Mario (series) facts for kids
The Mario series is a series of popular platform games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in most of the games, his brother Luigi. The Mario series has been running for more than 25 years, and in has released more than 200 video games. The series has been named the best-selling video game series in history, with over 262 million combined units sold.
The series started out in 1981 with the arcade video game, Donkey Kong, and has since then taken off into its own series. It was created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario, going under the name Jumpman when Donkey Kong was first released, is the main protagonist throughout most of the series; the main antagonist of the series is Bowser, the King of all Koopas. Most of the games have something to do with jumping and defeating enemies. The games usually feature simple storylines; the most common plot theme in the series being Bowser, the main bad person, taking away Princess Peach, who the Mario brothers try to save during the games.
Contents
Video games
Origin games
Donkey Kong
After the commercial failure of Radar Scope, Nintendo's company president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, referred to designer Shigeru Miyamoto to create an arcade game to save the company. Miyamoto came up with the idea of a game in which the playable character has to make his way through an obstacle course consisting of sloped platforms, ladders and rolling barrels. Miyamoto named the game Donkey Kong, and its main protagonist "Jumpman". Donkey Kong is an early example of the platform genre. In addition to presenting the goal of saving Pauline, the game gives the player a score. Points are awarded for finishing screens; leaping over obstacles; destroying objects with a hammer power-up; collecting items such as hats, parasols, and purses (presumably belonging to Pauline); and completing other tasks. The game was surprisingly successful. "Jumpman" was called "Mario" in certain promotional materials for the game's release overseas; his namesake was Mario Segale, the landlord of Nintendo of America (NOA)'s office/warehouse, who, according to one version of events, barged in on a meeting to demand an overdue rent payment. This story is contradicted by former NOA warehouse manager Don James, who stated in 2012 that he and then-NOA president Minoru Arakawa named the character after Segale as a joke because Segale was so reclusive that none of the employees had ever met him. James repeated this account in 2018.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Mario next appeared in Donkey Kong Jr. as the game's antagonist. Players control Donkey Kong Jr. as he climbs vines and collects keys to save his kidnapped father from Mario. The game was later ported to several platforms including the Famicom/NES and several Atari home consoles. Additionally, a Game & Watch port and sequel were later produced. Like the first game, it is an early example of the platform genre. There are four stages of this game and don't give you a score like the original Donkey Kong game does.
Mario Bros.
Mario Bros. is the first game to feature "Mario" in the title and to feature Luigi. The objective of Mario Bros is to defeat all of the enemies in each phase. Each phase is a series of platforms with four pipes at each corner of the screen, and an object called a "POW" block in the center. The mechanics of Mario Bros. involve only running and jumping. Unlike future Mario titles, players cannot jump on enemies until they are flipped over; this can be accomplished by jumping under the platform they are on or by using the "POW" block. Both sides of every phase feature a mechanism that allows the player to go off-screen to the left and appear on the right, and vice versa. The game has since reappeared in various forms, including as a minigame in Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Super Mario Advance series, and reimagined as Mario Clash.
Game and Watch
Nintendo has released several Mario and Donkey Kong LCD video games for the Game & Watch line. Eleven were released between 1982 and 1995. Nintendo also licensed the release of six LCD games for Nelsonic's Game Watch line between 1989 and 1994. Many remakes of Game & Watch games have changed the protagonist from a generic Mr. Game & Watch character to Mario. In 2020, a rerelease of Super Mario Bros. in the form of a Game & Watch titled Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. was released for the game's 35th anniversary.
Super Mario series
Mario then became the star of his own side scrolling platform game in 1985, titled Super Mario Bros., which was the pack-in game included with the Nintendo Entertainment System console. It was also later sold in a package with Duck Hunt. In Japan, a game titled Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in 1986, but a different game with the same name was released internationally in 1988, followed by Super Mario Bros. 3 later that same year. The Japanese version would subsequently be released in the United States in 1993 under the title Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels as part of the Super Mario All-Stars title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, a console that also features iterations of the game known as Super Mario World. While Super Mario Land and two sequels were the Game Boy installments in the series, the Game Boy Advance did not receive any original entries, only remakes. Super Mario 64 debuted as the launch title for the Nintendo 64 console in 1996. Super Mario Sunshine was the series' entry for the GameCube, and Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel continued the franchise for the Wii. Super Mario 3D Land was the series' flagship title for Nintendo 3DS. The Wii U saw the release of Super Mario 3D World in November 2013. A rerelease titled Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury released February 2021. Super Mario Odyssey would be the first game in the series to be released on the Nintendo Switch, and was released in 2017.
In 2006, a sub-series with retro gameplay called New Super Mario Bros. was inaugurated on the Nintendo DS, featuring the mechanics of the Super Mario Bros. games. It continued on the Wii as New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009), on the 3DS as New Super Mario Bros. 2 (2012) and on the Wii U as New Super Mario Bros. U (2012) and New Super Luigi U (2013) ((stylized as New Super Luigi Bros U)), with a port titled New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch in January 2019. Super Mario Bros.-styled gameplay is further offered by the level creator game Super Mario Maker, released on Wii U in 2015. A sequel, Super Mario Maker 2, was released on Nintendo Switch in June 2019. In June 2023, Nintendo announced Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the first 2D Mario game (excluding rereleases, level creators, and mobile games) in 11 years. It released October 20, 2023.
In 2016, the team behind New Super Mario Bros. released Super Mario Run, Nintendo's first real smartphone game and one of the few instances a Mario game was developed for non-Nintendo hardware.
Puzzle games
Dr. Mario series
Dr. Mario (stylized as D℞. Mario) is a series of arcade-style action puzzle video game originally developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, and later developed by Arika and produced by Nintendo Software Planning & Development. The first in the series, Dr. Mario, was launched in 1990 on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy to critical and commercial success. In the Dr. Mario series, the player character Mario, who assumes the role of a doctor, is tasked with eradicating deadly viruses. The player's objective is to destroy the viruses populating the on-screen playing field by using falling colored capsules that are dropped into the field, similarly to Tetris. The player manipulates the capsules as they fall so that they are aligned with viruses of matching colors, which removes them from playing field. The player progresses through the game by eliminating all the viruses on the screen in each level.
There have been 4 Dr. Mario games released for home consoles, two portable games and one mobile game, for a total of seven original titles. As the series has progressed, each new game has introduced new elements to keep the gameplay fresh such as new game modes. In 2001, Dr. Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 introduced new game modes such as a Story mode, Score Attack and Marathon, Wario as a playable character and four-player multiplayer. After a seven-year hiatus, in 2008, Dr. Mario Express for the Nintendo DSi's DSiWare service re-introduced the series to the portable gaming market. Also in 2008, Dr. Mario Online Rx for the Wii's WiiWare service introduced online multiplayer to the series. In 2013, Dr. Luigi for the Wii U's Nintendo eShop introduced Luigi as the playable character as well as an Operation L game mode in which all capsules assume the shape of the letter "L". A mobile game titled Dr. Mario World was released in 2019, but was permanently discontinued in July of 2021.
Mario's Picross series
This series is a collection of nonogram logic puzzles involving a grid with numbers for every row and column, which refer to the amount of marked squares within the grid. The games features Mario as an archaeologist who chisels away to form images on the grid.
- Mario's Picross
- Picross 2
- Mario's Super Picross
Mario vs. Donkey Kong series
Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a sub-series of the Mario and Donkey Kong series, based on puzzle video games, making the return of Donkey Kong, Pauline, and the former's rivalry with Mario. The sub-series introduces the Mario-like toys known as Mini-Marios, who later replace Mario as the sole playable characters in all future installments starting with Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis onward.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a 2014 action puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It is a spin-off of the Super Mario series which builds upon the isometric minigames starring Captain Toad from Super Mario 3D World.
Enhanced ports were released for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch on July 13, 2018, including additional bonus levels themed around Super Mario Odyssey, but excluding the Super Mario 3D World bonus levels from the Wii U version. The Nintendo Switch port has sold over 1 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games on the system. A free update for the Nintendo Switch version was released on February 13, 2019, adding co-op multiplayer where another player controls a new purple Toad with white spots in the regular chapters alongside Toad/Toadette, and Toadette in the DLC Special Episode.
Role-playing games
The first role-playing game in the Mario franchise was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. It has since expanded to the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series.
Paper Mario series
Paper Mario is a spin-off series of RPG video games developed by Intelligent Systems and produced by Nintendo Software Planning & Development. The first game in the series, Paper Mario, was launched in 2000 on the Nintendo 64 to critical and commercial success. In the Paper Mario series, the player controls Mario in a mixture of 3D environments and 2D characters who look as if they are made of paper. Mario can jump and use his hammer to overcome physical obstacles placed in the game's overworld. Additionally, the player accumulates partners as they advance into different locations, who each have a specialized skill required for progression in the game. These characters assist Mario in the game's turn-based battles. Damage inflicted to the player reduces the amount of HP. Attacks in the game are similar to those in traditional RPGs, although the player can influence the power of a move when attacking or defending by timing a button-press accurately or performing some other action command as required. Mario and his partners have a finite capacity to perform special moves, with each of these consuming a particular number of flower points (FP) when performed. Such statistics can be increased by earning Star Points (experience points) in combat to level up. Progression through Paper Mario depends upon interaction with the game's non-player characters (NPCs), who will often offer clues or detail the next event in the storyline. As in other RPGs, the player can find or purchase items from NPCs to help in and outside of combat. Badges can be obtained that yield bonuses ranging from added moves to gradual health restoration during combat; each consumes a set number of Badge Points (BP), meaning Mario can only equip a limited number of badges at a time.
There have been five Paper Mario games released for home consoles and one game on 3DS. As the series has progressed, each new game has introduced new elements to keep the gameplay fresh such as a new story, new partners, and new gameplay mechanics. In 2004, The Thousand-Year Door for the GameCube introduced the ability of Mario turning into and folding up into a paper airplane and/or a paper boat to interact with the overworld. In 2007, Super Paper Mario deviated into the 2D action RPG genre and introduced the ability to "flip" into a 3D perspective in which the level rotates to reveal a hidden z-axis, placing Mario in a 3D environment. In 2012, Sticker Star for the Nintendo 3DS introduced the use of stickers in both the environment and in turn-based battles. They can be found and peeled off from various areas in the overworld, and can be purchased or received from non-playable characters. In 2015, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam also released for the 3DS, in which all the Paper Mario world enters the real one. In 2016, Color Splash for the Wii U was announced that introduced the use of colors in both the environment and in turn-based battles, just like in Sticker Star. In 2020, The Origami King was announced on the Switch with the use of origami.
Mario and Luigi series
The Mario & Luigi spin-off series, developed by AlphaDream, was formed exclusively throughout handheld consoles. The series began with the release of Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. In 2017, Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions for the Nintendo 3DS introduced a remake of the original game with added graphics, an improved map allowing players to place pinpoints, and an additional mode called Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser, featuring a real-time strategy battle system and following Bowser's underlings as they search for their leader. In 2005, Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS introduced their younger selves: Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Toadsworth the younger, Baby Peach and Baby Bowser. In 2009, Bowser's Inside Story also for the DS introduced Mario, Luigi and the others inside of Bowser's body. In 2018, Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey for the 3DS introduced a remake of the original game with added graphics, an improved map allowing players to place pinpoints, and an additional mode called Bowser Jr.'s Journey. In 2013, Dream Team for the 3DS introduced Dreamy Luigi, where Luigi sleeps in the Dream World in celebrating the Year of Luigi. In 2015, Paper Jam also for the 3DS also included Paper Mario as a playable character when Luigi knocks over the book containing him. In 2024, a new entry in the series titled Brothership was announced during a Nintendo Direct in June of 2024, around nine years after the release of Paper Jam.
Party games
Mario Party series
In 1998, the Hudson game Mario Party was released for the Nintendo 64. Following this, nine numbered sequels have since been released, making for ten numbered titles, along with three unnumbered main series titles: Mario Party DS (2007), Super Mario Party (2018), and Mario Party Superstars (2021). The series also has four spins-offs that differ in gameplay, including Mario Party Advance, Island Tour, Star Rush, and The Top 100. Mario Party is a multiplayer party game featuring Mario series characters in which four human- or computer-controlled characters compete in a board game interspersed with minigames.
Sports games
There have been numerous sports games in the Mario franchise.
Mario Tennis series
The first appearances of Mario in tennis games were as a referee in Tennis for the NES and Game Boy. These games did not use the Mario branding and only featured Mario in the capacity of a cameo. He then appeared in Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy. After this, Camelot Software Planning released Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. They would subsequently develop other games in this series: Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube and Wii, Power Tour for the Game Boy Advance, Mario Tennis Open for the Nintendo 3DS, Ultra Smash for the Wii U, and Aces for the Nintendo Switch.
Mario Golf series
The first use of Mario's likeness in a golf game was that the golfer in Golf for NES and Game Boy featured a mustached man resembling Mario. Later, NES Open Tournament Golf was released. It featured Mario and Luigi as the golfers, with Princess Toadstool and Princess Daisy as their caddies. Mario Golf was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. It was followed by Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour for the GameCube, Mario Golf: Advance Tour for the Game Boy Advance and Mario Golf: World Tour for the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo released Mario Golf: Super Rush for the Nintendo Switch in summer of 2021.
Mario Baseball series
Mario and Luigi were team captains in Baseball for the Game Boy. Mario Superstar Baseball was released for the GameCube and Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii.
Mario Strikers series
The game of football was introduced in one of the minigames in Mario Party 4 as "GOOOOOOOAL!!". The Mario Strikers series (Mario Football in Europe) made its debut for the GameCube with Super Mario Strikers in 2005, developed by Next Level Games. Mario Strikers Charged was released for the Wii in 2007. Mario Strikers: Battle League was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2022.
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series
In 2008, Mario and his friends appeared alongside the characters from Sonic the Hedgehog in the sports game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, developed by Sega as the crossover series. A follow-up, Olympic Winter Games, was released in 2009 and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games was released between November 2011 (Wii) and February 2012 (Nintendo 3DS). On November 15, 2013, a third sequel called Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games was released exclusively on the Wii U, with a fourth sequel, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and arcade in 2016. A fifth sequel, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, was released on Nintendo Switch in November 2019, with an arcade version of the game releasing in 2020.
Racing games
Mario Kart series
Mario Kart is a series of go-kart-style racing video games primarily developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development. The first in the series, Super Mario Kart, was launched in 1992 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to critical and commercial success. In the Mario Kart series, players compete in go-kart races, controlling one of a selection of characters from the Mario franchise. One of the features of the series is the use of various power-up items obtained by driving into item boxes laid out on the course. These power-ups include Super Mushrooms to give players a speed boost, Koopa Troopa Shells to be thrown at opponents, and banana peels that can be laid on the track as hazards.
There have been six Mario Kart games released for home consoles, one enhanced port, three portable games, one game for smartphones, and four Namco codeveloped arcade spin-off games, for a total of fifteen. As the series has progressed, each new game has introduced new elements to keep the gameplay fresh such as new courses, new items, and new playable characters. In 1996 and 1997, Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64 introduced 4-player racing and 3D graphics. In 2001, Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance introduced the ability to unlock retro tracks from previous installments. In 2003, Double Dash for the Nintendo GameCube introduced cooperative LAN multiplayer and two-player karts with one player driving and the other player on the back of the vehicle throwing out hazards. In 2005, Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS introduced dual-screen play and online multiplayer via Wi-Fi. In 2008, Mario Kart Wii introduced motion controls, 12-player racing, motorbikes, and playable Mii characters, as well as three new items: the POW Block, Mega Mushroom, and Thunder Cloud. In 2011, Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS featured optional stereoscopic graphics and introduced hang gliding and submersible karts, an alternate first-person perspective, and kart customization. In 2014, Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U introduced anti-gravity racing, ATVs, uploading highlights to YouTube via Mario Kart TV, up to four local players in Grand Prix races, and downloadable content and is the first in the series to boast HD graphics. In 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch was released as an enhanced port of the Wii U version, featuring an improved battle mode and several new characters. In September 2019, Mario Kart Tour launched for mobile devices, and it received mixed reception due to the simplified controls and heavy emphasis on loot boxes and microtransactions. Beginning in 2022, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe received downloadable content of its own in the form of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass, which added 48 courses and 8 additional racers during the span of spring 2022 until the end of 2023. The contents of this DLC were based heavily on courses and content found in Tour, which the pack received backlash for.
Possibly the most popular spin-off series in the franchise, the Mario Kart series began in 1992 and is currently the most successful and longest-running kart racing series, having sold over 150,000,000 copies worldwide.
Educational games
In the early 1990s, many educational games have been released in the Mario series, with one example being Mario Teaches Typing. Few of these games were platformers; most sought to teach skills such as typing, mathematics or history. They are officially licensed but not officially recognized by Nintendo. The games were developed independently by Software Toolworks, Interplay Entertainment and Brainstorm. Nine educational games were released from 1991 to 1996.
Games not published by Nintendo
This section covers games developed by other companies without significant Nintendo involvement.
Hudson
Hudson Soft released two games based on Mario Bros. and another similar to Super Mario Bros.
Mario Bros. Special is a video game released in 1984 for the Japanese computers NEC PC-6001mkII, NEC PC-6601, NEC PC-8801, FM-7 and Sharp X1. It is a remake of the original Mario Bros., with new stages, mechanics and gameplay.
Punch Ball Mario Bros. is a video game released in 1984 for the Japanese computers NEC PC-6001mkII, NEC PC-6601, NEC PC-8801, FM-7 and Sharp X1. It is similar to the original Mario Bros. but featured a new gameplay mechanic of "punch balls", small balls which Mario and Luigi can kick into enemies to stun them, instead of hitting them from below, as in the original.
Hudson Soft was originally responsible for the Mario Party series until Mario Party DS in 2007, but as of March 2012, this has been taken over by NDcube since Hudson has become a part of Konami. Many of Hudson's employees now work for NDcube.
Philips
Three games were planned for development by Philips Interactive Media for use on its CD-i machine: Super Mario's Wacky Worlds, Hotel Mario, and Mario Takes America. Only Hotel Mario was released; Super Mario's Wacky Worlds and Mario Takes America were eventually canceled. Philips was given permission to use Nintendo characters in CD-i games due to their taking part in developing an unreleased add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Hotel Mario did not gain much success, with Nintendo never acknowledging it as part of the Mario series.
Super Mario's Wacky Worlds is a canceled video game planned for the CD-i, developed by NovaLogic, which attempted to duplicate the gameplay of Super Mario World. Though the game sprites are based on those in Super Mario World, the level design is based on Earth locations rather than Dinosaur Land. Due to the limitations of the CD-i, several features could not be included in the game, such as large numbers of sprites on the screen, and many visual effects. The nature of the pointing device controller provides difficult controls for Mario, as the game has the default controls of running and jumping.
Mario Takes America was proposed about Mario's trip to Hollywood to make his own movie. The game's concept initially impressed Philips, but was canceled due to the company being unsatisfied with the game's development progress.
Hotel Mario is a puzzle game developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i in 1994. The primary characters of the game are Mario and Luigi, who must find Princess Peach by going through seven Koopa Hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every hotel is divided into multiple stages, and the objective is to close all doors on each stage. The game has been criticized as one of the worst Mario-centered games, mainly because of its cutscenes and simple gameplay.
Ubisoft
On E3 2017, Ubisoft officially announced that they were making a game based on the Mario and Rabbids franchises. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Milan (Ubisoft's Italian studio division) for the Nintendo Switch. The game is a crossover with Ubisoft's Rabbids franchise and features both single-player and cooperative multiplayer gameplay. The game's story sees players controlling Mario, his friends, and a group of Rabbids dressed as them, dealing with the aftermath of a sudden invasion by a group of Rabbids, who have accidentally misused a powerful invention that has brought chaos to the Mushroom Kingdom. Shigeru Miyamoto was initially impressed by the prototype of the game, that was presented to him by creative director Davide Soliani in 2014, which later caused Nintendo to greenlight the game for a Nintendo Switch release. It was released in Europe and North America on August 29, 2017, and was met with generally favorable reception from critics, who praised its gameplay, depth, and graphics.
A sequel, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, was released on October 28, 2022, for the Nintendo Switch.
Others
Electronic Arts (creator of games such as FIFA, Battlefield, Apex Legends and many other games) developed and released NBA Street V3 and SSX on Tour in 2005, both of which included Mario, Luigi, and Peach as playable characters in the GameCube versions.
Square Enix released Itadaki Street DS & Wii including many characters from Mario games.
Related pages
Images for kids
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A Mario-themed Nintendo DS Lite.
See also
In Spanish: Mario (franquicia) para niños
