Mario games

Group Description

This group contains all games prominently featuring the Italian-American plumber Mario, a fictional character created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Mario is one of the most popular video game characters of all times, serving as the mascot of Nintendo and starring in a vast amount of games.

Creation

Mario is traditionally depicted as a short man with a mustache, dressed in red overalls with a blue shirt (or the other way around) and a red cap. He first appeared in Donkey Kong (1982) and was originally named Jumpman, owing the name to his ability to jump. Miyamoto intended to name him "Mr. Video" afterwards, but decided to use "Mario" after an argument between Nintendo employees and their American warehouse landlord, Mario Segale, concerning overdue rent. Mario was made a plumber because of the sewer-like underground settings of Mario Bros. (1983).

Gameplay

Mario games may belong to different genres, but they gained prominence primarily thanks to its platform installments. Super Mario Bros. (1985) became the most influential Mario game, laying the foundation stone for the side-scrolling platform genre. Ever since that game, Mario's trademark ability has become jumping on enemies' heads to defeat or incapacitate them. He can also consume mushrooms to grow in size, and special flowers to be able to throw fireballs at enemies. In later games Mario acquired other power-ups, including some that allowed him to fly and ride a dinosaur.

Besides platformers, Mario games contain many spin-offs, most notably RPGs, sports and racing games (see the "Related Groups" section).

Other recurrent characters

Mario's brother Luigi has appeared in many Mario games, mostly as a secondary character in two-player modes. One of the series' recurrent storylines involves saving the Princess Toadstool from the clutches of the evil turtle-like creature known as Bowser or King Koopa; his minions, the Koopas, are among the most common enemy characters in Mario games. In Super Mario World (1990), the friendly dinosaur Yoshi made an appearance and has since become a playable character in some of the games. A minor antagonist, a pirate named Wario, appeared in a spin-off series of his own.

Related Groups:

• Mario RPG series
• Mario Kart series
• Mario Sports series
• Mario Party series
• Mario Educational games
• Wario games