>>531481072
Yeah. It was corroborated by 3rd-party mangas and such though. True they're not a 1st-party source, but to give them a little credit, they're privy to resources we don't always get to see. At least, until the Internet ruined everything and they realized they can just crib their material from wikis just like fans do...
Eh, maybe post-game explains it like Odyssey had Pauline recognize Mario in the post-game.