MARIO AT 35

 

Actually, the Super Mario Bros. game marked its 35^th anniversary last fall (it was released in Japan in September of 1985 and a month or so after in North America). Mario the lovable mustachioed plumber who became a hero for the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom and to millions of children around the world, dates back to 1981 when he appeared as the antagonist for the arcade game Donkey Kong (which was then ported to Atari, Commodore 64 and Nintendo among other systems). Long before Bowser and, later, his conniving counterpart Wario, the titular dimwitted ape became the first primary rival for the red overalls sporting “Jump Man”, as he was called.

But, Donkey Kong’s nemesis was soon showing signs of larger aspirations. Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Donkey Kong, did not initially see much of a future for the character and seemed to have little use for him aside from brief appearances in the Donkey Kong spin-offs, a Nintendo version of Pinball and assorted sports titles such as Golf and Tennis. Miyamoto’s idea was to use the character he christened “Mr. Video” as a recognizable guest star but thought enough of Mario to let him star in a few titles such as Mario Bros, a battle game pitting Mario against his brother Luigi set in a tubular factory of green pipes spouting hedgehogs and vicious crabs, and Wrecking Crew.

Then a catalyst brought opportunity. In 1983 the video game industry, which was then soaring highly enough, came crashing down in a slump that would last for almost two years. Many factors were attributed to this including an overabundance of competing consoles and companies and an oversaturation of the market. Indeed, the future looked bleak not only for Mario but for the industry at large.

In what may have been a last-ditch effort to save its latest development, Nintendo thought outside the box. It would step aside from one person shooter games like Sheriff. The sheer entertainment value could be duplicated in arcades. What video games needed was, even if in a rudimentary form, a narrative pull.

Who better come to the rescue than the trusty plumber who was already a hero for Donkey Kong’s captive Pauline? Enter a new game, Super Mario Bros. In itself, the game was a mini-revolution for the industry and its legacy is impossible to over emphasize. With this one title, Miyamoto saved Nintendo, video games and reinvented gaming.

Now there was a story. Mario, a plumber from Brooklyn arrives at the Mushroom Kingdom on a quest to save a Princess from a dragon-like creature named King Koopa or Bowser. Unlike the previous dark backgrounds of Pinball and Mario Bros there was now scenery (a blue sky, castles and hills) which could change according to levels which could be set underwater or in a dungeon.

There was a cast including Mario’s brother Luigi, Pauline was still the captive princess but would, by the next North American installment be replaced by the more defined Princess Peach, and a helpful mushroom cap wearing advisor named Toad. There were consistent enemies such as the koopas (turtles which, once defeated, became useful weapons against other enemies thanks to their sliding shells), mean-faced goobas, ghosts, colorful fish and, ultimately, King Koopa.

Super Mario Bros was my first introduction to Mario and his world, my parents bringing both the Nintendo console and the game into our home in late 1988. I was enthralled immediately, the concept of “playing games on the TV” seemed the stuff of science fiction.

When Super Mario Bros came into our home, bringing fun times for my Dad and myself playing as a team or in competition, rumblings were already circulating about Super Mario Bros 2. However, what was known in North America and Europe as Super Mario Bros 2 was not designed as a Mario game. In Japan it was released in July of 1987 as Doki Doki Panic and, to older fans and even to us young players looking back in retrospect, the formatting is a bit off-putting as it never feels natural for a Mario game. The true Super Mario 2 would not be released in North America until 1993 as part of the compilation game Super Mario All-Stars for the Super Nintendo console as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, a game so frustratingly difficult Nintendo feared it would prove a flop outside of Japan. Aware of the sweeping popularity of its new mascot overseas, however, Nintendo recast Doki Doki Panic with Mario and friends but kept the original game’s scenery, enemies and game play intact, creating a jarring effect for some. For most young fans, however, the differences were hardly noticed. We were delighted with the innovative option of choosing our character player from Mario, Luigi, Toad and the new Princess Peach. The game does, ultimately, reveal itself to be set in a strange dreamland created by Mario’s enemies, so narratively it could be made to fit in the Mario cannon.

For me and many other fans the real milestone was Super Mario Bros. 3, one of the best Nintendo games ever. The game was as much a masterpiece as the original Super Mario had been. In addition to the iconic symbols (mushrooms that made Mario grow taller, stars that gave him a frenzied super power and a flower that gave him the defense of fire balls) the game added costumes providing different abilities such as a raccoon tale allowing him to fly and a frog suit making swimming easier in the aquatic levels. It added the concept of levels divided into thematic lands and the concept of traveling backward to previous worlds.

These innovations were the blueprint for the pilot game for Super Nintendo, Super Mario World another of Mario’s best introducing more colorful characters, especially Yoshi, the adorable dinosaur with a kind heart and a huge appetite.

Mario has been Nintendo’s sure fire winner for over thirty years, the cast of characters growing with each game and each system. Mario has travelled from arcades to Nintendo’s original consoles to Game Boy (Nintendo’s handheld device) to Wii.

My memories of Mario were ones bonding with my classmates from St. Mark’s after-school or at birthday parties in which playing the latest Mario release would prove to be the highlight even more so than the cake. A testament to the versatility of the brave but endearing stout little icon was the wide assortment of media I remember so fondly. The prize for finishing my homework on time each afternoon was the promise to be allowed to watch The Super Mario Bros Super Show, an animated TV series featuring the characters we all were getting to know so well with live action openings featuring “Captain” Lou Albano as Mario. My seventh birthday cake was topped with Mario figurines and, I must admit, McDonald’s gimmick of offering Mario toys with a Happy Meal in the early 90s worked for me.

Mario and the gang have delighted almost three generations of fans and show no signs of slowing down. Mario is, after all, a timeless icon, his backstory rooted in classic mythology and fairy tale tropes. The tiny jump man that burdened Donkey Kong forty years ago has eclipsed even that dumb brute in popularity (though given their frequent appearances together they seem to have buried the hatchet), so game on.