Mario

When it comes to video game mascots, Nintendo's Mario character is considered to be the most recognizable. The first time Mario appeared in a video game was actually in the original Donkey Kong from 1981, but back then he had the name 'Jumpman.' It wasn't until 1983 that Mario would get his name and team up with his brother in the first Mario Bros. game, titled simply Mario Bros.Many people have wondered why the pair would be named the Mario Bros. when Mario is only the first name of one of the brothers. It is believed and accepted though that Mario is also the brothers' last name. This makes Mario's full name Mario Mario and his brother's name Luigi Mario.Mario has made appearances in a huge number of Nintendo games ever since the first Nintendo home console the NES was released. His first NES game was titled Super Mario Bros. and came bundled with the system at the time. Many of his most popular games were sequels of this title, including Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo, and Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64.For many gamers, the Mario game with the most replay value is one that doesn't require players to stomp Goombas and turtle soldiers. The SNES title Mario Kart placed Mario, his brother, and other popular characters from the Mushroom Kingdom in go-karts and had players race them around a variety of tracks. Since the SNES, a version of Mario Kart has been released on every Nintendo home console; the Nintendo DS version updates the franchise by allowing gamers to play the title wirelessly with their friends.