If you have been a gamer or have been around a gamer long enough, you have most likely heard about the iconic Super Mario franchise casted by the loveable plumbers Mario and Luigi, so in honor of the Super Mario 3D All Stars release and the 35th anniversary, this week we are taking a look back at the Super Mario games and how they got to where they are today.
In 1981, Mario made his first video game appearance in a supporting role for Donkey Kong, who actually was a carpenter in the first game and owns Kong. He was referred to as Jumpman before going on to officially being named Mario in Donkey Kong Junior in 1982, the only game Mario is based as a villain, who guarded the cage of DK Junior’s imprisoned father and tried to keep DK from saving him.
Finally in 1983 Mario Bros. was released kicking off the Mario games. We are introduced to Luigi as they have to investigate the sewers of New York after strange creatures have appeared. The game was named the third most successful table arcade unit of the year in Japan and to the date the NES version has sold more than 1.63 million copies.
In 1985 the first ever Super Mario Bros. made an impact, being named one of the greatest video games of all time, selling more than 40 million copies also remaining the all-time best selling game for more than 20 years. Super Mario Bros. along with the NES was one of the key factors in reviving the video game industry after the 1983 crash.
1988 the Super Mario dynasty continues with Super Mario Bro. 2 selling seven million copies, becoming the fourth highest selling game on the NES and being ranked the sixth best NES game ever made. We were also introduced to other future characters such as Birdo, Pokey, Bob-omb, and Shy Guy.
In 1989 Super Mario Land slides in as the launch title for Game Boy as the first Mario released for a handheld console, selling more than 18 million copies as a successful launch it was met with criticism by critics stating the game was too short.
The game also marks the debut of Princess Daisy who must be rescued by Mario. 1990 Super Mario World was released for the SNES, selling more than 20 million copies making it one of the best selling SNES games also landing an animated television series based on the game. The game received 1991 Game of the Year awards from Nintendo Power and Power Play. Many retrospective critics declared Super Mario World one of the greatest video games of all time. In 2009, a poll conducted by Empire voted it “the greatest game of all time”. In its final issue in October 2014, the Official Nintendo Magazine ranked Super Mario World the third-greatest Nintendo game of all time, behind The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, and Super Mario Galaxy. In 2012 Nintendo Power similarly named Super Mario World the fifth greatest game of all time, a step up from its eighth best ranking in their 2006 poll. The game has appeared on several “best video games of all time” lists such as those from Electronic Gaming Monthly,Game Informer, Retro Gamer and GameSpot. In 2007, Retro Gamer ranked it as the best platform game of all time, while USgamer listed it as the best Super Mario platform game ever in 2015.
In 1992 the sequel to Mario Land hit the Gameboy, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins selling 11 million copies worldwide becoming one of the most successful and highest rated titles on the Game Boy. The game marked the debut of Wario, Mario’s greedy rival whom he has to reclaim Mario Land from. The rivalry between Mario and Wario was promoted in the January 1993 edition of Nintendo Power Magazine containing a 10 page comic entitled Mario vs Wario retelling the story of Mario Land 2’s plot.
In 1995 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Land is released for the SNES, selling over four million copies and it was well known for its unique artstyle being compared to a masterpiece and one of the greatest video games of all time by multiple critics, let’s be honest how can you not love baby Mario right?. After Yoshi’s Land there were several spin offs for the loveable dinosaur including a return to Mario in 3D All Stars.
The following year Super Mario 64 was released, it was the first ever Mario game in the series to feature 3D gameplay, by 2003 it had sold more than eleven million copies making it the Nintendo 64’s best seller. It was the first game to have a free camera controlled independently by the player, inspiring other companies to do the same with their games. On May 5, 2011, Super Mario 64 was selected as one of the 80 games to be displayed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of “The Art Of Video Games” exhibit that opened on March 16, 2012.
In 2002 Super Mario Sunshine was released for the Gamecube, selling more than 350,000 copies within the first ten days, it was also the tenth best selling game for the year. The game introduced Petey Piranha, Cataquacks, and Bowser Jr as new characters. Super Mario Sunshine was also the first game in the series to include the Shine Sprites, which later appeared in later Mario games such as Mario Kart DS and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
In 2006 New Super Mario Bro. was released for the DS selling over 30 million copies worldwide, making it the best selling game for the Nintendo DS, New Super Mario Bros. received numerous awards and accolades. It was given Game of the Month awards from Game Informer and Electronic Gaming Monthly and it received Editors’ Choice Awards from IGN and GameSpot, The game was voted Best Handheld Game at the 2006 Spike Video Game Awards, Best Nintendo DS Game by GameSpot, and it won Best Platformer awards from X-Play, and Nintendo Power. The game was awarded Choice Video Game at the 2006 Teen Choice Awards, and Nintendo Game of the Year at the 2006 Golden Joystick Award.
Following up on the New Super Mario Bro. is the sequel New Super Mario Bros. Wii, released in 2009, 30.30 million copies worldwide as of March 2020, it was the first Mario game to include the Super Guide, which allows the player to watch a computer controlled character complete a level. Super Mario Wii was also the first game in the series to feature a cooperative multiplayer for up to four players.
In 2010 Super Mario Galaxy 2 was released selling over seven million copies worldwide, Super Mario Galaxy 2 received Game of the Year 2010 awards from Nintendo Power, GamesMaster,Official Nintendo Magazine, Edge, Destructiod and Metacritic. It was named best “Wii Game of the Year” by IGN, GameTrailers, GameSpot, 1Up.com and many other media outlets. As of December 2010, IGN awarded Super Mario Galaxy 2 the number 1 Wii game, overtaking its predecessor. In the March 2012 issue of Official Nintendo Magazine, the publication named Super Mario Galaxy 2 the ‘Greatest Nintendo Game Ever Made’ ranking at #1 out of 100.
Mario has made appearances in over 200 video games since his debut including his own, honestly it would probably take a week to name every game and i would probably still miss a couple of games but that is what makes him the icon and i hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed writing this.
That is all for this week! Don’t forget to follow me on twitter! Xenoblivion_
Winks Gaming 