When people discuss the impact of the original Super Mario Bros., they usually point to its enormous list of achievements. The 1985 NES release made Nintendo a household name, turned Mario into a character as recognisable as Mickey Mouse, helped bring video games into the mainstream and established side-scrolling platforming as a defining genre. It also remains one of the best-selling games ever made.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer behind Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong, believes the game’s most important contribution is something more specific—and considerably less obvious.
Miyamoto discussed the game during a lengthy press conference after receiving a prestigious Japanese cultural award. The honour is generally associated with artists such as painters and even Nobel Prize winners, while the event gave Miyamoto an opportunity to reflect on almost five decades of game design.
The design idea that shaped Mario
Miyamoto recalled building the game around three simple ideas: land, sea and air. In play, those concepts became running, swimming and flying—the basic actions that made Mario’s world feel broad and full of possibility.
“When we were kids, we’d look out the window, point, and imagine people running, flying, falling into rivers …and so on. In Super Mario, you can actually do that.”
That approach helped turn familiar childhood observations into interactive actions. Rather than limiting Mario to a character who simply moved from one side of the screen to the other, the team designed a world where players could run across ground, travel through water and take to the air.
Mario’s surprising solution to Bowser
For Miyamoto, however, the original game’s most intriguing invention was the way it handled its final confrontation. Mario does not defeat Bowser through a conventional fight. Instead, the player reaches the far right of the stage and jumps over him, sending the villain falling away.
The idea emerged because Nintendo had struggled to create a standard boss battle. Miyamoto reasoned that Super Mario Bros. was fundamentally a game about moving to the right. If reaching the far-right side meant victory, perhaps the player did not need to attack the opponent at all. Jumping over Bowser proved unexpectedly entertaining when tested, and Miyamoto was delighted by the result.
This design choice made the climax feel like a natural extension of the game’s central movement rather than a sudden shift into combat. The player wins by understanding the level, timing a jump and continuing forward—not by overpowering Bowser.
A non-violent hero in a combat-heavy medium
Later Super Mario games have allowed players to fight Bowser directly, but Mario has never been defined solely by violence. Even when he defeats enemies such as Goombas, the character’s conflicts are often presented with a playful, cartoon-like distance.
That broader design philosophy helps explain why Mario and Bowser can occasionally become allies in other games. When the character has moved further into weapon-based action, such as in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, the decision has involved long discussions about what is appropriate for Mario.
Why the idea still matters
More than four decades after Super Mario Bros. was released, many major games still rely on elaborate combat encounters for their climaxes. Boss battles remain difficult to make enjoyable, particularly when they interrupt the rhythm established by the rest of a game.
Miyamoto’s solution was remarkably economical: preserve the game’s forward momentum and make the final challenge a test of movement instead of fighting. That unusual approach remains one of the clearest examples of how a simple arcade-style rule can shape an entire experience.
For Australian players revisiting Nintendo’s classic design, the lesson is just as relevant when choosing a home setup. A dedicated arcade machine can showcase the immediacy of one-screen-at-a-time movement, while bartop arcades offer a compact option for a retro collection. Anyone planning a custom build can also explore DIY arcade kits.
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