Mario

"It's-a me, Mario!"

- Mario Mario is the main character and titular protagonist of the long-running and highly successful video game franchise of the same name. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and serves as the main mascot of Nintendo. Mario made his first appearance as the protagonist of the arcade game Donkey Kong, released in 1981 (in which he took the alias "Jumpman"). Since Super Mario Bros., his trademark abilities have been his jumping and stomping powers, with which he defeats most of his enemies, and his ability to gain even more powers with a plethora of items, such as the Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower, and the Super Star. Games have usually portrayed Mario as a silent, straightforward character. According to Nintendo's philosophy, this allows Mario to fit in many different genres and roles. In most games, he is the hero that goes on an adventure to save Princess Peach from his arch-nemesis, Bowser, but he has been shown doing many other activities besides adventuring, such as racing and sporting with his younger twin brother, Luigi; his friends such as Yoshi and Toad; and others.

Creation
Following the failure of  in North America, Nintendo's then-president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, requested Miyamoto's aid in converting unsold Radar Scope units into something that would sell well. Miyamoto conceived the concept of a love triangle and decided to make a game based on . This was abandoned due to technical reasons, so he decided to come up with a new idea using his own characters.

For use in his arcade game Donkey Kong, Miyamoto created a player character originally known during development as Ossan (the Japanese term for "middle-aged man"), then Jumpman and Mr. Video Game or Mr. Video. Coincidentally, "Ossan" would be the name given to a Mario look-alike in the game Golf. This character was given red overalls and a blue shirt in order to make the arms more visible as well as a cap and mustache, as hair and a mouth were impossible to animate on the arcade system. The character was originally known as Jumpman, but Nintendo of Japan asked Nintendo of America if it wanted to rename him during the Western localization; president and employee  thought it would be funny to call the character Mario after the suspenders-wearing Italian American landlord of storage and company housing,. While Mario was initially described as a carpenter, Mario Bros. subsequently changed his occupation after a colleague thought that he looked more like a plumber.

Background
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island depicts Mario's beginnings by delivery of a stork at nearly the same time as Luigi, suggesting a twin birth. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is usually considered as one of the first media chronologically in Mario's history, but a few other sources, usually older than Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, depict different beginnings. In Super Mario Momotarō, for instance, two elderly Hammer Brothers have found and raised Mario, who emerged out of a peach that has fallen from the sky. Mario here resembles his older self, although smaller and without a cap. The story in Super Mario Momotarō, however, is a retelling of a popular Japanese fairy tale and may have no actual bearing on Mario's history. The Nintendo Comics System comic entitled "Family Album "The Early Years"" is another early medium that depicts Mario's childhood. According to it, Mario has taken an early interest in plumbing, although frequently misbehaving, such as making his father's pipe emit bubbles instead of smoke. Mario is also adept at sports, scoring home runs in his neighborhood softball team. Mario at birth is shown to have full hair on the head and facial stubble that quickly became a mustache. The comic also depicts Luigi as several years younger than Mario, whereas he is depicted as Mario's younger twin in the video games.

Donkey Kong
In Donkey Kong, Mario is a carpenter who needs to rescue his girlfriend, Lady, from Donkey Kong at a construction site. Mario can jump over obstacles such as the barrels Donkey Kong throws, or Mario can use hammers to destroy the barrels and defeat other enemies. After defeating Donkey Kong in the final level, Mario is reunited with Lady.

In the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong, the objective is the same as in the arcade version, but Mario must trigger a lever, which causes a hook to appear. If Mario grabs the hook, a peg is removed and he is transported to the starting point. If Mario misses, he falls and loses a life. If Mario removes all the pegs, he defeats Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong Jr.
In Donkey Kong Jr., Mario appears as the antagonist, having captured Donkey Kong and holding him in a cage, with the protagonist of the game being Donkey Kong's son, Donkey Kong Jr. As Donkey Kong Jr. moves through the levels, Mario sends out enemies like Snapjaws and other obstacles to stop him. After Donkey Kong Jr. rescues Donkey Kong in the final level, Mario falls and is defeated. In the arcade version, Mario regains consciousness and attempts to pursue the pair, only to be sent running away by a kick by the elder Donkey Kong.

During the intro to the arcade version of the game, there are two Marios that are seen carrying Donkey Kong away.

Donkey Kong II
Since Donkey Kong II serves as a semi-sequel to the Game & Watch Donkey Kong Jr., Mario reprises his role as the antagonist.

Donkey Kong Circus
Mario appears as the antagonist in Donkey Kong Circus. Mario is an audience member who laughs at Donkey Kong whenever he drops a pineapple or grabs a fireball by mistake. The Circus seems to be at the construction site where the first game begins, based on the girder-like platform Mario stands on.

Donkey Kong Hockey
Mario appears in the game Donkey Kong Hockey as the protagonist. His hockey shot is less powerful than Donkey Kong's, but it has more range.

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
Mario makes a later appearance in the Donkey Kong series with a new appearance in Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. Along with the original four Donkey Kong levels, Mario has to travel through an additional nine worlds to rescue Pauline. Mario can also perform additional acrobatic maneuvers that can assist him in navigating through levels. Mario can perform a handstand move, which protects him from any objects falling on him from above. From the handstand position, Mario can also perform the Handstand Jump. The game also features the backflip as well as wires on which Mario can wire-spin and jump to catapult himself high in the air. Another essential part of Mario's moveset, taken from Super Mario Bros. 2, is his ability to pick up enemies and objects and lift them over his head to throw them. This is also one of the few Mario games in which Mario takes damage and can lose a life from a high fall.

In most stages, Mario has to find the key and take it to the locked door in order to proceed to the next level. As long as Mario holds the key, he has an additional hit point, although he loses the key when he takes damage. He uses hammers as seen in the original Donkey Kong and constructs temporary ladders and roads in order to pass through the levels. Other levels are boss fights against Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong. In the final level, Mario must navigate through the level while chasing Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. to the top of the tower, where he eventually traps Donkey Kong Jr. in a cage, defeats a giant Donkey Kong, and rescues Pauline. In the game's credits, however, Mario seems to have reconciled with Donkey Kong since they are shown together with Donkey Kong Jr. and Pauline in a photo in Rocky-Valley.

The ending of the game shows Mario holding Donkey Kong above his head (with Donkey Kong yelling, "HELP!") as Donkey Kong Jr. is standing to the left of him. To the right is what appears to be the start of World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. This foreshadows the events of both Donkey Kong Jr. and Super Mario Bros.

Donkey Kong (coloring/activity books)
In a series of activity books from 1982–1983, little Mario the carpenter appears as a hapless, balding, middle-aged employee at Video Land Amusement Park. He is in love with the much younger Pauline but is unable to express it. He sets off to rescue her after Donkey Kong breaks free from his cage and kidnaps her.

Game & Watch series
Mario has appeared in several Game & Watch games, including Mario Bros., Mario's Cement Factory, Mario's Bombs Away, Super Mario Bros., and Mario the Juggler. He also appeared in four installments of remakes marketed as the Game & Watch Gallery series, and he later appeared in Game & Watch Collection.

In Mario Bros. (which is unrelated to the arcade game of the same name), Mario and the newly introduced Luigi must cooperate and put pallets of bottles on a delivery truck. They have to use conveyor belts to send the package to each other. If they drop a pallet, their boss yells at them. If they drop three pallets, the game is over. In Game & Watch Gallery 3 and in Game & Watch Gallery 4, Wario is the boss and Bowser periodically reverses the conveyor belt directions. Cakes replace pallets in the game.

In Mario's Cement Factory, Mario must move cement from hoppers into cement trucks by putting them on conveyor belts. The hoppers can hold only three loads of cement. If a hopper overflows, some cement can land on a worker, making Mario lose a life. Mario can move by using an elevator, but if he moves when the elevator is not there, he falls and loses a life. If Mario stays in the elevator for too long, he can be crushed or can touch the very bottom, losing a life either way; there are safe zones to circumvent this. In the remake in Game & Watch Gallery 4, Yoshi and Toad appear as background characters. A Boo can appear and interfere with the work. Mario can fall from the elevator, but when he touches the bottom ground, he gets a miss.

Mario must safely deliver bombs in Mario's Bombs Away, avoiding oil spills and torches.

Super Mario Bros. for the Game & Watch plays similarly to the original game for the NES. This version, however, is simpler and shorter.

Mario is featured in Mario the Juggler, a Game & Watch game based on the very first one, Ball.

In the Modern games of Game & Watch Gallery remakes, Mario also takes some roles previously taken by other characters. Other times, he is a non-playable character. In Fire, for instance, he and Luigi rescue Toads, Yoshis, and Donkey Kong Jrs. from a fire. In another example, in Chef, Peach must cooperate with Mario and Luigi to feed Yoshi. Mario and Luigi throw the food, and Peach can catch it in her pan.

Mario Bros.


After Donkey Kong Jr., Mario's next arcade appearance is Mario Bros. in 1983. Only Mario's physical appearance is taken from earlier titles; Mario is now a plumber in the sewers of New York (his house according to Atari ) and fights an endless number of creatures, such as Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers. Unlike in later games, Mario cannot jump on enemies. Instead, he must jump against the ceiling of a platform from below to stun all enemies walking on top of it. When Mario approaches the stunned enemies, he kicks them out of the screen, rendering them defeated. In the two-player mode, the second player plays as Luigi, here portrayed as a green palette swap of Mario.

Saturday Supercade
Mario appears in several episodes in Saturday Supercade, which was his first television show. His personality on the show was of a heroic person whose goal was to capture Donkey Kong.

"The Great Ape Escape"
In "The Great Ape Escape," Donkey Kong escapes by riding a motorcycle, after which Mario and Pauline drive their circus van to chase him. Mario attempts to catch Donkey Kong by disguising himself as a banana and catapulting himself. He tries using sleeping gas on Donkey Kong, but Donkey Kong deflects it and escapes into a nearby prison. In the prison, the criminals join with Donkey Kong and exploit his gullibility by having him perform crimes, including theft. Meanwhile, riding on a hot air balloon, Mario and Pauline attempt to lure Donkey Kong with a rope ladder made of bananas. Donkey Kong, however, pops the balloon, so the two then disguise themselves as chefs, but this also fails. During the prison football game, Mario again tries and fails to capture Donkey Kong while disguising himself as a referee. When Donkey Kong and the criminals are finally cornered at the top of the building, Mario, in a police outfit, and Pauline tell Donkey Kong that the criminals are tricking him. Donkey Kong then tosses the criminals in the cage and escapes in a hot air football, leading Mario and Pauline to continue chasing him.

"Greenhouse Gorilla"
In "Greenhouse Gorilla," Donkey Kong is tricked by Mr. X to steal Stanley's metal-eating plant, Herman. While chasing Donkey Kong, Stanley meets Mario and Pauline, where they team up to find Donkey Kong and Mr. X. They find Donkey Kong and Mr. X with the plant in the grocery store, but when Mario tries to capture Donkey Kong with his vacuum trap, the plant consumes it and the three escape. Mr. X then leads Donkey Kong to a banquet, where Mario, Pauline, and Stanley are found disguised as hired help. Pauline convinces Donkey Kong to distrust Mr. X, so Mr. X's plan fails and Donkey Kong then escapes, once again leading the three to chase him.

Golf
The first time Mario appeared in any sports game was in Golf where his proportions are more realistic. In Japanese versions of Golf, Captain Rainbow would later identify the character as a more generic Ossan (although this was one of Mario's initial names during development of Donkey Kong).

Family BASIC
The Family BASIC is an accessory to the Family Computer that lets users program their own games. Mario is one of the available sprites. In Family BASIC V3, he appears in two mini-games, one of which he is a controllable character.

VS. Wrecking Crew / Wrecking Crew
In VS. Wrecking Crew, an arcade game for the VS. System, Mario and Luigi are workers on a demolition site. Mario must break all the walls before enemies can stop him. In this game, Mario wears a helmet, shoes, and dark red overalls. Unlike the NES version, this game has a simultaneous two-player mode, where Mario and Luigi can compete or cooperate. In single player mode, Luigi is an opponent that attacks Mario, but Mario can hit him with his hammer and cause him to fall. They use hammers similar to those previously seen in Donkey Kong against Gotchawrenches or each other. If Mario stays too long, a fireball appears to hinder his progress.

In the NES game Wrecking Crew, Mario faces off against Foreman Spike instead of Luigi. Mario can now defeat enemies by trapping them in drums. Mario call also wield the Golden Hammer which can smash any wall with a single swing.

Unlike their Japan-only sequel, Wrecking Crew '98, these games have no specific plot.

Wrecking Crew '98
In Wrecking Crew '98, Mario finds the Mushroom Kingdom covered with Bowser's new high-rises. Foreman Spike also makes a reappearance, along with several other enemies from Wrecking Crew, this time helping Bowser. These buildings negatively impact the Mushroom Kingdom's environment, so Mario must demolish these structures.

Unlike in the earlier games, Mario can hinder his opponent's progress by raining panels on them. To clear the stage, Mario must demolish blocks or arrange three consecutive panels vertically or horizontally. If four or more panels are aligned, Mario can rain panels onto his opponent. If he clears the field, he receives a Mushroom, boosting his offensive combos toward his enemy.

Super Mario Bros.
In Super Mario Bros., Mario arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom, where his objective is to rescue Princess Toadstool from Bowser. Mario can gain power-ups and coins from jumping against ? Blocks and Brick Blocks. Mario begins the game as Small Mario, who loses a life from any enemy attack. By using Super Mushrooms, Mario grows into Super Mario, who has an additional hit point (reverting to Small Mario after being hit). Super Mario has access to the Fire Flower, which lets him throw fireballs that can knock out enemies. Mario can also become invincible for a short amount of time with the Starman.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Mario appears in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, the sequel of Super Mario Bros., with the same role as in the original game. Mario's traction and jumping height remain the same, while those of Luigi are changed to differentiate him more from Mario. Luigi jumps higher than Mario but has less traction. This would be a distinguishing feature used in future games.

Super Mario Bros. 2 / Super Mario Advance
In Super Mario Bros. 2 and its remake, Super Mario Advance, Mario is a well-balanced character with no special abilities. The gameplay of the two games is different from other Mario titles: Enemies can no longer be defeated by stomping them, and Mario gains the power to pick up enemies, lift them over his head, and throw them.

In the story, based on the Japanese game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, Mario has experienced a dream one night. The fairylike beings from the land of Subcon inform him that Wart has taken over the land of Subcon and that they need Mario's help to defeat Wart. After awakening from his dream, however, Mario dismisses the dream and returns to sleep. The next day, Mario, along with Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, decide to go on a picnic. While searching for a proper place, they notice a cave and decide to explore within it. After entering the cave, the four of them are transported to Subcon. Mario remembers his dream, and they decide to save Subcon from Wart and the 8 bits.

BS Super Mario USA
"BS Sūpā Mario USA! Pāwā Charenji!"

- Mario

Mario reappears in the spiritual sequel of Super Mario Bros. 2, BS Super Mario USA, retaining his characteristics of being well balanced. While the four heroes celebrate their victory after the events Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario is seen to be awakening during the end of the game, implying the message that the whole adventure is simply a part of Mario's dream. BS Super Mario USA explains that Subcon is a dream world, and, while Mario and the others initially thought it is all a dream, they learn the truth about the realm when they are called back into the world to save it from Wart again. They must collect Gold Mario Statues in each level, defeat the boss, and find Wart.

Super Mario Bros. 3 / Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
In Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Game Boy Advance remake Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, after Bowser has invaded again, Mario and Luigi travel through eight kingdoms, in which the kings have been transformed into different creatures by the seven Koopalings. During Mario's quest, he is repeatedly sent letters by Princess Toadstool, who encloses power-ups for him. Eventually, Toadstool is kidnapped, but the Mario Bros. save her from Bowser in the Dark Land. Super Mario Bros. 3 introduces several new power-ups that Mario can now use in addition to the Fire Flower, including the Super Leaf, Tanooki Suit, Frog Suit, Hammer Suit, and Goomba's Shoe.

Super Mario Land
In Super Mario Land, Mario travels to Sarasaland to rescue the land's princess, Daisy, from the alien Tatanga. Mario's powers in the game are limited to Superball Mario, in which he can shoot balls that ricochet off walls, as well as the Marine Pop (a submarine) and the Sky Pop (an airplane), each in a special auto-scrolling stage. When he rescues Princess Daisy, the two fly off in a spaceship.

Super Mario World / Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Mario appears in Super Mario World and its reissue Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, which introduce Yoshi as a sidekick character to Mario. Mario can ride Yoshis and so gain varying new powers. Mario meets Yoshi on a holiday in Dinosaur Land, where Bowser kidnaps Toadstool again, forcing Mario and Luigi to rescue her once again. Super Mario World is the first Mario game to have a second jump button for a different jump—the Spin Jump—with which Super Mario can destroy Rotating Blocks from above or jump off Yoshi's back; he can also use it to avoid certain obstacles or defeat foes. Mario can use Cape Feathers to turn into Caped Mario, allowing him to take off from the ground and stay in the air for quite a while. Mario can also use Grab Blocks and throw them at enemies or obstacles.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins introduces a new antagonist to Mario named Wario. Wario usurps Mario's castle while Mario rescues Princess Daisy in Sarasaland (the events of Super Mario Land). The player's objective here is to regain control of Mario's castle. Mario gains more power-ups this time, including the Fire Flower and the Carrot. The Fire form has a slightly different appearance; Mario wears a small feather on his cap. The Carrot transforms Mario into Bunny Mario, which allows him to slow his descent or hover. Mario encounters several enemies and bosses by traveling through zones rather than worlds. When he finally reaches Wario, Wario attempts to use power-ups transforming him into and, but Mario eventually prevails and takes his castle back.

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
"Hello!"

- Mario



In Super Mario 64, Mario is invited to have a cake with Princess Peach at the Mushroom Castle, but he finds the castle taken over and Peach kidnapped by Bowser when he arrives there. In order to save Peach, Mario has to collect the castle's Power Stars to advance further and defeat Bowser, while utilizing a larger variety of moves. When facing off against Bowser, Mario grabs his tail and spins him around to throw him off the fighting platform. After being rescued, Peach kisses Mario and bakes him the cake.

In the game's remake, Super Mario 64 DS, Mario is an unlockable character. He is invited to the Mushroom Castle for cake, along with Wario and Luigi. However, some time after they enter, Bowser overtakes the castle. The trio is thrown behind locked doors, with Mario being sealed away by Goomboss, who keeps the key to his door. Yoshi, who has avoided capture by sleeping on the castle's roof, is able to find a painting of Mario in Peach's room and finds Goomboss. After defeating him, Yoshi unlocks Mario's door with the key he receives.

From then on, Mario is available as a playable character. He is required to rescue Luigi (while Luigi is needed to rescue Wario). Mario is also required to open the Big Star Doors and enter the final level to rescue Princess Peach. Mario has good stats, with decent power and swimming, the best speed, and by extension the best jump height and distance (excluding Luigi's backflip). His special ability is the balloon-floating power gained by the Power Flower. Mario can also use the feather, the remake equivalent of the Wing Cap, which gives him more special abilities than the other characters. Mario is also the only character that can wall-jump. Other characters can transform into Mario, gaining his appearance but not his voice, by putting on Mario's cap. Mario can transform into Luigi and Wario this way but not into Yoshi.

Super Mario Sunshine
"Super Mario Sunshine! Wahoo!"

- Mario

Mario appears in Super Mario Sunshine, where he needs to save Princess Peach from Shadow Mario with the help of a new machine called FLUDD. Mario can spray water at enemies and clear goop; the Expansion Nozzles for FLUDD can make Mario hover in the air for a short while, make him run at a turbo speed, or rocket him high in the air, although Mario can hold only one Expansion Nozzle at a time. Water for FLUDD can be refilled at any body of water in the game or with Water Bottles. Mario can also ride Yoshis. In the secret levels of the game, Shadow Mario takes FLUDD away from Mario, leaving him with only his basic jumping abilities and the Ground Pound to beat the stage. When Mario loses his cap in Super Mario Sunshine, he takes damage from the sun.

New Super Mario Bros.
"That's-a so nice!"

- Mario

New Super Mario Bros. depicts Mario in a similar plotline and game design to Super Mario Bros., having to save Princess Peach once again from Bowser. The traditional Super Mushroom and Fire Flower return, but power-ups also include further size-changing effects induced by the Mega Mushroom and the Mini Mushroom. The Mega Mushroom lets Mario grow to a giant size, allowing him to crush all enemies and obstacles such as pipes, while the Mini Mushroom has Mario shrink to a tiny size, which gives him access to small pipes.

Throughout the game, Mario has the option to travel through eight worlds or bypass a few. Mario first faces Bowser at the first of the eight castles, where Mario presses a switch, causing Bowser to fall into the lava. However, Bowser survives as a skeletal version of himself, known as Dry Bowser. Dry Bowser is fought again in the eighth castle, although he is defeated.

Super Mario Galaxy
"Welcome! Welcome, new galaxy!"

- Mario

Mario appears again as the main protagonist of Super Mario Galaxy, having to save Princess Peach after she was kidnapped by Bowser at one of her parties. Most of the jumping mechanics present in Super Mario 64 return. New powers include the Star Spin and the Wii pointer, which can be controlled independently from Mario. The Wii pointer can shoot enemies or grab Star Bits without controlling Mario. Additionally, Mario can get assistance by another player in Co-Star Mode, who can help gather Star Bits, shoot Star Bits, stun enemies, and assist in his jumping. Finally, Mario can find new sets of temporary power-ups that aid him in completing levels, providing him with new abilities.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
"New Super Mario Brothers... Wii-hee!"

- Mario

Mario's role and basic abilities in New Super Mario Bros. Wii remain the same as in its predecessor, although there are a few added power-ups, such as the Propeller Mushroom and the Penguin Suit. The story, while still basic, is slightly different—in the cutscene at the beginning of the game, Mario, Luigi, and many Toads, including Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, are celebrating Princess Peach's birthday when a cake suddenly walks into the castle. When Peach moves closer to the cake, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings jump out of the cake and throw it onto Peach. Mario, Luigi, and the Toads then give chase, and Mario once again fights his way through eight worlds in his attempt to rescue Peach. After Mario rescues Princess Peach, the princess tells Mario about secret World 9, extending his adventure.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
"Thank you so much for playing my game!"

- Mario

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has Mario involved as the main protagonist once again, following a more simplistic form of the original game's story. Aside from additional power-ups and the addition of Yoshi, the gameplay is also identical to the first Super Mario Galaxy game.

Super Mario 3D Land
Mario appears in Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS, once again going to stop Bowser, who kidnapped Peach while she was checking the damage to a tail tree. Mario and the Toads then run to rescue her. During the adventure, Mario battles several enemies old and new, including Boom Boom and Pom Pom. While running through the worlds, Mario receives letters from Peach to learn about her situation.

Mario's adventure is a throwback to the classic 2D Super Mario adventures, relying on powerups and his jumping to successfully clear levels, but merged with the 3D gameplay of later games as a new feature. He uses several classic power-ups, notably the Tanooki Suit from Super Mario Bros. 3. Unlike in older games, however, his default form is his Super form; whenever he loses a life, he restarts in this form rather than his Small form. His new abilities include rolling, which can break blocks if he is in Super form. He also has a few of his jumps from the 3D games including the Long Jump, the Crouch Jump (which works like the Backward Somersault) and the Side Somersault.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
"Let's-a go!"

- Mario

Mario once again appears as the main protagonist of New Super Mario Bros. 2. In this game, Gold Mario (as well as the Gold Flower) is introduced as Mario's newest form. In this form, he can throw fireballs that transform solid objects (blocks) into coins for him to collect. It is also the introduction of White Raccoon Mario, a form obtainable from Invincibility Leaves gotten from Assist Blocks. The form gives Mario the power of invincibility and all of the abilities of Raccoon Mario.

There is another mode in the game, Coin Rush, in which Mario must collect as many coins as possible in three random courses within the time limit and without dying once. There are + Clocks scattered throughout the courses, while Mario also gets more time by hitting Checkpoint Flags. Reaching the top of the flagpole doubles Mario's coin count, and defeating enemies as Gold Mario or after a Gold Ring is triggered awards additional coins.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
"Oh yeah, Mario time!"

- Mario

Mario appears again as the protagonist in New Super Mario Bros. U. Once again, he must save the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser and his minions as he travels with his allies Luigi, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, and his new allies, Miis. This game introduces Super Acorns, which give Mario & co. a new form, Flying Squirrel Mario, when he collects them. In this form, Mario can glide and cling to walls. The upgraded P-Acorn allows him to fly indefinitely. His old power-ups, including but not limited to the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Ice Flower, return. The Penguin Suit and Propeller Suit from New Super Mario Bros. Wii also return, but they are found only in certain Toad Houses and in Challenge Mode.

In this game, Mario discovers Baby Yoshis that aid him on his adventure by providing light, emitting bubbles, or floating. During his adventure, he encounters new enemies, including but not limited to Waddlewings, Nabbit, and Goombrats. To save Princess Peach, Mario must travel to a Koopaling's airship and defeat that Koopaling to proceed. When Mario finally arrives at Peach's Castle, it is conquered, and he must enter the modified castle to defeat Bowser and rescue Peach.

In the downloadable content New Super Luigi U, due to Luigi replacing Mario as the main protagonist, Mario himself does not appear, marking his only absence in the entire Super Mario series. His absence from the game is referenced in three instances: in the opening sequence, his cap appears on the table; at the beginning of the Frosted Glacier level Broozers and Barrels, a snowman with Mario's face and a cap with his "M" on it can be seen; and an object known as the Luigi Block has Mario's emblem on it (despite being named after Luigi).

Mario reappears as a playable character in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. Mario remains a non-playable character in New Super Luigi U. When a Super Guide Block appears in New Super Luigi U, however, a computer-controlled Mario now appears to complete a level for the player.

Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
"Super Mario... 3D World!! Meow!"

- Mario

Mario returns in Super Mario 3D World and its Nintendo Switch port, alongside Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad, as an all-round character, in a similar way to Super Mario Bros. 2, lacking the special abilities of the other three characters. After Bowser has kidnapped the Sprixie Princesses, Peach falls into the pipe that leads to the Sprixie Kingdom, and Mario, Toad, and Luigi follow. There, they cooperate on their adventure to reach Bowser. During the adventure, Mario encounters new items, most notably the Super Bell, which transforms him into Cat Mario. He also encounters new enemies, such as Cat Goombas, and old enemies, including Chargin' Chucks. Boom Boom and Pom Pom also reappear to hinder Mario's progress, while new bosses, such as Hisstocrat, are additional impediments. Once Mario and his teammates reach the end of World Castle, the seventh world, Bowser retreats into another world, the amusement park of World Bowser. Once Mario and his friends finally reach Bowser, Bowser transforms himself into Meowser and climbs a huge tower. Mario and his friends then hit the large POW Block at the peak of the tower, defeating Bowser, transforming him into a large firework. They then proceed to rescue the Sprixie Princesses before using a clear pipe to return to the Mushroom Kingdom.

In the game's port's standalone story Bowser's Fury, Mario is the only character from Super Mario 3D World to be playable. He teams up with Bowser Jr. to collect Cat Shines and defeat a corrupted Bowser and restore him back to normal, which they do by collecting more Cat Shines that awaken a new power-up called the Giga Bell, one of the enhanced versions of the Super Bell that transforms Mario into Giga Cat Mario, which will allow him to grow to an enormous size to battle Fury Bowser. If he collects all 100 Cat Shines, his Cat form changes to match his Giga Cat form, Bowser Jr. and his Junior Clown Car become Cat variants of themselves, and Fury Bowser's spikes and hair change from orange to white, although all of these changes are simply aesthetic.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS
"Hey! Let's get making!"

- Mario

Mario appears as the sole playable character in the Wii U level-creation game Super Mario Maker. However, Mario can make use of Mystery Mushrooms to take on the appearances of a variety of other characters (including non-Mario characters). Also, a number of unlockable Mystery Mushroom costumes alter Mario's sprite to a different iteration of himself, listed below. In the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, Mario cannot do this due to the removal of the Mystery Mushroom.


 * [[File:ModernMarioSMM.png]] Mario (Super Mario Bros.): A recolor of Mario's original Super Mario Bros. sprite that uses his modern colors.
 * [[File:SMM Silver Mario.png]] Silver Mario (Super Mario Maker): A silver palette swap of Mario's modernized Super Mario Bros. sprite.
 * [[File:SMM Gold Mario.png]] Gold Mario (Super Mario Maker): A golden palette swap of Mario's modernized Super Mario Bros. sprite.
 * [[File:SMM Construction Mario.png]] Builder Mario (Super Mario Maker): An 8-bit rendition of the attire Mario wears on the box art and promotional art.
 * [[File:SMM Dr Mario.png]] Dr. Mario (Dr. Mario): Mario's modernized Super Mario Bros. sprite modified to look like Dr. Mario.
 * [[File:SMM Mario Kart.png]] Kart Mario (Super Mario Kart): Mario's original Super Mario Bros. sprite, modified to match his current colors, driving a Standard Kart from Mario Kart 8.
 * [[File:Mario (Super Mario-Kun) - SMM.png]] SUPER MARIO KUN (): Mario's design from the Super Mario-kun manga, originally exclusive to Japan.
 * [[File:CatMario-SMM.png]] Cat Mario (Super Mario 3D World): An 8-bit rendition of Cat Mario based on Mario's Super Mario Bros. sprite.
 * [[File:FrogMario-SMM.png]] Frog Mario (Super Mario Bros. 3): Frog Mario's sprite from Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * [[File:Costume Mario (Paper Jam Bros.) - SMM.png]] Mario Trio (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam): Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario are shown as one sprite.
 * [[File:Mario (GLA) - SMM.png]] GLA (/Mario Kart 8): Mario drives a GLA SUV.
 * [[File:SMM Statue Mario.png]] Statue Mario (Super Mario Bros. 3): Statue Mario's sprite from Super Mario Bros. 3.

Mario is also given two new forms: the first one is Weird Mario, which is a taller, skinnier and more realistic version of him and has access to the Scuttle, and in addition to be a placable form, will also "answer" Warp Doors if they are tapped five times. The other is Big Mario, which comes in two different versions: one with Mario's original colors and another with his modern colors. The form causes several enemies and items to gain traits of Mario (specifically his cap and his moustache).

Super Mario Run
Mario reappears in Super Mario Run as a playable character along with Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Toadette, the colored Yoshis, and Princess Daisy. Mario is the only playable character at the start of the game, but the others are unlocked as the player progresses through the game. Along with Luigi, Mario has a small form, allowing him to be hit twice before being defeated. Statues of Mario can also be bought at the shop and built in Kingdom Builder. A golden Mario statue is also available for purchase via My Nintendo.

Super Mario Odyssey
"Super Mario...Odyssey!"

- Mario

Mario once again appears as the protagonist and the sole playable character (aside from Cappy in co-op mode) in Super Mario Odyssey. When Bowser kidnaps Peach again, Mario fights him on Bowser's airship. However, he is defeated by Bowser and crash-lands in the Cap Kingdom. He is later found by a Bonneter named Cappy, whose sister Tiara was also kidnapped by Bowser, and the two team up to save their respective loved ones. Cappy replaces the Mario Cap (which was torn apart during the fight), allowing Mario to throw him in one of his moves as well as use him to capture various characters, enemies, and objects. The two then have to travel across various kingdoms in order to catch up with Bowser and save Princess Peach.

Appearance-wise, Mario seems to have a similar design to that he possessed in Super Mario 3D World, albeit with more detailed textures, and he appears to be much smaller in height than other humans, as seen in New Donk City.

Super Mario Maker 2
Mario reappears in Super Mario Maker 2 as the main playable character. Although he is no longer the only playable character, he is the only one playable in Story Mode. Mario has access to the Super Bell power-up, due to the addition of a Super Mario 3D World style. In addition, he can use the Super Hammer power-up in said style to turn into Builder Mario, as well as the Superball Flower in the Super Mario Bros. style, which previously appeared 30 years prior in Super Mario Land and turns Mario into Superball Mario. In the version 3.0.0 update, he also has access to the SMB2 Mushroom, which turns him into SMB2 Mario, giving him his appearance and characteristics from Super Mario Bros. 2.

Super Mario Bros. 35
Mario appears as a playable character in Super Mario Bros. 35, identical to his appearance from Super Mario Bros. He is also featured in multiple player icons.

Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!


Mario is featured in a feature-length anime adaption of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!. In this film, Mario and Luigi are portrayed as grocery store workers. Mario has his video game hijacked, and he notices Princess Peach escape the TV set, plead for help, and get kidnapped by Bowser while dropping her emerald pendant. Mario quickly is attracted to her, and he and Luigi, while also traveling to the kingdom for riches, eventually follow Kibidango into a series of Warp Pipes, and explore the Mushroom Kingdom to search for Princess Peach.

Family Computer Golf: Japan Course / Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course
Mario appears in Family Computer Golf: Japan Course where he is depicted in his normal overalls with his appearance akin to his normal design. In Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course, the companion of Family Computer Golf: Japan Course, Mario has a blue shirt and red-and-white striped overalls.

Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race
Mario makes a playable appearance in the Japan-exclusive racing game, Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race. Mario drives a Formula One car and can race alone or with a competition. Whenever Mario crashes into a wall or car or drives off-road, his car's fuel and health decrease. He can visit pit stops to repair and refuel his car, although this takes time. When Mario wins the Grand Prix, he earns money, which can be used to buy unlockable cars.

Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally
Mario and Luigi are drivers in Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally. The two drive one of the three vehicles: Kattobi, Yonque, or Monster. They must rally through the course, driving through checkpoints before the timer runs out. If they hit other cars, they severely slow down and can be knocked to the side if other cars bump them from there. In higher levels, their car may crash if they hit another car, which can make it more difficult to reach the checkpoint.

Alleyway
In Alleyway, similar to , Mario controls a paddle that deflects a ball to break a particular formation of bricks. During bonus rounds, various brick formations resembling sprites from Super Mario Bros., including Mario's sprite, are shown.

NES Open Tournament Golf
In NES Open Tournament Golf, taking place on Earth, Mario retains his blue shirt and red-and-white striped overalls. Princess Peach is depicted as Mario's caddy, who helps carry Mario's golf equipment.

DIC cartoons
In the Mario cartoons produced by DIC Entertainment, Mario and Luigi are shown to be plumbers from Brooklyn. According to the first two animated series, Mario and Luigi arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom while out on a house call; they are shown working on a bathtub in an old woman's house when they are suddenly sucked down the drain, transporting them to the Mushroom Kingdom, where they save Princess Toadstool from King Koopa for the first time. The series depicts Mario as the pasta-loving older brother of Luigi.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
"Hey, paisanos! It's the Super Mario Bros. Super Show!"

- Mario

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! shows both Mario's and Luigi's lives in the real world and their lives in the Mushroom Kingdom, through both live-action and animated episodes. In the live-action portion of the show, Mario and Luigi (portrayed by Lou Albano and Danny Wells, respectively) are plumbers living in Brooklyn, working from Mario Brothers Plumbing, their basement workshop doubling as their home. They are shown as being financially unsuccessful, barely being able to get by. In some segments, Mario is shown to have disdain for his life; in the episode "Baby Mario Love," Mario is shown complaining about his life being dull, not having any glitz or glamour.

In the animated segments, Mario and Luigi are traveling across the Mushroom Land with Toad and Princess Toadstool, searching for anyone or anything that can both rid the kingdom of King Koopa and send Mario and Luigi back home to Brooklyn. According to the first episode, "The Bird! The Bird!", they begin their quest shortly after Mario and Luigi have saved Princess Toadstool after arriving in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Similar to King Koopa, Mouser, and Tryclyde, Mario may occasionally employ disguises or aliases during an animated segment.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 follows the events of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! This series of episodes is based on Super Mario Bros. 3. Unlike the previous series, this one has the Mushroom Kingdom in a more peaceful state. Mario has more enemies to fight, most notably the Koopalings. The only episode Mario does not appear in is "Life's Ruff."

Super Mario World
The Super Mario World television series is a continuation of the previous series, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. This time, the episodes focus loosely on the video game Super Mario World with added characters, the most prominent being Yoshi, the Cave People, and Oogtar. Mario appears in every episode of the Super Mario World television series as one of the main protagonists.

Mario Ice Capades
Mario appears in the "show on ice" television special, Mario Ice Capades. In the show, Bowser plans to use the NES to infect computers with viruses. After being summoned by Princess Toadstool, Mario and Luigi appear and fight Bowser's troops consisting of two Koopa Troopas, two Goombas, a Hammer Brother, a red Koopa Paratroopa, and a Spiny. For the final fight with Bowser, Mario and Luigi get children from the audience to assist them, handing them plumber tools for them to use as weapons. After their victory, Princess Toadstool awards them the "Purple Plunger for Bravery."

Mario and the Incredible Rescue
The children's book Mario and the Incredible Rescue has Mario teaming up with Luigi, Toad, and eventually Yoshi to rescue Princess Peach. In the events of the book, Bowser has amassed an army of ghosts (Boos) by stealing (and using) The Book of Spells from a sorceress named Cybele. Upon speaking with Cybele, Mario, Luigi, and Toad learn that to defeat Bowser and his army of ghosts, he has to collect six magic mushrooms that contain special powers. Eventually, Mario and his friends collect all six mushrooms, fight Bowser, and successfully rescue the princess.

Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land
Mario is one of the main characters in the interactive OVA Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land. The video follows the story of Super Mario World rather closely, though it is quite condensed. Mario leads a group on a quest to save Princess Peach from King Koopa. He is shown to be the bravest of the group, with Luigi and Yoshi less so. He often calls the viewer to ask questions.

Dr. Mario series


Mario takes in a different alias in the first game of the puzzle subseries, Dr. Mario. Mario works alongside Nurse Toadstool (Princess Peach) at the Mushroom Kingdom Hospital to combat three types of viruses: Fever, Chill, and Weird. Here, he must drop Capsules to destroy these viruses.

Dr. Mario 64 features a story behind the gameplay. During a flu outbreak, Dr. Mario attempts to use his Megavitamins to heal the citizens. Wario, however, wishes to steal and profit from the Megavitamins. Mad Scienstein intervenes and takes the Megavitamins, so after Dr. Mario beats Wario, the two follow Mad Scienstein, defeating enemies from Wario Land 3. Mad Scienstein then reveals himself to be a worker for Rudy, who is afflicted with the cold. Dr. Mario proceeds to cure Rudy after beating him, though. If Dr. Mario has not lost any matches, however, Wario takes the Megavitamins and transforms into Vampire Wario. On the other hand, if the player is using Wario, Dr. Mario becomes Metal Mario after ingesting the pills.

Dr. Mario Online Rx has similar gameplay to the original Dr. Mario, although there is an additional Virus Buster minigame. Dr. Mario Express is similar to Dr. Mario Online Rx but features no Virus Buster minigame.

In Dr. Mario World, Dr. Mario hunts down viruses to save infected Koopa Troopas, Toads, and Shy Guys after a virus outbreak happens in the Mushroom Kingdom. Other Mario characters join him as playable characters.

Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.
The Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. series of Japan-only anime features Mario characters in classic fairy tale settings. Mario plays as the main protagonist, defeating Bowser in all of them.

Super Mario Momotarō
Super Mario Momotarō retells a popular Japanese folklore called , with Mario playing the role as the main hero. Bowser and the Koopalings have stolen Princess Peach from Ojīsan and Obāsan, two elderly Hammer Brothers. Eventually, the Hammer Brothers discover a shooting star in the form of a peach that has landed in their feet. Mario, as a mustached child, emerges from this peach, and the two elderly Hammer Brothers welcome him into their family. While Mario rapidly grows up, Ojīsan and Obāsan accidentally mention Princess Peach. They explain their loss to Mario once he asks them for more information. Mario then ultimately decides to rescue her, even though Ojīsan is unwilling to let him go. The Hammer Brothers finally relent and give aid to Mario for his journey, including a lunchbox with mushrooms and a gun, a valuable family heirloom.

During his travels, Mario encounters a weak, starving Para-Beetle. He immediately befriends her by sharing his mushroom, and she agrees to join his cause. Mario also helps a Boomerang Bro. up, who also joins Mario. Mario then finally befriends a Spike after the Spike has seen Bowser destroy his homeland. The four ride a rocket-powered airship to confront Bowser and the Koopalings. While Mario's friends battle the Koopalings, Mario faces Bowser and, with help from the Para-Beetle and the Boomerang Bro., eventually defeats him. After winning the fight, Mario threatens Bowser at gunpoint until Bowser relents and agrees to stop destroying the lands and to return everything he has stolen, including Princess Peach. Princess Peach thanks Mario and his friends for rescuing her, and they use the airship to return to Ojīsan and Obāsan.

Super Mario Issun-bōshi
Mario plays the role of the small hero in Super Mario Issun-bōshi, based on the Japanese folk tale . A couple has wished for a child, but while the shooting star delivers the child, who is Mario, he is only one inch tall. As Mario grows older, he notices a city beyond the mountains and wishes to travel there. His parents are reluctant at first, but they do not wish to shelter him for the rest of his life. Mario's father gives him a sewing needle for a sword, a bowl with rocket engines for a boat, and a chopstick for an oar to help Mario travel. Mario encounters several enemies along the way, including a Spiny Cheep Cheep, Para-Beetles, a Blooper Nanny, a Dry Bones, and a Lakitu. The Lakitu, however, summons a storm and sinks Mario and his boat, making him unconscious.

When Mario wakes up, he finds himself in the city and Princess Peach, normal sized, who has rescued him. Peach introduces herself and explains that she has found him unconscious on the shore of the river. Mario thanks her and tells her his desire to explore the city. Peach, who likes him, wants Mario to stay with her, and he agrees, riding on Peach's shoulders. As they are walking in the city, however, Bowser ambushes and attacks Peach, demanding that she marry him. Princess Peach strongly refuses, and before Bowser resorts to force, Mario challenges Bowser. Bowser does not take Mario seriously and tries to stomp him, but he dodges his steps. Bowser, however, finally grabs Mario and swallows him. While Bowser is trying to kidnap Peach, though, Mario attacks Bowser from the inside with his needle sword, which forces Bowser to cough out Mario. Mario then cuts off Bowser's horns and eyebrows, making Bowser flee while passersby laugh at him. After thanking Mario, Peach notices a magic wish-granting hammer, which Bowser has dropped, and she then fulfills Mario's wish to be a full-sized human. In the end, the two use a hovercraft to return home.

Super Mario Shirayuki-hime
Super Mario Shirayuki-hime is the final story of the series, based on . Bowser, as Queen Koopa, is jealous that Princess Peach is declared fairest in the land according to the magic mirror. Queen Koopa orders the Koopalings (Roy, Wendy, Morton, and Iggy) to destroy Princess Peach. Mario rescues her and flees to a house containing his friends, the seven dwarves, who are Toads. After Mario tells them what is happening, the Toads promise to protect her while Mario is away. Queen Koopa, meanwhile, tricks Peach into eating a poisoned apple and casts her into a deep sleep. When Mario returns and finds Peach in a deep sleep, the Toads apologize for their failure. Mario then retrieves a potion he has received from a goddess in a foreign land and revives Peach. After Peach explains that she has been given a poisoned apple, Mario concludes that it is Queen Koopa and wants to punish Queen Koopa. With Peach and the Toads following, Mario travels to Queen Koopa's castle and defeats the Goombas there. When he confronts Queen Koopa, the Koopalings attack him with a magical electric blast. The Toads help Mario by giving him a power-up that makes him grow large and knock away the Koopalings. After Mario chases Queen Koopa, she takes Princess Peach and holds a knife near her neck. Luigi, however, ambushes Queen Koopa, and the brothers defeat her by throwing her against the magic mirror. Mario, Peach, Luigi, and the Toads then happily leave the castle, concluding the story arc.

Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up
Mario appears in various scenes of the virtual coloring book, Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up. He and various other Mario characters (and Link) are shown in various occupations.

Mario Teaches Typing series
Mario helps children type in both Mario Teaches Typing and Mario Teaches Typing 2. By typing correctly, players enable the game to advance. Mario Teaches Typing 2, the sequel, has another story. Mario and Luigi find a Magical Typewriter. The note attached to it explains that it is essential to beat Bowser. If one types the correct sequence into the scroll, a spell is cast and defeats Bowser. If it is used incorrectly, however, the typewriter self-destructs. Mario attempts to type, but he fails and the typewriter explodes, sending its pieces to various regions. The two adventure, retrieving the pieces while improving their typing abilities, eventually restore the typewriter, and cause a giant typewriter to fall on top of Bowser's Castle.

Super Mario-kun
Mario has played a starring role on a long-running manga series, Super Mario-kun. As the manga series is based on the games, Mario often plays the same role as he did in the games. The manga volumes typically depict Mario along with Yoshi or Luigi, although he sometimes befriends other partners to aid him. There are some major alterations in some portrayals, however, such as the Donkey Kong Country arc, where Mario does make an appearance, or in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where Mario's and Luigi's adult selves aid Yoshi and Baby Mario to save Baby Luigi.

Mario is depicted as playful, brave, and devoted to his friends, although immature, rash, and sometimes mischievous. Unlike in the games, Mario frequently scolds or teases his friends for failing or otherwise making simple gags. Mario, as well as his friends, is playful with his visual gags, pop culture references, and wordplay, and can even engage in crude humor such as farting to taunt his opponents or urinating on Yoshi.

Yoshi
Mario is featured in the first game of the Yoshi franchise, entitled simply Yoshi (or Mario & Yoshi). The gameplay is similar to that of Tetris: Mario holds several enemies and must align them vertically to eliminate them and score points. Mario can also match egg halves vertically (even with enemies in between) to create a Yoshi's Egg that hatches a Baby Yoshi, giving Mario 50 points. The Yoshi that Mario can hatch is dependent on the enemies between the egg halves.

Yoshi's Cookie
Mario is portrayed as a baker in another puzzle game of the Yoshi franchise, Yoshi's Cookie, along with its remake in Nintendo Puzzle Collection. The title screen of the NES and Game Boy versions shows a small narrative: Mario fails to open a cookie jar, but when he gets an idea and leaves, Yoshi enters and eats the jar. Mario then chases Yoshi with a hammer. When Mario returns with the cookie jar, however, the jar is empty. In the game, Mario must clear rows and columns of cookies by matching them. There are six types of cookies he must match. Mario can also face against Princess Peach, Yoshi, or Bowser in the VS mode of the game, where he must maintain a higher lit fuse than his opponent by clearing rows of cookies. Matching five Yoshi Cookies gives a special move that can disrupt the opponent's playing field.

Super Mario Adventures
Super Mario Adventures is a 10-part series of comics that features Mario and Luigi attempting to rescue Princess Toadstool, and it features characters and other elements from Super Mario World. Mario and Luigi head to Princess Toadstool's castle to attempt to fix the plumbing, but Bowser and the Koopa Troop, responsible for the pipe problem, ambush them. Turning Mario to stone, Bowser and his army kidnap Princess Toadstool so he can marry her. Mario, who recovers from stone, teams up with Luigi, and they follow the pipes to rescue Princess Toadstool. Along the way, they encounter Yoshi by accident while cooking his egg. Unlike in many video games, Mario gets captured twice, and he needs to be rescued by both Princess Toadstool (who escapes the first time, but gets recaptured later and put in a trance) and Luigi. Other characters Mario and Luigi encounter include Friendly Floyd, a businessperson that swindles the Mario Bros.' money, but his services help Luigi devise a disguise to rescue Mario by dressing as Princess Toadstool. Mario and Luigi also encounter Boos in a ghost house, where Mario disguises himself as a psychiatrist to help comfort the Boos and escape the ghost house.

Mario Paint
Mario played a minor role in Mario Paint. He appears in the interactive title screen, although he also makes appearances for a few icons. In the game, players can paint, create sprites, create music, and animate. Mario's icon during music mode indicates a piano-like instrument.

Mario Kart series
"Welcome to Mario Kart!"

- Mario

In Mario Kart series, both in the mainline series and the Mario Kart Arcade GP arcade series, starting with Super Mario Kart, Mario has always been a playable character and, except in Mario Kart Tour, is usually available at the start. In games where characters are divided into weight groups, Mario is a middle-weight character with all-around stats. Numerous race courses throughout the series have been named after Mario, usually as Mario Circuit.

In the first installment Super Mario Kart, when Mario is a CPU, he sometimes uses Star power, which gives him invincibility. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, he is grouped with Luigi by default, with art always showing him as the driver, and their special item is the Fireball, which splits into 5 smaller fireballs and spins out any racer that the fireballs hit. His kart is the Red Fire, which is an all-around kart.

In Mario Kart Arcade GP, he shares his special character items with Luigi. His special items are a Star, which gives Mario invincibility; a fireball, which can be shot forward or backward to damage a kart; the hammer, which can hit a rival, giving them damage; and the Chain Chomp, which provides damage to any kart it hits. In Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, his personal kart is the Lightning Champ. He also receives a Fire Mario alternate palette swap.

In Mario Kart DS, Mario's karts are the B Dasher, the Standard MR, and the Shooting Star. After beating the game, Mario, as well as the rest of the roster, can race in any of the karts. He also fights two bosses in Mission Mode: Eyerok in Level 2 and Wiggler in Level 7. Mario is also used to race a special red car in Shroom Ridge.

In Mario Kart Wii, Mario also provides a boost to handling, weight, and acceleration on any vehicle he drives. Mario's stats in Mario Kart 8, are also not perfectly balanced. His top speed and traction are his strongest stats, while his acceleration is his weakest stat. If Mario drives certain vehicles, they are colored red to match Mario's color. The exceptions are his gray GLA and his white City Tripper (though with red accents). Unlike in Mario Kart Wii, all characters can ride on any vehicle in the game.

Mario reappears in Mario Kart Tour as an unlockable Super driver. His special skill is the Fire Flower. Mario also has a self-titled cup in the game, as well as a self-named tour and two Team Rally tours: one against his brother Luigi and one against Peach.

Mario has several variants of himself appear. Baby Mario makes his debut in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Robo Mario also appears as a rival in Mario Kart Arcade GP. Metal Mario makes his debut in the Mario Kart series in Mario Kart 7 and has been described as a rival in the American website for Mario Kart 7. Mario Kart Tour additionally introduced a number of High-End variants of Mario, with most of them being based on his outfits from Super Mario Odyssey.
 * Mario (Musician): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Double Bob-ombs special skill and was available as of the New York Tour.
 * Mario (Hakama): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Coin Box special skill and was available as of the Tokyo Tour.
 * Mario (Santa): This variant is added in the 2019 Winter Tour, with the Fire Flower being his special skill (like his normal counterpart).
 * Mario (Happi): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Bob-omb Cannon special skill and was introduced in the New Year's Tour.
 * Mario (Classic): Mario has the Triple Mushrooms special skill and is available as of the Mario Bros. Tour.
 * Mario (Chef): From Super Mario Odyssey, based on the chef outfit from Yoshi's Cookie, he has the Lucky Seven as his special skill and is introduced in the Cooking Tour.
 * Mario (Swimwear): From Super Mario Odyssey and introduced in the Marine Tour, he has the Dash Ring as his special skill.
 * Mario (SNES): This variant is based on Mario's sprites from Super Mario Kart, and he appears as of the Super Mario Kart Tour with the Triple Mushrooms as his special skill.
 * Mario (Sunshine): From Super Mario Sunshine, he has the Giant Banana special skill, and he appears as of the 2020 Los Angeles Tour.
 * Mario (Halloween): This variant has the Lucky Seven for his special skill and was added in the 2020 Halloween Tour.
 * Mario (Racing): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has Triple Mushrooms special skill and was introduced in the Mario Tour
 * Mario (Tuxedo): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Coin Box special skill and was introduced in the Wedding Tour.
 * Mario (Baseball): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Mushroom Cannon special skill and is introduced in the 2021 Los Angeles Tour.
 * Mario (Satellaview): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Lucky Seven special skill and is introduced in the Space Tour.
 * Mario (Golf): A variant of Mario in his golf outfit originally from Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course and NES Open Tournament Golf but introduced in Super Mario Odyssey was introduced in 2022 Los Angeles Tour.
 * Mario (Aviator): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Dash Ring special skill and was introduced in the Sky Tour
 * Mario (Samurai): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Boomerang Flower special skill and was introduced in the Samurai Tour.
 * Mario (King): From Super Mario Odyssey, he has the Coin Box special skill and was introduced in the Anniversary Tour.

In total, Mario has 17 different playable variants (not including Metal Mario, Ice Mario, Builder Mario, Dr. Mario, Penguin Mario, Tanooki Mario, and Cat Mario), making him the driver in Mario Kart Tour with the most playable variants. He also has multiple victory animations depending on which variant the player uses. His Builder variant holds up his hammer, then nods his head; his musician variant waves his hat in the air; his Sunshine variant dances in his seat; his Halloween variant looks around, then playfully giggles; and his Satellaview variant performs an astronaut's wave.

For ways in which Mario and his variants have been obtainable throughout the game's history, see List of availabilities for Mario in Mario Kart Tour.

Mario and Luigi are the two fully playable characters in Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. As in Mario Kart Tour, alternate variants are available, though they are only cosmetic.

Mario Discovery series
Mario travels to different worlds to teach basic learning skills to younger players in the 'Mario Discovery' series. Mario is controlled by a cursor interacting with an object.

Mario is Missing!
The 1992 game Mario is Missing! was the first game in the Mario Discovery Series of Educational Games and set the Mario characters on Earth. When hearing of Bowser's plan to flood the Earth by melting Antarctica's ice with hair dryers, Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi head to Bowser's Castle in the Antarctic. Mario is captured, although his capture varies between versions of the game.

In the DOS version, Mario enters the castle alone, as Luigi is too scared to follow. Mario meets Bowser, who is in a butler disguise, and accepts candy from him, despite Luigi's warning not to take candy from strangers. Bowser uses this as a distraction to trap Mario in a net. Despite his captured status, however, Mario in that version nonetheless manages to give contact to Luigi to guide him to the continents to stop Bowser's plans, as well as update him on the situation. Over the course of the game, Mario tells Luigi that he admitted to Bowser that he has a fear of the dark, which strained communication since Bowser is threatening him with his fear. In the NES version, Mario is captured outside in the snow by a Koopa with a bag. In that version, he also reacts angrily to the title shortly before being captured by the Koopa. In the SNES version, Mario gets trapped inside a pitfall outside the castle.

The game centers around Luigi, who rescues Mario from Bowser in the end.

Mario's Time Machine
In Mario's Time Machine, Bowser uses a time machine to steal various artifacts from different time periods of human history in order to display them at his museum. Mario goes on a mission to return all objects of Bowser's museum to their original time periods in order to prevent history from being altered. Additionally, Mario has to rescue Yoshi from Bowser in the NES version of the game. Mario's Time Machine is one of the few games in which Mario talks.

In the NES version, the player has to play an altered version of Mario Bros. to defeat Koopa Troopas, who drop the stolen objects when defeated. Mario then has to travel back in time to return the objects to their proper places in a side-scrolling mission.

In the SNES version, Mario has to pick a stolen object from the museum and then go to a "Time Surfing" level to collect enough Mushrooms to make a time jump, then return the objects to their proper places.

Yoshi's Safari
In Yoshi's Safari, Mario and Yoshi are sent by Princess Peach to rescue Jewelry Land from Bowser's occupation. In this game, Mario uses a gun called the Super Scope (controlled by the player with said accessory for the Super Nintendo) to shoot enemies while riding on Yoshi's back. Mario fights the Koopalings and Bowser to free King Fret and Prince Pine of Jewelry Land.

Mario & Wario
In Mario & Wario, Mario is a passive character. Wario drops buckets or barrels or similar objects on his head, blinding him. The fairy Wanda has to guide Mario safely to Luigi through hazards and traps in each level. When arriving at the end of the level, Luigi frees Mario from the sight-blocking object. Mario is only one of the characters that have to be guided through levels by Wanda like this in the game. The other characters are Princess Peach and Yoshi. Mario walks at a medium speed, while Peach is slow and Yoshi is fast.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Although Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3's title has Mario's name in it, Wario is the protagonist of this game. Mario is mentioned as one of Wario's motivations to go on a treasure hunt in the game's manual. Mario himself makes a small appearance at the end of the game, where he steals a Princess Peach statue from Wario.

Mario's Picross series
Mario is featured as an archaeologist in Mario's Picross. Mario's Picross is a puzzle game where Mario must scrape squares according to the numbered indicators on each column and row. Completing the puzzle correctly usually shows an image, sometimes referring to earlier games in the Mario series. During the gameplay, Mario is also given hints such as an entire row being scraped correctly or a roulette that determines which lines are revealed. Mario reappears in the sequel, Picross 2, where now, he must match boxes and link them to form specific images. Mario again appears in Mario's Super Picross on the Super Famicom. As in Picross 2, Wario also appears in it. Mario is given a set of rules, where he works under a time limit and gets penalized if he makes a mistake. Wario, on the other hand, has no time limit, but mistakes are not apparent and no hints are given.

Hotel Mario
In Hotel Mario, Mario and Luigi travel to the Mushroom Kingdom after an invitation for a picnic by Princess Peach. Upon arriving, the two find out that Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser, who has made her a "permanent guest" in one of his seven Koopa hotels. Mario and Luigi travel from one Koopaling's hotel to the next, with Peach being brought to a new hotel every time the brothers have searched through the last one. After destroying most of the Koopaling hotels, Mario fights Bowser in his own hotel and defeats him. He then receives a kiss from Princess Peach, then congratulates the player as "the best ever."

In the game, Mario has to close all doors in a hotel in order to proceed. Mario can stomp on enemies to defeat them, similar to in the Super Mario series. He can also hide in open doors and take elevators to change his level.

On a side note, Mario has four fingers instead of the normal five in this game.

Yoshi's Island series
The Yoshi's Island series takes place while Mario and Luigi are babies, who are referred to as Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, respectively. In entries of those series, the stork delivers Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to their parents but is intercepted by Kamek. He succeeds in capturing only Baby Luigi and the stork, while Baby Mario is rescued by Yoshi. The goal of the series is for Yoshi to rescue Baby Luigi so the stork can safely reunite the two brothers to their parents.

Adult Mario appears as a high score icon in Yoshi Touch & Go.

In Yoshi's New Island, adult Mario is disguised as a live Warp Pipe named Mr. Pipe, and he helps them by giving them needed items. He reveals himself in the end credits, where he eventually vanishes, presumably going back to his own time period.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Mario makes a cameo appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. He appears at the end of the game as one of Cranky's Video Game Heroes, along with Diddy Kong, Link, and Yoshi. With 39 DK Coins in the original and 67 in the Game Boy Advance version, Mario is the top video game hero.

Donkey Kong 64
In Donkey Kong 64, specifically in a port of the original Donkey Kong game, playable via an arcade set up in Frantic Factory, Mario re-enacts his initial role. Mario has to go through the same construction site as in the original game, while the old Donkey Kong creates mischief down Mario's path. However, a slight modification has been brought to this port, which is related to the game's objective. In the first run, Mario has to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong; however, after she is rescued and the player restarts, Mario can instead collect a special Nintendo Coin at the end.

Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium
Mario is a playable character in a Mario-styled remake of Excitebike in Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium. He competes with other racers to try to place third or higher. He appears to have no differences from the other racers.

Mario's FUNdamentals
Mario has also appeared in Mario's FUNdamentals, where he plays several games with younger players, such as "Go Fish," "Checkers," "Backgammon," "Dominoes," and "Yahtzee." This is the first video game where Charles Martinet, the current voice actor for Mario, was credited for providing his voice.

Mario Tennis series
Mario is a playable character in all games of the Mario Tennis series. In all direct games in the series—Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, Mario Power Tennis for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii, Mario Tennis: Power Tour for the Game Boy Advance, Mario Tennis Open for the Nintendo 3DS, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for the Wii U, and Mario Tennis Aces for the Nintendo Switch—he is an all-around character. In Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color, Mario is an unlockable character, unlocked by completing the Singles Mario Tour.

Mario Tennis
In the intro for Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, Mario is one of the participants of the tournament. Here, he defeats Donkey Kong to gain access to the semifinals. In the semifinals, he defeats Yoshi and moves on to the finals against Luigi. While the two brothers are looking for the missing tennis ball prior to the match, Wario and his partner, Waluigi, appear and cause mischief. After this, Bowser and a Boo appear. Everyone stands back in fear, thinking that the two came to cause trouble as well. However, Bowser and the Boo reveal that they simply want to play a nice game of tennis, to which Mario exclaims, "Let's all play!" and all of them agree and cheer. Initially unknown to the cast, however, a Bob-omb walks onto the court and explodes. In this game, Mario is the referee who wears different outfits depending on the tournament. If he is playing, a clone of him sits on the referee's chair and wears a blue version of Mario's cap. He reads "0" as "oh" during tiebreakers.

Mario Power Tennis
In Mario Power Tennis, Mario and Luigi are the only all-around characters. Unlike in other games, Mario and Luigi have subtle differences within each other. While they have nearly identical movement speed, Mario has more power, while Luigi has slightly more reach and more control. Mario, when compared to other characters, has a slightly below-average reach and lunge because of his short stature. Mario is stronger than most non-power characters. All his other stats are average. Mario's Offensive Power Shot has his racket transform into a giant mallet, which enables him to hit the ball with high speed and force; opponents that return the ball may get blasted to the back of the court. Mario's Defensive Power Shot is a simple spin that allows him to reach lobs and faraway balls quickly, but it is one of the few Defensive Power Shots that fail when the ball is too far away. Mario's taunt is him waving and saying, "Come on!"

Mario has appeared occasionally in several trophy-earning cutscenes in Mario Power Tennis. While Mario has appeared more than most characters in these cutscenes, Luigi appears in most trophy-earning cutscenes.

Mario Tennis Open
In Mario Tennis Open, Mario shares nearly identical stats from Mario Power Tennis. Mario's metal form, Metal Mario, also appears as a Power character. Miis in the game can wear tennis clothing based on Mario, and if they win the singles Final Cup, they can wear his costume as well.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
In Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, Mario's tennis racket color is slightly different in this game; rather than being a solid blue, Mario's racket is predominantly red and blue with some white.

Mario Tennis Aces
In Mario Tennis Aces, Mario by default wears a new tennis outfit. However, his standard outfit could be unlocked by either participating in the online tournament demo or accumulating 500 participation points in the January 2019 online tournament. Also, Mario was among the characters that could be played as in the online tournament demo. During the game's adventure mode, Mario is, for most of the missions, the playable character as the player must collect the five Power Stones to stop Lucien. As of the game's version 2.0.0 update, the player can unlock a costume for Mario that has him wielding a Lucien replica while wearing his tennis outfit by completing Last Trial Boss Challenge.

Mario Clash
Mario shoots at Koopas and various other enemies in Mario Clash, a game for the Virtual Boy. Mario has to knock enemies away with Koopa Shells at the side. The game's gameplay is similar to the style of Mario Bros., but Luigi is absent.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Mario appears as the main protagonist in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Mario first arrives to confront Bowser, who has again captured Princess Toadstool (which by now is a recurring event). Mario battles Bowser atop a Kinklink and rescues Toadstool. Then a huge sword, Exor, strikes the castle from atop and knocks them all to various spots in Mario's world. Mario falls through the pipe on top of his house and lands on his bed.

Mario discovers that the Star Pieces of the wish-granting Star Road are being sought by a group called the Smithy Gang, run by Smithy, who are causing havoc throughout the world. On this adventure, Mario recruits Mallow, Geno, Princess Toadstool, and even Bowser. They travel through much of the world, finding Star Pieces, which are protected by the Smithy Gang's strongest members. After all Star Pieces are collected, Mario fights Smithy. Mario reaches it through Bowser's Keep, which is inaccessible because Exor destroyed the bridge. With the help of Mallow's parents, King and Queen Nimbus, Mario has passage through a special cloud bus. When they finally arrive, Mario defeats Exor and goes to Smithy's dimension via Exor's mouth.

Mario's journey is not over since Smithy has even more minions at his disposal. After many battles, Mario faces and defeats Smithy, saving the Star Road.

Mario Party series
"I've-a got it! The Stars will help us end their fight! We'll throw a Mario Party to fill the Star Bank!"

- Mario

Mario is one of the playable characters in the Mario Party series, appearing in all games thus far along with Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi. He is always represented by his trademark red color. Mario can compete in minigames to win coins (or Mini Stars, in Mario Party 9 and in Star-Crossed Skyway in Mario Party: Island Tour), which ultimately can help him earn Stars. In the first three Mario Party games, Mario aims to become the superstar, the character with the most Stars, coins being the tiebreaker. Though Mario has no distinguishable traits from the other Mario Party characters, the most notable difference is Mario's ability to use the Fireball Orb in Mario Party 7. Additionally, Mario's default Duel Mode partner is Koopa Troopa in Mario Party 3, and the booklet says that his favorite item is the Golden Mushroom, which increases the likelihood of his purchasing one if he is CPU-controlled. In Mario Party 3, he also challenges the player for the Courage Star Stamp if he is not used. In Super Mario Party, Mario's Dice Block has one 1, three 3's, one 5, and one 6, making it very balanced.

Super Smash Bros. series


Mario has been playable in every Super Smash Bros. game to date. Mario is usually portrayed as a "main" character alongside Link, Kirby, and Pikachu, roughly depicted as the most prominent character and face of the games until Ultimate, where he and Link share mascot status and Kirby is the closest thing to a main character in World of Light. Mario has retained his balanced abilities even when fighting characters from other series. Due to his balanced playstyle, Mario's skill is reflected by the player, as mentioned by the Adventure mode Mario trophy. Also, as a result of his balanced design, Mario is also typically chosen for the "template" character; in Super Smash Bros., as well as all subsequent Super Smash Bros. installments, he is shown in the "How to Play" video; in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, players use him when testing changes in Stage Creator; and in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, his silhouette is an opponent character for special move demonstrations. He is also used for controller mapping testing and is part of the gauge when players select the level of intensity in Classic Mode. Mario's moveset consists of quick short-ranged attacks, such as punches, kicks, and even head attacks. Mario's weight in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee is 100 units; starting from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his weight is decreased to 98 units. Mario's victory theme throughout the series, which is shared with the rest of the Mario characters (except Rosalina), is an arrangement of the level clear theme from Super Mario Bros.

Most of Mario's moveset remains the same throughout the games, though his forward smash has been altered from a fist-inflating punch to an explosive palm blast (used from Super Smash Bros. Melee onward). Additionally, his spinning kick forward aerial is replaced with a downward from Melee onward, while the Mario Tornado has been used as his down aerial since Brawl.

Mario's alter-egos Dr. Mario and Metal Mario have also made appearances, with Dr. Mario being playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Mario also makes additional trophy, sticker, and spirit appearances such as his Mario Strikers incarnation, his Raccoon form, and him driving a vehicle.

Super Smash Bros.
In Super Smash Bros., Mario's standard moveset is inspired from Super Mario 64; his standard attack is the Punch + Punch + Kick combo, his dash attack is the Slide Kick, his down smash is the Sweep Kick, and finally, his back throw is the same throw he uses against Bowser. His special moves are Fireball, a bouncing fireball; Super Jump Punch, which has him jump, causing coins to fly out when in contact with enemies; and Mario Tornado, which has him spinning rapidly. Luigi serves as a clone of Mario, having the same moveset but with different properties, although in later games, he would be replaced by Dr. Mario.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario gains a side special move: Cape, a cape swipe that reflects projectiles. In contrast to his appearances in most games, he has a very serious and stern look on his face, despite the fact that he is normally portrayed as a cheerful person. Dr. Mario is introduced as a playable character, having near-identical moves.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
"Oh yeah! HIYAHHHHHHH...!!!"

- Mario

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, like every other character, Mario is given a Final Smash, which is named Mario Finale. For this move, launches a slow-moving two-streamed blast of fire that hits multiple times. Opponents that come in contact with the blast are knocked slightly to the side, and are thus forced to be traveled with it. His down special move Mario Tornado was replaced by F.L.U.D.D., which sprays water that can push opponents.

While he does not appear as Dr. Mario, unlike in the previous game, Dr. Mario's name can be found in the files for the game along with 6 other characters.

Role in The Subspace Emissary
In the beginning, a trophy of Mario and Kirby are thrown into an arena. The two come to life and fight. The player chooses the one to play with. If Mario is chosen, the opponent is Kirby. After the battle between the two, Mario resurrects Kirby. This scenario happens the other way around if the player chooses Kirby instead. The Subspace Army then ambushes the two. Peach and Zelda come to help, and they are all confronted by the Ancient Minister. After seeing the two R.O.B.s setting up a Subspace Bomb, Mario runs to try to stop it, only to be blasted away by Petey Piranha. Afterwards, he meets Pit after the latter has descended from Skyworld. They team up, reach land, and give chase to the Ancient Minister, but they lose him.

Eventually, Mario sees Peach's trophy form apparently dissolving. Thinking Link and Yoshi have done this, Mario and Pit attack them, only to be defeated and stolen by King Dedede. Kirby, however, saves them both, and Pit shoots an arrow at the Cargo that Dedede was driving, blowing its engine out. Keep note that this happens only if Peach was rescued from Petey Piranha.

If Zelda is rescued, Mario and Pit end up facing a False Zelda, with Pit destroying her Dark Cannon that she was about to fire at Link and Yoshi. Link sees the Zelda trophy dissolve, and he and Yoshi attack Mario and Pit. Mario and Pit defeat them, but Mario sees the Peach trophy in the Cargo before Dedede takes Yoshi and Link. When Kirby saves them, Link is the one that blows out the engine.

Regardless, Mario and his team chase Dedede through a cave and into his castle, only to find his throne room a mess and himself and the trophies he had nowhere to be found. They go through a secret passage and see Bowser trying to get away. Mario attacks, only to find that he has the princess not rescued from Petey Piranha. Pit fires an arrow, but Bowser dodges and the badge that the princess was wearing falls. Bowser gets away and Kirby eats the badge.

Mario and his team encounter the Ancient Minister again later and chase him through the Wilds, but the R.O.B.s stop them and detonate the Subspace Bomb that the Ancient Minister was carrying. Mario and his team escape and end up fighting the Subspace Army at the Canyon, where they meet the Ice Climbers, Marth, Lucas, the Pokémon Trainer, and Ike. For the rest of the adventure, Mario fights with his increasing group until he and his allies defeat Tabuu and restore the world to normal.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mario, as any character, can use equipment to boost his stats at the cost of others. In addition to generic badges, Mario can wear certain additional equipment, including shoes (speed), overalls (defense), and gloves (attack). Finally, Mario can use alternate special moves, provided that these moves are found during normal gameplay. One exception, in the Nintendo 3DS version, is the Explosive Punch, which is unlocked only if the player has a combined score of 200,000 points in Target Blast and the third Challenge Panel has been revealed.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate


Like every other character previously playable in the series, Mario returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character. Mario appeared in the game's reveal teaser trailer, alongside Link (in his design from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) and new fighter Inkling. Mario's fire-based attacks, such as his sweet-spotted forward smash, called Fireball, and Mario Finale, have brighter, flashier effects, including the appearance of smoke. Mario also has Cappy right alongside him, though he seems to be limited to aesthetic. Most of his moves are unaltered, though his Super Jump Punch now has a random chance of producing regional coins found in the Metro Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey. In addition, Mario's Fire Mario and Wario-based costumes were replaced with the Wedding and Builder outfits from Super Mario Odyssey. One of these two costumes, the Builder Outfit, was first used for Mario's artworks for Super Mario Maker. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, three more of Mario's standard attacks receive names: His up smash is the Lead Headbutt, his forward air is the Meteor Knuckle, and his back throw is the Airplane Swing. As with several other returning characters, the Mario-series victory theme has been slightly shortened and sped up compared to in the previous installments.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Adventure mode, Mario is seen when the fighters oppose Galeem for the first time. Although Mario is not shown to be hit by Galeem's beams directly, he, like every fighter except Kirby, is imprisoned in the World of Light, where a Galeem-serving Puppet Fighter (copy) of him is created. Mario is the first imprisoned fighter saved (being rescued following Kirby's defeat of the Mario puppet fighter), and once rescued, he joins Kirby against Galeem and later Dharkon. In Mario's Classic Mode route, it is possible to unlock Sonic, Bayonetta, Little Mac, Ike, Luigi, Roy, Dr. Mario, or Olimar.

Mario as he appears in Mario Tennis Aces is a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Classic Mode route
Mario's Classic Mode route has him fight many characters across different franchises and having no specific theme, similar to Classic Mode's previous iterations. However, Mario has a penultimate battle with Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, while his final battle is against Bowser/Giga Bowser.

Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)


In Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, Mario appears with Luigi at the 18th hole of Mario's Star. His drive is 270 yards, the second strongest in the game, with only Bowser and Metal Mario surpassing him, and his shot is Draw. He must be unlocked in single-player mode, but he is default in multiplayer mode.

Mario Golf (Game Boy Color)
Mario also appears in the Game Boy Color version under the same name, even though this version is drastically different from the Nintendo 64 version that it can interact with. The game also features a story mode where Mario and other Mario characters are not playable.

Mobile Golf
Mario appears in the Japan-only Mobile Golf, but he is unlockable only through the connection of a mobile phone network.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
"It's-a me! Mario! Hoo-hoo! I've been on fire lately, but I hope you'll challenge me!"

- Mario Mario has appeared in the opening in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. Mario unintentionally interferes with Bowser's chasing of Wario and Waluigi by hitting Wario's and Waluigi's eyes and Bowser's hand with a golf ball. Bowser drops a Bob-omb on Wario and Waluigi, creating an explosion that confuses Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy. At the end, Bowser, Wario, and Waluigi growl at a confused Mario.

In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario is a default character in all modes. His shot is 212 yards and 280 yards with a star, giving him the fifth strongest drive in the game with a high, straight trajectory. Although he can hit farther than many other characters, his shots are more influenced by the wind due to the his high trajectory, but it can send farther with a favourable wind direction. He has a decently strong impact and the second best spin, only behind Bowser, but his control is very poor, tied with Diddy Kong for the second worst in the game and only better than Bowser. When he hits a Nice Shot, the ball is encased in flames.

Mario Golf: Advance Tour
As with Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour features a different handheld variant entitled Mario Golf: Advance Tour, which continues the story from the Game Boy Color version of Mario Golf. As with its predecessors, Mario and other Mario characters are not playable in the story mode.

Mario Golf: World Tour
Mario returns in Mario Golf: World Tour as a default character. His combination of having the fifth highest drive and straight trajectory makes him a versatile character suited to perform well in many golfing maneuvers, but his control is poor. Mario also has a gold variant that featuring identical stats and the inability to use items but awards Mario with a coin per yard depending on how far the ball travels, similar to a permanent Gold Flower.

Mario Golf: Super Rush
Mario reappears as a playable character in Mario Golf: Super Rush, sporting a golfing outfit. He is a Speed character with average stats. His Special Shot is known as the Super Star Strike and his Special Dash is known as the Moonsault Dash.

Paper Mario
Mario once again is invited to a party in Peach's Castle in Paper Mario. Bowser interrupts, uprooting the castle and lifting it into the air. He and Kammy Koopa use the power of the Star Rod and defeat Mario. Bowser then tosses Mario out of the castle. Mario lands in a small forest located on the outskirts of Goomba Village. Mario befriends Goombario, his first partner, and heads to Toad Town via Goomba Road.

Mario hears a Star Spirit called Eldstar asking for his help. The Star Spirit requests that he speak to him on Shooting Star Summit, in which he has more strength to speak better. Once there, Mario meets many other Star Spirits asking for his help. He learns that Bowser has imprisoned them in special cards and has given them to his strongest minions. Mario then sets out on a quest in search of the Star Spirits. Mario makes many new friends and partners, eventually collecting all seven Star Spirits. Mario returns to Shooting Star Summit, where he gains access to Star Way. Mario acquires a new ability called Star Beam and is transported to Bowser's Castle from Star Haven. While Mario and his team are at Bowser's Castle, they save the many captives and fight Bowser at the top of the castle.

Bowser breaks the bridge Mario came from, ensuring that Mario cannot escape, and uses his Star Rod to fight. Mario, knowing the Star Rod's counter this time, uses Star Beam to weaken his power. The reluctant Bowser is unaffected by it and shakes the beam's power off. Watching the team's losing, Peach and Twink fight Kammy, who is responsible for creating the Power Platform that strengthens Bowser's Star Rod. They defeat Kammy and teach the Peach Beam while fully restoring Mario's party. Mario and company use the Peach Beam at Bowser to penetrate the Star Rod's shield, leaving him open to attack. Mario and his friends eventually defeat Bowser and once again save the Mushroom Kingdom. The castle returns to the ground from where it came, and another party is held there later while the power of wishes is restored. After a parade led by Luigi, Mario takes Peach to his house, where they watch the fireworks.

During the events of this game, Toad Town News traces Mario as he tries to save the Star Spirits and posts news about his progress.

Tattle
When Mario and his partner are battling a Duplighost (including Lee), it may transform into Goombario and use his tattle ability in battle. "It's Mario, silly! He's here to save Princess Peach, who was kidnapped by Bowser. Remember? He fights until the bitter end, no matter what enemies attack."

- Duplighost

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Peach invites Mario to Rogueport in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door to share a treasure map leading to powerful artifacts called Crystal Stars. By the time Mario arrives, the X-Nauts have kidnapped her. The X-Nauts need to use her as a vessel for the Shadow Queen so the leader of the X-Nauts, Sir Grodus, can use her power to aid him in world domination.

Mario meets Professor Frankly, who tells him the history of Rogueport and reveals the secret of the Thousand-Year Door. The Shadow Queen has once controlled Rogueport and trapped many of its citizens after Crystal Stars granted her power. The Four Legendary Heroes have used the power of the Crystal Stars against her and imprisoned her in the Thousand-Year Door for a millennium. After learning this story, Mario sets out to collect all seven Crystal Stars. Gaining many new partners and finding all Crystal Stars, Mario enters the Thousand-Year Door. There he finds Sir Grodus standing before the Shadow Queen's room. Mario defeats Sir Grodus but is then ambushed by Bowser and Kammy Koopa. This gives Grodus time to escape with Peach to the Shadow Queen's room. When Mario arrives, Grodus has awakened the Shadow Queen herself, taking control of Peach's body. Mario has to fight her possessed form, and using the help of the Rogueport citizens' wishes, Mario prevails.

In the Glitz Pit, Mario and his partner's team is named "The Great Gonzales" (also known as the title The Merciless Executioner) by Grubba. Additionally in the Glitz Pit, when Mario optionally returns to the Glitz Pit to fight Rawk Hawk a second time, someone in the crowd yells, "Jumpman! Wait. Who?" referencing Mario's alternate name in Donkey Kong arcade materials.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, Mario and Luigi sit in their house one day when they hear the news that Princess Peach has been kidnapped. The Mario Bros. rush to Bowser's Castle, thinking he has the princess, an assumption to be proven wrong. Later, a new antagonist named Count Bleck shows up and kidnaps Luigi and Bowser. It is also revealed that Count Bleck has Princess Peach, too.

Mario is transported to Flipside, a town between dimensions. Mario later finds Bowser and Princess Peach, who decide to join Mario in his quest to stop Count Bleck. Mario must go through eight chapters to get eight Pure Hearts, which can counter the Chaos Heart. Mario also encounters new enemies, such as O'Chunks, Dimentio, Mimi, Nastasia, and even his brother, Luigi, now called Mr. L because Nastasia, an assistant of Count Bleck, has brainwashed him (however, he joins Mario once he is freed by Dimentio and sent to the Underwhere).

Mario's special ability is the flip, which allows him to travel between 2D and 3D plains, which is necessary to progress and solve puzzles. Unlike the other playable characters who have their special abilities unlocked from the beginning of the game, Mario cannot flip until Bestovius teaches him the technique in Chapter 1-1.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star
In the fourth installment of the Paper Mario series, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Mario, along with Princess Peach and many Toads, is celebrating Sticker Fest, a holiday where six Royal Stickers ride in on a comet that allows wishes to come true. Bowser, however, takes the comet for himself, releasing its Royal Stickers to him and his minions. Mario attempts to jump on him, but his efforts fail and Mario is knocked out. Shortly after waking up, he meets a sticker guardian named Kersti, and with her help, he saves some Toads hidden around the town and takes back the Royal Stickers. Mario then pursues Bowser by traveling through various worlds. Along the way, Mario must collect various stickers to aid him in defeating enemies and progress through levels.

After getting five of the six Royal Stickers, Mario is allowed to enter Bowser's Sky Castle. Bowser is defeated by Mario, and he gets the last Royal Sticker, but Kersti is destroyed in the process. He releases Peach, who thanks Mario for his efforts and allows him to make a wish on the Sticker Star. He wishes for the return of Kersti, and the Sticker Fest is saved.

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Paper Mario: Color Splash, the fifth installment of the Paper Mario series, sends Mario, Peach, and Toad to Prism Island, which got drained by its color. Here, Mario meets a paint can guardian named Huey, and with his help, Mario saves the Big Paint Stars and restores color to the island by collecting them in each level while defeating enemies with his Paint Hammer and Battle Cards.

After getting all six Big Paint Stars, Mario is ready to face Bowser by entering Black Bowser's Castle, but he cannot walk up the rainbow road path. Luigi comes in with his kart, and the duo drives off to face Bowser. Mario and Huey defeat Bowser and paints Peach back, and she thanks Mario for his efforts. They leave the castle, but Huey decides to stay behind to drain the castle and sends the black paint far away. That night, a celebration is held for the return of all of the colors in Prism Island. Peach thanks Mario for everything and realizes that Huey will be all right after everything they have done.

Paper Mario: The Origami King
In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Mario (called Big M by Bob-omb) and Luigi are invited into Toad Town by Peach to celebrate the Origami Festival. Mario quickly notices Peach's change of appearance and demeanor, the result of her being attacked by King Olly, and is nearly turned into Origami himself before barely escaping the castle. It now falls on him to restore the Mushroom Kingdom with the help of numerous allies, including several of Bowser's minions and even Bowser himself.

Luigi's Mansion
Mario plays his third role as a captive during the events of Luigi's Mansion. Mario visits a mansion that Luigi has mysteriously won. There, King Boo overpowers Mario with his many Boos and imprisons him within a portrait. King Boo is apparently mad at Mario for harassing his kind during his past adventures. Luigi comes later to discover why his brother did not come back. Luigi overcomes his cowardice and captures all Boos by using his Poltergust 3000. After defeating King Boo, Luigi takes Mario's portrait and reverts him to his original form by using Professor Elvin Gadd's Ghost Portrificationizer in reverse. Mario is left dizzy in the picture frame while Luigi laughs at him.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
While Mario reappears in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, he plays a relatively minor role in the game. Prior to the final boss battle, Mario is found trapped as a sketch in a painting again. Mario is not directly referenced or seen until in Haunted Towers, where Luigi sees the Boos holding an upside-down portrait of his being trapped. There, only his feet are showing. Later, King Boo reveals that he trapped him and engages Luigi in battle. After King Boo is defeated, Luigi frees Mario with his Dark-Light Device, after which he, Mario, E. Gadd, several ghosts, and several Toads pose for a picture. Before the picture is taken, Mario is shown to be proud of Luigi for facing his fears to rescue him, congratulating him and putting his hand on his brother's shoulder.

Luigi's Mansion 3
Mario reappears in Luigi's Mansion 3, where he is invited to a hotel alongside Luigi, Princess Peach, and three Toads, but is later trapped in a painting with everyone else (barring Luigi, who manages to escape from King Boo). Luigi manages to free Mario after he defeats Hellen Gravely. Mario is very happy that Luigi saved him, and jumps in his arms to hug him, then he immediately leads Luigi to Princess Peach for her to be freed too. However, King Boo traps everyone besides Luigi (who was shoved out of the way by Polterpup) in a single painting. After Luigi defeats King Boo, Mario and everyone else are freed again, and they all work together to rebuild the hotel, which collapsed after the battle. Afterwards, Mario and the others leave to return home.

WarioWare series
Mario has made only minor, albeit occasional, appearances in the WarioWare series, being small cameos in some microgames. In WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!, Mario is the "judge" in the microgame Ultra Machine. He and Bowser are also parodied in Classic Clash I, Classic Clash II, and Classic Clash III. Mario also appears in the microgames Rock Paper Scissors, in which the player must beat him in a game of the same name; Grow Wario Grow, where Wario must grab the mushroom and not let it go to Mario; and Wario Bros. starting at Level 2, where Wario must grab the coin before Mario does. In WarioWare: Twisted!, Wario must greet him in the microgame Burying the Hatchet. In WarioWare: Touched!, he appears as a blackboard drawing in Jimmy T's microgame Chalk Full. Mario also appears in Wario-Man's microgame You Scratch Mine, alongside Wario and even Toad. In Where's Wario, he appears alongside Luigi. Mario also makes an appearance outside the microgames in Retro Action, as a small figure, with Luigi, on 9-Volt's DJ set, who reacts accordingly to winning or losing a microgame. Mario frequently appears in 9-Volt's classic microgames, like Super Mario Brothers and Super Mario Sunshine. In Game & Wario, one of the microgames in the Gamer minigame, Sole Man, involves Mario, in the third level of difficulty. Here, the player's character, dressed as a Goomba, must purposely be stomped by his foot, which is different from other difficulties where the player must avoid being stomped.

Mario & Luigi series
Mario appears as one of the titular characters in the Mario & Luigi series, alongside his brother, Luigi. Throughout the series, the brothers embark on various adventures across the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, often tasked with defeating threats not native to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario is shown to be headstrong when given a task, eager to help those who asked for it, and usually drags Luigi along with him, be it by accident or by force. In terms of battle statistics, Mario, compared to Luigi, has higher power and speed stats, but trails in his defense and HP.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Cackletta has arrived in Mushroom Kingdom in disguise and has stolen Princess Peach's voice so she can take over BeanBean Kingdom. Mario and Luigi (who goes on the adventure against his will), with Bowser's help, arrive in BeanBean Kingdom, but Fawful, Cackletta, causes them to crash land in Stardust Fields, beginning their adventure. Along the way, Mario and Luigi learn to help each other traverse the varied land through learning jumping techniques, acquiring hammers, and Mario's learning to shoot fire while Luigi's learning to shoot electricity. Some notable characters Mario and Luigi meet include but are not limited to Popple and a brainwashed Bowser who calls himself Rookie, Prince Peasley, Queen Bean, the Hammerhead Bros., the Starshade Bros., Blablanadon, and Professor E. Gadd.

Mario has multiple abilities in this game, which are learned as he and Luigi progress. If he is following Luigi, the brothers can use the Spin Jump to cross large gaps; Mario can also use Firebrand on Luigi to allow the two to move fast and either run past rolling spikes or knock down Ankoopas. If Luigi hits Mario with a hammer, Mario can transform into Mini Mario that lets him enter small openings. Mario can also hold large amounts of water as Pump Mario as use for water projectiles, watering plants (if Luigi uses Thunderhand on him), and putting out fires.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time


In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, after a mishap from using E. Gadd's time machine, causing time portals to spawn around Princess Peach's castle, Mario and Luigi set out to rescue Princess Peach, who is trapped back in time. There, they meet their baby counterparts, who team up with them for the rest of the game. Mario and co. then go through more of these time holes, meeting many characters to help them along the way including Kylie Koopa, Toadbert, Toadsworth the Younger, and E. Gadd from the past. Stuffwell helps store their items and advise them during their adventure. They soon discover that the alien Shroobs, lead by Princess Shroob, are planning to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, transform its residents to Shroob mushrooms, and harvest Vim to power their ships and try to stop them.

Unlike in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario always leads Luigi, and this is the case for the rest of the series, even in the remakes. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time pairs Mario with Baby Mario, though Mario can separate from his baby self with the Baby Toss. During battle, if they are paired, Baby Mario assists Mario in standard attacks, helping him deal more damage. Mario takes damage for Baby Mario; if he is defeated, Baby Mario removes him from the battle. Mario and Luigi lack the hammer unlike in other games, so they cannot deal damage to spiked enemies without Baby Mario and Baby Luigi or without using a Bros. Item such as the Smash Egg. While they have the Spin Jump from Superstar Saga, there are other new techniques Mario and Luigi can learn including the Bros. Ball, which they can use to travel faster and flatten the Baby Bros. to Baby Cakes.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Mario and Luigi appear again in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

A new disease called the blorbs, which make Toads grow to a giant size, has affected the Mushroom Kindgom citizens. Mario and Luigi attend a meeting at Peach's Castle that is disrupted when Bowser barges in. Bowser then fights Mario and is defeated. Thrown to Dimble Wood, Bowser receives a Vacuum Mushroom from Fawful, which makes him inhale everything, including Mario, Luigi, Starlow, the princess, Toadsworth, and several of the Toads.

Mario and Luigi reunite inside Bowser, who is knocked out in Cavi Cape. The brothers and Starlow help Bowser get his castle back from Fawful. Along the way, Bowser meets Broque Monsieur and Broggy and gets the ability of the Vacuum Block, which allows the brothers to aid Bowser in his fights. Mario, Luigi, and Starlow help Bowser in his trips, while they travel to various parts of his body. When Bowser finally reaches his castle and reclaims it, Bowser is grown fat from eating high-calorie foods from the Boos after winning the fight against Midbus, Fawful's minion.

While Bowser is fat, Mario and Luigi find Peach in the Flab Zone, who is attacked and kidnapped in front of them by Kretin. After a long chase, Mario and Luigi trap and defeat Alpha and Beta Kretin, freeing the princess. When Fawful is attempting to extract Peach from Bowser, she tells them that Fawful probably wants the Dark Star, so he can control the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach also explains that she herself is necessary for this process as she is the one who can awaken it. As they get to the end of the Flab Zone, Peach is taken out of Bowser's body by Fawful and is once again kidnapped. Meanwhile, Midbus gives Bowser a treadmill to lose his extra pounds on.

As the rest of the adventure slides, Mario and Luigi travel to find the Star Cures to destroy the blockade in Peach's Castle. At one point during the adventure, however, Mario gets captured by a group of Sockops, forcing Luigi to rescue him alone. After fighting Junker in Peach's Castle Garden, they go back into Bowser and wake him up from his back pain. After going through the castle, they all find the Dark Star awakening and Fawful becoming Dark Fawful, who is sent flying by Bowser. The Dark Star enters Bowser, and it copies his DNA, but is incomplete thanks to the Mario Bros., and combines with Dark Fawful to create Dark Bowser.

After Mario and Luigi defeat Dark Star Core and Bowser defeats Dark Bowser, Fawful explodes, destroying himself and expelling everyone else from Bowser's body, freeing them. Realizing that Mario was inside him all along, an enraged Bowser charges into battle against Mario and Luigi, which ends the story. At the end, it is revealed that Mario and Luigi win yet again and Bowser is back at his ruined castle, recovering from the injuries he sustained in their fight. However, they and Peach send him a cake as thanks for him inadvertently saving the kingdom.

In the 3DS remake, Mario makes a brief appearance in the new Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode, where he and Luigi pass by Bowser Jr., who picks a fight with them while in Bubble Lake. Starlow stops them from fighting, however, reminding them that there is no time for this, even for Bowser Jr. In the story timeline, this event happens while searching for the Star Cures, making it a mishap if they were looking for the third Star Cure because Junior sees his father (who would be trapped in a safe) as a giant later in Bubble Lake.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Mario reappears along with Luigi in the fourth installment of the Mario & Luigi series, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, where he, his brother, Princess Peach, Toadsworth, and the Toads are invited to Pi'illo Island by Dr. Snoozemore through a message that was delivered by his Broggy. Mario and Luigi follow Peach and Toadsworth when they end up ejected into the ruins and find them surrounded by a group of Smoldergeist, which flee when the brothers arrive. Here they find a Pi'illo, which later turns out to be Prince Dreambert. This action causes the Smoldergeist to come back and attack the brothers. After beating the group and leaving the ruins, the brothers come to a collection room. Here Luigi takes a nap on the pillow. After everyone gathers in the collection room, a Dream Portal opens a portal to a place called the Dream World. This allows Antasma, unknown by anyone, to pull Princess Peach into the world against her will. After Mario chases after Peach into Dreamy Pi'illo Castle, with the help of Dreamy Broque Monsieur, he meets Dreamy Luigi, Luigi's dream representation, who assists Mario in the Dream World. Later in the game, it is revealed that while Luigi can open a portal to the Dream World, Mario cannot.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam


Mario appears once again as one of the main protagonists in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, where he and Luigi team up with his paper counterpart after the Paper Mario universe was brought to their universe. The trio work together to save Princess Peach and her paper counterpart, who have been kidnapped by the two Bowsers. The gameplay is largely the same as the previous entries, although now there are also Papercraft battles that involve the trio operating giant paper-mache battle units.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong series
The Mario vs. Donkey Kong series revisits the old Donkey Kong series, pitting Mario against a misbehaving Donkey Kong. The original Mario vs. Donkey Kong game, released in 2004, gave Mario the same moveset as 1994's Donkey Kong for the Game Boy and introduced the windup toys known as Mini Marios. The Mini Marios replaced Mario as the playable character in the later subsequent games, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, and Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, although Mario is still present in the storylines, as is Pauline.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Mario's objective is to recover the stolen Mini-Marios from Donkey Kong. Mario has access to his moveset from Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, being able to perform handstands and Wire Jumps. This is one of the few games where Mario speaks in full sentences.

In the first area of the main levels, as well as in the Expert Levels, Mario needs to carry a key to a locked door in order to progress, solving puzzles along the way. In the second area of the main levels, Mario needs to rescue a captured Mini-Mario while dodging enemies and obstacles. Once Mario completes six levels in a world, he has to lead the six Mini-Marios into a toy box and then fight Donkey Kong. In the Plus Levels, Mario has to lead a single Mini-Mario with a key attached to it to the locked door.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis starts with Mario and Pauline cutting the premier ribbon of the Super Mini Mario World theme park. After Pauline takes a Mini Mario toy from Mario, Donkey Kong kidnaps her. Mario chases after Donkey Kong to rescue Pauline, but his path is blocked. Instead of Mario, the playable characters in this game and all following installments of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series are the Mini Marios. They clear the way for Mario to get to Pauline. Mario and Pauline feel sorry for Donkey Kong, and the three celebrate the opening of the theme park.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!
Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! begins once again with Mario and Pauline opening an expansion to Super Mini Mario World, with numerous Toads and Donkey Kong waiting to get in. However, as Donkey Kong reaches the ticket counter, he sees that tickets are sold out and, out of rage, kidnaps Pauline. Mario tries to save her, only to end up ripping off part of her dress, allowing DK to escape. Two Mini Marios then approach him, and Mario decides to use them to help save Pauline.

Eventually, Mario reaches the top of the building, where he finds Pauline in a room with one window. As they are about to hug, Donkey Kong flips the light switch off, grabs Pauline, and leaps out the window, with Mario and the minis following him.

After much more toil, Mario once again enters the room, where he finds DK, Pauline, two Toads (one blue and one green), and two Mini Marios. As Mario is confused, Pauline reveals that the entire adventure was to test the Mini Mario product, and the group decides to celebrate.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, Mario and Pauline are once again opening a theme park, but this time, he is giving away Mini Pauline toys to the first 100 guests. Donkey Kong, wanting a Mini Pauline, charges through the line to get to the front but finds out that he is visitor 101. When he learns from Mario that the toys are out of stock, he goes into yet another fit of rage, capturing Pauline. Mario once again must rely on his minis to help get Pauline back.

After much journeying, Mario defeats DK and tries to hug Pauline, but Donkey Kong captures her again, leaving Mario to chase after him again.

Mario once again defeats Donkey Kong after many more challenges. As Donkey Kong is about to capture Pauline again, Mario offers him a Mini Pauline. Donkey Kong accepts this gift, and, happy again, the entire group decides to ride the Ferris wheel.

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
The Mini-Marios again play a major role in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move. Unlike the other Mario vs. Donkey Kong games, this game has little story and Mario makes only a minor appearance.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars
Mario appears once again in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars. Pauline is once again kidnapped by Donkey Kong, and Mario chases them down with his Mini Mario toys. Mario has to free cursed Mini Mario toys along the way. When Mario catches up to them, he finds out they have thrown him a surprise party. Mario continues on to the bonus worlds afterwards.

Mario Pinball Land


In Mario Pinball Land, Mario waits in line with Princess Peach to try the Sky Cannon. After two Goombas turn the cannon to fire Peach into Bowser's Castle, he travels through the stages as a pinball to rescue her. Once Bowser is defeated, the two are reunited and ride an attraction together.

Yakuman DS
Mario appears in the Japanese-exclusive game of mahjong in Yakuman DS as a playable character or rival. He is a default character as usual in the Mario spinoffs. As a rival, he has normal difficulty and relies on a balanced playstyle.

NBA Street V3
Mario, along with Luigi and Princess Peach, as a result of the Nintendo and partnership, makes a fully playable guest appearance exclusive to the Nintendo GameCube version of NBA Street V3. The three are part of a team entitled "Nintendo All-Stars," alongside other all-star basketball teams. Mario's team additionally has a special basketball court.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
Mario in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix has to win in dance-offs to help save the Mushroom Kingdom from being controlled by the Music Keys. In the beginning, Waluigi goes to the Truffle Towers to gain Music Keys and grant him the power to "hypnotize the rhythm-less masses." However, after he opens the door, all but one key fly to various locations in the Mushroom Kingdom. One of the Music Keys is found in the sea, another one in Wario's Carnival, and another in Freeze Mountain. Toad, who sees this occur, rushes to tell Mario (or Luigi). If all keys are not returned, they can be exploited by anyone.

Mario responds by setting out to find all four Music Keys, along with Toad. Using his SS Brass to navigate, Mario challenges the key owners to dance-offs. Mario then faces Waluigi (and other enemies) to dance-offs and gets all four Music Keys back. After Mario wins the keys, however, Bowser steals them. Bowser then goes to his castle, and Mario follows him with the SS Brass. Mario performs the "Final Dance Off" with him and gets the Music Keys back. Bowser reveals his intentions of stealing the keys: to help cure his tone-deafness. Mario and Toad decide to use the keys to change Bowser's Castle and the surrounding area into a paradise. From this, though, some music has been implemented into their souls, so they cannot stop dancing. These keys then are all returned to the Truffle Towers.

Mario Baseball series
Mario is also playable in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers. Again, Mario is a balanced character, although his running is only average in the first game. Mario's special ball is the classic Fireball, which dazzles other players with smoky speed. Mario's abilities are very similar to Luigi's. Mario's default team is the Mario Sunshines in Mario Superstar Baseball, which mostly consists of the non-playable characters from Super Mario Sunshine.

Mario's special abilities include Wall Jump, which can help Mario catch fly balls at the edge of the field, and an improved Sliding Catch.

In Mario Super Sluggers, Mario's team is called the Mario Fireballs, which consists of the Mario Bros., the baby Mario Bros., Piantas, Nokis, a Monty Mole, and a Blooper. Mario also had his batting and running skills improved, while his pitching and fielding remain the same. Mario's ability is Enlarge, which enables him to knock away third base and home base players and possibly the baseball if he succeeds a close play.

SSX on Tour
Mario, Luigi, and Peach, as with NBA Street V3, make another playable guest appearance in the Nintendo GameCube version of SSX on Tour, stemming from the same partnership with Nintendo and EA. In SSX on Tour, Mario snowboards in a mountain and performs various stunts to earn points.

Super Princess Peach
Mario once again ends up needing rescue during the events of Super Princess Peach. Bowser sends an army of Hammer Bros. (led by Army Hammer Bro) and Goombas to invade Peach's Castle. Mario, Luigi, and the Toads, busy defending the castle, are subdued by the power of the Vibe Scepter and captured by a group of Hammer Bros. Princess Peach is not in the castle at the time and so escapes the attack. Mario and the others are sent to Vibe Island, the source of the enemies' power. There they have no power to escape, so Princess Peach, along with a magical umbrella named Perry given to her by Toadsworth, goes there to rescue them. After defeating many of Bowser's minions and rescuing Luigi and a number of Toads, Princess Peach defeats Bowser by using emotional powers called Vibes, and Mario escapes himself. Princess Peach kisses him, and he gives her a bunch of flowers.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3
In Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario is a default character. His Special Shot is the Fire Shot, which involves Mario dribbling the ball around him in the shape of an M and then either alley-ooping or dunking a flaming red basketball into the hoop. To execute this move, the player must tap the touchscreen in the shape of the letter M. Mario is classified as a balanced character.

Mario Strikers series
In the Mario Strikers (or Mario Football in the PAL regions) series, Mario takes on a variation of yet another sport, soccer (or football), referred to in Mario Strikers: Battle League as "Strike". His stats are all-around in all three games: Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged, and Mario Strikers: Battle League. His Super Strike in Super Mario Strikers is the Fire Strike, while his Hyper Strike in Mario Strikers: Battle League is the Fire Cyclone. His Super Ability in Mario Strikers Charged is Super Mario! Unlike previous sports games, where Mario stayed in his usual traditional outfit, in the Mario Strikers series, he is seen wearing different gear, including different clothes and cleats. In the first two games, Mario's team number is 1 and his captain type is Balanced. However, in Battle League, he is an all-around character with an emphasis on technique.

Itadaki Street DS
Mario appears as a default Rank A playable character in Itadaki Street DS.

Fortune Street
"Here we go! Just remember, little die: Mario's your best friend!"

- Mario

Mario is a default character in Fortune Street, although he is playable only in the multiplayer mode, as all Mario and Dragon Quest characters in the game. As an opponent, he is Rank A, sharing with Bowser and Bowser Jr., making him the second-most difficult opponent to face. Also, as an opponent, he is able to speak in full sentences, a rare trait in the video games.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario first appears as a playable character in both the Wii version and Nintendo DS version Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, where he is an All-Around type character, giving him balanced statistics in all categories. He appears in the opening of the Wii version at the start with all of the other athletes, as well as in the 100m.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Mario returns as a playable character in both versions of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. In the Wii version, Mario appears in the opening with all of the other athletes at the start and end, as well as competing in Snowboard Cross. The game also features an outfit based on Mario for Miis to wear, as well as ones based on Bee Mario and Fire Mario. In the Nintendo DS version, Mario can also be used as one of the playable characters to explore Winter Island and Dream Island in Adventure Tours mode, as well as being one of the first two to be selectable in events, along with Sonic.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Mario returns as an All-Around type character in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, appearing in the opening with the other athletes at the beginning, competing in Trampoline, Dream Hurdles and Dream Uneven Bars, and with Sonic on top of Big Ben. The Mii outfits return from the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, as well as the addition of two based on Propeller Mario and Penguin Mario.

In the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, Mario is included in the Heroes group, which allows him to only compete in certain Events. In the Story Mode, Mario first appears in Stadium Blues, where he and Luigi defeat a pair of Fog Imposters, and later find and destroy a Fog machine, clearing up the Main Stadium. Mario and Luigi head to Hyde Park with Toad to check that Peach and the others staying there are alright, before moving on to the British Museum, where they meet up with Sonic and Tails to clear the fog from there. After finding out some information about the source of the fog, the group splits up, and Mario and Toad find Wario challenging Dr. Eggman, who they later follow to see destroying another fog machine. They make their way back to the Main Stadium to meet up with the others, and Mario helps save Cream from the Fog Imposters when the Phantasmal Fog returns, before heading to Stonehenge to try to find the lid of the Fog urn. The group return to London after finding out that Bowser and Dr. Eggman are hiding inside Big Ben, and after defeating more Fog Imposters, Mario, Luigi, Sonic and Tails head there to confront them. When they arrive, they find that Bowser and Dr. Eggman have been powered up by the Phantasmal Fog, but Mario and Sonic defeat them and seal the fog back into the urn. The group then all head back to the Main Stadium for the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. A badge of Mario can also be obtained from the badge machine.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Mario reappears in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, once again as a playable All-Around type character. All of the Mii costumes based on Mario from the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games return as well.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Mario reappears in the Wii U version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games once again as an All-Around type character. The Mario outfits return from the previous two instalments, but now must be collected in separate head and body parts which each have their own set of bonus statistics. In the Nintendo 3DS version, he, Sonic and the Mii are the only characters that can be used for all events. In the Road to Rio mode, Mario's disappearance causes a disagreement between his and Sonic's gyms, though it is later revealed that Mario was missing due to investigating the theft of his and Sonic's Olympic medals from a museum. Mario is playable as an All-Around character in all events in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition, but has recommended events of 100m and Long Jump.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Mario reappears in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 once again as an All-Around type playable character. In the story mode, he, Sonic, Bowser, Dr. Eggman, and Toad get sucked into a game system featuring 8-bit graphics and are transported back in time to the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. While in the game system, Mario uses his 8-bit appearance first used in Super Mario Bros. To return to the real world, the five characters need to win gold medals in Olympic events. Mario is also an All-Around type playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition.

Mario Sports Mix
Mario appears in Mario Sports Mix. He is an All-Rounder type character, and all of his stats are average. His stadium in the game is Mario Stadium. Most of his attacks involve spinning. In Basketball, he spins into his opponent if he is blocking his opponent for too long. In Hockey, his hits involve a two-hit combo followed by a spin. In Dodgeball, he rolls forward to avoid any incoming hit. In Volleyball, he spins when he spikes. In all sports, his special move is a fire blast that is so powerful that opponents have to resist the force while sliding backwards if they do not want Mario to score.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
In Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Mario makes a brief cameo at the fiftieth and final room of Mummy-Me Maze Forever on a poster. Tapping the poster gives a single coin. In the Wii U version of the game, he also appears in the post-credits cutscene, which is the same as the cutscene shown at the beginning of Super Mario 3D World.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
The story in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is similar to ones in the more traditional Mario platformers. Princess Peach invites Mario to her castle to show him some bright Orbs that have appeared. When Mario arrives, however, Bowser abducts Peach and Kamek steals the power of these Orbs, causing more Orbs to scatter in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Red Toad set out to rescue Peach by using these Orbs to attack enemies along the way. In the meantime, Mario can recruit enemies from Baddie Blocks and allies, such as Yoshis, that have been captured by Bowser. At Bowser's Castle, Mario defeats Bowser Jr. and Kamek several times. When Mario reaches and defeats Bowser, Bowser uses the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. together to attempt to beat Mario but fails. Mario eventually rescues Peach.

Mario is among the first usable team members in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, and either he, Luigi, or the duo's power-up forms (including Small Mario, Super Mario, Ice Mario, Raccoon Mario, Fire Mario, Boo Mario, Penguin Mario, Flying Squirrel Mario, Bee Mario, Statue Mario, Cat Mario, and White Tanooki Mario) can serve as leaders of the team. All of Mario and his various forms have the fire attribute in common.

The Cat Mario Show
The Cat Mario Show is a video series depicting Mario and Princess Peach (in their Cat power-ups from Super Mario 3D World). The two present general information on upcoming games for the Nintendo 3DS, the Wii U, and the Switch; show tips and tricks on particular games; and quiz viewers.

Mario Sports Superstars
Mario appears in Mario Sports Superstars, where he is a Balance type character in most sports; in tennis, he is classified as the similar All-Around type. As a result, Mario has few weak stats, but by the same token he does not excel in any stat in particular. His special shots involve hitting the ball with a fiery streak. In golf, Mario's default drive is 220 yards and his shots travel straight and high.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Mario and his friends encounter a Mushroom Kingdom that has been fused with the world of Rabbids. Mario saves Beep-0 and later meets Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach, two Rabbids based on Luigi and Peach. He also reunites with Luigi, Yoshi, Toad, and Princess Peach to help restore order to Mushroom Kingdom. They use weapons attached to a message from an unknown individual named "F.B." (later revealed to be Beep-0 from the future).

Gameplay-wise, Mario is always required to be used in battle. He is a medium-range fighter with good mobility, and he has the highest offense tied with Yoshi. His special Jump is the Stomp Jump, where he lands on an enemy to deal 30 points of damage and lands on a nearby cell. His primary weapon is the Lightning Shark, which fires one missile at a time, while his secondary one is the Button Masher, which hits multiple targets at once. These weapons can be powered up by M-Power, which increases Mario's weapon damage along with the damage caused by his allies. His primary technique is Hero Sight, which allows him to immediately damage the first enemy he sees that moves.

In the Donkey Kong Adventure DLC, Mario's role is restricted as a minor supporting character. He is instead seen with Rabbid Luigi and Luigi trying to warn Rabbid Peach who is trying to charge her phone to get away from the Time Washing Machine, but are too late.

Additionally, in the beginning of the game, the Genius Girl is shown to own a Mario figurine.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Mario reappears in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. Along with the rest of his team (except Yoshi and Rabbid Yoshi) and a new companion named Rabbid Rosalina, he fights to stop the evil force Cursa from consuming the Sparks to save the universe. He now wields the Dual Slingers, a dual-wielding blaster-like weapon that can fire at two enemies at once. His Hero Sight technique returns from the previous game. His Stomp ability also returns. If unlocked in the skill tree, he can even fire at enemies during a team jump.

Other appearances
Mario has made several small appearances within his own series but outside as well, including other Nintendo series. Mario makes appearances in ' and ' for the NES as the referee for matches. In Kirby Super Star and its remake, Mario makes a cameo as one of the several formations of the Stone ability, and is also seen in the crowd when Kirby is fighting King Dedede or participating in Megaton Punch Contest. He is also seen in the credits of both Revenge of the King and Milky Way Wishes, in the form of a golden statue in the former, and performing a peace sign in front of the Nintendo logo in the latter. Mario returns as a golden statue transformation of the Stone ability in Kirby: Planet Robobot.

Mario, voiced by Charles Martinet, is heard narrating  He is also featured in the built-in Augmented Reality Games as a Character Card, a traceable image, and a stamp. Mario makes a cameo as a stamp for photos in the Game Boy Camera peripheral. It is seen also on the title screen dancing. His nose and his moustache also do make a cameo as a separate stamp. The Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, features a playable Mario in the style of the game. It also features Mario's other forms as playable characters, including Dr. Mario, Tanooki Mario, Propeller Mario, Fire Mario, Mario with F.L.U.D.D., Boomerang Mario, and Cat Mario. In the NES version of Tetris, Mario, alongside Luigi and Princess Toadstool, makes a cameo in Game B upon completing one of the heights, specifically height 5. He and Luigi are seen doing the.

A piece of concept artwork from Donkey Kong Country Returns hides a large 8-bit sprite of Mario made out of various parts on the right side of the machinery.

Mario has several merchandising lines ranging from a Japanese plush series by San-ei to a 2014 series of articulate action figures by Bandai Tamashii Nations SH Figuarts. Mario is also featured in a few food packaging, including Campbell's and gummies. Mario has a neon sign that depicts him. Mario T-shirts, toys, and alike have also been produced, and McDonald's released a chain of toys based on the popular Mario video game Super Mario Bros. 3, as seen here.

Mario is also featured in a few non-video games that promote Nintendo, including Nintendo Monopoly, where he costs $400, replacing the Boardwalk, the most expensive space in the game. On the ? Block and Coin Block (later Block) cards, he replaced Mr. Monopoly. He is also one of the four base characters in the Standard Edition (five in the Collector's Edition) of Monopoly Gamer. Mario is also featured in Super Mario branded games, including but not limited to Super Mario Chess (the king) and Super Mario Checkers & Tic Tac Toe.

Cultural impact
Mario is often said to be the most famous video game character in history. A Q Score survey made in the early nineties showed Mario was even more popular than, and he has the only wax statue of a video game character, which stands in the.

The Mario series is the best-selling video game franchise in history; the sales include 528.534 million, whereas the next best-selling franchise, Pokémon, totals 300 million. Even with subseries excluded, the main Mario series has sold 311.46 million games (as of September 2015). Furthermore, Mario is the flagship series of Nintendo, and Mario is the company's mascot, furthering his publicity even more. According to the Guinness World Records' 2008 edition, Mario has appeared in a total of 116 separate games, which is more than any other video game character, and more recent sources such as the Game On 2.0 travelling exhibit place the number at over 200.

Physical description
Mario's distinctive look is due to technology restrictions in the mid-1980s. With a limited number of pixels and colors, the game developers, including Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, could not animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear" if his shirt was a solid color, so they gave Mario overalls. The developers additionally did not have the space to give him a mouth, the result of Mario's mustache. Finally, they used a cap to bypass the problem of animating and drawing hair.

Mario has undergone major changes since his initial appearance in Donkey Kong up until Super Mario Bros. Although he has the general features such as the clothing and the mustache, it is not until Super Mario Bros. where he resembles as he is today. In Donkey Kong, Mario appears lankier with a more realistic-looking red nose and a cleft chin. In some portrayals in Donkey Kong Jr., however, he appears stouter with a round nose, which resembles more closely to Mario's current design, although some promotional art retains Mario's original Donkey Kong design. The stubbier design is retained in Mario Bros., with a few changes.

Since Super Mario Bros., however, Mario is depicted as a stocky young man who wears a trademark cap, a long-sleeved red shirt, blue overalls with two yellow buttons, brown shoes, and white gloves, with a large round face, a big round nose, clear and slightly tanned skin, chocolate brown hair (although the DiC cartoons sometimes depict it as black like his mustache) with three locks on the front, just above his forehead, four back locks that cover the back of his neck and a small sprout-like tuft on the top of his head, and a black mustache (sometimes brown like his hair). His neck is very short, to the point that both in artwork and in gameplay outside the Super Smash Bros. series, it is very rarely visible due to Mario's large head and the position of his chin. Though he was originally imagined as middle-aged, his age has been approximated to be about 26 years old, while Shigeru Miyamoto later placed it at either 24 or 25. The Mario vs. Wario comic also implies Mario (and Wario) is roughly in his late 20s or early 30s, as he recalls his childhood 20 years ago.

In Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mario's appearance remains mostly unchanged, but his clothes and hair are more detailed. Also, his eyes are slightly smaller than usual.

While Mario is consistently portrayed as a short character, his precise height and proportions vary across media. An Amazon listing for a figure of Mario that is marketed as "life-size" lists its height as 150 cm (4 ft 11 in.) tall. Crossover artwork featuring Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog (who stands at 1 m / 3 ft 3 in.) shows Mario at around the same height as him, if not two or three inches shorter due to Sonic's quills. Mario's height relationship with other humans has been varied. Some media, such as Super Mario Odyssey and Mario's Time Machine, show Mario as much shorter than a realistic human, while others, including Mario Golf and the DIC cartoons, show Mario's height closer relative to other humans. The director of Super Mario Odyssey, Kenta Motokura, stated in an interview that New Donk City was realistic to showcase the extent of Mario's abilities in a realistic environment for a scale that is easy to understand, while Shigeru Miyamoto referred to the humans of New Donk City as "normal people". As far as in-game information or other official materials are concerned, Mario does not have a specified height.

Merchandise for the original Donkey Kong showed Mario as balding, although most media depict Mario with a full set of hair. The most notable change Mario has received over the years since Super Mario Bros. (omitting stylistic variations such as depictions in Paper Mario) is his change in stature; Mario is shown to be much stubbier in his earlier appearances compared to his more recent appearances, starting with Super Mario 64. Mario's legs and arms have grown longer over the years, giving him a slimmer look. This may have been the result of Shigeru Miyamoto's response to their "cute" appearances, who considered redesigning them to "become a bit more grown-up" in the GameCube era—for instance, by removing their trademark.

Mario from his Super Mario 64 appearance is depicted with darker blue overalls and bigger eyes than in his current appearance based on the one in Luigi's Mansion. He has a slightly darker skin, and his ears are also rounder. His overall straps are longer, and his cap is less round. Mario is overall less defined in the game artworks of the time due to the older software used to design him, especially noticeable in his hair, which appears reddish instead of chocolate brown and with a similar shape of his hat. The differences in Mario's 3D art over time, as a result, is more pronounced than the differences in Mario's 2D art since Super Mario Bros. Ever since Luigi's Mansion, however, Mario has received only minor changes to his general appearance, such as longer limbs, an increased height, a clearer and slightly tanned skin tone, brighter colors, and added detail in his shoes, eyes, and cap emblem in most game artworks since Super Mario 3D World, though in the Wii U and Switch generations, Mario's irises have been slightly thicker.

Mario has a few stylistic variations across some games, sometimes within series. One variation is Mario's overall appearance in the Paper Mario games: it is generally the same, with black dots for eyes and no eyebrows, although he has a shorter stature. Since Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, however, Mario's body is more simplistic, with legless feet, a rounder face, and a full outline around the arms. In addition, starting with Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, all of Mario's paper appearances have depicted him with a white outline around his entire body. Another variation is Mario's depiction in the Mario & Luigi games, although it is more subtle, where Mario is given black eyes rather than blue.

The Super Smash Bros. series also has Mario's appearance change between games. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64, Mario's appearance is derived from Super Mario 64 but with minor alterations, such as a slimmer appearance. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario's design incorporates elements from Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario World, as well as official artwork from the Nintendo 64 era, which is evidenced by his tanned complexion. Mario's hair and clothing have more detail in them, with his overalls particularly sporting back pockets and having denim textures, similar to his sprite in Super Mario World. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario's back pockets return, but his overall design is updated to resemble his appearances in Super Mario Sunshine and later games. However, Mario's color scheme is darker than before, while his hair and clothing have more-realistic detailing. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Mario's design is slimmer and more vibrant, matching his appearances in games like Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D World, and Mario Kart 8. As an accompaniment, Mario's hair and clothing have much less detailing. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario's design is mostly the same, aside from a more subdued color scheme and simple detailing in his hair and clothing, but not to the same extent as Melee and Brawl.

According to the Insiders' Calendar included in the second issue of Nintendo Power, Mario's birthday is October 11.

Clothing
Mario is typically shown wearing his trademark outfit wherever he goes. He has a long-sleeved red shirt (short-sleeved in Super Mario Sunshine), which is tucked under a pair of white gloves and has a noticeable collar at the neck. Layered over the shirt is a pair of blue overalls with yellow buttons. On his feet is a pair of light brown work shoes. In the Paper Mario series, these are known as boots and it is shown to have a rim on the top, although Mario's shoes in most media do not have this rim.

Originally, Mario wore red overalls on top of a blue shirt—nearly the opposite colors of what he wears now. The Famicom version of Mario Bros. is the first game to depict Mario with blue overalls and a red undershirt (although on the box art, he is depicted entirely in blue), but Super Mario Bros. 2 standardized Mario's current colors.

Mario's trademark is his red cap with his red "M" insignia. Mario's cap is sometimes an important and even mandatory accessory in some games, such as Super Mario 64, where he takes more damage without his cap. In Super Mario Sunshine, if Mario loses his cap, he acquires damage over time from the heat of the sun. In most media, however, Mario's cap is treated as a mere accessory, and Mario can go capless in some games without any additional effect, such as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii after obtaining 99 lives. In some games, such as Super Mario 3D Land, if Mario is in small form, he is seen without his cap, although it is no different from the other incarnations of the small form. In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario's default cap is replaced with Cappy, which can be replaced with other hats in the Crazy Cap stores as well. Additionally, Mario has over 40 outfits available to wear, which can range from recolors to resemble Luigi, Wario, or Waluigi to unique outfits that see Mario dressed as a pirate, astronaut, knight, or musician, or even shirtless with only his hat and a pair of polka dot boxers. In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Mario wears different outfits depending on the sport or activity being played. He can wear a red tank top with white stripes, which, depending on the event, may also have short sleeves, with black shorts, white socks, and red sneakers that are the same ones he wore in Mario Tennis Aces; a red, white, and black wetsuit while barefooted; a karate gi; black swimming trunks with a red stripe while shirtless; or, in certain events, his normal outfit.

Mario has seen some variations to his outfit in the games. In Super Mario Sunshine, for instance, Mario has shorter sleeves. In addition, Mario can wear a tropical shirt over his normal shirt, along with sunglasses that darken the screen, if he talks to the Sunglasses vendor. Mario also usually gains alternate outfits when using power-ups, from simple recolors to covering his whole body, such as Fire Mario, Tanooki Mario, Propeller Mario, Flying Squirrel Mario, and Cat Mario. Finally, Mario can resemble different characters, even outside the Mario series, by using a Mystery Mushroom to change into one of the various forms of Costume Mario in Super Mario Maker. He even has a pumpkin Halloween costume that has him in his normal outfit, but with a pumpkin head he can put his head into, along with a purple cape.

Although mostly seen with his default plumber attire, Mario has also worn several alternate outfits in the spin-off games, including but not limited to Dr. Mario, NES Open Tournament Golf, Mario's Picross the Mario Strikers games, and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Within the Super Smash Bros. series, Mario has a total of eight different costumes to choose from in battle (five in the original Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, six in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and eight in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate). Mario's first alternate costume consists of red overalls and a blue cap and undershirt, being a reversal of his current color scheme, which was previously used in the DIC Entertainment Mario cartoons. Mario's second alternate costume consists of tiger-orange overalls and a green cap and undershirt, resembling his appearance on the Japanese box art for Wrecking Crew, as well as Luigi's in-game appearance from the arcade version of Mario Bros. (but with swapped colors). Mario's third alternate costume consists of brown overalls and cap, with a white undershirt, being inspired by Foreman Spike. Mario's fourth alternate costume consists of purple overalls and a yellow undershirt and cap, being derived from Wario's appearance. In Brawl, Mario gains a fifth alternate costume in the form of red overalls and a white cap and undershirt, derived from Fire Mario's current colors. In 3DS / Wii U, Mario's reversed red and blue costume is replaced by one with a pink undershirt and cyan overalls and cap, derived from his appearance on the Japanese box art of Mario Bros.; he also gains a costume with dark indigo overalls and a purple undershirt and cap, based on Waluigi; lastly, Mario gains a seventh alternate costume in the form of red-and-white striped overalls and cap, and a blue undershirt with white stars, based on his appearance in NES Open Tournament Golf. In Ultimate, Mario's Fire Mario and Wario costumes are replaced with his Builder and Wedding outfits from Super Mario Odyssey.

Name
Mario's family name is given as "Mario" in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! live-action segments "Dance" and "Treasure of the Sierra Brooklyn" and made popular in the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie. This occasionally occurs in other media—for instance, the Prima guidebook for Mario Party 2 lists his name as Mario Mario in a note section, and the Prima guide for Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga similarly shows Mario's full name as Mario Mario in the list of major characters. The arcade flyers for Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr./Mario Bros. use the full name as well. Also, when people asked Mario (voiced by Charles Martinet) what his last name was at 2012, he responded with this: "What's my last name? Ah, that's a very good question! ... That's right! It's-a Mario. My name-a Mario Mario. Of course, my brother name, a-Luigi Mario. And of course, my mama's-a Mama Mia Mario; my papa Papa Pio Mario. Of course, my grandmama Grandmama Mia Mario, and my grandpapa Grandpa—et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, first name Mario, last name-a Mario. Yahoo!" However, Nintendo of America earlier claimed that "there are no last names." This was later stated by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Additionally, Shigeru Miyamoto has previously stated that Mario and Luigi do not have last names "just like Mickey Mouse" contrary to their depiction in the movie, although he has later redacted that stance, confirming at the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary festival in September 2015 that Mario's and Luigi's last names are indeed "Mario."

Personality
Mario is known for being kind, cheerful, playful, courageous, and headstrong and is also eager and cocky in certain occasions. Officially, however, Nintendo producers have stated that Mario's biography is kept simple in order to make the character versatile and reusable in many different games and situations. In most media and some games, though, Mario is depicted as a heroic Italian plumber from Brooklyn and has a love for food, which is most notably seen in the DiC cartoon trilogy.

Mario, although competitive, shows generally good sportsmanship, even complimenting his opponents, as shown in instances like Mario Kart 8 (he says, "Good play!" when he is in a good standing but not first place) and Fortune Street (see his various losing quotes).

Mario has occasionally shown assertive tendencies throughout his appearances, albeit in a lighthearted and comic-relief manner. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mallow had to physically restrain Mario from charging in, such as before the battle with Bowyer, so that the heroes can figure out what is happening to their surroundings.

It has been said that Mario loves animals, especially the most unusual ones, and he also enjoys music, particularly opera or new-wave Europop, although there is no further comment for these statements. Mario Strikers Charged gives Mario a rock-n'-roll theme for his entrance and scoring animations and an orchestrated theme for his Super Ability. Finally, game art and gameplay depict Mario playing the saxophone. Mario is also said to be an avid  listener.

Speech
Like many other protagonists of Nintendo games, Mario rarely speaks, his dialogue being primarily limited to numerous grunts and yells, making him a mostly semi-silent protagonist. When he does speak, he speaks English, sometimes broken, with a heavy Italian accent, often referring to himself in the third person. With Charles Martinet as his most recurring voice actor, Mario's voice is soft and high-pitched, but in a few other games and in the cartoons, Mario has a gruff voice usually associated with a Brooklyn accent. In the Mario vs. Donkey Kong titles, Mario speaks fully, shouting sentences such as "Come back here, you big monkey!" He can be clearly heard shouting, "Welcome! Welcome, new galaxy!" in the ending of Super Mario Galaxy, as well as saying, "Thank you so much for playing my game!" after the credits of several games. Mario has also been given full dialogue in Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street. Despite Nintendo's emphasis on Mario as a silent protagonist, Mario is the most often heard speaking in full sentences, if occurrences outside the games (especially in special events in real life) are counted. In the Super Smash Bros. series, Mario is far less vocal than in the Mario games; specifically in Super Smash Bros. Brawl onwards, where he speaks in a far deeper voice than any of his installments.

Likewise, in some cases, Mario is a true silent protagonist, or he does not speak in English. In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario is completely silent, communicating solely through pantomime. In the Paper Mario titles, he mainly communicates through simple nodding and hand gestures; while he is completely silent in Paper Mario, however, he is given his usual voice in the latter games. Mario is also silent during dialogue scenes in the Mario Baseball, Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Golf, and Mario & Sonic series, although he can technically talk. In these games, other characters speak for him, mainly Lakitu and Toad. In the Mario & Luigi titles, he and Luigi speak in unintelligible gibberish that the other characters can understand. In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario is "heard" speaking in the opening scenes, but his dialogue is completely inaudible, although this is present only in the American version of the game, while in the Japanese version, Mario is heard speaking coherently, such as saying, "Looks like Mario's gonna have to find a job!" to Toadsworth after landing on the Delfino Airstrip, although he still speaks more than in most games in the series.

He has full speech capabilities demonstrated in some sports titles and other games (including when being portrayed in real life), and he also speaks regularly in such mediums like the DiC cartoon trilogy, though he speaks perfect English with a Brooklyn accent in the latter. Mario has been shown to be able to speak in full sentences in promotional videos, such as a press conference released for Mario Sports Mix, the Nintendo 3DS system demonstration, and Play Nintendo's series of Mario reading letters. In the Cat Mario Show, however, Mario has an entirely different voice and can speak perfect English. Also, in promotional venues people can communicate with Mario by asking various questions; there, too, Mario can fully speak, although his Italian accent is less exaggerated.

Powers and abilities
Mario's primary ability is his jump, which he relies on to defeat enemies, avoid obstacles, and activate helpful items, such as ? Blocks and P Switches. Although Luigi jumps higher, Mario is more well-known. He is also capable of several acrobatic maneuvers, including the Long Jump, backflip, Spin Jump, and Wall Jump, with the Wall Jump being one of his most recurring abilities. Several of these abilities are later shared with other Mario characters. Some games depict Mario as immune to fall damage, such as in Super Mario Galaxy and in Super Mario Odyssey, though landing still impacts him, though other games such as Super Mario 64 has him taking damage; Mario can be instantly defeated by falling great heights in the Donkey Kong games. While Mario usually jumps for his attack, he can punch and kick in a few other games such as in Super Mario 64, the Mario Party series, and in Super Smash Bros. series.

Mario's main weapon is the hammer in Donkey Kong, although Mario often uses the hammer as a weapon in Mario RPGs. Mario is usually associated with fire in the spinoffs, based on his Fire Mario form from Super Mario Bros. Mario can, in some games, such as Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, control fire without a Fire Flower power-up, although the first game where he actually starts using this power regularly is Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Mario has been shown to possess superhuman strength. In Super Mario World, he is seen lifting a fortress out of the ground and then kicking it away. In Super Mario 64, he can carry and throw the Big Bob-omb, although with some difficulty. During the battles with Bowser, Mario can grab him by the tail, spin him, and throw him. His strength is also shown in Super Mario Galaxy, where he can easily stun a Mega Goomba with a Star Spin despite its great size and can knock Bowser around during battles with him. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, although he is visibly straining, he is able to lift and throw an obese Luigi when using the Snack Basket move. In the spinoffs, Mario, although usually balanced, boasts generally slightly above-average power, and in golf, he has one of the strongest drives.

Mario has been designed to be a versatile character deliberately. As a result, whenever he appears in a game, his emphasis is always, in both spinoffs and mainstream games, a balanced playstyle, allowing him to participate and perform well in many situations. Indeed, his bios have frequently and consistently described him as a "jack of all trades." Another result of his versatility is the number of occupations he holds, including his most notable and iconic identity of being a plumber.

Mario can also take advantage of several power-ups and transformations.
 * Mario has fourteen power-ups that allow him to fly: the Wing, the Super Leaf, the Tanooki Suit, the P-Wing, the Cape Feather, the Power Balloon, the Wing Cap, the Power Flower, the Bee Mushroom, the Boo Mushroom, the Red Star, the Propeller Mushroom, the Invincibility Leaf, and the Super Acorn. On The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Mario can fly even after powering up with a Fire Flower.
 * In Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario can transform into a Hammer Brother with the ability to throw hammers at his enemies or a frog with the ability to swim faster and jump higher.
 * Mario has three other caps he can wear: the Metal Cap, Wing Cap, and Vanish Cap. These turn him into Metal Mario, make him fly, and make him invisible and intangible, respectively.
 * In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario becomes more paper-like and can become Flat Mario, Paper Tube Mario, Paper Airplane Mario, and Paper Boat Mario as a result of the "curses" cast upon him by the Black Chest Demons.
 * In Super Paper Mario, Mario was given the ability to flip between dimensions.
 * In Super Mario World, Mario has the ability to run up walls and pipes.
 * In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario can throw Cappy to "capture" sentient creatures and objects such as Goombas, Chain Chomps, Hammer Bros., and Bullet Bills, allowing the player to fully control the captured target.

Occupations
Mario is typically known as a plumber since Mario Bros., although he started as a carpenter in Donkey Kong. Although he is best known for being a plumber, the games rarely portray Mario being directly involved in plumbing. Other media, such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, however, put a much bigger emphasis on Mario's job. According to the live-action segments in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Mario works a menial job at Mario Brothers Plumbing in Brooklyn, just barely able to make enough money, and sometimes complains about a dull life. Despite this, he and Luigi seem to excel at their jobs, as it is stated that they have one of the best plumbing in New York City. Also according to the show, Mario has received his plumber training from the Brooklyn Plumbers Academy, founded by Salvador Drainotto, whom Mario holds to great respect. Mario is also skilled with various plumbing tools throughout the show's episodes, such as the All Purpose Portable Plumber's Helper and Plumber's Putty, which he uses to assist him and his friends in some hazardous situations. In 2016, a bio on the Kids section of the Nintendo Co., Ltd. site indicates that plumbing was Mario's former occupation; the bio on Mario Portal reconfirmed this. However, as of March 2018, the Japanese profile was updated to state that Mario is still a plumber.

In addition to plumbing, Mario has dabbled in various other occupations. One of his most notable recurring alternate careers is in medicine, as his alter-ego Dr. Mario, who stars in an entire spin-off series and is even a separate character in the Super Smash Bros. games. Mario is also known for his participation in a wide variety of spin-off sports games, including but not limited to golf, tennis, basketball, hockey, soccer, and both kart and motocross racing. He also participates in a wide array of Olympic events and has even made a cameo as a referee in Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! Another subseries-specific recurring role Mario takes is as the president of the Mario Toy Company in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games.

In addition to these, he has also had numerous one-off jobs, again including but not limited to a demolition worker in Wrecking Crew, an archaeologist in Mario's Picross, a baker in Yoshi's Cookie, a factory worker in Mario's Cement Factory and Mario Bros. for the Game & Watch, a soldier who delivers bombs in Mario's Bombs Away, a grocery worker in Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, a psychotherapist in Super Mario Adventures (albeit as a gag), and potentially a in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Finally, Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up depicts Mario in various occupations, intending to educate children on several careers they can explore.

Family
Luigi is Mario's younger twin brother. Luigi often joins Mario on his adventures, and the two of them are normally paired together in sports titles and spin-offs. They have a strong brotherly bond ever since they were babies, and they stop at nothing to save each other when one is in trouble, as seen in games such as Luigi's Mansion. In the Mario & Luigi series, if Luigi faints in battle, Mario yells in concern and carries him on his shoulders while defending himself or when running away (this also happens with Luigi if Mario is the one who gets KO'd) and the brothers often hug each other when they reunite after being separated in the story. Mario also is shown to be proud of his little brother when he faces his fears for him, such as when he faces King Boo to rescue him, and when he is saved in Luigi's Mansion 3, he is very happy that Luigi came to free him, and congratulates him before jumping in his arms and hugging him. It is stated in the 1993 official Nintendo Character Manual that Mario, when he retires, plans to give his plumbing business to Luigi (while also implying a distinct age contrast, which conflicts with the idea that they are twins).

While they love each other, in Paper Mario, Luigi admits that he also feels jealousy towards his brother at times and has also expressed that he is "tired of being Player 2," for despite being a hero in his own right, he is often overshadowed by Mario. While Mario states that Luigi's quote of being Player 2 is taken out of context, adding that "Luigi loves being [his] sidekick" in the Mario Sports Mix press conference, in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he is quick to give Luigi proper credit for defeating the Shroobs in the previous game. At times, Mario does exhibit a competitive sibling attitude toward Luigi, such as when he intentionally steps and squirms on Luigi's foot when Luigi receives a trophy in Mario Power Tennis, which makes him uneasy and embarrassed. In volume 36 of Super Mario-kun, he also apparently ditches Luigi when Luigi is trapped in the Star Temple gate, much to Luigi's dismay, only to return quickly to see Luigi break into tears. Overall, however, he acts as a good brother and role model for Luigi, notably shown in the Mario & Luigi series.

The rest of Mario's family has not been extensively explored, especially outside the games. Mario and Luigi's supposed parents make a cameo at the end of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, although their faces are not seen and their names are not given, same as in their appearances in "Family Album "The Early Years"" and Super Mario Issun-bōshi. Furthermore, Yoshi's New Island has stated that these two are not Mario and Luigi's parents. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, on the other hand, mentioned or featured Mama Mario in a number of episodes, depicting her as a strict woman who loves her boys very much. Their father did not appear in the show, and very little is known about him. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and the comics also make references or depict various other relatives of Mario, including aunts, uncles, and cousins, although none have appeared in any games.

Friends and love interests
One of Mario's earliest friends is Yoshi, who, along with other Yoshis, saved him and Luigi from the Koopas when they were still babies. In Yoshi's New Island, Mario has also reciprocated by traveling to the past to help Baby Mario and Yoshi save Baby Luigi. In the present day, Yoshi continues to help Mario against Bowser, usually serving as his steed. However, Super Mario-kun depicted Mario in a more childish, aggressive manner, where he would yell at Yoshi for his mistakes, or even urinate on him as a punishment; this would often upset the latter. Overall, Mario and Yoshi get along well, and they always support each other through tough times. Another good friend of Mario's is Toad, who occasionally goes on adventures with him, as in Super Mario Bros. 2, various Mario cartoons, and the Nintendo Comics System, where he is seen to be Mario's loyal and trusted sidekick. Toad trusts that Mario always saves the day and, even when not fighting alongside him, is quick to offer advice and encouragement.

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario has also shown to be a caring parental figure over Baby Mario, but he also steps in if any of his teammates misbehave. Mario appears to enjoy the babies' company. When Baby Mario finally returns to his own time period, he gives Mario his hammer as a parting gift, showing his pleasure to be with his adult self.

Mario saves Princess Peach quite often, and she usually rewards him with a kiss upon her rescue and often bakes him a cake as well. They share good chemistry in sports games and have been good friends since childhood. The German Club Nintendo comic "Warios Weihnachtsmärchen" even reveals that they spent their graduation ball in school together, and in the official guide of Yoshi's Island DS, the description for the level Baby Mario and Baby Peach: Dynamic Duo states they have teamed up as babies to stop evil before the "romantic entanglements" of their adult lives. While both Mario and Luigi deny a relationship when Luvbi asks if Peach was Mario's "lady friend," Luvbi also comments that the princess "looms large in his regard" and then wonders if Mario had a "one-sided crush." Many other sources, however, do portray Mario and Peach as having an ongoing romantic relationship, such as the official European Mario website listing Peach as Mario's girlfriend and Mario Party 5 calling Peach and Mario's team "Cutest Couple." However, there have been rare occasions where Mario upset Peach, though unintentionally. In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario is shown to be visibly distressed when Bowser attempts to propose to Princess Peach once more at the end of the game. Mario then proposes to Peach as well, with the two rivals closing in on the monarch. Peach refuses the red plumber and the Koopa King, leaving both distraught. However, immediately afterward, she invites them both to go back home to the Mushroom Kingdom, and it is strongly implied after the game's ending that she forgives him for the events on the Moon.

Peach has not been Mario's only romantic interest, however. In the original Donkey Kong, Pauline was Mario's first girlfriend and damsel-in-distress, but while he still has to occasionally rescue her in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, the two are considered just friends now. In addition, when Mario saved Princess Daisy in her debut appearance in Super Mario Land, a heart appeared overhead, implying a romantic connection. This was never explored further, however, and while Mario Party 4 gave them the team name "Nice Couple," most games link Daisy with Luigi instead, with her and Mario simply being friends, not even sharing any player chemistry in the Mario Baseball series.

Throughout his adventures, Mario has also befriended numerous characters, notably his partners in the Paper Mario series. His partners are loyal to him, and some, such as Vivian, even have developed somewhat of a crush on him, whereas Ms. Mowz often flirts with him. Several other characters, especially in the Mario RPGs, including Toadette, are also wooed by Mario's heroic antics, although Mario himself has shown little interest. Mario has also made friends with characters outside the Mario series. For instance, he teamed up with Kirby, Link, and even Mega Man in the German Club Nintendo comics. Pit in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U even happily recalls his past adventure with Mario back in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and shows admiration for him and wants his autograph. Mario is also shown to be protective of his newfound friends; in Paper Mario: The Origami King, he is horrified when Bob-omb prepares to self-destruct to smash a boulder and is saddened by his resulting death, although not as bad as Olivia, who is unable to go on until he cheers her up and reminds her to not make his sacrifice in vain. Also, in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario meets F.L.U.D.D. for the first time, and the two work together throughout the game. In the ending, he is visibly upset by the loss of F.L.U.D.D. when it shuts down, as he trembles and wipes away a tear.

Foes and rivals
Bowser is Mario's arch-nemesis. Bowser constantly tries to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and/or kidnap Peach while Mario usually defeats him. While Bowser resents Mario, Mario is often more than happy to forgive Bowser, such as in Mario Party DS, where they enjoy playing Triangle Twisters together. Bowser often calls Mario a variety of disparaging nicknames, especially in the cartoons. Mario sometimes returns the insults, but such retorts are usually restricted to the cartoons and other non-game media. When Mario does lose to Bowser, generally in spinoffs, he acknowledges it in good nature, such as in Fortune Street, although he expects himself to be a competent adversary for Bowser. Occasionally the two team up to defeat greater evils, such as in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Super Paper Mario, and Paper Mario: the Origami King.

Mario's first enemy, however, was Donkey Kong (later known as Cranky Kong) who kidnapped Mario's girlfriend and Mario had to defeat. The current Donkey Kong and Mario are on much better terms and often participate in sports and spin-offs together. Although they do maintain a friendly and somewhat competitive rivalry, Mario must defeat Donkey Kong a couple times in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series because Donkey Kong went into mischief, stemming from his passion and frustration for Mini Marios and Pauline. Even after his victory, after noticing Donkey Kong upset, Mario reconciles by offering his toys.

Mario's archrival is Wario, with various comics depicting their antagonistic relationship starting in childhood, and it is a major theme in the Super Mario-kun manga. In Wario's first appearance, in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, he stole Mario's castle, and in Mario Super Sluggers, he tried to destroy Mario, although for the most part, their rivalry is far more mild in nature, and the two even team up to defeat Bowser in Super Mario 64 DS. Finally, according to Wario in Wario's Warehouse, both Wario and Waluigi hang out with him, although Mario frequently peeks at Wario's Warehouse. Wario has shown mostly contempt for Mario, but he does not have the same level of dislike as Bowser, whereas Mario, although he has been initially bitter and even called Wario an "evil creep," maintains his cheerful and positive attitude as he does with most of his enemies.

Mario appears to be friendly rivals with Sonic the Hedgehog, extremely competitive in sports and events. Though rivals, they have a good friendship and partnership as the two have teamed up several times to stop their respective archenemies, Bowser and Dr. Eggman. According to an informal conversation with Mario, Mario stated in response that he likes Sonic and views him as a friendly archrival than an enemy. This is further supported in recent installments of the Mario & Sonic series, where they often share a high-five.

List of game appearances
This is a list of game appearances for Mario. Minor appearances, including cameos, are not counted.

Profiles and statistics
Mario has consistently and frequently appeared in every game as a balanced player designed to be mastered easily. The only notable exceptions are the Mario Golf games, where he has a high drive, higher than most of the cast, including known-power characters such as Wario and Donkey Kong (in Mario Golf: World Tour, for instance, his drive is surpassed only by Bowser, Rosalina, and Donkey Kong). Otherwise, since Mario is designed as a versatile character, his stats reflect the "jack of all trades" quality. In games where Mario's stats are not equally balanced, he generally leans slightly toward power. While Mario is fairly nimble in games such as Super Smash Bros., Mario Super Sluggers, the Mario & Luigi series, and the Mario & Sonic series, he is sometimes portrayed with average or even below-average mobility in other games, including Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Tennis games, and Mario Strikers Charged.

Most bios have described Mario as a well-known icon in the Mushroom Kingdom, in Nintendo, and in video gaming in general. They may also celebrate his numerous accomplishments or his previous forays.

Mario's most frequent associated color scheme has been red, although his scheme may sport blue or white motifs. His logo is his trademark M cap.

Portrayals
Mario has been voiced by the following people:
 * Harris Shore – Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. commercials
 * Larry Moran – Donkey Kong cereal commercials
 * Peter Cullen – Saturday Supercade
 * – Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land, Satellaview games
 * Lou Albano – The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (except when singing "Hit the Road Jack")
 * Walker Boone – The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World television series
 * – The Super Mario Challenge
 * Ronald B. Ruben – Mario Teaches Typing
 * – Mario Paint commercial
 * Lennart Johannessen - Live action segments for the Danish dub of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
 * Bob Hoskins – Super Mario Bros. film
 * Marc Graue – Hotel Mario
 * Nicholas Glaeser – Mario is Missing! (MS-DOS, CD-ROM Deluxe)
 * Charles Martinet – Super Mario Bros. pinball machine, Mario's Game Gallery–present
 * – 2003 "Hot Mario" commercial
 * Takashi Okamura – 2005–2006 "Hot Mario Bros." commercials
 * – 2011 Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 commercials
 * Chris Pratt - The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Gallery


Games

 * "Let's-a play!" – Mario Power Tennis/Mario Tennis: Power Tour/New Super Mario Bros. Wii/Super Mario 3D Land/Mario Tennis Open
 * "It's-a me, Mario!" – Super Mario 64
 * "Press Start to play." – Super Mario 64
 * "Let's-a go!" – Various games
 * "Here we go!" – Various games
 * "Thank you so much for playing my game!" – Super Mario 64/Super Mario 64 DS/Super Mario Galaxy/Super Mario Galaxy 2/Super Mario Odyssey
 * Variations of "Mario time!" – Various games
 * "Here I go!" – New Super Mario Bros.
 * "That's-a so nice!" – New Super Mario Bros.
 * "Mamma mia!" – Various games (usually for losing)
 * "Yahoo!" – Various games
 * "Oh/Oh no, I lost!" - Mario Party 3/Mario Party 4/Mario Party 5/Mario Party 6/Mario Party 7/Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games/Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games/Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
 * "Hey! Come back here! You big monkey!" - Mario vs. Donkey Kong
 * "Oh yeah, don't forget to thank Mr. Miyamoto." - Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Mario cartoons

 * The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!


 * The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3


 * Super Mario World

Trivia

 * According to a 1993 Nintendo character guide, Mario is classified as "homo nintendonus." [sic]