Mario: Difference between revisions

Mario has undergone major changes since his initial appearance in ''Donkey Kong'' up until ''Super Mario Bros.'' In ''Donkey Kong'', Mario initially 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. It is not until ''Super Mario Bros.'' where he resembles as he is today, with the familiar blue eyes, full hair, a red cap with an insignia, a distinct mustache, large hands, and other features.

Though he was originally imagined as middle-aged, his age has been approximated to be about 26 years old,<ref>[http://themushroomkingdom.net/ssbm_j2e.shtml#trophies ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' (set to Japanese).] The Mushroom Kingdom. (Retrieved May 29, 2010)</ref> while Shigeru Miyamoto later placed it at either 24 or 25.<ref>Griffin, A. (September 30, 2016) [http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/mario-super-age-24-25-nintendo-shigeru-miyamoto-game-character-a7338911.html Mario is only 24 years old, creator Shigeru Miyamoto says in unearthed interview]. ''Independent''. Retrieved October 1, 2016.</ref> The pamphlet for ''Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!'' estimates his age at around 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.

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 [[Nintendo GameCube|GameCube]] era—for instance, by removing their trademark {{wp|V sign}}.<ref>[http://cube.ign.com/articles/069/069250p1.html IGN] (Accessed on 7-6-09)</ref>

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. 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 proportion changes to his general appearance and added detail in his shoes, eyes, and cap emblem in most game artworks since ''[[Super Mario 3D World]]''.

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.