10 Most Epic Moments In Super Mario History

When Nintendo was building up the hype for their latest Mario adventure, Odyssey, the Metro Kingdom's New Donk City was everywhere. The most memorable of any stage in the game, it made up pretty much the entire runtime of the Switch presentation that year, and went a long way in generating all the hype Odyssey gained prior to its release.

And it more than lived up to that hype.

With exception to a certain educational title neither fans nor Nintendo speak of, this was the first time that Mario had been put into a real-world city, filled with skyscrapers, stop signs, cars and people that the Italian plumber could interact with. One of those people is Pauline, the mayor of the city, singer of the main theme tune of 'Jump Up, Super Star' and the damsel-in-distress from the original Donkey Kong arcade game.

Pauline invites Mario along to the New Donk City festival at the world's finale, a huge concert filled with bright lights, booming jazz music, people telling Mario how great he is, a series of 2D platform sections paying homage to the original Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. titles, and the chance to join Pauline up on the stage and join in with her show.

It is a jaw-droppingly excellent way to round off a world, and one that perfectly fits in with the look and feel of the Metro Kingdom.