MarioWiki:Chronology: Difference between revisions

===Discontinuities===

As there is no central [[MarioWiki:Canonicity|canon]] organizing the Mario series, there are bound to be inconsistencies between sources.  While many sources work well together and establish a (mostly) coherent narrative, other sources appear to take greater liberties with the content established by previous sources, including completely re-working character biographies and changing other pre-established conventions.  Sources that greatly diverge from their predecessors include the [[Super Mario Bros. (film)|''Super Mario Bros.'' film]], the [[Super Mario Amada Series|''Super Mario Amada'' series]], and the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]], among others (to various degrees).  However, despite their differences, they are '''as official''' as any other source and should be treated as such.  Again, returning to the ''New Super Mario Bros.''/''Super Princess Peach'' example.  There is no explicit connection between the two games, so we cannot speculate when each event occurs.  Similarly, there is no explicit explaination for how the Mario series is connected to the Super Smash Bros. series, so we cannot speculate on their relationship.  Like remakes, diverging sources may simply represent different versions of the same events, or represent completely different events in the same timeline (or even something else entirely).  We simply don't have any official evidence to establish the relationship between many sources.  As such, information surrounding the same basic event can either be separated into sections based on different media, etc., or interwoven throughout an article  For example, ''Super Mario World 2'' depicts the morning of Mario's birth, and in ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Super Show]]'' episode "[[Plumbers Academy]]" Mario claimed he was born with a plunger in his hand, so this information can be included in the same section of the article if so desired.  Additionally, according to ''[[Super Mario Amada Series|Super Mario Amada Momotaro]]'', Mario was actually born from a giant [[peach (item)|peach]] that fell from the sky.  Although this source contradicts information from ''Super Mario World 2'', it can still be included in the section about Mario's birth and early life.  However, this does not mean one should include speculation in an attempt to rectify the discontinuity between two sources.  Editors should explain any discontinuity or plot hole, then simply continue with the article.  In this example, editors can either place all three references to Mario's birth in separate sections divided by media, include them all in one section at the beginning of the article, or do a combination of both, whatever works "best" for the article.  Again, this does not mean any source separated from the main body of the article is false or in an "alternate timeline," it is simply done for the purpose of organization in order to assist readers in understanding the subject.

==See Also==

*[[MarioWiki: Canonicity]]

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