Mario
Mario (Japanese: マリオ, Mario), also known as Super Mario and originally Jumpman (ジャンプマン) in Japan, is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. He is one of Nintendo's best-known characters, and is considered by many to be the most well-known video game character in history, appearing in hundreds of games, many of them bestsellers. Mario first appeared in the 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game, while Mario's brother Luigi first appeared in Mario Bros., the arcade game. The Mario franchise has, as of 11 August 2005, sold 180,000,000 games (making it by far the biggest selling franchise in the history of video games).
Mario's full name is believed to be Mario Mario, while his brother's full name is believed to be Luigi Mario. (This is generally accepted as canon. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the Mario Bros. movie, and the television series, their surname is Mario, but this has never been officially supported by Nintendo.)
Mario was named after the Italian landlord, Mario Segali, at Nintendo of America back when it was headquartered in New York. The current voice actor for Mario is Charles Martinet, though in the past he has been voice acted by Captain Lou Albano, Walker Boone and Tôru Furuya.
Biography
Little is known about Mario's history since games involving him tend to lack plot correlations, instead the connection resides in a game's characters and locations. One reason for this may be that the creators did not want his future roles to be limited by story intricacies.
Mario is said to be a plumber (though he has held several other blue-collar jobs in his lifetime) who hails from Brooklyn. Newer games and manuals, however, state that he grew up in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom. Some have suggested that the brothers were taken to the "Real World" at an early age, while others disregard it because it contradicts the other games and the Super Mario 64 guide which was written after Yoshi's Island.
Appearance
When Mario was first conceived, he looked, more or less, as he does today: a short, plump man with the trademark hat, brown hair, black mustache and overalls. He normally wears blue overalls on top of a red shirt, but such was not always the case. Originally, he wore red overalls on top of a blue shirt — almost exactly opposite what he wears now. The American Super Mario Bros. 2 was the first appearance of his modern outfit (the box had the red overalls-on-blue shirt, but the game itself had a blue overalls-on-red shirt); however, it was Super Mario Bros. 3 that standardized today's blue overalls-on-red shirt outfit. (Incidentally, the original Super Mario Bros. has neither in-game; Mario wears a brown shirt with red overalls).
Mario's outfit rarely changes, though he's known to change it on occasion if the situation calls for it. For example, in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario wore short sleeves instead of his usual long sleeved shirt, and could even forgo this entirely in favor of a more tropical shirt design worn over his normal shirt, which he always wore with sunglasses.
Abilities and techniques
Mario's most prominent feature is his trademark jumping ability. At first, that was the extent of it — just jumping — but more abilities were built on top of this. When he runs fast, he jumps higher than normal, which, given the right power-up, is required to fly; in later games he would stick his arms out behind him when at maximum speed to signify the proper jumping time. Super Mario World added the ability to spin-jump, which allowed Mario to break bricks beneath him if he was of sufficient size to do so, without the requirement for another power-up or a Koopa Shell.
Later, Super Mario 64 added to Mario's jumping the ability to jump off walls or jump higher with consecutive jumps, as well as a long jump, a backflip, and a ground pound. Sunshine then re-introduced the spin jump, which made Mario fall slower than a normal jump (though he jumped no higher).
When Mario obtains a Super Mushroom, he becomes Super Mario. In this form Mario has the ability to break bricks with his head, at the cost of possibly being unable to maneuver in small gaps. If an enemy hits him, he turns back into normal Mario again.
From there, Mario has numerous ways he can transform.
- With a Fire Flower, Mario becomes Fiery Mario, and can shoot fireballs at his enemies. This is built on top of Super, as if he claims one while Regular, he will only go to Super upon picking it up. This was later revised to make him Fiery Mario anyway. Introduced in Super Mario Bros.
- With a Starman, Mario becomes totally invincible no matter what his form is, allowing him to plow through most enemies, including those that would be otherwise invincible (although he can still be killed by falling into pits). Introduced in Super Mario Bros..
- With a leaf, Mario becomes Raccoon Mario, with the ability to tail-whip enemies and blocks, as well as fly for short periods of time and glide for much longer. Introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
- With a P-Wing, Mario becomes Raccoon Mario and gains the ability to continuously fly for an entire stage. Introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
- With a Tanooki suit, he becomes Tanooki Mario, which is mostly the same as Raccoon Mario but with the ability to temporarily change into a mostly-invincible statue at any time. Introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
- With a Hammer Brothers suit he becomes Hammer Mario. who can toss hammers around to flatten enemies; these behave much like fireballs, only they don't bounce (they don't collide with the level and simply fall off the screen) and are tossed at a higher angle. It should be noted that the hammers are the only weapons in that game capable of defeating ghost-type and stone-type enemies, such as Boos and Thwomps. Introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
- With a Frog suit, he becomes Frog Mario, who hops around very awkwardly on land but controls better underwater than any other form of Mario. Introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
- With a feather, Mario becomes Cape Mario, with the ability to fly, glide, spin attack, and dive bomb. Introduced in Super Mario World.
- With a carrot, Mario becomes Rabbit Mario, who controls like Raccoon Mario, only without the ability to tail-whip or fly. Introduced in Super Mario Land 2.
- With a Vanish Cap Mario becomes somewhat invisible and able to go through thin fences. Introduced in Super Mario 64.
- With a Metal Cap, Mario becomes Metal Mario, who behaves similarly to an invincible Mario, but with the added benefit of underwater walking at normal speeds. Introduced in Super Mario 64.
- With a Wing Cap, Mario gains the ability to fly in any direction he chooses, given enough momentum. Introduced in Super Mario 64.
- In Super Mario World, a P-Balloon caused Mario's body to inflate, allowing him to float great distances into the air. This ability was later re-used in Super Mario 64 DS when Mario grabbed a Power Flower.
- If he has a Hammer, Mario will swing it rapidly to smash oncoming foes. For the most part, this was used exclusively in Donkey Kong, though it has made a reappearance in the Super Smash Bros. series. Introduced in Donkey Kong.
- However, if he grabs a Poison Mushroom, Mario will shrink down a level, as if he had touched an enemy. Only a power-up in name, the Poison Mushroom's look has changed over time from a Super Mushroom with black spots, a mushroom with a purple cap with a skull-and-crossbones on it, a brown-stemmed, green-capped mushroom with a skull on it, and, in Super Smash Bros. Melee a very-slightly darker-tinted Super Mushroom (whose effect is only temporary). First appearance was in Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese release, but later came to Western markets as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in Super Mario All-Stars).
Mario also has the ability to kick shells around to knock over enemies and break bricks. In Super Mario Bros. 2, he had to pick various objects from the ground and toss them at his enemies to defeat them, ranging from vegetables to his enemies themselves. Super Mario Bros. 3 implemented this act of picking things up, but instead of being on top of them to pick them up, Mario must come at them from the side with the pick-up button held, and release the pick-up button to kick it. Super Mario World extended this ability to include multi-direction kicking, as well as keys that could be picked up and put into keyholes so as to open secret levels.
Super Mario World also featured Mario's ally, Yoshi, quite prominently. When riding a Yoshi, Mario can clear spiky terrain and stomp foes that he otherwise couldn't. Also, Yoshi can eat almost any foe; if he eats a Koopa Shell, he can spit it back out, or swallow it for a possible special power. (In the Game Boy Advance re-release, Luigi, when controlling Yoshi, has the option of spitting out ANY opponent that would otherwise be eaten.) Blue shells can make them fly for a short period of time, red shells can make Yoshi breathe fire, yellow shells can make Yoshi conjure dust when he touches the ground from jumping, wiping out any enemies in his path, and a flashing color shell allows for all of these abilities at once. Yoshi usually comes only in the color green, but in the Special Zone he can be found in blue, red, and yellow, which, when fully-grown, will have the corresponding special shell effect as a default when any shell is eaten. In some other cases, the food he consumes can turn into eggs which provide various powerups for Mario. Yoshi's basic abilities were expanded upon for Yoshi's Island.
Mario has superhuman swimming abilities; he can stay underwater for as long as time allows and not drown. He cannot stomp enemies underwater, but projectiles he shoots are still effective. In the 3D games, his swimming ability is improved to the point that he can swim in any direction, at the loss of his infinite breathing ability.
Lastly, Mario also bore FLUDD in Sunshine, which extended his jumping abilities further. Given enough water and the right nozzle, Mario could hover across large gaps (while going upward very slightly), propel himself upward with great force, or propel himself forward at phenomenal speeds. The game in question was centered heavily around this added jumping maneuverability, though it frequently took away the FLUDD for a few jumping-only segments.
In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as opposed to power-ups, Mario has 'curses' placed on him by Demons in black chests. These curses are actually helpful, giving him new abilities. The first curse gives the ability to turn into a paper airplane at certain points, allowing Mario to fly through the air. The second curse gives the ability to turn sideways, allowing Mario to go through small passageways. The third gives the ability to roll up into a roll of paper in order to get under some obstacles, and with the final ability Mario can turn into a paper boat at certain points, allowing him to traverse through the waters.
Companions and allies
Throughout Mario's many adventures, he encounters many characters who help him reach his goal, which varies from game to game. Depending on the game, certain companions can be player-controlled, and it is often the case that one character is better for a given level than Mario himself.
Major, recurring allies and friends are:
- Luigi is Mario's younger, taller brother. He often has the ability to jump much higher than Mario but with less "air control." He dresses in clothing similar to Mario's, with a green shirt and an 'L' on his cap. He teamed up with Mario to help him defeat Cackletta in Mario and Luigi. Often used for comic relief.
- Princess Peach is Mario's sometime love interest; she is often in some sort of peril that requires the help of Mario. When not in peril, she sometimes helps Mario by either providing enchanted gifts or defeating enemies with her unique floating ability. For many years and in the early Mario titles her name was Princess Toadstool, and she had dark brown hair in Super Mario Bros 2.
- Toad is a guard and caretaker of castles and kings within the Mushroom Kingdom. Toad is noted for his unique strength and lifting ability.
- Yoshi is a native to Yoshi's Island, in the Mushroom Kingdom, that resembles a cartoon rendition of a dinosaur. He often gives rides to Mario, and sometimes takes his limelight entirely (such as in Yoshi's Story).
- Wario began as a villain getting back at Mario and taking over the Mushroom Kingdom, but the two have since been on good or neutral terms, competing in friendly competitions such as parties, sports events and kart racing. Wario has had little involvement in the Mario platformers, staying in his own world; he is usually found either working at his company, WarioWare, Inc. in Diamond City, or treasure hunting. However, in Super Mario 64 DS, Wario helped Mario to defeat Bowser.
- Donkey Kong was once Mario's sworn enemy, but in recent years they've reached a neutral or friendly relationship, much like Mario with Wario. Once upon a time, D.K. liked to capture maidens, but now prefers to roam and protect his native island from attackers.
The RPG titles, as they generally require a wider selection of party members, add some more allies in Mario's quests. These include:
- Mallow - Mallow is the son of the mythical King and Queen Nimbus and heir to the weather-related kingdom of Nimbus land; however, he has been raised by Frogfucius, a sage Chinese tadpole. Mallow joins Mario on a quest to find his family in Super Mario RPG.
- Geno - Geno is a child's plaything that is eventually used as a host to a cosmic being that seeks to repair the Star Road, a magical wish granting region that had been destroyed by the arrival of the villain Smithy.
- Bowser - despite normally being Mario's sworn rival, when Smithy takes over his castle Bowser reluctantly joins up with Mario to reclaim what was once his.
Opponents
King Bowser Koopa is the main villain of the series. Prior to this, Mario's primary opponent was Donkey Kong (although Cranky Kong claims to have been the one in the original arcade game); however, this rivalry has been somewhat minor of late. In the American Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario fought off Wart, who has since disappeared from the series, probably because at the end of the game it was revealed to just have been a dream. This doesn't explain how characters like shyguys appear in later titles serving Bowser. When rescuing Princess Daisy, Mario had to take on the alien Tatanga in a battle reminiscent of many side-scrolling shooters. Mario also had to fight off Wario, who was attempting to take over his castle, but this, too, has been of a minor note, as Wario has since moved on to taking on the Syrup Gang and making microgames.
In the RPG series, Mario often finds new foes to battle. In the first game, Super Mario RPG, he has to take on Smithy, an extraterrestrial weapons smithy. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, his primary opponent is Cackletta, who had stolen Princess Peach's voice. Lastly, in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Mario takes on the entire X-Naut army to prevent them from using whatever lurks behind the titular door for malevolent purposes.
More opponents:
Bob-omb, Boo, Bullet Bill, Bumpty, Buzzy Beetle, Chain Chomp, Goomba, Hammer Bro., King Boo, Koopa Troopa, Lakitu, Petey Piranha, Piranha Plant, Raphael Raven, Raven, Shy Guy, Thwomp
Character development
- Main article: Mario Evolution
Mario first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong as Jumpman. The game was surprisingly successful, and when the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, Mario was given the starring role in the revolutionary Super Mario Bros. game.
Mario's distinctive look is due to technology restrictions in the mid-'80s: with a limited number of pixels and colors, the programmers could not animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear" if his shirt was a solid color; they did not have the space to give him a mouth; and they could not animate hair, so Mario got overalls, a moustache, and a cap to bypass these problems. Mario's creator Shigeru Miyamoto has also stated when interviewed that Mario wears a cap because he finds it difficult to draw hair.
Miyamoto created many of the elements in the Mario world from ideas he had seen in other media. One of his most recognizable contributions to his Mario universe is the Super Mushroom, which would enlarge Mario until he got damaged by an enemy. This idea was derived from the "Eat me" cakes and "Drink me" potions in the Lewis Carroll story, Alice in Wonderland. The concept behind warp pipes, colored tubes which sometimes transport Mario to another area, was adopted from Star Trek.
The surname "Mario" (which would make his full name Mario Mario) was first used in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and in the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros. This was meant to explain how both Mario and his brother Luigi could be known as the "Mario brothers". The canonity of this fact in the games is not yet confirmed.
Mario has taken on the role of mascot of Nintendo and has since been extensively merchandised. Mario's major rival was Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog who debuted in the early 1990s; the two mascots competed head-to-head for nearly a decade afterward, until around 2001 when a Sonic game showed up on a Nintendo console due to Sega's new third party status - thus ending a lengthy rivalry.
The Super Mario games
- Main article: Games
Appearing in over 100 games, the Mario series is the top-selling series of video games of all time, with over 152 million copies sold worldwide. Mario games have pioneered many concepts in modern video games since his first major appearance in Super Mario Bros., such as warp zones, power-ups, end-of-level bosses, and multiple endings. Even to this day, many adventure games operate in the same so-called "hop and bop" style gameplay that was first developed for Super Mario Bros. The game is also considered the best-selling game of all time owing mostly to its bundling with the NES, while 1990's Super Mario Bros. 3 holds the record for best-selling game not bundled with a console. In 1996, with the release of the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 marked Mario's 3D debut and made him the very first 2D established video game character to star in a full 3D game. Mario's main rival, Sonic, had some cameos in Daytona USA and BUG! prior to Super Mario 64, but it would be a long time until his first truly-3D game.
Since the release of Super Mario Bros. Mario has starred in numerous games of different genres, including platform games, arcade games, puzzle games, racing games, RPGs, sports games, educational games, party games, and many others.
Other appearances
Mario has appeared on television in several cartoons, in comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins. He has also appeared on lunchboxes, t-shirts, in candy form, and as a plush toy. There was even a book series, the Nintendo Adventure Books.
In the earlier days of the NES and Game Boy, Mario did several cameos, usually in the early sports-titles on both systems. Often he was depicted as the referee, such as in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! or the Game Boy version of Tennis, but was also the playable character in both versions of Nintendo's early Golf-title. However some of his other cameos were more bizarre, such as the one in the Breakout-clone Alleyway which featured Mario on the game's box-art and also at the beginning of each stage where Mario jumps "in to" the paddle. He was also featured on the Game Over screen for the Game Boy version of Qix dressed in Mexican clothes, playing a guitar in the desert next to a cactus with a vulture perched on it.
Mario is the official video game mascot for Nintendo, and is almost synonymous with the Nintendo brand. Because of this, Mario only appears in Nintendo games on Nintendo systems. There are a few small exceptions; he has appeared in several PC educational titles in the United States, and some very early games for non-Nintendo systems such as the Atari 2600, but these are rare deviations.
Baby Mario
Baby Mario is a character in Nintendo's Mario series, often alongside Baby Luigi. He is the infant version of Mario, although he has appeared alongside his older self in Nintendo sports titles such as Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. However, it is generally accepted that these games are outside the continuity of the main Mario series, and therefore do not suggest that Mario and Baby Mario are separate characters in the main storyline.
He first appeared in the Super NES game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island where with the help of the Yoshis he saved his brother Luigi from Kamek the Magikoopa. In Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario has a rather passive role, essentially being carried around by different Yoshis for most of the game. However, in some levels, a power-up resembling a star allows him to transform into Super Baby Mario, giving him very high speed and relative invincibility.
More recently, Baby Mario appeared in Yoshi Touch & Go for the Nintendo DS. Reclaiming the role he held in Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario falls from the sky, this time held up by balloons, as the player guides him, by drawing clouds, down to the ground where Yoshi waits to catch him. He then rides on Yoshi's back for the rest of that level of the game. In some game modes, Baby Mario can again find the power-up that turns him into Super Baby Mario, making him temporarily invincible.
Baby Mario will also star in Mario & Luigi 2 with his brother, his older self, and his brother's older self. His abilities in battle appear to be identical to those of his older self. The game explains the co-existence of the two sets of brothers in this game by saying that Mario and Luigi are sent back in time to a period when they were still babies.
