Saturday, October 8, 2011

Super Mario Defies Convention, Makes Its Own

By Scott Baker


On the surface, the concept of an Italian plumber journeying to the Mushroom Kingdom to save a princess from a savage turtle-like beast does not form into a coherent picture.And yet here we are, over 20 years later, and the Super Mario series is still one of the best-selling video game franchises around.

The Super Mario Bros. starring the plumber Mario is a platform adventure game released by Japanese game giant Nintendo in 1985.The story of the game is Mario's quest to rescue Princess Peach by traveling to the Mushroom Kingdom and defeating the boss Koopa, Bowser.The world is populated by dreamlike sights and sounds, such as the Koopa Troopas, a group of mushroom soldiers, and magical mushrooms that increases Mario's strength and size.Mario is joined by brother Luigi, and best friend Yoshi, a green dinosaur.Whilst all of these characters make an appearance on Mario t-shirts, it is the Italian plumber in red that takes center stage.

With global sales of over 200 million games of over 200 games, the Super Mario series is a proven commodity.The traditional action platformer has been spun-off into RPG adventures, racing games, sports games, group fighting games, which have helped boost interest through the years.Super Mario Kart is one of the more successful spin-offs for the franchise, and it features Mario and other characters such Luigi, Yoshi, Princess Peach, and Bowser.Amongst the many Mario t-shirts on sale are designs from these spin off games.

Additions to the franchise include a 1993 live-action adventure movie, three animated television series, and a line of comic books from Valiant Comics.A fixture in the Super Mario video games is the theme song, which is played during specific levels of the game.Mario merchandise is also hugely successful with Super Mario tshirts amongst the biggest hitters.

The Super Mario games all have carefully crafted gameplay systems.The two-button control system of the original Super Mario shows that simple controls can yield complex, and engaging gameplay.The bright, and colorful graphics of the Super Mario series has remained consistent in all of the titles, with various modifications made for each new-level console released.




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