VIDEO game critics have claimed the family-friendly Super Mario video games series is unsuitable for children because it’s SEXIST.

The Japanese games firm Nintendo recently released an iPhone game called Super Mario Run which is the first smartphone title to feature its much-loved character.

But feminists have rounded upon the game, with one writer suggesting it was time Mario was rescued BY his love interest Princess Peach, rather than going on missions to save her.

Chris Suellentrop, a top games reviewers at the New York Times, said the recent iPhone Super Mario Game was “inappropriate for children”.

“In an era where we can watch Frozen or Moana … this is not okay,” he said on his podcast, Shall We Play, according to Heat Street.

“People give Nintendo a pass because they’re family-friendly, you know what? This is not family-friendly.”

Nintendo and Disney each released a new "franchise" installment on Thursday that I regard as inappropriate for children #grumpyoldmantweets https://t.co/wFDZfeRTyw — Chris Suellentrop (@suellentrop) December 17, 2016

The retrograde gender politics of Super Mario Run are disappointing, even if this tweet makes me feel like a cliché pic.twitter.com/C9HsitIDn2 — Chris Suellentrop (@suellentrop) December 15, 2016

Most Mario games involve saving Princess Peach, who has inevitably been kidnapped by the plumber’s arch enemy, Bowser.

Ina Fried, a respected technology journalist, said these old-school storylines do not reflect the modern world.

In an article for Re/Code, she wrote: “It has been 30 years since Mario first rescued the princess back in 1985. Since that time, more than 50 women have gone into space, more than two dozen have been elected to the US Senate and several hundred have climbed Mount Everest.

“More importantly, the next generation of girls and boys are learning gender norms from, among other things, games like Super Mario Run. Personally, I think it is about time for a game where Peach rescues Mario.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun.