Open Forum: Celebrating 30 Years of Super Mario

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny that Mario has more than lasted the test of time. Yesterday, Sunday 13th September, marked the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. arriving on the Famicom/NES. It was the start of what became by far the largest selling franchise of all time.

Beyond the simple figures, Mario has touched millions of gamers, being one of the first entry points into gaming for many. While gaming in general may have trended towards increased realism, violence and story telling, Mario has remained a bastion of simple mechanics and the importance of just having fun when playing games.

While I actually grew up as a Sonic fan, it’s hard to deny that Sega’s hedgehog mascot star has faded significantly, where Mario has been one constant in an ever-changing gaming landscape. Even playing Super Mario Bros. now, the game remains an almost perfect example of how to build a 2D platformer, and New Super Mario Bros. U continues that tradition of 2D excellence right through to the modern day.

However, it was the 3D Super Mario games where I really started to pay attention to the long lived series, with both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine showing both me and the world how 3D platforming should be done. While many early 3D platformers were absolutely awful – in fact you can look at literally every 3D Sonic game for a perfect example of that – Nintendo somehow managed to make it control near perfectly, while also maintaining everything about the game’s world and aesthetics.

While you can certainly argue about the relative quality of some of the spin-offs from the core Super Mario series, the platformers has shown a level of consistency that I don’t think any series in any medium has managed over that length of time. Long running comic series have had massive dips in quality, read almost any DC book from the 1960s for example, TV shows like Doctor Who and Star Trek have had some pretty big blips, and there’s certainly been James Bond films that haven’t really hit the same level as the others. I’d be hard pressed to think of a Super Mario game I could say the same about though, and that may be the most impressive element of all.

Blair | Although Mario is perhaps best known for paving the way for 2D side-scrolling platformers, the first Super Mario game that stole my affection was Super Mario 64. This took some of the 2D Mario concepts and threw them into a 3D world – or lots of 3D worlds – and had a seemingly endless amount of gameplay for my younger self to explore with family and friends alike.

And although I’ve grown to appreciate the hardcore 2D platforming that can be found in later levels of the side-scrolling titles, it’s the 3D ones that always make me the most happy. Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel often blend these styles together, and while 64 may have more nostalgia attached to it, these are truly my favourite Mario titles.

Naturally, given that he’s a multi-genre icon, the gameplay extends beyond these incredible platformers and to two of my favourite multiplayer titles: Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. These games have brought my friends and I together more than they’ve pushed us apart over cheap wins or blue shells, and the hours spent racing around tracks or throwing each other off battlefields have been fantastic.

It’s safe to say that none of these experiences would exist without the success of Mario. And while he’ll never be my first choice on the character selection screen, there’s no denying that we have a lot to thank him for, defying the odds of success and becoming a true icon despite being a relatively unappealing Italian plumber.

Teflon | The first Mario game I played probably wouldn’t even break into most people’s top ten lists, but even Super Mario Land 2 on the Game Boy was an outstanding platformer. That’s really been a defining feature of the long standing series, that even when Mario hasn’t been reinventing himself, the core gameplay has been so refined that it’s still so very good.

Yet it’s not often that there’s a Super Mario game that isn’t trying to do something new, even to this day. Super Mario Bros. 3 added the overworld, 64 set the benchmark for 3D world building, Galaxy took Mario into outer space to explore different and constantly inventive new environments, they’ve perfectly captured multiplayer in NSMB Wii and 3D World, and even the much maligned Sunshine tried to do something interesting with the water cannon on Mario’s back.

There really is no other game franchise that has been able to sustain itself for such a long time and with such a steady influx of new ideas. So, a hearty Happy 30th Anniversary is in order for Mario, but so too is a hope that the next 30 see just as much invention and innovation as the last.

Dave | One of the first games I played when I was younger was Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES. The first few levels eased me into the concept, but it was World 4 that set it apart from previous games thanks to its sense of scale and giant enemies.

But then you go even further with levels that take place in the sky and a world filled with a maze of pipes, before culminating in some of the most tense levels in 2D Mario history with World 8.

The affect this game has had with the design is remarkable. It has the famous Tanooki suit that has reappeared throughout the franchise since. It’s certainly the best of the NES era and one of Mario’s finest in his 30 years.


 

And now it’s over to you, to share your thoughts on Mario and his 30 year tenure as gaming’s preeminent plumber. Let us know your best memories from the series, tell us what you’ve been creating in Super Mario Maker, say what your favourite Mario game is, or you can even let us know why you’ve tired on his appearance within Nintendo’s release schedule. The Open Forum is a place to air your thoughts on a subject, however they may fall.

12 Comments

  1. Meh.

  2. The best.

  3. Mario Maker has actually given me a new appreciation for 2D Mario games While Super Mario World has always been my favourite, I’m now looking at the New. series in a new light, especially the WiiU version. They’re not perfect by any means but the usual criticism about them being rehashes rings a little less true in a post-Maker world.

    As for my favourites or most memorable games 6 Golden Coins was my first Mario. very impressive for a Game Boy title. I do have a soft spot for Sunshine as I loved the Gamecube, but SMW has yet to be moved from top spot.

  4. Although I’m now a Sony boy through and through, I had the first Super Mario Land on the original GameBoy in 1989, so Mario and I go way back.

    Pretty much played them all – Super Mario Bros. 3 on NES is one of my favourites; and Super Mario World with all the various Yoshi’s on the SNES! Then the brilliant Mario 64 on N64. Sadly, that’s where Mario and I parted company and I’ve not owned a Nintendo since the PSone came along.

  5. The Only Mario game I’ve ever played was Mario Kart 64 when my cousin got an N64 for Christmas. We played on it for hours and it was really fun but it could have quite easily been any character we were playing. I don’t remember caring that it was Mario, just that it was fun.

  6. I’ve never liked or understood why Mario Bros were so popular. I was going to say I was too old, but if Mario Bros was released 30 years ago, I would’ve been 8.

    Anyway, didn’t Mario start his career off in Donkey Kong 35 years ago?
    The same Donkey Kong who was supposed to be Monkey Kong if I remember correctly, but got misinterpreted – Same with Continental Circus instead of ‘Circuit’.

    • Yep, Mario (or Jumpman) was in Donkey Kong in 1981, before Mario Bros. was an arcade game from 1983, but it wasn’t until Super Mario Bros. in 1985 that we saw the more modern 2D platformer take shape, with scrolling levels, power ups, etc. etc. It’s that anniversary in particular which Nintendo have been celebrating.

  7. I love Mario games!

    My first handheld (and console overall) game was Mario Land 2. And it was brilliant!

    I believe the first I played was Super Mario Bros 1 on the NES. But I can’t remember for sure.

    I’ve fond memories of most Super Mario Bros games, but the most vibrant come from 64. It was such a “welcome to the next generation” as could be!

    The games by EAD are consistently fantastic, and I can’t wait for the next one.

  8. So many memories of playing Super Mario Bros. across all the Nintendo home consoles. I didn’t really get into the handhelds, and when I did eventually get a GBA Yoshi’s Island was the only SMB game I’d got for it, along with SMK Super Circuit.

    Similar to Dave’s point about Donkey Kong, I always wonder why Mario Bros. never gets a mention in relation to the SMB games. May have been a single screen effort, but it started out the Mario and Luigi theme. It’s one that’s stuck more firmly in my brain as well, as I used to tan it loads with my brothers and dad on the old 2600. Though the sound of two people running about used to drive my mum mental.
    Taster, in case you’ve never seen/played it https://youtu.be/GouYMH1K4nE

  9. While i have never been a fan of mario, or platformers in general, i remember being really hooked on super mario advance for the GBA. Definitely my favourite mario game, despite originating as a different game.

  10. I have many fond memories of Mario. I also started off really as a Megadrive fanboy I went round a friends house who loved Nintendo and I played Super Mario 3 needless to say I loved it. Though I never had a NES because my parents weren’t rich. I got myself a paper round by the time I could afford NES SNES was out so I got that with Super Mario World which I remember having loads of fun with. I remember that there was a collection of the 1st 3 SMB out as well on SNES which I also loved.

    Many years later a different friend downloaded Super Mario World on PC and we all had a whale of time again. This is why Super Mario World will always remain my favourite game ever.

    Still not finished I bought my nephew for a birthday present Super Mario Galaxy 2 for his birthday presenta few years back. Though I thought I’ll have a quick go on it before I give it him for his birthday and I absolutely loved it, I was gutted when I had to give him his present.

    I didn’t like the SMB for Wii U but love the Mario 3d world bit I get frustrated when my kids beat me or they end up dying constantly on the harder levels. So I’ve not completed it.

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