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Mario
'Mario' character
Mario in Super Mario Galaxy
First game	Donkey Kong as "Jumpman"
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto

Mario (マリオ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of Nintendo's Super Mario Series. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario is Nintendo's flagship franchise, as well as the best selling franchise in video game history, having sold over 300 million copies world wide. Mario has appeared in over 150 video games making him the most prolific character in video game history. Outside of video games Mario has appeared in 4 cartoons and the first movie to be based on a video game.

Conception and creation

Mario first appeared in the arcade game Donkey Kong as a character named "Jumpman" according to Nintendo of America. Since the Japanese name was not properly communicated to the American branch, Nintendo of America named him Mario. His namesake was Mario Segali, the landlord of Nintendo of America's office, who barged in on a meeting to demand an overdue rent payment. Mario Segali was the owner of the first premises of the offices of Nintendo of America. In the time of its residence there, Nintendo of America was considering a name for its popular Jumpman. Jumpman was a carpenter with a red cap and a moustache. They realized that Mario Segali and Jumpman looked alike, so they changed the character's name to Mario. After Donkey Kong Mario was paired with his brother Luigi in another arcade game entitled Mario Bros. When the Nintendo Entertainment System(NES) was released, Super Mario Bros. was the launch title for it with Mario as the protagonist. Mario was being called by his new name in certain promotional materials for the game's release overseas.

With limited pixels and colors of the 8-bit NES, the games' programmers could not animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear". Making his shirt a solid color and giving him overalls fixed this. They also did not have the space to give him a mouth or ears, and they could not animate hair, which resulted in Mario getting a moustache, sideburns, and a cap to bypass these problems. Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, has stated when interviewed that Mario wears a cap because he finds it difficult to draw hair. Mario is currently voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Luigi, both their evil counterparts, Wario, Waluigi and other characters such as Toadsworth.

Mario has taken on the role of Nintendo's mascot and has since been extensively merchandised. Mario's major rival was Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog who debuted in 1991. The two mascots competed head-to-head for nearly a decade afterwards, until around 2001 when Sonic Adventure 2: Battle showed up on a Nintendo console due to Sega's new third party status, ending a lengthy rivalry. Mario and Sonic officially appeared together in a crossover sports game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and are together again in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Appearances

Main article: List of Mario games

Mario made his 3D debut in Super Mario 64

Mario made his debut in the arcade game Donkey Kong in 1981. In Donkey Kong Junior in 1982, he was the villain, and in the ending cinematic, he is knocked out. The games were so successful that he carried over into an arcade spin-off, Mario Bros. in 1983, which boasted a simultaneous two-player mode and introduced his brother Luigi. His next appearance was in Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Overall, Mario games have sold over 300 million copies worldwide, with Super Mario Bros. 3 holding the record for most copies of a non pack-in video game sold, selling well over 18 million copies. Mario and company also appeared in the later Game & Watch games. Mario has explored almost every genre of video games. Aside from action platformers, he has starred in puzzle games, racing games, sports games, fighting games, role-playing games, and even educational games. He has not yet appeared in a strategy game.

Characteristics

Mario was originally portrayed as a two-dimensional sprite, but in later games he is a three-dimensional, polygonal model. He is depicted as a 155 cm (5 ft 1) portly plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is the older, shorter brother of Luigi, and they are both Italian plumbers. According to several sources, Mario and Luigi hail from Brooklyn, New York, although Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island implies he was born in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario's complete antithesis is Wario.

Physical appearance

Mario's basic appearance has changed little over the years: a short, stubby man wearing a hat with an 'M' on it, brown hair, black moustache, an abnormally large and bulbous nose, white gloves, and overalls. He normally wears blue overalls on top of a red shirt, but he originally wore red overalls on top of a blue shirt as in Donkey Kong (this is also how he looks in the three cartoon series). In the original Super Mario Bros video game, Mario wore a brown shirt and red overalls (although this is most likely due to hardware limitations at the time). He is sometimes described as being overweight, an instance which once was brought up in Super Mario 64.

Mario's outfit often changes to suit the game. For example, in Super Mario Strikers, (Mario Smash Football) Mario wears a football kit as opposed to overalls. In Super Mario Sunshine, a red T-shirt replaces Mario's usual long-sleeved shirt, and he could optionally put on sunglasses and a Hawaiian-style Shine Sprite shirt. In some games, Mario can transform into different forms, each with a different costume. In Super Mario Bros., he could collect a 'fire flower' which changed his overall costume into a red shirt and white overalls (although it was orange and red in the original NES version of Super Mario Bros. 3, and now the total opposite).

Personality

Mario is portrayed in games and other media as being a kind-hearted and brave hero, with a love of pasta and pizza, as the stereotypical Italian does. This idea was started in the American cartoons, but soon afterwards, Nintendo supported the idea by having Mario dream of pasta, as well as a magical gate advising Mario to "cut down on the Alfredo sauce" in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

Mario's cheerful personality is reflected in his high pitched voice. Since Mario's Game Gallery, it has been provided by Charles Martinet. In the games, although he largely speaks in English with a thick Italian accent, he has been known to sporadically break into Italian. In other media portrayals, he has carried a more Brooklyn-styled accent. Mario's speech is usually limited to short phrases like: "Okey dokey!", "Woohoo!", "Let's a-go!", "It's-a me! Mario!", and more, though in the Mario sports titles however, he has full speech capabilities. Also in Mario vs. Donkey Kong he speaks to Donkey Kong, saying things like "Come back here, you big monkey!". However besides these short phrases, Mario never makes any conversation in any official Mario games, leaving the talking to other characters. He does however speak fully in the DiC animated cartoons and the anime series.

Occupation and hobbies

Mario's given occupation is that of being a plumber. With the exceptions of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and the original Mario Bros., he is almost never seen carrying out his occupation in the games. Pipes have, however, remained a mode of transportation. Mario was most often seen plumbing during the animated series. He was very knowledgeable about tools and fixing pipes in the movie. In the original Donkey Kong games however, when Mario was called Jumpman, he was in fact a carpenter.

Beginning with the Dr. Mario series of puzzle games, which first debuted in 1990, Mario has been occasionally depicted as a medical physician as well. In 2001, Mario appeared in Dr. Mario 64, an updated version of the original puzzle game. Mario was in doctor form as a secret character in the Nintendo GameCube game Super Smash Bros. Melee, and in another updated version of the original, Dr. Mario Virus Buster for WiiWare. In the Game Boy title Mario's Picross, Mario was even depicted as an archaeologist.

His most time-consuming activity seems to be saving Princess Peach, the Mushroom Kingdom, and purging villains, such as Bowser, from various kingdoms. As seen through character interactions in his role-playing games, Mario has achieved a level of fame among the kingdoms' populations due to his heroic deeds, as shown in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where they are referred to as "superstars", or celebrities.

Mario earns most of his money through the profits from his Mario Toy Company, which produces Mini Mario figures. As of Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, the company has expanded to include similar versions of other characters.

Mario has appeared in other games involving go-kart racing, Football (Soccer), Baseball, Tennis, Golf, Basketball, fighting, construction, and dancing. In most of these games where different characters may have varying levels of skill, Mario is typically the most balanced character in classes such as weight, speed, power, or other abilities.

Relationships

Ever since his first game, Mario usually has the role of saving the damsel-in-distress. Originally, he had to rescue his girlfriend Pauline in Donkey Kong from the clutches of DK. Pauline did not last long as a character and was soon replaced by new damsel-in-distress, Princess Peach, in Super Mario Bros. (she was initially referred to as "Princess Toadstool" or simply "the Princess" in English-speaking territories until 1993, when Yoshi's Safari debuted, even though the name was not widely used until Super Mario 64 was released three years later.) Pauline returned in the Game Boy remake of Donkey Kong in 1994, and later Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis in 2006, although the character is now described as "Mario's friend."

Mario has rescued Princess Peach multiple times since Super Mario Bros., often receiving a kiss as a reward. Although the true nature of their relationship is never revealed (as is typical of most characters in the Mario series), there is evidently a mutual affection between the two characters.

Bowser is Mario's archrival. However, the two will at times work together when they need to find a solution together, like in Super Mario RPG and Super Paper Mario.

Luigi is Mario's younger brother. He usually is a tag along on many of Mario's adventures. He is usually depicted as a scaredy cat who sets off to help Mario but instead needs rescuing himself. Yoshi is another one of Mario's closest friends.

Mario rescued Princess Daisy in Super Mario Land for the Game Boy. There is no way to prove they were interested in each other, considering the fact they do not share chemistry in Mario Superstar Baseball. Although Daisy kissed him this was done probably to keep a classic Mario ending. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the text explaining Princess Daisy's trophy states that "after her appearance in Mario Golf (this appears to be a trophy error, possibly referring to NES Open Tournament Golf or its Famicom release Mario Open Golf), some gossips portrayed her as Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach", although Luigi and Daisy were previously paired as a romantic couple in the live-action Super Mario Bros movie.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Game Boy saw the arrival of Wario, Mario's demented and greedy doppelgänger. Though there is no tangible relationship between the two, Wario was once referred to as Mario's cousin in Nintendo Power. Wario is designed to act, in a way, as an anti-Mario.

Baby Mario

Baby Mario is the infant version of Mario. He first appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and has appeared in several titles since. Baby Mario has often appeared in Nintendo-sports titles, such as Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Strangely, these games implied that Mario and Baby Mario are separate characters, but those games are considered to be outside the continuity of the main Mario series. More recently, he has appeared in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, in which Baby Mario appeared via time travel, which could explain the separation of the two characters. Like the older Mario, Baby Mario is voiced by Charles Martinet.

Abilities

Mario is renowned for his super-human jumping ability. Jumping—both to access different areas of a level and as an offensive move—remains a core element of gameplay in most Mario games, especially in the platform games. Mario's most common attack is jumping on enemies. Mario also possesses super-human strength, as evidenced in Super Mario 64 where he was able to lift, carry, and throw the game's first boss, King Bob-Omb, who was much larger than him. Mario can grab Bowser by the tail, spin him around, and toss him great distances. Another recurring theme for his attacks is spinning as first used (to a lesser degree admittedly) in Super Mario Bros. 3 by using his raccoon tail and then fully exploited as a spinning drill jump in Super Mario World. It has since been used as a special attack in Super Smash Bros. and was his primary defense in Super Mario Galaxy.

Mario with his Fire Flower ability in Super Mario Bros.

During the development of Donkey Kong, Mario was known simply as "Jumpman", named for his keen ability to jump exceptional heights. This ability is still described as Mario's greatest talent in most forms of media in which he is portrayed, and jumping—both to access different areas of a level and as an offensive move—remains a core element of gameplay in most Mario games, especially in the Super Mario Bros. series.

Mario's most commonly portrayed form of attack is jumping to stomp on the heads of enemies, first employed in Mario Bros. (but his main attack in this game was to hit the floor underneath the enemy, flipping them up-side-down) but better known from the later Super Mario Bros. game and its sequels. This jump-stomp move may entirely crush smaller enemies on the stage, and usually deals damage to larger ones, sometimes causing secondary effects as well. Most notably, this attack often enables Mario to knock the turtle-like Koopa Troopas back into their shells, which may slide across the stage, damaging other enemies, or Mario. Mario can kick or toss these shells at enemies or barriers in many games.

Beyond this core mechanic, subsequent games have elaborated on Mario's jumping-related abilities. Super Mario World added the ability to spin-jump, which allows Mario to break blocks beneath him. Later, the Game Boy remake of Donkey Kong allowed Mario to jump higher with consecutive jumps, and perform a back-flip. Super Mario 64 continued the use of these abilities as well as a long jump, a sideways flip called a Side Somersault, and a ground pound. It made jumping off of walls much simpler to accomplish, and named it the "Wall Kick." Super Mario Sunshine then re-introduced the spin jump, but changed its function; in Sunshine, the spin-jump makes Mario jump a little bit higher and fall more slowly than after a normal jump.

Mario makes use of a wide array of items in most games in which he appears. The most prominent of these is the Super Mushroom, which allows Mario to grow to twice his size. In this form he is usually labeled "Super Mario", and receives an additional hit-point; sustaining damage from most enemies will only cause Super Mario to shrink back down to "regular Mario" size. Mario is apparently stronger in his Super form, too, having the ability to break bricks with his fist (or even head). Additionally, in many games collecting a Fire Flower transforms Mario into Fire Mario and allows him to throw fireballs at enemies (pyrokinesis), and a Starman renders Mario temporarily impervious to harm. In addition, Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced a Raccoon Leaf which transforms Mario into Raccoon Mario allowing him to fly for short distances. Super Mario World introduced Mario's dinosaur friend Yoshi to the game series, whom Mario can ride. When riding Yoshi, Mario can clear spiky terrain and stomp foes that he otherwise cannot. Various other Mario power-ups have been included, for example the Rare Suits forms: Frog Mario, has improved jumping and swimming abilities; Tanooki Mario has the same abilities as Raccoon Mario and can become a statue; and Hammer Mario can throw hammers and protect himself from fireballs by ducking (Super Mario Bros. 3). Other power-ups are the Cape Feather, that gives Mario a cape (Cape Mario) and allows Mario to fly, the Power Balloon, allows Mario to float upwards for a brief time (Super Mario World) - a similar ability returned, except via the Power Flower, in Super Mario 64 DS (in Super Mario Bros.3: Super Mario Advance 4, Mario could become Cape Mario, by using a card-e reader with the GBA); a Power Carrot that made Mario sprout rabbit ears (Bunny Mario) allowing him to float down from high places (Super Mario Land 2); and a Blue Shell that allowed Mario to transform into Shell Mario, and thereafter skid around levels in a manner similar to a kicked Koopa shell (New Super Mario Bros.). New Super Mario Bros. introduced the Mega Mushroom, too, which causes Mario to grow to screen-filling proportions, and allows him to not only crush enemies, but even destroy level scenery; and the Mini Mushroom which makes him shrink into a very small size, allowing him to run over the water and pass tiny gaps.

Originally, Mario could swim underwater indefinitely, but in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, he takes damage underwater, although he will instantly regain health when he reaches the surface. In addition, in these two games, unlike in other games, Mario has either 6 or 8 hit points and regains health by collecting coins, running through a spinning heart item, or collecting a Star or Shine Sprite.

Mario's hat is very important. In Super Mario 64, Mario will take an extra point of damage if he is attacked without his hat, and in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario will automatically take damage after a few seconds when his hat is stolen. In addition to this, Super Mario 64 features different boxes with hats (or 'Caps') inside that, when donned by Mario, offer him different abilities; the Wing Cap, for example, allows him to fly for a limited amount of time (in Super Mario 64 DS, he uses a Special Feather to become Wing Mario), the Metal Cap transforms him into Metal Mario, and the Vanish Cap into Vanish Mario. Mario can also join the Metal Cap and Vanish Cap, transforming into Ultimate Mario, whose abilities are similar to Metal Mario and Vanish Mario together.

In Super Mario 64, the Metal Cap is found in Hazy Maze Cave, where there is a pool of swirling metal which holds a new area. Once a switch in that area is pushed, Metal Caps become available. Metal Mario is completely invulnerable for a period of time. Similar to Sega's Super Sonic, Metal Mario can harm enemies by simply running into them. When Metal Mario is hit, he will sometimes flinch, but will not lose health. Along with this, he does not have to breathe, which allows him to walk in noxious gas and water. His heavy weight allows him to be able to sink in water, helping in some missions. In the enhanced remake, Super Mario 64 DS, the ability to turn into a metal being is granted to Wario instead.

Although Mario is not usually portrayed using weapons in games, one exception is the use of hammers as weapons in some games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, the original Donkey Kong, Super Mario RPG, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and the Paper Mario series. In Super Mario RPG and the Paper Mario series, Mario uses his hammer to hit switches and solve puzzles as well as to hit enemies. In the Wrecking Crew series, Mario wields a hammer to break bricks. The other times that Mario uses weapons are in the Super Smash Bros. series, where he can wield weapons, such as bats, hammers, and laser guns.

In Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii, the successor to Super Mario Sunshine, Mario must once again rescue the kidnapped princess, this time in the reaches of space. Because of the low gravity in space, it is now possible for Mario to jump higher than ever before, experiment with physics and new locations. This and other new movements are executed by the player with the Wii Remote.

Other appearances

left|350px|thumb|"Mario" Closeup from Super Mario Bros 3 Mario has appeared in all three installments of the Super Smash Bros. fighting game series. Mario is classified as one of the games' most balanced characters. Unlockable characters Luigi and Dr. Mario's moves are based on Mario's in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the second game of the series, especially Dr. Mario.

Apart from his platform-game appearances, Mario has appeared in many other games (usually on Nintendo's systems), and has made guest appearances in non-Mario games, such as in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, where he is the referee. Apart from these guest appearances, Mario has appeared in non-platform games as the protagonist of other successful series. Mario's popularity proved helpful in establishing these games and game series at the market. These games are published by Nintendo, but developed by another company, such as Hudson Soft or Camelot Software Planning. Mario has even appeared as a playable character in NBA Street V3 and SSX On Tour, both from Electronic Arts. In The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Mario appeared on a portrait. In Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes he appears as a small statue.

After the relatively unknown Game & Watch title Mario Bombs Away, Mario's first non-platformer game was released in 1990. Dr. Mario's gameplay was similar to Tetris, which was later ported to nearly all of Nintendo's consoles. Mario later explored other genres. Two examples include the educational game Mario Paint, which appeared in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Mario Pinball Land for the Game Boy Advance. 1996's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System marked Mario's first role-playing game. Since then, five role-playing games have followed: Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo GameCube, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS, and Super Paper Mario (a game with both role playing and platformer elements) for the Wii.

Mario's multiplayer games represent a more important sub-range of Mario games. The Mario Kart franchise began with 1992's Super Mario Kart for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and still continues to be the most successful and longest-running kart-racing franchise today, having sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Apart from racing, Mario is also active in the Camelot sports game franchises Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. In 1999, the Hudson game Mario Party was released for the Nintendo 64, a set of mini-games for up to four players, with the most recent incarnations being Mario Party 8, which was released in May 2007 in the U.S. for the Wii; and Mario Party DS, which was released in November 2007. 2005 saw the release of Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix by Konami, the soccer game Super Mario Strikers by Next Level Games, and the baseball game Mario Superstar Baseball by Namco. The basketball game Mario Hoops 3-on-3, published by Square Enix, was released in 2006. In each game, Mario and other characters play against each other, nearly all of them being playable.

In Wii Fit, 8-bit Mario appears as graffiti on a wall in a park,in jogging.

Outside of the platformers with which he is traditionally associated, Mario has appeared in video games in different genres, including the Mario Kart racing series, Nintendo's arcade sports games (such as the Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Super Mario Strikers series), and Nintendo's series of Mario role-playing games (including Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the Paper Mario series, and the Mario & Luigi series).

Mario was featured in a show entitled The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, a live-action movie (very loosely based on the video game series) called Super Mario Bros., the Nintendo Comics System (a series of comics featuring Nintendo characters), and the Nintendo Adventure Books. The show starred "Captain" Lou Albano as Mario, and the movie starred Bob Hoskins. Outside the original games, television shows, film and comics, he has spawned a line of licensed merchandise and made appearances in popular culture. Mario has also appeared in Chowder (TV series) as a cameo. and his brother, Luigi Can be seen in the "Chowder and Mr. Fugu".

Reception and legacy

Mario in Kungsbacka, Sweden

As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is considered to be the most famous character in video game history. The Mario series of video games has sold more than 200 million copies, making it the best-selling video game franchise of all time. Mario was one of the first video game character inductees at the Walk of Game in 2005, alongside Link and Sonic the Hedgehog. Mario was the first video game character to be honored with a wax figure in the legendary Hollywood Wax Museum in 2003. In 1990, a national survey found that Mario was more recognizable to children in the world than Mickey Mouse.

Since his creation, Mario has established himself as a pop culture icon having starred in numerous television shows, comic books, and in a feature film. He has appeared on lunch boxes, t-shirts, magazines, commercials, in candy form, on Shampoo bottles, cereal, badges, and as a plush toy.

External links

• Mario's Megasite — Nintendo of Europe official website
• The Mushroom Kingdom
• Mario Wiki 
• Mario Mayhem