In his farewell message to Mario, Charles Martinet refers to Miyamoto as "Papa."

Nintendo has shared a video wherein Charles Martinet bids farewell to his role as Mario and reveals that he affectionately refers to Shigeru Miyamoto as "Papa."

A few weeks ago, Nintendo dropped an absolute bombshell on Super Mario fans - Charles Martinet would bid farewell to the role and no longer lend his voice to Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi (among others), including the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Instead of providing voices for the characters, Martinet has been appointed as the "Mario Ambassador," a role that hasn't been fully clarified to us yet.

When Nintendo delivered this news to us a few weeks ago, it promised that further information would follow shortly and that a video featuring a message from both Charles Martinet and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto was in the works. As promised, Nintendo has now released this emotional video, providing Martinet with the opportunity to bid farewell to his time as the mustachioed plumber.

The video begins with Martinet stating that it is a great day for Mario, the Mushroom Kingdom, and himself. Then he announces that he is taking on the role of Mario Ambassador, giving the impression that the news of Martinet's departure was actually intended to be announced later along with this video. Martinet mentions that this role entails "traveling the world, sharing the joy of the Mario family, and the opportunity to continue meeting all the wonderful fans," and he considers it a great honor to be able to do so.

After explaining his new role, Martinet hands over the floor to Shigeru Miyamoto, who reflects on the time he has spent with Martinet and their shared journey. However, Miyamoto mistakenly mentions that Martinet first took on the character's voice in 1996 in Super Mario 64, when in fact it was in 1994 in Mario's Game Gallery. It is hardly surprising that Nintendo does not like to be reminded of this fact.

In one of the most heartwarming sections of the video, Miyamoto reveals that whenever he and Martinet met in real life, he always referred to him as "Papa." This is then showcased as the video refocuses on Martinet. Miyamoto expresses his gratitude to Martinet for his work as Mario and all the extra effort he has put in to make the fans happy. He states that he knows Martinet will be a fantastic Mario Ambassador.

And thus, it is likely one of the last times we will officially hear Charles Martinet speak about his time as Mario. It is an emotional experience for every Super Mario fan, but at least it is comforting to know that Martinet had the opportunity to express himself appropriately, rather than it being conveyed through a single image on Twitter.