Mario (franchise)

Mario is a video game franchise created by Nintendo. It stars the titular character, Mario, and is a follow-up to the Donkey Kong franchise.

Mario is known for being a consistently family-friendly franchise, and does not have any Mature-rated titles. Even Teen ratings from the ESRB are infrequent, and Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl of the related Super Smash Bros. series are two notable examples of ones with Mario. Two other characters from the Mario series, Yoshi and Wario, have each received their own spinoff series.

The first game to have Mario's name in the title is Mario Bros. for the Game & Watch, released in 1983, and is by technicality the first in the Mario franchise. Prior to this, Mario was seen as a Donkey Kong character, having his first appearance and starring role in the Donkey Kong arcade game, followed by acting as the villain in Donkey Kong Jr..

Though Mario Bros. is the first series of the Mario franchise, the Super Mario series of platforming games eventually became the primary series, ever since the release of Super Mario Bros.. This has gone to the extent of Nintendo and official sources referring to the main Mario franchise as Super Mario.

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