When it comes to their characters and franchises, Nintendo tends to be pretty selective about where they can appear. Most of the time, Nintendo's games and characters only appear on Nintendo consoles. While other companies put their games on Nintendo's consoles as well, gamers aren't likely to see an Animal Crossing or Super Smash Bros. game on a PlayStation console.
But, that hasn't always been the case. There have definitely been times that Nintendo allowed some of their characters to make their way to other consoles, but most people immediately think of Nintendo consoles when they think of some of Nintendo's most iconic characters. For instance, Mario is a long-standing character in the world of gaming that has been on Nintendo consoles for a long time. But, how many gamers knew that Mario has also made his way to a variety of non-Nintendo consoles over the years?
To see 10 Mario games that have been published on non-Nintendo consoles, keep reading!
10 Mario Bros. (Atari 2600)
Mario Bros. is one of the very first games ever to feature this Italian plumber. This game started out as an arcade game, but it was ported to a variety of different consoles over the years. Many people likely remember playing this game on their NES, but it has been put on a ton of modern consoles too through Nintendo's Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online programs.
In 1983, the same year that this game was released on the NES and Famicom, this game made its way to a completely different console. It was released on the Atari 2600, one of the early game consoles that helped to popularize home gaming consoles.
9 Hotel Mario (Phillips CD-I)
Hotel Mario is a puzzle game that was released in 1994. Unlike other games, this game wasn't actually released on any Nintendo consoles and was exclusively released on the Phillips CD-i. This game was released on the console when Nintendo and Phillips were trying to collaborate on a disc reader add-on for the SNES, called the Super Nintendo Entertainment System CD-ROM.
Along with this game, three Legend of Zelda games were released on the platform as part of the licensing deal between Phillips and Nintendo. One more Mario game, Super Mario's Wacky Worlds, was planned but eventually cancelled.
8 Mario Teaches Typing (MS-DOS)
Mario Teaches Typing is an educational game that was released in 1992 on MS-DOS. This PC game was designed to help young kids learn about where the keys on a keyboard are and which fingers they're meant to use to press them in order to type quickly and accurately.
There are different levels of difficulty that put Mario into different worlds. The player must correctly press the keys shown on the screen in order to have Mario jump over obstacles.
7 Donkey Kong (Arcade)
The very game that introduced us to Mario was originally not released on a Nintendo console. In fact, it wasn't released on any kind of home console. Instead, Donkey Kong was initially released into the world in 1981 as an arcade game.
In the game, the player controls Mario - then named Mr. Video or Jumpman - as he dives over barrels being tossed by the title gorilla in order to find and rescue Pauline, a damsel in distress who had been kidnapped by Donkey Kong.
6 Super Mario Bros. Special (PC-8801)
Super Mario Bros. Special was released in 1986 for the PC-8801. This game was exclusively released in Japan and South Korea, but has become popular with diehard Mario fans in other countries for a variety of reasons.
This game is mostly similar to Super Mario Bros., a game that was released in 1985 on the NES. Although it appears to be the same game on the surface, this version of the game features a variety of new levels and some minor changes to existing levels from Super Mario Bros., changes that have helped to make this version popular among Mario fans that want to test themselves.
5 Mario's Game Gallery (PC)
Mario's Game Gallery is a compilation of games that was released on Mac and Windows in 1985. Unlike other Mario games that are platforming games, this game is just a collection of different card and board games.
This game contains five games: checkers, backgammon, go fish, dominoes, and their own version of Yahtzee. The player plays against Mario in these games and many of the games have a Mario-themed element to them.
4 Super Mario Run (iOS/Android)
While a lot of the games on this list were released on more retro consoles, this game is completely different because it was released relatively recently. But, it wasn't released on a home console or PC. Instead, this game was released on mobile devices.
Super Mario Run is a mobile game that was released in 2016 on iOS and 2017 on Android devices. This game is a side-scrolling auto-runner game in which the player controls different characters from the Mario franchise as they run across the screen and the player controls their jumps and movements to avoid obstacles.
3 Mario Is Missing! (MS-DOS)
Mario Is Missing! is a PC game that was released in 1993. Along with being released on PC, this game was also released on the NES and SNES the same year. This game is an educational video game that is unique because of the fact that the player controls Mario's brother, Luigi, rather than Mario himself.
In the game, the player plays as Luigi who is tasked with traveling all around the world. Luigi has to return stolen treasures and solve puzzles in order to try to figure out where Mario is since he's been kidnapped by Bowser and is nowhere to be found.
2 Super Mario Bros. & Friends When I Grow Up (MS-DOS)
Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up is a PC game that was released in 1992. While most other Mario games are platforming games, this game is completely different. Instead, this game is a digital coloring book that features different characters from the Mario franchise.
The game consists entirely of coloring book pages that the player colors in using the palette of colors given to them on the screen. The pages feature Mario characters in a variety of different real-world situations.
1 Punch Ball Mario Bros. (PC-6001)
Punch Ball Mario Bros. is a game that was released in 1984 on the PC-6001 along with a variety of other Japanese home computer systems.
This game is fairly similar to Mario Bros., except that this game introduced a new item into the mechanics of the gameplay called Punch Balls. These are items that could be thrown at enemies by Mario in order to stun them and help Mario to progress through the level.