I have never heard of National Mario Day, and in all honesty did not even think it was a day until I went online and found this on a website
This gamer holiday is celebrated on March 10 because of the way the date appears, when abbreviated (Mar.10). It looks just like the name Mario.
- Mario, the Italian plumber, first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981
- In 1983 Mario got his own game with his brother Luigi
- Mario is known for being the most famous video game character ever created
- Over 210 million copies of the Mario game series have been sold
So why not celebrate the day, lucky for me, I have the systems and a good amount of games for each of them, NES, SNES, N64, Cube, Wii, WiiU and Switch. What was first? good old faithful NES and the original Mario Bros Game. What a game, I actually remember playing this game even when I was on holiday at Butlins in the Arcades along with R-Type. The simple premise of Jumping on enemies and hitting blocks was an instant classic and is still used within games now. I must of spent hours and hours in that damn arcade, spending all my pocket money on the damn machines. The when I was home, playing the same game again, it was such a good game.
After and hour or four of playing Mario Bros , we pulled out the SNES and played Super Mario All Stars released December 1993 this game brought together Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels. The improvement in visuals from the 8 bit era to the 16bit era is amazing, I understand now, why it was such an achievement and why the SNES back then sold so well.
Even now, many indie developers create games with a 16bit palette, side scrolls to RPGs and everything in between. In a way it gives this generation of gamers a look back and feel what games where like in the early 90s. Though technology has advanced and more colours and animations can be be used, the premise is still there.
We played the SNES most of the day and it was Sunday before we move on to the N64 and started playing Super Mario 64 the first 3D game staring Mario himself. It was also the fist game, which seen me picking my mouth up from the ground, it was pure love. The game was in no way perfect, it had its hidden walls, bugs and such, but seeing and playing Mario in a 3D world back then, was all that mattered, its was an achievement from Nintendo that went down in history. But then as you know we got the launch of the possibly the best game ever made ‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’.
Time dwindled on, out came the Cube and some Super Mario Sunshine, followed by the Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 and Paper Mario. Then its was late evening, it was time to invite some friends around, drinks were out. popcorn, crisps and a good take away ordered – it was time for old school SMASH BROS AND MARIO KART.
This weekend was amazing time of nostalgia, memories and love for a franchise that has brought a smile to so many gamers around the world. For me, it was a look back and see how far we have come in terms of graphics, sound and gameplay, I cried, I smiled and I wished I could go back to being a little kid waiting for Santa to bring my my next game or new system. As an adult the appreciation is not there anymore, the anticipation, the wait and the surprise is not the same, xmas and birthdays are just another day.
So next time everyone, go back to childhood, play the games that made you smile, made you cry, made you throw your controller and enjoy.
Oh yeah before I go anywhere I found this today , for the first time ever, fans can now celebrate National Mario Day by going into the game themselves through LIKE APP to have their very own #MarioAdventure. Just checkout some of the videos below
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