Mario: I had a very exciting time making Donkey Kong. It was the first video game I had ever been in, and I had alot to learn about what to do when I moved, and how to fake a death sequence. Howard was a big help to me, as well as the rest of the cast. They were very patient. When I got things wrong they would just correct me and we would keep going. It was really a great time.

Narrator: But while, Mario was enjoying the process of making the game, Luigi was enraged with jealousy. Co-star Peach elaborates:


Peach: Luigi was always hanging around the set. He was there more often than I was. He and Mario would get into screaming arguments about money, fame, publicity, whatever, right there in front of everyone. It went so far that Howard finally had to have Luigi barred from the building because Mario simply could not concentrate with him around.



Luigi: I was pretty jealous of Mario back then. I always felt like it should have been me up there fighting Donkey Kong. I thought that I was more talented, and that Mario had stolen my shot for fame.

Narrator: Despite the constant fighting with his brother Mario was able to come through with a stellar performance as the good guy in Donkey Kong, and the game became an instant hit across arcades all around the country.

Mario: It became ridiculous. I couldn't even walk down the street without getting bombarded by fans asking me for my autograph, or begging me to take a picture with them. It was a total shock for me. People who I barely knew were calling me up on the phone acting like we were best friends.

Howard Lincoln: The game was a success, a major success, and I think that we owed alot of credit to Mario. So when the orders came down from headquarters saying that they wanted a side scrolling game to launch the new Nintendo system that would be coming out, Super Mario was the first thing that came to my mind.

Narrator: A meeting was set up between Howard Lincoln, Mario, and Shigeru Miyamoto (president of Nintendo USA).




Shigeru Miyamoto : When I first meet Mario. He seem to be very nervous guy. I tell him to relax, and we begin to negotiate deal. At the end of meeting Mario say that he will star in  game under one condition, that his brother co-star with him. I had no choice but to agree.

Narrator: And so production for Super Mario Bros. began in March of 1983. Alot of hype surrounded the game, and the two starring brothers. Many people were convinced it would be a flop. Nintendo executives went back and forth on pulling the plug on Super Mario Bros., but in the end they decided to stick with it.

Koopa: I was hesitant to even appear in the game. I feared it would typecast me as a generic bad guy, and if it wasn't a hit I would have no work.

Howard: We were running scared right before the game came out, because we knew there was alot riding on it. But in the end we really couldn't have been happier.

Narrator: Super Mario Bros. ended up becoming the biggest video game in the world, making household names out of Mario and Luigi.

Narrator: When we come back you will learn of the demons that plagued the Mario brothers on VH1's Behind the NES.