ajmorabito 's Profile

Twenty-six years later, Mario is the face of videogaming, more recognized around the world than Mickey Mouse. He's appeared in two hundred games, collectively selling over two hundred million units. He's launched consoles, salvaged entire industries and led the charge into true 3D gaming. Six out of the top-ten best selling videogames of all time are Mario games. Orchestras perform his theme music. Operas have been written. He's gotten his own cartoon series and, unfortunately for those that saw it, a live-action film. He propelled his creator from staff artist to legend, honored in America, knighted in France and in control of his own division at the third largest company in Japan.

Miyamoto intended Mario to be his go-to character, a slightly pudgy, silly-looking fellow who could easily fit into any game as needed. Accordingly, he designed his little carpenter mostly by creating elegant solutions to practical, 8-bit problems. Overalls made the arms more visible. A thick mustache showed up better than a mouth and accented the bulbous nose.

...Except Mario's occupation didn't sit right. A colleague told Miyamoto that his little sprite looked more like a plumber.



Accordingly, Miyamoto put Mario in a crab/ turtle/ firefly-infested sewer for his third outing.

Stories range on how Luigi got his name, from a play on the Japanese word for "analogous" to a pizza parlor near Arakawa's office called Mario & Luigi's. Regardless, the twins went to work clearing underground pipes of vermin in Mario Bros., their first headlining game.

Mario and Luigi left both sewers and arcades behind. The Mushroom Kingdom was their home now, and the Famicom their new platform.

Enemies balanced threat with whimsy. "Mushroom traitor" Goombas and pokey turtle Koopa Troopas got their comeuppance when Mario (Luigi for Player two) stomped on them or punted empty Koopa shells in their direction.

The plot wasn't deep, but it became the basis for virtually every Mario game to follow. A highly unpleasant turtle-dragon named Bowser (a.k.a. King Koopa, a play on the turtle-demon kappas of Japanese folklore) kidnapped Princess Peach (a.k.a. Princess Toadstool) and conquered the Mushroom Kingdom. Tiny Mario leapt chasms, stomped foes, and traversed eight huge worlds rushing to her rescue. You couldn't help but feel the little guy had a lot of heart.

All paths led to a fight with Bowser over a lava pit and eventually to Peach and a chaste reward... i.e. a nice "Thank You, Mario!" Anyway, heroes expected rewards. Mario was just a working stiff, doing what needed doing.