Handheld video game:Nintendo Game Boy Advance Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (Product Package)

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 the titular character through various levels or worlds, each of which concludes with a castle or dungeon and a boss fight. One game that breaks from the traditional mold is Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Released by Nintendo in 1995, this Super Nintendo (SNES) entry is unique for its use of Yoshi as the protagonist rather than Mario. Yoshi's Island takes place when Mario and Bowser are infants, and enables Yoshi to have his first starring role in an official new entry of the Mario franchise. Yoshi must travel with baby Mario to save his twin brother, Luigi, from the evil Magikoopa Kamek. This successful game sold over four million copies. Nintendo ported Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island to the Game Boy Advance in 2002, where it sold nearly three million additional copies.