Top 10 Super Facts About Mario Games!

Wait, what? Mario breaks bricks with his head…right? Wrong! For many gamers, it’s been an accepted fact that the Nintendo mascot breaks and hits bricks by jumping and smashing them with his abnormally durable noggin. But this is not the case! In actuality, Mario uses his fist to hit blocks above him. This can be clearly seen in his jumping animation, as he raises his arm above his head. This jumping posture is Mario’s signature pose, yet many people can’t seem to connect the dots. Guess they should use their own heads, huh?

What’s in a name? Mario has gone through several name changes since his inception. Creator Shigeru Miyamoto originally wanted the character to be named Mr. Video and planned to feature him in every one of his games, after being inspired by director Alfred Hitchcock’s famous cameos in his movies. The mustachioed hero was next referred to as Jumpman in “Donkey Kong,” after his famous leaping proficiency. The name “Mario” was actually inspired by a real life person, Mario Segale, who was the landlord of Nintendo of America’s office building in the early 1980s. The name stuck on both sides of the Pacific, and the rest is history.

Mario has a distinctive, memorable design that is famous the world over. However, his signature look was created more out of necessity than for stylistic appeal, since 8-bit graphics are pretty limiting in terms of adding details to a character’s design. Mario’s trademark mustache resulted from the difficulty in rendering a mouth. His choice of headwear was also created due to creators finding it easier to code than hair. And those oh-so-stylish overalls? Shigeru Miyamoto and company included them to more easily show the movements of Mario’s arms.

Mario would not exist without Popeye? Strange, but true. Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to make a game about Popeye, the brutish Bluto, and the damsel Olive Oyl, but could not acquire the rights to use the characters. Instead, Miyamoto created similar substitutes for the characters, in the form of Jumpman AKA Mario, Donkey Kong, and Pauline, the girl kidnapped by the barrel-tossing ape in his game. Nintendo would actually end up making a Popeye game a year later, and ended up using similar gameplay mechanics as Donkey Kong.

Mario’s status as the quintessential platform series almost never happened, or at least might have turned out quite differently. The initial plans by the developers had Mario firing a gun with the “A” button in “Super Mario Bros.” instead of his famous jump, which was instead allocated to “up” on the control pad. The mustachioed everyman would also have entered into sidescrolling shoot ‘em up stages in the clouds. Mario’s gun eventually became the fire flower power up, and while the clouds remained, the shoot ‘em up elements were absent, although they did find their way into Mario’s first GameBoy title, “Super Mario Land.”

That’s right folks! Rule 34 predates the Internet, or at least the internet as we know it today. Around the release of the “Super Mario Bros.” movie, some enterprising pornographers decided to capitalize on the hype surrounding the film by making a pair of pornos under the moniker, “Super Hornio Brothers.” The films even starred porn legend Ron Jeremy as Mario! To prevent the distribution, Nintendo purchased the rights to the films and hid it away. Their efforts were in vain, however, as it is currently circulating online.

Too obvious? Mario is the most recognizable video game character out there, and part of the reason for that has been his franchise’s unparalleled success. Mario has featured in a staggering number of games – nearly 200, and growing every year. Those games have sold over 500 million copies, making Mario a household name all over the world. Another secret to the success of Nintendo’s main man is his genre diversity. Besides his usual platformers, Mario has appeared in party, racing, and RPG games, all of which have helped contribute to his lasting appeal. But most of all, Mario games are just plain fun, which is really what games are all about.