24 Famous Video Games That Changed Dramatically At Some Point

Super Mario's origins are much more quaint than the pipe-hopping, turtle jumping, dinosaur riding, karting, smash brothering, golfing, Chris Pratt-sounding plumber that we all know and love today… When he made his debut in 1981, he was a lot more like you and I… Just a guy in a jumpsuit trying to save his girlfriend from his escape gorilla-monster pet at a construction site. These types of changes are pretty common in video games, and many characters have seen a growing depth in lore and adventures from their initial debuts on more humble systems-- While many other games have changed dramatically over the course of their initial production. Did you know that Sonic the Hedgehog could have been a rabbit? Or that Jean-Claude Van Damme was supposed to star in Mortal Kombat? Even the aforementioned Donkey Kong was supposed to tied to classic cartoon hero Popeye rather than it's own thing. Here are some of the craziest ways video games have changed over time.