The Mario series is a series of highly popular and acclaimed video games by
Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel...
, featuring Nintendo's mascot
Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and, in many games, his brother
Luigiis a video game character created by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the younger brother of Nintendo's official mascot, Mario. Luigi first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros., where he was featured as a main character alongside Mario...
. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping and defeating enemies. The games usually feature simple plots; the most common theme is that of Bowser, the main antagonist, kidnapping
Princess Peachis a fictional character in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. series of video games. She is the princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the "damsel in distress" role in the adventure series. She was known as Princess Toadstool outside Japan until late 1996, when the name "Peach" was...
, whom Mario saves.
Gameplay
In the
platform gamePlatform game, or platformer, is a video game genre characterized by jumping to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles. It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
s of the Mario series,
gameplay----Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. Proper use is coupled with reference to "what the player does"...
primarily involves jumping on enemies and avoiding enemy attacks. In later 3D games, close quarters fights were incorporated. Intense emphasis on reaching various goals permeates the series; such goals include defeating enemies, reaching specific points, or solving puzzles.
In 2D games, the levels are linear, and are usually divided into different worlds, each with a certain number of hidden items and hidden warp tubes. Early 2D games used levels with only one exit, then forcing the player to advance to the next sequential level. Super Mario Bros. 3
was the first game to use an overworld. In the game levels are shown on a map, and the player can take different paths through the game. The order in which all these elements are arranged is not necessarily linear, which often allows the player to skip them or play them in different order. Super Mario World
introduced levels with multiple exits. Unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3
, where once a level is cleared, the player can choose the next level in the overworld, in Super Mario World, the way the player exits the level dictates which path opens to player in the overworld.
3D games of the series have a non-linear, free-roaming layout. An overworld connects levels in the game, more areas of the overworld and thus more levels become accessible as the game progresses. Each course is an enclosed world in which the player is free to wander in all directions and discover the environment without time limits. The player gathers stars or shines in each course; some only appear after completing certain tasks, often hinted at by the name of the course. As more stars or shines are collected, more areas of the overworld become accessible.
Recurring gameplay elements
Item blocks originated from the game
Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
In that game and many of its sequels, such blocks contain either coins or power-ups, which aid the player's progress.
The Super
MushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have...
is a power-up in the series. Usually it's about the size of Mario, and has an ivory stalk below a red and white (originally red and orange) spotted cap. Interestingly, it resembles the mildly poisonous
Amanita muscariaAmanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly Amanita, is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita...
. Originally, it was shaped after a common mushroom, but since
Super Mario Bros. 2Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was released in North America in October 1988, Europe on April 28, 1989 and Japan on July 14, 1992...
it gained a more cartoonish shape, becoming round and stubby, with a smiling face on the stalk.
Shigeru Miyamotois a Japanese video game designer and producer who has been called the "father of modern video games" and "the Walt Disney of electronic gaming" for helping create the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero franchises and games such as Nintendogs and Wii Music.-Early...
stated in an interview that the Super Mushroom was created by chance. The first sketches of Mario turned out to be too big, and they were forced to shrink them. Then the development team thought it would be interesting to have Mario grow and shrink by eating a magic mushroom. In some games, these mushrooms replenish health.
1-Up Mushrooms are common items that appear in the games and were introduced in Super Mario Bros.
These mushrooms have green caps with white spots (originally orange caps with green spots). When Mario picks up one of these mushrooms, he is given an extra life. In Super Mario Bros.
, 1-Up Mushrooms are sometimes hidden in invisible "?" blocks. 3D games feature mushrooms that only appear if Mario walks over a certain spot, along with stationary 1-Up Mushrooms. In some games, these are called "Ultra Shrooms", which replenish large amounts of health.
A Fire Flower, introduced in Super Mario Bros.
, transforms Mario into Fire Mario. Fire Mario can throw bouncing fireballs at enemies, using them as weapons. Super Mario Galaxyis a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in Japan on November 1, 2007, the United States on November 12, 2007, Canada on November 14, 2007, Europe on November 16, 2007, Australasia on November 27, 2007 and South Korea on September...
is the first 3D platform game to have this power-up. Its design has changed little since the beginning, aside from a smiling face that was eventually part of the design. An opposite of the Fire Flower was introduced in Super Mario Galaxy
that would turn Mario into ice and let him go so far as to walk on lava or water for a time by freezing its surface.
The Starman is a smiling, flashing, star in 2D Mario
games and was introduced in Super Mario Bros.
When Mario touches it, it temporarily grants him invincibility from enemies and increased speed. Since Super Mario Bros. 3
, when using the power-up, Mario does a somersault while jumping. A similar item, the Rainbow Star, appears in Super Mario Galaxy
.
Coins first appeared in Mario Bros.
as flashing coins that rolled across platforms. Super Mario Bros.
added the effect that when Mario collects 100 coins he is awarded an extra life. This feature is continued in many other games. In Super Mario 64is a platform game, developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia....
, Super Mario Sunshineis a platform game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on July 19, 2002, in North America on August 26, 2002, and in Europe and Australia on October 4, 2002. It is the first 3D Mario platformer...
and Super Mario Galaxyis a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in Japan on November 1, 2007, the United States on November 12, 2007, Canada on November 14, 2007, Europe on November 16, 2007, Australasia on November 27, 2007 and South Korea on September...
, coins replenish health. In Super Mario 64
, Mario is awarded an extra life for every 50 coins and, once per level, a Star for collecting 100 coins. In Super Mario Sunshine
, when Mario collects 50 coins he is awarded an extra life, and at 100 coins is awarded a Shine Sprite. In Super Mario Galaxy
, Mario is awarded an extra life at 50 coins, but no star for 100 coins; however, after beating the game once, stages are unlocked in which Mario can collect a certain amount of purple coins to earn a Star.
The Warp Pipe is a common method of transportation used in many of the games in the Mario
series. Warp Pipes are generally green but also appear in other colors, and have many uses in the series. Along with providing transport to different areas within games, Warp Pipes can also contain enemies and launch the player into the air. They are also featured as items in some of the Mario Party
games, allowing players to swap places or be moved around the board.
Mushroom Kingdom
The is a setting in the Mario
series where most of the games take place. It is a monarchyThe person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times. A Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or...
and its heir is Princess Peachis a fictional character in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. series of video games. She is the princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the "damsel in distress" role in the adventure series. She was known as Princess Toadstool outside Japan until late 1996, when the name "Peach" was...
. The chancellorChancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of the kingdom is its head of governmentHead of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc...
in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven StarsSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, often shortened and officially known in Japan as , is a hybrid adventure/console role-playing game developed by Square and published by Nintendo. Nintendo first released the game on March 9, 1996 in Japan and on May 13, 1996 in North America...
; however, he has not appeared since. Its capital, first appearing in Paper MarioPaper Mario, known in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 game console. It was first released in Japan on August 11, 2000, in Europe on October 5, 2000, and in North America on February 5, 2001...
, is Toad Town. Surrounding Toad Town are several territories, such as Dry Dry Desert. Though Princess Peach and the Mario brothers are human, the citizens of this area are the mushroom-like Toads. Super Mario Bros. 3is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. It was first released in Japan in 1988 and later in the United States and Europe in 1990 and 1991 respectively...
is set in the Mushroom World, a collection of eight kingdoms. Seven of these are "Mushroom Kingdoms", and are ruled by independent Mushroom World kings. The eighth world is referred to as "Dark Land", and is ruled by Bowser, King of the Koopas. The instruction manual for the game states Bowser had taken over the Mushroom Kingdom, and the Mushroom Kingdom is a gateway to the Mushroom World, but this is never elaborated upon in Super Mario Bros. 3
or any other game.
Main series
After the commercial failure of Radar Scopeis an early arcade game developed and published by Nintendo in November 1980. Some sources claim that Ikegami Tsushinki also did design work on Radar Scope. It is a shooter that can be viewed as a cross between Taito's Space Invaders and Namco's Galaxian...
, Nintendo's company president referred to Shigeru Miyamotois a Japanese video game designer and producer who has been called the "father of modern video games" and "the Walt Disney of electronic gaming" for helping create the Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin and F-Zero franchises and games such as Nintendogs and Wii Music.-Early...
to create an arcade game to save the company. Miyamoto came up with the idea of a game in which the playable character has to make his way through an obstacle course consisting of sloped platforms, ladders and rolling barrels. Miyamoto named the game Donkey Kongis an arcade game developed by Nintendo, released in . It is an early example of the platform genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging obstacles. In it, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady , from a giant ape named...
, and its main protagonist "Jumpman". Donkey Kong is an early example of the
platformPlatform game, or platformer, is a video game genre characterized by jumping to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles. It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
genre. Winning the game requires patience and the ability to accurately time Jumpman's ascent. In addition to presenting the goal of saving the Lady, the game also gives the player a
scoreIn games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
. Points are awarded for finishing screens; leaping over obstacles; destroying objects with a hammer
power-upIn computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character. This is contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
; collecting items such as hats, parasols, and purses (presumably belonging to the Lady/Pauline); and completing other tasks. The game was surprisingly successful. "Jumpman" was called "Mario" in certain promotional materials for the game's release overseas; his namesake was Mario Segale, the landlord of Nintendo of America's office/warehouse, who barged in on a meeting to demand an overdue rent payment. Eventually Jumpman's name was internationally and permanently changed to Mario.
A later arcade game,
Mario Bros.is an arcade game published and developed by Nintendo in 1983. It was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Mario franchise. It is a follow-up to Donkey Kong and stars Mario, a plumber who was previously named "Jumpman". To date, Mario Bros. has been rereleased more than twenty times...
, introduced Mario's brother, Luigiis a video game character created by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the younger brother of Nintendo's official mascot, Mario. Luigi first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros., where he was featured as a main character alongside Mario...
. The objective of Mario Bros.
is to defeat all of the enemies in each phase. The mechanics of Mario Bros.
involve only running and jumping. Unlike future Mario
titles, players cannot jump on enemies while they are invulnerable to attack. Each phase is a series of platforms with four pipes at each corner of the screen, and an object called a "POW" block in the center. Both sides of every phase feature a mechanism that allows the player to go off-screen to the left and appear on the right, and vice versa.
Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
, for the NES, is the first traditional Mario linear 2D platform game, where gameplay consists of a sidescrolling level. In this game, it is established that Mario and Luigi live in the Mushroom Kingdom, where they must rescue Princess Peach (then called Princess Toadstool) from Bowser. The game consists of eight worlds with four sub-levels in each world. Though each world is different, the fourth sub-world is always a fortress or castle. At the end of each castle level, Mario or Luigi fights King Koopa, however if one of the brothers throws five fireballs at King Koopa, it is revealed that he is actually a different enemy in disguise (this only applies to first seven Koopas. The eight Koopa is the real one). The game was immensely successful, and is the second best-selling video game to date.
The brothers returned in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2
(known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
outside Japan) reuses gameplay elements from Super Mario Bros.
however the game is much more difficult than its predecessor. For these reasons, Nintendo did not release it outside Japan in this time period. The main game follows the same style of level progression as Super Mario Bros.
, with eight initial worlds containing four levels each. The player enters a lavaLava is molten rock expelled by a volcano during eruption. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C...
-filled castle at the end of each World, culminating in a battle against Bowser.
In the non-Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was released in North America in October 1988, Europe on April 28, 1989 and Japan on July 14, 1992...
, Mario and his companions are out to stop the evil frog Wart in the dream land of SubCon. In Japan, Super Mario Bros. 2
was originally made as Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panicis a 1987 Japanese video game released for the Family Computer Disk System about a family who plans to rescue two children. "Doki doki" is a Japanese onomatopoeia for a rapidly beating heart, and it is commonly found in Japanese video game titles, carrying connotations of excitement and anxiety.The...
, and later converted into a Mario
game for the rest of the world. The game was later released as a Mario
game under the name Super Mario USA
in Japan. For this reason, the game is significantly different than other games in the series. One of the game's most defining aspects is the ability to pluck vegetables from the ground to throw at enemies. This is also the first Mario
game to use a life meter, which allows Mario and the other playable characters to be hit up to four times before dying.
Super Mario Landis a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It and the Game Boy debuted in Japan on February 21, 1989, in the United States in July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990. Super Mario Land marked Mario's first appearance on the Game Boy and is...
, for the Game BoyThe is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on . In Southern Asia, it is known as the "Tata Game Boy" It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line...
, uses gameplay similar to that of Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
and its successors for the Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
. Like in the previous games, the player takes over the role of Mario. The ultimate objective is to defeat Tatanga the "Mysterious Spaceman" and save Princess Daisy. The game consists of twelve levels split across four worlds.
In Super Mario Bros. 3is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. It was first released in Japan in 1988 and later in the United States and Europe in 1990 and 1991 respectively...
, the game is divided into eight playable worlds, and each world contains between 8–10 levels and several bonus stages. The worlds are themed with each level containing characteristics of that theme. All of the levels are shown on a map, and allow the player to take different paths through the game. The order in which all these elements are arranged are not necessarily linear, which allows the players to skip them or play them in different order, if possible. Once a level is cleared, it cannot be replayed. Super Mario Bros. 3
has multiple levels in every world featuring a boss at the end. At the end of all but the last world is an airshipAn airship or dirigible is a lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust...
called a Doom Ship, featuring a scrolling level and one of King Koopa's Koopalings at the end. The game introduced a diverse array of new power ups, allowing Mario to take flight for the first time by becoming Raccoon Mario.
Super Mario Worldis a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide...
, for the Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
and later the Game Boy Advance, consists of seven main worlds and two secret worlds. Super Mario World contains an overworld, which provides a passive overview of all the game's levels. Each of the game's 72 levels is accessed individually from the world map. Most levels have one exit, though some have a second exit which is usually hidden. In total the game has 96 exits. Mario is capable of a variety of new moves, including a "spin jump". He can pick up and throw items, but is now also able to throw them upwards or set them down gently. He is also able to ride
Yoshiis a fictional dinosaur. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario's accomplice, and he later established his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island...
, who is able to eat enemies and either swallow or spit them back out. In addition to the classic size-growing Super Mushroom, Fire Flower ability to project
fireballA fireball is a somewhat spherical mass of fire, such as that caused by an explosion.It may also refer to:-Science and technology:*FR Fireball, an American aircraft*Fireball , a sailing boat...
s and
StarmanStarman may refer to:In comics:* Starman , one of several comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. The most prominent are:...
, game introduces the Cape
FeatherFeathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates. They are among the outstanding characteristics that distinguish the extant Aves from other living groups....
, based on
Super Mario Bros. 3is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. It was first released in Japan in 1988 and later in the United States and Europe in 1990 and 1991 respectively...
’s Super Leaf, which allows Mario and Luigi to fly with a cape.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coinsis a platforming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It debuted in Japan on October 21, 1992, in North America on November 2, 1992, and in Europe on January 28, 1993. Like its predecessor Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2 was created by director Hiroji Kiyotake...
, introduced Mario's rival, Wario, who takes over Mario's castle during the events of Super Mario Land
and forces Mario to collect the six golden coins to reclaim his castle. While its predecessor was similar to the original Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
, Super Mario Land 2
has more in common with later games. The player is no longer restricted to moving right in a level. At the end of a level is a bell, which if touched, activates a mini-game at the end, where the player can try to get extra lives. There are 32 levels in total, based in several different themed worlds. Each world has its own boss. Super Mario Land 2
features three returning power-ups — the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Starman. The game introduces one new power-up called the Carrot, which gives Mario large rabbit ears, allowing him to glide for a limited time and descend at a slower rate.
Super Mario 64is a platform game, developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia....
was a launch game for Nintendo's next home console, the
Nintendo 64The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10,...
, and is the first
3D3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
game in the series. The game was not as linear as the previous installments. Each course is an enclosed world in which the player is free to wander in all directions and discover the environment without time limits. The player gathers stars in each course; some stars only appear after completing certain tasks, often hinted at by the name of the course. As more stars are collected, more areas of the castle become accessible. The
analog stickAn analog stick, sometimes called a thumbstick, control stick, or occasionally a c-stick is an input device for a controller that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a popular variation of a joystick. It consists of some sort of protrusion from the controller, and the input is...
made an extensive repertoire of precise movements in all directions possible. The game introduced new moves such as punching, performing a triple jump, using a Wing Cap, and more. It is also the first game in the main Mario series to feature the voice acting of
Charles MartinetCharles Martinet is an American actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Mario, the star of Nintendo's flagship video game franchise. He has held this role since 1995, longer than any other actor...
for Mario. Mario must once again save Princess Peach from Bowser, and collect up to 120 Power Stars from the paintings and return them to her castle (there are a total of 105 Power Stars in the paintings, with 15 hidden in the castle). Each level's stars can be obtained in different ways. The game also uses the power-up element from the original games. However, instead of power-ups from previous games, three different Caps with different effects are used as power-ups: the Wing Cap, Metal Cap, and Vanish Cap, which temporarily allow Mario to fly, become metal, and walk through obstacles, respectively.
In
Super Mario Sunshineis a platform game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on July 19, 2002, in North America on August 26, 2002, and in Europe and Australia on October 4, 2002. It is the first 3D Mario platformer...
on the Nintendo GameCubeThe is Nintendo's fourth home video game console with Wii being fifth, and is part of the sixth generation console era. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and predecessor to Nintendo's Wii....
, Mario and Peach travel to Isle Delfino for a vacation. However, a Mario doppelgängerA doppelgänger is the ghostly double of a living person, a sinister form of bilocation.In the vernacular, the word "doppelgänger" has come to refer to any double or look-alike of a person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a...
appears and vandalizes the entire island. Mario is sentenced to clean up the island. Super Mario Sunshine
shares many similar gameplay elements with its predecessor, Super Mario 64is a platform game, developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia....
, but it also introduces new features, like the ability to spin while jumping. FLUDD, a water-squirting accessory, is a new element in Super Mario Sunshine, which Mario uses to complete his mission. The game contains a number of independent levels, which can be reached from the hub, Delfino Plaza. Gameplay is based on collecting "Shine Sprites" by completing various tasks in the levels. Once the player has collected enough Shine Sprites, a new level is available at Delfino Plaza, either by the acquisition of a new ability or a plot-related event.
In
New Super Mario Bros.is a side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in May 2006 and in Australia and Europe in June 2006...
on the Nintendo DSThe is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in Canada, the United States, and Japan. The console features a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP, with two LCD screens inside—with the bottom one being a touchscreen...
, Mario and Luigi have to save Peach from Bowser's son, Bowser Jr. While the gameplay is 2D, most of the characters and objects are 3D polygonalIn 3D computer graphics, polygonal modeling is an approach for modeling objects by representing or approximating their surfaces using polygons. Polygonal modeling is well suited to scanline rendering and is therefore the method of choice for real-time computer graphics...
renderings on 2-dimensional2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
backgrounds, resulting in a 2.5D2.5D , also called pseudo-3D, is an informal term used to describe visual phenomena which appears to be three-dimensional but for some reason isn't completely so, be it for not being constituted by true 3D entities in the case of graphics, or not allowing full 3D movement—typically restricting it...
effect. The game uses an overworld map similar to the ones from Super Mario Bros. 3
and Super Mario World. Levels can have multiple exits. All the classic power-ups (Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Starman) return, with the addition of three new ones - the Mega Mushroom, Shell and Mini Mushroom. The Mega Mushroom briefly turns Mario (or Luigi) into an invincible giant who can destroy everything in the way, the Shell protects Mario from harm and allows him to slide (depending on speed), and the Mini Mushroom shrinks Mario to very small size – which allows him to fit through tight spaces.
Super Mario Galaxyis a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in Japan on November 1, 2007, the United States on November 12, 2007, Canada on November 14, 2007, Europe on November 16, 2007, Australasia on November 27, 2007 and South Korea on September...
is set in
outer spaceOuter space comprises the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace and terrestrial locations....
, where
Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
travels between "
galaxiesA galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The name is from the Greek root galaxias [γαλαξίας], meaning "milky," a reference...
" to collect Power Stars, which are earned by completing quests or defeating enemies. Each galaxy contains a number of
planetA planet , is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s and other space matter for the player to explore. The game uses a new
physicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
system that allows for a unique feature: each celestial object has its own
gravitational forceGravitation is a natural phenomenon by which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most commonly thought of as the agency which lends weight to objects with mass. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the...
, allowing the player to completely circumnavigate rounded or irregular planetoids, walking sideways or upside down. The player is usually able to jump from one independent object and then fall towards another one close by. Though the main gameplay and physics are in
3D3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, there are several points in the game in which the player's movements are restricted to a 2D axis.
New Super Mario Bros. Wiiis a side-scrolling platform video game being published and developed by Nintendo for the Wii video game console and is the sequel to New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS...
is the sequel to the DS game New Super Mario Bros.
and will feature 4-player co-op and a new power up - the propellor suit. It is in development and will be released on November 15, 2009 in North America.
Super Mario Galaxy 2is an upcoming platforming video game in development for the Wii console. It is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. Super Mario Galaxy 2 was announced at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo and will be released in 2010.-Gameplay:...
is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy
and is in development. It will have new features, including new items and power-ups and the ability to ride Yoshi.
Remakes and rereleases
The Mario
series includes many remakes. All four NES games of the series were remade in a 4-in-1 package named Super Mario All-Stars
; later, a Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World
package was released. Super Mario Bros.
was re-released with added features as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
for the Game Boy ColorThe is Nintendo's successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27 1998 in UK. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than the Game Boy Pocket. As with the original Game...
,while Super Mario Bros. 2
, Super Mario Bros. 3
, Super Mario World
and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's IslandSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, originally released as in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System console. It was released on August 5, 1995 in Japan, October 4, 1995 in North America and October 6, 1995 in Europe. A port...
have all been remade separately on the Game Boy AdvanceThe Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color...
, all four also include a remade version of Mario Bros.
Super Mario 64 has also been
remadeis an enhanced remake of the 1996 Nintendo 64, platform game Super Mario 64, produced by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was a launch title for the Nintendo DS, released in the United States and Japan in 2004; it was later released in PAL regions in 2005.Nintendo...
for the DS with added features such as additional stars (objectives) and mini-games.
Some games have also been re-released in the
Classic NES seriesThe Classic NES Series in North America are a series of Game Boy Advance games that were originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System emulated on the Game Boy Advance...
. Some of the games have also been re-released unchanged through
Virtual ConsoleA virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
.
Other genres and spin-offs
Apart from
platform gamePlatform game, or platformer, is a video game genre characterized by jumping to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles. It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
s, the Mario
series includes other games. After the Game & Watch game Mario Bombs Away
, the first Mario
non-platform game, Dr. Mario
, was released in 1990. Dr. Mario games feature a grid that starts out partially filled with
virusA virus is an infectious agent too small to be seen directly with a light microscope. They are not made of cells and can only replicate inside the cells of another organism . Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es of three colors (red, yellow and blue) that Dr. Mario must destroy with pills called megavitamins. The pills are two blocks in size and can contain any combination of two of the three colors, including two sections of the same color. The pills are guided by the player into rows or columns of four or more of the same color, which disappear. The objective is to remove all of the viruses from the playing field. Dr. Mario
was remade for the Nintendo 64The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10,...
as Dr. Mario 64Dr. Mario 64 is a puzzle game based on the original Dr. Mario. It was developed by Newcome and published by Nintendo, released for the Nintendo 64 in 2001, and is an enhanced remake of the original Dr...
.
The Mario KartMario Kart is a series of cartoony go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games. The series debuted in 1992, with critical and commercial success.To date, there have been four Mario Kart...
franchise began in 1992 with Super Mario Kartis a go-kart racing game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on 27 August 1992, in North America on 1 September 1992 and in Europe on 21 January 1993. Selling eight million copies worldwide, the...
for the SNES, and is currently the most successful and longest-running kart-racing franchise, having sold over 50 million copies worldwide.
Other Mario
sports games include Mario Golf
and Mario Tennis
.
There are several RPGs starring Mario, the first of which, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven StarsSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, often shortened and officially known in Japan as , is a hybrid adventure/console role-playing game developed by Square and published by Nintendo. Nintendo first released the game on March 9, 1996 in Japan and on May 13, 1996 in North America...
was released in 1996 for the Super Nintendo. The Paper Mario
series began when Paper MarioPaper Mario, known in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 game console. It was first released in Japan on August 11, 2000, in Europe on October 5, 2000, and in North America on February 5, 2001...
was released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. The handheld Mario & Luigi series began with the release of Mario & Luigi: Superstar SagaMario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, known in Japan as , is a role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. The game is the third Mario role-playing game, following Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES, and Paper Mario for the...
for the Gameboy Advance in 2003.
In 1999, the Hudson game Mario Partyis a party video game for the Nintendo 64 game console, developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on December 14 1998, followed by a North American release on February 8 1999, and a European release on March 9 1999....
was released for the Nintendo 64. Seven numbered sequels have since been released, along with Mario Party Advanceis the seventh game in the Mario Party series and the first for the Game Boy Advance, released by Nintendo. This game also marks the second appearance of the character Tumble. As it is not a Nintendo 64 or GameCube game, gameplay is different from that of the previous Mario Party games...
and Mario Party DSis a party video game for the Nintendo DS. It is the eleventh title in the Mario Party series , and was released in Japan on November 8, 2007; in North America on November 19, 2007; in Europe on November 23, 2007; and in Australia on December 6, 2007.-Plot:The game begins with a very peaceful...
. Mario Party
is a party (multiplayer) game featuring Mario
series characters in which four human- or computer-controlled characters compete in a board game interspersed with minigameA minigame, sometimes called a subgame, is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained...
s.
In 2005, Dance Dance Revolution: Mario MixDance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, known as Dancing Stage Mario Mix in Europe and Dance Dance Revolution with Mario in Japan, also known as DDR Mario Mix or just Mario Mix, is a music video game by Nintendo and Konami for the Nintendo GameCube, and is the first Dance Dance Revolution game to be...
by Konami, the association football game Super Mario StrikersSuper Mario Strikers, known as Mario Smash Football in Europe and Australia, is a five-a-side football game developed by Next Level Games for the Nintendo GameCube. The game was released in Europe and North America in late 2005, and in Japan and Australia in 2006...
by Next Level Games, and the baseball game Mario Superstar Baseballis a sports game that was developed by Namco and NOW Production and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube in 2005. The game was created in the vein of other Mario sports games such as Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Power Tennis. This game is now a Player's Choice title...
by Namco were released. The basketball game Mario Hoops 3-on-3Mario Hoops 3-on-3 is a sports game developed by Square Enix and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in 2006....
, published by Square-Enix, was released in 2006.
Mario and Luigi appear in Super Smash Bros.Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as , is a crossover fighting game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan on January 21, 1999, in North America on April 26, 1999, and in Europe on November 19, 1999. Super Smash Bros. is the first game in...
for Nintendo 64The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10,...
as playable characters, as well as in its sequels. Additional Mario
characters also appear in later games of the series. Players can play as and against characters from Nintendo's video game franchises such as Mario
, Pokémon
and The Legend of Zelda
.
Other characters in the series, such as Donkey Kong, Yoshi and WarioThe Wario series is a series of video games created by Nintendo starring the character Wario. It started with Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, the first game with Wario as a playable character, and gained many sequels...
have also had their own spin-off series, including games such as Wario Land
, Yoshi's Island
and Donkey Kong CountryDonkey Kong Country is a platform video game developed by Rare, featuring the character Donkey Kong. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Following an intense marketing campaign, the original SNES version sold over 8 million copies...
; some of these series also have their own spin-offs (for example, Diddy Kong RacingDiddy Kong Racing is a 1997 racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. 800,000 copies were ordered in the two weeks before Christmas 1997, making it the fastest selling video game at the time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. An enhanced remake for the Nintendo DS...
and the WarioWare
series).
LCD games
Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel...
has released several Mario
and Donkey Kong
LCD video games for the Game & Watchis a line of handheld electronic games produced by Nintendo from to . Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, each Game & Watch features a single game to be played on an LCD screen in addition to a clock and an alarm ....
console. Nine were released between 1982 and 1994.
Games developed by other companies
This is a section of games developed by other companies without Nintendo involvement. These games are not officially recognized by Nintendo despite being officially licensed.
Hudson
Hudson Softis a electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in Japan. It was founded on May 18 1973. Initially, Hudson dealt with personal computer products, but has expanded to the development and publishing of video games, mobile content, and video game peripherals. As of 2003, the company employs...
released two games based on Mario Bros.is an arcade game published and developed by Nintendo in 1983. It was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Mario franchise. It is a follow-up to Donkey Kong and stars Mario, a plumber who was previously named "Jumpman". To date, Mario Bros. has been rereleased more than twenty times...
and another similar to Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
Mario Bros. Special
is a video game released in 1984 for the Japanese computers NEC PC-6001mkIIThe NEC PC-6001 was the first of the NEC Corporation personal computer line. There were several versions of the PC-6001, including the PC-6001 MK2, the PC-6001 MK2 SR, and the PC-6801. There was also an American version, called the NEC TREK, or NEC PC-6001A...
, NEC PC-6601The NEC PC-6601 was a computer created by the NEC Corporation. It was essentially a PC-6001 with a built-in 3.5" floppy disk drive.- References :*...
, NEC PC-8801The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88".-Hardware:*CPU: NEC PD780C-1...
, FM-7FM-7 is a home computer released in 1982 in Japan.The Fujitsu FM-7 was Fujitsu's first entry into the Japanese home computer market, and for their debut computer, they chose to come out with a 6809-based personal computer very similar to Radio Shack's Color Computer.-Hardware:*Two MC 6809E CPUs @...
and Sharp X1The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
. It is a remake of the original Mario Bros.is an arcade game published and developed by Nintendo in 1983. It was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Mario franchise. It is a follow-up to Donkey Kong and stars Mario, a plumber who was previously named "Jumpman". To date, Mario Bros. has been rereleased more than twenty times...
, with new stages, mechanics and gameplay.
Punch Ball Mario Bros.
is a video game released in 1984 for the Japanese computers NEC PC-6001mkII, NEC PC-6601, NEC PC-8801, FM-7 and Sharp X1. It is similar to the original Mario Bros.
, but featured a new gameplay mechanic of "punch balls", small balls which Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and Luigiis a video game character created by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the younger brother of Nintendo's official mascot, Mario. Luigi first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros., where he was featured as a main character alongside Mario...
can kick into enemies to stun them, instead of hitting them from below, as in the original.
Super Mario Bros. Special
is a video game released by Hudson Soft in spring 1986 for the Japanese NEC PC-8801. Nintendo was not involved in its development.
Philips
Two games were planned for development by Philips Interactive Media for use on its CD-iCD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V.. Though not originally marketed as a game console, it is infamous for being one of the biggest commercial failures in video game history...
machine: Super Mario's Wacky Worlds
and Hotel MarioHotel Mario is a puzzle game developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i in 1994. The primary character of the game is Mario, who must find Princess Toadstool by going through seven Koopa hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every hotel is divided into multiple...
. Only Hotel Mario
was released; Super Mario's Wacky Worlds
was eventually canceled. Philips was given permission to use Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel...
characters in CD-i games due to their taking part in developing an unreleased add-onAn add-on, which may overlap with the definition of a plug-in, may refer to:* an optional computer hardware or software component that, if installed, significantly supplements or enhances the functionality of the original unit, such as:...
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
(SNES). Hotel Mario
did not gain much success, with Nintendo rarely acknowledging it as part of the Mario
series.
Super Mario's Wacky Worlds
is a cancelled video game planned for the CD-iCD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V.. Though not originally marketed as a game console, it is infamous for being one of the biggest commercial failures in video game history...
, developed by NovaLogicNovaLogic is a software developer and publisher established in 1985 and based in Calabasas, California. The company was founded by current CEO John A. Garcia....
, which attempted to duplicate the gameplay of Super Mario Worldis a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide...
. Though the game spritesIn computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene....
are based on those in Super Mario World, the level design is based on Earth locations rather than the Mushroom Kingdom. Due to the limitations of the CD-i, several features could not be included in the game, such as large numbers of sprites on the screen,
Mode 7The term Mode 7 originated on the Super NES video game console, on which it describes a simple texture mapping graphics mode that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled...
and many visual effects. The nature of the pointing device controller also provides difficult controls for Mario, as the game has the default controls of running and jumping.
Hotel MarioHotel Mario is a puzzle game developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i in 1994. The primary character of the game is Mario, who must find Princess Toadstool by going through seven Koopa hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every hotel is divided into multiple...
is a puzzle game developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i in 1994. The primary character of the game is
Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, who must find
Princess Peachis a fictional character in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. series of video games. She is the princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the "damsel in distress" role in the adventure series. She was known as Princess Toadstool outside Japan until late 1996, when the name "Peach" was...
by going through seven Koopa Hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every hotel is divided into multiple stages, and the objective is to close all doors on each stage. The game has been criticised as one the worst Mario
-centered games, mainly because of its cut sceneA cut scene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has little or no control, often breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, present character development, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue and clues...
s and simple gameplay.
Educational games
In the early 1990s, many educational gameEducational games are games that have been specifically designed to teach people about a certain subject, expand concepts, reinforce development, understand an historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play...
s were released in the Mario
series. Few of these games were platformers; most sought to teach skills such as typing, mathematics or history. They are not officially recognized by Nintendo, despite being officially licensed. The games were developed independently by Software Toolworks, Interplay and Brainstorm. Nine educational games were released from 1991 to 1996.
Mario
in other media
The Mario
franchise includes many comics, manga and TV series based on the games of the series. Most were resealed in the late 1980s to early 1990s, and have since become obscure. Mario, Luigi and Peach have made cameo appearances in two sports games, one being NBA Street Vol. 3
. The series also launched two films, the animeis animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga , has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world...
Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusenis a Japanese anime film released on July 20, 1986. Directed by Masami Hata and produced by Masakatsu Suzuki and Tsunemasa Hatano, the plot centers around Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi, who get stuck in a Famicom video game and must save Princess Peach from Koopa.Although the film was...
released in 1986 and the live-action film Super Mario Bros.Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 science fiction adventure film loosely based on the video game of the same name and its entire franchise. The film follows the exploits of Mario and his brother Luigi in a comical dystopia ruled by King Koopa .Super Mario Bros. was a critical and commercial failure...
in 1993. The latter was widely considered to be a flopThe phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue retained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
; it lost a large amount of money at the box office.
Television
Saturday SupercadeSaturday Supercade was an animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Ruby-Spears Productions. It ran for two seasons on CBS beginning in 1983. Each episode was composed of several shorter segments featuring video game characters from the Golden Age of Arcade...
was an animated television series produced for
Saturday morningsA Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming which was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the 1990s. In the United States, the generally accepted times considered to be Saturday mornings...
by
Ruby-Spears ProductionsRuby-Spears Productions was a Burbank, California-based entertainment production company that specializes in animation...
. It ran for two seasons on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
, beginning in 1983. Each episode comprised several shorter segments featuring video game characters from the
Golden Age of Arcade GamesThe golden age of video arcade games was a peak era of video arcade game popularity, innovation, and earnings. The consensus as to its exact time period varies. Walter Day of Twin Galaxies places it as lasting from January 18, 1982 to January 5, 1986....
. Donkey Kong,
Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and Pauline (from the Donkey Kong
arcade game) were featured in the show.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is the first American TV series based on the Super Mario Bros. NES series of video games. It was broadcast in syndication from September 4 to December 1, 1989, with reruns airing until September 6, 1991. Reruns then aired on The Family Channel in the United States...
is the first American TV series based on the Mario
NES and SNES games. It was broadcast in syndication from September 4 to December 1, 1989. The show was produced by DiC EntertainmentDIC Entertainment was an international American film and television production company which was founded in 1971 as DIC Audiovisuel by Jean Chalopin in Luxembourg, as a subsidiary of Radio-Television Luxembourg...
and was distributed for syndicated television by Viacom EnterprisesViacom Enterprises was a television distribution company formed in 1971 as the successor to CBS Films, and spun off in 1973 due to now-repealed FCC bylaws prohibiting networks from syndicating their own shows....
(full rights have since reverted to DiC through Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel...
).
King Koopa's Kool KartoonsKing Koopa's Kool Kartoons was a local, American live-action children's television show broadcast in Southern California during the holiday season of 1989/90. The show starred King Koopa , the central arch-villain from Mario video game series...
was a live actionIn film, theatre and video, live-action refers to works that are acted out by human actors, as opposed to by animation. As it is the norm, the term is usually superfluous, but it makes an important distinction in situations in which one might normally expect animation, as in a Pixar film, a video...
children's television showA television program , television programme , or television show is a segment of content broadcast on television...
broadcast in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California, or SoCal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers around three major metropolitan areas, each of which have over 3 million people; the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area with over 12 million inhabitants, the San Bernardino-Riverside...
during the holiday season of 1989/1990. The show starred King Koopa (also known as Bowser), the main antagonist of the Mario
series. The 30-minute program was originally broadcast during the after-school afternoon time-slots on Los AngelesLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
-based KTTV Fox 11KTTV, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in Los Angeles, California. Serving the vast Los Angeles metropolitan area, KTTV is a sister station to KCOP , Los Angeles' MyNetworkTV station...
.
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 is a Canadian-American animated television series based on the video game Super Mario Bros. 3. It aired on NBC as a part of Captain N: The Game Master, from September 8, 1990 through December 1, 1990.- Format :...
is the second TV series based on the Mario
NES and SNES games. It aired on NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
from September 8 to December 1, 1990. Based on the Super Mario Bros. 3is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. It was first released in Japan in 1988 and later in the United States and Europe in 1990 and 1991 respectively...
video game, the cartoon shows Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad fighting against Bowser Koopa and his Koopalings, who went by different names on the show. Like the previous Mario cartoon series, the animation was done by Sei Young Animation Co. Ltd, however this show was co-produced by Reteitalia S.P.A., hence the slight differences in character design.
Super Mario Challenge
was a show which aired on The Children's ChannelThe Children's Channel was an early cable channel which began broadcasting on 1 September 1984 in the United Kingdom. It also became available on the Astra satellite in 1989. From 1992, a later segment of the channel between 5-7 PM was renamed & rebranded as TCC which aimed its focus to teenagers...
. It ran from 1990 to 1991 and aired at 4:30 p.m. every weekday. The presenter, John LenahanJohn Lenahan is an American illusionist and entertainer resident in the UK since 1984...
, was a lookalike of Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, and dressed in his clothes. Two guest players had to do tasks, all of which involved playing the Mario
video games Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
, Super Mario Bros. 2Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was released in North America in October 1988, Europe on April 28, 1989 and Japan on July 14, 1992...
and, after its release in 1991, Super Mario Bros. 3is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. It was first released in Japan in 1988 and later in the United States and Europe in 1990 and 1991 respectively...
. Rounds included challenges to see which player could complete a level in the fastest time and who could collect the most gold coins on a certain level.
Super Mario WorldSuper Mario World is an animated television series loosely based on the Super NES video game of the same name. It is the third and thus far last Saturday morning cartoon based on the Super Mario Bros. NES and Super NES series of video games...
is an animated television series loosely based on the SNES video game of the same nameis a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide...
. It is the third and currently last Saturday morning cartoon based on the Mario
series. The show was originally aired on Saturday mornings on NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
in the 1991–92 season. It was featured in a half-hour time slot with a shortened version of Captain N: The Game MasterCaptain N: The Game Master is an American animated television series that aired on U.S. television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. The show incorporated elements from many of the most popular Nintendo games of the time...
. Episodes of Super Mario World
were later shown as part of the syndicationIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple individual stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in countries where television is scheduled by networks with local affiliates, particularly in the United States...
package Captain N and the Video Game Masters
. Afterwards, the series was split from Captain N
altogether and shown in time-compressed reruns on Mario All-Stars
.
Anime
is a Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese animeis animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga , has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world...
film released on July 20, 1986. Directed by Masami Hata and produced by Masakatsu Suzuki and Tsunemasa Hatano, it stars Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and Luigiis a video game character created by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the younger brother of Nintendo's official mascot, Mario. Luigi first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros., where he was featured as a main character alongside Mario...
, who get stuck in a FamicomThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
video game, in which they must save Princess Peachis a fictional character in Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. series of video games. She is the princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the "damsel in distress" role in the adventure series. She was known as Princess Toadstool outside Japan until late 1996, when the name "Peach" was...
from Koopa. A mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
adaptation of the film was published in Japan around the same time as the film's release.
Film
Super Mario Bros. is an AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
1993 adventureAdventure films are a genre of film.-History:The adventure film reached its peak of popularity in 1930s and 1940s Hollywood, when films such as Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Mark of Zorro were regularly made with major stars, notably Errol Flynn and Tyrone Power, who were...
familyA family film is a film genre that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families. To attract these diverse audiences, film makers often create works that operate simultaneously on several levels of appeal...
comedyComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
incredibly loosely based on the video game of the same name. The film follows the exploits of Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
(Bob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor, known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, and for his performances in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Hook , and Super Mario Bros. .-Early life:Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England,...
) and Luigiis a video game character created by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the younger brother of Nintendo's official mascot, Mario. Luigi first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros., where he was featured as a main character alongside Mario...
(John LeguizamoJohn Alberto Leguizamo is an Alma and Emmy Award winning Colombian-American comedian, actor, voice actor and producer.-Early life:...
) in a dystopiaA dystopia is the vision of a society in which conditions of life are miserable and characterized by poverty, oppression, war, violence, disease, pollution, nuclear fallout and/or the abridgement of human rights, resulting in widespread unhappiness, suffering, and...
ruled by King Koopa (Dennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper is an American actor, filmmaker and artist, with a career that spanned half of the 20th century. Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1955, and appeared in two films also featuring...
). It was the first live-action major motion picture to be based on a video game. The film's plot features Mario and Luigi as the main protagonists, Mario leading the team with Luigi developing a romance with Princess Daisy.
The film is widely considered to be a flopThe phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue retained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
, losing a lot of money. The film received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike and was denounced by critics as "cheesy" and lacking any sort of coherent plot. On the television show Siskel & Ebert, the film received two thumbs down. This is the second least successful Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel...
video game film adaptation, behind Pokémon Heroesis the fifth movie in the Pokémon series, complimenting Pokémon: Master Quest . The original Japanese version was released in theaters on July 13, 2002, and the English adaptation saw New York City and Los Angeles theatrical release on May 16, 2003, before making its way to video and DVD in...
.
Comics and manga
The Mario has spawned several comic books and manga since its creation.
is a mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
series written by Yukio Sawada (沢田ユキオ) and published by Shogakukan. It is serialized in CoroCoro Comicis a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan, starting in April 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen manga. Several of its properties, like Doraemon and the Pokémon series of games, have gone on to be cultural phenomena in Japan...
. It contains many characters and scenarios from Mario games, such as Super Mario Worldis a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide...
and Paper MarioPaper Mario, known in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 game console. It was first released in Japan on August 11, 2000, in Europe on October 5, 2000, and in North America on February 5, 2001...
.
The Nintendo Comics SystemThe Nintendo Comics System was a series of comic books published by Valiant Comics in 1990 and 1991. It was part of a licensing deal with Nintendo, featuring characters from their video games and the cartoons based on them.-The Comics:...
was a series of comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
s published by Valiant ComicsValiant Comics is a American comic book publishing company founded by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, writer/artists Bob Layton and a number of financial partners in 1989....
in 1990 and 1991. It was part of a licensing deal with Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel...
, featuring characters from their video games and the cartoonThe word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time....
s based on them. Valiant's Super Mario Bros. comic books were based on the three main Mario games on the Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
, as well as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. The Mario line was renewed for 1991 with two different books—Super Mario Bros. and Adventures of the Super Mario Bros.
is an anthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of comics, drawn in a Japanese mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
style, that ran in Nintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #240 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US....
magazine throughout 1992, featuring the characters from Nintendo's Mariois a fictional character in his eponymous video game series, created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
series and based loosely on Super Mario Worldis a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide...
.
Immediately following the end of Super Mario Adventures, Nintendo Power concluded the epic with a ten-page story based on Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coinsis a platforming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It debuted in Japan on October 21, 1992, in North America on November 2, 1992, and in Europe on January 28, 1993. Like its predecessor Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2 was created by director Hiroji Kiyotake...
titled Mario VS Wario, which ran in their January 1993 issue and was later reprinted in the graphic novel.
Reception
The Mario series is one of the most popular and enduring series of all time. The series is ranked as the best game franchise by IGN. The original Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
was awarded the top spot on Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly is an American video game magazine being re-launched by EGM Media, LLC. It was previously published by Ziff Davis as part of the 1UP Network and released 12 issues a year Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American video game magazine being...
's greatest 200 games of their time list and IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
's top 100 games of all time list twice (2005, 2007). Super Mario Bros. popularized the side scrolling genre of video games and led to the many sequels in the series that built upon the same basic premise. Super Mario Bros. sold 40.24 million copies, making it the best selling video game of the series.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is often regarded as one of the Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
's greatest games, Nintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #240 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US....
rated the game #6 on their 200 Greatest Nintendo Games list and was #14 on Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly is an American video game magazine being re-launched by EGM Media, LLC. It was previously published by Ziff Davis as part of the 1UP Network and released 12 issues a year Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American video game magazine being...
. Super Mario World also received very positive scores, with a 97% average from GameRankings and rated the 8th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo PowerNintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #240 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US....
's Top 200 Games list.
Super Mario 64, as the first 3D3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
platform game in the Mario series, established a new archetype for the genre, much as Super Mario Bros. did for 2D2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
sidescrolling platformers. It is acclaimed by many critics and fans as one of the greatest and most revolutionary video games of all time. Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognised...
reported sales of 11.8 million copies for Super Mario 64 at the end of 2007.
Super Mario Sunshine also received critical acclaim by game reviewers. IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
praised the addition of the water backpack for improving the gameplay, and GameSpyGameSpy, also known as GameSpy Industries, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current company...
commented on the "wide variety of moves and the beautifully constructed environments".
Mario's legacy is recognized by Guinness World Records, who awarded the Nintendo Mascot, and the series of platform games he has appeared in, 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include, "Best Selling Video Game Series of All Time", "First Movie Based on an Existing Video Game", and "Most Prolific Video Game Character", with Mario appearing in 116 distinct titles (not including remakes or re-releases).
Sales
(millions)
|-
|Donkey Kongis an arcade game developed by Nintendo, released in . It is an early example of the platform genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging obstacles. In it, Jumpman must rescue a damsel in distress, Lady , from a giant ape named...
|Arcade
| align="center"|—
|-
|Mario Bros.is an arcade game published and developed by Nintendo in 1983. It was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the Mario franchise. It is a follow-up to Donkey Kong and stars Mario, a plumber who was previously named "Jumpman". To date, Mario Bros. has been rereleased more than twenty times...
|NESThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
| align="center"|1.63
|-
|Super Mario Bros.is a platform video game developed by Nintendo in late 1985 and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the titular character, Mario, seeks to rescue Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, king of the Koopas...
|NES
| align="center"|40.23
|-
|Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan)Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, known in Japan as , is a platformer video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System...
|NES
| align="center"|—
|-
|Super Mario Bros. 2 (International)Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was released in North America in October 1988, Europe on April 28, 1989 and Japan on July 14, 1992...
|NES
| align="center"| 10
|-
|Super Mario Landis a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It and the Game Boy debuted in Japan on February 21, 1989, in the United States in July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990. Super Mario Land marked Mario's first appearance on the Game Boy and is...
| Game BoyThe is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on . In Southern Asia, it is known as the "Tata Game Boy" It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line...
| align="center"|14
|-
|Super Mario Bros. 3is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. It was first released in Japan in 1988 and later in the United States and Europe in 1990 and 1991 respectively...
|NES
| align="center"|18
|-
|Super Mario Worldis a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide...
| SNESThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
| align="center"|20
|-
|Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coinsis a platforming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It debuted in Japan on October 21, 1992, in North America on November 2, 1992, and in Europe on January 28, 1993. Like its predecessor Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2 was created by director Hiroji Kiyotake...
| Game Boy
| align="center"|2.7
|-
|Super Mario 64is a platform game, developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia....
| N64The , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1, 1997 in France and December 10,...
| align="center"|11
|-
|Super Mario Sunshineis a platform game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on July 19, 2002, in North America on August 26, 2002, and in Europe and Australia on October 4, 2002. It is the first 3D Mario platformer...
| NGCThe is Nintendo's fourth home video game console with Wii being fifth, and is part of the sixth generation console era. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and predecessor to Nintendo's Wii....
| align="center"|5.5
|-
|New Super Mario Bros.is a side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in May 2006 and in Australia and Europe in June 2006...
| DS
| align="center"|18.45
|-
|Super Mario Galaxyis a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in Japan on November 1, 2007, the United States on November 12, 2007, Canada on November 14, 2007, Europe on November 16, 2007, Australasia on November 27, 2007 and South Korea on September...
|WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
| align="center"|8.02
|-
| colspan="2" align="right"| Total sales of all games (millions)
| align="center"| 149.53
|}
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
New Super Mario Bros.