Q 01/05

Splatoon's ink-spraying heroes on Wii U were first designed as which animals before becoming squid-like Inklings?

A) Rabbits

B) Octopuses

C) Chameleons

D) Jellyfish

Answer · why

A) Rabbits

Rabbits were picked for their territorial habits, but colleagues across the company objected that bunnies shooting ink made no sense.

Q 02/05

With 13.56 million sold, the Wii U outsold only which other Nintendo console, a mid-1990s commercial failure?

A) GameCube

B) Virtual Boy

C) Nintendo 64

D) Game Boy Color

Answer · why

B) Virtual Boy

Virtual Boy sold just 770,000 units before it was pulled, which leaves the Wii U as Nintendo's lowest-selling home console.

Q 03/05

Mario Kart 8, the best-selling Wii U game, lets racers drive along walls and ceilings using which new feature?

A) Anti-gravity

B) Hover boost

C) Gliders

D) Slipstreaming

Answer · why

A) Anti-gravity

Anti-gravity won out over an earlier idea of karts drilling into the ground, which the designers discarded as less interesting.

Q 04/05

Super Mario 3D World, the Wii U's second best-selling game, has a Super Bell power-up that turns heroes into what?

A) Bees

B) Frogs

C) Cats

D) Penguins

Answer · why

C) Cats

Cats can climb walls and scratch enemies, and the game's villain uses the same bell to become Meowser.

Q 05/05

Weighed down by a heavy backpack, Captain Toad in the Wii U puzzle game Treasure Tracker cannot do what?

A) Walk

B) Run

C) Climb

D) Jump

Answer · why

D) Jump

Jump is off the menu because designers found a leaping hero needed far bigger levels, so they picked a character whose backpack could excuse it.