An iconic character around the world, Mario has established himself across generations to become a true symbol of Nintendo's power. Present on the NES console up to the Nintendo Switch, Mario is everywhere. Accompanied by his faithful friends and his enemies, he is the hero of the games that bear his name and is greatly appreciated by young and old alike. Let's answer the 10 questions we've all asked ourselves about Mario and retrace his journey together!
1. Who created the character of Mario?
The character of Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto, a Japanese video game designer and producer who began his career in 1977 at Nintendo. Considered a pioneer in the video game industry, Shigeru Miyamoto is the co-creator of many famous games and characters: he worked on the very first Mario games, but also on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, as well as Star Fox and Pikmin. A talented man, he also participated in the design of consoles, drawing the controllers for the Nintendo64, the GameCube, and even the overall design of the Super Nintendo.
2. Why is Mario called Mario?
Originally, Mario did not have this name at all and was supposed to be called "Jumpman", in reference to his first appearance in the video game Donkey Kong, released in 1981. It was only a few years later, in 1985, that Mario became the star of his own games thanks to the success of the Super Mario series. His name is inspired by Mario Segale, a businessman and real estate developer. Indeed, in the 80s, he rented a warehouse to Nintendo of America, thus enabling the company's development. It was then that Shigeru Miyamoto decided to name his character Mario, in tribute. Just like Mario Segale, the character of Mario would also be of Italian-American origin! It was Minoru Arakawa, Nintendo's president from 1980 to 2002, who announced to Mario Segale that the game's protagonist would bear his name. However, Mario Segale would not receive any royalties throughout his life.
3. Where does Mario's physical appearance come from?
Contrary to what one might think, Mario's appearance was designed not for aesthetic reasons but rather based on the creation techniques that were possible at the time. Indeed, Shigeru Miyamoto has explained many times that the red cap came from the fact that it was very difficult to draw hair, and that if the character was represented on a black background, they would no longer be visible due to the 2D effect. Moreover, the mustache served to replace the mouth, which was previously a very thin and difficult element to draw. The same observation can be made for the overalls in two different colors, thus avoiding confusing the arms with the body. However, Mario's true colors would only be defined in 1988 with a red top and blue overalls, whereas it was the opposite in the game Donkey Kong in 1981 and Mario's overalls were brown in Super Mario Bros which was released in 1985. Finally, the character of Mario is very different from usual heroes: he represents someone "normal", with whom one can easily identify, and that is why he has a large nose, a small round belly, and an average height!
4. Which Super Mario game was the most successful?
Although all Super Mario video games have been very popular with the public over the years, a real turning point was marked by the release of Super Mario Bros, which came out on the NES console in 1985. This game remained the best-selling game for 23 years of the franchise and became its mascot with over 40 million cartridges sold! It was not until the release of Wii Sports in 2008 that the game was finally dethroned.
5. What are the links between the characters in Mario games?
Following its phenomenal success, Mario games would welcome many other characters that serve to enrich the world and culture offered by Nintendo studios. The first is Luigi, Mario's younger brother, who is his opposite: he is tall, lanky, clumsy, and very cowardly. Then, Princess Peach makes her appearance to bring romance to the story and she will be accompanied by Toad, an anthropomorphic mushroom who serves as her attendant. Princess Daisy will also be added to bring a little rivalry to Princess Peach. A little later, Yoshi will be created, a character representing a dinosaur who serves as Mario's mount. Finally, Wario and Waluigi are considered Mario and Luigi's rivals and are caricatures of them due to their similar physiques to the two main characters. On the villain side, Bowser is undoubtedly Mario's arch-enemy and he is the king of the Koopas, turtles of different colors.
6. Who is the man behind Mario's famous voice?
Unforgettable, Mario's voice has become iconic and resonates in everyone's memory. Mario's voice actor is Charles Martinet, an American actor and voice actor with French origins. His collaboration with Nintendo began at the end of 1987 in a completely improbable way: a friend of his informed him that a casting was underway and that Nintendo was looking for an actor to voice "an Italian-American plumber" who was none other than Mario. Charles Martinet went to the casting but he was very late and the team was already packing up the equipment.
He still asked to audition and the magic happened: he was selected. In addition to voicing the character of Mario, Charles Martinet is also the voice of many other characters in the saga such as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Luigi, and Grandpa Champi, for whom he uses different intonations. On December 14, 2018, he was notably listed in the Guinness Book of Records for having performed the most voice-overs in the world for a single video game character: indeed, he voiced the character of Mario 100 times thanks to the threshold reached with Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
7. Why is the Mario saga one of the most famous platform games in the world?
The Super Mario series has played a very important role in the evolution of platform games. It is at the origin of the basic mechanics implemented in this type of game, such as: bonus blocks, collectible coins, jumping on enemies' heads, etc., thus inspiring many other games that followed and allowing players to enjoy changing and quality gameplay in each episode. It is notably the first installment, Super Mario Bros released in 1985, which is considered one of the most innovative platform games in the history of video games because it already laid the foundations for all future platform games of the time and up to today.
Furthermore, while 2D was the norm, the 3D turn was taken with Super Mario 64, released in 1996, which was the very first 3D platform game. Thanks to the innovation of the Nintendo 64, it was also the first game to benefit from an analog joystick, and its 3D structure became a new reference adopted by various other games. In summary, Mario games are undoubtedly the most known and appreciated platform games in the world, and they are without a doubt the pioneers of this genre.
8. What words does Mario say throughout all the games?
Not very talkative despite his great likability, Mario is known for repeating the same words and expressions in almost all games. He draws his vocabulary from his Italian-American origins, so we hear him speak English as well as Italian. His favorite expression is "Mamma Mia" which he says when attacked by an enemy or when a game over occurs. It is also common to hear him say "Let's go" or "It's me, Mario". Finally, exceptionally, he can be heard saying "spaghetti" and "ravioli" in a dream sequence in the games Super Mario 64 and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. As you can see, Super Mario games are not centered around speech but around action to advance the story. Thus, all the characters speak very little to make way for the adventure!
9. Why is Mario used in other Nintendo games?
While Mario has a platform game saga all to himself, he also appears in many other projects such as Mario Kart or Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which take him completely out of his usual structure. Building on his success, Mario also tries his hand at sports and other activities such as mini-games and combat with Mario Golf or Mario Tennis, as well as Mario Party and Super Smash Bros to name but a few. The reason Mario appears in so many games is simple: he is Nintendo's mascot and arguably the most popular character.
Thus, the company does not hesitate to rely on its little mustachioed plumber to support the release of new consoles or new games, thus promising assured sales thanks to fans around the world. Moreover, creating and producing new characters is expensive: Nintendo therefore uses the Mario license to reuse it as desired. Thus, Mario can go from main character to secondary character or even to playable character depending on the games. Finally, using Mario year after year has a great advantage: he never goes out of style, crosses all generations, is found on all Nintendo consoles and remains close to the public to never be forgotten.
10. In what other works of popular culture can we find the Mario universe?
Notably very popular in Japan, the cradle of Nintendo, the universe of Mario and his companions is the subject of numerous cultural works other than video games. Thus, several animated series have appeared, such as:
- Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros, in 1989
- Super Mario Bros, also in 1989
- The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, in 1990
- Super Mario World, in 1991
Films have also been released, and each story is unique and specially constructed for these feature films:
- Super Mario Bros: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! in 1986
- Super Mario Bros, in 1993
In 2017, Illumination Entertainment, a studio owned by Universal Pictures, had opened talks with Nintendo to adapt the Mario story into an animated film, but negotiations have been on hold since then.
Moreover, there is a manga in which Mario is the hero: Super Mario - Manga Adventures, as well as a comic book: Super Mario Adventures.
Finally, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka has opened a themed area specially dedicated to the world of Mario. Thanks to a phone application, it is possible to participate in various mini-games within the area to unlock badges. Attractions are also in place to transport fans to incredible settings that mix modernity and nostalgia for the old games!
This is the end of our article on the 10 questions and answers about Mario! If you are a video game fan and want to continue enriching your knowledge, we recommend you also read our article to learn more about another famous Nintendo mascot: Pikachu.
