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Developers Nintendo EAD (1985–2016)Nintendo EPD (2016–present) Composers Koji KondoMahito Yokota Platforms ListAndroidArcadeGame & WatchGame Boy AdvanceGame BoyGame Boy ColorGameCubeiOSNintendo 3DSNintendo 64Nintendo DSNintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo SwitchNEC PC-8801Sharp X1Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemWiiWii U |
Super Mario (Japanese: スーパーマリオ, Hepburn: Sūpā Mario) is a series of platform video games created by Nintendo featuring their mascot, Mario. Alternatively called the Super Mario Bros. (スーパーマリオブラザーズ, Sūpā Mario Burazāzu) series or simply the Mario (マリオ) series, it is the central series of the greater Mario franchise. At least one Super Mario game has been released for every major Nintendo video game console and handheld.
Contents
- Games
- Releases
- Jumping
- Items
- Mushrooms
- Projectile flowers
- Invincibility
- Power Stars and course tokens
- Flying
- Power up suits
- Coins
- Warp Pipes and Warp Cannons
- Yoshi
- Playable characters
- Settings
- Music
- Reception
- Sales
- References
The Super Mario games follow Mario's adventures in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom, usually with Mario as the player character. He is usually joined by his brother, Luigi, and occasionally by other members of the Mario cast. As in platform video games, the player runs and jumps across platforms and atop enemies in themed levels. The games have simple plots, typically with Mario rescuing the kidnapped Princess Peach from the primary antagonist, Bowser. The first title in the series, Super Mario Bros., released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985, established gameplay concepts and elements prevalent in nearly every Super Mario game since. These include a multitude of power-ups and items that give Mario special magic powers such as fireball-throwing and size-changing into giant and miniature sizes.
The Super Mario series is part of the greater Mario franchise. This includes other video game genres as well as media such as film, television, printed media and merchandise. Over 310 million copies of games in the Super Mario series have been sold worldwide, as of September 2015, making it the best-selling video game series in history.
Games
Releases
Below is a table showing releases of Super Mario video games. It does not include games released on LCD systems.
The object is to progress through levels by defeating enemies, collecting items, and solving puzzles without dying. Power-up use is integral to the series. The series has had instalments featuring both two- and three-dimensional gameplay.
In the 2D games, which commonly include "Super Mario Bros." in the title, the player character (usually Mario) jumps on platforms and enemies while avoiding their attacks and moving to the right of the scrolling screen. 2D Super Mario game levels have single-exit objectives, which must be reached within a time limit and lead to the next sequential level. Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced the overworld, a map of nonlinear levels that branches according to the player's choice. Super Mario World introduced levels with multiple exits.
3D installments in the series have had two subgenres: open world exploration based games and more linear 3D games with a predetermined path. Levels in the open world games, 64, Sunshine and Odyssey, allow the player to walk around freely, and close quarters fights are incorporated. As the game progresses, more areas become accessible. Each level is an enclosed world in which the player is free to wander in all directions and discover the environment and to open more areas of the overworld. The linear 3D games, whose titles include either "Galaxy" or "3D", feature more focused camera angles and a predetermined path to a single goal.
Jumping
Originally named "Jumpman", Mario has been defined by his jumping abilities since his early platform games. The ability evolved throughout the series, starting with the introduction of supercharged jumps in the international Super Mario Bros. 2 and the spin jump (a jump letting Mario spin while jumping to defeat enemies) in Super Mario World. Super Mario 64 introduced jumps such as the triple jump, wall kick, backflip, and long jump — some of which would be featured in later games, including the New Super Mario Bros. sub-series.
Items
Most items in the Super Mario series appear from item blocks, which originated in Super Mario Bros. and persist throughout the series, where Mario hits a block to receive either coins or power-ups.
Mushrooms
Mushroom power-ups appear in almost every Super Mario game. The most iconic of these is the Super Mushroom,. The Super Mushroom increases Mario's size, turning him into "Super Mario", and allows him to break certain blocks. When hit by an enemy, Mario reverts to his smaller size instead of losing a life. When Mario is in his "Super" form, most blocks that would contain a Super Mushroom instead offer a more powerful power-up such as the Fire Flower. The Super Mushroom is similar in appearance to the Amanita muscaria, with an ivory stalk below a most commonly red and white (originally red and orange) spotted cap. Created by chance, Shigeru Miyamoto stated in an interview that beta tests of Super Mario Bros. proved Mario too tall, so the development team implemented mushrooms to grow and shrink Mario.
The Poison Mushroom, first introduced in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, is a dark blue-capped mushroom that has the same effect as getting hit by an enemy or spike when touched. In later games, the Poison Mushroom looks almost exactly like the Super Mushroom with a red cap, but has a meaner-looking face.
The Mini Mushroom is a small blue mushroom, a recurring item in the New Super Mario Bros. series, which shrinks Mario into miniature size, allowing him access areas and pipes that Mario normally cannot reach. Mini Mario also jumps higher, floats midair, bounces off enemies without hurting them except by ground pounding, and can run across the surface of water and then jump from it as if he was on land. Mario is more vulnerable in this form and loses a life upon receiving one hit in miniature form. The Mini Mushroom in New Super Mario Bros. U lets Mario run up walls.
The Mega Mushroom, introduced in New Super Mario Bros. and further appearing in New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 3D World, is a more recent addition to the series that grows Mario into a towering, invulnerable giant who destroys enemies and the environment by running through them. It has an orange-yellow cap with red spots, like the Super Mario Bros. Super Mushroom, but with an inflated cap. Super Mario 64 DS features an item simply called "Mushroom" that grants the same abilities as the Mega Mushroom while accompanied by the same music.
In the Super Mario Galaxy franchise, the Bee Mushroom gives Mario the Bee Suit, and the Spring Mushroom puts Mario inside a metallic coil.
1-Ups
1-Up is a common item shown as a green and white mushroom, its appearance similar to the Super Mushroom's, which gives Mario an extra life. They were introduced in Super Mario Bros., sometimes hidden in invisible item blocks, and typically displayed as orange caps with green spots. In the 3D games, 1-Ups will sometimes appear when walking in particular areas. 1-Ups can take other forms, such as the 3-Up Moon from Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U.
Projectile flowers
The flower power-ups let Mario shoot projectiles. The Fire Flower, introduced in Super Mario Bros., transforms Mario into Fire Mario, who can throw bouncing fireballs at enemies. Super Mario Galaxy was the first 3D Mario platformer game to have the Fire Flower. In Super Mario Land, the Superball is a handheld bouncing ball provisioned by a Super Flower, which Mario can use to defeat enemies and collect coins. The Ice Flower transforms Mario into Ice Mario, where he can shoot balls of ice as projectiles similar to that of the Fire Flower; it freezes enemies in a block of ice, to be used as platforms or as thrown projectiles. In Super Mario Galaxy, this item turns Mario into ice and lets him walk on lava or water for a limited time by freezing the surface. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U, it instead allows Mario to throw ice projectiles that freeze enemies inside an ice cube, rendering them immobile. Mario then has the option of picking up this resulting ice cube, for use as a projectile. Lastly, New Super Mario Bros. 2's Gold Flower lets Mario turn bricks into coins and earn bonus coins for defeating enemies.
Invincibility
Invincibility is an effect first appearing in the three Super Mario Bros. games, where it is granted by a "Starman", an anthropomorphized, flashing star. The star has also been named the "Super Star" in the two Super Mario World games and the "Rainbow Star" in the two Super Mario Galaxy games. Picking up the star makes Mario temporarily invincible, able to resist any harm. Use of the item is accompanied by a distinctive music track that appears consistently across most of the games. The player character flickers a variety of colors — and in some titles, moves with increased speed and enhanced jumping ability — while under the Star's influence. While invincible, Mario kills any enemy upon contact with it. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the star gives the normally immobile baby Mario the ability to run as well as become invincible. In Super Mario 64, invincibility is provided when Mario wears the metal cap or the vanish cap. The Mega Mushroom provides invincibility with the addition of giant size and environment destruction (see Mushrooms).
Power Stars and course tokens
The games often feature collectibles found in levels in order to progress in the overworld, most frequently with the visual motif of a star. They are typically situated in locations that are not readily found or reached, or awarded for completing stunts, or objectives given by NPCs. They include the Power Star in Super Mario 64 and the Super Mario Galaxy games, Shine Sprites in Super Mario Sunshine, Star Coins in the New Super Mario Bros. games and Super Mario 3D Land, and Green Stars in the Galaxy games and Super Mario 3D World. In Super Mario Land 2, there are six Golden Coin tokens that must be collected to finish the game.
Flying
Flight is a common theme throughout the series, first enabled with the magic carpet item in the international Super Mario Bros. 2. The Super Leaf and Tanooki Suit items, first appearing in Super Mario Bros. 3 provide Mario with an animal-suited tail, which in turn acts as a flight propeller. The Tanooki Suit returns in Super Mario 3D Land, and the Super Leaf returns in New Super Mario Bros. 2. In the New Super Mario Bros. games, the Spin Block and the Propeller Mushroom let Mario spin up into the air and slowly descend. In Super Mario Land, Mario pilots a yellow airplane with unlimited ammunition called the Sky Pop. Super Mario World introduces various forms of flight: the feather item provides a cape, the P Balloon puffs Mario into a floating balloon figure, and Yoshi can carry a blue Koopa shell which gives him wings. In Super Mario 64, flight is granted by a Winged Cap. In New Super Mario Bros. U, Mario has limited flight and gliding capabilities in a Flying Squirrel suit and can also command a pink Baby Yoshi to puff up into the form of a floating balloon. In Super Mario Galaxy, Mario can obtain a special red star that transforms him into Flying Mario for a limited time. Lakitu's cloud can be commandeered in several of the side-scrolling games.
Power-up suits
Several suits work as power-ups, many of which are based on animals. Debuting in Super Mario Bros. 3, the Raccoon Suit (provisioned by a Super Leaf) and the Tanooki Suit each provide Mario with a tail which acts as a flight propeller. In addition, the Tanooki Suit lets Mario spontaneously change into an invincible statue for about five seconds. In Super Mario 3D Land, the Raccoon Suit reappears and is accompanied by a silver-colored variation called a Statue Leaf. Super Mario Bros. 3 includes a Hammer Bros. suit, which allows Mario to throw hammers as projectiles, to defeat enemies at a distance, taking what the Hammer Bros does to Mario and turning it around. While wearing the suit and ducking, Mario is invulnerable to fire attacks. The Hammer Suit was so powerful that in later games, it was downgraded.Super Mario 3D Land features a "Boomerang Suit" which provisions long-distance boomerang projectiles. Other animal suits include the Frog Suit, Tanooki Suit, Penguin Suit, Cat Suit and Bee Suit. The Mystery Mushroom in Super Mario Maker provides a costume based on one of many characters, granting an additional hit point but no abilities.
Coins
Super Mario level design traditionally incorporates many distributed coins as puzzles and rewards. Most Super Mario games award the player an extra life once a certain amount of yellow coins are collected, commonly 50 or 100. Several coin variants exist, such as silver coins, dragon coins, star coins, and more.
In Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy 2, coins replenish health (and air, when Mario is underwater). In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, collecting 100 coins in a level results in a Power Star or Shine Sprite respectively. There are also stages in that game reward a Power Star for collecting eight red coins in a level, worth two normal coins each. In Super Mario 64, a blue coin is worth five normal coins. In Super Mario Sunshine, blue coins act as a side quest when brought to the Delfino Bank.
In Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, after finishing each game once, stages unlock where Mario can collect a certain amount of purple coins to earn a Power Star. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, they can also be used to feed some hungry Lumas so that it can turn into either an item or another planet.
Warp Pipes and Warp Cannons
The Warp Pipe is a common method of transportation used in many of the Mario series games. Warp Pipes are most often green but also appear in other colors (early games included silver pipes, newer games have introduced red, green, blue and yellow pipes), and have many uses in the series. Warp Pipes can also contain enemies, usually Piranha Plants, and sometimes launch the player into the air (most commonly seen in New Super Mario Bros.). In early Mario games such as Super Mario Bros., special, well-hidden areas known as Warp Zones contain pipes that allow players to skip several worlds (handfuls of levels) at once. In the New Super Mario Bros. series, pipe-shaped Warp Cannons work similarly to the Warp Zones of the earlier games and are unlocked by finding secret exits in levels. Cannons appear in most of the 3D games in the series starting with Super Mario 64. Mario uses the cannon by jumping into the barrel, aiming himself and being fired at a distant target. This allows Mario to progress through a level or reach an otherwise inaccessible area.
Yoshi
Mario's dinosaur friend Yoshi has appeared as a mount to the player character in several Super Mario games since Super Mario World. In the sequel, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, it is revealed that a tribe of Yoshi had found Mario and helped him to save Baby Luigi. In this game and Super Mario 64 DS, instead of the player merely riding on Yoshi's back, Yoshi is the player character. Yoshis generally have varying abilities including eating enemies, flying, and breathing fire. Miyamoto had originally wished for Mario to be able to ride a dinosaur in Super Mario Bros., but this wasn't possible due to the technical restraints of the system.
Playable characters
Below is a table showing the characters playable in Super Mario games. It does not refer to gameplay modes other than the main quest. A yellow cell indicates a game whose level progression supports multiplayer.
^ i Requires the use of an in-game item.
^ P1 Playable by player 1 only.
^ P2 Playable by player 2 only.
^ u Character must first be unlocked.
Settings
Music
Much of the original Super Mario Bros. music and sound effects have become iconic to the series and incorporated into modern games. The original Super Mario Bros. theme, composed by Koji Kondo, has become well known around the world. The theme from the underwater levels of Super Mario Bros. frequently appears as title screen music in the series, including in Super Mario Sunshine, the main intros and titles of all four Super Mario Advance titles, and the Super Mario All-Stars versions of the four NES games.
Reception
The Super Mario series is one of the most popular and enduring series of all time. The series is ranked as the best game franchise by IGN. The original Super Mario Bros. was awarded the top spot on Electronic Gaming Monthly's greatest 200 games of their time list and IGN's top 100 games of all-time list twice (in 2005 and 2007). Super Mario Bros. popularized side-scrolling video games and provided the basic concept and mechanics that would persist throughout the rest of the series. Super Mario Bros. sold 40.24 million copies, making it the best-selling video game of the whole series.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is often regarded as one of the Nintendo Entertainment System's greatest games; Nintendo Power rated the game sixth on their list of the 200 Greatest Nintendo Games. The game was 14th on Electronic Gaming Monthly's list. Super Mario World also received very positive scores, with a 94.44% aggregate review score on GameRankings. Nintendo Power ranked the game eighth best overall to be released on a Nintendo console in their Top 200 Games list.
Super Mario 64, as the first 3D platform game in the Mario series, established a new archetype for the genre, much as Super Mario Bros. did for 2D side-scrolling platformers. It is acclaimed by many critics and fans as one of the greatest and most revolutionary video games of all time. Guinness World Records reported sales of 11.8 million copies for Super Mario 64 at the end of 2007.
Super Mario Sunshine also received critical acclaim by game reviewers. IGN praised the addition of the water backpack (F.L.U.D.D.) for improving the gameplay, and GameSpy commented on the "wide variety of moves and the beautifully constructed environments". GameSpot and Computer and Video Games, however, called the game "unpolished", with the latter going so far as to insinuate that it was unfinished.
Of all the Mario games released, Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 are the most highly acclaimed Mario video games among both professional critics and ordinary gamers. Extolled for their creativity, special effects, graphics, and soundtrack, the two have not only been rated as some of the best Mario games created, but also as some of the greatest games ever made in video game history, according to sites such as IGN and TopTenReviews. GameRankings, a website that aggregates game scores and rankings from well-established video game critics, gives Super Mario Galaxy an aggregate ranking of 97.64%, making it the best-ranked game on the site.
Super Mario 3D Land was also highly commercially and critically successful, being the third best-selling 3DS game. Its sequel, Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U, was even more critically acclaimed than its predecessor.
Sales
Games in the Super Mario series have had consistently strong sales. Super Mario Bros. is the second best-selling single video game (second to Wii Sports), with 40.23 million units sold. It is also the best-selling Nintendo Entertainment System console title, with its two sequels, Super Mario Bros. 3 (18 million copies) and Super Mario Bros. 2 (10 million copies), ranking in second and third place respectively. Super Mario World is the best-selling game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System console, selling 20 million copies. Super Mario World is also the seventh best-selling game of all time. Super Mario 64 sold the most copies for the Nintendo 64 (11 million), whereas Super Mario Sunshine is the second best-selling game (5.5 million) on the GameCube (second to Super Smash Bros. Melee). Super Mario Galaxy has sold 12.5 million units as of March 2015, and is the ninth best-selling game for the Wii.
The Super Mario series also sold well on handheld consoles. Super Mario Land has sold 14 million copies, and is the fourth best-selling game for the Game Boy. Its sequel, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, sold 2.7 million copies, placing twelfth. New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS sold 30.79 million units, making it the best-selling game for the console. Super Mario 64 DS sold 11.05 million copies, making it the eighth best-selling game for the Nintendo DS.
For all console and handheld games that have not been bundled with a console, Super Mario Bros. 3 is the fourth best-selling game, whereas New Super Mario Bros. is fifth, Super Mario Land is eleventh, and Super Mario 64 is eighteenth.