The Evolution of Super Mario's Design | Donkey Kong to Odyssey
75Over the decades, there have been many changes to the character we've come to know and love as Mario. From his early escapades as Jump Man in Donkey Kong, his first solo entry as Mario in Mario Bros, on to Super Mario Bros, Super Mario World, and his latest adventure, Super Mario Odyssey. Many things have changed, but there's still a lot to love about our favorite Italian Plumber.
First Appearance
Mario's first appearance was in Donkey Kong, and he wasn't even known as Mario at the time! Called Jump Man, clearly taking inspiration for mankind's creative nature when naming things like the fly, tried to scale the buildings in an attempt to rescue his love interest from the hairy beast.
Mario is Born
His first proper appearance as Mario, name and all, was in Mario Bros in the Arcade. This single-screen arcade platformer required you to clean out turtles, crabs, and other enemy's from the sewers, This is really the first dip into Mario becoming known as a plumber, and the pipes would be crucial to his future.
Mario is SUPER!
Super Mario Bros is what truly put Mario on the map as an icon, topping even Pac-Man at the time. His adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom truly launched the franchise, and also had some character changes. Mario's Blue overalls were replaced with red, and his shirt and shoes were now dark brown too.
Super Sequel
Super Mario Bros 2 (SMB2) was a huge step for the character, thanks to the original game it was a sprite swap with, Doki Doki Panic. Mario's Blue overalls returned, as did his red shirt, but now he had legit eyes and pupils.
Third Time is a Charm?
Super Mario Bros 3 changed the game in so many ways. We now had an overworld map to chart our own course, worlds were bigger and brighter, and Mario was a bit different too. Now wearing black overalls, Mario also had just pupils for eyes too.
The World is Mario's!
My favorite look for Mario has to be from Super Mario World. His full eyes and pupils were back, as were brown shoes, denim jean blue overalls, and his red shirt. He also started wearing white gloves in this appearance! What was really cool was they took this design and remastered the original 3 SMB Games into Super Mario All-Stars!
64 Bit is... not better
You either love the N64 or not, and for me it's a decent machine but not my favorite. For Mario 64, Nintendo brought all of the SNES character changes and made Mario Polygonal. It was ok, and the introduction of Charles Martinet as the voice is amazing, but I'm not loving the look of Mario Here.
You Are My Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine launched Mario into Isle Delfino and added a water jet backpack in FLUUD. While Mario looked and sounded great, many (including myself) just didn't care for the game as a game.
Galaxy Class Mario
Where do you go after you have a world? Well, the Galaxy, that's where! Super Mario Galaxy has some of the best music in any game ever, and Mario looked fantastic. Also, unlike Sunshine, Galaxy and Galaxy 2 were amazing games, some of the best in the series.
Playing 3D Chess
New Super Mario Bros on the DS and Wii brought back the love for those traditional 2D platformers, but Super Mario 3D World changed the shape of things. Released on the Wii U and then ported to the Switch, 3D World is a core Mario Adventure that brought the character into HD for the first time.
Time to Go on an Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey is the latest entry in the Mario series, and it could be stated Mario has never looked better. His hair, mustache, and other features feel like they are living parts of the character and he feels truly alive. He's also solidified his overall look here as well, red hat and shirt, blue denim overalls, brown shoes, and amazing gameplay.
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