<p>Long story short, my common app essay involves a reference to the entire premise of the franchise - Mario saving Peach atop a castle. </p>
<p>At first I didn't have any real problems with this, my English teacher said it was cute and someone that read it on here didn't seem to have a problem understanding the metaphor so I thought I was set save some minor changes, but when I showed it to my parents, they were confused about the reference and I had to explain it to them and the next day my counselor said that even though he understood the reference, that I should add some explanation. </p>
<p>The problem I'm having is that adding a explanation explaining Mario, even an extremely brief one, throws off the flow of the paragraph. I'm not willing to make the sacrifice if the chance of someone not understanding the metaphor is one in a million.</p>
<p>So I ask you the parents, many of who say they're 50+, do you know who Mario is?</p>
<p>You will be fine. Maybe add a little context about who the characters are and what they are trying to do just in case someone isn’t as familiar with it.</p>
<p>My youngest son is playing a Mario game right now and I made him a Mario Halloween costume. Yet, I do not know “the story.” Remember - if you didn’t have a “Gameboy” or went straight to an XBox or Playstation, you would never have the privilege of meeting Nintendo’s Mario & Luigi.</p>
<p>I have played the original game and I would recognize the name Mario if the context were right. I thought of that when I saw the title of your thread, but it wasn’t completely obvious to me that must be what you were asking about. I know there was a princess at the end of each bit but I could not have told you her name, nor would I recognize Peach as being her name out of context, though once I knew you were talking about Mario I would assume Peach is likely the princess.</p>
<p>As far as story telling, I don’t think I ever finished the game or saw it finished, so I don’t think you should assume that even people who recognize the name Mario would know the full story. I presume he manages to rescue the princess at the end.</p>
<p>Age 47 here . . . I know Mario and what he looks like but not the story and character details. Mario Kart is back in a huge way with teenage boys though. My just turned 18 year old and his friends are all about Mario these days. </p>
<p>Another response similar to the others. In context, I’d probably understand who “Mario” refers to, but I don’t know what the premise of the game is. FWIW, without any context, I wouldn’t get it at all. If, for example, I were to read just the heading of, say, a post on an online board (which, by happenstance, I just did), I wouldn’t (indeed, didn’t) know who “Mario” referred to. Andretti? Cuomo?</p>
<p>Agree with others that I know Mario from the games (and commercials) but wasn’t quite sure from the title of your post which Mario you were referring to. I think Peach is another Nintendo character but would not understand if there is some significance to Mario saving Peach atop a castle or that this is the premise to the franchise. If the essay really rests on the reader having outside knowledge about Mario and Peach, you may be taking a risk if you happen to get an essay reader that doesn’t have that knowledge and will just be confused by your essay or may not bother to try to figure it out. Good luck!</p>
<p>Because of where I live, the title of the thread brought to mind Mario Lemieux. I’m 52 and have heard of the Mario games but don’t know anything about them.</p>
<p>I know, because my son had to be Bowser for Halloween one year, and a Chain Chomp another year. Guess who maid the costumes…</p>
<p>If you call her “Princess Peach” and early on in the essay work in the word “Nintendo”, you have a better chance of cluing the adcom in on what Mario you are talking about.</p>
<p>I didn’t originally know which Mario, but I know the old character. I personally wouldn’t use it for my essay, but it depends on where you apply.</p>
<p>You definitely don’t want to confuse an admissions counselor reading the essay with an obscure reference. I don’t think Mario is totally obscure. I would say the chances are high but not 100% that the reader will have heard of Mario, but maybe there is a 50% chance that the reader has actually played a game. The chances of knowing who Peach is, I am guessing, less than 20%. This is all total speculation. (I fall into the category of having heard of Mario and maybe being able to draw a picture of him, but it stops there.)</p>
<p>Aren’t a lot of admissions counselors in the 25-40 age range?</p>
<p>Peach is the princess. The plot of the mario games is that he has to save Peach from Bowser (which is a giant turtle with spikes on his shell). </p>
<p>“Peach is the princess. The plot of the mario games is that he has to save Peach from Bowser (which is a giant turtle with spikes on his shell).”</p>
<p>Thanks. As a non-video-game player, this strikes me as akin to when Trekkies or Dungeons and Dragons people try to explain the characters and rules. It’s just going to go in one ear and out the other! </p>
<p>I thought this was going to refer to some TV chef… I do know who Mario is, but like most posters, did not know the princess had a name. Been a long time since my kids played this. Admins tend to be younger, but I don’t know you want to stake everything on that.</p>