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July 26, 2026Sources cited
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Entertainment • Video Games

Mario Bros.

Mario Bros.

By Ethan Anderson| Reviewed by Olivia Bennett, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead| Updated July 26, 2026|2 min read| Fact-checked

Mario Bros. is a 1983 arcade platform game developed and published by Nintendo. It introduced Mario and Luigi as plumbers working in New York City sewers and is the first spin-off of the Donkey Kong series and an early entry in the Mario franchise.

Gameplay

Players control Mario and Luigi as they clear sewer stages by defeating enemies that emerge from pipes. The core mechanic is to flip enemies onto their backs and then kick them off the platform.

Development

The game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi and released by Nintendo in 1983. Its later Famicom/NES version is notable as the first game developed by Intelligent Systems.

Place in the Mario franchise

Mario Bros. helped establish Mario and Luigi as recurring characters and is treated as an early entry in the broader Mario franchise. It also serves as the first spin-off of the Donkey Kong series.

Canadian context

Mario Bros. has been widely distributed and re-released in Nintendo collections and digital services available to Canadian players, making it part of the long-running Nintendo catalogue familiar to Canadian video game audiences.

Key facts

  • Mario Bros. was released in 1983 for arcades.
  • It was developed and published by Nintendo.
  • The game features Mario and Luigi as Italian plumber brothers.
  • Gameplay involves knocking enemies onto their backs and kicking them away.
  • It is considered the first spin-off of the Donkey Kong series.
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Canadian context

Mario Bros. has been widely distributed and re-released in Nintendo collections and digital services available to Canadian players, making it part of the long-running Nintendo catalogue familiar to Canadian video game audiences.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mario Bros.?
Mario Bros. is a 1983 Nintendo arcade platform game featuring Mario and Luigi clearing sewer stages.
Who developed Mario Bros.?
It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi and developed and published by Nintendo.
What is the objective of the game?
Players defeat enemies that emerge from the sewers by flipping them over and kicking them away.
Is Mario Bros. part of the Super Mario series?
It is part of the wider Mario franchise, but it predates Super Mario Bros. and is not the first Super Mario title.
Why is Mario Bros. historically important?
It helped define Mario and Luigi as characters and is regarded as an early, influential entry in Nintendo’s Mario-related games.

References

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros.
    Supports: Release year, arcade platform, designers, gameplay premise, New York sewer setting, and franchise relationship.
  2. Wikipedia (Spanish) — https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Bros.
    Supports: Release year, arcade platform, gameplay premise, Intelligent Systems note, and re-release history.