Super Mario
Super Mario ( Japanese ス ー パ ー マ リ オ , Sūpā Mario, often just called Mario ) is the most popular video game character from the Nintendo company and its mascot . He is the protagonist and eponymous hero of the company's most successful video game series. With a few exceptions, the play figure only appears in games for Nintendo game consoles . With over 295 million Mario games sold , the Mario games are not only the most successful Nintendo game series, but also the most successful video game series ever. Mario is considered the most famous video game character in the world. In 2005 he was honored with a star on the Walk of Game .
Mario is a mustachioed , some diminutive and pudgy Italian plumber (according to Shigeru Miyamoto he is a janitor ) with blue overalls , red shirt and red baseball cap with an M - symbol whose typical sayings "Mamma mia" and "It's -a-me, Mario “are. The name, appearance and characterization were initially subject to changes and gradually stabilized. In the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. Mario appears for the first time in blue pants and a red shirt; with Super Mario Bros. 3 these clothes prevail. Charles Martinet has lent him his voice since 1995 .
history
Appeared for the first time as the character Jumpman in the successful arcade game Donkey Kong , the character Mario gained worldwide fame thanks to the jump-'n'-run games in the Super Mario series for Nintendo home consoles.
The series was continuously developed by expanding the play figure's freedom of movement and had a decisive influence on the platforming genre. Due to the good, easily accessible playability and well-thought-out level design , the Mario games and thus the character Mario became very popular, which was expanded through merchandising and media presence and used commercially . Due to the high demand for Mario software, it was possible to establish the corresponding Nintendo game consoles on the market. Today, Mario is an integral part of the catalog of global everyday icons .
Beginnings
Donkey Kong (1981)
In 1979 the Japanese game manufacturer Nintendo tried to gain a foothold in the United States by manufacturing and selling coin-operated arcade machines . The arcade game Radar Scope, which was successful in Japan, did not help the newly founded subsidiary Nintendo of America (NoA) achieve the breakthrough it had hoped for; only 1,000 of the 3,000 devices produced were sold. Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi then turned to the young Nintendo game developer Shigeru Miyamoto and entrusted him with the development of a new game that would be built into the remaining radarscope machines. A Popeye game, it was hoped, would bring the desired success in America. However, Nintendo lost the rights to the character Popeye before the planned release of the finished game.
Then Miyamoto was given the task of creating a game based on his own ideas. Miyamoto developed the game Donkey Kong, which is about a carpenter (Mario only became a plumber from Mario Bros.) whose girlfriend was kidnapped by a gorilla named Donkey Kong. It is up to the player to control the carpenter, dodge barrels and other objects and climb ladders to finally catch up with Donkey Kong and save his girlfriend. With the as yet nameless carpenter, Miyamoto wanted to create a simple figure with which the players could identify.
The design as a plump mustache with a bulbous nose in blue overalls and red dungarees with a red cap was strongly influenced by the technical limitations of the hardware , which only allowed 16 × 16 pixels for the character. The mustache was better represented than a mouth and formed the border of the thick nose. The brightly colored clothing contrasted well with the black background, and the overalls were used to distinguish the body from the arms so that their movement could be recognized. The cap made it unnecessary to show the movement of Mario's hair as he jumped. Completed in 1981, Donkey Kong became the most successful arcade game after Pac-Man with over 65,000 sold machines and brought Nintendo of America the long-awaited breakthrough.
Originally, Miyamoto wanted to name his character video-Mr . At first Nintendo decided to use the name Jumpman until NoA President Minoru Arakawa had the idea to rename it Mario . The new name and the Italian ancestry of the character was inspired by similarities with the landlord of the Nintendo building, Mario Segale. The color combination of overalls and pants was changed from blue-red to red-brown and finally red-blue in later games. Despite ever more powerful video game hardware and the associated improved possibilities for realistic graphical representation, Mario has kept his comic-like appearance to this day. In recent years, after a slightly more realistic portrayal in Super Mario Sunshine , the successor Super Mario Galaxy has even returned to somewhat more comic proportions.
Mario Bros. (1983)
After another appearance in Donkey Kong Jr. , Mario appeared in Mario Bros. for the first time as the eponymous protagonist in 1983 . After a colleague said that Mario looked more like a plumber than a carpenter, Miyamoto changed Mario's job accordingly. In the new game, which was originally to be called Pipe Jump , it is the task of Mario and his brother Luigi , who was thin and dressed in exactly the same way except for the color (green), to dig underground pipes for turtles , the later Koopas , crabs and other animals in eleven different types Levels that repeat themselves to be liberated. These emerge from tubes on the edge of the screen and move over platforms. Either in pairs or individually, the players control Mario and Luigi, who have to jump from below against the platforms on which there are opponents, in order to turn them on their backs and then to kick them off the screen. Like Donkey Kong , Mario Bros. was released on various home consoles. 2002, some NES and SNES games were as Super Mario Advance publishes games for the Game Boy Advance, apart from the actual game (z. B. Super Mario World ) is in each module also Mario Bros. included. And although the success was limited, it was not to be the last appearance for the two plumber brothers.
Super Mario platformer
The character Mario gained its current fame through the platform Super Mario series .
Super Mario Bros. (1985)
In 1983 the home console Family Computer ( Famicom ) appeared in Japan. Since only good software titles could guarantee a lasting success of the system, Hiroshi Yamauchi, the president of Nintendo, put Shigeru Miyamoto in charge of a team that should develop a new game for the console. Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan on September 13, 1985 and became a landmark in video game history. In Europe the title was only published two years later.
Super Mario Bros .: The Lost Levels (1986)
In 1986 the sequel Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan exclusively for the Famicom Disk System . The game is basically the same as its predecessor.In addition to slightly improved graphics, poisonous mushrooms are now also appearing, which make the character shrink, and the wind must be taken into account when jumping, and Luigi can also be played, who for the first time differs from his brother in terms of play, as he is slides while running and higher than his brother can jump. The game was successful in Japan but was deemed too difficult for the market outside of Japan and was not released outside of Japan.
As a remake called Super Mario Bros .: The Lost Levels , it was also released outside of Japan in 1993 as part of the Super Mario All-Stars game collection for the SNES and as a bonus level set in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the Gameboy Color.
In addition, this Japanese rarity appeared again in Europe in September 2007 - but for a limited time at the time - as a VirtualConsole game for the Wii. It was available as a permanent offer for the Wii console from mid-2008 until the Wii Shop closed in 2019. Another port for the Nintendo 3DS system followed at the end of 2012.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
The game is a remake of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic ( 夢 工場 ド キ ド キ パ ニ ッ ク , Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panikku ) in which the game characters were replaced by Mario characters. For this reason, the game differs significantly from its predecessor in certain points. For example, you no longer defeat opponents by jumping on their head, but jump on them, pick them up and throw them at other opponents. Mario's freedom of movement has also been increased: In contrast to the 1st part and the Japanese 2nd part (see Super Mario Bros .: The Lost Levels ), it is not only possible to scroll from left to right, but also vice versa and even vertically, but only the latter screen by screen. In addition to Mario and Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach are also playable for the first time , whereby the skills of jumping power, running speed and the speed when lifting objects and opponents as well as pulling out plants of the four characters differ significantly: Mario jumps and runs as usual, his speed when lifting is average; Luigi runs faster than Mario and therefore also jumps higher, but kicks in the air, which makes him a little more difficult to handle and does not lift opponents up quite as quickly. Toad doesn't jump as high as Mario, but he is the fastest when picking up objects, plants and enemies and can run faster than everyone else; Peach can hover in the air for a while, but only lifts opponents very slowly and is also the slowest runner. The game was released in the USA in 1988 as Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madness . In 1992 it was also released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. USA .
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
The third part of the series followed in Japan in 1988. It was not published until 1990 in the USA and in 1991 in Europe. Super Mario Bros. 3 was the largest part of the series to date. The game principle and plot are based on the first part, but there are some innovations. Instead of the previous static level sequence, the game world is now presented on an overview map on which Mario can move and from there enter the different levels. Also new were several suits that give Mario special abilities, such as the frog Detective Suit to improve swimming and diving skills or Tanooki Detective Suit, can fly with Mario. The freedom of movement of the character has been increased again. The improved scrolling also contributed to this: scrolling in all directions of the 2D world was carried over from the predecessor, whereby vertical and diagonal scrolling is now also smooth. In addition, there are auto-scroll levels in which the picture moves independently of the player's controls and the player must try to keep the character in the picture. With over 17 million copies sold, Super Mario Bros. 3 became the best-selling video game of all time that was not sold with a console. In the US alone, revenues were over $ 500 million.
Super Mario World (1990)
On the occasion of the planned for 1990 release of the new home console Super Famicom ( commercialized outside of Japan under the name " Super Nintendo Entertainment System ") Nintendo commissioned Shigeru Miyamoto with the development of a game that should demonstrate the technical possibilities of the system. As in the previous game, in the new game, Super Mario World , Marios or Luigi's task, the princess is freed from Bowser's clutches by crossing one of the brothers (in single player mode only Mario, in two-player mode alternately Mario and Luigi) through levels accessible from a card. One of the biggest innovations is the dinosaur Yoshi , who serves Mario (and Luigi) as a mount and with the help of his long tongue can eat opponents and fruits that bring power-ups. This appears in different colors and with additional skills that vary depending on the color.
Many levels have multiple exits that increase the player's freedom of choice and open access to secret levels, which gives the game replay value . Super Mario World was a huge hit and sold in a bundle with the Super Famicom.
Super Mario World 2 (1995)
The sequel Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island was released in 1995. Miyamoto's original version of the game was rejected by Nintendo's marketing department because its comic-like graphics were considered obsolete after the previously published SNES title Donkey Kong Country with render graphics was a great success had proven. Miyamoto then enhanced the look of the game so that the graphics finally looked like they had been drawn with pastel chalk. This version was eventually accepted and published.
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island , the player controls the dinosaur Yoshi, who has to safely guide Baby Mario on his back to his brother Baby Luigi, who is held captive by Baby Bowser. While it is still a 2D jump-'n'-run, the new main character brings new playful possibilities with it. Yoshi can, among other things, throw eggs, perform a pounding attack, fly briefly (flutter flight) or transform himself into various means of transport (car, locomotive, helicopter , mole ) for a limited time in order to open up new areas. Like its predecessors, Super Mario World 2 became a success and is widely recognized as one of the best platformer games. So the total forgave ! the exceptional rating grade 1+. The video games popular at the time rated the game in its 9/95 issue with 97%, which was the highest rating ever given. Tetsuhiko "Tet" Hara, one of the testers in charge, concluded his comment with the words "... this game is almost a miracle!"
Super Mario 64 (1996)
The release of the next Nintendo home console, the Nintendo 64 , was also accompanied by a Mario title. With Super Mario 64 , the plumber advanced into the third dimension in 1996 and founded the genre of 3D platform games. The course of the game is not linear and the new control via analog stick enables an extensive repertoire of precise movements in all directions of the 3D world and thus unprecedented freedom of movement. Mario can not only run, jump, swim and carry certain objects as before, but also hit, perform several different jumping techniques, fly with a wing cap and more. In this game there was also voice output for the first time and with it the debut of Mario's voice actor Charles Martinet .
The story of the game is again that Mario has to free Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser and find as many of the 120 power stars as possible that are distributed in the princess’s castle. From the castle, Mario gets to the various levels, in which he has to complete tasks in order to get to the power stars. After successfully rescuing the princess and defeating Bowser, a cake beckons for Mario. Super Mario 64 was not initially sold with the Nintendo 64, but it still became a huge success and helped popularize the system. To this day, Mario's 3D debut is considered one of the most influential game titles of all time.
Due to its success, Super Mario 64 was also implemented as a game for the Nintendo DS , with exactly the same worlds occurring (see Super Mario 64 DS ). However, not only Mario can be controlled in the game, but also his brother Luigi, his greedy cousin Wario and Yoshi, whereby the player first has to save all three before they are available. Each of the heroes has his merits, for example Luigi is the best jumper, Wario is the strongest character, Yoshi can swallow opponents with his long tongue and throw eggs and Mario in turn has no particular strengths or weaknesses, but he is the only one who can jump the wall can perform and whose triple jump is particularly high and precise. All four have mastered the stamping attack and can jump on opponents. In addition, the heroes now have to look for 150 stars instead of 120. Furthermore, there is now also a mini-game mode, the mini-games are unlocked during the course of the game.
Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
With the Nintendo GameCube , a Nintendo home console was not released at the same time as a Super Mario game for the first time in 2002. Instead, Luigi's Mansion is a game starring Mario's brother Luigi, who has to free Mario from a haunted house. The long-awaited successor to Super Mario 64 followed a few months later (on October 4, 2002 in Europe). In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario travels to the holiday island of Isla Delfino with Princess Peach , but finds out that a Mario doppelganger has polluted the entire island. With the high-tech water sprayer Dreckweg 08/17 , Mario now has to clean the island and put the greasy finch down.
The basic game principle corresponds to that of the previous game: From the upper world Piazza Delfino , Mario gets to the various levels in which different tasks have to be mastered in order to obtain so-called insignia of the sun , 120 of which can be found in the game. In contrast to Super Mario 64 , Mario almost always wears the aforementioned Dreckweg 08/17 on his back in this game, which is the game's greatest innovation: By using different nozzles, Mario can not only spray water to the front, but also to the back , down and use the water syringe as a rocket backpack or as a turbo drive. This enables even greater freedom of movement than in the predecessor. However, there are also some game sections in which Mario has to overcome a demanding obstacle course without a dirt path, which is more based on the previous games. In addition, Yoshi is available in 3D for the first time.
Although the game did not sell quite as well as its predecessors, it was also a success and increased sales of the GameCube console. It was praised for its, by the standards of the time, terrific water effects, but received criticism for the comparatively simple and often very similar missions.
Super Mario 64 DS (2004)
With the Nintendo DS , a remake of the Nintendo 64 game Super Mario 64 , called " Super Mario 64 DS " was released on March 11, 2005 in Europe. The changes in the game were new characters and power ups.
Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
Super Mario Galaxy , a 3D platform game for the Wii console , was released in Europe on November 16, 2007, four days after it was released in the US on November 12, 2007. This English version was released on November 28, 2007 October 2007, 15 days before the actual release date, illegally distributed on the Internet.
Again, it's up to Mario to free Princess Peach, who was kidnapped by Bowser, but this time space is the scene of the action.
For the first time, movements are controlled by the player with the motion-sensitive Wii Remote Control . Furthermore, like in Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario is now again available with various costumes. In the course of the game a bee, ghost, fire flower, ice and spring feather costume can be found. There is also the rainbow star , which makes Mario invulnerable for a certain time.
The game's soundtrack is orchestrated, which is a first for Nintendo games. Nintendo had always refused to swap the midi music in their games for a soundtrack recorded by the orchestra. The soundtrack combines both types.
Super Mario Galaxy was recognized by critics as one of the best games in the Mario franchise to date. The game received top ratings worldwide and was ranked second on Gamerankings.com behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in the best-rated games of all time until it was replaced by Grand Theft Auto IV , but the game passed again at the end of June 2009 and stands thus back to 2nd place. In addition, the game won several awards for Game of the Year 2007 - u. a. from Gamespot.com and Gametrailers.com. Most of the press found the varied level design with planets and galaxies floating in space and the intuitive controls to be particularly outstanding.
Super Mario Galaxy was developed by Nintendo's Tokyo Studio , which was also responsible for Donkey Kong Jungle Beat .
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Japanese ス ー パ ー マ リ オ ブ ラ ザ ー ズ Wii) was introduced at E3 2009. For the first time it is possible to explore the levels with four players. If you play with four players, the first player controls Mario, the other three players can choose whether they want to play with Luigi, the yellow toad or the blue toad. It is not particularly necessary to work together. You can also collect the points you have collected yourself without sharing. However, it is also not a disadvantage to present yourself as a team with the other players. At the end of each level, players are ranked based on their points, the number of coins collected and the number of enemies they defeated.
To play, either the Wii-Mote is held horizontally and the nunchuk is not used or the remote is held vertically and the nunchuk is used for direction control. Now the graphics are in 3D , but the gameplay is two-dimensional . There are the following power-ups: Propeller suit and block with which you can fly, Penguin Mario and Ice Flower , which allow opponents to freeze, Fire Mario, mini mushroom, super star , light block with which you can see a larger area in dark areas hat, Pow-Block and Yoshi. Penguin Mario has the advantage on ice that he does not slip and can slide very quickly on the ice .
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)
The second part of Super Mario Galaxy ( Super Mario Galaxy 2 ) was presented at E3 2009.
Mario can use the following features: Feather Mario, Bee Mario, Ghost Mario, Rock Mario, Spinning Top Mario (to drill your way through planets or obstacles), Cloud Mario (up to three clouds can be produced by rotating attacks) and Fire Mario (time limited).
Yoshi plays an important role in this game. In addition to the classic ability to swallow opponents and objects with his tongue, he can also acquire different skills with different fruits, such as. B. Flies (blue fruit, blue Yoshi), getting a high speed boost for a short time (red fruit, red Yoshi) or walking for a short time over platforms that are otherwise inaccessible (golden fruit, golden Yoshi).
Occasionally at the beginning of a level you can also choose Luigi as a character, he has the same skills as Mario, but can jump a little higher and slide more on the ground. In addition, there is a ghost of Luigi when you play through a level again.
Another new feature is the cosmo assistant, which appeared in a similar form in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. If you fail at a level several times in a row, a "cosmic appearance" appears in the form of a shadow Rosalina. If desired, the level can then be solved by the computer. However, at the end of the level you get a bronze star, which does not add to the total number of stars.
The second player has been greatly improved, it is now a red Luma and, just like in the first part, can stop opponents and collect star parts. In addition, he now has additional skills such as collecting coins and lives for Mario, defeating opponents and destroying boxes. The game was released on June 11, 2010 in Germany, May 23 in the USA, May 27 in Japan and July 1 in Australia.
New Super Mario Bros. U (2012)
On November 30, 2012, New Super Mario Bros. U was released for the Wii U , a 2D Mario offshoot. The game was launched on the same day as the console. The gameplay is very similar to the previous New Super Mario Bros. parts. Again it is possible to cooperate with four people or to compete. There are numerous new opponents (e.g. the Feisthörnchen in World 1-1). Some functions of the Wii U are used, for example the Miiverse social network, the OffTV feature and HD graphics. Additional content was also released for this title, the DLC New Super Luigi U , which was released in 2013 with Luigi's Mansion 2 for the year of Luigi.
Super Mario 3D World (2013)
In mid-2011, Yoshiaki Koizumi , the producer of the 3D Super Mario games, confirmed the development of a new offshoot. On June 11, 2013, Nintendo introduced the Wii U game as Super Mario 3D World . It is a direct successor to Super Mario 3D Land , which offers simultaneous multiplayer mode for up to four people. Among other things, you can play as Peach and, for the first time, in a Mario platformer as Rosalina. The game was released worldwide on November 29, 2013. Super Mario 3D World is one of those Mario games that has extra worlds.
Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
Super Mario Odyssey was the first time in Nintendo switch - trailer , which appeared on 20 October 2016 geteasert . On January 13, 2017, Nintendo officially announced the game at the Nintendo Switch presentation. The game has been in stores since October 27, 2017.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (2019)
On January 11, 2019, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was released for the Nintendo Switch . The game is a remake of the 2012 released New Super Mario Bros. U for Wii U . In addition to New Super Mario Bros. U , the title New Super Luigi U is also included in the new edition.
Portable jump 'n' runs
The Super Mario Jump 'n' Run series for Nintendo's home consoles was considered the Mario "main series" until the appearance of the Nintendo DS title New Super Mario Bros. , but it only represents a part of all Mario games. The market launch of portable Nintendo systems was always accompanied by the publication of a Mario jump-'n'-run, which contributed to the fact that the devices sold well from the start and secured Nintendo's share of the handheld market of around 99 percent.
Game & Watch
The Game - & - Watch - handheld electronic game series had already in 1980 with the game ball had its beginnings, but their popularity increased with the publication of several on the Donkey Kong bulding games and Mario Bros. based Game- & -Watch titles from 1982 to 1984. Mario's Cement Factory published in 1983, Mario walks and jumps through a cement factory to ensure that the flowing cement is directed into the vans. In 1986 and 1988, two LCD game versions of Super Mario Bros. were also released.
Game Boy
At the same time as the Game Boy portable video game system , the game Super Mario Land was released in 1989 . Although Shigeru Miyamoto was not involved in its development, the game became a huge hit. In 1992 the successor Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins followed and in 1994 Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land .
In Super Mario Land 2 , another antagonist Mario was introduced with Wario , who even played the main character and game character in Super Mario Land 3 . This was followed by four more Wario-Land 2D platformer and other Wario games for various Nintendo gaming platforms.
Game Boy Color
The Game Boy Color was released in 1999 at the same time as the game Super Mario Bros. Deluxe , an improved version of Super Mario Bros. with simultaneous two-player mode and Game Boy Printer support.
Game Boy Advance
With Super Mario Advance , a Mario title was also available when the Game Boy Advance was launched in 2001. This is an improved remake of Super Mario Bros. 2: Mario Madness , including a four-player version of Mario Bros. Also with the successors Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (2002), Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (2002) and Super Mario Bros. 3: Super Mario Advance 4 are technically improved and the Mario Bros. - Multiplayer mode added new editions. The game Mario VS Donkey Kong , released in 2004, however, is a new development that is playfully based on Donkey Kong . In this game, the player has to master different parts of the game by letting Mario complete puzzles and skill tasks in order to finally get back the toy Marios stolen by Donkey Kong.
In addition, Game Boy Advance also released a game called Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga , which is about how Mario and Luigi retrieve the lovely voice of Princess Peach, who was stolen by the evil witch Lugmilla. Since the Nintendo Game Boy Advance was released with the Nintendo GameCube , there is also a possibility to connect these two devices. Using a link cable, it is possible to connect the Nintendo GameCube to the Game Boy and thus use exclusive functions such as: B. Animal Crossing , where you can only visit such a tropical island.
Nintendo DS
The Nintendo DS system, released in 2004 in the USA and Japan and in 2005 in Europe and Australia, hit stores at the same time as Super Mario 64 DS . The game is a portable version of the Nintendo 64 title with multiplayer mode and other innovations. With Yoshi: Touch & Go , a title was also released in 2005 in which Baby Mario played the leading role together with Yoshi. With New Super Mario Bros. , another completely redeveloped Mario Jump-'n'-Run was released for the Nintendo DS in 2006. This is a jump 'n' run in the classic Mario 2D game style, but enhanced with modern 3D graphics and new movement options and game modes for up to four players. On December 1, 2006, the sequel to Yoshi's Island was released for the Nintendo DS. Also in 2006 appeared with the game Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Mini Marios a sequel to the successful GBA game. This game relies a little more on puzzle elements than its predecessor. Mario and Luigi were also part of the game during the sequel to the game Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga . The game mechanics are the same as on the Game Boy Advance predecessor. This time, however, it is not just Peaches' voice that is chased; the evil Shroob Queen from Shroob Planet came with her Shroobs to the Mushroom Kingdom to subdue the land. The whole thing takes place in the past of the Mushroom Kingdom. In addition, she kidnapped the beloved Peach, who was just on a time travel to secure the rule over the future.
Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario 3D Land (2011)
Super Mario 3D Land is a three-dimensional Mario game played on a portable console. It was released in Europe on November 18, 2011 for Nintendo 3DS . In this game, too, the plumber Mario has to free Princess Peach from Bowser's clutches. In 8 worlds and 8 special worlds, Mario has to prove himself against his opponents.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 (2012)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 was first introduced with snapshots at the Nintendo Direct conference in late April 2012. It was released in August 2012 for the 3DS and is based heavily on New Super Mario Bros. Wii , but the focus is on collecting coins.
Other games
In addition to his jump-'n'-run appearances, Mario appeared in many other games (mostly for Nintendo systems) and is more present in video games than any other character. In addition to numerous guest appearances in various games, he also appears apart from the jump 'n' runs as the eponymous protagonist in some very successful series of games. The popularity of the character Mario proved to be helpful in establishing these games or game series on the market as well. The games are published by Nintendo, but the development was partly outsourced to external development studios, such as Hudson Soft or Camelot . As different as the genres of Mario games off the main series are, what they have in common is that almost all of them are easy to learn and suitable for younger and older players alike. Plus, Mario is one of the eight veterans of the Super Smash Bros. -Series. Mario has a guest appearance in the SSX-3 snowboard series. But only in the Nintendo version.
Single player games
After the relatively unknown Game & Watch title Mario's Bombs Away from 1983, the first larger Mario game that was not a jump 'n' run was released in 1990. At Dr. Mario is a Tetris- like game that was later implemented for almost all Nintendo consoles. Over the years many more Mario games of various genres have been added. Two examples are the paint program Mario Paint , which appeared in 1992 for the SNES, and the pinball game Super Mario Ball for the Game Boy Advance . 1996 with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Marios first RPG released for the SNES. To date, seven more role-playing games have followed: Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance, Paper Mario: The Legend of the Gate of Eons for the GameCube, Mario & Luigi: Together through time for the Nintendo DS and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Adventure for the Nintendo DS. The Nintendo Wii game Super Paper Mario deviated from the role-playing game genre and became a platforming game with role-playing elements. Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. appeared for the Nintendo 3DS.
Mario Kart series
The Mario Kart series includes eight games on different Nintendo consoles. Nintendo released the first game ( Super Mario Kart ) in the series on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The second game, Mario Kart 64, was launched for the Nintendo 64 game console . The classic game was released for the Game Boy Advance under the name Mario Kart Super Circuit . Mario Kart: Double Dash was released for the GameCube ! . Another title is Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS . Mario Kart Wii was released for the Wii game console in Germany in April 2008 . It can either be played via motion control with a separately available steering wheel or with the conventional control. Mario Kart 7 was released for Nintendo 3DS in December 2011 . On May 30, 2014, Mario Kart 8 was released for the Wii U , which was also released for the Nintendo Switch in the expanded version Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on April 28, 2017 .
Mario party series
With the Nintendo 64 game Mario Party by Hudson Soft, Mario founded a successful series of mini-game collections for up to four players (eight in the seventh part ) in 1999 , the eighth part of which was released on June 22, 2007 in Europe. This title is the first offshoot of the series for the 2006 home console Wii and uses the motion sensor and pointer functions of the Wii remote control in the mini-games .
Sports games
Sports games represent a further important sub-area of Mario games. The 1992 SNES title Super Mario Kart founded the racing game sub-genre of fun racers and, at the same time, the Mario Kart series, which has continued to be successful and continued to this day . In addition to racing, he is also active in the sports game series Mario Golf and Mario Tennis from Camelot. The game Mario Power Tennis was later brought onto the market for the GameCube , it was released on February 25, 2005 and was later redesigned for Wii as the New play Control! Game. In 2005 Konami's successful dance game Dance Dance Revolution was ported to the GameCube as Dancing Stage - Mario Mix . Other sports were added with the soccer game Mario Smash Football from Next Level Games , the baseball game Mario Superstar Baseball from Namco and the basketball game Mario Slam Basketball (outside Europe Mario Hoops 3 on 3 , 2006) from Square Enix . On November 23, 2007, the title Mario & Sonic appeared at the Olympic Games , in which characters from the Mario universe and from the Sonic universe compete against each other in various disciplines at the Olympic Games. This was the first game in which the mascots of the long-time competitors Nintendo and Sega appeared together in one game. On October 16, 2009, the successor Mario & Sonic appeared at the Winter Olympics . Mario and his friends are also active in the popular beat 'em' up series Super Smash Bros. The first part of the series was released in 1999 for the N64, and in 2001 the even more successful sequel Super Smash Bros. Melee (melee = English melee , Tumult) for the GameCube. On June 26th, 2008, the third part of the series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (brawl = brawl) for Wii, was released in Europe and can be played online for the first time.
All these games have in common that they can be played not only alone, but also with several players at the same time, which is what makes them particularly popular, as they can be learned quickly and are fun for beginners and advanced players alike. Mario and other characters from the Mario games compete against each other in different disciplines , and each player can choose a character from them. The playable characters include Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, Toad, Princess Daisy, Wario and other characters from the Nintendo universe, including those not from the Mario series.
Board games
2017 was released by Hasbro with Monopoly gamers a Monopoly variant, the Super Mario theme that with the classic Monopoly connects. The players play with corresponding characters and have to buy properties from the Super Mario games in the game, they also use power-up functions, collect coins and have to face boss fights against Bowser and other end bosses.
Offshoot
No other video game series has so many successful offshoot games as the Super Mario series.
In Super Mario Land 2 , Mario's fat adversary Wario appeared for the first time , who became the protagonist in Wario Land - Super Mario Land 3 . The platform wario land emerged from this game and established Wario as an independent game hero, whose success has already manifested itself in numerous Wario games such as Wario World .
Yoshi also developed into the eponymous hero of several games, and Luigi is also the eponymous protagonist of a game with Luigi's Mansion and the 2013 New Super Luigi U. The Nintendo DS title Super Princess Peach , released in Japan in 2005, is also the first game with Princess Peach in the lead role.
Plagiarism
Apart from the arcade game Mario Bros. , which was implemented for various game consoles from other manufacturers, some PC edutainment titles and Hotel Mario , a CD-i game released by Philips in 1994 via a license agreement with Nintendo , Mario games have so far been released exclusively for Nintendo systems. However, there have been attempts by competing companies to copy the successful game concept and market it on other hardware platforms. In 1987 the game The Great Giana Sisters, developed by Rainbow Arts in West Germany, appeared for the home computer Commodore 64 (later also for Atari ST and Amiga ). Gamers and critics agreed that this is one of the best games for the C64. A key reason for the quality and popularity of Giana Sisters , however, was the fact that it is very strong on Super Mario Bros. oriented. The game disappeared from trading. More than 20 years later, however, a revised version of the game appeared on the Nintendo DS in April 2009 with the game Giana Sisters DS .
There are also various unofficial Super Mario ports, including for the TI 92 and Voyage 200 scientific pocket calculators .
Mario in television and cinema
Super Mario was one of the first video game characters whose adventures were also converted into a film and TV series , while video game adaptations of films and TV series had previously been produced. Super Mario heralded a paradigm shift : In the 1990s, children and young people spent more money on video games than on movies.
TV Shows
In 1989 the US broadcaster Fox Kids first broadcast the cartoon series Super Mario Bros. Super Show! out. One episode lasted twenty minutes and consisted of two parts: In one half, actors Lou Albano and Danny Wells portrayed Mario and Luigi who had to deal with some crazy customers in their plumbing shop. The second half was one of 52 episodes of the animated series Super Mario Bros. or one of 13 episodes of the animated series The Legend of Zelda . 1990 followed by 26 ten-minute animated episodes The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 , which were broadcast by NBC . 1991 followed NBC with 13 episodes Super Mario World, the so far last Mario TV production. In 1994 the Family Channel broadcast a compilation of Super Mario Bros and Super Mario World episodes under the name Mario Allstars . In Germany, the animated episodes ran between 1990 and 1997 on RTL and RTL II , later they were occasionally seen on tv.nrw , TV Berlin and Fox Kids ( premiere ). In addition, Mario had various guest appearances in well-known TV series such as the Simpsons .
cinemamovies
Super Mario and Luigi have surprising similarities to the characters Spoor ( Bob Hoskins ) and Bowser ( Derrick O'Connor ) from Terry Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil . They wear similar uniforms and are also plumbers, but they work for a totalitarian regime. Super Mario's mustache and the heroic attitude can be found in another character: Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle ( Robert De Niro ) is a plumber and freedom fighter hunted by the regime, who befriends the protagonist Sam Lowry ( Jonathan Pryce ).
Already in 1986 appeared with Super Mario Brothers: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Daisakusen! ( ス ー パ ー マ リ オ ブ ラ ザ ー ズ ピ ー チ 姫 救出 大作 戦! , Eng . "Super Mario Bros .: Princess Peach's Big Rescue Operation !") A Mario anime film in Japanese cinemas, but never released outside of Japan. In 1990 the film The Wizard (German title: Joy Stick Heroes ) was shown in American cinemas for the first time. This is about a video game enthusiast boy who takes part in a video game competition, in the final of which he has to prove his skills in the as yet unreleased game Super Mario Bros. 3 . Since this title had actually not yet been released in the USA at the time, it received a tremendous amount of attention from the film, so The Wizard turned out to be an extremely effective Nintendo advertisement. Nintendo did not have to pay a cent to the production company Universal Studios for this, but even received license fees from them for the games shown in the film. The resulting huge success of Super Mario Bros. 3 generated revenues of around $ 500 million in the US alone.
1993 came with Super Mario Bros. one of the first film adaptations of a video game in the cinemas. Despite celebrity actors like Bob Hoskins as Mario and Dennis Hopper as King Koopa, the fantasy action comedy flopped at the box office. The reason for the failure is usually the lack of proximity to the template. Since the rather gloomy setting of the film has little in common with the colorful cartoon world of Mario games, two potentially important target groups were missed: Mario fans and younger teenagers. Older viewers, on the other hand, could be put off by the slightly confused plot.
The films and some cartoon episodes are now also available on video and DVD .
Merchandising
In the first half of the nineties in particular, numerous Mario merchandising articles appeared, but today this boom has slowed down significantly, at least in Germany, but revived in a weaker form in the wake of the success of New Super Mario Bros. (NDS, 2006). In addition to plastic and plush figures, chewing gum, stickers and board games , a comic series, books, puzzles , a pinball machine and numerous other things were offered.
mascot
After the success of Super Mario Bros. , Mario became Nintendo's official mascot . In the nineties in particular, various competing companies tried to adopt the successful concept of a video game mascot. Nintendo competitor Sega first tried to establish a cult figure similar to Mario with Alex Kidd , from 1990 with the blue hedgehog Sonic , and the competition between Sega and Nintendo in the first half of the nineties was also a battle between Sonic and Mario. The Sonic platformer games for Sega consoles established the character as a successful video game hero who still represents Sega's mascot to this day. An animated series, comics, merchandise and numerous video games of various genres have been produced over the years, including the racing game Sonic R , the pinball game Sonic Spinball and the party game Sonic Shuffle .
With the platform game Crash Bandicoot , Sony also used a mascot to advertise the PlayStation console. At the same time as the Mario Kart games, a kart racing game starring Crash was also released, analogous to Mario Party, the party game Crash Bash . The original crash platformer games also have clear parallels to the Mario games. Crash Bandicoot was a huge hit, but its use as a mascot was short-lived, and like Sonic, Crash has now also appeared on Nintendo systems.
Children's image
The non-violence of Mario games and their equation with the name Nintendo is often used by proponents of competing products as an opportunity to disparagingly describe Nintendo systems as “children's consoles”. Contrary to these claims, the Mario games are by no means designed only for children, but are aimed at all age groups, which is confirmed by both Mario inventor Shigeru Miyamoto and numerous adult players. Some Mario games are even rather unsuitable for younger children due to the demanding level of difficulty.
Trivia
In August 2020, Lego brought out the adult set 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System in addition to a children's game series with Super Mario .
See also
literature
- Steven L. Kent: The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokémon and Beyond - The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. Prima & Three Rivers, Roseville / New York 2001, ISBN 0-7615-3643-4 . In this:
- Donkey Kong. Pp. 155-160. (Background on the development of the arcade game, Miyamoto's involvement)
- The Return of Jumpman. Pp. 299-300. ( Jumpman becomes Mario, Super Mario Bros. , 1985)
- A Holiday for Sequels. Pp. 364-366. ( Super Mario Bros. 2 , 1988)
- Chris Kohler: Power Up . BradyGames Publishing, Indianapolis 2004, ISBN 0-7440-0424-1 . In this:
- The Mario jump 'n' runs from Donkey Kong to Super Mario Sunshine. Pp. 35-75. (Analysis of the narrative structure, Miyamoto's skills)
- Martin Remmel, Carsten Borgmeier: The Super Mario Book . Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-88745-779-X .
- David Sheff: Nintendo, 'Game Boy' - How a Japanese company conquered the world . Munich 1994, ISBN 3-442-30600-0 .
- Sabine Scholz, Benjamin Spinrath: Super Mario Encyclopedia - The First 30 Years 1985-2015. Tokyopop, Hamburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-8420-3653-6 .
Web links
- The unofficial Mario page , current fan page
- Mushroom Wonderland , extensive fansite
- The Plumber's Way (extensive Super Mario retrospective)
- German MarioWiki
- Mario in MarioWiki
References and comments
- ↑ 8 times Super Mario jumped on other platforms. In: Screenwanderer.com. June 19, 2019, accessed March 5, 2020 (Dutch).
- ^ Super Mario Land ™. Nintendo, accessed January 12, 2013 .
- ↑ Miyamoto-san dispels Mario myths: Mario is a janitor, not a plumber! Archived from the original on October 28, 2017 ; accessed on September 10, 2015 .
- ^ Charles Martinet Down Under. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ^ Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii. nintendo.com. (English) - Interview with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto.
- ^ Steven L. Kent: The Ultimate History of Video Games. 2001, ISBN 0-7615-3643-4 , p. 159. - The origin of the name is also described by David Sheff. There the last name of the property owner is incorrectly given as Segali. See Benji Edwards: The True Face of Mario. April 25, 2010
- ↑ WII VIRTUAL CONSOLE MAKES A BIG BANG! (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 31, 2016 ; accessed on March 31, 2016 (English).
- ↑ Comparison between Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2
- ↑ Rumor: Super Mario Galaxy leaked online. (No longer available online.) Joystiq, October 25, 2007, archived from the original on October 28, 2007 ; accessed on October 29, 2007 (English).
- ↑ Super Mario Galaxy Reviews . Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ Matt Casamassina: E3 2006: Nintendo Tokyo Making Mario Galaxy. In: IGN. May 11, 2006, archived from the original on February 8, 2009 ; accessed on June 17, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Super Mario Galaxy 2- page on the Nintendo homepage ( Memento from April 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Wii U: New Super Mario still in the initial phase at gamona.de. Retrieved July 3, 2011 .
- ↑ Nintendo Switch is getting a new Mario game . In: Polygon , October 20, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ↑ Nintendo Switch Reveal Teased a New Mario Game . In: GameSpot , October 20, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ↑ Play test: Giana Sisters DS - the sisters are jumping again. Retrieved March 31, 2016 .
- ↑ The Legendary Mr. Miyamoto, Father Of Mario And Donkey Kong. Retrieved January 18, 2019 .
- ↑ LEGO 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System available now! August 1, 2020, accessed August 10, 2020 .
- ↑ LEGO Super Mario will be released in August 2020: Sets listed on Amazon & number of parts known! March 11, 2020, accessed August 10, 2020 .