March 10th is Mario Day (Mar. 10. Mario. Get it?). Although the concept of Mario Day has existed for quite a while, in more recent years Nintendo has embraced it as a day to celebrate their flagship series, Super Mario!
Mario has been around for over forty years from his humble beginnings as “Jumpman” from the original Donkey Kong arcade game. He became “Super Mario” in 1985 with the release of Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System and changed the world of video games forever.
In that time, Super Mario has become the best-selling video game franchise of all time, and has produced more “best games ever” than any one series has any right to. It’s titular character has also become one of the most recognizable fictional characters in all the world. Mario has also appeared in other media such as movies, television, and comic books. Not bad for a character whose design came about due to graphical limitations.
The Super Mario series has come a long way the four-plus decades since the days of Jumpman, and with a hotly-anticipated animated film just around the corner and rumors of what Mario’s next big game might be, the famed plumber shows no signs of slowing down. Here’s to countless more Mario Days to come!
Happy Mario Day, everybody! Wahoo!
Wizard Dojo 
I am late to the party, but here’s hoping we hear something from a new Mario game soon. Be it a sidescroller or the next mainline 3D game.
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