Believe it or not, up till a few years ago I never knew that March the tenth i.e Today was anything special until I read a post on Twitter wishing me a Happy Super Mar10 Day. I don’t know which genius came up with March 10 being Mar10 day but its been in existence for ten years & in 2016 Nintendo recognised it as a National day.
Who is Super Mario?
The premise of the first Super Mario game is that Mario is a plumber who’s having to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of the king of the Koopa’s, a fire breathing dragon/turtle cross who has kidnapped poor Princess Peach. The Koopa’s themselves are a mix of turtles, mushrooms, evil fish & bullets (I know it sounds bizarre). The games afterwards continue to use this formula but has added additional enemies as time goes by. He hasn’t always just a plumber as he’s also been a doctor, a tennis star, a racing legend and a soccer player as he’s appeared in many games since his debut in Donkey Kong.
Mamma mia, 9 Super Facts about Mario
- Mario is a best selling character who has appeared in over 211 distinct titles (excluding remakes & re-releases.)
- Nintendo’s first mobile game Super Mario Run was downloaded 90 million times in its first month on the Apple store.
- Mario Kart is the longest running Kart series since its launch in 1992.
- Donkey Kong in 1981 featured Mario as Jump man.
- Super Mario Bros is the biggest selling video game of all time, having sold over 41 million copies.
- Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto who also created the Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong,Star Fox & Pikmin.
- The villian in Donkey kong Jr was Mario.
- Charles Martinet has voiced Mario since 1995. It’s all thanks to a friend who urged him to go to an audition at a Las Vegas tradeshow that he had not been invited to, He has also voiced Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and more Mushroom Kingdom characters.
- He is a record breaker (I’m jealous), Mario holds the record for the most prolific video game character, He holds the record for the longest-running video game character. The last big record Mario wins is for the best-selling videogame series of all time.
Ways to Celebrate Mar10 Day
I should really need to tell you how to celebrate Mar10 day but I do have 5 suggestions.
- You could visit Amazon or Nintendo’s eShop for a bargain.
- Play a game with your friends, I suggest Super Mario Kart 8 or Super Mario World.
- Wear a Mario themed t-shirt, a pair of piranha plant slippers, a Mario hat or all 3.
- Cosplay as your favourite character from the games.
- I dare you to watch Super Mario Bros on Amazon prime video.
The Princess is in another castle
The Princess is in another castle
Toad
I’m going to finish off this post by mentioning that I recently got myself a NES classic (which I plan on playing with my kids) from a local gaming business near me by the name of Forgotten Worlds which is an Aladdin’s cave of retro goodness & geekiness.
