After running a Super Mario Bros archive for 12 years, one dedicated historian was about to quit forever if it wasn’t for the help of 4,000 fans: "You have saved my life"

An online archivist preserving Super Mario Bros. history has been "saved" by the community that has been enjoying his content for almost 12 years.

Supper Mario Broth, run by an unnamed history buff, is the blanket name for a blog and social media page that's been entirely dedicated to posting thousands of images, factoids, long-form deep-dives, and everything else you can dream of from the Mushroom Kingdom. This can range from unused Luigi models, pictures from long-lost magazines, the fact that Rosalina's eyes strangely mirror each other, or the finding that a little Mario will pop out of a drowning Mario's neck Xenomorph-style.

Supper Mario Broth's owner and sole contributor ran into some recent difficulties, however. In a now unlisted YouTube video - beware before clicking, there's some pretty heavy subject matter involved - the Mario historian explained that recent family tragedies and a declining financial situation meant he would no longer be able to run the Mario archive that's been such a prominent corner of the internet for more than a decade. 

Nintendo fans are nothing if not dedicated, though, and countless internet surfers who have appreciated Super Mario Broth's work over the years quickly flocked to support the blog. Supper Mario Broth's Patreon page had a few hundred paying supporters before his plea for help, but it's now incredibly rocketed past the 4,000-member mark.

"With your incredible support, I am overjoyed to announce that not only will I be able to run Supper Mario Broth full time, but I will be able to also invest into material and equipment for more and better Mario content," the blog runner tweeted. "Thank you all so much. You have saved my life. I love you."

It's a rare happy ending on the internet since a whopping 12 years of meticulous, almost daily documentation has finally paid off in a material way, and even better, Supper Mario Broth's owner can continue working on the project that's clearly bringing him joy. 

In the meantime, see our upcoming games of 2024 and beyond list to find out what’s on the horizon.