6 super important questions about Super Mario Sunshine

Who the heck is Il Piantissimo?

You know when there’s something odd about that thing you’ve been staring at for years? And only just now, out of the blue, you realize that odd thing was odd? Well, that’s how I feel about the character known as Il Piantissimo. All we know about this lad is that he’s a regular person dressed up in a Pianta costume that challenges Mario to races.

This is one of those questions that generates even more questions. Why does he feel the need to disguise himself? Why is this the only game that he appears in? What is he going to do with the magic paint brush? Is he black? And if so, is he one of the only significant black characters to appear in a 3D Mario game? And if that’s true, then is it kind of insensitive that, the one time there is a black character, he’s someone that Mario competes with in a foot race? What is this, Hoosiers?

All of these questions, and so few answers. Mario has certainly had his fair share of one-off characters before, but Il Piantissimo has to be at the top of the list for being one of the most odd ones ever.