Mario

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File:Supermario.jpg

Mario (Japanese: マリオ), also known as Super Mario, is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo, supposedly named after the Italian landlord, Mario Segali, at Nintendo of America.

Mario is the official mascot of the Nintendo Corporation, and is almost synonymous with the Nintendo brand. He first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong. The game was surprisingly successful, and when the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, Mario was given the starring role in the revolutionary Super Mario Brothers game. Shortly thereafter Mario took on role of mascot of Nintendo and has since been extensively merchandized.

Mario has appeared on television (in several cartoons), in comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins.

Mario's supporting characters include Luigi, Princess Peach Toadstool, Toad, Yoshi, and King Bowser Koopa among others.

Little is known about Mario's history. According to manuals and gameplay, Mario is an Italian-American man, born in the Mushroom Kingdom, and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. He wears blue overalls and is a plumber, although he has experience in demolition, sanitation and cement work, and apparently is a medical physician. In Donkey Kong, Mario (then Jumpman) was a carpenter. He spends his leisure time eating, playing tennis and golf, and racing in his Kart.

His surname, also Mario, first became known in the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros.. This was to explain how both Mario and his brother Luigi could both be known as the "Mario brothers".

The original Super Mario Brother series pioneered many concepts in modern video games. Miyamoto created these from ideas he had seen in other media. One of his most recognizable contributions to his Mario universe is the Power mushroom, which would enlarge Mario until he came into contact with an enemy. This idea was derived from the "Eat me" and "Drink me" potions in the Lewis Caroll story, Alice in Wonderland. He also incorporated the idea of the "Beam me up, Scotty" phrase from Star Trek with warp pipes, usually green pipes that sometimes warped Mario to another area.

Contents

Games

Over the years Mario and his brother, Luigi, have appeared in several popular video games, both their own and others. According to Nintendo, Mario has appeared in 67 games, and has sold a total of 170,000,000 copies of them as of December 17, 2003. Here is a brief chronological list:

1980s

Year 1981

  • Donkey Kong, (Arcade) - The first game to feature Mario, although at this point he is named Jumpman.

Year 1982

  • Donkey Kong, (Game & Watch) - The very first game with Mario, who was a carpenter trying to rescue his girlfriend from an evil ape.
  • Donkey Kong Junior,( Arcade, Game & Watch) - Mario is the bad guy in this one, and it is up to Donkey Kong Jr. to rescue his father.
  • Donkey Kong 2 (Game & Watch)

Year 1983

Year 1984

Year 1985

  • Super Mario Brothers (NES) - First scrolling platformer. 32 KB of program; 8 KB of graphics.
  • Tennis (NES) - Mario was the referee.
  • Wrecking Crew (NES) - Mario is the protagonist, but gameplay is unrelated to other Mario games. Many NES games featured Mario as a character, even though the game may not have fit the theme of the series.

Year 1986

  • Super Mario Brothers 2: The Lost Levels, Famicom) - Released initially in Japan on the Famicom Disk System, this used a slightly modified version of the original SMB engine with much harder levels. The "Lost Levels" title was created when this game was brought to the U.S. in Super Mario All Stars, without the "2". Originally, this game was going to be Super Mario Bros. 2, but Nintendo did not believe that it would sell well, as the game was voted "too hard" by 94% of a survey of 250 Americans.
  • Super Mario Brothers Special - A flick-screen version of Super Mario Brothers with all new levels, which was released for the NEC PC88 series.
  • Vs. Super Mario Brothers (Arcade) - A mixture of the original SMB and The Lost Levels that ran on the arcade VS Unisystem. Powerups and solution to mazes (e.g. 4-4) have been moved, and more enemies have been added thanks to new flicker-reduction programming, along with other bugfixes.
  • All Night Nippon Super Mario Brothers - Japan only.

Year 1987

  • Pinball (NES) - Mario appears in the Bonus Stage, where he maneuvers a platform to keep the ball from getting away, and then catch the Princess when she falls from above.

Year 1988

  • Super Mario Brothers 2: Mario Madness / Super Mario USA (NES) - Released initially in markets outside of Japan, this is a modified version of a Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic with some of the graphics replaced by Mario-themed graphics. This game tends to be overlooked by some Mario fans as being the runt; some of the characters unique to this game have now become staples of the Mario world, including Bob-ombs, Snifits, and Shyguys.
  • Super Mario Bros 3 (NES) - Mario gains several new abilities, including the first appearance of his ability to fly. Also of note is that this is the best selling video game of all time.
  • Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally (Famicom Disk Drive)

Year 1989

1990s

Year 1990

Year 1991

Year 1992

Year 1993

  • Mario Is Missing! (SNES) - Luigi must fight his way through 15 geography lessons to save Mario.
  • Mario's Time Machine (SNES) - Mario must fight his way through 15 history lessons.
  • Super Mario All Stars (SNES) (in Japan, Super Mario Collection) - collection of original SMB, both SMB2 games, and SMB3, with enhanced graphics and sound.
  • Yoshi's Safari (SNES)

Year 1994

  • Donkey Kong (Gameboy) - First Super Gameboy game with about 100 new levels.

Year 1995

Year 1996

Year 1997

Year 1998

Year 1999

2000s

Year 2000

  • Paper Mario (2000, Nintendo 64) - Mario's 2nd RPG, this time in true 3D, but with 2D characters.
  • Mario Party 3 (2000, Nintendo 64) - noted for confusion between Mario Party 3's box art and that of the original Mario Party; the original had a die showing a number 3 below the word "PARTY" on the box. Also noted for same initials as MPEG audio layer 3 audio layer 3, as the press release points out.

Year 2001

Year 2002

Year 2003

Year 2004

In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario is a balanced character (as he is in many games featuring other playable choices). He is said to "reflect the actual skills of the player", according to the Super Smash Bros. Melee "Smash" character trophy description. His trademark move is the fireball. His fireballs are affected by gravity (unlike Luigi's fireballs). Also, Mario's fireballs are red in color, whereas Luigi's are green.

There are ten trophies of him in the game: three Mario ones, three Dr. Mario ones, one as he appeared in Paper Mario, one Racoon Mario, one Metal Mario, and one Baby Mario.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, his weapon is the fireball. In Super Mario Kart, the computer controlled Mario has unlimited invincibility. In Super Mario Brothers 2, Mario is an average jumper and second only to Toad in carrying capacity.

Super Mario is also a nickname for Mario Monti, as well as for Mario Lemieux and also Mario Basler.


References

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