Mario is the iconic mascot that has been with Nintendo since its first console, the Nintendo Entertainment System. He made his appearance before he even got his own game, technically making the Mario games aspin-offfrom theDonkey Kongfranchise. He has seen many design tweaks over the decades. This is not aranking of the games, but purely his designs over the years, with some being more drastic than others.
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Some of these designs see complete changes in the colours of his overalls, while others see overhauls made to the iconic outfit itself. Another significant tweak over the years was how best to portray Mario’s eyes in his designs. Some features, however, have remained constant, including his well-known hat and mustache.
10Donkey Kong
Mario’s first appearance was in the Arcade Classic, Donkey Kong. In this design, he appeared in blue clothing and boots, with a red hat and red overalls. This is an inverted colour scheme to the modern-day Mario we have today.
He has a rather large nose above his iconic mustache. His mustache, eyes, hair, clothes, and boots all share the same colour for this sprite, but this was due to limitations, as the box art shows Mario with a black mustache and brown shoes.
9Super Mario Bros.
The sprite fromSuper Mario Bros.is the most well-known Mario sprite out of all the older games. It has been used in countless YouTube parodies and throwback images. This depiction keeps Mario’s red hat and red overalls and replaces all instances of blue with brown. Like the Donkey Kong sprite, his hair, eyes, mustache, clothing, and shoes are all the same colour.
The reasoning behind no instances of blue was to make the sprite stand out more across the various blue shades used for backgrounds. Mario’s eye is further back and larger, making his nose appear smaller in relation to the rest of his face.
8Super Mario Bros. 3
The sprite used inSuper Mario Bros. 3more closely resembles the sprite used in the first Super Mario game as opposed to its predecessor,Super Mario Bros. 2. This Mario would keep several design changes from Super Mario Bros. 2, however, such as the redesigned hat and making his clothing red.
However, his overalls would now appear black instead of blue. This colour would match the brim of his hat, his hair, and his mustache. His eyes were also changed from how they appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2 to be more like the original entry.
7Super Mario Bros. 2
The sprite in Super Mario Bros. 2 was a massive redesign from Mario’s previous game. His red hat now featured a whole new design with a blue ridge below it. His eyes now had white behind some pupils, his large nose became more rounded, and his mustache was noticeably reduced.
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Most notably of all, his clothing and overall colours had been swapped around. This gave him red clothes and blue overalls that reflect the most modern Mario designs. His shoes, however, would match his red hat and clothes as opposed to the previous brown iteration.
6Super Mario World
The design inSuper Mario Worldwould serve as a template for others going forward, both for Mario and a lot ofthe game’s enemies. This design kept all the features added in Super Mario Bros. 2. However, it would also add a ton of smaller details. This included an emblem in the center of Mario’s hat, which would later feature the letter “M”, as well as a thicker mustache. He also began wearing his iconic white gloves in-game, and his shoes were now brown.
Mario’s box art had reflected wearing white gloves in the past, but they had not been noticeable with the sprite colours until this point. Mario would also be seen to have pockets on the back of his overalls while riding Yoshi.
5Super Mario Sunshine
Not much had changed in Mario’s design sinceSuper Mario 64. A lot of games had used it to dictate the iconic features of Mario as best they could for the systems that subsequent games would release on. This would includeMario Kartgames,Mario Partygames, and many other spin-off titles.
Super Mario Sunshine, however, would see Mario roll up his sleeves, literally. His long-sleeve red shirt has been replaced with a short-sleeve shirt for this title. The game also featured light blue overalls worn over it with darker shading throughout.
4Super Mario 64
The design of Mario in Super Mario 64 would elevate the sprite used in Super Mario World and make it into what we know today as the modern design of the famous character. This design would cement the notion of an “M” on Mario’s hat.
This “M” had appeared in some art and images since Super Mario World, but not all games featured it, instead opting for a yellow coin or darkening of the colour on the hat. His mustache would also now have a much clearer design for future games to utilize.
3Paper Mario
ThePaper Mariodesign is reminiscent of Mario’s design from the original Super Mario Bros., but with more beady eyes and scrunched-up proportions. This would include a complete lack of legs and attaching his shoes directly to the bottom of his body.
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However, the clarity of the images allows for all the finer details of more modern designs to be kept and properly utilized. This would include the “M” on Mario’s hat, the shape and style of his mustache, and details on his gloves.
2Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odysseywould go on to add tons of extra detail to Mario. Past designs had already added features such as establishing Mario’s eyes as blue and giving him eyebrows, but Super Mario Odyssey would take it even further.
The game added a lot of stitching to his overalls to make them resemble realistic overalls. Another feature that saw an increase in detail from before was Mario’s hair. you’re able to make out practically every strand in this modern Mario title.
1Super Mario 3D World
This game may feature lots of outfits for the players to wear, but it also has the perfect example of what a modern Mario outfit design should be. Every iconic feature and small detail is retained without going overboard or being excessively detailed. While Super Mario Odyssey’s stitching, hair, and even polished buttons all look great, they each take focus away from the design as a whole.
Super Mario 3D Worldhas every feature mentioned in this list and makes them look amazing in the style of the popular 2-D title.
