Analysis Suggests Super Mario 64 Plaque Reads 'Eternal Star'
A programmer compared millions of word and font combinations against the castle courtyard plaque's pixels, but the reading remains unconfirmed.
A programmer known as Mochi64 has used open-source computational analysis software to examine the blurry plaque in the Super Mario 64 castle courtyard, concluding that its top line most closely matches "Eternal Star" and its bottom line "We hope so". Engadget reported the findings.
According to the analysis, Mochi64 compared millions of combinations of words and fonts against the pixels of the plaque, which sits below a giant star statue in the courtyard.
The results are not confirmed. They represent only the closest match the software found, and the plaque itself has not been read with certainty.
Fans have speculated about the plaque's contents for over 30 years, and it remains blurry even in modern reissues of the game. Super Mario 64 was directed by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Decades of theories
Throughout the 1990s and beyond, rumors claimed the plaque read "L is Real 2401", hinting that Luigi was hidden in the game. IGN offered a $100 bounty to anyone who could unlock Luigi, and Nintendo Power mentioned the "L is Real 2401" theory in an April Fool's Day issue. Miyamoto has said the team experimented with a two-player mode but gave it up to conserve memory.
Quick answers
What does the Super Mario 64 castle plaque say?
A computational analysis by Mochi64 found the closest match to be "Eternal Star" at the top and "We hope so" at the bottom. The reading is not confirmed.
Is the plaque text officially confirmed by Nintendo?
No. The results represent only the closest match found by the software, and Nintendo has not confirmed the wording.