The story, which would recur countless times through the franchise, was simple enough: Bowser, a giant fire-breathing Turtle Dragon Ox Dinosaur and King of the Koopas, kidnaps Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom (who would later revert to her Japanese name, Peach). Mario was joined by his brother, Luigi, for their own game, Mario Bros., in which the brothers, having taken up plumbing, fought an infinite number of turtles and other pests issued from a number of pipes.Īll this led to the game which more or less defined the entire Nintendo product line: Super Mario Bros. This would be the only title to give Mario a villainous role. The sequel, Donkey Kong Jr., recast Mario as the antagonist, from whom the captured Donkey Kong must be rescued. President Minoru Arakawa and Don James thought it would be funny to name the character after him, thus creating the name and nationality of Mario. During production of the overseas release, Nintendo of America had a suspenders-wearing Italian American named Mario Segale as landlord of one of their warehouses. The player character was not named in Japanese materials, but the tentative name ' Jumpman' had been given for use in Nintendo of America's localization. In that game, a certain mustachioed carpenter was charged to rescue the beautiful Lady (later renamed Pauline) from a rampaging ape. The story of the Mario Brothers begins not in their own game, but in Donkey Kong.

Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, the series both popularized and crystallized the Platform Game. The centerpiece of Nintendo's gaming empire, the biggest and most successful video game franchise to date, to the extent where its title character was at one point more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse.

For the first NES platformer in the series, see Super Mario Bros.

Super mario bros world