Watch as the mastermind behind Mario faces intense scrutiny in a landmark Nintendo lawsuit.

If you’re into gaming history, you probably know about the pivotal 1983 Universal case where Nintendo had to defend its right to use Donkey Kong. Fast forward to today, and King Kong is still going strong, teaming up with Godzilla, while both franchises are enjoying a successful partnership in the Super Mario Bros. universe. While that might be common knowledge, the intricate details of the case are mostly known only to those who were in the courtroom.

Gaming Historian, a YouTuber celebrated for his in-depth documentaries, recently announced he would be stepping back from creating educational content about retro games due to burnout, leaving fans disappointed. To commemorate his departure, he shared a treasure trove of documents related to the Universal vs. Nintendo case.

This collection includes the complete paper trail of the lawsuit, featuring everything from evidence presented in court to witness interrogation logs. Nintendo argued that its quirky gorilla was not inspired by the iconic King Kong, asserting that the franchise originally stemmed from a licensed adaptation of Popeye the Sailor Man.

While you likely know how the trial concluded, diving into these documents offers a fascinating glimpse into the lawsuit’s progression. Nintendo submitted original design documents for the first Donkey Kong game and the initial list of names considered for what we now recognize as Super Mario Bros. There are numerous pages detailing Gunpei Yokoi’s account of the meeting where Nintendo brainstormed the classic ladder game concept. The repository also contains amusing exchanges from a lawyer known as “Mr. Kirby”—John Kirby, the namesake of the beloved pink character—during a trial where statements like, “You can’t have a pronoun for a gorilla,” were made.

One of the standout moments is Shigeru Miyamoto’s deposition, where the legendary designer repeatedly claimed he couldn’t recall when specific ideas were conceived or who came up with them. He often referred to Yokoi as the go-to expert on various topics, while Yokoi, in turn, deferred to Miyamoto during his own deposition. This back-and-forth, compounded by language barriers, led to some drawn-out exchanges. Ultimately, Miyamoto revealed little beyond the fact that Donkey Kong is indeed a gorilla. While someone at Nintendo may have jotted down “King Kong” at some point during the game’s development, Miyamoto insisted he hadn’t made any comparisons until the lawsuit arose.

When asked about other names he considered for Donkey Kong, his response was simply, “The names which were in my mind.” Truly iconic.

You can explore the full Miyamoto deposition or delve into the larger document collection.