Handheld electronic game:Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch

Mario is the most popular video game franchise of all time, selling over 260 million games worldwide. The character Mario appears in over 200 games on every Nintendo console ever made, and in the 1990s, a survey discovered more children recognized Mario than Mickey Mouse. While the Mario series mainly features platform adventures, often involving the safe rescue of Princess Peach, it also includes role-playing, puzzle, racing, and educational games. The franchise further includes television shows, a live-action movie, comics, and promotional materials. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981, Mario first appeared as the protagonist Jumpman in Donkey Kong. As his name suggests, the character completed levels by jumping over barrels and climbing ladders to rescue the Lady kidnapped by Donkey Kong. In certain advertisements, Jumpman was named Mario, after the landlord of Nintendo of America's offices, and the name stuck. In 1985, Miyamoto produced the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game Super Mario Bros. The game takes place in the mythical Mushroom kingdom and stars Mario as he attempts to save Princess Peach from an antagonistic, anthropomorphized turtle named Bowser. Similar gameplay, reoccurring characters and power-ups link the games of the main Mario series. In almost all cases, the goal is to navigate through various levels or worlds, each of which concludes with a castle or dungeon and a boss fight. Throughout the games, Mario discovers power-ups such as mushrooms, fire flowers, feathers, and stars. These allow him to grow in size, shoot fireballs, fly, and become temporarily invincible. Common enemies such as Koopa Troopas, Goombas, Piranha Plants, and Cheep-Cheeps attempt to halt Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach from Bowser, but friends such as Yoshi and Luigi often appear to assist him. As Nintendo's mascot, Mario's popularity seems in no danger of waning. Appearances in non-platform games such as Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Super Mario RPG, and Super Smash Bros. cement his appeal to fans of all genres. The original entry in the Super Mario Bros. franchise sold over 40 million copies, placing it among the most popular video games of all time.