Mario
From Ultimatewiki
Mario is a popular video game character created by the company Nintendo, and is also the titular hero of numerous successful video games, many of the platforming genre. He is Nintendo's mascot and the typical protagonist of the company's best selling video game series. Therefore, the character, aside from a few exceptions, only appears on Nintendo's consoles. With over 193 million units sold, Mario is not only Nintendo's most successful franchise, but the most successful video game series of all time. Furthermore, Mario is considered the most well-known video game character in the world. In 2005, he was honored with a star on the Walk of Game.
Mario is a 155 cm (5'1") tall, pudgy, Italian-accented, moustachioed man with a blue pair of overalls, red shirt, white gloves, and red cap with an 'M' emblem on it. Some of his typical catchphrases are "Mamma mia!" and "It's a-me, Mario!"
History
At first answering to the name of "Jumpman" and was a carpenter in the successful arcade game Donkey Kong, he first attained the worldwide title of "Mario" and became a plumber in Donkey Kong Junior.
The franchise was developed further by constant extension of the freedom of movement for Mario, and exerted crucial influence on the platformer genre of video games. A largely popular series due to its easily-accessible gameplay and exceptional level design, Mario's mascot image was cemented, and he quickly went on to appear in many forms of merchandise. Today, Mario is a household name in many countries worldwide.
Beginnings
Donkey Kong
The Japanese video game manufacturer Nintendo tried to find success in the USA just as they have in Japan through the arcade game market. Their arcade game Radar Scope, while successful in Japan, didn't help the subsidiary company Nintendo of America, with only one-third of the shipped Radar Scope games sold when Nintendo was hoping for a breakthrough. Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi turned to the young game developer Shigeru Miyamoto and entrusted him with the development of a new game, which would be built from the remaining Radar Scope units. With a Popeye game, they hoped to find their desired success in America. However, Nintendo lost the rights to the Popeye character before the planned publication of the finished game.
Thereupon, Miyamoto received an order to sketch a game based on the original game. Miyamoto developed the game Donkey Kong, which tells a story of a carpenter whose girlfriend is kidnapped by a gorilla. The task of the player was to steer the carpenter around barrels and other objects, while trying to catch up to the gorilla and save the girlfriend. For the then-nameless carpenter, Miyamoto wanted to sketch a simple character, which players could identify with themselves. The result was an early Mario, with a tubular nose, red pair of overalls, blue shirt, and red cap.
The design was strongly affected by the technical limitations of the hardware, which permitted only 16 by 16 pixels for the main character. The mustache was better representable than a mouth, and formed the image of a large nose. The multicolored clothes formed a contrast with the black background, and the overalls served as a distinction between the body and the arms, so that one recognized their movement. Because of the cap, it wasn't necessary to represent the movement of Mario's hair if he jumped. The game was finished in 1981, and the game sold over 65,000 units, the most successful arcade game since Pac-Man, bringing Nintendo of America its desired breakthrough. The character, named "Jumpman" by Miyamoto was renamed by Hiroshi Yamauchi due to his physical similarity with Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segale, and the character was identified as Italian. The color combination of the shirt and overalls was modified in later games from blue-red to red-brown to red-blue. Despite more efficient video game hardware and the improved possibilities of realistic graphics, Mario has kept this appearance even today.
Mario Bros.
After his appearance in Donkey Kong Junior, Mario appeared again in 1983 in Mario Bros., Mario's first appearance as the titular hero. After a colleague cited that Mario looked more like a plumber than a carpenter, Miyamoto changed his occupation accordingly. In this game, which was originally called Pipe Jump, Mario and his brother Luigi must exterminate Koopa Troopas and other pests that entered from the underground pipes by jumping up against the platform where the Koopa Troopa was. Although the game's success steadily declined, it was not the brothers' last appearance.
Platformers
The current image reached by Mario through the platformer franchise Super Mario for Nintendo's home consoles is described here.
Super Mario Bros.
The Family Computer (Famicom) was released in 1983. Since only good software titles could ensure a durable success of the system, Hiroshi Yamauchi, the president, turned to Shigeru Miyamoto to develop a new game for the Nintendo console. Super Mario Bros. was published in Japan on September 13, 1985, and marked a milestone in video game history.
Mario and Luigi now live in the Mushroom Kingdom where they must rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil clutches of the Koopa Bowser. The player controls Mario through laterally-scrolling levels the size of several screens, jumping over abysses and defeating enemies in order to reach the end of the level. By hitting certain blocks, power-ups are released. The Super Mushroom allows Mario to become Super Mario, who is able to destroy certain blocks, but will shrink back into regular Mario if he is hit by an enemy. Normally, Mario can defeat his enemies by jumping on top of them, but by collecting the Fire Flower, Mario can throw fireballs, which can be used for the same purpose.The 1-up mushroom is hidden in diverse locations around the game.If mario collects this Mushroom he will be granted another life. The Power Star makes him temporarily invulnerable. The game can either be played alone or alternating with another, the second player playing as Luigi.
Super Mario Bros. is substantially more extensive than Miyamoto's earlier games, and was, upon its publication, the longest and most complex video game of them all. Like Donkey Kong, the game follows the "hero saves kidnapped girl" story, but the levels have expanded to enormous proportions. Miyamoto created an extensive game world with branched paths and underground caves, while in most past games, the individual levels were limited to the size of the screen. Although there is also a point counter, a high score was an object of little interest to most gamers, as getting extra points does nothing to benefit the gamer.
The game mechanics from Mario Bros. were extended by new elements. Miyamoto apparently took inspirations from many books and stories. The idea of mushrooms that make Mario larger and stronger is identical to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the warps and hidden exits used to move forward many levels ahead are reminiscent of Star Trek: The Original Series. Graphically, Super Mario Bros. pushed the boundaries of technology at its time. The concept of scrolling levels wasn't new, but no previous game used the technology so effectively, or had such even transitions.
Endless depth, colorful graphics, a memorable soundtrack, and good gameplay helped make Super Mario Bros. a hit. In Japan, a "Mario Boom" developed: A strategy guide, which contained exact maps of the game levels and all the hidden extras, quickly became a best-seller. Mario mangas and an anime film were published. In North America, the game helped the Nintendo Entertainment System, the American version of the Famicom, reach a breakthrough in 1986 and resulted in a Nintendo mania. This brought the video game crash of 1983 to an end. The game has since been bundled with the console, and went on to sell 40 million copies, and is now listed in the Guinness World Records as the best-selling game of all time.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
In Japan, a sequel, Super Mario Bros. 2, was already released exclusively for the Famicom Disk System. The game was identical to its predecessor, with the addition of Poison Mushrooms that shrink Mario, and gusts of wind. The game was successful in Japan, but was deemed too difficult for non-Japanese gamers, and was not published outside Japan during the NES's peak years. The Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 was finally released in western markets in 1993 as The Lost Levels, released as part of the collection Super Mario All-Stars for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Because the Japanese game Super Mario 2 was deemed too difficult for the western market, and the then president of American operations Howard Lincoln personally disliked the game, Nintendo acquired the rights to the Fuji Television game Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic, inserted Mario characters into the game, and brought the game outside of Japan in 1988 as Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madness. For this reason, the gameplay differs clearly from its predecessor at certain points. For example, a simple jump to the head is no longer enough to defeat an enemy, but the enemy must also be thrown into another to be completely defeated. Mario's freedom of movement was also increased: in contrast to the first game and the Japanese version, the screen not only scrolled from left to right, but could also turn around, and even scroll vertically. Super Mario Bros. 2 was a success, and was later released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. USA in 1992.
Super Mario Bros. 3
The third installment in the series was released in 1990, and was the most-anticipated, so much in fact that it appeared in the Fred Savage film The Wizard before even being officially released. Super Mario Bros. 3 was the most extensive installment in the series.This marked the second 2 dimensional game for Mario to be much like the original version with more powerups. The gameplay and story were similar to the first installment, but there were some innovations. The game world was now represented as a generic map, where Mario could choose where he would go. Various suits were also added, which lent Mario special abilities. For example, the frog suit improved Mario's jumping and swimming capabilities, and the Tanooki suit allowed Mario to turn into a statue and hide from enemies. The freedom of movement was again increased with improved scrolling: the screen can now move in all directions, with the underwater sections being able to scroll vertically and diagonally. There are also levels that automatically scroll, in which the player must keep moving to keep Mario on the screen. Over 18 million copies were sold worldwide, making Super Mario Bros. 3 the best-selling non-bundled video game of all time, earning 500 million dollars in the process.
Super Mario World
When the Super Famicom was published in 1990, Yamauchi assigned Miyamoto with the development of a game that would demonstrate the technical possibilities of the system. The new game followed the same path as its predecessors: Mario and Luigi had to save the princess from Bowser's claws by crossing many levels, which are accessible from a map. One of the largest innovations was the dinosaur Yoshi, which served as an animal for Mario and Luigi to ride on, and could use its long tongue to eat enemies. As its color changed, so did its abilities.
The 72 levels had 96 exits; hiding many secret levels greatly increased both the player's freedom to choose as well as the replay value of the game. Super Mario World became a large success, and Nintendo bundled it with the Super Famicom, in Japan, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, elsewhere.
Super Mario World 2
Nintendo released the successor, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, in 1995. Nintendo's marketing department rejected Miyamoto's original version of the game, because they considered the game's graphics outdated, especially since games with 3-D rendered graphics, such as Donkey Kong Country, proved to be a large success. Thus, Miyamoto changed the graphics to resemble pastels drawings.
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the player controlled Yoshi, who had Baby Mario on its back, both having to rescue Baby Luigi, who Baby Bowser imprisoned. While the game is still a 2-D platformer, the new main character brought new possibilities with it. Among other things, Yoshi could throw eggs, implement a ramming attack, and transform into a helicopter to reach new heights. Like its predecessors, Super Mario World 2 was a success, and gamers consider it one of the best platformer games.
Super Mario 64
A Mario game also accompanied the publication of Nintendo's next home console, the Nintendo 64. Super Mario 64 advanced the plumber into the third dimension and defined the term "3-D platformer". The game was not as linear as the previous installments, and the new Analog Stick made an extensive repertoire of precise movements in all directions possible. Mario could now not only run, jump, swim, and carry certain objects, but he could also punch, perform a Triple Jump, don a Wing Cap, and more. It is also the first game in the main Super Mario series to feature the voice acting of Charles Martinet for Mario.
Mario must once again save Princess Peach from Bowser, and free as much as 120 Power Stars from the paintings and return them to her castle. Each painting furnishes a unique world, where Mario must fulfill several different tasks to free a Star. Nintendo did not bundle Super Mario 64 with the Nintendo 64 at first, but it was a large success nevertheless, contributing to the success of the system. Gamers consider Mario's 3-D debut one of the most influential games.
Paper Mario
In 2001 Paper Mario was released in North America on the Nintendo 64 platform as a spiritual sequel to the 1996 Super Nintendo game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The role playing game featured Mario and the other characters as 2D paper cutouts in a 3D world. Sales and popularity were hindered because it was released at the end of the Nintendo 64 lifespan.
Super Mario Sunshine
2002's Nintendo Gamecube marks the first time a Mario game wasn't published as a launch title. Instead, Luigi appeared in the main role in Luigi's Mansion, where Mario only played a minor role. The long-expected successor to Super Mario 64 followed only some months later. In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario and Peach travel to Isle Delfino for a vacation. However, a Mario double appears and vandalizes the entire island. With the help of FLUDD (and because Mario was sentenced to an indefinite amount of hours of community service), it's up to Mario to clean up the entire island.
The gameplay here is identical to that of its predecessor: from the Piazza Delfino, Mario enters different worlds, in which he must master different tasks in order to receive a Shine Sprite (120 in total). The largest innovation in this game is the FLUDD: By using different nozzles, Mario can not only spray water forward, but can also spray downward, rocket up into the air, and receive a boost of speed. Thus, there is an even bigger freedom of movement here than its predecessor. However, there is some sections in which Mario is without FLUDD, and must overcome a fastidious obstacle course. This also marks Yoshi's first playable appearance in a 3D platformer game.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was released in 2004 on the Gamecube. The game play is similar to its predecessor, Paper Mario. The graphics ability of the Gamecube enabled the "paper" element to truly come into play.
Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario is currently being developed for the Wii console, and was formerly to appear at the end of 2006. It is a platformer game that takes on the 2-D look of the Paper Mario role-playing series.
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy, the successor to Super Mario Sunshine, is in development for the latest Nintendo console Wii. It is slated for release in the year 2007. Super Mario Galaxy is being developed by EAD Tokyo, which was also responsible for Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.
In this videogame, Mario must once again rescue the kidnapped princess, this time in the reaches of space. Because of the low gravity in space, it is now possible for Mario to jump higher than ever before. This and other new movements are executed by the player with the new Wii Remote. The remote is used to point at things and deflecting attacks. New moves include a spinning attack and flying between planets with stars.
Handheld platformers
Game & Watch
The Game & Watch Handheld electronic game series already began in 1980, but with the publication of several Game & Watch titles from 1982 to 1984 based on the Donkey Kong arcade games and Mario Bros., its popularity rose. In the year 1983, Mario's Cement Factory was published, where Mario must empty cement from the hoppers into the cement trucks below. In addition, two titles based on Super Mario Bros. appeared in 1986 and 1988.
Game Boy
Super Mario Land was released at the same time the portable video game system Game Boy was published. Although Shigeru Miyamoto wasn't involved in the development, the game became a large success. Following this game were 1992's Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and 1994's Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. Super Mario Land 2 served as the introduction to Wario, an antagonist to Mario, who would go on to become the main character in Wario Land. Four Wario Land platformers and other games followed this.
Game Boy Color
At the same time the Game Boy Color was released in 1999, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, an improved version of Super Mario Bros., was released, with a two-player mode and Game Boy Printer support.
Game Boy Advance
Super Mario Advance, an improved version of Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madness, was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Following this game were Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island, and [[Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, all of them improved versions of past Mario titles. However, an original title was released in 2004, under the name Mario vs. Donkey Kong. In this game, Mario must master different levels by solving puzzles, and recover Mini Mario toys stolen by Donkey Kong.
Nintendo DS
Super Mario 64 DS was released in the USA and Japan in 2004, and in Europe and Australia in 2005. The game is a portable version of Super Mario 64, with a multi-player mode among other innovations. Another title, Yoshi Touch & Go, was released in 2005, starring Baby Mario as well as Yoshi. New Super Mario Bros. was released for the Nintendo DS in 2006, a platformer that mixed classic Mario 2-D gameplay with modern 3-D graphics, new motion possibilities, and play modes for up to four players.In late 2006, Yoshi's Island DS and Mario Hoops 3 on 3 were released for the DS.
Other games
Apart from his platformer appearances, Mario has appeared in many other games (usually on Nintendo's systems), and has made guest appearances in non-Mario games, such as in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, where he is a referee. Apart from these guest appearances, Mario has appeared in non-platformer games as the protagonist of other successful series. Mario's popularity proved helpful in establishing these games and game series at the market. These games are published by Nintendo, but developed by another company, such as Hudson Soft or Camelot Software Planning. Mario has even appeared as a playable character in NBA Street V3 and SSX On Tour, both from Electronic Arts.
Single-player games
After the relatively unknown Game & Watch title Mario Bombs Away, Mario's first non-platformer game was released in 1990. Dr. Mario's gameplay was similar to Tetris, which was later converted for nearly all of Nintendo's consoles. Mario later explored other genres. Two examples include the educational game Mario Paint, which appeared in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Mario Pinball Land for the Game Boy Advance. 1996's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System marked Mario's first role-playing game. Since then, four role-playing games have followed: Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo Gamecube, and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS.
Multi-player games
Mario's multiplayer games represent a more important subrange of Mario games. The Mario Kart franchise began with 1992's Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and still continues to be the most successful and longest-running kart-racing franchise today. Apart from racing, Mario is also active in the Camelot sports game franchises Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. In 1999, the Hudson game Mario Party was released for the Nintendo 64, a set of minigames for up to four players, with the seventh installment released in 2005 for the Gamecube. The eighth installment is soon to come to Wii. 2005 also saw the release of Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix by Konami, the soccer game Super Mario Strikers by Next Level Games, and the baseball game Mario Superstar Baseball by Namco. The basketball game Mario Hoops 3-on-3 by Square-Enix was released in 2006. Their multiplayer aspect and gradual learning curve have made each series quite popular. In each game, Mario and other characters play against each other, nearly all of them being playable, including Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, Toad, Princess Daisy, Wario, and Waluigi.
Spin-offs
The Mario series is considered to have the most successful spin-offs.
Wario made his first appearance in Super Mario Land 2, and became a protagonist in Super Mario Land 3. From this point on, the Wario Land franchise was created, and established Wario as an independent game protagonist, who's success has manifested itself into the WarioWare series.
Yoshi developed likewise into a titular character of several games, and so has Luigi with the Gamecube game Luigi's Mansion.Furthermore, 2005's Super Princess Peach marked the first time Peach is seen as the main playable character.
Plagiarisms
Besides the arcade games Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Mario Bros. (all which were converted to various game consoles by other manufacturers), the edutainment PC titles, and Hotel Mario (which came out of a license agreement with Philips CD-i in 1994), Mario has appeared exclusively on Nintendo systems. However, there were attempts to copy the successful concept of his games onto other hardware platforms. In 1987, the video game Great Giana Sisters was developed in West Germany by Rainbow Arts and released for the home computer Commodore 64, Atari ST, and Amiga. Players and critics agree that it's one of the best games for the Commodore 64. A crucial reason for the quality and popularity of Giana Sisters however was that it oriented itself very strongly around Super Mario Bros. For this reason, Nintendo forced the withdrawal of all versions of the game.
Mascot
After the success of Super Mario Bros., Mario became Nintendo's official mascot. Soon after, numerous rival businesses tried to emulate the successful concept of a video game mascot. One particular competitor, Sega, tried to establish a similar cult figure with the blue hedgehog Sonic, and the competition between Sega and Nintendo during the first half of the 90s was at the same time a pitting of "Sonic vs. Mario". The Sonic platformer games for Sega consoles established the character as a successful video game hero, who now represents Sega's mascot. During the following years an animated series, comics, as well as numerous video games of different categories were produced, among them the racing game Sonic R, the pinball game Sonic Spinball, and the party game Sonic Shuffle. However, despite all this, Sonic never quite reached the popularity of Mario. Sony also found a mascot in the platformer character Crash Bandicoot for their PlayStation consoles. Parallel to Mario's Mario Kart was Crash's Crash Team Racing, the same case being for Mario Party and Crash Bash. The original Crash platformers also pay tribute to Mario's own platformers. Crash proved to be a large success, but he stayed PlayStation's official mascot for only a relatively short time, and just like Sonic, he now makes appearances on other consoles.
