User:Walkazo/Essays: Difference between revisions

===Relationships===

====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 and will stop at nothing to help each other when one is in trouble, as seen in in games such as ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]''. 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 jokes that "Luigi loves being my 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 let sibling rivalry get the best of him, such as when he intentionally steps on Luigi's foo when the latter receives a trophy in ''Mario Power Tennis'', but overall, he acts as a good brother and role model for Luigi.  

Mario and Luigi's parents cameoed at the end of ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'', although their faces were not seen and their names were not given, same as in their appearances in [[Family Album "The Early Years"]] and ''[[Super Mario Issun-bōshi]]''. ''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. [[Papa|Their father]] did not appear in the show and very little is known about him, although the ''Super Mario Bros.'' film revealed that he came from a long line of plumbers and passed the family tools and the trade on to Mario. ''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====

Mario saves Princess Peach quite often and she usually rewards him with a kiss him upon her rescue, and often bakes him cake as well. They care about each other very much, share good chemistry in sports games and have been good friends since childhood. In the German [[Club Nintendo]] comic "[[Warios Weihnachtsmärchen]]", it is even revealed that they spent their graduation ball in school together, and it is often said that the two have a romantic relationship in the present. The official European ''Mario'' website specifically lists Peach as Mario's girlfriend and in ''[[Mario Party 5]]'', Peach and Mario are called "Cutest Couple". ''[[Mario Power Tennis]]'' even goes as far as showing Mario himself telling Peach of his love for her in Peach's victory scene, to which she smiles and blows him a kiss. The official guide of ''[[Yoshi's Island DS]]'', the description for the level [[Baby Mario and Baby Peach: Dynamic Duo]], states that before the "romantic entanglements" in their adult lives, they teamed up as babies to stop evil. 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". Other characters also know of the feelings between the two, with [[Rosalina]] calling Peach Mario's "Special One" in ''Super Mario Galaxy'', [[Kersti]] saying she was the apple of his eye in ''Paper Mario: Sticker Star'', and a Toad going so far as to tell Mario to take Peach on a date to [[Shooting Star Summit]].

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 simply friends now. In addition, when Mario saved Princess Daisy in her debut appearance in ''Super Mario Land'', a heard appeared overhead, implying a romantic connection. This was never explored further, however, and while ''[[Mario Party 4]]'' gave them the tam 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)|Mario Baseball]]'' series.

Mario's first friend was Yoshi, who, along with other Yoshis, saved him and Luigi from the Koopas when they were still babies. In the present day, Yoshi continues to help Mario against Bowser, usually serving as his steed, although he is capable of autonomously fighting alongside his human friend, as in ''Super Mario 64 DS''. 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 was seen to be Mario's loyal and trusted sidekick. Toad trusts that Mario will always saves the day and even when not fighting alongside him will be quick to offer advice and encouragement.

====Foes and rivals====

[[File:3DS SuperMario 12 scrn12 E3.png|thumb|Mario battling Bowser in ''Super Mario 3D Land''.]]

Bowser is Mario's arch nemesis and the two are locked in a neverending cycle of conflict. Bowser constantly tries to take over the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnap Peach, and each time he upsets the peace, Mario stops at nothing to defeat him and set things right. Occasionally the two team up to defeat greater evils, such as in ''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars'', ''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga'' and ''Super Paper Mario'', and while Bowser openly hates Mario and resents him for his close relationship with Peach, for his part, Mario has never truly shown hatred nor contempt against Bowser, and he is often more than happy to cheer up Bowser after he defeats him.

Bowser is not Mario's only foe, however, and in the original ''Donkey Kong'', it was [[Cranky Kong]] (then known as "Donkey Kong") that Mario had to defeat. His grandson, 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, and Mario has been forced to defeat Donkey Kong a couple times in the ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong'' series when the latter went overboard due to his passion for Mini Marios and Mario's ex-girlfriend Pauline, the same woman who had been abducted by Cranky Kong in the past.

Mario's main rival, however, is Wario. Various comics depict their antagonistic relationship starting in childhood, and it is a major theme in the ''[[Super Mario Kun]]'' manga. In Wario's first appearance, ''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''. Nintendo Power has stated that Wario is Mario's cousin, but this is unconfirmed.