Well, I think that's very very likely to be the case for most people, but I'll always remember Jubei Kibagami, Tetsuo Shima, Shotaro Kineda, Devilman, and D (Vampire Hunter D), from my childhood/early teens. They're as recognizable to me as Mario. But, yeah, I'm certainly not representative of the majority, I'd say.

PS. Didn't watch the video, just responding to what you said in your post.

Was a bit surpised by this myself.  I remember them from ages ago, but I didn't realize they were a Nintendo franchise until I saw the Smash annoucement.  I think people would have guessed Solid Snake and Ice Climbers too if they were there.

I feel the same way dude.  But the problem is this is the western world, and characters that appeal more to the west are of course going to be more recongizable.  I was certain more people were going to get R.O.B and Rosalina, but no, they just guess Disney characters.  :/

Well, the serious hayday of Anime (in my opinion) was the 80's/90's (Devilman Mange/Anime is way older, but the movie was from the 80's), when the movies I mentioned came out.  Current anime (at least, from my American perspective), just isn't that brutal anymore.  Granted, I'm not emersed in Japanese culture either, so I'm sure there's a ton of good stuff I'm simply not aware of (Attack on Titan is pretty badass).  But, those ones were obsessed favorites among me and my friends.