The daddy of all gaming franchises, Mario is the symbol of the Nintendo Corporation and is the most famous game character of all time. Since making his debut as the main protagonist in Donkey Kong, Mario (or Jumpman as he was first known) has been a fixture in the gaming world. His first adventure, Super Mario Bros on the NES defined platform games for a generation and the brand remains as strong today as ever.

The franchise has branched into RPG games, racing games and even sports games. There have been TV shows, toys and a movie starring Bob Hoskins (not as much of a flop as Final Fantasy but poor nevertheless). Anybody who has ever had an interest in gaming will know who Mario is and will look forward to playing one of his games in the future.