Super Mario Bros is not only a video game, it is a pop phenomenon that has accompanied entire generations for forty years, evolving without ever losing its identity. From the debut in 1985 on the Nintendo Entertainment System to the most recent incarnations for Switch, Mario has built an imaginary made of fantastic worlds, iconic soundtracks and characters recognizable even by those who have never taken a controller in their hands. The plumbing plumber conceived by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981 became a global icon, a symbol of the entire videogame medium. On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, which took place on 13 September, we review 40 curiosities of Super Mario Bros.
- Mario’s character was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for Donkey Kong in 1981, using the unused hardware of Radar Scopean Arcade video game developed and published by Nintendo in 1979, which was a flop.
- The original name designed by Miyamoto was Mr. Video, to be used in several titles as a universal mascot.
- Originally the main character of the successful Nintendo series was nicknamed Jumpman: the name Mario was officially adopted in 1985 with the release of Super Mario Bros In honor of Mario Arnold Segale, the Italian-American who in 1981 rented a warehouse in Nintendo.
- At the beginning it was not hydraulic but carpenter, because Donkey Kong (the title in which the character originally appeared) was set in a construction site.
- In addition to hydraulic and carpenter, Mario was a doctor, car driver, footballer, basketball player, boxer and even referee.
- The design of the iconic character was in some way encouraged by the technical limits present at the time when the game was debuted: the hat was a gimmick to avoid the difficulties related to realistic hair, the mustache to emphasize the nose and the dunzers to distinguish the arms.
- Donkey Kong Jr. In 1982 it is the only game in which Mario has an antagonist role, so much so that in the promotional material of the game, he even has tanned mustache in particular, to underline his evil nature.
- Bowser, historical enemy of Mario, in Super Mario RPG of 1996, having understood that he has objectives in common with him decides completely exceptional to collaborate with his rival of all time.
- Staying on Bowser, he had to be an ox, but a badly interpreted drawing made the turtle (and not a dragon, as some think) that we know today.
- Mario’s brother, Luigi, made his debut in Mario Bros of 1983, set in the Fogne of New York.
- Wario, Mario’s rival, appears for the first time in Super Mario Land 2; His name is a fusion of “Mario” and the Japanese adjective “Warui” which means “evil”.
- The first Super Mario Bros He sold over 40 million copies in less than 10 years, also thanks to the bundle with the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System).
- With Super Mario Bros The kingdom of mushrooms also arises, populated by elements inspired by folklore rather than ad Alice in Wonderland.
- Mario’s first appearance in a sport is in Golf For Nes of 1984, although it is never called by name in the game in question.
- Koji Kondo composed the soundtrack with the famous Ground Themealso played by symphonic orchestras.
- The iconic musical theme remained over 100 weeks in the Billboard ringtones of ringtones.
- The Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2 of 1988 was considered too difficult for the West; He arrived in Europe and uses a modified version of the title Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic of 1987.
- In the 90s, a survey highlighted how American children recognized Mario’s character more easily than Mickey Mouse.
- The Chain Chomp, the chained black spheres characterized by sharp teeth, arise from a childhood memory of Miyamoto, who was chased by a dog of a neighbor as a child who could not bite him precisely because he was retained by the chain to which he was linked.
- The Whomp of Super Mario 64 They derive from a myth belonging to Japanese folklore: the Nurikabe, a sort of “spirit-muzzle” that terrifies travelers.
- The boo were inspired by the wife of the co-designer Takashi Tezuka, shy but capable of sudden shots of anger.
- Super Mario Land For Game Boy of 1989, it was the first title that was produced without Miyamoto. He sold over 18 million copies and introduced Princess Daisy.
- Princess Peach was called “Toadstool” in the West until 1993.
- The movie Super Mario Bros From 1993 with Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper was a flop, but today it is considered a cult.
- Since 1995 Mario’s official voice has been by Charles Martinet, which also double Luigi and Wario.
- Super Mario Galaxy of 2007 was born from a technical demo called Super Mario 128with dozens of small Mario moved on curved surfaces.
- The series Super Mario He holds the Guinness World Record as the most successful videogame franchise, with over 839 million copies sold.
- Mario has appeared in more than 200 titles, from platform to sports spin-offs.
- The animated movie Super Mario Bros: the great mission to save Princess Peach It was Mario’s debut at the cinema: it happened in 1986 in Japan.
- In 1986 Mario’s debut also took place in an educational game – I AM A Teacher: Super Mario Sweater – who taught knitting a Mario -themed sweater.
- In 1993 the educational game came out Mario is missing! which revealed the fear of the darkness of the character.
- Luigi is traditionally capable of jumping higher than Mario, ability introduced into the Lost Levels.
- Bowser Jr., introduced in 2002, is the only officially recognized child of Bowser.
- Pauline, Mario’s first flame, today is a secondary character, mayor of New Donk City.
- Daisy, after the debut on Game Boy, became a sporting icon in Mario Tennis of 2000.
- Second Super Mario World 2, Mario met Yoshi when the plumber was just a child.
- The world record of completion of Super Mario Bros It is 4 minutes, 54 seconds and 565 thousandths, established in 2025.
- In 2015 Miyamoto ironically stated that the full name of the hydraulic was “Mario Mario”.
- The movie The Super Mario Bros. Movie of 2023 is the first film based on a video game to reach the billion dollars of collections.
- Super Mario Bros 3 appeared for the first time in the 1989 film The Wizard.
