With the first look at The Super Mario Bros. Movies, the reception has been very mixed, but one particular glow-up has fans remembering some of their greatest gaming sins.

Super Mario 64 was an amazing game and remains one of the most ground-breaking in the series, but it’s also potentially the only video game in existence to let players commit mass penguin genocide. If you weren’t throwing the adorable polygon penguins off the map, you’re lying.

Amazingly, those cute penguins are part of the movie adaptation, with them being highlighted even more than Chris Pratt’s Mario. Shown to be at war with Bowser, the internet has had a nostalgia-driven reaction to their appearance. The sins of old are stacking up, as fans are left to confront their penguin-murdering past.

There’s also been comparisons being made to the penguin from the Backyardigans, which may make you wonder if Illumination Animation just nicked the character model. The king of the penguins is being voiced by The Walking Dead’s Khary Payton, so we can still hold out hope for some zombie penguins.

The penguins look to be a crucial part of the film, which comes as a slight shock given they’ve been barely involved in the games since Mario 64. One very popular school of thought is the king penguin will be revealed to have survived one of Mario’s many penguin peggings in 64.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is set to release April 7, 2023 with a cast featuring Jack Black, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and many more in Nintendo’s second attempt at a Mario movie.

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