Subcon
- This article is about the land of Subcon. For its fairy-like inhabitants named Subcon, seeSubcon (species). For the stage that takes place in Subcon fromSuper Smash Bros. Melee andUltimate, seeMushroom Kingdom II.
| Subcon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987, overall) Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988,Super Mario franchise) |
| Latest appearance | Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (2024) |
| Ruler | Ōsama |
| Inhabitants | Subcons |
| Iterations | Mushroom Kingdom II |
Subcon[1] (alternatively formatted asSub-con[2] orSub-Con[3][4]), also known as theWorld of Dreams[2][5] orLand Of Dreams,[6] is a peaceful dream world of theSubcons. Believed to beMario's dream, it is said to be a vast dream world that is part of a larger subconsciousness of theMushroom Kingdom's inhabitants.
History[edit]
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic[edit]
InYume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, the dream world is in a storybook that the twin children Poki and Piki got pulled in byMamu. In fact, the reasonChapter 7 has only two pages is due to the fact that the original ending was accidentally destroyed by the twins. This detail is lost in theSuper Mario version of the game's events.
Super Mario series[edit]
Super Mario Bros. 2 /Super Mario Advance[edit]
Subcon is the main setting ofSuper Mario Bros. 2, the world's first appearance in theSuper Mario franchise. Subcon was once a peaceful place until it was taken over by the tyrannical Wart. He created monsters with theDream Machine, and sent his army from the dream factory all around Subcon. The original inhabitants of Subcon were captured and imprisoned in ajar by Wart's minions so that they would not interfere with his mischief.
From their confinement, the Subcons sent a message to the hero of the nearbyMushroom Kingdom,Mario, to come and free them. At first Mario thought the message was just a dream, but the next day, while on a picnic withLuigi,Toad, andPrincess Toadstool, he discovered a cave that led him to the world he saw in his dream.
Mario and his friends instantly set out to free them and defeat Wart to free Subcon from his reign. They battled Wart's army, the8 bits. In the end, they faced Wart himself, and were eventually able to defeat him and free the captive Subcons. Mario then briefly awakened in his bed, and soon went back to sleep.Super Mario Advance addsYoshi Eggs all around Subcon for the player characters to collect, after defeating Wart.
BS Super Mario USA[edit]
Subcon is again the main setting of the pseudo-sequel ofSuper Mario Bros. 2 for theSatellaview,BS Super Mario USA. This game appears to depict Subcon as a realm of dreams, rather than an actual dream like the ending ofSuper Mario Bros. 2 implies, and explains that after his defeat, Wart and the 8 bits went into hiding in another dream for a short while. However, they soon return, and theking of Subcon is forced to use Star power to call Mario and the others back to Subcon to stop Wart once again. Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool were able to defeat Wart and his army once more, thus returning peace to Subcon and its inhabitants.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
- Main article:Mushroom Kingdom II
Subcon made its firstSuper Smash Bros. series appearance inSuper Smash Bros. Melee, as a stage calledMushroom Kingdom II, which is based on World 1-1 andWorld 1-2 ofSuper Mario Bros. 2. Mushroom Kingdom II is the second Mushroom Kingdom stage inSuper Smash Bros. Melee. It is unlocked by collecting theBirdo or thePidgittrophy. Unlike the first Mushroom Kingdom stage, Subcon is based on its appearance inSuper Mario All-Stars andBS Super Mario USA. This stage does not take place in theMushroom Kingdom, despite the name. Luigi is also fought here before he is unlocked.
Mushroom Kingdom II returns as a playable stage inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
General information[edit]
Geography[edit]
Plants stick out throughout Subcon, which, when pulled, will give the character avegetable,1-Up Mushroom,POW Block, or, occasionally, aBomb. A lot of the region of Subcon is high in the sky, as clouds would be considered "land". The dream world has manymoons at night as first seen inSuper Mario All-Stars. Subcon also has many recurring landscapes, such as grasslands, deserts with pyramids, snowy islands, and others. The onlycastle structure is Wart's factory, and no towns or cities are seen throughout the game.Super Mario All-Stars added jungle trees (Worlds 1, 3 & 5), mountains and Egyptian palaces in the desert distance (Worlds 2 & 6) and floating Greek-style temples (World 7) as background objects. According toBS Super Mario USA, Subcon has a kingdom and aking. It is not known how much of Subcon is considered a true kingdom; if not the entirety of the dream world,seventh world in the clouds of Subcon abovethe grass orthe desert region is probably the whole region of the kingdom itself. The factory fromWorld 7-2 is actually the king's castle.
Currency[edit]
Subcon also usescoins, though their design is different, with an "I" in place of the "1" on the Mushroom Kingdom's coins. While relatively plentiful in most otherSuper Mario platformers, coins in this world are instead rather rare. Instead of being found floating in the air or inblocks like in the Mushroom Kingdom, Coins can only be retrieved by using aMagical Potion to go toSubspace, where unpickedgrass gives coins in place of items (said grass still remains after leaving Subspace). Coins are used to earnextra lives in aminigame after finishing a level.
Demographics[edit]
Subcon's natural population consists of mostlySubcons, although the seldom-seenking and his aide appear to be human. During Wart's takeover, several monsters were artificially created, although some existing creatures likeAlbatoss andTryclyde were merely enlisted to his forces. Other creatures resembling those from thereal world are also known to exist, such aswhales residing inicy territory.
The species of Subcon are as follows:
Naming[edit]
Etymology[edit]
"Subcon" is a shortening of "subconscious."
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Muu Kai | Dream World | Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic |
| サブコン[8] Sabukon | Subcon | Super Mario USA | |
| Chinese | 梦幻大陆[9] Mènghuàn Dàlù | Fantasy Land | |
| Dutch | Dromenland[10] | Dreamland | |
| Dromenwerald[11] | World of Dreams | ||
| Sub-con[11] | - | ||
| French | Subcon[?] | - | |
| Pays des Songes[12] | Dream Country | ||
| Italian | Subcon[?] | - | |
| Mondo dei Sogni[13] | Dream World | Club Nintendo | |
| Russian | Сабкон[?] Sabkon | Subcon | |
| Spanish | Subcon[14] | - |
Notes[edit]
- In theNintendo Adventure BookDinosaur Dilemma, the text describes Wart as "the king of the Land of Nightmares", presumably referring to either Subcon or a similar realm.
References[edit]
- ^1988.Super Mario Bros. 2 instruction booklet.Nintendo of America (American English). Page 3.
- ^abJuly/August 1988.Nintendo Power Volume 1.Nintendo of America (American English). Page 6.
- ^September/October 1988.Nintendo Power Volume 2.Nintendo of America (American English). Page 42.
- ^Spring 1991.NES Game Atlas.Nintendo of America (American English). Page 12 and 24.
- ^Spring 1991.NES Game Atlas.Nintendo of America (American English). Page 27.
- ^Spring 1991.NES Game Atlas.Nintendo of America (American English). Page 3.
- ^1987.Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic instruction booklet.Nintendo (Japanese). Page 6.
- ^Super Mario USA instruction booklet (PDF).Nintendo (Japanese). Page 2.
- ^iQue Game Boy Advance brochureMedia:iQue SMA brochure.jpg
- ^Club Nintendo (Netherlands) No. 2. Page 6-7.
- ^abClub Nintendo (Netherlands)Classic. Page 30.
- ^Super Mario Advance French instruction booklet.[page number needed]
- ^Fletcher, John, editor in chief (1991). "Tips & Tricks" inClub Nintendo, vol. 6.Linea Gig S.p.a., Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Italian). Page 24.
- ^Super Mario Advance Spanish instruction booklet.[page number needed]
