But despite the many hats he has worn, he only needs one – the red one emblazoned with the letter “M”.
Yes, you guessed it – I’m talking about Mario, because Mario Day was on March 10.
When Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto created the character originally known as “Jumpman”, even he could not have foreseen the global phenomenon that his character would someday become.
Ever since Mario’s introduction to the video-game world when he appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981, Mario video games have brought countless hours of enjoyment to generations of gamers who played on all manner of platforms – from arcade machines to the NES, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS and smartphones, just to name a few.
Games such as 1985’s Super Mario Bros, 1996’s Super Mario 64, and 2017’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have become iconic video games that forever raised the bar in their respective genres and changed the world of video games.
Mario video games also span such a wide range of genres that all gamers will surely be able to find a Mario game that suits them.
Aside from the platformers that gave the Mario series its initial fame, the Mario series also contains sports games, role-playing games, fighting games, puzzle games, and even pinball.
Such has been the appeal of Mario video games that other characters from the Mario series, such as Luigi, Peach, Wario, Yoshi, and even Bowser, have become the protagonists of other Nintendo video games.
Contrary to what many assume, Mario video games are not just for “casual” video-game players.
In the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prestigious fighting-game tournament, a game from the Super Smash Bros series, Nintendo’s fighting video game featuring a myriad of video-game characters including Mario, has been played every year since 2007, with the exceptions of EVO 2010 to EVO 2012.
The tournament has attracted some of the finest Smash players on the planet, such as Joseph “Mango” Marquez, Adam “Armada” Lindgren, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma, and Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios.
Because of the linear nature of many of the Mario games, some have even taken to timing themselves as they play, in an attempt to complete the game in as little time as possible.
This is known as “speedrunning”, and speedrunning in Mario games is so competitive that speedrunners gun for world records in much the same way that professional sprinters or swimmers would.
In fact, Super Mario 64 is considered to be the most glamorous video game for speedrunning; being the world-record holder in Super Mario 64 is something like the video-game equivalent of being the world-record holder in the 100 metres in track and field.
But above all else, Mario video games have left an indelible impact on global pop culture and the world today.
A great many television shows, movies, and songs contain references to the Mario series.
The sound effects of Mario’s jump and Mario picking up a coin are now familiar to almost everyone. In fact, some NBA stadiums even play the coin sound effect when a player from the home team makes a free throw.
“Blue shell” has become a metaphor for a sudden turn of events in which someone who thought they were in an advantageous position suddenly loses this advantage.
To be someone’s “Luigi” is now understood to mean that the person is somebody’s sidekick.
After 37 years, the Mario series continues to sell faster than a Bullet Bill. It has made Nintendo more money than Mario in a room full of coins. Its popularity has been as invincible as Mario himself when he picks up a Super Star, and its impact on the gaming world is felt even harder than what the first-placed kart experiences when it is struck by a blue shell.
(By the way, in case anyone was wondering: my personal favourite Mario video games are the Mario Kart series, the Super Smash Bros series, Super Mario 64, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.)