Yoshi’s first platform adventure sans Mario (the
be-tongued dino was the playable character in Super
Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, albeit with a baby Mario
in the saddle) was a short but sweet affair which
was built for repeated play, with the goal being to
bag high-scores, and explore nooks and crannies for
rare-coloured Yoshis.YOSHI’S STORY 1997
We’ve known almost from the very
beginning that there’s more to Mario
than platforming (and plumbing). In
his time, gaming’s most famous mascot
has tried his hand at; running a cement
factory (Mario’s Cement Factory, Game
& Watch, 1983); a stint in the army
(Mario’s Bombs Away, Game & Watch,
1983); being a villainous circus owner
(Donkey Kong Jr, Arcade, 1982); being
the next Wayne Gretzky (Donkey Kong
Hockey, Game & Watch, 1982), and, well,
you begin to get the idea.
But it was on home consoles thatMario really began to branch his
moustache-like tentacles out into a
range of different professions. After
dabbling in medicine on the NES in Dr
Mario and earning his karting spurs on
the SNES’ Super Mario Kart, it was the
Nintendo 64 that really showcased our
mushroom-scoffing hero’s versatility,
with a spread of games that saw Mario
dip one of his gloved fingers into almost
every genre going.
Here are just some of his N64 exploits
(and remember, this is in addition to
Smash Bros and Mario Kart 64)...One of gaming’s great dilettantes, Nintendo’s
mascot has truly done and seen it all
Mario moonlighting
SPOTLIGHT
Creators Various
Publisher Nintendo
Series lifespan 1981-current
Latest release Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (2015)