Super Mario Encyclopedia: The Official Guide to the First 30 Years

If you’ve ever wanted to explain your childhood, your teenage years, and your questionable adult obsession with overalls and red caps in a single breath, this book is the way to do it. The Super Mario Encyclopedia: The Official Guide to the First 30 Years isn’t just a book—it’s a warp pipe straight back into the pixelated chaos of Nintendo history. As someone who’s played Mario since he was nothing but a blocky plumber with a very limited mustache (and who still occasionally yells “It’s-a me!” when entering a room), I consider myself fairly well-versed in the Mushroom Kingdom. But this encyclopedia still surprised me. It covers every mainline Mario game up through Super Mario 3D World, complete with trivia, artwork, and obscure details that make you look both nostalgic and mildly obsessive in front of friends. I’ve had it on my coffee table for a few months now, and it’s become a magnet. Visitors pick it up, flip through a few pages, and suddenly I’m giving an impromptu lecture on the evolutionary history of Koopa Troopas. For that alone, it’s worth the price of admission. Pros: Gorgeous full-color illustrations that make you want to hug the pages (but don’t, fingerprints are real). Meticulously covers three decades of Mario, from 8-bit humble beginnings to Wii U glory days. Surprisingly sturdy binding for a book that keeps getting opened and closed by people shouting, “Wait, remember this level?!” Fantastic value—cheaper than importing a rare cartridge and way more informative. Makes you look like a refined scholar of video game history instead of someone who just shouts at Goombas. Cons: Ends its coverage before Super Mario Odyssey. I get it—30 years is the cutoff—but my inner Cappy fanboy sulked a little. Slightly dangerous: once opened, hours of your life will disappear faster than Mario in a bottomless pit. Heavy enough to double as a defensive weapon if Bowser ever breaks into your living room. Verdict: If you grew up on Mario, still play Mario, or simply want to understand why an entire generation can hum the overworld theme without missing a note, this encyclopedia is essential. It’s a nostalgic ride, an educational resource, and a conversation starter all rolled into one. Five stars, no question—mainly because I couldn’t find a green 1-Up mushroom to give it six.

It has the first thirty years off Mario games in this book. The pictures are awesome and the information about the games is great also. And they also have information about every character in every game in the first thirty years off nintendo. This is a must have book for any nintendo fan!

Twins loved it

My great grandson loves this book, a birthday big hit!!

Best book ever for Mario fans

Dark Horse's translation, evidently, uses conjectural/untranslated names for objects as listed on Super Mario Wiki. People working on the translation for this book freely admit to using Wiki to assist with translations. I myself did not purchase this book with the intention of using it has a reference guide but to add to my collection of Nintendo books and guides. Yes, this is very unfortunate and seemingly sloppy regardless considering the resources at their disposal. Despite that and it's flaws, the book is still stunning. I have no regrets with this purchase. It was shipped and packaged as Darkhorse does with it's Limited or Deluxe Editions. I've learned standard editions don't get the same packaging treated and as a result I've received a lot of damaged books. The Question Mark Box slipcase is embossed on the front only but still looks and feels amazing. The slipcase is sturdy and made with thick material. The book itself has a good solid weight to it but not what I would call heavy. I received a 1-Up cover accented with holofoil that shines and shimmers in the light. Once you open the book you're greeted with rich, bright colors. And blue edge pages packed with 30 years of decent Mario nostalgia. I was taken back by how much information they managed to pack into one book and arranged as well as it. Sadly the book in not a complete history of Mario, which is disappointing. There is a section towards the back of the book that mentions games like Mario Kart, Mario Paint, etc. I think most people expected ALL THINGS MARIO, which this is not. While the book itself is the same size compared to other Dark Horse books. The slipcase on the other hand is completely square with an insert in the back so the book sits in the case seamlessly. Unfortunately it protrudes out on my shelf so a little creativity was needed. What I ended up doing was putting the book itself with my other Dark Horse books, the slipcase went on another shelf facing out. The embossing on the front looks great displayed on my shelf this way.

It's a very beautiful book but it is less of an ecyclopedia than an anthology. First of all it only covers the 17 games in the main Super Mario Bros series, so no Mario Party or Mario Kart games. Even the original Mario Bros. game gets hardly a mention. Secondly, the book is not arranged alphabetically as an encyclopedia would be, but is instead entries are grouped by game then further broken down by characters, enemies, and (oddly together) items and obstacles. The main detraction though is the inconsistent font size. Pages range from 6 entries on a page to over 60. As a result he typeset on some of the pages varies from very difficult to read without squinting all the way up to the top of the eye chart. It's an overall decent book that is thorough with what it covers but could have benefited from the eye of an experienced layout designer.

Good

Livre passionnant mais pour une version dite collector il n y a aucun numérotage et impossible de savoir à combien d exemplaire chaque série a été produite. La version collector n est disponible que en Anglais.

Great collection of Super Mario games in a nice format. Definitely recommend.

Polecam wszystkim zainteresowanym

Awesome information. Lots of descriptive information and pictures are all over the pages. Lots of fun and hours of great information. A must for any fan for sure. Hope they make one that’s more up date, it’s only the first 30 years, I would of liked even more.

Não li o livro ainda mas amo os jogos da franquia do Mario, chegou até que rápido!