Super Mario Bros
Mario doesn’t feel like an 80s icon. Sure he has been around enough for a hearty sense of nostalgia to surround him but unlike so many gaming greats of yesteryear he never stopped. Nintendo keeps reintroducing him to new systems and new generations while his fan base gradually grew rather than ever leaving. That is why purchasing a Mario gift isn’t like picking up a retro gift. You aren’t reminding somebody of their childhood, you are gifting something that is still resonating today.
Unfortunately, that also means there is a lot of junk to sort through. Mario is big business so there are a lot of companies taking shortcuts and cashing in on his familiar face. That means the shelves are lined with ugly keychains, thin pixelated shirts and grotesque stuffed animals that only resemble the heroes and villains they’re supposed to represent. That’s not what we’re about. LinkandMario was built on carefully considering every item we sell and Mario is no exception. If it doesn’t feel like a quality gift that honours everything you know and love about the characters, we don’t stock it.
That means that every product here was chosen with one type of gamer in mind. Not your run of the mill Mario enjoyer that maybe played y Mario on a friends’ Atari during game-night. We mean the individual who can hum the Koji Kondo score without knowing they’re humming it. We’re talking about the picker who can argue all day about Mario Kart’s toughest track. We’re looking at you, the person who could pick up a controller this second and immediately know what button does what.
That kind of person deserves better than an inferior mario-themed coffee mug from a service station. You’ve earned something that commemorates two things: how long this franchise has been with you and how much it still means to you today. Whether that is something to collect, something to hang on your wall, or simply something to use everyday; we make sure it says Mario in the best way possible.
No filler. We cut any merchandise we felt wasn’t holding Mario to a high enough standard. Every product you see on this page passed the test and would get a spot in our own shopping carts.