Nintendo celebrated its 131st birthday on September 23rd, so in honor of that incredible milestone, let’s take a look at their most iconic game franchise: Super Mario Bros. Since Mario’s first appearance in the early 1980s, he’s known nothing but success, leading to over 200 games across dozens of platforms (and computers). He’s shown up in movies, TV shows, comics, toys, and even shampoo; in each of these appearances, Mario looks slightly different each time.
The old Italian plumber has changed a lot over the years – like the fact that he’s neither Italian nor all that old, according to Nintendo. But other factors like different artists, developers, and changes in technology mean Mario has gotten a few faces, and some of them may surprise you.
10 Donkey Kong – 1981
Where else could we possibly start than at the beginning? Released in Japan on July 9, 1981, Donkey Kong marked the debut of its titular character, Jumpman, and Lady. The arcade game was an instant hit, becoming one of the most popular arcade games ever. A name like “Jumpman” wouldn’t do, so then Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa renamed him Mario (and later, Lady was renamed Pauline).
In the game, Mario is a three-colored bunch of pixels, but the cabinet art showed a more detailed drawing. This was the original version of Mario, looking less like the lovable cartoon of today, and more like a generic, angry Italian stereotype.
9 Mario Bros. – 1983
The first game to be named after Mario, Mario Bros. was another arcade game with similar elements to Donkey Kong. Players would move across the screen freely, knocking enemies down, grabbing their shells, and flinging them at the opposing player.
Mario Bros. would be the first game to introduce a lot of staples to the Mario franchise, like Luigi, Koopas, and pipes. The design of Mario himself is more in line with what he would become, though on the cover art he has a blue hat with his full name written on the side.
8 Saturday Supercade – 1983
Saturday Supercade was an animated American variety show in 1983 featuring numerous video game characters like Frogger, Q*bert, and Pitfall Harry. One character who appeared frequently was Mario, making his animated debut.
By this point, Mario had only appeared in three games, and his look changed between games. On Saturday Supercade, he looked tall and lanky and had a curly mustache. Voiced by Peter Cullen, he and Pauline sought to capture Donkey Kong, who had escaped the circus. Mario was a minor character and was often portrayed more of an antagonist to Donkey Kong, who was the star of these segments.
7 Super Mario Bros. – 1985
Mario first gained popularity as a character with 1985’s Super Mario Bros. on the NES. Believe it or not, his appearance here is very different from than of previous games. Comparing his pixel art model in Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. shows almost no changes. The biggest difference is that Mario now puts his arm up when he jumps.
The box art was very different though. Instead of going with a stylized look like with Donkey Kong, the cover of Super Mario Bros. uses Mario’s in-game pixelated form. It might not be the best pixel art ever, but it’s still classic.
6 The Super Mario Bros. Super Show – 1989
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show debuted in America in 1989, when Mario was an established character worldwide. The animated version of Mario and Luigi is pretty close to what we think of Mario today, but the show would later become infamous for its live-action segments.
These segments featured real-world actors playing the characters. Mario was played by actor and former wrestler Lou Albano. The look of the character is fairly accurate (though he has longer hair than the video game Mario) but it was Albano’s performance of an over-the-top goofball that immortalized the show.
5 Super Mario Bros. The Movie – 1993
Super Mario Bros. The Movie is infamous for its reputation as one of the worst video game movies ever made. It bears little resemblance to its video game counterpart, and its deception of Mario (and Luigi) is a big part of why. Mario deserves a good movie, and this isn't it.
Played by Bob Hoskins, the 50-year-old balding British actor was an odd choice to play a young Italian plumber. This version of Mario lived in Brooklyn and didn’t dawn the iconic blue and red overalls until near the end of the film. Even then, the video game-inspired outfit looked more like pajamas than a worker’s uniform.
4 Super Mario 64 – 1996
Super Mario 64 was one of the first platformers to feature a 3D world and by extension the first time we saw Mario in full 3D. This version of Mario (or at least the rendering of him on the box art) would become the standard portrayal of Mario going forward.
Technically speaking, Super Mario 64 isn’t the first game featuring a 3D Mario. That honor would go to 1992’s Mario Teaches Typing. The infamous, poorly sold edutainment game featured a fully 3D interactive render of Mario’s head. The 1994 CD-ROM re-release also marked the first time Charles Martinet voiced Mario.
3 Paper Mario – 2000
Paper Mario marked the biggest departure of Mario’s standard look in a video game since his debut. Not only was the game built around a 2D paper cutout aesthetic, but it was also more cartoony and “cute” than previous Mario games.
The result is a version of Mario that, upon its release in 2000, looked unlike any Mario game before it. Or any other video game, for that matter. This was a totally unique look at the time and proved that Mario could thrive in any genre and any art style. Paper Mario would go on to become one of Mario's most popular (and divisive) series.
2 Super Mario Sunshine – 2002
The most decisive 3D Mario platformer, Super Mario Sunshine introduced a few tweaks to the standard Mario formula. For one thing, it doesn’t take place in the Mushroom Kingdom. Instead, the game features a tropical island where the islanders' horde half the Shine Sprites Mario needs to save the day.
The tropical locale also means Mario rolled up his sleeves. Sure, it’s not the biggest change, but it is the only unique change to Mario’s get-up in a mainline game in the series until Super Mario Odyssey lets you change outfits. Plus the game features F.L.U.D.D., a water-powered weapon, and jetpack riding on Mario’s back.
1 Super Mario Odyssey – 2017
Super Mario Odyssey is arguably the best 3D Mario game ever, and its extensive outfit system is a big reason why. The game lets you change Mario’s outfit to one of the hundreds of different unlockable costumes. Do you want to dress up as Dr. Mario? Or the chef suit from Yoshi’s Cookie? Maybe you want to get super obscure and don the Explorer outfit from Mario’s Picross. All of these are possible!
Mario’s standard outfit got an overhaul too. It’s in way more detail than ever before, so much so that you can see in the individual stitching on his overalls. His new hat, Cappy, also sprouts eyes, giving Mario his most bizarre look yet.