Down the pipes with Super Mario: An interactive journey | Culture

Mario never has time. He’s always rushing off towards the next adventure. When he’s not saving worlds, or his beloved Peach, he’s racing cars, playing tennis, healing patients, or dancing. “Mario excels at sports including tennis, golf, baseball, soccer, and even kart racing. He’s good at all of them! He’s a plumber by profession but is really a jack of all trades,” reads his profile on the Nintendo website. “Mario is always bright and cheerful.”

A universal talent — and universally loved: Nintendo estimates it has sold 452 million video games, although some estimates reach double that. A survey in the U.S. concluded in the 1990s that he was more famous than Mickey Mouse. A colossal success, but an exhausting one. Indeed, in some video games, if the player sets the controller down, Mario takes the chance to sit. He immediately falls asleep and even starts snoring. Because Mario is unique and, at the same time, just like anyone else. And that’s why everyone feels at least a little fondness for him. Even more so now that he’s celebrating his 45th anniversary. Let this article serve as a gift.

His creator, Shigeru Miyamoto — whose message of thanks to EL PAÍS readers appears at the end of this article — said that the character is “between 24 and 25 years old.” But the truth is, he first appeared 45 years ago: although, in 1981, he didn’t have the name or the prominence he has today. He was called Mr. Video, or Jumpman. And, in the video game Donkey Kong, he was the guy who dodged the barrels thrown by the evil ape to rescue the princess. At the time, the story cast him as a carpenter. So the myth required some tweaking: a more appropriate profession, since he went down so many pipes; or the chance appearance during a meeting at Nintendo’s U.S. offices of Mario A. Segale, an Italian-American businessman who leased the building to the company. He had come to demand the rent, with some insistence. But he ended up giving his name to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros.

The rest was down to technical limitations: a cap, to avoid designing the hair; a mustache, to hide the mouth; and overalls, which spared them from drawing extra clothing movements. So, it’s been 45 years since Mario embarked on his journey to his beloved stars. And four decades of his solo epic, whose celebrations continue. These weeks, he’s also dominating the box office again with Super Mario Galaxy. No other video game character has become such a pop culture icon. Restaurants, theme parks, and even Niall Breen’s comic book, The Lonely Plumber, are dedicated to him. He’s featured in museums, on T-shirts, toys, watches, backpacks, Legos, and even rattles, thanks to the recent My Mario baby line. Because the young players who grew up with him are now passing on their passion to their children and grandchildren. Mario’s online profile says he loves “partying with his friends.” He has plenty of reasons to.

There are also several reasons for its success. “It’s like the line from The Leopard: ‘If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.’ A player of the first Mario game who tries the latest one will understand. You can play with a joystick and a button; it has a simple introduction, although it’s difficult to master afterward. There’s always something different, but the core gameplay remains,” reflects Manuel Curdi, marketing director of Nintendo Spain for the past 20 years. “The most important thing is that it’s very entertaining, for all ages and audiences,” adds Pablo Díaz, a violinist with a passion for the plumber’s work. “It was literally the first video game that an entire generation held in their hands. It helped invent and define what we expect from video games,” adds Chip Carter, who followed the character’s growth since 1990 through his pioneering column in The Chicago Tribune.

In the history of video games, Mario’s importance is, to say the least, difficult to overstate. He’s not just a popular character or a long-running franchise, but a way of understanding design and the relationship between user and world. Journalist Paula Sáez Pérez highlights the foundational nature of the first Super Mario Bros.: how it “established side-scrolling” and how it introduced learning mechanics without the need for text. “The first level of the game is still studied in design schools,” she notes, precisely because of its ability to teach without words. Some consider it the best implicit tutorial ever created.

“Its influence is absolute and still relevant. At first glance, it seems to only affect the mechanics, but it also encompasses the very concept of adventure and how to present it to the player,” notes Adrián Suárez, co-author of the book On Mario: From Plumber to Legend. That idea, condensed into minimal resources, was revolutionary at the time. “There were secret places, changes in the sky, very few elements… and yet it offered a vast journey,” adds Suárez. The key wasn’t quantity, but precision. From the structure to the smallest visual details, Mario laid foundations that continue to be replicated. “Prestigious authors like Hideo Kojima and Hidetaka Miyazaki have acknowledged its influence,” says the expert, who holds a doctorate in video game narrative and is a professor at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR).

The saga, to date, comprises 24 main games. And around 200, if you include the Kart series and any other appearances on screen. Mario’s biggest misstep also came on screen: the 1993 live-action film. Consoles have come and gone, from the Nintendo and the Game Boy to the current Switch 2, but Mario has remained its standard-bearer. Unmatched in popularity by any rival, be it Sonic — for once doomed to run behind him, not ahead — Lara Croft, or Pikachu. He’s unbeatable in the market too, just as he is when he grabs a star or a mushroom. Miyamoto, for the record, has clarified that the magic of those mushrooms was inspired by folklore, not Alice in Wonderland, and certainly not by hallucinogenic experiences.

All of this remains unchanged even in the most recent Super Mario Bros. movie, Wonder, from 2023. Although in their development diary, the creators explain that they sought to recapture the “wonder” of the first Mario. In keeping with the quote from The Leopard, the plumber still moves forward and jumps from left to right, collecting bonuses and coins along the way, until he faces the most fearsome turtle of all: Bowser. Around him, however, the ideas keep coming even faster than the threats. A proposal for a realistically proportioned Mario who would hum the famous theme as he walked — and shout “Boing!” when he jumped — didn’t make the cut. But the game does completely reinvent the gameplay of many levels, with flights, dragons, and bubbles, and transforms the hero into an elephant or even one of those Goombas that try to chase him with their tiny legs.

The paradox is that Mario’s simple coherence has slowly turned him into something of an outlier. In a medium striving for sophistication — where plot and graphics increasingly dominate, sometimes even overshadowing gameplay — the plumber flips that logic on its head. “If we look at how he constructs the world, we see a story that isn’t fully told, that remains implicit,” says Suárez. This narrative style, based on suggestion and exploration, has ultimately become one of the pillars of modern design. “Mario showed us how to tell adventures within playable environments. Gameplay comes first,” he adds. “Often, in pursuit of a more complex and artistic status, the industry has moved towards niche markets. Mario embodies the opposite, the ambition to include everyone,” says Manuel Curdi. In 1985, when each gamer barely had a couple of cartridges and often one was a Mario game, and today, when he dominates amidst an overwhelming array of options, the effect is the same. The overlap of anniversaries, the debut of the Switch 2, and the long wait since his last 3D game (Odyssey, 2017) have only fueled speculation about new announcements.

Curdi, however, isn’t giving anything away. For now, we’ll have to make do with what we have. “Mario is charismatic, powerful, someone you can easily identify with,” says Suárez. His simplicity — a plumber with a cap and a mustache — is one of his greatest strengths. “He’s almost a blank slate; he has very specific attributes, and adding more could exclude someone. He tries to be universal in everything, including the plot and the interface,” Curdi notes.

For someone so famous, remarkably little is known about him — certainly nothing resembling political, social or philosophical positions. He hardly speaks, except for the occasional “mamma mia!” he always smiles, helps, never gives up, and little else. That same tradition, which has cemented his success, has also become the subject of critical re‑examination, especially regarding gender roles. Journalist Marta Trivi points out that the classic structure follows a deeply rooted narrative logic: “Peach is kidnapped because in traditional stories, princesses… the hero has to rescue them. That structure is sexist.” She clarifies that it’s not about demonizing the saga, but about understanding the context in which it emerged and is repeated. “There has always been a tendency to represent women as passive figures and men as agents of action,” a dynamic that Mario has reproduced without question for decades.

Paula Sáez agrees, pointing to the “damsel in distress” trope as one of the saga’s most recognizable elements. However, both experts acknowledge certain advances in recent years. Trivi highlights that current reinterpretations seek to “turn these tropes on their head,” not only due to the influence of feminism, but also because of the need to surprise an audience already familiar with these narratives. Sáez, for her part, mentions the growing prominence of characters like Peach, albeit still in a limited way. In this sense, they point out that the future lies not only in gameplay innovation, but also in rethinking the dynamics that have defined its universe for years. Even the ending of Odyssey — where the Peach rejects marriage proposals from both Mario and Bowser and walks away — ultimately fell back into the stereotype: both characters immediately chase after her to win her over.

At least in the recent films, Peach is portrayed as a wise stateswoman and a brave warrior — someone Mario learns from. However, no major revolutions are expected in the short term. “The character can only be stretched a little. Every single detail is overseen by Japan, perhaps even by Miyamoto himself. It’s the intellectual property that defines the company. We have the trust of many families; that’s a treasure that must be protected,” says Curdi. Nintendo now entrusts its symbol to other companies, like Lego or Universal, to help explore toys or film, but it always keeps control. After all, that’s how it has secured 45 years of success — with more to come. It’s enough to make you say, “Mamma mia!”

There’s no break ahead for the icon, unless the player grants him one. Then, finally asleep, the plumber will begin to dream of spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, or carbonara. Even his fantasies are simple — pure nostalgia for home. No matter how much they call him Super, deep down, he’s always just Mario: an ordinary guy.

Mario Arnold Segale

Mario Arnold Segale built many things throughout his life. Born in Seattle on April 30, 1934, the son of Italian farmers who had immigrated to the United States, he started with a single truck but ended up building a real estate empire. However, when he passed away in 2018 at the age of 84, all the obituaries ran the same headline. That’s because Segale leased a space of about 5,000 square meters to the Japanese company Nintendo, which set up its offices there to expand in the U.S. And one day, he burst into a meeting of his tenants, who were looking for a name for the protagonist of their video game Donkey Kong. The book Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World, by David Sheff, recounts that Segale angrily demanded from Minoru Arakawa, president of Nintendo of America, the monthly rent they still owed him. And, in the process, he humiliated him in front of everyone, until the executive promised to pay soon. At least, as soon as he left, the team had what it needed: Super Mario! The New York Times reports that Segale was aware of what had happened, but he always shunned the limelight and preferred to be known for what he had achieved. In what is possibly his only statement on the matter, he told The Seattle Times: “You might say I’m still waiting for my royalty checks.”

You are Mario!

The first Super Mario Bros., released in October 1985, included this plot in its instruction booklet, now reproduced on the character’s online profile: “One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin. The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King. Unfortunately, she is presently in the hands of the great Koopa turtle king. Mario, the hero of the story (maybe) hears about the Mushroom People’s plight and sets out on a quest to free the Mushroom Princess from the evil Koopa and restore the fallen kingdom of the Mushroom People. You are Mario! It’s up to you to save the Mushroom People from the black magic of the Koopa!”

Record speedrun

Pablo Díaz has managed to make a living from his talent as a violinist. Given the precarious nature of work in the cultural sector, that in itself is quite a feat. But the musician has two more milestones to his name: in 2021, he won the grand prize on the Spanish games show Pasapalabra; and he holds the fifth-fastest time globally for completing the video game New Super Mario Bros. He says he saw his first speedrun — as the challenge of finishing a game as quickly as possible is known — when he was 12. Although, in reality, he had already been doing it at home: “When I was little, you might have had just one video game, or a VHS tape, that you kept coming back to. You’d watch The Lion King or play Mario over and over because there was nothing else. So I’d set challenges for myself: now I’ll beat it by collecting all the coins, or without crushing any enemies.” As an adult, he discovered that there was a professional world out there, with its own rules, training, competitions, conventions, judges, and verification systems. He started in 2021, with Super Mario 64. And he also boasts about his time on Super Mario Galaxy: two hours, 15 minutes, and 27 seconds. “You practice a lot — specific levels, very difficult jumps. All things considered, it’s similar to a high-level competitive sport. In my case, I could dedicate a couple of hours a day to it for weeks, but you don’t have to aim for the world record. There are games where it’s so mind-blowingly good that, if you want to try it, you need years of practice.”

Attention to detail

It is always difficult to secure an interview with the creators of Mario games. They do, however, publish development diaries, where one can observe their extraordinary attention to detail. For example, it has been revealed that when Miyamoto was asked why Mario takes damage when he collides sideways with a Goomba, he reportedly replied: “It’s because they bite him.” During the creative process of Super Mario Bros. 3, the famous designer drew a sketch of Mario riding a horse and pinned it to the wall near his desk. As a result, the rest of the team began to assume that Miyamoto wanted the plumber to ride one. The final outcome was the creation of Yoshi. Super Mario World marked the first time Mario’s eyes included visible whites. And in the recent Wonder, each character has a distinct jump sound — which even varies depending on the type of jump.

The film adaptation that no one wants to remember

In 1993, Super Mario Bros., the plumber’s first appearance in cinema, was probably his greatest failure to date. It involved an astonishing number of wrong decisions: the script kept changing, along with its writers, from a family drama to science fiction, to something like Ghostbusters, and finally into a kind of Die Hard. Actors such as Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks were considered, but the final cast included Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper. The constant rewrites were soon accompanied by increasingly tense relationships between the actors, the directors — Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, who were also a couple at the time — and the producers. Over the years, accounts have revealed a chaotic atmosphere on set, marked by insults and drunkenness. The box office failure sealed the film’s fate, as well as the careers of several of its stars. However, in 2023, none other than Quentin Tarantino organized a screening in a cinema, with Morton and Jankel present, for the film’s 30th anniversary, by then it had become a cult work. Among many other debates, the film also sparked one about the characters’ surname. In a 2012 interview with Game Informer, Shigeru Miyamoto said: “There was a scene in the script where they needed a last name for the characters. Somebody suggested that, because they were the Mario Bros., their last name should be Mario. So, they made him ‘Mario Mario.’ I heard this and laughed rather loudly. Of course, this was ultimately included in the film […] But, just like Mickey Mouse doesn’t really have a last name, Mario is really just Mario and Luigi is really just Luigi.”

The best Mario game

Identifying the best-selling Mario game is easy: it is almost always Mario Kart, on whatever console it appears. As for the best game, however, every player will have their own opinion. The combined average score from the websites Metacritic and Filmaffinity offers a possible verdict: Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Super Mario Odyssey are the best titles in the plumber’s history. The former usually tops most specialized press rankings. So does the personal list of Manuel Curdi, marketing director of Nintendo Spain: “Because it was a paradigm shift. Because of the soundtrack. And because it was probably the first video game my eldest daughter ever played: she must have been five or six, and I still remember the moment she realized that she was the one controlling Mario.” Curdi argues that there is no “bad” game in the main series of the character, which is made up of 24 titles. The original Super Mario Bros., its third installment, Mario 64, or the recent Wonder can also claim a place among the best. In total, considering any game in which Mario appears, the number rises to around 200. Games often considered the worst include Mario is Missing, Hotel Mario, and Mario Party Advance.

Monkey kidnapper

For 40 years, Mario has embodied positive values. He helps others, smiles, is surrounded by friends, faces and defeats threats — which usually culminate in a final showdown with Bowser. But in his early days, the plumber also played the villain. In 1982, Nintendo released Donkey Kong Jr., which reversed the premise of the original 1981 video game. In the first game, Mario dodged the barrels thrown at him by the ape to rescue the princess. In the second, however, it was Mario who had captured the gorilla and kept him locked in a cage in the jungle. “Can Donkey Kong’s son save his dad from little Mario’s impenetrable prison?” read the game’s cover, where Mario is sporting a moustache typically associated with villains.

Friends, relationships, brothers

The Mario profile on the Nintendo website states: “He’s a trusted friend of Princess Peach, and he and his brother Luigi are known across the land for their acts of bravery.” And, in the princess’s profile, it notes: “Princess Peach and Mario are good friends and help each other out whenever they can.” In some games, however, the relationship between the two seems to go further, involving exchanges of hearts or even marriage proposals. Many theories also suggest that Mario and Luigi are twins, with Mario having been born slightly earlier. In early versions of the game, in fact, they were virtually identical. Later, Luigi grew taller, became more timid, and adopted his signature green outfit. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (1995) offered a clue about their origins: a stork delivers both babies to their parents in the Mushroom Kingdom. Some fans have even proposed a different idea. A circulating theory suggests that Dr. Mario — the character featured in some games — is not the plumber reinvented as a doctor, but a third brother. One piece of “evidence” cited in support of this claim is that, with their different outfits, the three would form the Italian flag: green, white, and red.