Captain Olimar

Captain Olimar is the main protagonist of the video game franchise Pikmin, made by Shigeru Miyamoto, named after Mario himself (Olimar is an anagram of Mario, with an L added; his Japanese name, Orimā, (オリマー) which was romanized as Olimar, is a perfect anagram of "Mario"). He has cross-covered with the Mario series primarily through Super Smash Bros. series, but through Nintendo Land as well, where Pikmin gets its own attraction. Most of his other appearances involve cameos through use of amiibo.

Olimar has to be scaled up drastically, even more so than Kirby, for his appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series, as according to the Pikmin game manual, he is only about an inch tall. Olimar does not have any voice effects (unless players count his whistles as a voice effect) in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, making him the only playable character without a Star KO sound effect. In Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U, Villager, Pac-Man, Mega Man, and Mii Fighters also lack voice clips, making a lack of a voice effect no longer unique to him.

Luigi's Mansion
A trailer for the first Pikmin game appears in Luigi's Mansion's option screen. The trailer, predictably, includes Olimar.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Olimar was planned to make an appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga as one of the characters that appears when Mario and Luigi create new brews in the Starbeans Café. In this appearance, his dialogue was written in the type of text box that appears whenever Mario or Luigi get certain items, as though written in a log book like in the actual Pikmin games. He also names Mario "Marlio" (a complete anagram of "Olimar") and mistakes Luigi for a dangerous beast. However, Professor E. Gadd replaced all of the other characters in the final version of the game.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Olimar has a trophy, which is unlocked if there is a Memory Card with a saved game data of Pikmin inside inserted.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Captain Olimar's playable debut in the Super Smash Bros. series is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is a starter character, and he fights with the help of Pikmin. In fact, without the Pikmin, Olimar cannot use a Smash Attack. As such, Olimar has to constantly use Pikmin Pluck in order to access his full moveset. The Pikmin may also scatter, which acts very problematic for Olimar. However, Olimar can use Pikmin Order. His other two specialties include Pikmin Throw and Pikmin Chain as a Tether Recovery). In his Final Smash, End of Day, he takes off while Bulborbs come on the stage and start attacking the players. His "home" stage is the Distant Planet.

The Subspace Emissary
Captain Olimar's Pikmin are attacking a huge R.O.B.. However, the R.O.B. spins around and all the Pikmin that are on him fly off and perish. Captain Olimar starts shivering in fear at it. A red Pikmin walks up to Olimar and taps him on the side. Olimar turns around and the red Pikmin points at the Blue Falcon that is speeding through the forest.

Captain Falcon jumps out of the Blue Falcon and then Falcon Punches the R.O.B., which defeats the R.O.B. Captain Falcon lands back on the ground while doing a slide similar to the Falcon Kick. However, while he is sliding on the ground, he accidentally kills the Pikmin who are in the way. Olimar and Falcon then team up to fight the Subspace Army.

Upon reaching the edge of the Isle of the Ancients, they witness Diddy Kong attacking Primids and rescuing Donkey Kong. Falcon and a reluctant Olimar then decide to join forces with the Kongs, and upon reaching them, the Primids return with backup. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, and Olimar manage to fight them off before they see off Falco Lombardi, who had helped Diddy in bringing him to the ship that Donkey was held on.

The ship takes Olimar and his crew inside the Subspace Bomb Factory. They eventually find the Ancient Minister, alongside Pikachu and Samus Aran. Ganondorf suddenly appears and commands the R.O.B.s in the room to detonate the Subspace Bombs inside the factory so he can create a large enough hole in space to fit a Subspace Gunship through. The Ancient Minister through desperation reveals himself to be the leader of the R.O.B.s and helps the other heroes defeat the Subspace enemies that Ganondorf sent out. Olimar, with R.O.B. and the rest, escapes from the island before it is dragged into Subspace. All of the protagonists then unite to take down the Subspace Gunship and enter Subspace. Olimar and the others are then turned into trophies by Tabuu.

King Dedede has created some badges that revive trophies into the original fighter, in which Ness, Luigi, and King Dedede get revived from. Olimar is one the trophies that may be revived. However it is optional for the player to revive him.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Olimar appears as a default playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U series. His appearance has been altered from the previous game, adding a whistle into his helmet like in Pikmin 3. Instead of having six Pikmin like in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Olimar can now only pluck three Pikmin at a time, and in a certain order (being red, yellow, blue, white, and purple). His recovery has also been changed to Winged Pikmin; however, the more active Pikmin he has, the heavier he is when using this move. One of Olimar's alternative costumes is Alph from Pikmin 3, who acts as a separate character to Olimar, while still taking up the same slot as him. Olimar's home stage in the Wii U version of the game is Garden of Hope.

According to Masahiro Sakurai, the developers barely got Captain Olimar working in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, hence why the Pikmin count is reduced to three while the Pikmin is rendered as sprites. Rock Pikmin was originally intended to be part of Olimar's moveset, but was put in hold due to the lack of time. They would have been heavy, with short reach, but high attack power, akin to a stronger version of Purple Pikmin. Alph has even been considered to be a separate clone character until it has been decided to make him an alternate character of Olimar.

WarioWare: D.I.Y.
Olimar is seen in the WarioWare D.I.Y. microgame Pikmin, exclusive to versions of the game outside Japan. The player controls Captain Olimar, who is holding a Red Pikmin in his hand and must toss it onto a small raft with nectar on it.

Nintendo Land
An attraction called Pikmin Adventure is featured in Nintendo Land. In this minigame, the player with the GamePad is dressed up as Olimar and uses Pikmin figurines to help him locate the lost spaceship.

Mario Kart 8
Although Olimar himself does not appear in Mario Kart 8 more than in a small cameo within the Mii Racing Suits menu, players can scan his amiibo into the game as of the version 4.0 update to unlock a racing suit for Miis based upon his appearance.

Yoshi's Woolly World
An Olimar theme is one of the many unlockable amiibo designs for Yoshi in Yoshi's Woolly World. By scanning an Olimar amiibo, players can unlock an Olimar-themed reskin for Yoshi.

Super Mario Maker
Olimar, alongside the majority of the Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U cast, cameos as one of the costumes Mario can obtain in Super Mario Maker via the Costume Mario power-up. Upon powering up, Olimar's voice from Pikmin 2 can be heard. If the player completes a level as Olimar, the "Course Clear" fanfare is replaced by the tune that plays after obtaining an important item in Pikmin 3. Pressing on the controller lets Olimar blow his whistle.

Website bio
"Goodness! Captain Olimar joins the fray with five colors of Pikmin in tow! He plucks Pikmin from the ground and they fight as his allies.

''Without Pikmin, Olimar can’t even do a Smash Attack. And the short-lived Pikmin tend to scatter. Theirs is a fated symbiotic relationship.''"

Instruction booklet bio

 * "A veteran spaceman who teams up with Pikmin to fight!"

Snake's codec conversation

 * Mei Ling: Snake, have you ever heard of the ancient Chinese story, "The Vain Ocean of Wealth and Splendor" from the Zhen Zhong Ji?
 * Snake: I've been waiting for the movie.
 * Mei Ling: Basically, it's meant to express the impermanence of all things. You know, like even when Captain Olimar has lots of Pikmin with him, they could all be gone the next moment. Those poor little guys--they carry, they fight, they multiply...and they get eaten. Olimar might have lots of company one minute and be all alone the next. It's so sad.
 * Snake: But he can pluck out more Pikmin anytime he wants, right?
 * Mei Ling: Well, yeah, I suppose so.
 * Snake: No one truly fights alone. Not even me.
 * Mei Ling: ...You're absolutely right, Snake. Good luck. I'm rooting for you.

Trophies (Both Versions)
Red indicates exclusive to the 3DS version Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Palutena's Guidance

 * Pit: Oh, it's that explorer guy.
 * Palutena: Did you know that Pikmin are named after Pikpik carrots, a vegetable native to Hocotate?
 * Pit: Huh. Guess you learn something new every day.
 * Viridi: Enough with the pointless fun facts. Let's talk fighting strategy. Here's what I know about those Pikmin. Red Pikmin are strong! Yellow Pikmin fly high! Blue Pikmin have the mightiest throw! White Pikmin are fastest! Purple Pikmin are heavy and the most powerful! Be sure you remember all this, Pit.
 * Pit: Uh, right.
 * Palutena: There are also Winged Pikmin that don't attack you. Numerous Pikmin will weigh down the Winged Pikmin. And that's when you should attack!

Quotes

 * "...I detect a strange, yet pleasing aroma drifting through the atmosphere of this cafe. It would seem to require further investigation..." - Unused quote from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
 * "What is this? Before my eyes stands a strange life form. It resembles me slightly, so I shall dub it...Marlio! ...Further investigation indicates that the drink that this Marlio holds is the source of the aroma. I shall now partake of its flavor. Why! Its flavor is most satisfying! Finding that such a drink could be partook of in such a place is a tremendous discovery, indeed! This Marlio creature exhibits what seems to be a longing expression... Perhaps it will react if I present it with something... I have just noticed a strange, unsightly green creature standing next to the Marlio... It could be a dangerous life form. I feel I should attack it before it attacks me. " - Unused quote from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Trivia

 * One of Olimar's costumes makes him look very similar to his sidekick, Louie, as well as the President of Hocotate Freight.
 * His eyes never glow yellow if he has broken the Smash Ball, not even if he is attacked.