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Mario
Mario SM3D World Artwork
Official artwork of Mario from Super Mario 3D World.

Series

Mario

Debut

Donkey Kong (1981)

Console of origin

Arcade

Species

Human

Gender

Male

 Mario is main characters and protagonist of the long-running and highly successful Mario series. Mario is mascot of Nintendo

Mario is said to be the most well-known video game character in the world,Mario was also the rival to Sega's the Hedgehog in the 1990s.

Description[]

Mario appears as a short and portly adult man in most of his appearances. Most of the time, he is wearing his trademark outfit: his red cap (with the M symbol), blue overalls with gold colored buttons, red shirt, white gloves and brown shoes. He has short light brown hair and a thick black mustache. Every part of his looks has had, at some point, a certain significance in plot and gameplay: the cap worked as a "shield" of sorts in Super Mario 64, and when he had his cap stolen, he'd lose 50% more the health with each hit, making its recovery a top priority. In the Mario and Luigi RPG series, the 'Stache stat is the equivalent of Charisma in RPGs, meaning that a high number here (a "well groomed mustache") will translate to healthy discounts in stores. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his overalls (and Luigi's) appear to be made of denim.

Mario's looks were a product of the limited graphics technology of the time: his arms would vanish with a shirt of a solid color, hair could not be properly drawn, detailed or animated; and the head could not host a proper mouth. As the developing team, headed by Shigeru Miyamoto, wanted a properly detailed character, so they gave him overalls, the mustache, the cap and a big nose, in order to make a recognizable sprite. Mario's looks have been mostly unchanged for much of the franchise's history, except for the first games: in Donkey Kong, he had red overalls and a blue shirt, and in Super Mario Bros his sprite had red overalls and a brown shirt, while the artwork retained the original red/blue outfit. It wasn't until Super Mario Bros. 2 that Mario got his current clothes. Unsurprisingly, due to the notoriety of the first Mario games, his appearances in merchandising and the Super Mario Bros. Super Show cartoon segment, his clothes had the Donkey Kong palette. It´s also worth noting that Lou Albano, who portrayed Mario in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show live-action segment, often wore a plain white shirt.

In addition to his trademark clothes, Mario has used several other outfits depending on the activities. He has been seen with several sporting clothes (tennis, soccer, golf) and he wore lighter, more laid-back shirts in Super Mario Sunshine, in tune with the tropical vacation setting of the game.

Although Mario's age is never really confirmed, Super Smash Bros. Melee says that Mario is 26 years old when reading the description of his trophy in the game.

History[]

Mario first appeared in 1981, in the Donkey Kong arcade video game, as a carpenter named "Jumpman." There are two possible theories why Mario was named such: a heated argument ensued between Nintendo's warehouse landlord Mario Segale, and the president of Nintendo at the time, Minoru Arakawa. After a resolution was brought between the two, fellow Nintendo employees chose to name the character in the game Mario, after him. Theory 2: There was a family-owned restaurant nearby Nintendo of America called Mario and Luigi's.

Due to hardware limitations at the time, Miyamoto dressed Mario in bright red overalls and a blue shirt to contrast against the background. He also gave him white gloves, so that the player could see the arms moving on the screen. A cap was added so that Miyamoto would not have to animate the character's hair when he jumped up and down. However, Jumpman did not originally have a moustache. The black pixels mistaken for a moustache were actually the space between Jumpman's nose and mouth; The black was just the black background. However, fans of the game mistook it for a moustache, so in all later games and artwork, Mario was given a moustache.

Mario was developed as a "go to" character for games that could be put in any title as needed. At the time, Miyamoto did not expect Mario to become popular. Over time, his appearance has become more defined, for example a red "M" in a white circle has been added to his hat, and gold buttons have been added to his overalls. He has appeared in many television programs, video releases, comic books, and a feature-length film. He has also spawned a series of branded merchandise.

Donkey Kong[]

Mario was a carpenter and plumber who had come in possession of Donkey Kong and his son, Donkey Kong Jr. first appearing in Donkey Kong. Mario, unwittingly, mistreated the ape by putting him in a circus. In the circus Donkey Kong had to use his legs to balance the barrel he was on, juggle pineapples and try to avoid deadly flames. One day, Donkey Kong captured Mario's girlfriend Pauline and took her to a construction site. Mario went on to rescue his girlfriend avoiding Barrels thrown at him by Donkey Kong and a fire started by the ape. After going through four different areas on the construction site Mario rescued Pauline and Donkey Kong was recaptured.

Mario went on to imprison Donkey Kong in a cage in Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Jr. went on to try and rescue his father. Mario attempted to stop the young ape and released various types of traps mainly consisting of animals. Junior eventually did make it to his father and the two returned to Donkey Kong Island just after Donkey Kong made a shot at Stanley the Bugman's greenhouse. This was the only time that Mario was assigned as a villain.

Forgetting about Donkey Kong, he meets up with his brother Luigi, the two would be called to repair a badly damaged Brooklyn sewer line. Alone in the sewers, they would find the line to be damaged by strange creatures. The brothers would be forced to fight off the creatures in a tough battle. The brothers would, albeit briefly, see Bowser for the first time to be in charge of the creatures, but would not fight the reptile king. After defeating the creatures, Mario and Luigi would hear the voice of Princess Peach and would follow it into the Mushroom Kingdom.

Super Mario Bros.[]

After ending up in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi attempted to stop Bowser's reign of terror and defeated seven False Bowsers and free several Toads imprisoned by the False Bowsers. Mario and Luigi were then able to defeat the real Bowser and free Princess Peach, and return her to the people of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels[]

After defeating Bowser and his minions, He comes back and kidnaps the Princess again. Mario and Luigi attempt to stop him but Bowser has set traps around the kingdom. Mario and Luigi manage to get past these traps and stop the evil king yet again and save the Princess.

Super Mario Bros. 2/Super Mario USA[]

Mario and Luigi ended up in the dreamland Subcon to end the evil Frog Tyrant Wart's rule over the land. Aided by Peach and Toad, the brothers were able to defeat Wart and free the Subcon fairies. Mario then looked for a while before returning to his sleep.

Super Mario Bros. 3[]

Bowser returned yet again, but this time with his young children. Seven of his children took over a world in the Mushroom Kingdom that was liberated by Mario with Luigi. Taking advantage of the plumbers handling his children Bowser kidnapped Peach. Peach was later freed by Mario.

Super Mario World[]

Bowser captured Princess Peach while she, Mario and Luigi were on vacation at Dinosaur world. On the way, Mario and Luigi met Yoshi who told them that Bowser and his children trapped his friends in castles. Mario and Luigi work with Yoshi to defeat Bowser's children, save his friends and beat Bowser once and for all. Afterwards they save the Princess and the four continue their vacation.

Super Mario 64[]

Mario heads to Princess Peach's Castle after he receiving a letter from her, inviting him to eat cake. Upon entering, Mario hears Bowser speaking and finds out that Peach and the Toads have been captured inside Painting Worlds that Bowser created. To save them, he enters the Painting Worlds and gathers the Power Stars that he scattered. After saving the Toads, he collected enough Power Stars and faced Bowser in combat and ended his terrible reign. Princess Peach was saved, and she thanked him with a kiss and baked him a cake. This is also Mario's first 3D debut.

Mario Party series[]

The hero parties on with his own series of annual Mario Party series. Mario is always represented by his trademark red color. The mini-games test Mario's luck, skill, and endurance and reward him with coins. In the first three Mario Party games, Mario aimed to become the Superstar. Though Mario doesn't have many distinguishable abilities from the other Mario Party characters, the most notable difference is Mario's ability to use the Fireball Orb in Mario Party 7. Whenever Mario used an Orb on a space, the space would have Mario's "M" insignia. As it was revealed in the official artwork of Mario Party 4, Mario's item of choice is the Mega Mushroom. Mario's Duel Mode partner is the defensive Koopa Troopa in Mario Party 3. He also challenged by the player for the Courage Stamp if he was not selected. Throughout the series, Mario's famed jumping ability is also evened out with the other characters, leveling the playing field.

Luigi's Mansion[]

In Luigi's Mansion, King Boo tricked Luigi into thinking he had won a mansion and was able to trap Mario in a painting. Mario was later rescued by Luigi and was freed from his painting.

Super Mario Sunshine[]

After Luigi saved him from the painting he was imprisoned in by King Boo, Mario took a well deserved vacation with Peach and Toadsworth during the events of Super Mario Sunshine. Upon arriving on the Pianta populated Isle Delfino however, Mario was branded a criminal. Apparently, an impersonator of Mario called Shadow Mario had been vandalizing Isle Delfino with a strange type of slime called Goop. Confused, Mario took a defensive hearing of his so-called "crime". Using a smart portable water pump named F.L.U.D.D., Mario had to clean the whole island of Goop and return the Shine Sprites back to the Shine Gate. During this adventure, Mario also saved the many Yoshi sub-species of Isle Delfino. Mario started cleaning up the isle and found out who his impersonator was. It was Bowser Jr., Bowser's youngest son. He kidnapped Princess Peach and took her to the volcanic Corona Mountain. After Mario defeated Shadow Mario in Episode 7 of every level, Bowser Jr. flooded Delfino Square. Mario went to Corona Mountain and discovered Bowser and son, bathing in a tub of hot Slime Goop. When Mario flipped the tub upside down, they fell on to an island, and Isle Delfino was saved. Mario then was finally able to enjoy his vacation with Peach and the others.

New Super Mario Bros.[]

Mario went back to his side scrolling roots during the events of New Super Mario Bros. Surprisingly, Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser Jr., not Bowser. Mario and Princess Peach were taking a stroll around Princess Peach's Castle. On their way back, the castle was struck by lightning, possibly from Lakithunder. Mario rushed to the castle, being distracted and forgetting about Princess Peach. Princess Peach was then captured by Bowser Jr. and Mario gave chase.

Mario had his classic battle with Bowser at the end of the first world, dropping him into the lava . The reluctant Bowser Jr., took Princess Peach through eight different worlds. Mario finally confronted the undead King Koopa who had become Dry Bowser, who was then defeated again. Bowser Jr. later tossed his father's skeletal remains into a cauldron and revived Bowser to his natural self and they both battled Mario together. Mario emerged victorious and received a kiss from Princess Peach.

Super Mario Galaxy[]

During the night of the Star Festival, Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach telling him that she is waiting for him at the castle and wants to give him something. Suddenly, Bowser invades, turning the festival into chaos. He captures Princess Peach by ripping the castle from its foundation, lifting it into space. Mario makes to the castle in time as it is lifted up trying to protect Peach. Suddenly, a Magikoopa appears, and blasts Mario off into the cosmos. Later, he wakes up on a mysterious planet. He discovers a white bunny, who later is known as a white Luma. He also meets Rosalina, the protector of the Lumas. She summons the white Luma whom Mario found earlier on the planet. Giving him the Luma, Mario gains the power to Spin. He also can fly through the cosmos using items known as Launch Stars.

After retrieving the first Grand Star, Mario is transported to the Comet Observatory, which acts as a hub area. Each time Mario gains a Grand Star, a new dome would open up. After gaining sixty Power Stars, Mario is able to fly to the center of the universe to fight Bowser. Bowser Jr. holds Peach captive while Mario and Bowser are fighting. Eventually, Mario lands the final blow on Bowser, sending him to the very lava of the planet he was creating. Mario then retrieves the seventh and final Grand Star. On his way to the Comet Observatory, Bowser Jr. drops Peach out of his Airship. Mario catches her at the last second. Then Bowser appears, badly hurting, either from the battle with Mario or the landing in the lava. He moans over his defeat and his crumbling galaxy. Suddenly, the Sun explodes and transforms into a black hole, sucking in everything in the universe including the castle and the observatory. Mario's Luma spurts out of his hat, saying goodbye. Then it throws itself into the black hole. All of the Lumas then go into the black hole to reverse its effect, saving the entire universe. When Mario wakes up, he sees he is back in the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach and Bowser can be seen alongside him. After the credits, it shows that Mario's Luma is safe, alive and happy on a planet that has a place that resembles the remains of a destroyed Starshroom.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[]

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario and his friends Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad celebrate Princess Peach's Birthday. Suddenly, a cake appears. While the group investigates it, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings emerge from the cake. They trap Princess Peach in the cake, and ride off in the airship, dropping off Koopalings at their respective castles. After a dangerous adventure through all the worlds, Mario and his friends finally reach Bowser's Castle and fight Bowser. In a long and difficult battle, Mario throws Bowser to a chasm. But the "Peach" Mario saves is really Kamek the Magikoopa in disguise, who uses magic to make Bowser so big that he is virtually invulnerable. Mario must make it through the rest of the level while Giant Bowser breathes fireballs and, near the middle, jumps and creates waves of lava. Eventually, Mario reaches the real Peach and a skull switch that will drop Bowser out of the castle. When Mario exits the castle, with Peach at his side, Luigi appears in a hijacked hot air balloon, with Toads in another one behind him. Luigi offers Mario and Peach his balloon. Luigi intends to get into that balloon too, but when he tried to open the door, he fell over instead. They had taken off. Luigi then gets into the Toads' balloon. Peach then tells Mario about the secret world, World 9.

Super Mario Galaxy 2[]

Mario appears in the sequel of Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2 where he is occasionally joined by Luigi and Yoshi to save the universe from being ruled by Bowser and to retrieve the Power Stars.

Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach and goes to her castle. On his way, he finds a lost Luma, who decides to stow away in his hat, giving Mario the power to Star Spin. When he goes to the castle, he notices that Bowser is gigantic and has the princess in his hand. Mario goes after him and ends up on the Starship Mario, where he meets Lubba and his crew. To defeat Bowser and rescue Princess Peach, Mario had to collect seventy Power Stars so the Starship Mario can advance to Bowser's Galaxy Reactor. After a long fight, Mario defeats Bowser. Suddenly, Rosalina and her Comet Observatory appear before Mario and Peach. Rosalina thanks Mario for watching over the Luma that he had found, and the Luma returns to the Comet Observatory along with Mario's hat. Mario and his companions return to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario and luigi have the same abilities except in a few situations. Luigi runs faster and jumps higher but can't swim as well as Mario. when Luigi swims, spinning under water takes air. This doesn't hjappen with Mario.

If Mario obtains the remaining fifty Power Stars, he may go on a hunt for the Green Power Stars, referred to as Cosmic Jewels. Once the Green Stars have been found, Mario can travel to the Grandmaster Galaxy to get the last two Power Stars.

Super Mario 3D Land[]

Mario appears in Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. He use several classic power-ups, the most notable of which is the Tanooki Suit from Super Mario Bros. 3. He once again saves Princess Peach from Bowser's evil clutches. During the adventure, Mario battles Bowser as well as two of his henchmen Boom Boom and Pom Pom.

After a devastating storm, all of the Tanooki Leaves were blown off the Tail Tree outside Peach's Castle. The next day, Mario and three Toads check on the scene when they notice a floating letter. They open it to find out that Bowser kidnapped Peach while she checked the damage to the tree. Mario and the Toads then run to rescue her. While running through the worlds, he receives letters from Peach to learn about her predicament.

At Bowser's castle, Mario fights the Koopa king, activating the switch on the other side of the bridge and sending Bowser into the lava. However, the area beside the castle only contains a cage lying on its side. He enters a door and finds Peach, but, upon running over to her, he finds out that it is only a wooden cutout. Bowser then emerges, carrying the real princess, and flees to his second castle.

After heading through another level, Mario reaches Bowser's second castle and the princess, this time tied to the flagpole. Bowser then appears, and the two begin their battle. This time, Mario has to head through a type of obstacle course to get to the bridge, and eventually the switch at the end. He pushes this, sending Bowser into the lava below. However, he then emerges from the lava, and Mario has to reach another switch in order to actually defeat him. Pushing the switch once again sends Bowser falling into the lava below once more. Mario then reappears back at the flagpole, and frees the princess. Mario, along with three Toads, then use Super Leaves to get themselves and the princess back home.

Sometime after that, Mario receives a letter from Luigi, depicting him in captivity. Mario runs through Special 1 and frees Luigi from Dry Bowser. Then, Peach is captured by Bowser again. Mario goes back to his castle and defeats him again. Once the player gets 5 Stars in their profile, the level Special 8-Crown is unlocked. There he faces Boom Boom and Pom Pom for the last time. When they are defeated, a giant "THANK YOU" is made out while Toads surround the final Goal Pole of the game.

Mario & Luigi series[]

Mario teams up with his younger brother Luigi in this video game series. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario teams up with Bowser to head for the Beanbean Kingdom to get back Princess Peach's voice from Cackletta. Luigi intended to stay behind but Bowser forced him to come along thinking Luigi wanted to join the Koop Troop. Mario and the rest are soon attacked by Cackletta's right-hand man Fawful and destroys the Koopa Cruiser into Stardust Fields of the Beanbean Kingdom. Mario and Luigi dig themselves out of the ground and press on forward. They soon find themselves playing Border Jump and are allowed further. However, Mario and Luigi manage to find Bowser but he is trapped in a cannon owned by Tolstar. Tolstar demands 10 Bean Coins from Mario and Luigi where they set out to get some. Mario and Luigi soon run into the Starshade Bros. who teaches them Bros. Attacks.

Personality[]

Mario is basically a simple character without a solid personality, since he was meant for players to integrate their own personality into his character. When his demeanour is shown, Mario is aggressive and impulsive, sometimes going head-on into things without much meditation.

Despite these potential flaws, Mario is a brave and kindhearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality and righteousness. He puts, more often than not, other people's needs before his own, and he is willing to risk his life to save millions of others from the forces of evil.

Although Mario is generally a good natured person, it seems he doesn't enjoy losing much, often when losing in spin off games (i.e. Mario party) he has a sad look on his face, and in Luigi's ending in Mario Power Tennis he seems to be congratulating his brother, but he intentionally steps on Luigi's foot because he lost to him in the tournament.

He remains quiet but when he talks he talks heavy and harshly. In the cartoons, Mario speaks with a characteristic Brooklyn accent, but his current incarnation—voiced by Charles Martinet - has a blatant Italian accent. Mario is also funny and comical, along with friendly, persistent, and always knows what he is doing. In addition, he enjoys Italian foods such as pasta or pizza.

Powers & Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Superhuman Strength: Mario is able to lift and press objects that are several times his own weight. The exact upper limits of his strength is unknown, but in Super Mario World, Mario can easily lift a castle. In Super Mario 64, Mario is shown to lift King Bob-omb. An even more impressive feat is during the fight with Bowser. Mario can lift him by the tail, spin him around and then throw him. Mario spins Bowser around faster and farther with more spins. Mario's incredible strength also extends to his legs, allowing him to perform his signature move, the jump. Mario is extremely good at jumping, and is capable of leaping two stories high. He is the second best jumper in the Mushroom Kingdom, bested only by Luigi.
  • Superhuman Durability: Mario has a significant level of durability. He can endure great impacts, such as falling from a height of several stories or being struck by an opponent with superhuman strength. Mario can also endure extreme environments, such as volcanoes and tundras. Also, he can withstand fire, electricity and ice.
  • Superhuman Stamina: Mario can maintain continuous physical activity for an indefinite period of time.
  • Superhuman Speed: Mario is capable of running up walls in Super Mario World, and is capable of outpacing sound in Super Paper Mario. Koopa the Quick has referred to Mario as a "human blur."
  • Pyrokinesis: Mario has the ability to create and manipulate fire. This ability changes throughout the games he has appeared. In the platform games, such as Super Mario Bros., Mario needs a Fire Flower to obtain this power. But in the RPGs and Super Smash Bros. series, Mario already has this power. Also, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario uses the Mario Finale, in which he unleashes a powerful blast of fire. In spinoffs, Mario is always associated with the element of fire.

Abilities[]

  • Master Combatant: Mario has his own fighting style. However, he never uses it in his games, except in the Super Smash Bros. series.
  • Indomitable Will: Mario is shown to have a powerful force of will, completely free of evil or temptation. He is very optimistic and never gives up, even when things look bad.
  • Leadership: Mario has proven many times to be a capable leader, inspiring others with his charisma, ardour and idealism.
  • Expert Vehicular Driver: As shown in the Mario Kart series, Mario is skilled in driving vehicles, such as karts and motorbikes.

Gallery[]

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