Programmer Says Super Mario 64 Plaque Likely Reads 'Eternal Star' and 'We hope so'

The plaque is too blurry for graphical upscaling software, and modern reissues of the game still show the same indistinct image, the report said. Programmer Mochi64 instead used an analysis engine to compare millions of combinations of words and fonts against the pixels in the plaque. Mochi64 believes the two phrases are the closest match found by the software. Because the method produced a best fit rather than a definitive reading, the plaque could still contain different text.

The “Eternal Star” reading fits the plaque’s location below a giant star statue, according to the report. The second phrase, “We hope so,” may indicate that the developers wanted players to collect every star, though the report offered that as an interpretation rather than a confirmed message.

The result touches on a long-running Super Mario 64 rumor. In the 1990s and afterward, players speculated that the plaque read “L is Real 2401,” a phrase treated as a hint that Luigi was hidden somewhere in the game. IGN offered a $100 bounty to anyone who could unlock Luigi, and Nintendo Power mentioned the “L is Real 2401” theory in an April Fool’s Day issue, the report said.

The rumor gained new attention when game director Shigeru Miyamoto said the team had experimented with a two-player mode. He said the team abandoned the idea to conserve memory, according to the report. An early build showing Mario and Luigi running around a bare room also circulated. Neither development established that Luigi was unlockable in the released game.

The report said official confirmation from Nintendo is highly unlikely. For now, the reading rests on the software’s closest pixel match, not on a statement from the company or the original developers.