"Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" is a quote from the 1985 video game Super Mario Bros. It is stated by a Toad after Mario defeats what appears to be the game's main villain Bowser. This informs the player that the damsel in distress Princess Peach is elsewhere, and implies that the defeated boss was a decoy and the game is continuing. This repeats several times, until the real Bowser is defeated in the final stage.
It became one of the most famous quotes in video game history, and an Internet meme. It is referenced in subsequent Mario games, either unironically or humorously. The words "princess" and "castle" are sometimes replaced for comedic effect. It has been used ironically by critics to highlight the damsel-in-distress cliché in video games.
The quote first appeared in Super Mario Bros., when Mario fails to find Princess Peach. It is repeated for each of Bowser's castles, except the final one.[1] In 1988's Super Mario Bros. 3, Peach says the line upon being rescued by Mario, admitting it is a joke.[2]
As an Easter egg in the 2023 film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the Toads guarding Peach's Castle utter the line to Mario as a joke.[3]
The line is depicted in English in the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. This is due to the pervasive use of English in modern Japan, and due to the English alphabet saving more space on the cartridge compared to Japanese kana.[4]
Meghan Sullivan of IGN called it an unforgettable quote in video game history, and a "super effective metaphor for life". She noted that, metaphorically speaking, there is "always another castle" that needs the hero, but also stated that each life can be rewarding nonetheless, and that with enough perseverance, the princess can actually be rescued.[5] Josh Straub of Game Informer also described it as an iconic moment in games, saying that the line "continues to haunt gamers". He cited its repetition throughout the game as evidence of the Nintendo designers' delight at "yanking" away the player's hope, evidencing its use in Super Mario 3D Land that "the message is still the same 29 years later".
In the 2012 book Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America, author Jeff Ryan highlights the use of the word "our" rather than "the" or "your", saying that it includes the player within the quest, and that its constant repetition turns Mario into an analog for Odysseus.[6] Gabrielle Trepaniér-Jobin, writing in Gaming Representation, argued that Princess Peach's use of the line as a prank in Super Mario Bros. 3 depicts her as less dependent and subordinate than in previous games, going against the notion shown in the original Super Mario Bros. that a woman is indebted to her rescuer.