Who is Nabbit in the Mario Universe and Why Is He Everywhere?

Nabbit, what the heck is it? (No, this video isn't about UNMASKING Nabbit) Why is he in 15 Mario games? With Super Mario Wonder on the horizon, we explore Nabbit's origins, his mischievous behavior, and the reasons he's become such a prominent figure in the Mario Universe. From power-up theft to unexpected transformations, Nabbit is a versatile playable character in the 2D Mario setting. Join me in this mini-Origin Oracle and learn up before heading to WONDER.

00:00 - What is Nabbit?
00:45 - Nabbit's First Appearance - New Super Mario Bros. U (2013)
02:35 - Why Did Nabbit Become a Playable Character?
05:22 - Who is Nabbit? (Not Bowser Jr.)

#TheMentok #OriginOracle #Nabbit #SuperMario #Nintendo

Credits:

Videos:

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Playing as Nabbit Gameplay) - Heathbar
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (All Nabbit Chases) - Jannintendo
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Treehouse Demo) - Sirloin
Evolution of Nabbit in Super Mario Games - packattack04082
Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct 8.31.2023 - Nintendo of America
New Super Mario Bros. U (Nabbit World Map and Chases) - Mario Party Legacy
New Super Mario Bros. U. (Catching Nabbit 2 Players) - packattack04082
New Super Mario Bros. U (More Nabbit Chases) - NintendoCentral
Super Mario Bros 3 (Hammer Bro World Map) - Orange Expo
Super Mario Bros 3 (All Bros On World Map) - doublebass1985
Evolution of Hammer Bro Battles - Nintendo Unity
New Super Mario Bros. U Secret Island - BlazeShotU
New Super Mario Bros Wii (Toad and Toadette) - ProsafiaGaming
New Super Luigi U (4 Players) - A_TurtleBTW
Evolution of Toad Deaths and Game Over Screens - ProsafiaGaming
All Character's Death Animations In New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe - Master0fHyrule
New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe (World 1) - NintendoBase
Mario Golf World Tour (Nabbit Gameplay) - YTSunny
Evolution of Nabbit - Shiromi
Super Smash Bros. Wii U - Sponge Pore
Super Smash Bros Ultimate - TheAlmightyCastform
Mario and Luigi (Paper Jam) - GamingReinvented
Animal Crossing (Bunny Day) - Failboat
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Bowser Jr's Journey (Unlocking Nabbit) - aWiibo
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Bowser Jr's Journey (Nabbit Gameplay) - BlazeShotU
Mario & Luigi Paper Jam (Nabbit Introduction - NintenU
Mario & Luigi Paper Jam (Nabbit Quest) - NintenU
Mario & Luigi Paper Jam (Part 8) - NintenU
Mario & Luigi Paper Jam (All Bro Attacks) - NintenU
Mario & Luigi Paper Jam (Part 1) - NintenU
The Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds (Ravio) - CatAngel

FANART/ANIMATION SOURCES:

Sad Mario watching TV Green screen - Alpha Jack Man
Nabbit as Toad Fan Art - DogmanSP
Nabbit as Bowser Jr Fan Art - aftertaster7
The Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds (Ravio Fan Animation I Think) - CatAngel

MUSIC SOURCES:
Wii U Banner - New Super Mario Bros.
World 2: Layer-Cake Desert - New Super Mario Bros U
Soda Jungle Overworld - New Super Mario Bros U
Purple Toad House - New Super Mario Bros. U
Superstar Road - New Super Mario Bros. U
Multiplayer Results - New Super Mario Bros. U
Menu 1 - New Super Mario Bros. U
Toad House 2 - New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Pipe Rock Plateau - Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Beach - New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Prepare Yourself - Mario & Luigi Paper Jam
Do You Know Who I Am? - Mario & Luigi Paper Jam
Trophies (Melee) - Super Smash Bros. Wii U
The Pousada - Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Epic Story - Mario & Luigi Paper Jam
Ravio's Theme - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Nabbit's House - New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

[barelyhere]

The mystery of who Nabbit is and why he wears a bowser jr bandanna are questions I am almost 100% certain will never be answered because Nintendo couldn’t care less

[theknightwithabadpictotall]

Ngl I kinda like the fact that there is just one character who is neutral, not related to anyone by any means and just does whatever he wants to do

[skytroopr]

The fact they decided to make a whole new character for Luigi U instead of just making Daisy playable is crazy

[lunacanyonrose]

Nabbit is just a little guy that’s firmly chaotic neutral on the alignment chart and has a touch of kleptomania on the side as a treat! My headcanon for his motivations are he’s curious, entertains himself with meddling (helping) when something interesting is going with no preference for picking “sides, ” and just does whatever he feels like because he can. He’s probably just a purple rabbit dude that wears a bandanna to go with his thief aesthetic. Conclusion: Lil guy

[scaryfingers]

In the Mario Wonder tips screen there is a tidbit that says “Nabbit is not really an enemy or an ally, just someone keeping an eye on Mario and his friends…” This struck me as really mysterious and made me wonder if there is more to this character than they’ve revealed about

[SmokeTheHorsehog]

I actually like the idea of Nabbit being a rebel Toad, using a magic rabbit hat to disguise his shroom head and the bandana/bib to cover his face. Would explain why he's constantly stealing from other Toads, and not the Bros. in particular. After all, while Nabbit doesn't work for Bowser, there have been instances of Mushroom Kingdom citizens betraying the kingdom to join Bowser, that being the Goomba species. So yeah, probably not the answer at this point, but I like DogmanSP's interpretation of Nabbit Toad to be my own headcanon.

[JRS]

I like not knowing who he is, and it's nice to see him show up quite frequently in random games.

If we get any more hidden characters for Mario Kart 8, I'd be very happy to see him show up.

[Oceane]

And here's another mysterious character that we will never know much about because Mario games have very little lore.

[awesomeististiism]

Glad to see a video on Nabbit, it’s interesting the 2D Mario team is sticking to the character when he isn’t even in Mario Kart 8 or most Mario spinoffs, but that makes his appearance in Wonder all the more exciting!

I think the thing thats interesting about Nabbit is that for a “little brother mode” his role is actually against the other players! While getting through the levels and getting starcoins are positives, the fact he takes powerups and cashes them as personal 1ups (until wonder at least) means the Nabbit player is rewarded for being selfish. Not only that but being invincible to enemies incentivizes a player to blitz through the levels, much to others digrsssion.

In comparrison, yoshi players in wonder act to support the main cast, boosting them or taking away enemies. Much like Tails in classic sonic games, where the screen revolves around Sonic, who tails can help, or in 3d mario games where the second player is the costar luma or cappy, helping out Mario along the way.

Perhaps this role could’ve been filled with a character like Wario instead, but Nabbit’s cheeky smile and blank eyes give him such gremlin energy, messing with the other players only for the fun of it. He’s finding his place in the Mario Universe and I’m excited for this lil bugger to be hanging around.

[ドラゴンリュー-fx]

It's strange that he was established as Mario's ally to study Mario, rather than as a bandit like Sonic's fang. I thought it was kind of funny that he decided to get to know Mario by helping him instead of being Mario's rival, and I like how Mario and the others accept him too.

[Takittack]

If Nabbit has 100 fans, I am one of them.
If Nabbit has 10 fans, I am one of them.
If Nabbit has 0 fans, I am dead
'Till my last breath, I will love Nabbit. He deserves more love and to be in more Mario games. And he especially deserves to be an official playable character as opposed to being the "Easy-Mode" of the series.

[Mario]

In Mario and Luigi Paper Jam it’s even shown Nabbit is wanted by the Koopa Troop from stealing from Bowser which outright confirms that he does not work for Bowser despite the fact he wears a bandana that is similar to Bowser Jr’s.

[FriendlyTume]

Honestly, I’m glad Nabbit is back, I love his design.

[lasercraft]

I think the strangest thing about Nabbit's mask is that while it _does_ look similar to Bowser Jr's mask, it actually looks _neater_ than Jr's mask. Bowser Jr's mask looks like it was scribbled on by him... Meanwhile, Nabbit's has clean lines... Which implies that Nabbits mask design may have come first, and Bowser Jr. actually just copied it.

[kumatorahaltmanndreemurr]

In one of the loading screen text blurbs in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it says that Nabbit isn't a hero or a villain- rather, he's someone who keeps a close eye on Mario and Luigi (I can't remember the exact phrasing but it was something like that). That makes his presence feel way more ominous than I think Nintendo intended

[ashcashgamer]

I don't hate Nabbit as a character because of his abilities and special items but to me, he's not what I'd call a fan favorite, he's just kind of there in the Mario lore but Nintendo loves putting him in everything. Also, I never understood why he also had a bandana that looks exactly like Bowser Jr's, I saw one piece of fanart of Bowser Jr wearing a Nabbit suit as a theory that Bowser Jr could actually be Nabbit. Of course, that's not canon but I thought it was interesting to bring that up.

[disneyvillainsfan]

I actually found myself liking Nabbit more than I thought. He comes out of nowhere in Mario games and does whatever he wants in terms of Gameplay and Morality, with little to no explanation. He may not be Wario or Waluigi, but I must respect what a Mysterious Inclusion he is to the Mario cast. He's a Chad.

[skymixel]

Nabbit is such a mysterious character. That's why he's one of my favorite Mario characters.

[OmegaGlops]

I'm surprised you didn't include his manga appearance! It certainly was... interesting to say the least!

Great video as per usual! I always enjoy the great work you do on these deep dive video essays on these characters. 😊

[Chubby_Bub]

In the original New Super Luigi U, there was a "secret" where you could play as Nabbit single-player by holding the shoulder buttons when starting a level. I beat all the levels and star coins this way and then felt bad when I got the congratulations at the end. (Though tbf that game was hard even with Nabbit.) The final level also requires an acorn suit so instead of Nabbit, holding the button replaced Luigi with my Mii, which freaked me out