, but some stuck around, most likely looking to hear my general opinions about the trivia. Normally I would have been happy to chat with the participants, but I noticed PowerToMario standing with his arms folded in the corner of the room. It was the first time I saw him all night, so I assumed he had something serious to tell me. I walked over towards him, but YoshiRider123 intercepted me and wanted a moment of my time. “Hey,” he said, “Congrats on another job well done!” “Thanks,” I replied, trying to end the conversation quickly, “I would like to stay but I have to go and…” “Oh!” He exclaimed, cutting me off, “I completely understand. I just wanted to remind you of the Power On Power-Up Tournament. I really hope you’ll be there. If you’re as good as people say, you would have a legitimate shot at making it passed the preliminaries!” Intrigued by his last statement, I asked, “Just how good do other people say I am?” “Well…” he started, “Not many people know exactly what you do… but the rumor at least is that you’re quite the fighter. Not to mention you’re pretty fast!” “Well let’s hope that remains the case…” I mentioned, hoping that I could still manage to keep my trivia life and my life as an assailant separated with all that was going on at the moment. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said, “PowerToMario really needs to talk to me.” “Ok! See ya!” He said as he waved and walked towards the exit.

When I was within earshot of PowerToMario, he began speaking, “Hey, sorry I couldn’t make it tonight… I was busy with…you know.” “I know…” I replied, to which he said, “Good…well…let’s just say I had a rather foreboding thought about that trinket. How did you get such a thing? I’m quite interested.” Slightly annoyed that he still wanted to find out where I obtained it, I stuck with the same response. “I told you already, it doesn’t really matter.” “Fine…” he said, respecting my privacy and probably realizing that he was not going to get an answer regardless of the number of inquiries, “Regardless, we should go back to your office to talk in private. If my theory is true, it would certainly be…interesting.” “In what sense?” I remarked, hoping to avoid another long conversation as I was pretty exhausted as a culminating result of the last few days. “Let’s just go back,” he repeated, “I wouldn’t really want word of this to get out.” “Very well” I agreed reluctantly as we walked out of the auditorium together and down the hallway. When we arrived at the door leading to my office, he turned to me and said in a very serious tone, “I’m just warning you ShadowMario41… you might not like what I’m about to tell you.”