The history of the famous red-capped Italian plumber

Gameplay of Donkey Kong. Photo courtesy of Microsiervos on Flickr

Nintendo successfully joined the video game world with the creation of the famous red-capped plumber, Mario. Nintendo’s most famous video game character, first appeared in their arcade game Donkey Kong in 1981 as a carpenter named “Jumpman.”

Since then, Jumpman the carpenter became Mario the plumber and has appeared and been featured in hundreds of Nintendo games.

Mario Kart turtle shell items. Graphic illustrations by Lauren Mei Calora.

From Donkey Kong to Super Mario Bros. to Mario Kart, Mario has been at the forefront of popular video games since the 80’s. Nintendo found a magical formula to create games that all generations can enjoy.

John Harnetiaux, Catlin Gabel School (CGS) Outdoor and Global Education Director, played Super Mario Kart on his Super Nintendo when he was in high school.

“We would put a piece of tape over the part of the screen that told you what you got. So it added this element of ‘Oh man, I don’t know if I have the “cool seeking turtle shell” or the “lame green turtle shell,”” he said.

The evolution of Mario is also a story of the evolution of Nintendo. From the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) released in 1985 and Game Boy released in 1989 to the Nintendo Switch released in 2017 and Nintendo DS released in 2004, the consoles and handheld gaming systems have constantly improved.

After Donkey Kong, Mario Bros. was the next game series to explode in popularity. You could control Mario as you followed various levels to the tall flag at the end.

Mario Bros. operated in a 2D world where you could control Mario through the levels filled with enemies and breakable bricks.

Mario’s height operated on a block unit system: when he was one block, he could grow taller by eating a mushroom. If Mario was injured by an enemy, Mario would shrink or die depending on his current height.

Since the first release in 1985 of Mario Bros. various Nintendo games have followed this formula, and have remained very successful. Recent releases like New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii have sold over 30 million copies emulating the success found in the ’80s.

The Mario Bros. series introduced the world to Princess Toadstool also known as Princess Peach, Bowser, Toad, Yoshi, Luigi, and so many more recognizable characters.

8-bit Mario and 8-bit power-up mushroom. Graphic illustration by Lauren Mei Calora

Super Mario Kart, the popular kart racing game with Nintendo’s characters, was released in 1992. Super Mario Kart kickstarted the kart-racing gaming genre.

In Super Mario Kart you could race around a track as a Nintendo character aiming for first place. The first game came with a multiplayer feature where you could play with your friend or temporary enemy in kart races with in-game items to thwart their victory.

Recently, Nintendo released Mario Kart Tour, a Mario Kart game for mobile gamers. The game has been met with a lot of discontent.

Mario Kart Tour has a $5.00 monthly fee for the gold pass which unlocks more in-game capabilities. IGN released a video reviewing the game and its current unlikeable monetary system. (A list of all the Mario games can be found here.)

Brendan Gill, CGS media arts teacher, created a film about the origin of Mario for his undergraduate film thesis. For his film, he interviewed the world’s best Donkey Kong player at the time and even learned his tips and tricks for playing Donkey Kong like a pro.

Gill grew up in Seattle and played a handful of Mario games. “I lived most of my childhood in Seattle. It was just such an interesting thing that this passion I had for video games - it all happened right there in my hometown,” said Gill.

His hometown even helped inspire how the “Mario” character got his name.

“Mario Segale was the name of the warehouse owner [from Seattle] that Nintendo of America rented from when they’d get their shipments of arcade cabinets in from Japan,” said Gill.

When Gill was initially introduced to Mario games he wasn’t allowed to have a console to play it, so he would always go to his friends’ houses to play Mario. It seemed as though most guys he knew played and owned Mario games.

Gill also commented on the change in Mario games over time, saying that they align more with Japan’s cultural growth than America’s.

Goomba from Mario games. Graphic Illustration by Lauren Mei Calora

“Most people don’t know that the name ‘Goomba’ is actually a derogatory term towards Italian people,” said Gill.

Senior Luke Aitchison also grew up playing Mario games even though he’s in a completely different generation.

“The earliest Mario game I can remember playing is new Super Mario Bros. for the Wii,” said Aitchison.

“[Mario games] were just such a video-gamey video game - you have this one premise, this one goal, and they just executed it really, really well,” said Aitchison.

Despite the fact that Aitchison, Harnetiaux, and Gill are in completely different generations, Mario and Nintendo were able to bridge their audience. Mario games continue to be games kids enjoy to play.