From the spark lit by 1985’s Super Mario Bros., which redefined an entire genre, to the groundbreaking 3D leap of Super Mario 64, Nintendo’s flagship series has long held a level of quality and cultural affection other franchises could only envy. Now, with the 40th anniversary of gaming’s most beloved moustachioed plumber upon us, there’s no better time to revisit three defining milestones of this butt-bopping, mushroom-munching (not that kind), high-pitched handyman whose adventures shaped not just a brand but an entire medium.
Super Mario Bros (NES) – 1985
This is where it all began. Arguably representing the first truly successful console-selling game, Super Mario Bros. simultaneously granted Nintendo a mascot that would endure for generations, while also redefining what gamers expected from the platforming genre.
Largely responsible for reviving the sales of home consoles in the United States and other western territories after the industry tumult of Atari’s downfall, Super Mario Bros introduced several then-groundbreaking features that would become essential virtues of design for the many other platforming efforts that would adhere to in the months, years and decades which would follow.
For a start, unlike other platformers that had preceded it, Super Mario Bros did away with the static single-screen levels where players would proceed from left to right before moving into the next frame and restarting at the left side of the screen again. Instead, Super Mario Bros embraced the notion of a consistently smooth, side-scrolling mechanic where players could traverse at speed across a seemingly expansive and interconnected game world.
A significant reason why the traversal in Super Mario Bros worked as well as it did was that the game designers at Nintendo had paid acute attention to the minutiae of Mario’s movement. Our brave plumber wasn’t just responsive to control; there were also some precisely engineered momentum physics at play here that were largely unheard of for the time. These permitted players to run, slide, jump, stop and turn all in line with the variable speeds at which they traversed the game world.
With a range of hugely compelling power-ups that were masterful exercises in UI design (nothing quite piques the curiosity like a great big golden block with a flashing white question mark on it), Super Mario Bros felt inviting in ways that were utterly unexpected at the time. Whether it was collecting a mushroom to double his size and provide an additional health buffer for incoming damage, or scooping up a fire flower to blast unfortunate foes with bouncing fireballs, Mario felt omni-powerful in ways that other platforming heroes simply didn’t.
And then there were a whole heap of other, more nuanced game design elements that Nintendo brought to the table with Super Mario Bros, which also helped further the platforming genre at large. For instance, levels were clearly indicated with an incremented, hyphenated numbering scheme, which not only provided a useful indicator for how far you were through the game, but also gave players an impression of how difficult the forthcoming levels would prove to be. All in all, then, Super Mario Bros absolutely confirmed that not only would Nintendo become a dominant force in the console gaming space for years to come, but also that the platforming genre writ large would now be redefined in its image as well.
Super Mario World (SNES) – 1990
It would be five whole years before Nintendo would give the world a glimpse at the evolution of its hottest series, and much like Super Mario Bros before it, Super Mario World would prove to be every bit the system seller. Empowered by Nintendo’s next-generation 16-bit console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and enriched by the 256 on-screen colour palette that system provided, Super Mario World not only looked the part with vibrantly detailed sprites and backgrounds, but it also evolved the series in several key ways as well.
Super Mario World introduced players to Yoshi – an adorable, egg-spitting dinosaur that would join Mario and company in their struggle against the villainous Bowser. Much more than just a charmingly scaly face, Yoshi introduced a whole new set of mechanics to the proceedings, not only allowing players to ride him, but also being capable of eating objects and enemies, with the latter granting him special powers depending on the Koopa shell colour he ingested. It should perhaps come as little surprise, then, to discover that the sequel to Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, solely focused on Nintendo’s newest and now globally beloved addition to the cast.
Another significant change that Super Mario World brought to the genre was its introduction of an overworld map system, unlike anything seen before. Much more than just a fancy way to frame the journey from one level to the next, Super Mario World’s overworld map allowed players a fresh top-down view of an interconnected and non-linear world where new secret paths could be discovered and completely secret levels, such as the fiendishly challenging Star World, could also be tackled. For the first time, it felt like there was more going on than just what each level provided, and with this notion, Super Mario World felt layered and sophisticated in a fashion that felt utterly alien at the time of its release.
With an all-new spin-jump move in Mario’s arsenal, together with a new inventory system (that allowed players to hold onto a collectable item for use at some later juncture) and Koji Kondo’s relentlessly catchy soundtrack tickling your eardrums, Super Mario World effectively perfected the two-dimensional side-scrolling platformer and set a dizzying standard for platformers to reach.
Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) – 1996
Given the sheer excellence of Super Mario World and how it sat at the apex of two dimensional platform games for so long, it makes a sort of sense that the only way the ‘House That Mario Built’ could surpass it would be to leap into the third dimension and with it, herald in yet another generation defining outing for one of the world’s most beloved gaming franchises. And that’s exactly what happened.
Put simply, the ascendancy of everyone’s favourite Italian plumber into three-dimensional platforming felt as groundbreaking as Super Mario Bros had done eleven years earlier. Much like both Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros before it, Super Mario 64 felt uniquely calibrated to the strengths of the gaming hardware that had hosted it. This was immediately obvious from the visual splendour that Super Mario 64 lavished across our screens. Gone were the beloved, though ultimately flat two-dimensional sprites and in their place were fully realised three-dimensional polygonal models that for the first time felt tangible and oddly, real – as if your television set had become a container for some other world rather than just a flat canvas for the facsimile of one.
The various themed worlds that Mario would romp around in also felt similarly transformative. With what felt like, at the time, a wholly revolutionary three-dimensional camera hovering behind Mario’s acrobatic form, exploring every nook and cranny of these worlds and the hub world which housed them felt euphoric in a way that I’m not sure any other platformer has been able to reliably replicate since.
Every world that you entered in Super Mario 64 felt less like a ‘level’ in a traditional sense and more like its own self-contained world where anything could happen and secrets could be discovered by those eager enough to find them. Whether you were throwing King Bob-omb around like a pro-wrestler, being shot out of a cannon towards the stars, covering yourself in liquid metal, or sliding down an ice slide race course with a bunch of excitable penguins, each world in Super Mario 64 felt like it was packed with unforgettable moments that elevated them far above being just the next in a string of challenges to be overcome.
Of course, the centrepiece of Mario’s shift into a fully three-dimensional world was the elevated level of control and agency that was granted to the player. Just a light tilt forward on the N64’s analogue stick made Mario walk slowly, his feet carefully plunging into the ground one after another with focused consideration. Put a little more pressure on the analogue stick and our hero begins to jog, building up speed as his shoulders and arms begin to swing with almost child-like glee and vigour. Push the analogue stick as far forward as it’ll go, and Mario would break out into a full-bodied, crazed sprint, limbs shaking back and forth like some sort of agitated madman on a mission.
Then there were the newfound acrobatic talents that Mario brought to his inaugural three-dimensional adventure. A quick triple tap had our moustached protagonist hop, jump and then perform a stunning front forward flip (complete with cheerful shouts courtesy of long-time Mario VA Charles Martinet), while new abilities such as being able to flip off walls, slide down hills and more all came together to create the feeling that this new Mario was more than equipped to confront the dangers that this new third axis would bring.
Super Mario 64 didn’t just feel like a perfect translation of the Italian plumber’s flat adventures into a three-dimensional world; it felt like the formulation of a design bedrock from which a whole host of three-dimensional Super Mario titles would spring anew. While it’s true that Mario’s adventures in the third-dimension have been expansive over the years, ranging from the wacky, water spraying mechanics of Super Mario Sunshine, through to the supremely assured level designs of Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, that original breathtaking yet playful sense of discovery which felt so tied to Super Mario 64, still to this day feels unmatched.
Super Mario 64 didn’t just influence future platformers – it became the blueprint for modern 3D game design. Its seamless integration of exploration, movement, and freedom set standards that developers are still refining today. Taken together with Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World, it’s clear that Nintendo has never been content to merely participate in the industry; it has consistently reshaped it. Each of these milestones marked a seismic shift in how games were played, perceived, and loved, proving that Mario isn’t just a mascot but a cultural icon whose adventures define entire generations of gaming.
