Nintendo Quiz
Mario, Zelda, Yoshi and a 19th-century card company: 15 questions on the house that built modern gaming.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 to make which product?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Playing cards
Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo in Kyoto in 1889 to produce hanafuda, traditional Japanese flower cards, and the company still sells them today, including Mario themed decks.
In the 1960s Nintendo tried running a taxi company and a chain of short stay love hotels before settling on toys and games.
What is Mario's profession in most of his games?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Plumber
Mario has been a plumber since Mario Bros. in 1983, which put him and Luigi in the sewers of New York, and the warp pipes of the Mushroom Kingdom have kept him on the job ever since.
In the original 1981 Donkey Kong he was a carpenter, and he only got his name after Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segale, demanded overdue rent.
Which Nintendo console, launched in March 2017, works both as a home console and as a handheld?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Nintendo Switch
The Switch slides out of its dock to become a tablet with detachable Joy-Con controllers, a hybrid design that made it one of the best-selling consoles ever made.
The Switch launched on 3 March 2017 alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Nintendo released the more powerful Switch 2 in 2025.
What is the name of Mario's green dinosaur companion, introduced in Super Mario World in 1990?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Yoshi
Yoshi first appeared in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo, letting Mario ride him, swallow enemies and flutter jump, before starring in his own games such as Yoshi's Island.
Shigeru Miyamoto wanted Mario to ride a dinosaur as early as the NES days, but the hardware could not handle it until the Super Nintendo arrived.
Princess Peach rules over which kingdom?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mushroom Kingdom
Peach is the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, home to Toads, warp pipes and Bowser's endless kidnapping attempts since Super Mario Bros. in 1985, and she was called Princess Toadstool in early Western releases.
Sarasaland belongs to Princess Daisy, who debuted in Super Mario Land on the Game Boy in 1989.
Which Nintendo designer created Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto joined Nintendo as an artist in 1977 and designed Donkey Kong in 1981, then created Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda for the NES.
Miyamoto has said Zelda's exploration was inspired by his childhood wandering the hills, caves and lakes around Sonobe near Kyoto.
Which 1996 Nintendo 64 launch game took Mario into fully 3D worlds for the first time?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 launched with the Nintendo 64 in June 1996 and used the console's analogue stick to let Mario run, jump and swim freely around Princess Peach's castle.
Its open 3D design influenced countless games and it sold about 12 million copies, the best-selling game on the Nintendo 64.
Which Zelda game launched alongside the Nintendo Switch in March 2017?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched with the Switch on 3 March 2017, reinventing the series as a vast open world where players could climb almost anything.
Its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, arrived in May 2023 and sold 10 million copies in its first three days.
Which bounty hunter is the protagonist of the Metroid series?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Samus Aran
Samus Aran, an armoured bounty hunter, has starred in Metroid since the 1986 NES original, and players who finished the game quickly discovered she was a woman.
Metroid and Castlevania gave their name to the Metroidvania genre of games built around exploring one big interconnected map.
In the original 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game, what is the name of the woman Mario rescues?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Pauline
Pauline is the damsel Donkey Kong carries to the top of the girders, named after Polly James, the wife of a Nintendo of America warehouse manager.
Pauline returned decades later as the singing mayor of New Donk City in Super Mario Odyssey in 2017.
In which Japanese city is Nintendo's headquarters?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Kyoto
Nintendo has been based in Kyoto since its founding in 1889, and it still operates from the city rather than moving to Tokyo like most big Japanese companies.
The company's original 1930s headquarters building in Kyoto was converted into a boutique hotel called Marufukuro in 2022.
Which 1995 Nintendo system displayed its games in red and black 3D through a tabletop headset?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Virtual Boy
The Virtual Boy used two red LED displays to create a stereoscopic 3D effect, but headaches, a monochrome picture and just 22 games led Nintendo to drop it within a year.
It was the final hardware project of Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi, who left Nintendo in 1996.
Which was the first Nintendo home console to use optical discs instead of cartridges?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
GameCube
The GameCube, released in 2001, used small 8 cm proprietary discs holding 1.5 GB, after the Nintendo 64 had stuck with cartridges while rivals moved to CDs.
Nintendo's abandoned mid 1990s CD add-on deal with Sony led directly to Sony launching its own console, the PlayStation.
Which Nintendo engineer created the Game & Watch handhelds and the original Game Boy?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Gunpei Yokoi
Gunpei Yokoi led Nintendo's Research and Development 1 team, launching Game & Watch in 1980 and the Game Boy in 1989, and he also produced the first Metroid.
Yokoi's design philosophy, lateral thinking with withered technology, meant using cheap, proven parts in clever new ways rather than cutting edge hardware.
Which Nintendo president, who died in 2015, said in a famous 2005 speech: On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata gave the line in his 2005 Game Developers Conference keynote, finishing with But in my heart, I am a gamer, and he oversaw the DS, Wii and the Switch's early development.
Iwata was a programmer first, and he famously rewrote parts of Pokémon Gold and Silver so the whole Kanto region could fit in the cartridge.
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All Technology quizzes →About the Nintendo Quiz
Nintendo started out in 1889 printing hand painted playing cards in Kyoto, and more than a century later it was selling tens of millions of Switch consoles a year. In between came a plumber who began life as a carpenter, a hero named after a princess's legend, and a red and black 3D headset that nobody bought.
These 15 questions cover Nintendo's consoles, its most famous characters, the designers behind them and the odd corners of its history. It suits anyone who grew up with a Game Boy or a Switch, with a few questions that only real fans will get.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What did Nintendo make before video games?
Nintendo was founded in Kyoto in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to make hanafuda playing cards, and it later tried taxis, instant rice and toys before entering video games in the 1970s.
Who created Mario?
Shigeru Miyamoto designed Mario for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, then went on to create The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox and Pikmin.
What was Nintendo's biggest console flop?
The Virtual Boy of 1995 sold fewer than a million units and was discontinued within a year, making it Nintendo's shortest lived home system.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Nintendo was founded in 1889 to make which product?
Playing cards Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo in Kyoto in 1889 to produce hanafuda, traditional Japanese flower cards, and the company still sells them today, including Mario themed decks. In the 1960s Nintendo tried running a taxi company and a chain of short stay love hotels before settling on toys and games. - What is Mario's profession in most of his games?
Plumber Mario has been a plumber since Mario Bros. in 1983, which put him and Luigi in the sewers of New York, and the warp pipes of the Mushroom Kingdom have kept him on the job ever since. In the original 1981 Donkey Kong he was a carpenter, and he only got his name after Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segale, demanded overdue rent. - Which Nintendo console, launched in March 2017, works both as a home console and as a handheld?
Nintendo Switch The Switch slides out of its dock to become a tablet with detachable Joy-Con controllers, a hybrid design that made it one of the best-selling consoles ever made. The Switch launched on 3 March 2017 alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Nintendo released the more powerful Switch 2 in 2025. - What is the name of Mario's green dinosaur companion, introduced in Super Mario World in 1990?
Yoshi Yoshi first appeared in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo, letting Mario ride him, swallow enemies and flutter jump, before starring in his own games such as Yoshi's Island. Shigeru Miyamoto wanted Mario to ride a dinosaur as early as the NES days, but the hardware could not handle it until the Super Nintendo arrived. - Princess Peach rules over which kingdom?
Mushroom Kingdom Peach is the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, home to Toads, warp pipes and Bowser's endless kidnapping attempts since Super Mario Bros. in 1985, and she was called Princess Toadstool in early Western releases. Sarasaland belongs to Princess Daisy, who debuted in Super Mario Land on the Game Boy in 1989. - Which Nintendo designer created Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda?
Shigeru Miyamoto Shigeru Miyamoto joined Nintendo as an artist in 1977 and designed Donkey Kong in 1981, then created Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda for the NES. Miyamoto has said Zelda's exploration was inspired by his childhood wandering the hills, caves and lakes around Sonobe near Kyoto. - Which 1996 Nintendo 64 launch game took Mario into fully 3D worlds for the first time?
Super Mario 64 Super Mario 64 launched with the Nintendo 64 in June 1996 and used the console's analogue stick to let Mario run, jump and swim freely around Princess Peach's castle. Its open 3D design influenced countless games and it sold about 12 million copies, the best-selling game on the Nintendo 64. - Which Zelda game launched alongside the Nintendo Switch in March 2017?
Breath of the Wild The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched with the Switch on 3 March 2017, reinventing the series as a vast open world where players could climb almost anything. Its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, arrived in May 2023 and sold 10 million copies in its first three days. - Which bounty hunter is the protagonist of the Metroid series?
Samus Aran Samus Aran, an armoured bounty hunter, has starred in Metroid since the 1986 NES original, and players who finished the game quickly discovered she was a woman. Metroid and Castlevania gave their name to the Metroidvania genre of games built around exploring one big interconnected map. - In the original 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game, what is the name of the woman Mario rescues?
Pauline Pauline is the damsel Donkey Kong carries to the top of the girders, named after Polly James, the wife of a Nintendo of America warehouse manager. Pauline returned decades later as the singing mayor of New Donk City in Super Mario Odyssey in 2017. - In which Japanese city is Nintendo's headquarters?
Kyoto Nintendo has been based in Kyoto since its founding in 1889, and it still operates from the city rather than moving to Tokyo like most big Japanese companies. The company's original 1930s headquarters building in Kyoto was converted into a boutique hotel called Marufukuro in 2022. - Which 1995 Nintendo system displayed its games in red and black 3D through a tabletop headset?
Virtual Boy The Virtual Boy used two red LED displays to create a stereoscopic 3D effect, but headaches, a monochrome picture and just 22 games led Nintendo to drop it within a year. It was the final hardware project of Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi, who left Nintendo in 1996. - Which was the first Nintendo home console to use optical discs instead of cartridges?
GameCube The GameCube, released in 2001, used small 8 cm proprietary discs holding 1.5 GB, after the Nintendo 64 had stuck with cartridges while rivals moved to CDs. Nintendo's abandoned mid 1990s CD add-on deal with Sony led directly to Sony launching its own console, the PlayStation. - Which Nintendo engineer created the Game & Watch handhelds and the original Game Boy?
Gunpei Yokoi Gunpei Yokoi led Nintendo's Research and Development 1 team, launching Game & Watch in 1980 and the Game Boy in 1989, and he also produced the first Metroid. Yokoi's design philosophy, lateral thinking with withered technology, meant using cheap, proven parts in clever new ways rather than cutting edge hardware. - Which Nintendo president, who died in 2015, said in a famous 2005 speech: On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer?
Satoru Iwata Satoru Iwata gave the line in his 2005 Game Developers Conference keynote, finishing with But in my heart, I am a gamer, and he oversaw the DS, Wii and the Switch's early development. Iwata was a programmer first, and he famously rewrote parts of Pokémon Gold and Silver so the whole Kanto region could fit in the cartridge.
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