On March 10, we salute an institution in pop culture: Mario.
Today marks Mario Day, stylized as Mar10 Day, as the combination of month and date look like the famous Nintendo character’s name.
The overalled video game hero came into existence with his 1981 appearance in the arcade version of Donkey Kong, at which time he was called Jumpman, according to IGN. He was renamed Mario a year later with the game’s sequel and the rest is history.
To celebrate Mario Day, Nintendo is giving fans 35% off some Mario games for the Nintendo Switch. The games include Super Mario Maker 2, Super Mario Party, Luigis Mansion 3 and Mario Tennis Aces.
If you’re feeling nostalgic, Nintendo also has archived the history of Super Mario games on their website, including the story from each game’s original instruction book.
What better way to celebrate the man that’s been through countless adventures and sparred with scores of bosses than to go down Mario memory lane.
