Mario Trivia Quiz

Answer: Plumber

Before even showing up on the NES/Famicom classic "Super Mario Bros.", Mario got his start in the arcades, facing off against Donkey Kong to save Pauline but then taking to the New York City sewer system to fight off all manner of spiky creatures. The concept of the "Mario Bros." game was fairly simple. You would play against an opponent (Luigi) and try to outlast them, firing shell projectiles and hitting POW blocks to alter the stage in the face of Koopas.

The game returned as part of "Super Mario Bros. 3" on the NES (and, in turn, "Super Mario All-Stars" on the SNES).

Answer: Poison Mushroom

"The Lost Levels" was a follow-up and pseudo copy of the original "Super Mario Bros." initially only released in Japan but eventually pushed to North America as an added release in "Super Mario All-Stars". Appearing one year after the original (in 1986), "The Lost Levels" had the same aesthetic (which would change severely for "Super Mario Bros. 2"/"Doki Doki Panic!") but much more difficult levels, something noticeable even in earlier stages.

The Poison Mushroom, depicted in purple instead of red, would harm Mario instead of help him.

It returned as a hazard in later games.

Answer: Yoshi

While Bowser first appeared in "Super Mario Bros." and Toad appeared in "Super Mario Bros. 2" (as a playable character), Princess Toadstool was a later version of Pauline (she would later become Peach). Yoshi, however, made his first appearance in the 1990 game "Super Mario Bros.", showing up as early as the first few levels on Yoshi's Island and being accompanied by versions in different colours with new abilities.

He has since gone on to star in his own games (starting with "Yoshi's Cookie" (SNES) in 1992) and continue his sidekick role.

Answer: Megavitamins

Appearing on the NES and Game Boy as early as 1990, "Dr. Mario" was a "Tetris" rehash that emerged to great fanfare; it has since become a classic puzzle game, appearing in ports for later generation consoles. In the game, Mario (now a doctor as well as a plumber) uses Megavitamins to stop different viruses as they fall down the screen and fill the playing area.

The game also featured a two-player battle mode. Dr. Mario would later appear as a Mario re-skin in the "Super Smash Bros." series.

Answer: RPG

Released late in the SNES' lifespan, "The Legend of the Seven Stars" was the subtitle of the Square-made "Super Mario RPG"; the company was also known for managing and developing the "Final Fantasy" series, inevitably in partnership with Enix. The game has since become a classic of the generation, introducing several new, exclusive characters (Mallow and Geno) and being an early playable instance of Bowser himself (who wasn't the final boss!).

The game was turn-based and played on a 3D platforming world. Mario wouldn't have another RPG until "Paper Mario" on the N64.

Answer: Pipes

Mario Raceway, found in the second grouping-- the Flower Cup-- was a windy, but otherwise hazard-lite track following the more technical and obstacle-laden Toad's Turnpike, Frappe Snowland, and Choco Mountain. While the course also featured hungry Piranha Plants, the straightaways found on the track were likely a welcome reprieve in a moderately-difficult collection. Mario, as a racer, was somewhat even in the pack, not being too light as a character and far from being too heavy.

Answer: King Boo

In this Gamecube launch title, Mario went missing (a la "Mario is Missing!") and ended up being trapped in a haunted mansion. Luigi, scared as he was, headed in to help his brother only to find out that the place was infested with ghosts. Using Professor E. Gadd's Poltergust contraption, Luigi was able to suck up and trap ghosts in paintings, inevitably getting enough to make his way into the basement to save Mario, trapped in a painting of his own by King Boo (disguised, for a time, as Bowser. Mario wouldn't get his own Gamecube game until going on vacation in "Super Mario Sunshine".

He probably deserved one.

Answer: Dance Dance Revolution

Although "Dance Dance Revolution" games were originally built as complex arcade stages in the 2000s, home versions with sellable mats made their way to the Gamecube's generation (usually for Sony consoles) midway through the decade before such games shifted to motion-sensing applications (using cameras and remotes). "Mario Mix" was the rare title to show up on Gamecube, combining the joy of stomping on directional arrows in time with the excitement of stomping on enemies.

The game ran on an easy difficulty to appeal to a younger demographic, but later stages were notably difficult.

Answer: Cat

Although Mario has been able to transform into animals like frogs and raccoons as far back as "Super Mario Bros. 3" (NES), the cat transformation had never really shown up in full until the 2013 game "Super Mario 3D World" which used the general graphics of the recent 2D console games and pushed Mario into 3D platforming levels. Mario could become the cat by finding cat bells throughout the stages, and in cat form he could climb walls and perform more technical acrobatic feats.

The Tanooki Suit also made a reappearance in this game.

Answer: Super Mario Run

With the significant popularity of Niantic's "Pokemon GO", Nintendo's in-house development team set to work creating a mobile game with their flagship franchise and "Super Mario Run" resulted. The game was basic, simply pushing Mario through 2D platforming stages so that he could get to the end of each and save Princess Peach (classic formula).

In the game, however, Mario would continuously run; the player provided input by tapping their screen to make him jump to dodge enemies, obstacles, and pitfalls. Unsurprisingly, it was well-received.