Today, September 13 2020, marks the 35th anniversary of the release of the original Super Mario Bros. in Japan.
Nintendo certainly hasn’t been shy in regards to the occasion, as they recently had an entire Nintendo Direct making announcements to celebrate Mario’s big 35th anniversary. Among these announcements was the reveal of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a compilation of Mario’s first three 3D platformers: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy (why Super Mario Galaxy 2 isn’t included in the compilation is a baffling decision on Nintendo’s part. Unless it gets its own Switch release down the road).
And wouldn’t you know it, 3D All-Stars releases in just five days (which also happens to be my birthday… yes, I will keep bringing that up).
It’s nice to see Nintendo show such respect to their premier series’ anniversary. But I wonder if they’ll also acknowledge that Mario, the character, as well as Donkey Kong, will be celebrating their 40th anniversary next year. I mean, I get that Super Mario Bros. was the game that started the Super Mario series, which is what we all think of when we think of Mario, and also lead to the creation of Nintendo’s other franchises. But 40 still seems like a noteworthy anniversary to celebrate, so hopefully Nintendo will remember that come 2021 and won’t be too “anniversary’d out” by that time.
Anyway, I tip my cap (which is adorned by my first initial) to you, Mario. Happy 35th anniversary to the most influential video game of all time.
Wizard Dojo 