It looks like Mario got shorter, rounder, and more jolly as time went on until his design was standardized around the Super Mario Sunshine era. Seems that Nintendo started to focus more on lighting and increased detail to bring a unique flair to Mario in his platform outings after this point. But you know what? I like how consistent Mario's design is. He's universal. You just need to stick a mustache and red plumber hat on anything and everyone will instantly think that's Mario! In fact, isn't that the entire premise of Mario's capturing mechanic in Super Mario Odyssey?
I love how main series' Mario's design seems to change more or less based on the hardware capabilities, while Link's seems to be more reflective of the stories Nintendo wants to tell.
@@ArtistMarkFlynn Mario is the system seller. People bought the NES for Super Mario Bros., SNES for Super Mario World, and the N64 for Super Mario 64. Mario was designed around the hardware and vice-versa. The Famicom was designed to run Donkey Kong, which was still a fairly huge game at the time. The controllers for the next few systems were designed for their respective Mario games. The N64 controller had the C buttons primarily to control Mario 64's camera, hence the "C" in "C buttons". The Gamecube's face buttons were designed largely to be easy to find without having to look at the controller. No longer do you have to look to see where X was when you could just feel for the "side kidney button". This seems to have stopped with the Wiimote, which seems to have been designed primarily for Wii Sports. Makes sense. The Wii was designed for more casual games while Mario games tend to be more "hardcore".
Story is not what drive gameplay and art in nintendo games. It's the other way around. All zelda stories came from gameplay elements present in those games.
Meanwhile sonic just reflects the “attitude” at the time. classic represents the smirky yet determined cool figure of the 90s, while adventure sonic (atleast the artwork) resembles a more teenage, graffiti-inspired sonic. its personally my favorite design for him because its very emotive and expressive while being a bit over-the-top. His modern design basically solidified him as a polished yet not as emotive snarky dad-joker, especially in the models.
@@terrariabookshhelf6317 I love 90's Sonic's snarky attitude. I still think Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM show really nailed his humor and character development. Some games like Sonic Colors have really gotten close to recreating that same Sonic sass. But overall, I prefer his classic, softer, rounder design, than the lengthy, rebellious, modern designs. The lighter color palette also fits him a bit better than a really dark blue.
I'm a hard core Pac-Man World fan so I would love that video! Since their aren't too many Pac-Man designs, I wouldn't mind extending the subjects to Ms. Pac-Man and the Ghosts.
The Pac-Man from the Japanese arcade cabinets is an iconic look, which has been used and refined in most Pac-Man games, like Pac-Man World and Smash Bros. Only his in-game appearance is more iconic than that one. I have no idea what they were thinking with the American cabinets, though.
I vote Wario or Bowser as a companion video to this. Bowser because it'll let you have a smooth transition to other villains AND monster-like characters. Wario because he legit changes nearly every game and has multiple versions to represent him even now.
Miyamoto's name was dropped as the original illustrator behind the classic Mario artwork from the Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. era, but it's probably worth mentioning that the significant stylistic shift that happened around Mario 2 (USA) and Mario 3, that smoothed out the design and set the standard in terms of color, proportion, and facial features was the work of Yoichi Kotabe, who is the artist most responsible for the established classic look of Mario and his associated characters.
My absolute favourite is the Odyssey look, it's so charming and he just looks so warm and the detail and colours and the way he moves are great. It just feels like -the most r e f i n e d- an absolute unit. You didn't talk about how his face has been ever-so-slightly bigger since Super Mario Run! It's subtle but I think it's a great improvement.
I think the best design is The Super Mario Bros 3 promo art style, or the 2D art from Super Mario 3D Land and World, which is pretty much just modern tweaking of the SMB3 style.
My favorites probably have to go to modern aswell specifically galaxy, 3D world, and especially odyssey But we shall never forget smash bros brawl and Mario's insanely hyper realistic overalls XD
My personal favorite design is his old color scheme with red pants and a blue shirt. And about that movie you mentioned; If any future Mario movies were to ever come out, live-action or not, I would love for them to do another origin story where Mario and Luigi at first sports the old shirt and pants but sometime later in the movie switches to the modern "inverted" look (blue becomes red and red becomes blue with the exception of the cap, which always stayed the same).
I think his mario odyssey model is really nice. But if I were to choose, id choose one of his RPG designs, specifically his Superstar saga design (Specifically the art they did for him in the remake, not the sprite)
My favorite is the Super Smash Bros Melee design. It not only pays tribute to Mario's earliest classic 3D designs, but it turns it into a mature looking and realistic styled model that I can take seriously when I look at it. Mario doesn't just look like a friendly Italian plumber but a serious dynamic fighter.
I agree. I also liked how Melee Mario still had his N64 look before Super Mario Sunshine where their designs changed. I missed the tan Mario used to have, it doesn't make sense why he'd become paler with all the running and sport-playing he does. In Melee I got a hard-working blue-collar man vibe from him. Melee Mario was also a good mix between being playful and smiling once in a while, yet serious and could kill you at the same time. In Brawl and Smash WiiU/3DS he rarely cracks a smile and only looks progressively angrier or stoic and has a unusual raspy voice. Ultimate seems to be going back to that personality he had in Melee, especially best seen in his render where he's seemingly wearing an open-mouthed determined smile while he's about to drop-kick some poor sucker in the face. I also noticed that Mario is porportioned to be more taller and skinnier in the Smash universe than he is in his own actual game series, and it makes him look more badarse that way. It's what I'd imagine a real-life Mario to look like.
Man Snake and Samus would be so great for this series, I guess all legacy characters are going to get tackled at some point, I’m excited to see what comes next
In regards to your statement about the Mario Movie and its choice of design compared to Pikachu and Sonic, to be fair, Mario's movie is a fully CG animated feature, while Sonic and Pikachu's films are both hybrid films. Though, Pikachu's design does come close to his original design and I'd say they did a good job translating it to Live Action. Sonic, on the other hand... No. That aside, I agree that Modern Mario is the best Mario Design overall, but my personal favorite look for him are the ones in the Mario & Luigi artwork and the Strikers series. They both look Super cool to me, Strikers especially.
Pikachus look is interesting as it looks so similar but is such a massive departure. Fair point really on the Mario film. I hadn't truly realised how live action the pikachu film would be until the trailer dropped. I had expected it to look like the detective Pikachu game trailers so the finished trailer threw me for a bit of a loop! Lol
The M&L series is my favorite design as well, i think it perfectly combines the classic artwork and modern design together perfectly. Those games are also hands down my favorite spin-offs of any game series i can think of.
I'm OK with the direction they took with Detective Pikachu. Every Mon still looks like their original counterparts despite the more realistic look. Kinda helps they hired someone who was already a fan of the series and was already well versed in translating the Pokémon designs to a more realistic look. Psyduck still looks as goofy as ever, though, and that's not a complaint. makes me wish the sonic movie had that much love and thought put into its version of sonic
I really do like the Mario 3 cover design. Says something about it that I mentally edit, colour palette especially, prior Mario designs to it when remembering them even when looking at them a few minutes ago. The best thing to happen to Mario's design in recent years, imo, was the introduction of him losing his hat when small in games where health is represented by size as in the originals. The design's solid aside that, of course, but that was such a brilliant way of translating the idea of 'health is represented without needing the player to look away from the protagonist' into 3d space. I think that came with 3d Land?
So what'd you think? Did you agree with my choice and were there any along the way you didn't know about? This is the most extensive video I've put together as of yet so any views and comments are massively appreciated!
I certainly agree, I mean Mario is designed to be fun yet simple, unlike sonic who (is supposed to be) evolving with trends as time goes on. most of the time Sega does their part right and Nintendo hasn't really messed up since Mario teaches typing.
Another great video, well done sir. Here’s an idea. Could you make a video comparing design philosophies of gaming mascots through the years? As an example: the 80s being lovable, 90s being edgy and cool, 2000s mostly humans. Like that but in your style and more in depth. That would be all. Anyways, thanks for another quality video mah guy, here’s waiting for the next.
Why is the hair on Mario's head brown, but his mustache is black? Why is the hair on Mario's head brown, but his mustache is black!? WHY IS THE HAIR ON MARIO'S HEAD BROWN, BUT HIS MUSTACHE IS BLACK!!? WHY IS THE HAIR ON MARIO'S HEAD BROWN, BUT HIS MUSTACHE IS BLACK!!!?
Captain Stewpid they’ve actually been gradually working on fixing this as they’ve updated the character. It was originally just to stand out in the simple graphics, but because of Nintendo’s focus on making their characters look as realistically cartoonish as possible, they felt the need to fix it among other new changes. Look at his design in mainline games over time and you’ll see his mustache has gotten browner and browner. The biggest change would be odyssey of course. In addition to giving his mustache and head hair individual hair follicles, the black mustache is more accurately a dark brown at this point. If you contrast it with his appearance in smash which takes a much more basic approach to the character, going for the classic glossy plastic hair than odyssey’s design, you’ll notice how way darker his mustache is than in odyssey. This is also shown in Mario and Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Both of these games are made by other developers that don’t quite get the Mario developers’ focus on changing him. Comparatively, in the new Mario tennis game, he has both his odyssey design as well as his browner stache. This being made by Mario developers rather than a crossover appearance, it makes sense that they would stick to their guns with the new design. Really they just need to use this new realistic Mario enough times for it to stick and his crossover appearances will come to show it as well. Moral of the story. His mustache is black for technical reasons but it will be brown in due time. I don’t know why I had this much to write about his mustache lol
@2:37 Jumpman is Waluigi. Hear me out. It all makes sense now, Jumpman looked "mischievous" and "evil" but had good intentions. Then Mario looked friendlier but kidnapped and attempted murder. We never did see another instance of Jumpman, and everyone assumed he became Mario BUT Mario and Jumpman are different people. Mario is evil and menacing with a deceiving friendly look, while Jumpman is quite the opposite. Mario took over Nintendo, and quickly became the star of the show, leaving Jumpman all but forgotten. Jumpman's resentments kept building and building over the years, with Mario taking his place. Mario had to keep his true self a secret, and that included convincing everyone that he was Jumpman. Of course, the real Jumpman's still existed, but Mario used his influence and power to persecute him. Jumpman was forced to hide his true identify to avoid the wrath of Mario. But he still resented him. He yearned to get back at him, to topple the big M, destroy everything Mario has done. Jumpman had changed. He let the inner evil thoughts that so matched his outer appearance take over. He set his plan into motion. He started pestering Mario, and all of his friends. He had to start small, with disrupting Tennis games and other parties, and all under a new identity. Jumpman is Waluigi.
or you're all taking this way too seriously. this is evidently a jokey themed comment and i got a good laugh out of it, so thanks for that. stop being so rude about it
Amazing video!! Very detailed and I can see you put a lot of work into this :) I think my favorite is paper Mario because of its cute design ( never played the game tho ).
The exclusives on the Wii U were incredible. One negative I don't think is discussed enough though is the terrible user interface, slow and clunky. It's one of the most notable improvements with the switch, which is incredibly slick and quick by comparison.
@@ArtistMarkFlynn Yeah, and the switch even tho it's a portable console had better graphics even when you hold it in the portable mode and the Wii U also made a lot more noise.
It was underrated. Publishers hated it because they believed you had to incorporate the screen in a big way. Personally, my favorite use of the screen was using it as the "TV". I didn't particularly enjoy unhooking a system from my TV every time I wanted to play a different system.
2017:mario goes on another adventure to save peach. 2018:stands next to fire ready to beat up children. Edit now I have to make a new one. 2019:Going up against bowsetette a uh meme that is bowser but looks like peach.
He's also noticably tall and thinner in the Smash series, but just like in the Olympics, its done in order to scale him up with the other fighters. Sonic is supposed to be about 3 feet tall and Mario around 5'3, I think.
Beautiful job amigo. Another absolutely incredible video proving the wait is more than worth it. Really hoping this takes off so we get a sequel featuring Bowser.
Hahaha thanks mate. This one really was a slog but I'm happy I managed to finish it within the month! Here's hoping some people check it out amidst the super bowl!
The Artist Mark Flynn thankfully you posted early. Most UK channels post in the evening. Keep an eye on the views about 6 hours from now and for the following 3-4 hours following. Those are the big ones.
One day maybe they’ll actually do what I’ve been wanting since I was a kid, and make a beautiful hand drawn game using the Kotabe art as an influence. Think Wario Land Shake It meets the Super Mario All-Stars box art.
I think my favorite design for Mario is the modern 2D vector art Mario. I'm not exactly sure who draws it though. It's an evolution of the Yoichi Kotabe art style, which in it of it self was an evolution of the Miyamoto artwork shown in the video. It's the one they used for the character icons in 3D world, it appears quite a lot in promotional stuff. www.mariowiki.com/File:Artwork_-_MARIO.svg
They need to make a 2D Mario game with Kotabe's artstyle. Games like Cuphead, Wario Ware: Shake It! and Rayman Orgins are already doing the traditional cartoon style. I'd like to see a New Super Mario Bros game with a traditional art style instead of the CGI they usually do.
hey, if you're looking for more characters to do for this series, maybe consider mega man? he comes in many different forms, if you count mm1-6, mega man 7, mega man 8, mega man 11, mega man x, megaman battle network, megaman star force, mega man zx... assuming you're not counting zero
My favorite Mario design is probably the Melee version. It’s like his 64 design, but completely upscaled from the 64 polygon days and early 64 artwork to (almost) high-def Gamecube high polygon count. I mean, that particular version of Mario is SUPPOSED to be the Mario from Super Mario 64. And it’s brilliant. Not only is Mario himself upscaled directly from his 64 artwork, but Peach’s Castle and Rainbow Ride are like (pre)HD versions of the areas from Mario 64. Mario and his world as seen in Melee are supposed to be how they are supposed to look in 64. Which arguably is the greatest Mario game ever made, and the definitive Mario game. Also, the tan skin is a staple of his 64 design.
SMB3 unified/codified Mario's appearance. The "final" design was reached in Super Mario Sunshine, or, if you want to be hyper-correct, New Super Mario Bros/Super Mario 64 DS. After that, there was basically no going back.
I feel that the first half of this video that was covering Mario's design over the platforming games was pretty well-written and polished! However, I think by the time you got over to the spinoffs is when the video started to go downhill. You kind of just...glossed over the designs with those games. You only really covered Thousand Year Door with Paper Mario and literally only talked about Superstar Saga with M&L. I can understand it being a bit difficult to talk about those designs, but considering how the designs for Mario in those games also changed a lot like his platformer counterpart, it feels especially half-baked. The M&L portion had barely any relevant topics at all. It was just you saying "I like this Mario design because it's the most expressive!" without explaining *how* or *what* makes him expressive, especially in comparison to the later games that you said "lacks charm". There wasn't a point where you pointed out what makes him distinct compared to the normal Mario's and in general, it felt like you just wanted to say you love Superstar Saga and trash the other games. I wanted to like this video more than I do but the last few bits just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But eh, maybe I'm just being a nitpicky joik
Hello. Thanks for the detailed feedback. I genuinely do appreciate that! The script probably was a bit of a struggle towards the end. The idea with the spin-offs section was to plow through designs quickly as I knew I'd be covering a ton of them and I didn't want the video to end up really long. I don't really think I trashed the other M&L games based on what I said to be fair. Just said that I thought the original had a lot more charm and is the version I prefer. You of course are entitled to your opinion and I do see your points. I do think it's slightly nitpicky to disregard bits of the video that you did enjoy? Either way thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. I do appreciate it!
@@okmate9713 Yes, Mark made some great points, but I was hoping he'd mention how the M&L designs had a MGM classic cartoon look about them or something of the manner. I can understand what he means about the designs being expressive since they exaggerated their character traits a lot more in those games.
The best Mario design is classic Mario with his red hat, matching red overalls, blue shirt, white gloves, brown boots, black hair, & black mustache. I didn't like the flip flop of his color with the shirt & overalls later on. Red overalls make Mario look a lot more colorful & unique, & making him have brown hair & a black mustache looks stupid! LOL
glad i saw this in recommended today, you have some good vids i feel like megaman would be an interesting character to do a vid on, not even including X or battle network, the western NES boxes have a bunch of weird designs on them. another character i thought of was simon belmont, he has a fair amount of different designs.
Best 3D model? The one from Brawl. Best sprite: Mario & Luigi Superstar GBA (best while in gameplay too) Best overall: Super Mario 3 Boxart. Paper Mario's a close runner up.
The Western Super Mario Bros. 2's development is a little more complicated than "non-Mario game with Mario paint job". Early in development, it was originally going to be Super Mario Bros. 2. Then Nintendo made a deal with that radio company, changed the game to Doki Doki Panic while it was still in the alpha stage of development, and quickly developed the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 using modified assets from Super Mario Bros. When it came to release a sequel in the US, they realized the official sequel was both too hard and similar to be a proper sequel in their primary franchise. Hence the Doki Doki Panic reskin.
Shigeru Miyamoto is a also a musician which is why loads of mario characters have the names they do. Ludwig von koopa is named after that famous classical musician, morton is named after a jazz musician called morten , the boos or boo didelys are named after bo didely a bluesman (yes blues musicians have their own special name) and there are others that I can't remember
I'd have to say my favorite is the late 2D artwork, somewhere around World. He has slightly more stout proportions there than his modern incarnations where he has longer limbs, which gives him a more friendly look.
The one you left out is my favorite. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy had the most expressive and diverse(handstands anyone?) Mario sprites I've seen until maybe M&L:SS.
Mario's pixel art looked so much better in SMB2 than SMB3. Black overalls? I never see/hear this mentioned and it's bugged me since 1990! Great video! I'm off to watch more of your content!
My personal favorite Design for Mario is the artwork by Mr. Kotabe, AKA the design for 90’s Mario on box art like Super Mario Bros. 3 and the 2D promo art for 3D world.
I think my favourite is the Mario & Luigi RPG style, there's just something about them that really makes them pop. I love the little glimpses of Luigi's red and white socks too. I just think that pixel artwork that's simple and bold and catchy really stands out to me. The remakes of the M&L games kind of make them blend into their environments. I sort of noticed you kind of repeated your words/a point when talking about the M&L pixel style? You comment about how smooth and flowing it is, and then right afterwards make the same comment again.
Yeah I completely messed up my script for that bit! I'd spent so long looking at the script that I didn't even notice I'd repeated myself when I recorded it! My poor brain 🤣
6:45 it does make sense. Yknow Super Mario Bros was released during the time of the video game crash so basically Nintendo made a few changes so the box art dosent look like previous Nintendo games on the Family Computer (Famicom)
I kinda didn’t care for Mario until the Mario dream team sprite. Just looking at Mario readjusting his cap made me think that he was the coolest character ever made, cooler than cloud and all that. I suddenly loved Mario even more than Luigi.
Watched your Sonic and Link video, Gotta say... love it. Instant sub. Playing Sonic’06 on the channel and oh boy it’s a hell of a ride.(sorry for plug.)
Art wise I love 64 era Mario he was short, plump, round head but he was having a ball whatever he was doing jumping, swimming , go karting, or partying our hero knew how to enjoy himself Model wise 64 being my first game I got use to the camera perfectly behind his octagonal head and got nostalgic by 3D world keeping that feeling whenever the camera stayed behind him but with so much more detail to him
Where is my best megaman design? I mean dont tell me he has not enough designs just look at his final smash in SSBU. (Just kidding you are youtuber here you choose what content are you making this is only my proposition)
I actually never realized how many subtle changes there were to Mario's design between games. It really puts into perspective the effort Nintendo has put into this character to keep him at the top for such a long time.
Mate you are the first amazing channel UA-cam has recommend me in ages.
So happy to hear that man! Thanks for taking the leap and checking out my content!
@@ArtistMarkFlynn just found your channel . Earned sub
Ages backwards is segA
I love your channel
BEST at Character Design Histories. 🤟🇬🇧
This is a long video to just talk about hotel Mario
Scooter wears Socks AND UPYOU GOTTA HELP US
@@_mango_ No
It looks like Mario got shorter, rounder, and more jolly as time went on until his design was standardized around the Super Mario Sunshine era. Seems that Nintendo started to focus more on lighting and increased detail to bring a unique flair to Mario in his platform outings after this point.
But you know what? I like how consistent Mario's design is. He's universal. You just need to stick a mustache and red plumber hat on anything and everyone will instantly think that's Mario! In fact, isn't that the entire premise of Mario's capturing mechanic in Super Mario Odyssey?
That last sentence is such a great point!
@@ArtistMarkFlynn I hope it "captured" the main idea pretty well!
There are no end to your talents Mr Kenobi
@@ArtistMarkFlynn You're too kind. The fact is there are no ends to yours!
Obi-Wan Kenobi wow, great said
I love how main series' Mario's design seems to change more or less based on the hardware capabilities, while Link's seems to be more reflective of the stories Nintendo wants to tell.
A very interesting point!
@@ArtistMarkFlynn Mario is the system seller. People bought the NES for Super Mario Bros., SNES for Super Mario World, and the N64 for Super Mario 64. Mario was designed around the hardware and vice-versa. The Famicom was designed to run Donkey Kong, which was still a fairly huge game at the time. The controllers for the next few systems were designed for their respective Mario games. The N64 controller had the C buttons primarily to control Mario 64's camera, hence the "C" in "C buttons". The Gamecube's face buttons were designed largely to be easy to find without having to look at the controller. No longer do you have to look to see where X was when you could just feel for the "side kidney button". This seems to have stopped with the Wiimote, which seems to have been designed primarily for Wii Sports. Makes sense. The Wii was designed for more casual games while Mario games tend to be more "hardcore".
Story is not what drive gameplay and art in nintendo games. It's the other way around. All zelda stories came from gameplay elements present in those games.
Meanwhile sonic just reflects the “attitude” at the time. classic represents the smirky yet determined cool figure of the 90s, while adventure sonic (atleast the artwork) resembles a more teenage, graffiti-inspired sonic. its personally my favorite design for him because its very emotive and expressive while being a bit over-the-top. His modern design basically solidified him as a polished yet not as emotive snarky dad-joker, especially in the models.
@@terrariabookshhelf6317 I love 90's Sonic's snarky attitude. I still think Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM show really nailed his humor and character development. Some games like Sonic Colors have really gotten close to recreating that same Sonic sass. But overall, I prefer his classic, softer, rounder design, than the lengthy, rebellious, modern designs. The lighter color palette also fits him a bit better than a really dark blue.
The best Pac-Man design could be interesting.
I'm a hard core Pac-Man World fan so I would love that video! Since their aren't too many Pac-Man designs, I wouldn't mind extending the subjects to Ms. Pac-Man and the Ghosts.
Easy answer, his Pac-Man world design is easily the best one.
The Pac-Man from the Japanese arcade cabinets is an iconic look, which has been used and refined in most Pac-Man games, like Pac-Man World and Smash Bros. Only his in-game appearance is more iconic than that one.
I have no idea what they were thinking with the American cabinets, though.
(\/)
especially considering the change in facial features and growth in limbs and attire
My favourite Mario is Danny Devito
I want you're Bob Hoskins action figure!
If he's not cast in the new film I riot
He's the plumber man... First he throws fireballs all over the ring, and then... He starts eatin' mushrooms
Gotta pay the toad troll get into this toads hole
Best Mario VAs (not in any order)
Charles Martinet
Lou Albano
Vinny
I vote Wario or Bowser as a companion video to this.
Bowser because it'll let you have a smooth transition to other villains AND monster-like characters.
Wario because he legit changes nearly every game and has multiple versions to represent him even now.
Both are great ideas and I'm sure I'll do both of them at some point!
Miyamoto's name was dropped as the original illustrator behind the classic Mario artwork from the Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. era, but it's probably worth mentioning that the significant stylistic shift that happened around Mario 2 (USA) and Mario 3, that smoothed out the design and set the standard in terms of color, proportion, and facial features was the work of Yoichi Kotabe, who is the artist most responsible for the established classic look of Mario and his associated characters.
lmeeken Yōichi Kotabe’s look for Mario is basically perfect
lmeeken Yōichi Kotabe’s look for Mario is basically perfect
My absolute favourite is the Odyssey look, it's so charming and he just looks so warm and the detail and colours and the way he moves are great. It just feels like -the most r e f i n e d- an absolute unit.
You didn't talk about how his face has been ever-so-slightly bigger since Super Mario Run! It's subtle but I think it's a great improvement.
Absolute unit 🤣
I've gotta choose mario. Mario is so much better than mario. (my opinion.)
How dare you
@@ArtistMarkFlynn But, at least I didn't say mario was better than MArio.
Yeah but you implied it
@@ArtistMarkFlynn Well, mario is still the second best Mario for me.
@Milan Andreoli -I mean hey, my opinions don't last longer than 10 minutes before something is old.-
I think the best design is The Super Mario Bros 3 promo art style, or the 2D art from Super Mario 3D Land and World, which is pretty much just modern tweaking of the SMB3 style.
I'm very fond of that too. I just find that the 3d design really works!
Ikr
lemmingscanfly5 i agree with you
So... Furry Mario?
@@sightseeing7993 I wasn't talking about the disgusting cat suit, that power-up will never not be gross and creepy to me.
My favorite Mario is the gas station attendant near my house.
Can't believe I left him out
@@ArtistMarkFlynn It happens :)
My favorites probably have to go to modern aswell specifically galaxy, 3D world, and especially odyssey
But we shall never forget smash bros brawl and Mario's insanely hyper realistic overalls
XD
Imo i dont like how mario looks in oddyssey he looks a little to realistic and foesnt fit him imo
My personal favorite design is his old color scheme with red pants and a blue shirt. And about that movie you mentioned; If any future Mario movies were to ever come out, live-action or not, I would love for them to do another origin story where Mario and Luigi at first sports the old shirt and pants but sometime later in the movie switches to the modern "inverted" look (blue becomes red and red becomes blue with the exception of the cap, which always stayed the same).
I think his mario odyssey model is really nice.
But if I were to choose, id choose one of his RPG designs, specifically his Superstar saga design
(Specifically the art they did for him in the remake, not the sprite)
My favorite is the Super Smash Bros Melee design. It not only pays tribute to Mario's earliest classic 3D designs, but it turns it into a mature looking and realistic styled model that I can take seriously when I look at it. Mario doesn't just look like a friendly Italian plumber but a serious dynamic fighter.
Good points. That's a great model and he does come across like a boss in the smash games.
I agree. I also liked how Melee Mario still had his N64 look before Super Mario Sunshine where their designs changed. I missed the tan Mario used to have, it doesn't make sense why he'd become paler with all the running and sport-playing he does. In Melee I got a hard-working blue-collar man vibe from him. Melee Mario was also a good mix between being playful and smiling once in a while, yet serious and could kill you at the same time. In Brawl and Smash WiiU/3DS he rarely cracks a smile and only looks progressively angrier or stoic and has a unusual raspy voice. Ultimate seems to be going back to that personality he had in Melee, especially best seen in his render where he's seemingly wearing an open-mouthed determined smile while he's about to drop-kick some poor sucker in the face. I also noticed that Mario is porportioned to be more taller and skinnier in the Smash universe than he is in his own actual game series, and it makes him look more badarse that way. It's what I'd imagine a real-life Mario to look like.
Honestly the best design is the one for Super Mario Odyssey and the worst would go to Mario Teaches Typing 2!
Omg I completely forgot about those games when making this! 😂
Man Snake and Samus would be so great for this series, I guess all legacy characters are going to get tackled at some point, I’m excited to see what comes next
I'm excited too! Thanks for the encouraging comment!
Every single one is good because you
CAN DO THE MARIO
*SQUAT EAT A MUSHROOM*
In regards to your statement about the Mario Movie and its choice of design compared to Pikachu and Sonic, to be fair, Mario's movie is a fully CG animated feature, while Sonic and Pikachu's films are both hybrid films. Though, Pikachu's design does come close to his original design and I'd say they did a good job translating it to Live Action. Sonic, on the other hand... No.
That aside, I agree that Modern Mario is the best Mario Design overall, but my personal favorite look for him are the ones in the Mario & Luigi artwork and the Strikers series. They both look Super cool to me, Strikers especially.
Pikachus look is interesting as it looks so similar but is such a massive departure.
Fair point really on the Mario film. I hadn't truly realised how live action the pikachu film would be until the trailer dropped. I had expected it to look like the detective Pikachu game trailers so the finished trailer threw me for a bit of a loop! Lol
The M&L series is my favorite design as well, i think it perfectly combines the classic artwork and modern design together perfectly. Those games are also hands down my favorite spin-offs of any game series i can think of.
I'm OK with the direction they took with Detective Pikachu. Every Mon still looks like their original counterparts despite the more realistic look. Kinda helps they hired someone who was already a fan of the series and was already well versed in translating the Pokémon designs to a more realistic look.
Psyduck still looks as goofy as ever, though, and that's not a complaint.
makes me wish the sonic movie had that much love and thought put into its version of sonic
To be fair until the sonic trailer drops I'm holding back true judgment. The leaked concept stuff was not good though lol.
That Silhouette poster doesn't give me much hope. I'm hoping Sonic's voice is decent, at least.
I really do like the Mario 3 cover design. Says something about it that I mentally edit, colour palette especially, prior Mario designs to it when remembering them even when looking at them a few minutes ago.
The best thing to happen to Mario's design in recent years, imo, was the introduction of him losing his hat when small in games where health is represented by size as in the originals. The design's solid aside that, of course, but that was such a brilliant way of translating the idea of 'health is represented without needing the player to look away from the protagonist' into 3d space. I think that came with 3d Land?
I hadn't actually thought about that. I think it came with new super Mario Bros!
I knew I couldn't have been the only one who loved that extra little visual aid. And yes, it did start with 3D Land!
So what'd you think? Did you agree with my choice and were there any along the way you didn't know about? This is the most extensive video I've put together as of yet so any views and comments are massively appreciated!
PS I hope she made lotsa spaghetti
Are you gonna make a video critiquing the costumes from Oddyssey/their sources?
I certainly agree, I mean Mario is designed to be fun yet simple, unlike sonic who (is supposed to be) evolving with trends as time goes on.
most of the time Sega does their part right and Nintendo hasn't really messed up since Mario teaches typing.
Another great video, well done sir.
Here’s an idea. Could you make a video comparing design philosophies of gaming mascots through the years? As an example: the 80s being lovable, 90s being edgy and cool, 2000s mostly humans. Like that but in your style and more in depth. That would be all. Anyways, thanks for another quality video mah guy, here’s waiting for the next.
Yes please
Why is the hair on Mario's head brown, but his mustache is black?
Why is the hair on Mario's head brown, but his mustache is black!?
WHY IS THE HAIR ON MARIO'S HEAD BROWN, BUT HIS MUSTACHE IS BLACK!!?
WHY IS THE HAIR ON MARIO'S HEAD BROWN, BUT HIS MUSTACHE IS BLACK!!!?
Questions of the universe
Real question, what color is the carpet?
I'm not sure if I need this question answered tbh
The Artist Mark Flynn 😂 touché
Captain Stewpid they’ve actually been gradually working on fixing this as they’ve updated the character. It was originally just to stand out in the simple graphics, but because of Nintendo’s focus on making their characters look as realistically cartoonish as possible, they felt the need to fix it among other new changes. Look at his design in mainline games over time and you’ll see his mustache has gotten browner and browner. The biggest change would be odyssey of course. In addition to giving his mustache and head hair individual hair follicles, the black mustache is more accurately a dark brown at this point. If you contrast it with his appearance in smash which takes a much more basic approach to the character, going for the classic glossy plastic hair than odyssey’s design, you’ll notice how way darker his mustache is than in odyssey. This is also shown in Mario and Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Both of these games are made by other developers that don’t quite get the Mario developers’ focus on changing him. Comparatively, in the new Mario tennis game, he has both his odyssey design as well as his browner stache. This being made by Mario developers rather than a crossover appearance, it makes sense that they would stick to their guns with the new design. Really they just need to use this new realistic Mario enough times for it to stick and his crossover appearances will come to show it as well. Moral of the story. His mustache is black for technical reasons but it will be brown in due time. I don’t know why I had this much to write about his mustache lol
@2:37
Jumpman is Waluigi. Hear me out.
It all makes sense now, Jumpman looked "mischievous" and "evil" but had good intentions.
Then Mario looked friendlier but kidnapped and attempted murder.
We never did see another instance of Jumpman, and everyone assumed he became Mario
BUT
Mario and Jumpman are different people. Mario is evil and menacing with a deceiving friendly look, while Jumpman is quite the opposite. Mario took over Nintendo, and quickly became the star of the show, leaving Jumpman all but forgotten.
Jumpman's resentments kept building and building over the years, with Mario taking his place. Mario had to keep his true self a secret, and that included convincing everyone that he was Jumpman. Of course, the real Jumpman's still existed, but Mario used his influence and power to persecute him.
Jumpman was forced to hide his true identify to avoid the wrath of Mario. But he still resented him. He yearned to get back at him, to topple the big M, destroy everything Mario has done. Jumpman had changed. He let the inner evil thoughts that so matched his outer appearance take over. He set his plan into motion.
He started pestering Mario, and all of his friends. He had to start small, with disrupting Tennis games and other parties, and all under a new identity.
Jumpman is Waluigi.
Mmm... no.
@@supermarioluigi8730 Hi. How are you?
@PartySlime76 oh no
Ｍａｒｉｏ ｇｏｔ Ｍｉｙａｍｏｔｏ
Or they just made a filler character for a fucking tennis game
or you're all taking this way too seriously. this is evidently a jokey themed comment and i got a good laugh out of it, so thanks for that. stop being so rude about it
Amazing video!! Very detailed and I can see you put a lot of work into this :) I think my favorite is paper Mario because of its cute design ( never played the game tho ).
0:40 In my opinion the Wii U was a great console the marketing and the sales were just not so good and it had a LOT of really good exclusives!
The exclusives on the Wii U were incredible. One negative I don't think is discussed enough though is the terrible user interface, slow and clunky. It's one of the most notable improvements with the switch, which is incredibly slick and quick by comparison.
@@ArtistMarkFlynn Yeah, and the switch even tho it's a portable console had better graphics even when you hold it in the portable mode and the Wii U also made a lot more noise.
It was underrated. Publishers hated it because they believed you had to incorporate the screen in a big way. Personally, my favorite use of the screen was using it as the "TV". I didn't particularly enjoy unhooking a system from my TV every time I wanted to play a different system.
My personnal favourite is the Mario Kun design
15:13 Well... Hello there..!
2017:mario goes on another adventure to save peach.
2018:stands next to fire ready to beat up children.
Edit now I have to make a new one.
2019:Going up against bowsetette a uh meme that is bowser but looks like peach.
A man of many talents
@@ArtistMarkFlynn And occupations, such as doctor, sanitation worker, concrete mixer, and bomb diffusing expert.
He must own so many small businesses
@@ArtistMarkFlynn either that or he keeps getting fired.
@@masonjones7777 And keeps getting rehired.
His Olympic Games design makes him noticeably very tall in comparison to his other designs
Might be because his Olympics models were made by Sega. The Sonic cast is considerably tall, so I guess it makes sense.
He's also noticably tall and thinner in the Smash series, but just like in the Olympics, its done in order to scale him up with the other fighters. Sonic is supposed to be about 3 feet tall and Mario around 5'3, I think.
Beautiful job amigo. Another absolutely incredible video proving the wait is more than worth it. Really hoping this takes off so we get a sequel featuring Bowser.
Hahaha thanks mate. This one really was a slog but I'm happy I managed to finish it within the month! Here's hoping some people check it out amidst the super bowl!
The Artist Mark Flynn thankfully you posted early. Most UK channels post in the evening. Keep an eye on the views about 6 hours from now and for the following 3-4 hours following. Those are the big ones.
Well they changed his face from the 3D Modern Mario Design to be more like his 2D Artwork/Sprite Self in the movie so that's a thing
It would be interesting if you did one on megaman and all the variations and spin-offs of that general character
This channel is such a hidden gem ! Your videos are really high quality and have a great format 👍
Thanks Courtney! Really appreciate that!
Honestly I really like the mario and luigi series art because his art style is so good and the rest is too
Exactly
One day maybe they’ll actually do what I’ve been wanting since I was a kid, and make a beautiful hand drawn game using the Kotabe art as an influence. Think Wario Land Shake It meets the Super Mario All-Stars box art.
I think my favorite design for Mario is the modern 2D vector art Mario. I'm not exactly sure who draws it though. It's an evolution of the Yoichi Kotabe art style, which in it of it self was an evolution of the Miyamoto artwork shown in the video. It's the one they used for the character icons in 3D world, it appears quite a lot in promotional stuff.
www.mariowiki.com/File:Artwork_-_MARIO.svg
Great artwork. Kicking myself for not including it in the Odyssey section.
They need to make a 2D Mario game with Kotabe's artstyle. Games like Cuphead, Wario Ware: Shake It! and Rayman Orgins are already doing the traditional cartoon style. I'd like to see a New Super Mario Bros game with a traditional art style instead of the CGI they usually do.
@@GenesisGreen I think at some point in the future, they will make side-scrollers in Kotabe's 2D Style.
hey, if you're looking for more characters to do for this series, maybe consider mega man? he comes in many different forms, if you count mm1-6, mega man 7, mega man 8, mega man 11, mega man x, megaman battle network, megaman star force, mega man zx... assuming you're not counting zero
oh yeah can't forget, mega man powered up of course
That was awesome. Please do one on Luigi! :)
Yeah! Luigi had a lot of changes in his design throughout the years!
Great video :3 Am so glad I found you, UA-cams algorythm actually picked you up since it suggested your channel to me :3
That's amazing news!!!
My favorite Mario design is probably the Melee version. It’s like his 64 design, but completely upscaled from the 64 polygon days and early 64 artwork to (almost) high-def Gamecube high polygon count. I mean, that particular version of Mario is SUPPOSED to be the Mario from Super Mario 64. And it’s brilliant. Not only is Mario himself upscaled directly from his 64 artwork, but Peach’s Castle and Rainbow Ride are like (pre)HD versions of the areas from Mario 64. Mario and his world as seen in Melee are supposed to be how they are supposed to look in 64. Which arguably is the greatest Mario game ever made, and the definitive Mario game. Also, the tan skin is a staple of his 64 design.
I love the melee design too! Great pick
12:31
12 minutes in, and we have finally reached my childhood. Well, I guess I haven’t been playing Mario games as long as some people.
My favourite Mario design is the one from the Mario and Luigi RPG series
Good choice!
SMB3 unified/codified Mario's appearance. The "final" design was reached in Super Mario Sunshine, or, if you want to be hyper-correct, New Super Mario Bros/Super Mario 64 DS. After that, there was basically no going back.
Very high quality video for a small channel like yours! I love the hard work! Great video!
Thanks!
Honestly one of my favorites is the design from Bowser’s inside story, both of the bros had a unique vibe to them that I haven’t seen anywhere else
When i think mario i will always remember the red overalls version first
It took me such a long period of time to actually notice the difference tbh
Great vid! I loved the teeny bits of comedy that were peppered throughout the list
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
I feel that the first half of this video that was covering Mario's design over the platforming games was pretty well-written and polished! However, I think by the time you got over to the spinoffs is when the video started to go downhill.
You kind of just...glossed over the designs with those games. You only really covered Thousand Year Door with Paper Mario and literally only talked about Superstar Saga with M&L. I can understand it being a bit difficult to talk about those designs, but considering how the designs for Mario in those games also changed a lot like his platformer counterpart, it feels especially half-baked.
The M&L portion had barely any relevant topics at all. It was just you saying "I like this Mario design because it's the most expressive!" without explaining *how* or *what* makes him expressive, especially in comparison to the later games that you said "lacks charm". There wasn't a point where you pointed out what makes him distinct compared to the normal Mario's and in general, it felt like you just wanted to say you love Superstar Saga and trash the other games.
I wanted to like this video more than I do but the last few bits just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But eh, maybe I'm just being a nitpicky joik
Hello. Thanks for the detailed feedback. I genuinely do appreciate that!
The script probably was a bit of a struggle towards the end. The idea with the spin-offs section was to plow through designs quickly as I knew I'd be covering a ton of them and I didn't want the video to end up really long.
I don't really think I trashed the other M&L games based on what I said to be fair. Just said that I thought the original had a lot more charm and is the version I prefer.
You of course are entitled to your opinion and I do see your points. I do think it's slightly nitpicky to disregard bits of the video that you did enjoy? Either way thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. I do appreciate it!
Thanks for replying back! I apologize if I sounded too rude and brash.
@@okmate9713 Yes, Mark made some great points, but I was hoping he'd mention how the M&L designs had a MGM classic cartoon look about them or something of the manner. I can understand what he means about the designs being expressive since they exaggerated their character traits a lot more in those games.
The best Mario design is classic Mario with his red hat, matching red overalls, blue shirt, white gloves, brown boots, black hair, & black mustache. I didn't like the flip flop of his color with the shirt & overalls later on. Red overalls make Mario look a lot more colorful & unique, & making him have brown hair & a black mustache looks stupid! LOL
glad i saw this in recommended today, you have some good vids
i feel like megaman would be an interesting character to do a vid on, not even including X or battle network, the western NES boxes have a bunch of weird designs on them.
another character i thought of was simon belmont, he has a fair amount of different designs.
Glad to hear you saw it in recommended!
Megaman and Simon are both on my radar!
I hope this video blows up, this is some of my favorite content.
Thank you. Really appreciate the kind words and I hope it does too!
Super MArio World concept art. No question. Mario odyssey mario is ok but I cant disassociate cappy from the model. And cappy is crappy
Cappy can be a bit distracting but at least he disappears!
I love the art style for the Mario and Luigi RPG series. Its simple but remarkable.
The Donkey Kong game was originally intended to be a Popeye game. If you look at the donkey Kong flyer it's clearly Popeye with a hat and moustache
Best 3D model? The one from Brawl.
Best sprite: Mario & Luigi Superstar GBA (best while in gameplay too)
Best overall: Super Mario 3 Boxart.
Paper Mario's a close runner up.
6:09
When you realize shy guy is not an original Mario character.
The Western Super Mario Bros. 2's development is a little more complicated than "non-Mario game with Mario paint job". Early in development, it was originally going to be Super Mario Bros. 2. Then Nintendo made a deal with that radio company, changed the game to Doki Doki Panic while it was still in the alpha stage of development, and quickly developed the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 using modified assets from Super Mario Bros. When it came to release a sequel in the US, they realized the official sequel was both too hard and similar to be a proper sequel in their primary franchise. Hence the Doki Doki Panic reskin.
Shigeru Miyamoto is a also a musician which is why loads of mario characters have the names they do. Ludwig von koopa is named after that famous classical musician, morton is named after a jazz musician called morten , the boos or boo didelys are named after bo didely a bluesman (yes blues musicians have their own special name) and there are others that I can't remember
Personally All Of Mario's Designs Have Some Sort Of Charm
True! Even if it's goofy CDi charm
I'd have to say my favorite is the late 2D artwork, somewhere around World. He has slightly more stout proportions there than his modern incarnations where he has longer limbs, which gives him a more friendly look.
Eat a Mario hat
My favorite Mario style is his model in melee
Something about it just gives a smile
Personally I prefer Smash Bros Ultimate, Paper Mario, or early Mario & Luigi
My Favorite is the Mario and Luigi Art Style
100k coming soon
Hahaha I'd be chuffed if we got anywhere near that number again!
The Artist Mark Flynn Again? Did you have another channel?
Oh I meant views on this particular video. Not subs! 100k subs would be rad hahaha
The Artist Mark Flynn lmao just keep it up
I love the clever editing remarks! (12:47 etc)
Thanks! Glad people actually notice them 😂
My favorite is Smash Brawl Mario because of one thing: Denim!
Denim denim denim
Love your Character Design videos, they're the best!
Thanks! Glad you like them!
I think the Mario 64 design is my favourite
Mine's too! His design in Melee is based off his N64 design.
The one you left out is my favorite. Donkey Kong for the Game Boy had the most expressive and diverse(handstands anyone?) Mario sprites I've seen until maybe M&L:SS.
Yay he did Mario!!!, love ur vids man
Cheers man. Liking your profile pic. That new Broly movie was awesome!
Mario's pixel art looked so much better in SMB2 than SMB3. Black overalls? I never see/hear this mentioned and it's bugged me since 1990!
Great video! I'm off to watch more of your content!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Mario's early colours are a thing of mystery lol
2D: new super Mario Bros 1
3D Mario Galaxy
Just replayed most of the games
galaxy so... New super Mario bros ds?
My personal favorite Design for Mario is the artwork by Mr. Kotabe, AKA the design for 90’s Mario on box art like Super Mario Bros. 3 and the 2D promo art for 3D world.
0:41 #StopWiiUAbuse
12:37 that logo just hit me so hard with nostalgia
Mega man designs? Since he changes design on every single box art in the 80's and 90's
Seriously though, the first box art was terrifying
Bad box art megaman in street fighter x tekken is my fave 🤣
@@goforgreengaming true
@@ArtistMarkFlynn mine too!
I think my favourite is the Mario & Luigi RPG style, there's just something about them that really makes them pop. I love the little glimpses of Luigi's red and white socks too. I just think that pixel artwork that's simple and bold and catchy really stands out to me. The remakes of the M&L games kind of make them blend into their environments.
I sort of noticed you kind of repeated your words/a point when talking about the M&L pixel style? You comment about how smooth and flowing it is, and then right afterwards make the same comment again.
Yeah I completely messed up my script for that bit! I'd spent so long looking at the script that I didn't even notice I'd repeated myself when I recorded it! My poor brain 🤣
Best solid snake design?
Not a bad idea!
@@ArtistMarkFlynn And as always, awesome vid dude!
Cheers mate. Snakes a good idea. I just need to brush up on my MGS knowledge a bit!
Obviously his smash bros ultimate spirit.
6:45 it does make sense. Yknow Super Mario Bros was released during the time of the video game crash so basically Nintendo made a few changes so the box art dosent look like previous Nintendo games on the Family Computer (Famicom)
I love playing me some mary-oh! :)
Touche
I kinda didn’t care for Mario until the Mario dream team sprite. Just looking at Mario readjusting his cap made me think that he was the coolest character ever made, cooler than cloud and all that. I suddenly loved Mario even more than Luigi.
The music in that game was so good
You mean Mario Alphadream
17:53 *I HOPE SHE MADE A-LOTS A SPAGHETTI*
* Commits self-deletus *
Self deletus 😂
Hey, newest subscriber here. I'd love a similar video about Bowser designs over the years, maybe even including the animated TV versions too.
King koopa!
An Italian plumer that was made in japan but looks mexican.......
That's from Brooklyn
That speaks English
That jumps like a black guy
@@zetaman8924 MY GOD😂
And collects coins like a Jew
Watched your Sonic and Link video, Gotta say... love it. Instant sub. Playing Sonic’06 on the channel and oh boy it’s a hell of a ride.(sorry for plug.)
It's no uuuuuseeeee!!!!
Thanks for checking out the channel!
He might eat a hat since Chris Pratt will play the new mario
Delicious
In Super Smash Bros 64, he used his Mario 64 model, in Super Smash Bros Melee and onward, he used his Sunshine model.
Do PAC-MAN designs over the years
Not a bad idea!
How have I not found your channel until today?? Great stuff! Keep up the good work.
Cheers buddy. Appreciate that!
My favorite is 3D world
Good choice!
Galaxy for life...
I haven’t played it yet please help
Random Animated Chronicles same here but always wanted to
I get so excited when I see that you posted a new video 😁
Can’t wait for Kirby
I will get to him at some point I swear! You always remind me haha
I think a video about kirbys desigh wont be that intresting
if you know what I mean
Noel225 I don’t, pls inform
My personal favorite is Super Mario Sunshine cause I like the short sleeves, I hope the bring it back in a future game
The BEST Luigi design!?
Weegee would win by default. Nobody would watch.
True
Dreamy Luigi
Art wise I love 64 era Mario he was short, plump, round head but he was having a ball whatever he was doing jumping, swimming , go karting, or partying our hero knew how to enjoy himself
Model wise 64 being my first game I got use to the camera perfectly behind his octagonal head and got nostalgic by 3D world keeping that feeling whenever the camera stayed behind him but with so much more detail to him
Where is my best megaman design? I mean dont tell me he has not enough designs just look at his final smash in SSBU.
(Just kidding you are youtuber here you choose what content are you making this is only my proposition)
I actually never realized how many subtle changes there were to Mario's design between games. It really puts into perspective the effort Nintendo has put into this character to keep him at the top for such a long time.
It's crazy isn't it. Didn't really realise how in-depth this would end up when I started writing it.
Definitely live action , duh
19:53
Kirby: hi!!!
Photographer: no your supposed to be fighting! Redo.