Product package:Nintendo 64 Paper Mario 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 2001, Nintendo released Paper Mario to American audiences on the Nintendo 64 (N64). It functioned as a role-playing game (RPG), much like the previously released Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game begins when Bowser steals the Star Rod from Star Haven in order to capture the seven Star Spirits. Mario must save Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser's machinations by freeing the imprisoned Star Spirits. As an RPG, this game integrated a battle system that gave the characters hit points (HP). In order to defeat enemies, players had to reduce their HP level to zero. Paper Mario sold over a million copies, making it a successful endeavor for Nintendo.