I grew up with the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, so I have a soft spot for Nintendo. I’m still a big-time gamer and play my Nintendo Switch on a regular basis. I even run Nintendo Philly Meetup, a local group of gamers in Philadelphia who meet up (right now, virtually) to play Nintendo Switch together. So, I was interested in checking out the audiobook Super Mario by Jeff Ryan.

Reviews for this book are mixed. Some people love it, others don’t. I went into it with low expectations, and I left satisfied. The narrator was pleasant to listen to and his voice fit the narrative well. As for the content, it lived up to what I anticipated. This book is an overview of the history of Nintendo up until a certain point. Don’t expect to get any information about the Wii U or Nintendo Switch. This covers the inception of the company through the Wii era, and I found it to be a fascinating journey. I especially enjoyed hearing about the Wii because it reminded me just how groundbreaking that system was and the influence it had on society worldwide.

I’ve read numerous books about video games, and this one didn’t reveal anything new to me. However, I didn’t go into this audiobook looking for that. I purely wanted to listen to a tale that provides a greatest hits package of one of my favorite companies of all time: Nintendo. This Audible audiobook did just that. Nothing more, and nothing less. If that sounds good to you, then give Super Mario a go.