Mario is the Mickey Mouse of Nintendo. He is their flagship character, their go-to guy, and their symbol. He is one of the most, if not the most, iconic characters in the history of the video game world.
So, it’s weird to imagine that he almost did not appear in Nintendo’s signature fighting game series, Super Smash Bros.
According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, the company almost refused to allow their franchise character to appear in the original game. Miyamoto said that he had to literally beg Nintendo executives to allow everyone’s favorite plumber into the battle.
According to Miyamoto, Nintendo executives stressed over whether it was ok for Mario to be featured in a game where he would have to “punch and kick.” Eventually, though, as we all know, Miyamoto convinced the Nintendo brass to let his greatest creation join the Smash Bros. roster.
He explained to Nintendo that Mario, “already pulls turtles out of their shells.” That seemed to be enough logic to convince the Japanese company.
Mario’s presence in Super Smash Bros. gave the game immediate legitimacy, and he has become closely tied with the franchise ever since. Super Smash Bros. Might not have had the same level of success had Mario not been a part of that initial game.
He provided an extra boost in star power (no pun intended) to help the new franchise succeed to unforeseen levels.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the highest selling fighting game of all time, beating out the previous record-holder, Street Fighter 2. Bear in mind it captured that title after being out for just one year, whereas Street Fighter 2 came out in the 90s and had several re-releases.
As a series, Super Smash Bros. is the highest selling gaming franchise of all time. That means it has sold more combined copies than Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Tekken, Marvel vs. Capcom, and any other fighting games that you can think of.
And it’s not just Mario in the game. Yoshi was also one of the original selectable characters. Luigi was featured in the first Super Smash Bros. as well, as a hidden character. Since then, characters like Wario, Bowser, Peach, Daisy, Bowser Jr. All the Koopa Kids, and more have made their way into the fray.
A Super Mario Bros. Piranha Plant even debuted in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the first DLC character.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is getting ready to announce its final six DLC characters soon. Many are hoping to see another Mario character, like Waluigi, make his way into that batch.
