A Professional Ghost Expert Weighs In on the Creepy Hat in Super Mario Odyssey
Actually, the hat does possess things.
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Nintendo is rewriting the rule book with Super Mario Odyssey. Not only does Mario no longer feel the cold of a game over screen, but Nintendo has introduced a new power that throws everything we know about the plumber into question. I'm talking about his weird cap that allows Mario to possess whatever it is that wears the hat. Nintendo is adamant that the ability isn't possession but rather a "capture" ability.
Well I'm here to tell you that Nintendo's excuse is a ruse, and I've consulted with an expert in the paranormal to help me get to the bottom of Mario's hat. Let's review what we know.
Super Mario Odyssey introduced players to Cappy, some kind of mysterious entity that lives in Mario's hat. Whenever Mario throws his hat at something, it allows Mario to transfer its consciousness (and mustache) into whatever wears the hat, both inorganic and organic.
The capture ability raised a lot of questions. Are the people and things Mario captures conscious when the body takeover happens? Could Mario himself also not be a captured vessel whose original personality isn't known? How many lives has Mario (or Cappy) lived? Either the way, the general consensus on the ability was that it was "creepy."
A quick Google search for the Super Mario Odyssey hat reveals an internet confused and a little weirded out. Videos began appearing online showing what else Mario could possess if he and his hat were allowed into our world. Meanwhile, other users looked to the poor human man in the capture trailer as an example that maybe the hat's ability wasn't quite right.
"Um, actually," Nintendo tried to defend in a tweet shortly after memes began sprouting about the hat. "[Kirby's] been "captured" by Mario," responded Nintendo to a PSA tweet that explained the difference between a Kirby that's eaten Mario, and a Kirby that's been "possessed" by Mario. Nintendo's obviously trying to lead us away from the truth with its puns. Nevermind the fact that the new Super Mario Odyssey revelation calls into question Mario's very existence in a way that maybe only the disturbing deep dive into Pixar's Cars franchise can unearth.
In order to get an expert opinion in my pursuit of the truth behind Mario's hat abilities, I reached out to Dr. Chris Bobbitt, founder of Paranormal West. Based in Los Angeles, California, "Paranormal West is a team of professional investigators that use scientific evidence in order to determine paranormal activity," according to the listing I found online in a database of paranormal societies in the United States.
I reached out to Bobbitt via email with a link to the Super Mario Odyssey trailer and asked whether or not, in his expert opinion, the ability was an example of supernatural possession. "[A]fter reviewing the video clip I believe you are right [in] your comparison using the term "possession,"' responded Dr. Bobbitt. "Yes, a spirit can possess humans, animals, and inanimate objects through contact. The definition of possession is the state of having, owning, or controlling something."
So there you have it. Not only does Mario possess the people and things he throws his hat on, but Nintendo can no longer hide behind the "capture" excuse. What other secrets is Nintendo hiding about Mario's true nature, I wonder?