Mario Reviews

First appeared in: Donkey Kong (1981)

The most recognisable gaming hero of all time - if not exactly the coolest - Mario only missed out on our top spot by a whisker. And while this may be an indication that Nintendo's dumpy plumber isn't as relevant today as he once was, Mario's place in the pantheon of gaming is assured.

Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto (pictured right), Nintendo's gaming genius who also unleashed Luigi, Link and a hundred other console superstars. Originally Miyamoto wanted to make a platformer featuring cartoon characters Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oil, but when he failed to get an official licence he created Mario, Donkey Kong and Pauline instead. The moustachioed tradesman debuted in the fiendishly difficult Donkey Kong under the name Jumpman, and was only given his Italian moniker when Nintendo Of America's landlord, Mario Segale, came demanding rent on the warehouse the company was renting in Tukwila, Washington. Now, over 200 games later - many of which are genre-defining blueprints that set the scene for everything that followed - Mario is one of the most famous cartoon faces in the world.