Nintendo has created many unforgettable video game series with many popular mascots. Nintendo has done extremely well in this regard, but it’s a little shocking to look back to the beginning of series and realize just how much they’ve changed. The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Mario series is🙈 still Nintendo’s flagship property and it’s a great example of a simple idea that’s been able to evolve with each new gaming generation.

Related: 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Every Mario Game On T🔯he Super Ninten🐼do, Ranked

Mario is now the star of his own games, but many overlook that his start was back in the arcade classic, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Donkey Kong. Mario’s independence from that tile is just one of the many sh🀅ifts that have taken place with these fantastic games.

10 🐼 He’s Ditched The Hammer ꦜ

Nintendo Paper Mario Color Splash Hammer Splashes Paint Scares Koopa
Paper Mario Color Splash Hammer Hit Koopa

Back during the earliest days of Mario, the character was more defined by his mighty hammer more than any of his other abilities. The hammer was Mario's key to taking out Donkey Kong, but its presence has slowly faded over the years. The hammer still routinely appears in Mario's RPG efforts or the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Paper Mario series, but the main Super Mario games haven't made it relevant in ages. He’s simply found much more e𝓀ffective ways to dispose of his enemies and his jump has become a much more powerful asset.

9 ෴ There Are Many Power-Ups And Abilities

Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy Bee Mario Flying
Super Mario Galaxy Bee Mario Flying

The Super Mario franchise has reached a point where new titles in the series are advertised by the advent of Mario's new 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:power-ups just as much as anything else from the game. It's hard to believe that Mario was devoid of power-ups before they became a prominent feature in Super Mario Bros. At first these powers were limited to small boosts, like the ability to be marginally bigger or shoot out f🍬ireballs. However,ꦫ the series has truly run with this idea and there are now really outside of the box power-up ideas like Bee Mario, Ice Mario, and Cloud Mario.

8 He Faceꦫs New Villains

Nintendo New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe Mario Versus Gigantic Bowser With Bowser Jr
New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe Mario Versus Gigantic Bowser

It's kind of fascinating that the biggest villain in Mario's life used to be Donkey Kong. The series has completely evolved past this poi꧑nt and Donkey Kong has even become a valuable ally to Mario and a beloved protagonist in his own right.

Related: Mario: 10 Creepy & Distuꦐrbing Facts About Its Characters Spread Throughout Tඣhe Games (That You Never Noticed Before)

With Donkey Kong out of the villain position, Bowser has stepped in to fill the gap as Mario's archenemy, but the series has still experimented with new foes, too. Bowser even occasionally gets to be one of the good guys. The Super Mario games have gotten 𒁏a lot more fluid with how they handles th♔eir villains.

7 Mari🥂o Jumped To 3D And Turned Into Paper

Nintendo Super Mario Odyssey Mario Stranger New Donk City
Super Mario Odyssey Mario Stranger New Donk City

This may be more the advent of video game technology as a whole than something specific to the Super Mario games, but it still marks a drastic shift in the series. Mario began not only in a 2D environment, but a very basic one. The size of Mario's playground has continued to expand and he's now in gigantic, immersive 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:3D environments (including games that are actually in 3D). Adversely, Mario has also g⭕one the opposite direction and been turned into a flat paper version of him𒈔self that plays with 3D worlds in an even more creative way.

6 He Has♒ Yoshi And Other Sidekicks

Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy 2 Mario Riding Yoshi
Super Mario Galaxy 2 Mario Riding Yoshi

Super Mario World is a big turning point for the series for many reasons, but it's also the first time that players got to ride Yoshi, Mario’s dinosaur-like companion. Yoshi is a frequent appearance in the Super Mario series and he opens up a whole new style of gameplay. Yoshi is still often by Mario’s side, but he’s also become the hero of his own games and Mario has gotten to have adventures alongside other sidekicks. Games 🐬repeatedly pair Mario up with unusual partners, each with their own unique abilities, which help push the games even further.

5 He’s Part Of An Ensemble Of Pl🌠ay🐎able Characters

Nintendo Super Mario 3D World Four Player Destruction
Super Mario 3D World Four Player

Nintendo had no clue what a popular character Mario would become when he debuted in Donkey Kong, but the idea that he might be part of a larger team seemed even more foreign of a concept.⭕ Initially there was Luigi, but now there is a whole stable of supporting characters that can have adventures in tandem with Mario.

Related: Every 3D Super M🐠ario Platformer, Ranked From Worst To 🧸Best

The American version of Super Mario Bros. 2 first allowed gamers to play as characters like Peach and Toad, but the games in the series have fully embraced this andℱ added even more playable personalities to the roster.

4 🌳 He’s Become A Baby

Nintendo Mario Kart Baby Mario Bullet Bill Kart
Mario Kart Baby Mario Bullet Bill Kart

The Super Mario franchise continues to look forward, but sometimes in doing so that means turning the clock backwards. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island marks the first appearance of Baby Mario, who’s initially more of a nuisance than a hero. Over time, Baby Mario and a whole slew of baby versions of the core characters have gained an increased importance and gotten opportunities to shine. Baby Mario now even exists in tandem with regular Mario, yet somehow a space-time paradox has yet to consume the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mushroom Kingdom.

3 He Plays Sports 🍷

Nintendo Super Mario Tennis Aces Power Shot At Bowser

Mario is a character whose roots are in the platformer genre and it’s been impressive to see how each new Super Mario game successfully helps the genre evolve while taking on unique ideas. Mario still operates best in a platforming world, but the character has opened himself up to extracurricular activities that indulge in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:sports genre of gaming. What could have been an experimental fad has turned into a frequent well that Nintendo returns to and Mario’s skills in areas like golf, tennis, & basketball have proven to be formidable. He’s even comಞ𓆏peted in the Olympics!

2 Mario's Become Hisꦇ Worst E💞nemies

Nintendo Super Mario Odyssey Mario Chain Chomp
Super Mario Odyssey Mario Chain Chomp

It’s legitimately exciting to see how a new Super Mario game mixes up the formula and adds more tricks into Mario’s versatile repertoire. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Mario Odyssey is the character’s big title on the Switch, but it brings with it a serious change in the form of Mario’s s🦹entient hat, Cappy. Cappy allows Mario to possess the bodies of other c🔯reatures, many of which are actually enemies that he’s become used to defeating. Mario’s many power-ups show off new sides of the character, but it’s radically different to see him embody things like a Goomba, Bullet Bill, or a Chain Chomp.

1 Star Collecting 🥀

Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy Mario Gets Star

The Super Mario series has become very objective-driven and there’s a real sense of accomplishment that players feel when they know they’ve collected everything that’s out there. Mario’s first handful of games were more focused on him just reaching the goal and beating Bowser. There were secrets hidden along the way, but in a limited capacity. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Mario 64 introduces the concept of a number of Stars that Mario needs to 🏅collect and the goal has become a mainstay of the series. 🗹Sometimes Mario collects Shines or Power Moons, but the concept remains the same.

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