Mario (Japanese: マリオ [mario]), also known as Super Mario, is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo, named after the Italian landlord, Mario Segali, at Nintendo of America. He is one of Nintendo's best-known characters and considered by many to be the most well-known video game character in history, appearing in hundreds of games, many of them bestsellers. He is currently voice acted by Charles Martinet, though in the past has been voice acted by Captain Lou Albano and Tôru Furuya. Mario first appeared in the 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game. Mario's brother Luigi first appeared and introduced in Mario Bros., the arcade game. According to The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and the Super Mario Bros. movie, Mario's full name is actually Mario Mario, while his brother's full name is Luigi Mario. This is generally accepted as fanon.
Overview
Mario is the official video game mascot for Nintendo, and is almost synonymous with the Nintendo brand. Because of this, Mario only appears in Nintendo games on Nintendo systems. There are a few small exceptions; he has appeared in several PC educational titles in the United States, and some very early games for non-Nintendo systems such as the Atari 2600, but these are rare deviations.
Mario first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong as a nameless protagonist, but later was called Jumpman. The game was surprisingly successful, and when the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, Mario was given the starring role in the revolutionary Super Mario Bros. game. Shortly thereafter Mario took on the role of mascot of Nintendo and has since been extensively merchandized. Mario's major rival was Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog who debuted in the early 1990s, and the two mascots competed head-to-head for nearly a decade afterward. In 1996, with the release of the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 marked Mario's 3D debut and made him the very first 2D established video game character to appear in a full 3D game.
Mario has appeared on television in several cartoons, in comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins. He has also appeared on lunchboxes, t-shirts, in candy form, and as a plush toy.
Mario's supporting characters include his younger, taller brother, Luigi, Princess Peach Toadstool, Toad, Yoshi, and King Bowser Koopa, the main villain of the series, among others.
Little is known about Mario's history. Mario games specifically lack over-complicated plots or too much character development as to not limit Mario's future roles. According to some older American manuals and gameplay, Mario and his brother are Italian Americans born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He is said to be a plumber (though he has held several other blue-collar jobs in his lifetime) and wears a red shirt and cap and blue overalls. Newer games and manuals, however, state that he grew up in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom.
Mario's distinctive look is due to technology restrictions in the mid-'80s: with a limited number of pixels and colours, the programmers could not animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear" if his shirt was a solid colour; they did not have the space to give him a mouth; and they could not animate hair, so Mario got overalls, a moustache, and a cap to bypass these problems. Mario's creator Shigeru Miyamoto has also stated when interviewed that Mario wears a cap because he finds it difficult to draw hair.
The surname "Mario" (which would make his full name Mario Mario) was first used in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and in the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros. This was meant to explain how both Mario and his brother Luigi could be known as the "Mario brothers". It is important to note, however, that no official Nintendo materials have confirmed this.
The original Super Mario Bros. series pioneered many concepts in modern video games, such as warp zones, power-ups, end-of-level bosses, and multiple endings. Even to this day, many adventure games operate in the same so-called "hop and bop" style gameplay that was first developed for SMB.
Miyamoto created these from ideas he had seen in other media. One of his most recognizable contributions to his Mario universe is the Super Mushroom, which would enlarge Mario until he came into contact with an enemy. This idea was derived from the "Eat me" and "Drink me" potions in the Lewis Carroll story, Alice in Wonderland. The concept behind warp pipes, colored tubes which sometimes transport Mario to another area, was adopted from Star Trek.
Games
Over the years Mario and his brother, Luigi, have appeared in several popular video games, both their own and others. Here is a chronological list of games Mario has appeared in, or games with other Mario characters:
Year 1981
- Donkey Kong (Arcade) - The first game to feature Mario, although at this point he is named Jumpman.
Year 1982
- Donkey Kong (Game & Watch) - The very first game with Mario, who was a carpenter trying to rescue his girlfriend from an evil ape.
- Donkey Kong Jr. (Arcade, Game & Watch) - Mario is the opponent in this one, and it is up to Donkey Kong Jr. to rescue his father.
- Donkey Kong 2 (Game & Watch)
Year 1983
Year 1985
The title screen of
Super Mario Bros. has gone down in video game history.
- Super Mario Bros. (Famicom/NES) - First scrolling platformer. 32 KB of program; 8 KB of graphics. According to the Guinness Book of World Records [1], SMB is the best-selling game of all time.
- Tennis (Famicom/NES) - Mario was the referee.
- Wrecking Crew (Famicom/NES) - Mario is the protagonist, but gameplay is unrelated to other Mario games. Many NES games featured Mario as a character, even though the game may not have fit the theme of the series.
Year 1986
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Famicom) - Released initially in Japan on the Famicom Disk System as Super Mario Bros. 2, this used a slightly modified version of the original SMB engine with much harder levels. The Lost Levels title was created when this game was brought to the U.S. in Super Mario All-Stars, without the 2. Nintendo did not believe that it would sell well in the US, as the game was voted "too hard" by 94% of a survey of 250 Americans, and the game wasn't seen in America until the SNES release.
Mario stands next to a Mushroom Retainer (later named Toads) at the end of a fortress level.
- Super Mario Bros. Special - A flick-screen version of Super Mario Bros. with all new levels, which was released for the NEC PC88 series.
- Vs. Super Mario Bros. (Arcade) - A mixture of the original SMB and The Lost Levels that ran on the arcade VS Unisystem. Powerups and solution to mazes (e.g. 4-4) have been moved, and more enemies have been added thanks to new flicker-reduction programming, along with other bugfixes.
- All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. (Famicom) - Japan only. A version of the original Super Mario Bros. game with graphics changed to feature radio personalities from a popular Japanese radio station.
Year 1987
- Pinball (Famicom/NES) - Mario appears in the Bonus Stage, where he maneuvers a platform to keep the ball from getting away, and then catch the Princess when she falls from above.
- Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (Famicom/NES) - Mario is the referee.
Year 1988
- Super Mario Bros. 2 / Super Mario Bros. USA (NES) - Released at first in markets outside of Japan, this is a modified version of a Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic with some of the graphics replaced by Mario-themed graphics. This game tends to be overlooked by some Mario fans as being the runt; some of the characters introduced in this game have now become staples of the Mario world, including Bob-ombs, Snifits, Pokey the Cactus, and Shyguys.
- Return of Mario Bros. - sequel to Mario Bros.; Japan only
- (Famicom Disk Drive)
Year 1989
Year 1990
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (Famicom/NES) - Mario gains several new abilities, including the first appearance of his ability to fly. Also of note is that this is the best selling video game that was not bundled with a console. [2]
- Qix (Game Boy) - Mario appeared in cut-scenes.
- Dr. Mario (NES & Game Boy) - Puzzle game with mechanics similar to Tetris and Columns.
- F-1 Race (Game Boy)
- Golf (Game Boy)
Year 1991
- Mario the Juggler (Game & Watch)
Year 1992
Year 1993
- Mario Is Missing! (SNES and NES) - Luigi must restore artifacts to landmarks of famous cities around the world and defeat Bowser to save Mario. North America only
- Mario's Time Machine (SNES and NES) - Mario must restore historical artifacts to their proper time and place (and in the NES version, save Yoshi). North America only
- Mario and Wario (Super Famicom) - Japan only
- Super Mario All-Stars (Super Famicom/SNES) (in Japan, Super Mario Collection) - collection of original SMB, SMB: The Lost Levels (SMB2 in Japan), SMB2 (SMUSA in Japan), and SMB3, with enhanced graphics and sound.
- Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters (SNES) North America only
- Mario's Early Years! Fun with Numbers (SNES) North America only
- Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun (SNES) North America only
- Yoshi's Safari (Super Famicom/SNES)
Year 1994
Year 1995
Year 1996
- Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) - First Mario platform game for the Nintendo 64. Also Mario's first appearance in true 3D. In addition to characters it featured 3D items for the first time, such as the Green Block.
- Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64)
- Kirby's Super Star (Super Famicom/SNES)
- Mario's Picross 2 (Game Boy) - Japan only.
Year 1997
- Game & Watch Gallery (Game Boy)
- Game & Watch Gallery 2 (Game Boy)
- Mario Teaches Typing 2 (PC)
- Mario's FUNdamentals (PC)
Year 1998
- Wrecking Crew '98 (Super Famicom) - Japan only.
- Mario Party (Nintendo 64) - First party-style game with the Mario characters.
Year 1999
Year 2000
- Paper Mario (Nintendo 64) - Mario's second RPG, this time in true 3D, but with 2D characters.
- Mario Party 3 (Nintendo 64) - noted for confusion between Mario Party 3's box art and that of the original Mario Party; the original had a die showing a number 3 below the word "PARTY" on the box. Also noted for same initials as MPEG audio layer 3, as the press release points out.
Year 2001
Year 2002
Year 2003
Year 2004
Year 2005
Spin-off franchises
Here is a list of different Mario series franchises:
In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario is a balanced character (as he is in many games featuring other playable choices). He is said to "reflect the actual skills of the player", according to the Super Smash Bros. Melee "Smash" character trophy description. His trademark move is the fireball. His fireballs are affected by gravity (unlike Luigi's fireballs). Also, Mario's fireballs are red in color, whereas Luigi's are green.
There are ten trophies of him in the game: three Mario ones, three Dr. Mario ones, one as he appeared in Paper Mario, one Racoon Mario, one Metal Mario, and one Baby Mario. In Japan, there is another trophy, showing Mario on Yoshi's back.
In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, his weapon is the fireball. In Super Mario Kart, the computer controlled Mario has unlimited invincibility. In Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario is an average jumper and second only to Toad in lifting ability.
See also
External links
