Gamers were thrilled several years ago when the creators of The Legend of Zelda issued an official timeline for the Nintendo series. Fans had long been speculating whether or not there was one, and some had even created a few chronologies of their own that floated around the internet.
The same thing has been happening with the many, many, many games featuring the most famous video game hero of them all, Mario. For years now, fans of Mario's games have been trying to construct the perfect narrative timeline for the popular character. For instance, check out these two attempts at Kotaku. One is especially thorough.
But now Scorpigator Films has created a new timeline for fans to pore over. Granted, as the creators admit, they are "not the arbiters of Mario canon," and their timeline isn't the definitive version. In fact, several Mario games are absent from the chronology, including, notably, what Americans know as Super Mario Bros. 2 and the Smash Bros. series.
Creating a definitive timeline for the Mario games is probably impossible, since the games have such minimalist stories and are, effectively, a long series of reset buttons. It beggars belief, for instance, that the evil Bowser would launch so many similar dastardly plots, but, then, maybe that's what makes the villain just a little endearing.
Still, for those who love the Italian plumber, the video introducing Scorpigator's timeline is worth watching. Take a look above. And here's an image of the timeline.