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The Mario franchise is Nintendo's flagship video game series, and one of the most popular and successful gaming franchises of all time. Its mainline series is Super Mario and the gameplay often revolves around action platforming. The series later went to spawn into several different genres, including kart racing, role-playing, sports, and party. It has also spun-off into different franchises such as Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Wario, and Paper Mario.
After the release of the arcade games Donkey Kong in 1981 and Mario Bros. in 1983, Super Mario Bros. was released in 1985 and sold in record numbers. The game was credited in reviving the video game industry following its 1985 crash. To date, the game alone has sold over 40 million copies.
In all, the entire Mario franchise has over 700 million copies of games sold in its lifetime.
Unofficial list of the entire Mario franchise with the sub-series and spin-off franchises.
Outline[]
Mario, Luigi, and the two Toads (blue and orange) at W6-Castle in New Super Mario Bros. U.
The plumber characters, such as Mario and Luigi, all have unique abilities and appearances, but share the same design formats. For instance, the plumber characters have unique colors, a cap, a letter emblem on their caps, buttoned overalls, a long-sleeved shirt (except for Wario), and moustaches each with different designs.
The Super Mario games are platforming adventures in which Mario, Luigi, and any other character must reach the goal (i.e. Flagpole) and/or possess enough collectable items (such as Power Stars) to proceed to another level. Boss battles would also be required to progress. Mario is always the playable character, but Luigi and Toads would also be an alternate (and unlockable) playable option.
Mario encountering Kamek in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, an RPG sub-series game.
In addition to platforming, the series has also implemented a variety of genres, such as kart-racing, party, role-playing, sports, and puzzle.
Many characters, locations, and elements are featured in the Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting series.
In-depth history[]
Characters[]
The main character group from left to right: Goomba, Wario, Donkey Kong, Daisy, Toad, Peach, Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Rosalina, Boo, Waluigi, Koopa Troopa.
- Mario, the series' main protagonist, is a human plumber who wears a red cap and shirt, and blue overalls. He is optimstic, brave, and ready. He has a round nose with a black multi-circle moustace. He is the older brother of Luigi. His debut game is Donkey Kong.
- Luigi is a human plumber who wears a green cap and shirt, and navy blue overalls. He is shy and timid, and pretty straightforward. He has a round nose with two-circly moustache. While taller, he is the younger brother of Mario. His debut game is Mario Bros..
- Princess Peach is a human princess of the Mushroom Kingdom who often plays the damsel-in-distress role, whereby she always gets kidnapped by Bowser. She would occassionally join forces with Mario and fight alongside. The only games where she was playable is in Super Mario Bros. 2 (US version) and Super Mario 3D World. Her first appearance was in Super Mario Bros..
- Toad is a species of little mushroom people that reside in the Mushroom Kingdom. They are servants of Princess Peach and would often be concerned for her whereabouts. They come in a variety of colors, with red being the main color. Toads would be of assistance to the player by providing power-ups, giving tips and advices, and even rewarding players. Their first appearance was in Super Mario Bros..
- Bowser is a turtle-like monster and the series' main antagonist who often wrecks havoc of the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnaps Princess Peach. He is Mario's arch-enemy and the leader of the Koopa Troop. He has two small horns on his head, spikes on his shell, red hair, visibly sharp teeth, a spiky tail, and mutant feet and hands. He can breath fire, transport, create shockwaves from stomping, and make large roars. His debut game was in Super Mario Bros..
- Bowser Jr. is a young turtle-like monster and Bowser's only true son. He is bratty, emotional, and short-tempered. He appears to show love for his father. Since his debut in Super Mario Sunshine, he wields a paintbrush which can create goop trails and enemies. He wears a bib that has a motuh grafitti and sometimes cover his face with it. He frequently rides on his Koopa Clown Car which enables him to fly to various places and use weaponry.
- Yoshi is Mario and Luigi's dinosaur sidekick and the protagonist of his own series. His debut game is Super Mario World.
- Princess Daisy is the princess of Sarasaland, a world outside of the series' usual setting of the Mushroom Kingdom, and is kidnapped by the tyrannical alien, Tatanga, who intends to marry her to gain control of her realm. She would later became playable in various spin offs. She debuted in Super Mario Land.
- Wario is Mario's anti-heroic counterpart and rival and protagonist of his own series. His debut game is Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.
- Waluigi is Wario's partner in crime and Luigi's anti-heroic counterpart and rival, who only appears in mostly spin-off games. His debut game is Mario Tennis.
- Rosalina is is the adoptive mother of the Lumas, a fictional species of stars in the game, and also watcher of the cosmos. She lives in the Comet Observatory. She debuted in Super Mario Galaxy.
- Donkey Kong is the original antagonist for Mario, but in later games it was established to be Donkey Kong's grandfather, Cranky Kong. The current Donkey Kong is the main protagonist of the Rare-developed Donkey Kong Country series, first appearing in Donkey Kong Country. His debut game is Donkey Kong.
- Diddy Kong is Donkey Kong's sidekick, best friend, and nephew. His debut game is Donkey Kong Country.
- Toadette is an optimistic Toad who is among the servants of Princess Peach. Like other Toads, she would be of assistance and reward players for progress. She first appeared in Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ and would later have a larger role in the mainline series since Super Mario Odyssey.
- Birdo is a fictional species as well as an individual character and Yoshi's partner in spin-offs. Her first appearance was as an enemy in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, which was localized for English-language audiences as Super Mario Bros. 2. Since then, Birdo has been a recurring character in various franchise spin-offs. Initially, she was depicted as an antagonist, but has since been depicted as an ally.
Series and Sub-series[]
- Donkey Kong
- Luigi's Mansion
- Yoshi
- Wario
- Super Mario
- Mario Kart
- Mario Party
- Dr. Mario
- Mario sports
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong
- Mario role-playing games
Films[]
These are the list of film adaptations of the Mario series.
Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! (1986)[]
Also known as "Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!", the film is an anime film adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. game. It follows Mario and Luigi as they get transported into their video game world of the Mushroom Kingdom in order to stop Bowser's evil plans and rescue Princess Peach. It is considered to be the first film adaptation of a video game. In the film, Mario was voiced by Toru Furuya. Furuya would go on to voice the character until 1998.
Super Mario Bros. (1993)[]
In this live-action film, Mario and Luigi encounter a parallel world populated by dinosaur descendants and must save their home world from domination. Princess Daisy and Yoshi make an appearance. The film stars Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hoper, and Samantha Mathis. It has been a box-office bomb, prompting Nintendo to refrain from further film adaptations of their properties for a long period of time.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)[]
Produced with Illumination and Universal Pictures, the film is a computer-animated feature adaptation of the series. It features the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Charles Martinet, Khary Payton, Eric Bauza, Jessica DiCicco, Rino Romano, John DiMaggio, Scott Menville and Juliet Jelenic. In Japan, the film features Mamoru Miyano, Tasuku Hatanaka, Arisa Shida, Tomokazu Seki, Kenta Miyake, Koji Takeda, Naomi Kusumi, Jin Urayama, Yasuhiro Mamiya and Ann Yamane.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released in the United States on April 5, 2023. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though audience reception was more positive. The film has grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, setting multiple box-office records, including the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film and becoming the highest-grossing film based on a video game. It is the second highest-grossing film of 2023, the fourth highest-grossing animated film (third if not counting The Lion King remake), Illumination's highest-grossing film, and highest-grossing non-Disney animated film.
Untitled 2026 Mario Movie[]
An untitled animated film based on the Super Mario Bros. franchise was announced in a press release on March 10, 2024. The film will be directed, produced, and written by the same individuals who worked on The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), though it is yet to be officially confirmed whether the film is a direct sequel or a spin-off to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film is set to be released on April 3, 2026 in many regions, including the United States, with other release dates in April 2026 for some regions.
Television Shows[]
These are the list of television programs based on the Mario series. The shows listed were all produced by DiC Entertainment (now WildBrain).
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989)[]
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990)[]
Super Mario World (1991)[]
Donkey Kong Country (1997-2000)[]
Merchandise[]
External links[]
- Mario (series) at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia