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Ask a non-gamer to name one video game; go on, do it! They answered Super Mario Bros. or something Mario didn’t they? I’m sure that’s an obvious choice, isn’t it? Even non-gamers know about it, and people who played Mario games will probably remember it like no other!
And the question still stands: What made Mario the most influential gaming character ever? What made it become the symbol of the video game industry? Well, it’s nothing short of revolutionary, but then again. What makes it revolutionary?
Let’s take a dive into the vast pool of Mario games, take a look at the ones that started this legacy and go through time all the way to the present to try and understand why Mario is still very influential and famous today. Let’s get started!
History of Super Mario Bros.
The history of the character Mario goes back to before Super Mario Bros. was even released! The first model of Mario was actually first designed and released with the arcade game Donkey Kong back in 1981! He’s the playable character that jumps and goes up the screen, although here’s a fun fact: That character in Donkey Kong isn’t called Mario; he was called Jumpman!
Now, Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer of Donkey Kong, was given the opportunity by Nintendo to create a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and wouldn’t you believe that Super Mario Bros. is the first game he ever created for a gaming console system? Of course, he had experience designing arcade games, but as the world soon discovered, Super Mario Bros. was so much more than a simple arcade game!
Technical Innovations
With its undisputed success, a ton of people are asking why it even succeeded, especially now that we take it for granted whilst armed with our RTX 4090 GPUs and ray and path tracing technologies. Well, at the time, Super Mario Bros. revolutionized many gaming mechanics, all at one go!
If you take a look at most games before Super Mario Bros., you’ll notice that it’s all mostly board games, which means everything is on one screen, such as Pac-man, Donkey Kong, Tetris, and Pinball.
But in 1981, Konami released Jump Bug, and in 1984 Nintendo released Excitebike. Both are some of the first side-scrolling games ever to release! With this, Miyamoto saw the potential for a side-scrolling action platformer game and made Super Mario Bros.
It’s not all about the side-scrolling action, though, as clearly that has been done before. Another thing that was new about Super Mario is the jumping mechanic. Sure, both Excitebike and Jump Bug had jumping, but I think Super Mario perfected it.
Another thing that was top-notch with Super Mario Bros. is the level design. What can’t I say about it? It was groundbreaking, it’s well thought out, and even from the start of the game, it’s hard not to get the mushroom that you use to level up! So much so that it feels new and ingenious, but in reality, it’s essentially the game’s tutorial, and that top-notch level design made it extremely simple for players.
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Adding to the level design are the graphics and sounds. Rarely did we have a colorful game before Super Mario. It was usually just black or solid colors. But with Super Mario, the overworld levels had clouds, underwater levels had different enemies and movements, and even the dark and simple-designed castle had lava. I know it doesn’t sound as exciting now, but it really was a big deal back in the day.
Do you know what sounds exciting? The music! Another thing that people remember when they hear Mario is the legendary earworm of a theme song. If you’re living under a rock and you don’t know the song, take a quick listen as this video walks through the first level:
Sounds catchy, doesn’t it? Well, if it’s your first time listening, then you’re never gonna forget that tune ever again! But did you notice one thing there? Even the jumps had sounds! It was completely unnecessary at the time, but, as I mentioned, the jump was one of the things that Super Mario perfected, and I think it’s all about the jump sound effect!
Finally, if you did play the game even once, you’ll immediately notice the absolutely fluid gameplay: it had great controls and, of course, the great graphics and sounds that went with it!
What made it iconic?
Even if a game was technically perfect and fun to play, being an icon is a title that’s usually not as easy to achieve. So what made Super Mario so iconic? Timing and timing (and a bit of good marketing by Nintendo).
I chose to leave this out of our little history context earlier, but Super Mario was made at the time of the video game crash. Yes, from 1983, most of the world kind of gave up on video games due to an over-saturation of poorly made cheap games that took over the market and drove out good games backed by major companies. Aside from that, most people took on personal computers as a more sensible thing to invest in as they can also play games while also having the capability of doing a lot more.
Now, with Super Mario Bros. being a huge success, a ton of people have regained their interest in video games, and chances are, the first game they ever played or remember playing is Super Mario Bros.! This meant that at some point, Super Mario Bros. essentially saved gaming!
Not enough? Well, with its success, Super Mario set the standard in video games, and more specifically on level design! It led games to have tutorial sections and reasonable difficulty progression. And, of course, it led games to be designed to give players an adventure and virtually limitless levels of fun!
Of course, as time passed on by, the nostalgia factor came in and boosted it to its iconic status. Then, we can’t forget that Nintendo was continuously pumping out new Mario games every couple of years with new mechanics and improvements! Super Mario 64 brought Mario into the 3D world, Super Mario Galaxy brought Mario across different planets, and that brought us to Super Mario Odyssey, the most fun and arguably the best Mario game to date!
The last reason for its iconic status is, of course, Nintendo’s continuous investments to translate the game into movies, TV Shows, and merchandise! And with the latest Mario movie released a couple of months back, I’m sure it affected and introduced the next generation to the Mario franchise!
Conclusion
Super Mario wasn’t just a game, it was a revolution that fundamentally altered the video game landscape, and at one point, it saved video games as a whole! Its innovative design, technological breakthroughs, and global impact set new standards for what video games could be.
And more than three decades after its release, the legacy of Super Mario not only continues to be felt but is now stronger than ever! Its influence will likely continue to be seen and felt in the gaming world for generations!
What do you think? Is Mario the best franchise there is? Do you agree with its impact on video games as a whole? Let us know in the comments below!
