Super Mario (franchise)

Mario or Super Mario is a long-running Nintendo video game series of platformer titles that has spanned more than twenty years over a variety of arcade, console, and handheld platforms in addition to personal and Macintosh computures. Though the series is technically a spin-off of the Donkey Kong series, Super Mario now stands independent of its parent series and is one of the most well-known franchises in the world. The series inspired any spin-offs, several of which developed into independent video game franchises such as the Yoshi, Wario Land, and Mario Kart series.

Arcade Era
The Mario series began in 1981 with Donkey Kong. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Donkey Kong was Nintendo's first big success. Originally, Mario was known as "Jumpman," but it was later changed to the former when Nintendo of America nick-named the character "Mario" after their landlord, Mario Segali.

Mario returned to the series as the villain of Donkey Kong Jr., but he was replaced by Stanley the Bugman in Donkey Kong 3. In 1983, Mario got his own game, Mario Bros., which introduced his brother, Luigi.

Mario and Donkey Kong also appeared in several Game & Watch games.

NES Era
Mario's first outing on the NES was Super Mario Bros. It sold around 40 million copies worldwide, making it the bestselling game of all time. The game introduced many of the hallmarks of the series including Bowser, Princess Peach, Toads, Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Starmen, Koopas, and Goombas.

In the wake of the success of Super Mario Bros., a sequel, Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in 1987. In Japan, the game was similar to Super Mario Bros., but was considered too challenging for American gamers at first. It was later released in America as The Lost Levels on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console and the compilation Super Mario All-Stars. Instead, the American Super Mario Bros. 2 was the same as the Japanese game Doki Doki Panic, but with Mario characters. The American version allowed players to play as Princess Peach and Toad for the first time, and was re-released in Japan as Super Mario USA.

In 1989, Mario made his debut on the Gameboy with Super Mario Land. It sold 18.06 million copies, making it the bestselling game not bundled with a console in history. This game introduced Princess Daisy, though it was some time before she was seen again.

Mario returned to the NES in 1990 with Super Mario Bros. 3, which returned to the formula of Super Mario Bros. It introduced many new powers such as the Raccoon Leaf, Tanooki Suit, and Frog Suit, and was the first appearance of the Koopalings. It sold 17.8 million copies.

SNES Era
In 1991, Mario debuted on the Super Nintendo with Super Mario World. This game introduced Mario's companion, Yoshi. It sold 20.60 million copies worldwide.

Mario returned to the Gameboy in 1992 with Super Mario Land 2, which introduced his rival, Wario. In the same year, Mario set the standard for cart racing games with Super Mario Kart. It at the time it was (and some say, still is) the best racing game available.

In 1994, Toad and Wario closed the NES with a bang with puzzle-game Wario's Woods. It is the only game to star Toad as the sole hero.

Mario's next Super Nintendo title was released in 1995, depicting the iconic plumber as a baby in Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2. Instead of controlling Mario, the player controlled Yoshi on a quest to rescue Baby Luigi from the Koopas, led by Baby Bowser and his caregiver Kamek, both of whom would become staple enemies in future Yoshi series titles.

Mario's last game on the Super Nintendo had him delve into the RPG genre. Super Mario RPG is fondly remembered by fans and is often listed as one of the top games for the Super Nintendo. Interestingly, this is the first game that let players play as Bowser.

Nintendo 64 Era
Super Mario 64 was released in 1996, making it a landmark year for the Mario series. The game made the transition from 2D to 3D very well, and set an example for how 3D platformers should feel. The game sold 11.62 million worldwide, making it the bestselling game for the Nintendo 64.

In 1999, Mario was once again pushed in a new direction with Mario Party, which combinated board games and video games. It was an odd concept, but it was very well done and resulted in an excellent game to play with friends. Another new idea developed in 1999 was Mario and sports: that year, Mario Golf was released and well received. However, perhaps the strangest departure that year was a fighting game. While Super Smash Bros. isn't technically a Mario game, it's still noteworthy. The game featured characters from some of Nintendo's most popular franchises, and went on to become the fifth bestselling game for the Nintendo 64.

In the year 2000, Mario tried out another sport. Mario Tennis was as successful as Mario Golf was before it.

In the year 2001, Mario returned to the RPG genre, but with a new twist: Paper Mario featured the hero as a paper cut out.

Nintendo GameCube Era
The Game Boy Advanced was released in mid-2001. In its launch was Super Mario Advance, which was a remake of the American Super Mario Bros. 2, adding new graphics and a few new additions, such as a remake of Mario Bros. that could be played with 4 players. Later that year, the Nintendo GameCube was introduced to the gaming world, as was a game starring Luigi, Luigi's Mansion. The game strayed away from platforming and focused on the use of the Poltergust 3000 to solve puzzles and capture ghosts haunting the green-clad plumber's new abode. 2001 also saw the sequel to 1999's fighter Super Smash Bros. with Super Smash Bros. Melee, the best-selling game on the Gamecube.

Super Mario Advance 2 came out early in 2002. A remake of Super Mario World, it had new graphics, but unlike the original Advance, it had many new features as well. Mario's first big GameCube game was also released in 2002: Super Mario Sunshine. Like his brother, Mario was wielding a new device in his latest quest; in this case, it was F.L.U.D.D. Also in 2002 came Super Mario Advance 3, a port of Yoshi's Island.

In mid-2003, Mario Golf had a huge update on the GCN with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. It did not have any of the humans from the original; instead, it added tons of new features to add to its wackiness, plus a new, easier mechanic for swings. Mario got his first RPG on a portable system in 2003. For the Game Boy Advance, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga featured both of the brothers fighting simultaneously.

2004's Super Mario Advance 4 was more or less a port of Super Mario All-Stars's remake of Super Mario Bros. 3, but it had a few tiny changes, such as yet another Mario Bros. remake addition. Also in 2004, Mario Golf: Advance Tour was released. It was a lot like the GBC version of Mario Golf, but now it has new characters, courses, and 3D graphics. There were RPG elements to the game, too, which meant one's character stats could be totally different from another's of the same character. It was possible to link to Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and transfer characters to it.

The year continued to be groudbreaking as Mario went back to his roots and went up against his old antagonist Donkey Kong for the first time in 10 years. Mario vs. Donkey Kong ' s gameplay was similar to Donkey Kong '94 ' s gameplay, but with entirely new levels. Mario Power Tennis, the sequel to 2000's Mario Tennis, was also released; it featured several new characters and modes, along with Power Shots. Finally, the sequel to Paper Mario came out in 2004: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door played similarly to its predecessor, but in a new setting with an unrelated story.

2005 stretched Mario's boundaries a bit further by adding rhythm games his resume. Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix featured remixed games as well as characters from the Mario series. Mario also tried a couple of new sports in 2005. Mario Superstar Baseball mixed the great American pastime with Mario; Super Mario Strikers, on the other hand, brought an exiting version of contact-soccer/football to the series. The GBA version of Mario Power Tennis came out in 2005, called Mario Tennis: Power Tour. It added RPG elements and Humans to a game that was otherwise similar to the GBC Mario Tennis. Unfortunately, the GCN version could not link up to the GBA game.

Late in that same year, two Nintendo DS titles came out featuring Mario. The first was Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the sequel to Superstar Saga that threw time travel and Baby Mario and Luigi into the RPG fray. Next came Mario Kart DS, which was the very first Nintendo online game. Along with 16 new courses, it included 16 old favorites (4 from each of the past Mario Karts).

Princess Peach got her own game in 2006. Super Princess Peach is an easier platformer than the previous Mario platformers, but it has its own unique characteristics. The next DS title continued the old Super Mario Bros. genre in a unique way with the New Super Mario Bros. With new abilities and graphics added to the old platforming action, the game is truly a worthy successor. Mario then tested his skills on the courts with Mario Hoops 3 on 3. Along with his usual friends, he also went up against some opponents from the RPG Series Final Fantasy. 2006 also saw a sequel for the SNES's Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Island DS. This time, the game featured the younger versions of several favorite characters.

Wii Era
The technological advancements of the Wii resulted in a slew of innovative new ideas swelling the Mario series from 2007 onwards. The first glimpse of this was the dimension-flipping of Super Paper Mario, which set it apart from the previous Paper Mario titles and blurred the lines between 2D side-scrollers and 3D RPGs. After some Wii installments of staple Mario series, such as Mario Party 8 (Mario Party series) and Mario Strikers Charged (Mario Strikers series), the gravity-defying Super Mario Galaxy (sequel to Super Mario Sunshine) was released. Walking off platforms no-longer resulted in Game Overs as Mario traveled through space to rescue Peach, defeat Bowser, and change the face of gaming yet again.

Later in 2008, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Super Smash Bros. Series) and Mario Kart Wii (Mario Kart Series) and Mario Super Sluggers (Mario Baseball series) were released.