post #1821192

^{Note: this tag refers to the franchise as a whole, not the 1983 arcade game called Mario Bros.}

The Mario franchise (also known as Super Mario Bros., Super Mario, the Mario series, and for the purposes of tagging - Mario Bros.) is a Nintendo media franchise staring the eponymous Mario, a squat mustachioed Italian plumber. The Mario franchise is one of the oldest (starting with 1981's Donkey Kong), most widely known and popular video game franchises in the world, it is also the best selling video game series of all time.

The franchise's main games — called Super Mario Bros., are a series of platforming games, where Mario, sometimes along with his brother Luigi, as well as other characters, attempt to save the Mushroom Kingdom (and oftentimes, its ruler, Princess Peach), from the evil machinations of Bowser, who usually kidnaps Peach, and attempts to take over the Kingdom with his army of minions.

The franchise also includes countless spin-off games spanning practically every genre, including roleplaying games, sports games and puzzle games, as well as merchandise, and earlier in the franchise's life (1980s - early 1990s), multiple television shows and a feature length movie.

See also

• nintendo