This year marks the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., and everyone is celebrating. Nintendo is even launching a whole slew of remasters and new games to mark the occasion. Super Mario Bros. released in 1985 and became a colossal hit, but there were actually quite a few games featuring Mario before then.
Not counting ports or re-releases, there were fourteen games featuring Mario before Super Mario Bros. ever released. That's a pretty impressive number, considering Mario had only existed for a few years before 1985. His first appearance was in Donkey Kong in 1981, where he was called Jumpman. By the time Donkey Kong Jr. arrived the following year, Mario was named Mario, and went on to appear in Donkey Kong II that same year. Those three games were only the beginning, though.
In 1983, Mario was featured in several Game and Watch titles. Mario's Cement Factory had Mario attempting to funnel cement while Mario's Bombs Away had a military uniform-wearing Mario delivering bombs. That same year, Mario Bros. released. Not to be confused with Super Mario Bros. in 1985, Mario Bros. didn't make it to the NES until 1986, although the game was in arcades and on other consoles like the Atari 2600 in 1983. Mario Bros. also received a Game and Watch version, as well as a "Special" re-release, but those aren't counting toward the fourteen original games that came out before Super Mario Bros. For those counting, though, that puts the tally up to six Mario video games so far.
Mario's Busiest Year Pre-Super Mario Bros.
1984 saw an incredible number of games featuring Mario. By then, he was quickly becoming Nintendo's most iconic character. Family BASIC, which featured Mario and other characters, released on Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom) as a way to get computer s to try out their new video gaming system. This was quickly followed by numerous sports games on the Famicom that all featured Mario: Tennis, Pinball, and Golf. Special "Vs." editions of these games appeared in arcades as well.
Also in 1984 were two new Game and Watch Donkey Kong titles. In Donkey Kong Circus, players controlled the gorilla as he attempted to juggle pineapples, but Mario was a featured character. In Donkey Kong Hockey, the entire premise is based around Mario and Donkey Kong playing hockey against each other. Punch Ball Mario released that same year, although it was an odd computer game developed by Hudson Soft that was essentially just Mario Bros. but with new giant orbs called Punch Balls that Mario could throw at enemies. By the end of 1984, Mario had appeared in thirteen video games overall.
There was only one game featuring Mario to release in 1985 before Super Mario Bros. forever changed the industry and made Mario more popular than ever. Wrecking Crew allowed players to run through levels as Mario or Luigi while attempting to destroy blocks with an overly large hammer. The game came out on the Famicom and NES just slightly before Super Mario Bros., making it the fourteenth original game to feature the Italian-American plumber.
As Nintendo and everyone else celebrates Super Mario Bros.'s 35th Anniversary, it's important to Mario wasn't just an overnight success. The character took time to develop and was featured in fourteen original games before Super Mario Bros. even released.