video game: Nintendo Super Mario Bros. 3

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 1990, 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. One game that revolutionized the franchise was Super Mario Bros. 3. Released in the United States in 1990, the entry introduced world maps for each particular area and was the first Mario game to feature the Koopalings, seven antagonistic children who served Bowser. Super Mario Bros. 3 was a massive success and sold over 17 million copies, making it one of the most influential games of all time.