This is about the series. For the character, see Mario (character).
Mario or Super Mario is a very long-running Nintendo video game series of platformer titles that has spanned about thirty years over a variety of arcade, console, and handheld platforms in addition to personal and Macintosh computers. Though the series is technically a spin-off of the Donkey Kong series, Super Mario now stands independent of its parent series and is one of the most well-known series in the world. The series inspired many spin-offs, several of which developed into independent video game series such as the Yoshi, Wario Land, and Mario Kart series.
Mario has had games spanning seven platforms, five handhelds, and the PC.
History
Pre-NES Era (June 2, 1981- September 13, 1985)
Mario's first appearance in 1981.
The Mario series began in 1981 with Donkey Kong. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Donkey Kong was Nintendo's first big success. Originally, Mario was known as Jumpman, but it was later changed to the former when Nintendo of America nicknamed the character Mario after their landlord, Mario Segale.
Mario returned to the series as the villain of Donkey Kong Jr.. However, he was replaced by Stanley the Bugman in Donkey Kong 3.
However, in 1983, Mario got his own game, Mario Bros.. This was the also the first game to feature Luigi.
Mario and Donkey Kong also appeared in several Game & Watch games.
NES and Game Boy Era (September 13, 1985-1990)
Mario's first outing on the NES was Super Mario Bros. It sold around forty million copies worldwide, making it the bestselling game of all time. The game introduced many of the hallmarks of the series including Bowser, Princess Peach, Toads, Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Starmen, Koopa Troopas, and Goombas.
In the wake of the success of Super Mario Bros., a sequel, Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in 1987. In Japan, the game was similar to Super Mario Bros. It was later released in America as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels on the Wii's Virtual Console and the compilation Super Mario All-Stars. In America, Super Mario Bros. 2 was the same as the Japanese game Doki Doki Panic, but with Mario characters. The American version allowed players to play as Princess Peach and Toad for the first time and was re-released in Japan as Super Mario USA.
In 1989, Mario made his debut on the Game Boy with Super Mario Land. It sold 18.06 million copies, making it the bestselling game not bundled with a console in history. This game introduced the good friend of Mario's, Princess Daisy.
Mario returned to the NES in 1990 with Super Mario Bros. 3. The game returned to the formula of Super Mario Bros. It introduced many new powers such as the Super Leaf, Tanooki Suit, Hammer Suit and Frog Suit. It also was the first appearance of the Koopalings. It sold 17.8 million copies.
SNES Era (1990-1996)
In 1991, Mario debuted on the Super Nintendo with Super Mario World. This game introduced Mario's companion, Yoshi. It sold 20.60 million copies worldwide.
Mario returned to the Gameboy in 1992 with Super Mario Land 2. The game introduced Mario's rival, Wario.
In the same year, Mario set the standard for cart racing games with Super Mario Kart. It was at the time (and some say, still is) the best racing game available.
In 1994, Toad and Wario closed the NES with a bang with the puzzle game, Wario's Woods. It is the only game to star Toad as the only hero.
In 1995, Mario returned to the Super Nintendo as a baby in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Instead of controlling Mario, the player controlled Yoshi.
Mario's last game on the Super Nintendo had him delve into the RPG genre. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is fondly remembered by fans and is often listed as one of the top games for the Super Nintendo. Interestingly, this is the first game that let players play as Bowser.
Nintendo 64 Era (1996-September 14, 2001)
Mario looking around in Super Mario 64.
1996 was a landmark year for the Mario series. It was the year that Super Mario 64 was released. The game made the transition from 2D to 3D very well, and set an example for how 3D platformers should feel. The game sold 11.62 million worldwide, making it the bestselling game for the Nintendo 64.
The next game in the Mario Kart series released in 1997, Mario Kart 64. This game has been criticized for not feeling as speedy as Super Mario Kart.
In 1999, Mario was once again pushed in a new direction. Mario Party was an odd concept: a combination of board game and video game. However, it was very well done and an excellent game to play with friends.
Another new idea developed in 1999 was Mario and sports. That year, Mario Golf was released and well received.
Perhaps the strangest departure that year was a fighting game. While Super Smash Bros. isn't technically a Mario game, it's still noteworthy. The game featured characters from some of Nintendo's most popular franchises. It went on to become the fifth bestselling game for the Nintendo 64.
In the year 2000, Mario tried out another sport. Mario Tennis was as successful as Mario Golf was before it.
In the year 2001, Mario returned to the RPG genre, but with a new twist. Paper Mario featured the hero as a paper cut out.
Nintendo GameCube Era (September 14, 2001 - November 19, 2006), Game Boy Advance Era (March 21, 2001 - 2007) and Nintendo DS Era (2006 - November 13, 2011)
The GBA was released on March 21, 2001. In its launch was Super Mario Advance, which was a remake of the American Super Mario Bros. 2, adding new graphics and a few new additions, such as a remake of Mario Bros. that could be played with 4 players.
In 2001, Luigi got his own game, Luigi's Mansion. The game strayed away from platforming and focused on the use of the Poltergust 3000 to solve puzzles and capture a haunted house's ghosts.
2001 also saw the sequel to 1999's fighter Super Smash Bros.with Super Smash Bros. Melee, the best-selling game on the GameCube.
Also in 2001, the sequel to Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, released. This game was very similar to Super Mario Kart, except 32-bit, not 16-bit. Super Mario Advance 2 came out early in 2002. A remake of Super Mario World, it had new graphics, but unlike the original Advance, it had many new features.
In 2002, Mario returned in Super Mario Sunshine. Like his brother, Mario was wielding a new device, in this case, F.L.U.D.D..
Also in 2002 was Super Mario Advance 3. It was a port of Yoshi's Island. It had almost nothing new, not even graphics.
In mid-2003, Mario Golf had a huge update on the GCN with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. It did not have any of the humans from the original, but it added tons of new features to add to its wackiness, plus a new, easier mechanic for swings.
Mario had his first RPG on a portable system in 2003. For the Game Boy Advance, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga featured both of the brothers fighting simultaneously.
Another game released in late-2003 was Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, the sequel to Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
2004's Super Mario Advance 4 was more or less a port of Super Mario All-Stars's remake of Super Mario Bros. 3, but it had a few tiny changes, such as yet another Mario Bros. remake addition.
In 2004, Mario Golf: Advance Tour was released. It was a lot like the GBC version of Mario Golf, but now it has new characters, courses, and 3D graphics. There were RPG elements to the game, too, which meant one's character stats could be totally different from anothers of the same character. It was possible to link to Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and transfer characters to it.
Mario went back to his roots and went up against his old antagonist Donkey Kong for the first time in 10 years in 2004. Mario vs. Donkey Kong's gameplay was similar to Donkey Kong '94's gameplay, but with entirely new levels.
In 2004, the sequel to Paper Mario came out: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door played similarly to its predecessor, but in a new setting with an unrelated story.
In 2004, Mario Power Tennis, the sequel to 2000's Mario Tennis, was released. it featured several new characters and modes, along with Power Shots.
On November 21, 2004, Nintendo released its new console, the Nintendo DS with a port of Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 DS.
2005 stretched Mario's boundaries a bit further by adding rhythm games to his resume. Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix featured remixed games as well as characters from the Mario series.
Mario also tried a couple of new sports in 2005. Mario Superstar Baseball mixed the great American pastime with Mario. Super Mario Strikers, on the other hand, mixed the Mario with the excitement of soccer/football.
The GBA version of Mario Power Tennis came out in 2005, called Mario Tennis: Power Tour. It was much like the GBC Mario Tennis, with RPG elements and Humans. Unfortunately, the GCN version could not link up to it.
Late in that same year, two DS titles came out featuring Mario. They were Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, which was the sequel to Superstar Saga, throwing time travel and Baby Mario and Luigi into the RPG fray, and Mario Kart DS, which was the very first Nintendo online game. It included, along with 16 new courses, 16 old favorites, 4 from each of the past Mario Karts.
Princess Peach got her own game in 2006. Super Princess Peach is an easier platformer than the previous Mario platformers, but it has its own unique characteristics.
2006 was the year of the Nintendo DS for Mario. The Mario Bros. series has been continued in a unique way with the New Super Mario Bros. With new abilities and the old platforming action, the game is truly a worthy successor.
Mario tested his skills on the courts with Mario Hoops 3 on 3. Along with his usual friends, he also went up against some opponents from the RPG Series Final Fantasy.
The SNES's Yoshi's Island was sequeled with Yoshi's Island DS. This time, the game featured the younger versions of several favorite characters, including Baby Peach, Baby DK, and many others.
Wii Era (November 19, 2006-Late 2012)
2007 brought on new sequels to classical Mario games, such as Super Paper Mario (Paper Mario series), Mario Party 8 & Mario Party 9 (Mario Party series), Mario Strikers Charged (Mario Strikers series), Super Mario Galaxy (sequel to Super Mario Sunshine). Later in 2008, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Super Smash Bros. series) and Mario Kart Wii (Mario Kart Series) were released. Mario Super Sluggers (Mario Baseball series) was also released. In 2009, New Super Mario Bros. Wii was released. And in 2010, the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2 was released.
Nintendo 3DS Era (November 13, 2011-Present)
The Mario series added a new game to the Super Mario Land series for the Nintendo 3DS with Super Mario 3D Land. Two spin-off games, Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Mario Kart 7, were also announced. And in August, 2012, a new game for the New Super Mario Bros. series, New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released. In 2013, the very popular Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and not so known Mario Party: Island Tour was released.
Wii U Era (Late 2012-Present)
Near the end of 2012, Nintendo released a new Super Mario installment for the Wii U, called New Super Mario Bros. U. There was a different version of New Super Mario Bros. U called New Super Luigi U, for the Year of Luigi. Another game, Super Mario 3D World, was released as well. The Super Mario series has started from Mario's appearance in Donkey Kong. Later on creators have been making Mario games like Super Mario Bros., Paper Mario: The Thousand-year Door, and so on. At 2014, a spin-off, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was released for Wii U consoles. Mario Party 10 was released in 2015. Also in 2015, the Mario franchise turned 30 years old. To celebrate this, Nintendo released a Wii U exclusive game Super Mario Maker. The game was a level desginer, that allowed users from all over the world to submit creative, and maybe a few not-so creative, levels.