Over the weekend video game mystery lovers got treated to something special. Arguably one of the most famous gaming conspiracy theories, Super Mario 64’s L is Real 2401, kind of sort of was proven true on Sunday. Let’s back up and explain.
L is Real 2401, for those that have never heard of it or have forgotten, is an old gaming rumor/mystery that goes back to Super Mario 64.
In the castle courtyard near the entrance to Big Boo’s Haunt, there is a star statue with an inscription that many believe to read: “L is Real 2401.” Back in the day, this led gamers to believe that the L stood for Luigi and that somehow, he could be unlocked as a playable character.
All sorts of rumors and hoaxes would be floated in the years that followed about how to unlock Luigi, as was common place in the early years of the internet.
After nothing ever turned up, many started to come to the realization that it didn’t mean anything, or it was just there to torture fans. A supposed letter to a fan from Nintendo themselves may even have confirmed the latter years ago.
Still, in spite of the fact of Luigi not being playable in Super Mario 64, it was a fun rumor that piqued the curiosity of gamers for many years.
Well… that was the narrative until yesterday.
A leak of the Super Mario 64 beta code supposedly reveals that Luigi did in fact exist, and while it never made it to the main game, there did seem to be plans at some point to add Luigi into the game. And as we mentioned above, what makes this discovery even more mysterious is that it was released 24 years and one month to the day of the game’s anniversary.
Yeah… with the “every copy of Super Mario 64 is personalized” creepypasta swirling around, this breakthrough in L is Real 2401 mystery feels a bit… spooky if I’m being honest.
Dedicated Super Mario YouTuber, SwankyBox, does a really nice job breaking down the beta leak contents, and showing off the community’s work in piecing together what Luigi would have looked like had he made it to the final cut of Super Mario 64. You can check out their video below.
As always when it comes to leaks and rumors, take it all with a grain of salt, but this appears to be some level of closure to a long-standing gaming mystery.
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