Appearing in over 200 video games and selling more than 210 million units, Mario is the sexiest video game character of all time, but not in the sense we want to get Mario in the bed; in the sense that he's pleasing to the eye--most of us can relate to the Italian. He doesn't have the well-toned body of Kratos, but rather a fat mid-rift. For over twenty years Mario has carried that weight with no sign of caring to get in shape. In fact, he's happy with his weight. His occupation is humble and nothing to boast about, yet it is important to many homeowners.
This is a man who knows that if he were to change his design, if he lost any weight, if he threw out the blue overalls, or if he quit being a plumber, Mario would not fit into the Mushroom Kingdom, or the hundreds of other worlds he's played in.
The design of the character is essential to the world developers put them in--he or she will otherwise seem out of place. It's like having a name that fits your face: "Yes, you look like a Jason!" Kratos is perfect for ancient Greece, but it'd be hard to put him in the Mushroom Kingdom, screaming about how Princess Peach wronged him.
Solid Snake is perfect for espionage missions in the jungle, and while he can slip on a series of camouflage outfits, he'd look too weird wearing a Tanooki Suit, flying from platform to platform by a spinning tail. Gamers would laugh, but only because the costume really doesn't suit Snake's rough exterior. Master Chief can blast the Covenant into oblivion, but we'd wonder what King Bowser ever did to Master Chief if he blew him into oblivion. It just doesn't fit.
Mario can pull off these tricks and more. Because of his design, the quirky smile and overalls, Mario is suitable for almost any video game world. He can be a tennis player, a racer, and a golfer, because he looks the part. You can turn him into a thin slip of paper and not wonder what the heck is going in the video game. Now, Kratos maybe a great golfer, and then again, he may also be an aggressive golfer, the kind that sets the entire course on fire.
The oddness of the worlds Nintendo creates need just as odd characters. The two complement one another, and gamers are attracted to their innocence and simplicity, unlike other video games, which are dark in tone, serious in design, their characters broken mentally, emotionally, or physically. There is always a need to have serious games--the hardcore games. But the casual games from Nintendo, specifically games that have Mario, give gamers the chance to wind down, take a break from Alan Wake and Heavy Rain, and laugh at the screen. In a world of oil spills and chimpanzees ripping faces off, we could use a giggle or two.
