The ongoing 35th anniversary celebration ofMariois well underway, with some of the announced games atNintendo’s surprise directalready being available. Despite this, it isn’t actually until today that the celebrated day has come along, as this day marks the 35th anniversary ofSuper Mario Bros. on NES.
The 35th anniversary celebration bringsMariofans all sorts of things to be excited about, including the newSuper Mario 3D All-Starscollection, which brings back classic titles likeSuper Mario 64,Super Mario Sunshine, andSuper Mario Galaxyin one big package.
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While all the new and recycled content coming from this event is great, it’s worth looking back and realizing why it should be celebrated in the first place.Nintendo has dominated the video game marketas one of its strongest members for a while now, but it wasn’t always that way. Mario’s rise to fame is truly an inspiring story, and one that fans should know.
This may be the35th anniversary ofSuper Mario Bros., but it technically isn’t Mario’s 35th birthday. The mustached plumber first debuted in 1981 as the protagonist of the arcade gameDonkey Kongand made a few other appearances beforeSuper Mario Bros.Despite this, that title is still often considered the true start to Mario’s journey, as it was the first time he was widely available in homes across the world in a video game.
Of course, over the next 35 years, Mario would only continue to grow in popularity, appearing in over 250 different games of various genres. This includes3D Mario hits such asSuper Mario 64,classic 2D sidescrollers like theSuper Mariofranchise, and spin offs of varying kinds likeMario TennisorDr. Mario. His incredible growth is truly something to marvel at, and has led to him being one of the most recognizable video game characters of all time. One would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t recognize Mario by name after seeing a picture of him, after all.
Aside from his own success, Nintendo owes much of what it has to this mascot.Classic game franchises likeThe Legend of Zelda,Pokemon, andAnimal Crossingmay have never come to be if it weren’t for Mario’s rise to the top. With that in mind, the gravity of this anniversary seems even stronger. Of course, fans wanting to celebrate have plenty of options, and should check out any of the games being released in commemoration.
Super Mario Bros.is 35 years old as of today.
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