That Famous "Sproing!": The Making (and History) of Mario

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Mario is probably one of, if not the most popular video game in history. “Born” in 1981 as the player character in Donkey Kong, he got his own game two years later simply titled “Mario Bros.” and hasn’t slowed down since. From a giant monkey to a world-ending Koopa and everyone in between, Mario’s been at the forefront of so many games that his name is the one most said when people are asked “who’s the first video game character you can think of?”
However he wasn’t always the red little Italian people are the most familiar with. He started life as every video game character did…As a bundle of pixels with the wrong name.

Mario started life in concept art as Jumpman; a tiny little bunch of pixels who could, as his name suggested, jump. Little Jumpman was to be pitted against Donkey Kong in their first game together. Mario went through several names in his very first draft, which resulted in some confusion. He was referred to by “Player” in Japanese arcade instructions, Jumpman in American arcade instructions, and Mario on the game flyers. The name Mario, according to the Super Mario Wiki , came from Nintendo America’s recluse landlord of storage and company housing. Mario (the character) was named too late for the instructions, but his name appeared on flyers, and it has stuck around ever since.

A brown ape holds a barrel over his head, the blond woman in a red dress behind him crying profusely. A man in red and blue is on the blue parapet below them, making a threatening gesture at the ape.

One of the flyers for the original donkey kong arcade game.

Trying to pick out Mario’s history from here gets fuzzy, to put it lightly. He’s made so many cameo appearances for other stories; and had his story rehashed and expanded on enough times that trying to sort it out would take the patience of someone that I am not. Still, I will try.

Once again turning to Mario’s wiki, it says that in the original Donkey Kong game Mario’s girlfriend got herself tangled up with Donkey Kong at a construction site; causing Mario to jump on the scene in an attempt to help her. If the player makes it to the last level, he’ll be reunited with his girl at last. Mario Bros. properly introduces Mario as a plumber and also brings in his twin brother, Luigi; or more accurately a simple palette-swap of Mario (green instead of red). Luigi won’t be recognized as a separate character properly until Super Mario Bros. 2, which established him as the tallest of the two (and the better jumper to boot), only to return to being a reskinned Mario for Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. There’s no better character (or easier-to-code character) than the good ol’ Jumpman, it seems—but don’t worry, Luigi will be back for his own adventures soon enough.

Old School Gamer Magazine says that while Mario wasn’t the first platformer, his games certainly set the scene for them. Many games that came after Super Mario Bros. followed the same recipe, with similar elements and obvious inspirations drawn from it. Even newer games are inspired by it, with the more modern game Bayonetta featuring Mario-based character costumes and sound effects. Not to mention the clones that spawned following the surprising juggernaut that was Mario Cart, a spinoff so successful it spawned memes and sequels that still run strong through today.

Several boxes detailing the multiple stages of Mario's life, from 1981's simple pixels to 2023's fully-textured character model. Text at the end reads what comes next?

Credit to CoolTeen15 on Deviantart for this image.

Mario’s still getting starring roles in games even in the early 2020’s, from updates to old favourites to new additions such as Mario Odyssey. Over the years, Mario has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in Super Smash Bros., becomes a hero in distress in Luigi’s Mansion and has even gone toe-to-toe with rabbids at least once. He’s gone from jumping over barrels thrown by a giant monkey to controlling a T-Rex with the help of his suddenly sentient hat. So long as there is inspiration, so will there also be Mario.

Kate Bell is an avid fan of horror, trying to take in as much as they can without getting grossed out by gore. They are also a bit of a history buff, picking apart elements of animation history and the two world wars to garner as much knowledge as possible (good or bad). The history of video games has often been fascinating to them and they hope to learn as much as they can right along with you, the reader.

Kate lives in the country on a hobby farm, having daily battles with shitty wifi and shittier patience. Their sanity anchor? Hope…And loud music.