Bowser's Castle

(also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every major Nintendo video game console. There are more than 20 games in the series.

The ''Super Mario'' games are set primarily in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom, typically with Mario as the player character. He is usually joined by his brother, Luigi, and often by other members of the ''Mario'' cast. As platform games, they involve the player character running and jumping across platforms and atop enemies in themed levels. The games have simple plots, typically with Mario and Luigi rescuing the kidnapped Princess Peach from the primary antagonist, Bowser. The first game in the series, ''Super Mario Bros.'', released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985, established the series' core gameplay concepts and elements. These include a multitude of power-ups and items that give the character special powers such as fireball-throwing and size-changing.

The ''Super Mario'' series is part of the greater ''Mario'' franchise, which includes other video game genres and media such as film, television, printed media, and merchandise. More than 380 million copies of ''Super Mario'' games have been sold worldwide, making it the fifth-bestselling video game series, behind the larger ''Mario'' franchise, the puzzle series ''Tetris,'' the series ''Pokémon'' video games, and first-person shooter series ''Call of Duty''.

Development and history

2D origins (1985–1995)

Original ''Super Mario Bros.'' games

''Super Mario Bros.'', the first side-scrolling 2D platform game to feature Mario, was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. It was derived through collaboration by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka as a successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'', which starred two characters: Mario, the titular character that first appeared in ''Donkey Kong'' as the original player character and its sequel where he was a final boss, and Luigi, who first appeared in ''Mario Bros''. ''Super Mario Bros.'' established many core ''Mario'' elements, such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Bowser, Peach, and its three power-ups: the Super Mushroom, increasing the character's size and providing an extra hit point, Fire Flower, allowing the character to throw fireballs as weapons, and Super Star, granting temporary invincibility. The etymology of "Super" in the title came from the integration of the Super Mushroom into the game. The brothers Mario and Luigi must rescue Princess Toadstool/Peach from Bowser/King Koopa in the Mushroom Kingdom. The game consists of eight worlds of four levels each, totaling 32 levels altogether. Though the worlds differ in themes, the fourth level is always a fortress or castle that ends with a fight against Bowser (or one of his minions disguised as him). ''Super Mario Bros.'' is one of the best-selling video games of all time.

''Super Mario Bros. 2'' (''Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels'' in USA) is the first sequel to the original ''Super Mario Bros.'' It uses the ''Super Mario Bros.'' engine, with additions such as weather, character movements, and more complex levels, altogether yielding a much higher difficulty. The game follows the same style of level progression as ''Super Mario Bros.'', with eight initial worlds of four levels each. At that time, this sequel was not released outside Japan since Nintendo of America did not want the ''Super Mario'' series to be known to players outside of Japan for frustrating difficulty. It remained inaccessible to a steadily broadening market of American video game players, becoming stylistically outdated by the time the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' could be eventually delivered to America. The game later debuted outside Japan in 1993 as "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels" in the compilation game ''Super Mario All-Stars'' for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

In ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' (''Super Mario USA'' in Japan), Mario and his companions seek to defeat the evil frog Wart in the Subcon dreamland. Based on a discarded prototype, the game was instead originally released as '' Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' in Japan, and was ultimately converted into a ''Mario'' game for the rest of the world as ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', before being released in Japan as ''Super Mario USA'' as part of ''Super Mario All-Stars''. One of the game's most defining aspects is the four player characters: not only Mario, but Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad are available for single-player gameplay, each with defined character movements: Luigi jumps higher, the Princess can hover in the air for a short amount of time, and Toad is the fastest. Characters here also can pluck items from the ground to throw at enemies. This is also the first ''Super Mario'' game to use a life meter, which allows the characters to be hit up to four times before dying.

''Super Mario Bros. 3'' is divided into eight themed worlds, each with 6–10 levels and several bonus stages displayed as locations on a mapped overworld. These locations are not necessarily in a linear order, and the player is occasionally permitted to skip levels or play the game out of order. Completed levels cannot be replayed. The penultimate boss stage in each world is a side-scrolling level atop an airship ("Doom Ship") with a fight against one of Bowser's seven Koopalings. The game introduced a diverse array of new power-ups, including flight as Raccoon Mario and Raccoon Luigi or the level-long ''P-Wing'' allowing flight through a whole level. Bowser is again the final boss.

''Super Mario Land'' games

''Super Mario Land'' is the first handheld ''Super Mario'' game apart from the Game & Watch conversion of ''Super Mario Bros.'', and was released for the Game Boy in 1989. Like the ''Super Mario Bros.'' games, it is a sidescrolling platformer. Mario sets out to save Princess Daisy from the spaceman Tatanga. Items include the Super Mushroom, Super Flower, which allows Mario to shoot projectiles, Super Star, and hearts, which give Mario an extra life. The game consists of twelve levels split across four worlds. Reaching the higher of two exits at each level's end activates a minigame where the player can try to get extra lives.

''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' was released for the Game Boy in 1992. It introduces Mario's rival, Wario, who took over Mario's castle during the events of ''Super Mario Land'' and forces Mario to collect the six golden coins in order to reenter and reclaim his castle. While its predecessor is similar to the original ''Super Mario Bros.'', ''Super Mario Land 2'' has more in common with ''Super Mario World'', featuring a world map and the ability to move back to the left within levels. There are 32 levels, divided into several themed worlds that each have their own boss. Three power-ups return: the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Super Star. The game also introduces the Carrot power-up, which gives Mario large rabbit ears that let him glide when falling for a limited time. Its story was continued in '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', which retroactively became the first of a spin-off series, '' Wario Land''.

''Super Mario World'' games

''Super Mario World'' was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and consists of nine worlds displayed via a world map. It is a direct successor to the ''Super Mario Bros.'' games, bearing the subtitle ''Super Mario Bros. 4'' in Japan. Unlike ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', however, where each world map is separate, the world map here covers the whole game. Some of the levels have hidden alternate exits leading to different areas. New abilities include a spin jump and the rideable Yoshi, who can eat enemies and either swallow or spit them out. Power-ups include the new Cape Feather, which lets Mario and Luigi fly with a cape, and the P-balloon, which inflates the player character to allow him to float.

''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' was released for the SNES in 1995. To reunite baby Mario with his brother Luigi, who has been kidnapped by Kamek, the player controls Yoshi as the primary character through 48 levels while carrying Baby Mario. Yoshi runs and jumps to reach the end of the level while solving puzzles and collecting items. In a style new to the series, the game has a hand-drawn aesthetic. The game introduces his signature abilities to flutter jump and produce eggs from swallowed enemies. ''Yoshi's Island'' received "instant" and "universal acclaim", according to IGN and review aggregator Metacritic, and sold over four million copies. Yoshi's signature characteristics established in ''Yoshi's Island'' would carry throughout a series of cameos, spin-offs, and sequels. Sources have debated on whether ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'', where the player primarily controls a Yoshi carrying Baby Mario, should count as a ''Super Mario'' game, with some sources considering it strictly a ''Yoshi'' game. Miyamoto responded affirmatively when asked if ''Yoshi's Island'' is a ''Super Mario'' game, with Tezuka later adding:

"When that game debuted, I wanted people to understand that Yoshi was part of the ''Mario'' world, and that be conveyed whether through title or gameplay. To me, it's part of the ''Mario'' series, but today's Yoshi games? They've changed from those origins, so I think it's okay to think of Yoshi living in his own universe. You can think of it separately from Mario's world."

Introduction of 3D and open worlds (1996–2005)

''Super Mario 64''

In the early 1990s, director and producer Shigeru Miyamoto had conceived a 3D ''Mario'' design during development of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game ''Star Fox'' (1993). He considered using the Super FX chip to develop a SNES game, ''Super Mario FX'', with gameplay based on "an entire world in miniature, like miniature trains". He eventually reformulated the idea for the Nintendo 64, not for its substantially greater power, but because its controller has more buttons for gameplay. ''Super Mario 64'' was developed over approximately three years, with one year spent on the design concept and approximately two years on production. Production began on September 7, 1994, and concluded on May 20, 1996. ''Super Mario 64'' is the first 3D and open world game in the series, and a launch game for the Nintendo 64 home console. Each level is an enclosed environment where the player is free to explore in all directions without time limits. The player collects Power Stars from the paintings in Peach's castle to unlock later courses and areas. The Nintendo 64's analog stick makes an extensive repertoire of precise movements in all directions possible. The game introduced moves such as punching, triple jumping, and using a Wing Cap to fly. It is the first ''Super Mario'' series game to feature Charles Martinet's voice acting for Mario. Mario must once again save Princess Peach from Bowser. The game's power-ups differ from previous games, now being three different hats with temporary powers: the Wing Cap, allowing Mario to fly; the Metal Cap, turning him into metal; and the Vanish Cap, allowing him to walk through obstacles. ''Super Mario 64'' is considered seminal to 3D video games. A remake of the game called ''Super Mario 64 DS'' was released for Nintendo DS in 2004 and 2005, adding Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario as playable characters, new abilities, new objectives, multiplayer, and minigames.

''Super Mario Sunshine''

''Super Mario Sunshine'' is the second 3D ''Super Mario'' game. It was released in 2002 for the GameCube. In it, Mario and Peach travel to Isle Delfino for a vacation when a Mario doppelgänger, going by the name of Shadow Mario, appears and vandalizes the entire island. Mario is sentenced to clean the island with a water-squirting accessory called F.L.U.D.D. ''Super Mario Sunshine'' shares many similar gameplay elements with its predecessor ''Super Mario 64'', yet introduces moves, like spinning while jumping, and several other actions through the use of F.L.U.D.D. The game contains a number of independent levels, which can be reached from the hub, Delfino Plaza. Mario collects Shine Sprites by completing tasks in the levels, which in return unlock levels in Delfino Plaza by way of abilities and plot-related events. ''Sunshine'' introduces the last of Bowser's eight children, Bowser Jr., as an antagonist. Yoshi also appears again for Mario to ride in certain sections.

2D revival and path-focused 3D games (2006–2019)

''New Super Mario Bros.'' games

After no original 2D game releases in the series since 1995, ''New Super Mario Bros.'' was released on the Nintendo DS in 2006. In it, Mario and Luigi set out to save Princess Peach from Bowser Jr. The gameplay is 2D, but most of the characters and objects are 3D on two-dimensional backgrounds, resulting in a 2.5D effect. The game uses an overworld map similar to those of ''Super Mario Bros. Deluxe''. Some levels have multiple exits. The classic power-ups (Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Super Star) return alongside the Mega Mushroom, Blue Shell, and Mini Mushroom.

''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' (2009) features 4-player co-op and new power-ups: the Propeller Mushroom, the Ice Flower, and the Penguin Suit. All characters can ride Yoshi.

''New Super Mario Bros. 2'' was released in July and August 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS. The player, as Mario or Luigi, tries to save Princess Peach from Bowser and the Koopalings, with the game's secondary goal to collect one million coins. Several gameplay elements were introduced to help achieve this goal, such as the Gold Flower, a rarer variant of the Fire Flower that turns items into coins.

''New Super Mario Bros. U'', the Wii U follow-up to ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'', was released in November 2012. It introduces both a Flying Squirrel suit that lets the characters glide through the air, and asymmetric gameplay that allows the player holding the GamePad to influence the environment. In June 2013, '' New Super Luigi U'' was released as a downloadable content (DLC) package for the game, featuring shorter, but more difficult levels, starring Luigi as the main protagonist instead of his brother. Subsequently, it was released as a standalone retail game on August 25 in North America. The Nintendo Switch port ''New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe'' includes both the main game and ''New Super Luigi U'', and new playable characters Nabbit and Toadette.

''Super Mario Galaxy'' games

Miyamoto explained that when he was developing ''Super Mario 64'' with Yoshiaki Koizumi, they realized that the title would be more directed towards the "core gamer", rather than the casual, "pick-up-and-go" gamer.NinEverything. (January 13, 2017)
Miyamoto on Super Mario Odyssey – Nintendo Treehouse Live with Nintendo Switch
. ''YouTube''. Retrieved January 15, 2017. After ''Sunshine'', their focus shifted to more accessible, casual games, leading them to develop ''Super Mario Galaxy'' with more progression-oriented paths. ''Galaxy'' was launched in 2007 for the Wii. It is set in outer space, where Mario or Luigi travel between "galaxies" to collect Power Stars, earned by completing quests or defeating enemies. It introduced motion controls to the series. Each galaxy contains a number of planets and other space objects for the player to explore. The game's physics system gives each celestial object its own gravitational force, which lets the character circumnavigate rounded or irregular planetoids by walking sideways or upside down. The character is usually able to jump from one independent object and fall towards another close object. Though the main gameplay and physics are in 3D, there are several points in the game where the character's movements are restricted into a 2D axis. Several new power-ups appear following the new game mechanics.

The sequel, ''Super Mario Galaxy 2'', released on May 23, 2010, was initially developed as an expansion pack to ''Galaxy'', but was eventually developed into its own game. It retains the basic premise of its predecessor and includes its items and power-ups besides the Ice Flower and Red Star. New power-ups include the Cloud Flower, which allows Mario or Luigi to create platforms in mid-air and the Rock Mushroom, which turns the character into a rolling boulder. The character can also ride Yoshi. The game was released to widespread critical acclaim, getting better reviews than its predecessor.

''Super Mario 3D Land'' and ''3D World''

Two games in the series have attempted to translate the gameplay of the 2D games into a 3D environment, and simplify the control scheme of the 3D games through including more linear levels. ''Super Mario 3D Land'' was released for the Nintendo 3DS in November and December 2011. It is the first original 3D ''Super Mario'' game on a handheld console, since all previous handheld games were either 2D or a port of a previous game. It also brought back several older gameplay features, including the Super Leaf power-up last seen in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''.

''Super Mario 3D World'', the sequel to ''3D Land'', was released for the Wii U on November 22, 2013 in North America, and utilized the same gameplay mechanics as its predecessor. Co-operative multiplayer is available for up to four players. The game introduced the ability to turn the characters into cats able to attack and scale walls in order to reach new areas, and to create clones of the characters. Like ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', it features Princess Peach and Toad as playable characters in addition to Mario and Luigi. Rosalina from ''Super Mario Galaxy'' is also unlocked later in the game. Miyamoto said that "even though that's a 3D game, it's a little more accessible to everybody."

''Super Mario Maker'' games

''Super Mario Maker'' is a creation tool released for the Wii U in September 2015 which allows players to create their own levels based on the gameplay and style of ''Super Mario Bros.'', ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', ''Super Mario World'', and ''New Super Mario Bros. U'', as well as to share their creations online. Based on existing games, several gameplay mechanics were introduced for the game, with existing ones also available to be used together in new ways. A Nintendo 3DS version of the game called ''Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS'', was released in December 2016. It features a few new pre-installed levels, but no online level sharing. ''Super Mario Maker 2'' is a new version of ''Super Mario Maker'' with many new items, themes, and enemies, a world-builder, as well as online multiplayer. The game was released on June 28, 2019 for the Nintendo Switch.

''Super Mario Run''

''Super Mario Run'' is a side-scrolling and auto-scrolling video game released in December 2016 on the iOS platform, then in March 2017 on Android. It is the first official ''Super Mario'' game developed for mobile devices. As such, it features simplified controls that allow it to be played with only one hand. In this game, the character runs automatically, with the player controlling the jumping action to avoid hazards. This is achieved by touching the tactile screens these devices are built with. The longer the player touches the jump button, the higher the character jumps. This game also includes a "Toad Rally" mode, similar to the "VS Boo" mode of ''Super Mario Bros Deluxe'', in which players have to complete a level faster than a computer-controlled Toad. Success in this mode earns the player access to in-game money to spend on customizing the Mushroom Kingdom map, using mechanics similar to ''Farmville''. This is the first ''Super Mario'' game that Princess Daisy is playable in and the first to feature a music track with vocals.

Return of open-ended exploration (2017–present)

''Super Mario Odyssey''

After having fallen out of favor by the mid-2000s, open-world "collectathon" 3D platformers such as ''Super Mario 64'', ''Banjo-Kazooie'' and ''Donkey Kong 64'' had become less common. For example, the 3D adventure game '' Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts'' (2008) explicitly mocked the perceived tedium of collecting large quantities of tokens. By the mid-2010s, however, 3D platformers were aiming to replicate such experiences, including ''Yooka-Laylee'' and ''A Hat in Time''. ''Super Mario Odyssey'' is a return to the open-world "sandbox" 3D style of game, with "more open-ended exploration like in ''Super Mario 64'' and ''Super Mario Sunshine''." It was released in October 2017 for Nintendo Switch. After Mario's cap is possessed by a spirit named Cappy, he gains the new move of temporarily "capturing" enemies and objects to utilize their abilities. Like previous sandbox 3D games, the game's worlds contain a large variety of objectives that can be achieved in a non-linear order before progressing. The game features many different kingdoms in addition to the Mushroom Kingdom that Mario's adventures usually take place in.

''Bowser's Fury''

'' Bowser's Fury'' is part of the 2021 re-release of ''Super Mario 3D World'' on the Nintendo Switch. It implements 3D open-world "free-roaming" gameplay in a similar fashion to ''Odyssey'', from which it includes many elements. Supporting up to two players, it sees Mario teaming up with Bowser Jr. to collect Cat Shines to restore lighthouses in a land called Lake Lapcat. Periodically, a gigantic incarnation of Bowser known as Fury Bowser awakens to bring darkness upon the land and attacks the island. To beat him, Mario must collect enough Cat Shines to awaken the Giga Bell and use it to fight Bowser.

Remakes and remasters

Music

Much of the original ''Super Mario Bros.'' music and sound effects have become iconic to the series and incorporated into modern games. The original ''Super Mario Bros.'' theme, composed by Koji Kondo, has become one of the most well known video game themes around the world.

''Super Mario Galaxy'', released in 2007, became the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series to feature orchestrated music, which would return in its sequel and other subsequent games such as ''Super Mario 3D World''.

Common elements

The objective of the game is to progress through levels by defeating enemies, collecting items and solving puzzles without dying. Power-up use is integral to the series. The series has installments featuring both two and three-dimensional gameplay. In the 2D games, the player character (usually Mario) jumps on platforms and enemies while avoiding their attacks and moving to the right of the scrolling screen. 2D ''Super Mario'' game levels have single-exit objectives, which must be reached within a time limit and lead to the next sequential level. '' Super Mario Bros. 3'' introduced the overworld, a map of nonlinear levels that branches according to the player's choice. ''Super Mario World'' introduced levels with multiple exits.

3D installments in the series have had two subgenres: open world exploration based games and more linear 3D games with a predetermined path. Levels in the open world games, '' 64'', ''Sunshine'' and ''Odyssey'', allow the player to freely explore multiple enclosed environments in 360 degree movement. As the game progresses, more environments become accessible. The linear 3D games, ''Galaxy'', ''Galaxy 2'', ''3D Land'' and ''3D World'', feature more fixed camera angles and a predetermined path to a single goal.

Blocks

Most items in the ''Super Mario'' series appear from item blocks when hit, which originated in ''Super Mario Bros.'' and have persisted throughout the series, where the character hits a block to receive either coins or power-ups. Variations include those that are invisible until hit, advice dispensers, produce another block, move, frozen, contingent on a switch, bouncy, etc. The propeller block lets the character spin up into the air and slowly descend, and the Gold Block generates coins through running. A single block is the unit of measurement in the design of ''Super Mario'' levels.

Transformation

Mushroom power-ups appear in almost every ''Super Mario'' game. The most iconic of these is the Super Mushroom. The ''Super Mushroom'' increases the character's size, turning them into a "Super" variant, and allows them to break certain blocks. When hit by an enemy, the character reverts to their smaller size instead of losing a life. When the character is in their "Super" form, most blocks that would contain a Super Mushroom instead offer a more powerful power-up such as the Fire Flower. The Super Mushroom is similar in appearance to the ''Amanita muscaria'', with an ivory stalk below a most commonly red and white (originally red and orange) spotted cap. Created by chance, Shigeru Miyamoto stated in an interview that beta tests of ''Super Mario Bros.'' proved Mario too tall, so the development team implemented mushrooms to grow and shrink Mario. The ''Poison Mushroom'', first introduced in the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', is a mushroom that causes damage when touched. The ''Mini Mushroom'' is a small blue mushroom recurring in the ''New Super Mario Bros.'' series that shrinks the character to miniature size, allowing them to access certain areas and pipes, jump higher, float in midair, bounce off enemies without hurting them, run across the surface of water, and in ''New Super Mario Bros. U'' run up walls. The ''Mega Mushroom'', introduced in ''New Super Mario Bros.'' and further appearing in ''New Super Mario Bros. 2'' and ''3D World'', grows the character into a towering, invulnerable giant who destroys enemies and the environment by running through them. It has an orange-yellow cap with red spots, like the ''Super Mario Bros.'' Super Mushroom, but with an inflated cap. ''64 DS'' features an item simply called "Mushroom" that grants the same abilities as the Mega Mushroom. In the ''Galaxy'' games, the Bee Mushroom gives Mario or Luigi the Bee Suit, the Spring Mushroom puts him inside a metallic coil, and the Boo Mushroom turns him into a ghost.

Other types of transformation have also appeared. The Wing Yoshi form is available in ''World'' and ''64 DS'' and Wing Mario in ''64'' and ''64 DS''. Yoshi can also transform into a car, helicopter, train, submarine, and mole in ''Yoshi's Island''. Transformation into a silver metallic form is available to Mario in ''64'', Wario in ''64 DS'', and Luigi in ''New Super Mario Bros. 2'', in which game Gold Mario and Silver Luigi have coin-based powers. Ghostlike intangibility can be achieved by Mario in ''64'', Luigi in ''64 DS'', and both brothers in the ''Galaxy'' games. A balloon transformation is available to Mario and Luigi in ''World'' and Mario in ''64 DS'', to a pink baby Yoshi in ''New Super Mario Bros. U'', and to all player characters in ''Maker 2''. Projectile flowers turn the character into a form with shooting abilities, and flight and invincibility

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