Nintendo’s mustached plumber has been thwarting Bowser and saving Peach for over 25 years now (ok, he originally rescued his girlfriend Pauline in Donkey Kong). Since his debut in 1981 as an unnamed plumber in Donkey Kong, Mario has appeared in over 200 games and has made Nintendo a modest amount of moola by selling over 193 million units.

Let’s begin by looking at Mario with his first ever appearance in Donkey Kong, which debuted in the era of arcades in 1981.

In the ’80s, there were actually entire buildings where you could go, not to buy games, but to play them. Quarters were the king currency (or better yet, game tokens) and you could spend hours trying to beat ASS’s highscore. This is where Mario was born. As an unnamed plumber with insane jumping abilities, Mario quickly ascended to fame in the hearts of arcade goers everywhere.

Despite the fact that Mario had only taken the job to help pay the bills during the toilet-shortage crisis of ‘81, his career as Nintendo’s prime platformer would mean he would never have to fix leaky faucets again.

Although Mario had a few other appearances in Nintendo titles (i.e., Golf, Tennis, Pinball, and Punch-Out), he gained worldwide popularity with Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985.

The limited capabilities of the NES meant that Mario was stuck with solidly colored overalls and no defining facial features other than his cap and mustache. These features would transform Mario from simply a character in a video game to the modern gaming icon he is today.

Super Mario Bros. marks Mario’s first adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom, and would be the influence for many future games in the series. You may not think much about the settings of the game anymore, not only because you have played the game for X-hundred hours, but because nowadays it is commonplace to see far more outlandish themes. Mario’s ‘papa’, Shigeru Miyamoto, drew on experiences from his own childhood when he would explore the forests and caves around his home. All I can say is that Mr. Miyamoto’s backyard must’ve been a freaky place.

Here is some footage from the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES.

When Nintendo’s next console, the Super Nintendo (SNES), was released in 1990-1991, fans of the plumber would be treated to the work of art known as Super Mario World. This game showed what Nintendo had learned about the previous Mario titles. By this time, Nintendo had been in the business long enough to know what makes platformer games both intuitive and rewarding. Super Mario World is proof of Nintendo’s commitment to perfection.

Check out the numerous ways Nintendo improved the Mario series.

However, Nintendo had a new system in the works. This console would be capable of rendering 64-bit graphics, thus allowing for three dimensional gamescapes that had gamers of all ages peeing their pants. Miyamoto was presented with the task of designing the system’s big opening game. He knew that he was designing for a whole new generation of gamers and decided that who else but Mario should lead the way.

The transition from 2d to 3d turned out to be a blessing for both the Mario franchise and Nintendo. Mario trained intensively for the change, dropping about 120 pounds. The result? A svelte Mario able to perform a number of new jumps.

See Mario’s new frame and abilities

Mario made a nice transition to a 3d environment, but he also completely revolutionized the platforming industry…again. Nintendo’s next system, the GameCube, was seen as the runt of the then next-gen consoles.

However, the Mario title released for this system would be no short walk in the park. Super Mario Sunshine added a new feel to the game by giving Mario a water shooting backpack (resembling a vacuum cleaner…hmmm).

Although this game was met with criticism, it is still the second best selling game for the GameCube, with 5.5 million copies.

Nintendo has once again released a new system, which, thus far, has been selling faster than pancakes. Super Mario Galaxy is scheduled to be released at the end of this year (2007). So far, the game seems to be crammed full of everything that makes a Mario game legendary (the boo and bee suits don’t hurt). Check out some footage for this game and let me know your thoughts.