There aren’t a whole lot of computer games that can rival Super Mario Bros. for longevity, popularity or excellence. That’s why a 30-year anniversary is pretty cool.
The quintessential Nintendo game, Super Mario Bros. – for those unaware – told the story of Mario’s pursuit of Princess Peach.
With the dastardly evil Bowser as the common foe, allies like Luigi and Toad were on hand to help our favourite portly Italian plumber along his way.
Sequels galore
The game spawned numerous sequels (when you could finally use Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 2 it was particularly deadly) with it also helping the Gameboy to thrive.
There were actually five separate games released between 1985 and 1991 as Mario Mania was at its height.
The 1990s brought about a change in computer gaming attitudes, but the 1993 movie starring Bob Hoskins was a reflection of just how mainstream Super Mario Bros. had become.
The film was rubbish.
And then Mario got a kart
Gradually the game, much like competitor series Sonic the Hedgehog, moved away from its classic, 2D platform roots.
Soon we were following Mario around in 3D, still one of the greatest singular games releases ever.
Of course, Mario’s peak for many people will probably be the Mario Kart series, a whole separate universe of games for users to enjoy.
The following infographic should help explain the history of the Super Mario Bros. series.
Main image via Shutterstock
