It’s a little-known fact that one of Hideo Kojima’s favorite games is currently playable onNintendo Switch Online. A legendary auteur in the gaming industry, Kojima’s pioneering work onMetal Gearhelped to create the stealth genre. In more recent days, he’s been better known for his output as the head of Kojima Productions, includingDeath Strandingand its upcoming sequel, as well as the mysteriousProject ODandPhysint.
Kojima has always spoken publicly about his artistic influences- from hissocial media movie reviewsto the many actors, directors, and more he’s beenscanning intoDeath Stranding 2, Kojima wears his heart on his sleeve when talking about the books, movies, and games that inspire him. That includes a game that’s currently available on Nintendo Switch online. Though it’s a bit of an odd pick given Kojima’s own creative output, it’s easy enough to see how it might have inspired him if you think about it.
Super Mario Bros. Is One Of Hideo Kojima’s Favorite Games
A Classic For A Reason
One of Kojima’s favorite games of all time isSuper Mario Bros.- that is, the original 1985 side-scrolling platformer, the first game in theSuper Marioseries, and the third-everMariogame to be released on home consoles. As quoted inGame Rant(viaEuroGamer), Kojima listsSuper Mario Bros. as the first among his favorites, saying, “My all-time best games are Super Mario Bros., Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (The Portopia Serial Murder Case), XEVIOUS, and Outer World (Another World in Japan).”
Unsurprisingly,most of these are classics from Kojima’s youth- in picking these, he was clearly driven in part by nostalgia. Many of them make sense as sources of inspiration for Kojima’s work.Portopia, being a murder mystery adventure game, isn’t unlike his early work, the detective gamesSnatcherandPolicenauts. You can see the science fiction and military surrealism ofMetal GearinXEVIOUS. ButSuper Mario Bros.? Last I checked, Kojima doesn’t make colorful platformers set in fantastical worlds where Italian plumbers throw fireballs at turtles.
But what really interests Kojima aboutMario, he says,is its cultural legacy and impact on the gaming world. He’s quoted inNintendo Lifeas saying:
With the creation of Super Mario Bros., Shigeru Miyamoto not only altered the future of gaming, but actually changed the concept of “value” for all forms of entertainment. And, in the process, changed my future - leading me to become the game designer I am today. Super Mario Bros. is equivalent to the Big Bang of our gaming universe. If it were not for this blindingly spectacular creation, digital entertainment as we know it today wouldn’t exist.
It’s clear thatSuper Mario Bros.had a pretty major impact on a younger Kojima, potentially even inspiring him to become a game developer.Mariowas groundbreaking and genre-pushing in its day, even though we take it for granted now.Metal Gearhad a similar effect when it was first introduced, functionally inventing the stealth genre. AndDeath Strandingexists in a genre all its own, even if it hasn’t taken off like stealth games have since the advent ofMetal Gear.
