Mario/Archive 1 - Abilities

Abilities

During the development of Donkey Kong, Mario was known as Jumpman. Jumping—both to access places and as an offensive move—is a common gameplay element in Mario games, especially the Super Mario Bros. series. By the time Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was released, jumping became such a signature act of Mario that the player was often tasked with jumping to prove to NPCs that he was Mario. Mario's most commonly portrayed form of attack is jumping to stomp on the heads of enemies, first used in Super Mario Bros. This jump-stomp move may entirely crush smaller enemies on the stage, and usually deals damage to larger ones, sometimes causing secondary effects. This attack often enables Mario to knock the turtle-like Koopa Troopas into or out of their shells, which can be used as weapons. Subsequent games have elaborated on Mario's jumping-related abilities. Super Mario World added the ability to spin-jump, which allows Mario to break blocks beneath him. The Game Boy version of Donkey Kong allowed Mario to jump higher with consecutive jumps, and perform a back-flip. In Super Mario 64, Mario gains new jumping abilities, such as a sideways somersault, a ground pound, and the "Wall Jump", which propels him upwards by kicking off walls.