The History of the Mario Series (NES to Switch)

The history of mario series is the history of mainstream video games. Mario first appeared in 1981 as a nameless carpenter (or “Jumpman”) in Donkey Kong, got his own platformer in 1985, and from there became Nintendo’s flagship character through forty years of consoles, handhelds, spin-offs, and reinventions. This piece traces the main-line Mario platformers from Super Mario Bros. on the NES through Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the Switch, with stops at the games that changed the series most.

The pre-Mario era and Donkey Kong (1981)

Mario first appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, designed by Shigeru Miyamoto at Nintendo. He was called “Jumpman” in the original design documents and was a carpenter, not a plumber. Donkey Kong’s success — it was Nintendo’s first major arcade hit in North America — established the basic Mario design: red overalls, mustache, jumping mechanic.

Mario got a name in the localization process (reportedly inspired by Mario Segale, the landlord of Nintendo of America’s Seattle warehouse). His first starring role was Mario Bros. (1983), a two-player arcade game with Mario and his brother Luigi, set in the sewers. The pipes that became a series staple were introduced here.

Super Mario Bros. (1985)

Super Mario Bros. launched on the Famicom in Japan in September 1985 and the NES in North America in 1985-86. It was designed primarily by Miyamoto and programmer Toshihide Tanaka. The game established essentially every Mario convention: the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach (then called Princess Toadstool), Bowser, the Goombas and Koopa Troopas, the warp pipes, the fire flower, the star, the world-1-1 opening that’s still recognizable globally.

It was also a massive commercial hit. The NES port of Super Mario Bros. sold over 40 million copies, making it the bestselling game of its era and one of the bestselling games of all time. It established Mario as Nintendo’s flagship character and effectively rescued the North American console market after the 1983 video game crash.

The 2D platformer template established here — run right, jump on enemies, find the flagpole — became the genre standard for the next decade.

The NES years: Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3 (1988-1990)

The series complicated quickly. The Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 (1986) was a difficulty-focused refinement of the original, considered too hard for Western audiences. Nintendo of America released a different Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1988 — a reskinned version of the Japanese game Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic. That game introduced Toad, Birdo, and the “lift and throw” mechanic. The original “lost” Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 was later released internationally as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988 in Japan, 1990 in North America) is widely regarded as the high point of the NES-era series. It introduced the map-based overworld, power-ups beyond the basics (the Tanooki Suit, the Frog Suit, the Hammer Bros. Suit), and the world structure that future 2D Mario games would follow. It sold over 17 million copies and was, for many players, the definitive 2D Mario experience.

Super Mario World (1990) and the SNES era

Super Mario World launched alongside the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom) in 1990. It introduced Yoshi — the dinosaur companion who became a series staple — and refined the 2D Mario formula with new physics, expanded power-ups (the cape feather), and a much larger interconnected world map (Dinosaur Land).

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (1995) was a stylistic departure: Yoshi as the protagonist, baby Mario as a passenger, and a hand-drawn art style that still looks distinct. It’s often regarded as one of the best platformers ever made.

Super Mario 64 (1996): the 3D leap

Super Mario 64 launched with the Nintendo 64 in 1996 and rewrote the rules of platformer design. The game was the first 3D Mario, the first 3D platformer of its kind to be widely successful, and the first game to seriously solve the “how do you control a character with a camera in 3D space” problem. Many 3D action games still use control schemes derived from Super Mario 64.

The game introduced the open-world hub-and-stages structure (Princess Peach’s castle as a hub with paintings leading into stage worlds), the Star collection objective system, and the famous moveset (long jump, triple jump, wall jump, backflip) that defined 3D Mario for decades. It sold over 11 million copies and remains one of the most influential games ever made.

Sunshine, Galaxy, and the 3D Mario evolution (2002-2010)

Super Mario Sunshine (2002) on the GameCube was the next 3D mainline entry. It introduced FLUDD, a water-spraying jetpack, and a tropical island setting. The game was divisive — some loved the new mechanics, others found the water-spray gimmick fiddly. It’s now generally remembered fondly but ranked below other 3D Mario entries.

Super Mario Galaxy (2007) on the Wii is widely considered one of the best games ever made. Its central design insight — that planets and spheres could be the platforming surfaces — produced level design unlike anything before it. Gravity could shift mid-jump. Mario could run upside-down around tiny worlds. The soundtrack (composed by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo, performed by a live orchestra) is regarded as one of the best in gaming history.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) iterated on the formula with more stages, Yoshi back as a mount, and a higher difficulty ceiling. The two Galaxy games together represent the peak of 3D Mario’s design ambition.

The New Super Mario Bros. line (2006-2012)

The DS, Wii, and Wii U each got “New Super Mario Bros.” 2D platformers between 2006 and 2012. These were deliberately retro — 2D side-scrollers in the style of the SNES-era Mario games — but with 3D-rendered graphics and multiplayer support. They sold extremely well but were criticized for visual sameness and conservative design.

The New Super Mario Bros. series essentially put 2D Mario on autopilot for a decade. Each entry was competent. None pushed the formula forward.

Super Mario 3D World (2013) and Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

Super Mario 3D World (2013) on the Wii U is the underrated entry of the modern era. It used a fixed-camera 3D style with multiplayer support, the cat suit power-up, and stage-based levels rather than open worlds. The Switch re-release in 2021 brought it back to wider audiences.

Super Mario Odyssey (2017) was the flagship 3D Mario for the Switch and is one of the highest-rated games of its generation. The “capture” mechanic — Mario’s hat, Cappy, can possess enemies and objects, letting the player temporarily become a Goomba, a T-Rex, a tank, a frog — was the central design innovation. The game returned to large open kingdom-based stages with hundreds of Power Moons to collect.

Odyssey sold over 27 million copies on the Switch and is widely cited as one of the best games of the 2010s. It’s the definitive modern 3D Mario.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)

After more than a decade of “New Super Mario Bros.” entries, Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. Wonder for the Switch in October 2023. It was the first new 2D Mario art style in years — bouncier animations, more expressive characters — and introduced the Wonder Flower mechanic that scrambled level rules mid-stage. Pipes could come alive and start crawling. Whole stages could rotate. Mario could turn into a Goomba.

Wonder was a critical and commercial hit, restoring 2D Mario to the front of the conversation. It’s the strongest 2D Mario since Super Mario World, and it signaled that Nintendo had finally moved on from the New Super Mario Bros. formula.

The spin-off universe

The mainline Mario platformers are only part of the franchise. The Mario Kart series (debut 1992 on the SNES) is its own massive sub-franchise, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe being one of the bestselling games of all time. Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Strikers, Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi, Super Mario RPG — each spin-off line has its own fan base and history.

Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Wario, and Princess Peach all spun off into their own series. Smash Bros. (launched 1999) features the Mario cast alongside the rest of Nintendo’s roster and has become one of the most important fighting games of all time. The Super Mario Bros. animated movie (2023) was a critical mixed reception but a commercial phenomenon, grossing over $1.3 billion globally.

Why Mario stays relevant

Mario has survived forty years because Nintendo refused to ship the same Mario twice in a row. Every major mainline entry — Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros. Wonder — has introduced new mechanical ideas. The character stays the same; the design constantly evolves.

The other reason is character durability. Mario himself is one of the most recognizable characters in any medium. Bowser, Peach, Luigi, Yoshi, and Toad are durable. The cast has expanded but the core hasn’t been disrupted. New entries can introduce new characters (Pauline, Cappy) without displacing the originals. The Mario franchise Wikipedia entry tracks the full list across forty years.

For the deeper history of the specific 1985 game that started everything, our history of Super Mario Bros piece covers the development and reception of the NES original in detail. For a complete change of pace from platformers, the Chrome Dino game sits in the same minimalist arcade family as Mario’s NES debut.

Frequently asked questions

When was the first Mario game released?

Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong (1981) as “Jumpman.” The first game named for him was Mario Bros. (1983). The first Super Mario game — Super Mario Bros. — launched on the Famicom in September 1985 and the NES in North America shortly after.

Who created Mario?

Shigeru Miyamoto is the principal creator of Mario at Nintendo. He designed Donkey Kong (1981), Super Mario Bros. (1985), Super Mario 64 (1996), and most of the major mainline Mario games through the GameCube era. Mario is the character most associated with him.

Which Mario game sold the most?

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017, Switch) is the bestselling Mario game and one of the bestselling games of all time, with over 60 million copies sold. Among mainline platformers, Super Mario Bros. (1985) at over 40 million copies and Super Mario Odyssey (2017) at over 27 million copies are the top sellers.

Is Super Mario Galaxy the best Mario game?

Many critics rank it the best in the series. Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario World are the other usual top picks. The “best” depends heavily on what you value — Galaxy for innovative design, Odyssey for breadth and accessibility, 64 for influence, World for refined 2D classicism.

How many Mario games are there?

Counting mainline platformers, spin-offs, ports, and remasters, well over 200 games feature Mario as a playable character or major presence. The mainline 2D and 3D platformer series alone include over 20 entries across all generations.

The takeaway

Mario’s history is a forty-year case study in keeping a franchise vital. Each major entry has introduced genuine new ideas while preserving what makes the character work. From Super Mario Bros. on the NES through Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the Switch, the series has earned its position as gaming’s most enduring franchise. For a low-stakes browser palate cleanser between Mario runs, the T-Rex Runner is a different kind of pixel-perfect classic worth keeping in your back pocket.

Related: The History of the Zelda Series (NES to Tears) · The History of the Final Fantasy Series · The History of the Sonic Series (Genesis to Now)