Legendary video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto has become the first game developer in history to be awarded Japan's prestigious Order of Culture. This honorary distinction is presented personally by the Emperor to individuals who have made significant contributions to art, science, or culture.
The Main Invention of the Cult Classic Super Mario Bros.
During a Q&A session following the award ceremony, Miyamoto shared memories of developing the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES. When creating the game's final showdown, the developers faced technical and conceptual challenges.
As the game designer admitted, he considers the game's greatest invention to be that Mario does not actually fight Bowser directly:
“Usually, if there is a boss at the end of a level, you have to fight it, right? But implementing a full battle was extremely difficult, and we racked our brains over it. When I realized that a traditional battle couldn't be created, I thought: this is a game where you constantly run to the right, so why not make it so that whoever reaches the far-right point first wins? And then a brilliant idea struck me: why not just jump over the opponent instead of fighting? All you need to do is jump over Bowser, and he falls down.”
This simple yet ingenious solution allowed them to preserve the platformer's momentum and make the finale of each castle exciting and accessible to every player.
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