Super Mario Bros.

Officially Super Mario Bros. (series)

Legendary Nintendo platformer series starring Mario the plumber — jump, run, and battle enemies through the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser; defined the platform game genre.

📐TV / monitor + game console⏱~60 min🌤indoor

What is Super Mario Bros.?

Super Mario Bros. is the flagship video game franchise of Nintendo, created by Shigeru Miyamoto + published by Nintendo. The original Super Mario Bros. (Sept 1985 for Famicom/NES) revolutionized side-scrolling platform games and became the best-selling video game for decades (40+ million copies) — arguably the most influential video game ever made. Player controls Mario (or his brother Luigi) through 8 worlds of 4 levels each, jumping on Goombas + Koopas, collecting mushrooms + fire flowers to power up, breaking bricks + collecting coins, defeating Bowser to rescue Princess Peach in each castle. Later titles: Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), Super Mario World (1990, SNES), Super Mario 64 (1996, N64 — first 3D Mario), Super Mario Sunshine (2002, GameCube), Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii), Super Mario Odyssey (2017, Switch), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023, Switch). Total franchise sales: 400+ million copies as of 2024 — best-selling video game franchise of all time. Iconic music by Koji Kondo; recognisable characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Toad, Yoshi. Cultural icon: Mario is more recognizable than Mickey Mouse in some surveys.

Quick facts

How it works

Objective

Reach end of each level; complete world by defeating boss (Bowser or minion); progress through 8 worlds to rescue Princess Peach. In 3D Mario: collect Stars/Moons across worlds.

Match structure

8 worlds × 4 levels (original NES); 3D games have varying open-world structure. Player navigates each level from start to end, defeats mini-boss or major boss, progresses. Lives system: lose all lives = game over; earn 1-up from 100 coins or item.

Rules

Basic rules

Run + Jump
Basic actions: hold direction to move, tap A/B button to jump.
Power-ups
Mushroom = grow big + take 1 extra hit. Fire Flower = shoot fireballs. Star = temporary invincibility.
Enemies
Goomba (walking mushroom), Koopa Troopa (turtle in shell — kick shell), Bowser (final boss).
Collect coins
100 coins = 1-up (extra life). Coin blocks: hit from below to collect.
Warp pipes
Enter pipe by pressing DOWN — takes to bonus rooms or warp zones.
Lives system
Start with 3-5 lives; lose one per death; game over at 0.
Boss battles
End of each castle — Bowser at every 4th castle, minor bosses in others.
Save Princess Peach
Rescue after defeating final Bowser in World 8 (or equivalent).

Advanced rules

Speedrunning categories
Any% (fastest to beat), Warpless (no warp zones), 100% (all coins/items), Glitchless.
SMB1 world-record any% speedrun
Human record ~4:54 (Niftski, 2024) using tool-assisted precision movement + pixel-perfect jumps.
3D collection worlds
Mario 64 (120 stars), Odyssey (999 moons across kingdoms).
Yoshi + companions
Yoshi (SMB World+): dinosaur mount. Cappy (Odyssey): possess enemies.
Power-ups by game
Cape (Super Mario World), Tanooki Suit (SMB3), Cat Suit (3D World), Wonder Flower (Wonder).
Mario Kart + Party spin-offs
Racing, party games, sports crossovers — not core platformers.
Save data + games
Modern Mario has save files; older NES only used passwords or continue-from-start.

Scoring

Points from enemies, coins, time bonus, and completion; primary goal is world completion.

Action	Points
Enemy stomped (Goomba/Koopa)	100-200
Coin collected	200 (100 = 1-up)
Item block (question mark)	50-1000 depending on item
Level complete + time bonus	50 per second remaining
Boss defeated	5000-10,000 + progression
Game complete	Final rescue Princess Peach

Win condition · Complete final level (rescue Princess Peach or equivalent).

Playing area

Called

TV / monitor + game console

Dimensions

Standard TV or monitor display; game shown side-scrolling (2D) or 3D open worlds.

Side-scrolling levels (2D Mario) or open 3D worlds (Mario 64, Odyssey). Player navigates from start to end of level.

Equipment

Nintendo game console
NES → SNES → N64 → GameCube → Wii → Switch (2017-present).
Controller
Console-specific: NES gamepad, SNES pad, N64 3D stick, GameCube analog, Wii Remote + Nunchuk, Joy-Con (Switch).
Physical game / digital download
Cartridge (older consoles), disc (GameCube, Wii), Switch card/eShop.
TV / monitor
Standard display for older consoles; HDR/4K for modern Switch OLED.

Officiating

Casual: none. Speedrunning: verified via video submission to speedrun.com; community moderators time + validate runs.

No official — single-player game
Speedrun timekeepers (community verifiers)

Strategies

Precise jump timing
Hold jump button longer = higher jump. Release early for short precise jump.
Wall jump (SMB2+)
Kick off wall for extra height — Advanced technique.
Kick Koopa shells
Jump on Koopa = shell; kick it to chain-kill other enemies for combo bonus.
Speedrun 4-2 trick (SMB1)
Skip most of world 4-2 via wall-jumping through wall — saves ~30 sec.
P-wing (SMB3)
Skip through worlds via inventory items.
Star invincibility
Use star mid-run to power through enemies without stopping.
Speedrun any% strats
Skip enemy encounters, use minus world (glitch), take flagpole shortcuts.

Terminology

Mario: Red-capped Italian plumber, main protagonist.
Luigi: Mario's taller green-capped brother.
Princess Peach: Ruler of Mushroom Kingdom; kidnapped by Bowser.
Bowser: Turtle-like king of Koopas, main antagonist.
Yoshi: Green dinosaur mount, first appeared Super Mario World.
Goomba: Basic walking mushroom enemy.
Koopa Troopa: Turtle enemy; jump on = shell; kick shell = weapon.
1-up mushroom: Green mushroom giving extra life.
Fire flower: Power-up giving fireball attack.
Super star: Temporary invincibility power-up.
Warp pipe: Green pipe with '?' — enter for bonus room or warp.
P-Wing / Tanooki Suit: Special power-ups from SMB3.
Coin: Yellow currency; 100 coins = 1-up.
Star (Mario 64+): Collectible for 3D game progression.
Moon (Odyssey): Collectible in Super Mario Odyssey.
Speedrun: Fast completion attempt; verified by community.
TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedrun): Uses save states + frame-by-frame precision; not human-competitive.

Major competitions

Games Done Quick (SGDQ + AGDQ)
biannual (Summer + Awesome Games Done Quick) · USA · since 2010
Super Mario Bros. speedrun world records
continuous · worldwide
Nintendo World Championships (rare invitational)
sporadic · USA/Japan · since 1990
Super Mario Maker 2 Online Rankings
ongoing · worldwide (via Switch Online)

Where it is played

Governing bodies

Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Founded 1889 · Kyoto, Japan
Official site ↗
Speedrun.com — Mario community
Founded 2014 · worldwide (online)
Games Done Quick (charity speedrunning)
Founded 2010 · USA

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

Niftski (USA) — Current SMB1 any% world record holder (4:54.798 as of 2024)
Kosmic (USA) — Multi-time SMB1 world record holder; iconic speedrunner
SethBling (USA) — SNES/N64 tool-assisted speedrun pioneer + Twitch legend
Simply (USA) — SMW/SMB1 competitive speedrunner + Games Done Quick presenter
Aurateur (Australia) — Super Mario 64 120-star world record holder
Cheese05 (Netherlands) — Super Mario 64 record holder + multi-hour segmented runs
Shigeru Miyamoto (Japan) — Creator of Super Mario; not a player but iconic figure
Kanetake 'Nakane' Nakane (Japan) — Original Super Mario Bros. programmer

Records

Best-selling video game franchise (all-time)
Super Mario franchise — 400+ million copies sold (all games) (2024)
Super Mario Bros. NES sales
Nintendo — 40.24 million copies (single title record) (1985)
Super Mario Bros. any% world record (RTA)
Niftski — 4 min 54.798 sec (2024)
Super Mario 64 120-star world record
Aurateur — ~1 hr 37 min (2023)
Super Mario Bros. Wonder first-week sales
Nintendo — 4.3M copies (October 2023) (2023)

Learn this sport

beginner

1
Start with Super Mario Bros. NES
Original 1985 game; simple 2D platformer.
2
Play through 8 worlds casually
Explore mushroom kingdom; learn power-ups + enemies.
3
Try 3D Mario (Odyssey)
Switch title; open worlds + Cappy possession mechanic.

intermediate

1
100% completion runs
Collect all coins/stars/moons — teaches level mastery.
2
Play different Mario games
Super Mario World (SNES), Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy — each teaches different skills.
3
Mario Maker 2 (create + play levels)
Community-created levels of varying difficulty.

advanced

1
Speedrunning categories
Any%, 100%, Warpless, Glitchless — each has world rankings on speedrun.com.
2
Frame-perfect tricks
Wall jumps, corner clips, negative world (glitch).
3
Games Done Quick submissions
Charity speedrun events; contact SGDQ organizers.

Frequently asked

How many Super Mario games are there?+

200+ Mario-related games since 1985 across all consoles + spin-offs. Main platformer series: 20+ titles. Racing (Mario Kart), Party (Mario Party), Sports (Mario Tennis/Golf), RPG (Paper Mario, Super Mario RPG). Total franchise sales: 400+ million copies — best-selling video game franchise ever.

Who created Super Mario?+

Shigeru Miyamoto — Japanese video game designer + Nintendo employee since 1977. Created Donkey Kong (1981) which featured Mario (called 'Jumpman'). Super Mario Bros. (1985) spun off Mario into his own franchise. Miyamoto also created Zelda + Star Fox. Kanetake 'Nakane' Nakane was the original programmer.

What's the world record for Super Mario Bros.?+

Any% RTA (Real-Time Attack): 4 min 54.798 sec by Niftski (2024). Requires pixel-perfect movement + frame-perfect jumps. Tool-assisted speedrun (TAS): ~4 min 40 sec. Warpless (no warp zones): ~18 min. 100% (all coins): several hours.

What was the first 3D Super Mario game?+

Super Mario 64 (June 1996, Nintendo 64). Revolutionised 3D platformers with analog stick movement + camera-controlled 3D worlds. Sold 12+ million copies. Considered one of the greatest games ever made. Followed by Super Mario Sunshine (2002), Galaxy (2007), Galaxy 2 (2010), 3D World (2013), Odyssey (2017).

Why is Super Mario so popular?+

1) Perfect controls — jump feels tight + responsive. 2) Iconic characters + world — recognisable globally. 3) Memorable music by Koji Kondo. 4) Consistent quality — every mainline game gets 9+/10 reviews. 5) Family-friendly — enjoyable by 3-year-olds to 70-year-olds. 6) Nostalgia — millions of players' first video game. 7) Nintendo's marketing + branding empire.

Which Super Mario game should I start with?+

For nostalgia: Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985) — cheap on eShop, iconic. For modern 2D: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023, Switch) — best-reviewed recent 2D Mario. For modern 3D: Super Mario Odyssey (2017, Switch) — best 3D Mario, expansive worlds. For classic 3D: Super Mario 64 (in Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection).

Sources & provenance

Wikipedia — Super Mario— Wikipedia
Nintendo — Super Mario official— Nintendo
Speedrun.com — Super Mario Bros.— Speedrun.com community

Last verified 2026-08-24.community