by Mike Joffe

Created on: July 01, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

Mario is, without question, the most recognizable video game character in the world. Gamers from every generation have had access to his adventures, from his humble arcade origins to his most recent galactic adventures on the Wii. Even if we don't count the various sports titles, puzzle games, or spin-off franchises like Donkey Kong and Wario, the Mario series has an amazingly diverse library.

The NES era consisted of four Super Mario Bros titles. The first Super Mario Bros is one of the most influential video games in history. While there had been many "platformer" games in the past, including Mario's earlier arcade outings, Super Mario Bros was the first to open up the world beyond just one screen. As Mario moved forward on his quest to rescue the princess, the camera followed him and the oncoming level scrolled into view. Its something we take for granted now, but at the time it was a revelation. In terms of innovation, it could be argued that this simple act would not be outdone until Mario broke into the third dimension years later.

While Japan's second Mario game was an extremely difficult follow up using the same engine (later released in America as The Lost Levels) America got a complete different game. The game Americans remember as Super Mario Bros 2 was originally a decidedly un-Mario game in Japan called Doki Doki Panic. The player graphics and a few items were changed and a new Mario game was created. As you'd expect, the gameplay is markedly different than the previous Mario game. No longer bound by a time limit, this adventure places a much stronger emphasis on exploration and discovery. Mario is joined by Luigi, Princess Toadstool and the mushroom retainer Toad. Each has different abilities that lend to a different style of exploration. Super Mario Bros 2 was strange at the time, but it set the template for Mario adventures far in the future. A number of modern gamers turn their noses up at Super Mario Bros 2 due to its un-Mario origins and distinct gameplay, but it is none the less a true entry into the Mario franchise. If nothing else it gave us the classic enemies such as Shy Guys, Bob-ombs and Birdo (arguably the first LGBT character in video game history, teaching a generation of gamers that it was perfectly ok for an egg-shooting dinosaur boy to wear pretty ribbons and mascara if he wanted to).

Mario's ultimate Nintendo outing, Super Mario Bros 3, was huge for people of my generation. It is difficult to describe the level of excitement

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