The Mario timeline cleanup crew!

Okay,let face it.Mario's storyline is no "Lord of the Rings".Still,as Mario fans,we are forced to adore this simple little plot,as it fosters some of the greatest gameplay of all time.

Anyhoo,the Mario story line is a bit confusing,and has quite a few plotholes and gaps between games.The purpose of this topic is simple;to decide what fits and how it fits together in Mario continuity.Crazy?Probably.But lets get started.

The first game in the Mario time line is of course,Yoshi's Island!(who doesn't love this game?)

SMW2:Yoshis Island - this game is the mario bros first adventure,and tells us about there origen.We learn they are from the mushroom kingdom,and that Kamek raised(and created?)bowser.Knowing the bros would stop him,he tried to kill them first,but of course,he fails.

Donkey Kong - this game takes place in the real world.Apparently,after almost dying in SMW2,he was sent to earth by his parents,and raised by italians(in Brooklen?Or in italy,then moved to brooklen?)being of mushroom heratage,he would have had incredable strength,speed,and jumping powers compared to his peers.Maybe this was why he volunteered to single handedly go out and capture an escaped gorrilla?

Donkey Kong Jr - Mario has to return kong to the jungle.But before he does,junior comes by and frees Donkey kong.Why did Jr go through all that trouble when mario was going to release DK anyway?Idaknow.He's a dumb monkey.

Mario Bros - It seems that after taking over the mushroom kindgom(which we later learn)King Bowser Koopa's minions have started the invasion of earth using special telaportation pipes.Does he have a reason?Perhaps he feels the mario bros are still a threat and wants to destroy them,or more likely,perhaps he just wants to take over every existing universe!Since mushroom land wasn't enough,now he wants earth!Either way,he ended up leading the bros sraight to him.Meaning,this game leads straight into...

Super Mario Brothers - coming into the mushroom world via warp pipe(in mario bros) our heroes are faced with absolute peril.Finding that an evil race of turtles have taken over this peaceful land,the brothers use their superhuman powers to free the kingdom and defeat the entire army(wow)

SMB2 - the "sequal" seems to be more of a side quest.Or is it?Wart had many of the same types of troops in his army that Bowser did,not to mention the koopa shells everywhere.Was wart a minion of bowser?Perhaps one of his high ranking generals?Maybe.This could be just another universe that bowser invaded after taking over the mushroom world(really,he tried earth,so why not subcon?).Bowser must be on a multi-dimension ruling craze.

SMB3 - So mario freed the mushroom kingdom,but what about the rest of the mushroom world?Mario continues his quest and eradicates bowser(and his eight kids) from the mushroom world,and frees it from his rule.

SMW - well,after singlehandedly freeing the mushroom world from the koopa's,the bro's are givien a vacation to dino island.Of course,it just so happens that bowser took over this place as well(really,what place does bowser NOT try to take over?)and trapped the citezens in eggs.Still,even with his new hover contraption bowser is not able to defeat mario's strength and jumping abilities.Bowser is defeated.Again.Apparently,bowsers complete rule over anythings is gone for good now.

Okay,here's where things get messy.We got:

Mario Kart(plus sequals)
Mario tennis(plus sequals)
Mario Golf(plus sequals)
Yoshi safari
Yoshi cookie
Super Mario land(plus sequal)
Super mario bros:The lost levels
Supermario 64
tetris attack
mario hotel
mario clash
Game and Watch series
Mario RPG(and sequal)
Super mario Sunshine
Luigi's mansion


Plus more.Then we've got the spinoff Donkey Kong and wario series.

Now what do we count?Okay,we definately count the traditional platformers(they ARE mario),so we got:

Super mario land(1 & 2)
SMB:the lost levels
Super mario 64
Super Mario Sunshine

Also,we can keep the DK and wario spinnoffs.They count,but we're not troubling ourselves with them right now.

The racing,party,Golf and all them,they don't fit.They don't count and are just "alternate realities"

The RPGs we can keep.They have the most plot any ways and fit right in,so disreguarding them would be a waste.

so we have:

SML 1 & 2
SMB TLL
SM RPG
SM 64
Paper mario
SM sunshine

and I guess they go in pretty much in that order.Except I'm not exactly sure where the "lost levels" fit,but I guess they happen somewhere after SML2,and perhaps the battle at the beggining of SMRPG is a continuation of the on in TLL?

Oh yeah,we should count Luigi's mansion too,since that involves mario,and seems to be driving off the "luigi's fear of ghosts" and the "luigi wanting to go on his own adventure" thing from paper mario.So that's a little bit of continuity right there.

So we have(altogether):

Yoshi's Island
Donkey Kong
DK JR
Mario bros
Super mario bros
SMB2
SMB3
Super Mario World
Super Mario land
SML2
SMB The lost Levels
SMRPG
Super mario 64
Paper Mario
Luigi's mansion
Super Mario Sunshine

So,what do you guys all think?

[Matthius]

It's an ok list. Could use more research.

What about Mario is Missing and Mario and Mario's Time Machine.

The Lost Levels are on Super Mario All-Stars. It is the American version of Japan's Super Mario Bros. 2.

What about Wrecking Crew?

I'm sure there are otehrs, but I can't think of 'em right now

[King Kirby]

These are all assumptions. The only facts I can conclude are:

- Yoshi's Island is first obviously
- Luigi's Mansion came before SMS, because of the janitor's comments on vacuuming ghosts

Everything else you have drawn up are merely guesses. The Mario universe was never meant to have a timeline.

When I made my timeline, I didn't count all the party games and spin-offs. If you attempt to do so, you'll kill yourself with the confusion.

Of course there are alot of guesses!Didn't you see all the "apparentlys",and "maybes"?That means I'm speculating.

Anyway,I didn't count any games other than the main platformers(and luigi's mansion),and the RPGs.Counting all the "off" games like mario party and the like would be impossible.There would be to many plot contradictions to work out.

And i know all about the whole Jap SMB2/The lost levels thing.But in america,SMB2 was different,so are timelines are a little switched around.Where as we recieved the US SMB2 and later TLL,they got the japanese SMB2 and later Super Mario USA.So we both have those games,just in a different order.

Anyway,the YI-DK-DKjr-MB-SMB1-SMB2-SMB3-SMW timeline is basically official.It's when we get to TLL,the gameboy games,SMRPG,and the "off" games that things get confusing.If we eliminate the "off" games,we only have the gameboy games,SMB:TLL,and SMRPG,which pretty much fit in that order(although this is all speculation,post your idea's if you have better ones).


Then we have the 3D games: SM64,PM,LM,and SMS.We can safely assume they all go in that order,since PM sort of preludes LM,and SMS has references to LM.Also,SM64 has yoshi,who acts like he hasn't seen mario in awhile,suggesting that SMRPG(the last yoshi appearence) happened a long while ago.So does that mean SMRPG comes before SML 1&2 and TLL?It is likely.

So does this mean the timeline goes like this:

YI-DK-DKjr-MB-SMB-SMB2-SMB3-SMW-SMRPG-SML-SML2-SM:TLL-SM64-PM-LM-SMS

Or like this:

YI-DK-DKjr-MB-SMB-SMB2-SMB3-SMW-SML-SML2-SM:TLL-SMRPG-SM64-PM-LM-SMS

Both timelines are plausible,but which ones fit better?

[gamechamp3000]

You got something in Yoshi's Island wrong.Kamek was the main enemy,not Bowser.Bowser was the last boss,but Bowser never knew what he was doing!I mean,he wasnt plotting evil,Kamek was.All Bowser did was try to ride Yoshi.Does that sound like the main plot in the game you must stop?In Mario Bros.,how could Bowser of known the Mario Brothers existed if he cant remember anything from being a baby?i'm sure no person here remembers what happened when they were babies.In Mario Bros.,Bowser's minions just got lost in warp pipes and found themselves there.

P.s.They dont call me gamechamp for nothing!

Ah,good.Finally some intelligent discussion!How come this board is so slow?

Anyway,I guess I worded it wrong.If you read carefully,you see what I ment was exactly what you said:

"We learn they are from the mushroom kingdom,and that Kamek raised(and created?)bowser.[Kamek]Knowing the bros would stop him,he tried to kill them first,but of course,he fails."

See,my second sentence was reffering to Kamek,but do to the way I worded it,it seems like I ment that BOWSER knew that the bros would stop him.What I should have said is this:

"We learn they are from the mushroom kingdom,and that Kamek raised(and created?)bowser.Then Kamek,knowing the bros would stop eventually him in the future,tried to kill them while they were babies,but of course,he fails.

And about that second part,you are right.Bowser had no idea who mario was,or else he would have prepared for him.Instead,he was probably sending troops to earth in order to take it over(he is a multi-demension taking over meglomaniac,you know),but he didn't expect a pair of plumbers with superhuman powers to stop him,come to his world,defeat save the princess,free another dimension that he had taken over(subcon),and defeat his entire army singlehandedly,freeing the entire mushroom world,forcing him to be exiled to dinosaur land(which he eventually tried to take over as well...but failed).Of course,the second time Bowser took over the mushroom kingdom(SMB:The lost levels),he was prepared,with a more powerful army,deadlier traps,and had taken the liberty of poisening all the mushrooms he could find(although a few got by...).Of course,after that final defeat,bowser mainly just randomly tried capturing the princess out of sheer revenge.

It's pretty good, but I don't like it where For Super Players/The Lost Levels comes in, or how the Land games are put in. I personally prefer the Japanese release order, meaning:

YI-DK-DKjr-MB-SMB-SM:TLL-SMB2-SML-SML2-SMB3-SMW-SMRPG-SM64-PM-LM-SMS

TLL comes in right after SMB an' SML comes in before SMB3. SML2's storyline prevents it from straying from SML.

Also, from any o' these timelines, we could easily add Yoshi's Island 64/Yoshi's Story or Wrecking Crew.

Quote-"Also, from any o' these timelines, we could easily add Yoshi's Island 64/Yoshi's Story or Wrecking Crew."

Well yoshi Story isn't really a mario game,but it easily goes right after SMW2.WC may have happened,but is an insignificant event in Mario's life.

Wreaking crew, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros and other classics like that go together into the time when mario was in new york with many jobs of diffrent kinds until he ran into the warp pipe which took him and his brother Luigi into the alternate Earth which is the mushroom kingdom,all the Mario party and so on not so adventure games took place between other games as if they were a vaction and Luigis mansion took place before SMS because the reason Mario went to vaction at the island was after the incident with the ghosts. its also the reason Big boo appeared in SMS cause he wanted to go on a break as well but then clashed up with him in the hotel....all im saying is this time line is as cracked up as the Legend of Zelda series!