Editing File talk:SMB2Ninji.png

This looks really weird. What was the source of the image? Is there more SMB2 artwork there? - {{User:Walkazo/sig}} 22:07, 26 April 2009 (EDT)
:I have the manual of the NES version of SMB2, and there Ninji really looks that odd. Several enemy artwork pieces there look notably different from more recent ones such as from ''Super Mario Advance''. --[[User:Grandy02|Grandy02]] 09:36, 6 May 2009 (EDT)

==Dubious image==
This image has been on the site for many years, and was treated as the "main" SMB2 Ninji image at first. We now know that's not the case for any version of the game, and while a {{file link|SMB2 Nintendo Power Ninji Artwork.jpg|similar piece of artwork}} labeled as being from "Nintendo Power" (actually a guidebook called ''Super Mario Bros. 2 Inside-Out'') exists (and this was conjecturally labeled as also being from "Nintendo Power" due to their similarities), this artwork is in neither the magazine series nor the aforementioned guidebook (or any other guidebook, like ''Mario Mania'') as far as me or a few others can tell. To me, this almost looks like someone took a distorted photo of the enemy page in the manual, put {{file link|SMB2 art Ninji 2.png|type 2}}'s face on {{file link|SMB2 art Ninji 1.png|type 1}}'s body (or otherwise awkwardly combined them), and vectorized it, similar to the history behind [https://web.archive.org/web/20131026180104/http://www.mariowiki.com/File:Birdo.PNG the orange Birdo image]. Regardless, this image has been questionable for a long time. [[User:Doc von Schmeltwick|Doc von Schmeltwick]] ([[User talk:Doc von Schmeltwick|talk]]) 12:43, August 15, 2025 (EDT)
:It does seem that one of the {{file link|Right&Wrong Brothers.png|Right&Wrong Brothers}} resembles it a little, though that still leaves the question on where this art came from. [[User:Doc von Schmeltwick|Doc von Schmeltwick]] ([[User talk:Doc von Schmeltwick|talk]]) 20:56, August 28, 2025 (EDT)
::The art is official, though the red coloring may have been added by an external party. [https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/833a6d84-610e-45f3-b91d-69fdd09632e3 Video Game History Foundation] [[User:Kong|Kong]] ([[User talk:Kong|talk]]) 20:11, November 6, 2025 (EDT)
:::So, in that case, do we just crop the artwork from VGHF and upload that version or what? (If anyone asks, the Ninjis are seen at the bottom of the last page) [[User:SuperGamer18|SuperGamer18]] ([[User talk:SuperGamer18|talk]]) 16:18, December 31, 2025 (EST)
:::Hm, looks to be the same source for [[:File:Pokey Super Mario Bros 2.png|that weird Pokey artwork]] that was claimed to be from ''[[Super Mario Advance]]'' for some reason (wouldn't doubt this also appeared in Nintendo Power like with Mouser, Wart, Tryclyde, Shyguy and Cobrat; I'd love to [https://archive.org/details/nintendo_power_issue1 verify it myself], but Archive.org appears to be down atm) {{User:Arend/sig}} 17:23, December 31, 2025 (EST)
::::Just checked myself, neither that specific Pokey image nor the Ninji image from this page are seen in Nintendo Power Issue 1. They look quite different. See pages 12 and 13. [[User:SuperGamer18|SuperGamer18]] ([[User talk:SuperGamer18|talk]]) 19:08, December 31, 2025 (EST)
:::::Update: I found a similar Pokey image in [[Super Mario World (arcade)]], though it has different shading and colors, which means that it predates Super Mario Advance by at least '''10''' years. [[User:SuperGamer18|SuperGamer18]] ([[User talk:SuperGamer18|talk]]) 17:47, January 3, 2026 (EST)
::::::The Ninji image has been found in at least one piece of official material, [https://archive.org/details/super-mario-bros.-livro-ilustrado-multi-editora/ this Brazilian guide's images] (sticker sheets?) on page 13, though I don't know if this specific image was cropped with it. Suffice it to say, it's not from SMB2 proper by any stretch. I'd have updated this discussion sooner, but I was on block at the time. All of those Pokeys resemble its ''Super Mario World'' and ''Super Mario USA'' artwork (redrawn from its SMB2 artwork), though I don't know where that specific linked image came from. There's one very much like it in the guide I linked on page 10, could that be it? [[User:Doc von Schmeltwick|Doc von Schmeltwick]] ([[User talk:Doc von Schmeltwick|talk]]) 22:47, February 2, 2026 (UTC)
:::::::The Brazilian book shared is indeed a collectible sticker album and it is not a guide to any games. Many of its stickers just seem to be scenes from each game illustrating iconic moments {{User:LadySophie17/sig}} 23:03, February 2, 2026 (UTC)
:::::::While the Ninji artwork on that sticker album looks identical to the one on this page and that Pokey artwork is also similar to previous findings, this is likely not the true origin of these images. Surely there must be a source closer to Nintendo themselves from where these images came from, right? VGHF already gives us a good start with black and white versions of these artworks as previously discussed here. [[User:SuperGamer18|SuperGamer18]] ([[User talk:SuperGamer18|talk]]) 01:03, February 3, 2026 (UTC)