Kotaku | 03.04.2026 18:19
In a Super Mario 64 boss battle, Mario, the super strong plumber, tosses Bowser, a giant turtle dragon, into a series of bombs to do damage to him. When he spins and throws his foe into the explosive, he yells something that fans have misheard for decades as “So long, gay Bowser.” Former Mario voice actor Charles Martinet has since clarified that the line is actually “So long, king Bowser,” but the character’s heavy Italian accent plus the Nintendo 64’s compressed sound output made it sound like Mario was claiming Bowser’s flames came from somewhere other than his fire breathing.
