Mario's history starts not with his name, but with his creator—the legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

• 1981: Donkey Kong. Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong as an attempt to break into the American market. The main character was a man named Jumpman—a carpenter whose goal was to save his girlfriend, Pauline, from the gorilla Donkey Kong.

• The Name: Jumpman got his final name, Mario, after the landlord of Nintendo of America's warehouse—Mario Segale—who, according to legend, came demanding rent during the game's development.

• The Design: Mario's unique look (hat, mustache, and overalls) was a result of the technical limitations of the time. The hat meant they didn't have to animate hair and forehead, the mustache simplified drawing the mouth, and the contrasting overalls made the character's movements more visible on screen.

• 1983: Mario Bros. The second game where the character was officially called Mario. Miyamoto decided Mario looked more like a plumber than a carpenter, as the game's setting was underground in a sewer. In this game, he was joined by his brother—Luigi.

• The Genre: Mario Bros. established the basic mechanic where the heroes hit enemies from below, flipping them over before defeating them. This was Mario and Luigi's first cooperative experience.

• 1985: Super Mario Bros. This game, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), became a revolution and defined the side-scrolling platformer genre for decades to come.

• The World: Mario traveled to the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Peach from the evil King Koopa, known as Bowser.

• The Innovations: The game introduced iconic elements: the power-up mushroom (Super Mushroom), the fire-spitting flower (Fire Flower), and collecting coins, which are still the foundation of the series. The game's sales (over 40 million copies) essentially saved the video game market after the crash of 1983.

• 1990: Super Mario World (SNES). Mario transitioned to the Super Nintendo console (SNES). In this game, he met the dinosaur Yoshi, who became his permanent companion. The game introduced a more complex world map and new flying mechanics.

• 1996: Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64). This was the second major breakthrough. Mario became one of the first characters to successfully transition into a full 3D space. This game set the standard for the design of all subsequent 3D platformers.

In the 21st century, Mario solidified his status not just as a character, but as an entire media franchise.

• Spin-offs: Mario became the star of not only platformers but also dozens of successful spin-offs, including racing games (Mario Kart), role-playing games (Paper Mario), sports games, and fighting games (Super Smash Bros.).

• New Super Mario Bros. (2006): This series brought back classic 2D gameplay but with a modern design, becoming immensely successful on the DS and Wii consoles by uniting old and new fans.

• Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and Super Mario Odyssey (2017): These games demonstrated Nintendo's ability to constantly invent new mechanics, utilizing gravity (Galaxy) and object capture with a cap (Odyssey), confirming that Mario remains at the forefront of innovation.

Mario's history starts not with his name, but with his creator—the legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

• 1981: Donkey Kong. Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong as an attempt to break into the American market. The main character was a man named Jumpman—a carpenter whose goal was to save his girlfriend, Pauline, from the gorilla Donkey Kong.

• The Name: Jumpman got his final name, Mario, after the landlord of Nintendo of America's warehouse—Mario Segale—who, according to legend, came demanding rent during the game's development.

• The Design: Mario's unique look (hat, mustache, and overalls) was a result of the technical limitations of the time. The hat meant they didn't have to animate hair and forehead, the mustache simplified drawing the mouth, and the contrasting overalls made the character's movements more visible on screen.

• 1983: Mario Bros. The second game where the character was officially called Mario. Miyamoto decided Mario looked more like a plumber than a carpenter, as the game's setting was underground in a sewer. In this game, he was joined by his brother—Luigi.

• The Genre: Mario Bros. established the basic mechanic where the heroes hit enemies from below, flipping them over before defeating them. This was Mario and Luigi's first cooperative experience.

• 1985: Super Mario Bros. This game, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), became a revolution and defined the side-scrolling platformer genre for decades to come.

• The World: Mario traveled to the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Peach from the evil King Koopa, known as Bowser.

• The Innovations: The game introduced iconic elements: the power-up mushroom (Super Mushroom), the fire-spitting flower (Fire Flower), and collecting coins, which are still the foundation of the series. The game's sales (over 40 million copies) essentially saved the video game market after the crash of 1983.

• 1990: Super Mario World (SNES). Mario transitioned to the Super Nintendo console (SNES). In this game, he met the dinosaur Yoshi, who became his permanent companion. The game introduced a more complex world map and new flying mechanics.

• 1996: Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64). This was the second major breakthrough. Mario became one of the first characters to successfully transition into a full 3D space. This game set the standard for the design of all subsequent 3D platformers.

In the 21st century, Mario solidified his status not just as a character, but as an entire media franchise.

• Spin-offs: Mario became the star of not only platformers but also dozens of successful spin-offs, including racing games (Mario Kart), role-playing games (Paper Mario), sports games, and fighting games (Super Smash Bros.).

• New Super Mario Bros. (2006): This series brought back classic 2D gameplay but with a modern design, becoming immensely successful on the DS and Wii consoles by uniting old and new fans.

• Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and Super Mario Odyssey (2017): These games demonstrated Nintendo's ability to constantly invent new mechanics, utilizing gravity (Galaxy) and object capture with a cap (Odyssey), confirming that Mario remains at the forefront of innovation.