Luigi Mario | Got Luigi?

Back in the day when us older gamers were growing up, we saw quite a few video game (mainly Mario) merchandise that would leave us intrigued.Some are forgettable, some aren't. Here's a look at a couple of things that might have you wonder "What??". It will be updated whenever I'm able to find more things.

(Super Mario Brothers Soda)

I remember these when I was growing up. They were made by Shasta to help promote the release of Super Mario World for the SNES. The flavors were Luigi Berry, Yoshi Apple, Mario Punch, and Princess Toadstool Cherry (which should've been peach eventhough that wasn't her official US name until much later). From what I can remember, none of the flavors were great except for Yoshi's. If I were smarter back then, then I would've saved them (at least the cans) for collecting. These didn't last very long at all but I have recently found some on sale at e-bay.com! I wouldn't recomend drinking 14 year old soda though.

Mario Plush Toys

These weren't made that long ago. In fact, if you're lucky, you can still find them at your local Electronics Boutique or any other video game store! Out of this group, I only had/have Luigi (of course) and Mario. They look very accurate to their video game counterparts. Mario looks the most distinctive however...as he's actually wearing the flying winged hat from Super Mario 64! I see these items all of the time on e-bay.com and you can get them for very cheap!

Super Mario Pogs

Yes I remember these! When I was in elementary school, a couple of buddies and I would sit around during recess and play with these! They were alot of fun! Again, if I had been smarter, then I would've saved and collected them! Unfortunately, I haven't seen them on any auction site, so the chances of finding them are very slim.

Super Mario Ice Cream Bar

Ok, if you don't remember this, then you must've been living under a rock! This frozen Mario treat was made by Good Humor and was sold in grocery stores and the ice cream man. Mario does look a little disturbing in his ice cream portrayal, but that doesn't mean the ice cream itself wasn't good! The hat was made with a mixture of cherry and vanilla ice cream...while the rest of him was made of just vanilla! His nose was a tasty gumball too! I remember getting excited when the Good Humor man would play the ice cream truck music and I'd beg my grandmother for some money...just so I could get one! Unfortunately, it's no longer being made.

Nintendo Cereal System

Yes, there was a Nintendo cereal back in the day (in the 80's only something like this would come out). Made by Ralston (a division of Purina at the time) in 1988 and discontinued in 1990(?), the cereal was based on Nintendo's top two franchises at the time...Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda. I actually do fondly remember the cereal. Although I was pretty young at the time (age isn't really important is it?), I do remember watching the Super Mario Brothers Super Show while eating the hard-chewy and stale-tasting cereal that is the Nintendo Cereal System. The Mario side was the "fruit" flavor while the Zelda side was the "berry" flavor. Honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference other than the Zelda side was a tad sweeter, but they both tasted like crap. The shapes were supposed to represent the characters and items from their respective games, but quite frankly, they all look like crap (and that's me being nice). Mario doesn't look anything like Mario! Come on! On occasion, the cereal would hold special contests where the winner could get a NES Powerpad or a Super Mario cereal bowl. I did get the cereal bowl, long before it broke because of the dog I had at the time (didn't really know anything about collecting when I was that age). Also, on the back of most boxes, they would have "Power Cards" that would give you some tips for a respective game that you could also cut out. I still have a couple of those. The cereal overall was cool, but man it tasted like crap. Even when I was little I knew that, but didn't care because it had the Nintendo logo on it. Apparently others agreed because about two years after it's debut, Ralston ceased production on it. And eventhough I'll admit I'd love for another Nintendo cereal to come out, chances are slim to none that that will ever happen. Oh well, atleast I still have memories of this stuff.