Created by: Shigeru Miyamoto
I will divulge from my deep-seated Nintendo fanboyism at some point, but let's get something straight about gaming: without the big N, and Mario specifically, gaming may not exist today. Miyamoto and company took a broken medium, injected their own brand of magic into it, and reshaped it enough to put it back on track. Sure, you could argue that R.O.B. was the saviour of gaming, but nobody could question the merits of one Super Mario.
For thousands of years, we've had an unrealistic expectation of our heroes: the musclebound behemoths aren't exclusive to our youth, for Arnold Schwarzenegger is to us what Heracles was in Greek mythology so long ago. Our idols are rugged, stoic and loaded with testosterone. They represent everything we want to be. And yet, Mario has been an enduring figure of heroism for almost 35 years. Because Mario, you see, is more like us. He's just an average guy, trying to eke out a peaceful existence, blessed only with a bevy of power ups and athleticism that belies his portly figure.
In today's era of FPS and mobile gaming, Mario maintains a special place in our heart. Though many have strayed from the foundations that Nintendo laid down so long ago, they surely still hold dear their early memories with the humble Italian plumber. Whether it's his consistency or his wild range of specialties (oxymoron, ho!), Mario has worn many hats, and yet, he's the same guy he ever was. And we love him for it. He's honest, he's courageous, and he's fallible in a way that makes us cheer him on. And to the eternal credit of Charles Martinet, the transition to actual speech did not ruin him. Martinet's high-pitched, enthusiastic vocals fit the character like a glove. Could we have picked this as Mario's voice back in the NES days? No, not necessarily. But we certainly can't unhear it now, and I mean that in a good way.
His tools have been many over the years: his infamous hammer, some sort of innocuous-looking item that allows him to fly, a water-filled cleaning device, even his keen ability to shut doors (Don't think you'd escape mention, Hotel Mario!), but at the base of it all, there's bound to be jumping. Because Mario is synonymous with the platforming genre of gaming, and what a fine genre it is. We have Mario to thank for our modern cartoon heroes, from Spyro and Crash, to Jak and Ratchet, to even Yooka-Laylee today. Forgive me for flogging a dead horse here, but Mario made these things possible; the only difference between him and Pac-Man or the Pong paddles is that he successfully transitioned with the passing years, subtly adjusting his craft like a digital Madonna in order to maintain relevance.
In today's modern world of gaming, Mario is still there, doing his thing. It feels a little bit weird, honestly, seeing my nephew play Super Mario 3D World with all of the same wonderment and excitement I had with its non-3D ancestor, the aforementioned SMW, some 25 years earlier. It's no surprise that I love Nintendo to this day, quite fiercely, and Mario is at the forefront of it all. He innovates, while remaining a familiar friend. He inspires, while being as unspectacular as your next-door neighbour. He teaches, much in the same way we teach today's generation of children how to grab that pesky golden star.
Mario is gaming. He is everything this 'Hall of Fame' embodies, and the only kind of video game industry I could imagine features him as a staple forevermore. Same bushy moustache. Same cheeky smile. Same legendary icon. He could never be any less, honestly.
