After Mario's auspicious debut in Donkey Kong as Jump Man, he eventually became the mascot that all of gaming needed. Super Mario Bros. sold the Nintendo Entertainment System over here in North America, making Mario a superstar. He went on to star in three incredible NES games, a Super Nintendo masterpiece and finally, in Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64. It was a marvelous combination of game play, music, classic Mario goodness and that elegant Shigeru Miyamoto touch, creating one of the greatest games of all time. Super Mario 64 was much more than a simple video game, anticipated by millions upon millions; rather, it was the beginning of an entirely new genre known as the 3D platformer. Though it wasn't technically the "first" 3D platformer, it was the game that started the gaming world's love affair with the genre. Super Mario 64 took the plumber out of his 2D confinements, a place where gamers had known him for years, and put him into a beautiful 3D world that was yours to explore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QwCjJ_8BQI It has influenced an entire generation of developers who grew up playing the game, who are now making games of their own. Nearly every developer known to man has at one point implicated Super Mario 64 as a reason for them wanting to develop games, citing the incredible revolution that it started for not just platformers, but all of gaming.
