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In 1985, the first title in the Super Mario Bros. was released by nintendo. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, right at the beginning, the character ventured into a colorful world, but full of dangers. This year, the game completes 37 years of existence, but there are many interesting curiosities involved in its development.
9 curious facts about Super Mario Bros that you may not know
Interested in knowing more about it? Check out a list full of information that many fans may not know so far. Enjoy!
1. The origin of the name
(Nintendo/Playback)Source: Nintendo
According to the developers, in 1981, Nintendo wanted to establish itself in Tukwila, in the US state of Washington. After renting a place, on a certain day, the owner of the property came to collect the late rent. His name was Mario Segale and, in a way, he marked the company’s employees who were there at that time.
According to studies by Benj Edwards, a historian focused on the world of digital games, Segale was not very tall and used suspenders in his clothing. This Mario passed away in 2018.
2. His first appearance
(Nintendo/Playback)Source: Nintendo
Although the first game in the franchise was only officially released in 1985, the character appeared in 1981, introduced in donkey kongalso created by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Consisting of an arcade platform game, the title showed a monkey throwing barrels everywhere and players needed to articulate to find a Jumpman who could control him. Subsequently, this character in question was renamed and gained an entire franchise to call his own.
3. Initially he was a villain
(Nintendo/Playback)Source: Nintendo
9 curious facts about Super Mario Bros that you may not know
Still speaking of Donkey Kong, Jumpman appeared as a kind of agent to control the great ape’s fury. However, in the sequels that came over the next few years, Donkey Kong Junior was introduced.
And whenever the Mario of the time arrested Donkey Kong, his son appeared to save his father from all harm. Even though the character’s villainy was not as implied, Nintendo redesigned him to have a scarier appearance.
4. Mario is already in the Guinness Book
(Nintendo/Playback)Source: Nintendo
The franchise has already broken some records throughout its history, entering directly into the Guinness Book, which registers these achievements annually. For example, super Mario still holds the record for the oldest active video game character. In addition, he is also the character that earned the most games – there are more than 200! Its latest record is related to its reach, as the franchise is the best-selling franchise of all time.
5. The character has been in over 200 games
(Nintendo/Playback)Source: Nintendo
As mentioned earlier, Super Mario has featured in over 200 playable titles. Most of its fans manage to mention some of them without consulting any website, such as Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros., Super Mario Kart, among others. But there’s so much more, as the franchise has expanded into several sectors, including RPG series, themed games, specials, mobile, educational, among others.
9 curious facts about Super Mario Bros that you may not know
6. A game with Popeye
(King Features Syndicate/Playback)Source: King Features Syndicate
In the early 1980s, Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to create a game based on the classic Popeye cartoon, in which the titular character, Olivia and Brutus would be present.
However, Nintendo was unable to acquire the rights to develop this project and Donkey Kong was created soon after, based, in some way, on Popeye. And since Mario was involved in this title, we can say that he is the first Popeye from Nintendo.
7. Mario arrives in Hollywood
(Buena Vista Pictures/Playback)Source: Buena Vista Pictures
The success of Super Mario Bros. it was great all over the world. And it didn’t take long for Hollywood to become interested in the character and develop his first film. In 1993, Super Mario Bros. was released with Bob Hoskins, Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo in the lead roles. Interestingly, this is the first movie based on a game video game of history.
8. The character’s professions
(Nintendo/Playback)Source: Nintendo
Mario was well known for being a plumber. But throughout his career, he has ventured into many other professions. Initially, he was introduced as a carpenter in Donkey Kong, but he has also been a pilot, martial artist, athlete, builder, tennis player, pilot, football player and also a golfer.
9. Technical limitations shaped Mario’s design
(Nintendo/Playback)Source: Nintendo
9 curious facts about Super Mario Bros that you may not know
To close the list, it is necessary to talk about the character’s design, which was thought precisely taking into account the technology of the time. According to what some historians have investigated, the mustache was made so that no one could see his mouth, something difficult to model. In addition, the jumpsuit with the strong colors helped to make the movements more visible to whoever was playing.
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