Mario

Mario is the most successful video game series that debuted with the arcade video game Donkey Kong in 1981. The popular game later spawned two sequels and Mario Bros., though the series became a household name with the release of Super Mario Bros. on the NES/Famicom, the game that can arguably be considered the game that saved the entire gaming industry.

The second game in the Super Mario Bros. series was originally only released in Japan, though the rest of the world would be able to try it out with the release of Super Mario All-Stars. Instead, the rest of the world was treated with a remake of a Japanese only title called Doki Doki Panic, which was renamed Super Mario Bros. 2. It was basically the same game with new sprites that featured Mario themes.

Super Mario 64 was released in 1996 on the Nintendo 64, and is considered just as revolutionary as the first Super Mario Bros. title. It introduced Mario and gamers to a new, 3D world. It became a huge hit and spawned two more 3D games - Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy on the GameCube and Wii respectively.