It’s-A-Me! A Quick History Of Mario

The little plumber that took gaming by storm.

Whether you’ve played the classic Super Mario Bros., the many iterations of MarioKart, Dr. Mario, Mario Olympics, the dynamic new Super Mario Bros. Wonder, or watch the Super Mario Bros. movie, it’s likely you’ve witnessed the cultural phenomenon of Mario in some form or media.

With Mario Day coming soon (March 10), explore the history of the tiny hero (or if you’re already an expert, take the quiz to see how much Mario Bros. knowledge you have!).

Quick History: The Beginning of Jumpman

Many forget that Mario started as a blip in a different game that launched in 1981: Donkey Kong. The game was a huge success–over 60,000 cabinets eventually shipped to various arcades bringing the challenging game to a variety of gamers.

However, Mario, known then as ‘’Jumpman’’, wasn’t going to stay in the background for long. Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the iconic game and character, developed a game featuring the once-carpenter-turned-plumber. Mario burst onto the scene with his own game - Mario Bros.--,and even had his identical green-clad brother, eventually named Luigi, along for the ride.

Though it wasn’t a huge hit at first, Nintendo’s NES system launched Mario into the stratosphere of gaming greats in 1985 with Super Mario Bros.–the now classic game that truly began to build out what we know of Mario: his battles with Bowser, rescues of Princess Peach, and quippy quotable sayings throughout his journey.

The games continued to diversify the levels and objectives, introducing other playable characters, spin-off installments like MarioKart and Mario Party, and adding a variety of elements like mini mushrooms that shrink Mario down to fit into tiny parts of a certain level.

There is also an assortment of versions that can range from 2D or 3D and side scrolling adventures or not (and even a special Paper Mario edition).

There is no sign of the Mario train slowing down–with the new Super Mario Bros. Wonder and the Super Mario RPG games for the Switch taking the gaming world by storm.

So Many Marios!

Mario has appeared in so many games–many of which consistently top the bestsellers for Nintendo consoles.

Installments such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Party (and all of the iterations!), Super Paper Mario, Dr. Mario, sport games like Mario Tennis & Super Mario Strikers, and, of course, all of the Mario Kart games.

He’s also appeared in the popular Super Smash Bros. franchise as one of the many gaming greats to battle in the game.

At Decades, we have the arcade version of Super Mario Bros., Dr. Mario, and two Mario Kart 2 arcade games for guests to enjoy while here!

Who knows what next adventure brings Mushroom Kingdom into chaos once more. With games no doubt lined up for release, along with cross-collaborative toys like LEGO sets, or the immersive Super Nintendo World at Universal theme park, there seems to be no stopping the heroic little dude on his quest for peace (and fun)!