35 Years of Mario: From Carpenter To Everyone’s Favorite Plumber

There was a time in the not too distant past that it seemed almost impossible for there to be a videogame character with the same recognition as Mickey Mouse. While many have now reached that level, I believe it to Mario who did it best.

From his humble beginnings in the original Donkey Kong, to Nintendo’s largest character appearing in more than 200 separate games, Mario has captivated audiences and taken us on amazing adventures.

Mario as “Jumpman” in Donkey Kong 1, image from ZKM.de

Now as the 35^th anniversary, starting September 3, 2020 draws to a close on March 31^st, 2021, I want to take a look back at what Mario was, and has become.

Mario through the years, image from reddit

Mario actually got his start as “Jumpman” in the original Donkey Kong arcade game, was a carpenter, and didn’t actually have a proper name until 1983 when the “Mario Bros.” arcade game came out. This saw Mario and, who would ultimately be his brother, Luigi, as Italian-American plumbers in the sewers beneath New York flipping over turtles, and clearing pipes from strange creatures.

Mario Bros. 1983, image from Nintendo.co.uk

The 35^th anniversary of Mario truly refers back to the release of “Super Mario Bros.” on the Nintendo Famicon system in Japan and The Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, both in 1985. This game really introduced us to the mechanics of what is involved in plumbing. I actually grew up believing that battling goombas, evil turtles, giant dragons, and eating magic growing mushrooms would be all I needed to know to solve my plumbing problems. If only that were true.

Super Mario Bros. 1985, image from ultimateclassicrock.com

Every Nintendo video game console to follow for the next 35 years gave us at least one new Mario adventure, eventually taking us from the side-scrolling format, to the 3^rd person 3D adventures we know today, and eventually giving everyone the ability to create and share their own Mario levels in “Mario Maker” on the Wii-U and Switch consoles.

For the 35^th Anniversary release Nintendo gave us a bright hope in what was otherwise a dark year of 2020, by releasing the “Super Mario 3D All-Stars” collection featuring “Super Mario 64” off of the Nintendo 64 console, “Super Mario Sunshine” off of the Gamecube, and “Super Mario Galaxy” off of the Nintendo Wii console. Three of the most popular Mario games in the franchise, released in one collection for the Nintendo Switch.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars, image from nintendo.com

This collection of games, along with the “Super Mario Bros. 35” battle royale game also released for the Nintendo Switch, will no longer be available after March 31^st, 2021 in for either digital download or physical release. Be sure to secure your copies now before they become super expensive collector’s items on Ebay.

Super Mario 35, image from nintendolife.com

According the research and references compiled over at vgsales.fandom.com:

“As of December 2020, the Super Mario series has sold over 381.50 million copies worldwide and grossed more than $20 billion in estimated sales revenue. As of December 2020, the entire Mario franchise has sold over 741.70 million units worldwide, making it the best-selling video game franchise of all time.”

With the 35^th Anniversary of Mario drawing to a close, the 35^th Anniversary of “The Legend of Zelda” begins in 2021 and I for one am excited to see what this year brings us of what is my favorite Nintendo franchise.

Comment down below what your favorite Mario game is, and what you hope for 2021 to see with Zelda franchise. Also be sure to follow Geek News Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, and also be sure to follow our gamers on GNN_GAMING on Twitch for weekly game streaming. We are also doing a DC contest giveaway so be sure to get your entry in before the deadline.