IGN - Miyamoto, Reggie, Konno & others share their fondest Mario memories

Shigeru Miyamoto

“Of course, I’ve had many memories with Mario over the last 30 years, but the one that sticks out for me most was when we made Super Mario 64. I felt very fortunate to be able to work in a 3D space for the first time, take on this new technology, and have Mario be the character that helped bring it to life. And that we did that by working with 3D technology at a time when there weren’t many people doing it. So that was a very important moment with Mario for me.

“The other memory links back to my childhood. When I was younger I used to always like to make puppets and do puppet shows. When we made Super Mario 64, it was like I was able to do a puppet show with Mario in a 3D space. It’s been very fun for me to have these moments where the things that I’ve enjoyed from my youth have blended in with the work that I do in video games.”

Hideki Konno

“I would have to say my favorite Mario memory would be the first Mario Kart game for the Super NES. The first Mario game that I worked on was Super Mario Bros. 3 with Mr. Tezuka and Mr. Miyamoto. I have a history of working on Mario games, but when F-Zero came out we had an idea. It was a racing game, and we wondered what if we put Mario in one of those cars. Initially it wasn’t Mario sitting in the driver’s seat. It was another character. But, eventually, we decided to place Mario in that position and, as it evolved, the Mario Kart franchise evolved. So I’d have to say that my fondest memory would be my participation in bringing Mario Kart to life, and being heavily involved in that process.”

Reggie Fils-Aime

"My deepest Super Mario memory is with Super Mario World. I came into the Nintendo family in 1991 via the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and that console came with Super Mario World. I can still picture Yoshi’s Island 2 and the opening sequence to get a Koopa shell moving to the right and picking up my 1-Up. I also loved the various Yoshis – especially the Blue flying Yoshi and the Yellow sand-stomping Yoshi. I played and replayed that game with my sons and always kept it at 99 lives. I still have the cartridge, and a working SNES at home and in my office."