The Strange Origin of Chain Chomps

Chain chomps are some of Nintendo's most well-known Super Mario enemies, but they have a kinda strange history to them! I'm also talking about Boos and the Koopalings, so stay tuned for that!

NOTE: Parts of this story may have been dramatised/expanded upon for narrative effect. This video is not a substitute for original research.

Sources

[Abdega]

Where do you get inspiration for your enemies?
Miyamoto: My childhood trauma
Tezuka: _My Wife_

[dwaynthecrocjohnson]

I dont know about y’all but I never questioned why a big black ball is barking

[Thatth]

"No inspiration, he just looks like a Larry" That is the most accurate representation of what a Larry is

[peregrinus]

“He couldn’t help but see him as a hippo. Not very scary.”

Yes because a hippo is less scary than a large turtle.

[johnycrisps]

tezuka: *Makes his wife mad"

Tezuka's wife: *Throws a fit*

Tezuka: yes that's an idea for the game

[Anu_Sol]

It's weird how Miyamoto almost got his face bitten off by a dog yet he still created Nintendogs.

[ZombieOfun]

*Tezuka gets yelled at for neglecting his wife to work on a video game*

"I can use this in my video game!"

[KangarooFam]

All of the other Koopalings: *musical inspiration
Larry: he just looks like a Larry

[kzcreationzmore]

Tezuka’s wife: **yells at him for working on Mario too much**
Tezuka: I CAN USE THAT FOR MARIO

[sophrosynes]

25% Chain Chomp
75% Angry wife enemy and koopalings

[mr.cringekid]

Somewhere in an alternate universe...



"DAMMIT, I died by a woof woof"

[katiebear]

"it would be a round sphere...just like the dog way back then."
wait what kind of dog again

[braxinIV]

“Larry just, looked like a Larry.”

He is now my favorite Koopaling. That is an amazing origin story. And he DOES look like a Larry!

[Ihaveapetshark]

Tezuka’s wife: You’re spending too much time at Nintendo!

Tezuka: *Creates new Mario enemy at Nintendo*

[noahdacheese]

Tezuka: "working long hours and ignoring his wife"

Tezuka's wife: Y'know I'm sick and tired of you not coming home to see me! You're overworking yourself and ignoring me, and it's making me really upset at this point!

Tezuka: Cool cool hunny but what if I made you a ghost that tries to kill people when they're not looking at you

Tezuka's wife: :0

[overlordalfredo]

Since the german name for these enemies is "Kettenhund" (Chain dog) I never questioned why it barks :D

[gavinchaston]

"For Larry, there was no real life inspiration. Brooks just thought he looked like a Larry" 😂


...but he does tho

[tunafishsandwich]

fun fact: his italian name is “categnaccio”, a mix of the words
catena = chain
cagnaccio = bad dog

[snekwitch]

“Bowser looked like a hippo.... not very menacing....”

Yeah say that when you got an angry hippo charging at you, ready to crush your head.

[lavendermintyy]

Meanwhile in Super Mario Maker 2,
Luigi: Hey Mario what are you doing?
Mario: Just walking the dog.
*Chain Chomp barks ferociously*