Mario wasn't the only video game character to go through a weird transition into anime, here are some more starting with default fighting game hero Ryu.

You'd be forgiven for thinking the above image is someone else, even Google isn't 100% convinced that the picture is Ryu from Street Fighter on lens search.
The anime series Street Fighter II V was an unusual beast of an anime, gone are Ryu's trademark karate gi, headband and gloves for several selections of casual clothing throughout the series, Ryu is defined as more laid back in personality and a country bumpkin with a more light hearted personality, his hair is also the default spiky anime protagonist rather than his default brush like cut.
This version does eliminate alot of Ryu's more bad ass elements but it does however give Ryu's brother like relationship with Ken alot more weight as they both travel the world in search of Street Fighters to battle against, which is so much better to understand than the tiresome, tournament is really a front for an evil organisation.
Now that I think about, pretty much all spiky hair male protagonists of the 90s were ripping off Goku even if they weren't originally meant to be like that.