The lovable Nintendo gaming character Mario has existed since he appeared as the hero of "Donkey Kong" in 1981, but he reached video game immortality with 1985's "Super Mario Bros.," a game that would have countless sequels and spinoffs over 30 years. Players thrilled at guiding Mario through the strange Mushroom Kingdom, in hopes of defeating King Koopa and rescuing the princess. Click through for more big Mario moments.
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1988's "Super Mario Bros. 2" bore little resemblance to the gameplay of the original, because Nintendo of America found the Japanese sequel to be too similar to the first game. So they took another Japanese game, "Yume Kojo Doki Doki Panic," and replaced the characters with "Super Mario" characters. It was a challenging game, but didn't feel like "Super Mario."
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Nintendo launched their black-and-white handheld Game Boy with "Super Mario Land" in 1989.
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"Super Mario Bros. 3," which allowed Mario and friends to fly with a raccoon tail (don't ask) remains wildly popular 25 years later. It's probably aged the best of the early Mario games.
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Nintendo moved into 16-bit graphics with "Super Mario World," which launched the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
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"Super Mario Land 2" allowed players to take Mario's further adventures with them.
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"Super Mario 64" quite literally brought a new dimension to the games, and is regarded as one of the best video games ever made by Empire magazine and others.
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Nintendo upgraded its handheld gaming with the DS in 2006, and gave us "New Super Mario Bros.," which was both a throwback to the original and a brand-new experience.
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"Super Mario Galaxy" took "Super Mario 64's" 3-D gameplay even further on the Wii in 2007.
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When the DS went 3-D, "New Super Mario Bros. 2" went with it in 2012.
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Once again at the forefront of gaming technology, 2015's "Super Mario Maker" allows gamers to create their own classic "Super Mario" levels.
