What is this Mario version of air hockey Shimamura is talking about?


In the second volume of the light novels, in the chapter called _White
Christmas_ , after playing a round of air hockey, Shimamura says something odd
that kind of left me puzzled.

> "Weird... This game doesn't work like I remember..." ... "I play this game
> with my sister sometimes. But we have the Mario one, and I think maybe the
> setup's different." [Shimamura] tapped the mallet against her forehead.
> Evidently, she was well-versed in air hockey, hence that smug chuckle from
> earlier.

It wasn't really elaborated upon further at any point in this volume. What is
she talking about here? A specific video game? If I'm recalling correctly, she
and her sister were confirmed to have a Wii. I'm not aware of a Mario air
hockey game, but I could easily see it being a mini-game in the _Mario Party_
series.

It seems unlikely it would be an actual air hockey table, since Shimamura says
it's something she _has_ , but I've seen miniature air hockey games, and I
even found a Mario one (not sure when it was made , but this one probably
doesn't match with the book's timeline of being published in 2013).

[![Mario air
hockey](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2pM8a.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2pM8a.jpg)




You are right that it probably isn't the one you have listed; that one was
released in 2017, which is much later than the 2013 publishing of the book.
This is likely referring to the [New Super Mario Bros. Wii Nokonoko Air
Hockey](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A8%E3%83%9D%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF-EPOCH-
KTEC-cTOTC-
ds-1106671-New%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B6%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BAWii-%E3%83%8E%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8E%E3%82%B3%E3%82%A8%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9B%E3%83%83%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC/dp/B005L9ZZGY)
toy, which was released in 2011. This version uses a Koopa shell that can
slide on any surface, so you [play without a
table](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGRx6zBBoy8).

That reference really is a bit hard to get IMO; maybe it was a hit for the
author, who thought the toy would catch on more than it actually did.




You are right that it probably isn't the one you have listed; that one was
released in 2017, which is much later than the 2013 publishing of the book.
This is likely referring to the [New Super Mario Bros. Wii Nokonoko Air
Hockey](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%A8%E3%83%9D%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF-EPOCH-
KTEC-cTOTC-
ds-1106671-New%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B6%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BAWii-%E3%83%8E%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8E%E3%82%B3%E3%82%A8%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9B%E3%83%83%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC/dp/B005L9ZZGY)
toy, which was released in 2011. This version uses a Koopa shell that can
slide on any surface, so you [play without a
table](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGRx6zBBoy8).

That reference really is a bit hard to get IMO; maybe it was a hit for the
author, who thought the toy would catch on more than it actually did.

