MARVELLUS MECHANICS
FROM HIS DONKEY KONG COIN-OP DEBUT TO THE LONG-RUNNING SUPER MARIO SERIES, MARIO HAS BEEN DEFINED BY HIS RESPONSIVE CONTROLS AND ECLECTIC ABILITIES. CHRIS SUTHERLAND HELPS TO EXPLAIN WHY MARIO’S MECHANICS ARE SUBLIME
It’s hard to believe now, but Mario’s jump was a platforming first when he and it were introduced in 1981’s Donkey Kong coin-op, and his barrel-smashing hammer attack was equally novel. In his first solo title – Mario Bros – he could skid to a halt mid-run, and he swapped his hammer for heading the underside of platforms to flip foes before kicking them off the screen.
The mechanics in Mario’s next outing were simpler, in that he used his jump in Super Mario Bros for the NES to deter foes as well as for platforming, which former Rare coder Chris Sutherland describes as an evolution. “In Donkey Kong, Mario would jump in an arc, but you had more control in Super Mario Bros. There was also risk/reward, because you had to get close enough to the enemies to jump