It really shocks me in all honesty how a legendary video game character like Mario has grown threw the years. From making the first appearance in the game "Donkey Kong", where you have to jump barrels to get to the princess on the top of the level, to the new Super Mario 3DS for the 3DS hand held system, Mario has continued to grow and inspire the minds of the youth and old all together. Honestly, I remember back when I had the original Nintendo, and when I played the very first Super Mario Bros. And the third one as well. Honestly I can name off the games I owned that featured Mario as a playable character.

1 .Donkey Kong
2. Super Mario Bros.
3. Super Mario Bros.2
4. Super Mario Bros. 3
5. Mario World 64
6. Mario Party 
7. Mario Party 2
8. Mario Party 3
9. Mario Tennis
10. Mario Golf
11. Mario Sports mix
12. Mario Galaxy 1&2
13. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
14. Super Smash bros. 
15. Super Smash Bros. Melee
16. Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
17. Super Mario Sunshine

It is truly amazing how from my gaming experience with this icon of Nintendo, how he has developed from 2D to 3D and how he has gotten bigger and badder over the years. And he's still popular and a world wide phenomenon. Honestly, I don't think there is a single person in this world who doesn't know of Mario. 

But what about other gamers? Most people have stated that the games they grew up with had Mario with it. And some believe it was Mario that threw them into the world of gaming. Honestly, I can relate, because the games I have listed above had made me want to play other games as well as the ones featuring the red and blue plumber. 

So I guess what I want to discuss here is really simple. What's Mario to everyone else? Is he cool to you? Do you like him? And do you still play with him? Remember guys, no flaming and swearing or I will have you reported.

Mario is the reason i can play games so well today. Mario sunshine was amazing as well for being off of gamecube.

You are actually missing quite a few Mario games. As far as the Mario character goes, he wasn't Mario in Donkey Kong. He was a carpenter named Jumpman, who mistreated his pet ape, causing him to snap. The first official Mario was in Donkey Kong Jr., which was not in your lest. After that, he made his first debut as an Italian plumber in the game Mario Bros, which you also did not include in your list as it is different from Super Mario Bros. You also for got Super Mario World, which is surprising because it is arguably one of the most popular Mario Games ever made. I can see why you wouldn't include Super Mario All Stars, as it is just upgraded versions of Super Mario Bros. 1-3 and a few lost levels. But you also forgot the Super Mario Land games, Yoshi (as Mario was the controllable character in that, Yoshi's Cookie (he was one of the two characters in this game), Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Mario Kart (big surprise that these games aren't included), and many others. 

rcarter2 : Yeah I know about the games and all, I was refering to the games I owned in my life. But your right, there are alot of games though, and I thought that it was Mario sorry.

Haha. No need to apologize. Even though he was called Jumpman, originally, he is still the same character. They just decided Jumpman was a lame name, which I agree. I actually missed the part of your thread where it said you were listing the games you owned. My bad, I should be the one apologizing. I thought you were listing all Mario games, and wanted to make sure those weren't left out. But that wasn't what you were doing

Yeah, Mario is a great character. Even back in the 80's he was featured in a lot of "non-Mario" games, especially on the Game Boy. Also, in most of the Game and Watch Gallery series, he replaces Mr. Game and Watch in the updated versions!

Mario has a ton of games that I enjoy to play...some of them over 25 years old. Crazy how fast time has flown by.

FYI you forgot "Mario Bros" in your list

rcarter2 : Eh its our fault on both ends. :3 So I think we cancel eachother out.

My interest in Mario hit a brick wall after I finished Super Mario 64, it was in my own opinion the most enjoyable Mario title to date.  I dont mind playing Mario Party on the WII with a group of friends, the enjoyment of an interactive 3d board game is great but the actual character interest involed for me doesnt mean much, they could be game characters Ive never heard or seen before and Id still find  the game interesting. 

And no mention of Super Mario RPG anywhere! D=
Or the Six Golden Coins!

Were I a Mario fan, I would be appalled!

Well... when I was little Mario was always just the annoying guy I had to kill off before I could spend the rest of the game playing as Luigi.

Mario is what propelled me into gaming. Because of Mario my parents shout at me to get off that stupid thing and eat your brussel sprouts. Because of Mario I played Luigi's Mansion when I was little and got the crap scared out of me. Because of Mario I've had some great memories playing with friends on things from Halo to Tetris. So yeah. Mario to me means a lot of memories and great times. That's what Mario is to me.

Wow I'm really surprised at the amount of game knowledge people harbour here compared to me I'm pretty much a Mario pleb. As far as I know Mario has continuously evolved just as any other game although I will say it's a very long game series that has stood the test of time adapting to our every change in taste be it through Mario kart through to Mario galaxy and of course all this in my eyes started off from the major hit that was the first Super Mario Bros. Game but I may be wrong in what actually kick started the franchises success. One thing is for sure though and that is Nintendo are making a truck load of money daily of these games success and the I think the growth of Mario over time has definitely contributed to that as well as the success of the other evolving game known as Pokémon. Sorry to bring that game up in a Mario thread but it was relevant. Nice discussion you brought up here by the way, good job.

I grew up playing Super Mario and I have to say those were really fun times. I can't believe it's been up to 25 years since Mario was released and yet it continues to get popular among people these days.