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is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto and the official mascot of Nintendo. He first appeared in Donkey Kong, though his original name was Jumpman. Mario was originally portrayed with two-dimensional sprites, but in later games he is a three-dimensional, polygonal model. Because of the common reference to him and his brother Luigi as the "Mario Brothers," it has been speculated his full name is Mario Mario. However, Nintendo of America had stated in the 1980s that neither Mario nor Luigi have last names. He is a short, pudgy Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom, where he is regarded as a hero by many; he is best known for constantly thwarting the plans of the evil King Bowser to kidnap Princess Peach and subjugate the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario is well known for his plucky personality, his enthusiasm and spirit in the face of enemies, and his unexpected physical agility. He is also known for his cooperation with his brother Luigi and his close relationship with Princess Peach whom he has repeatly saved. He also has an evil doppelgänger by the name of Wario. As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is the most recognizable character in video game history, becoming synonymous with video games. Mario games, as a whole, have sold more than 285 million units, making the Mario series the top-selling series of all time. He has appeared in over a hundred games, many of them best-sellers. Outside of the platformers with which he is traditionally associated, Mario has appeared in video games in many different genres, including the Mario Kart racing series, many of Nintendo's arcade sports games (such as the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series), and Nintendo's series of Mario role playing games (RPGs) (including Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the Paper Mario series, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and its sequel, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time). Outside the original games, television shows, film and comics, he also spawned a line of licensed merchandise. In video games Mario made his debut in the arcade game Donkey Kong (1981.) In Donkey Kong Junior (1982), he was the villain, and in the ending cinematic, he is knocked out (although obviously he is not dead because he is in future games). The games were so successful that he carried over into an arcade spin-off, Mario Bros., (1983) which boasted a simultaneous two-player mode and introduced his taller yet younger brother Luigi. His next appearance would be in Super Mario Bros. for the wildly successful Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the console credited with reviving the home video game market. Super Mario Bros. sold over 40 million copies (pack-in copies included) making it the best-selling video game of all time, and the game has been ported to numerous Nintendo consoles since. Overall, Mario games have sold approximately 285 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 his friends also appeared in some of the later Game & Watch games. Mario has explored just about every genre of video game. Aside from action platformers, the plucky plumber has also starred in puzzle games, racing games, sports games, fighting games, role-playing games, educational games etc. Future announced Mario titles include the following: Super Paper Mario for the Gamecube and Wii, Mario Strikers Charged for Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, and Super Mario Galaxy for Wii. Appearances on non-Nintendo platforms Nintendo holds the copyright to Mario in many nations and retained these rights for its own use with few exceptions. However, Mario appeared in quite a few educational PC titles in the United States such as Mario Teaches Typing and in some very early games for non-Nintendo systems such as the Atari 2600 and the Mattel Intellivision. Philips made several games, such as Hotel Mario, featuring Nintendo characters for its ill-fated Philips CD-i console which was the result of a compromise with Nintendo over failing to release a joint CD-ROM product. Mario Is Missing!, another PC game, was later ported to the NES and SNES much like its sequel Mario's Time Machine. Super Mario Bros. Special, the first sequel to Super Mario Bros., was also on a non-Nintendo platform. There are many free fan-made games such as Mario Forever and *, and mini-movies using the Mario likeness available on the Internet such as the violent Rise of the Mushroom Kingdom cartoon series. Fan-made games vary from clones of the original games to more novel games that merely incorporate the Mario characters. Fans have produced and distributed simple games incorporating Mario on graphing calculators such as the TI-83. There have also been a number of fan-made games using the Super Mario World engine, and even some using the Super Mario Bros. 3 engine. * There also was atari games called Mario Bros.,and Donkey Kong. Special cameo appearances In the days of the NES and Game Boy, Mario made several cameos. In sports titles, he was often depicted as the referee (e.g. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Tennis); sometimes, however, he was a playable character (e.g. Nintendo's early Golf title). Some of his other cameos were more bizarre, such as the one in the Breakout clone Alleyway, which featured Mario on the game's box-art and also as the "pilot" of the paddle. He was also featured on the Game Over screen for the Game Boy version of Qix. In Pinball, Mario appears in a "bonus stage," holding up a platform on which Pauline is to be caught. The platform is also used in game play; the player's ball bounces off its surface, striking a series of numbered lamps that cause the floor underneath Pauline's lofty holding cage to break, which will (presumably) cause her to fall to safety. In the stage, the player controls Mario and can only move left or right. Mario made brief appearances in three games from Nintendo's other popular franchise, the Legend of Zelda series. In , his portrait hangs in certain houses. In , a picture of him (along with Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Toad, and Bowser) is visible in the castle courtyard. In , one of the Happy Mask Salesman's masks depicts Mario's face. Mario also had a minor appearance in the game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest when Diddy is ranked among the Nintendo icons based on the amount of Donkey Kong coins he possesses. Link from The Legend of Zelda and Yoshi also appear. In 1999, Mario was included in the cast for Nintendo's popular fighting game, Super Smash Bros., for the Nintendo 64. He returned with the cast from the original in the 2001 GameCube sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and will also appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, an upcoming game for the Wii. In this series, he is considered a well-balanced character and is easy for most players to use. He is a somewhat fast character. He was equipped with a meteor smash (Aerial Forward+A) in Melee because he was averagely good in Smash Bros. but needed a better attack. In , he appears on Otacon's desk next to a Yoshi figurine. When players shoot the Mario figure, they regain HP. In the GameCube version of NBA Street V3, Mario makes a cameo alongside Luigi and Peach as their own playable basketball team, along with their own exclusive Nintendo themed court. SSX On Tour also features the three and an exclusive Nintendo themed track. Mario has also made a cameo appearance in the Nintendo DS game Nintendogs. In this game, his hat can be unlocked, as well as a toy Mario in a radio-controlled kart. The latter is only unlockable on the Dachshund & Friends version. There are also throwing items that can be used in fetch such as a '?' block and a mushroom that look like those used in Super Mario Bros.. In the game Animal Crossing: Wild World, both Mario's hat and shirt are items that your player character can wear. In the game, the hat is called "Big Bro's Hat", the shirt being named the "Big Bro's Shirt". An accessory can also be bought in the game that resembles a fake mustache and nose called the "Big Bro's Stache". In late July 2006, retail toy store Toys 'R Us used its "DS Download Stations" to give players six exclusive Mario items: a fire bar, a Starman, a 1-up mushroom, a goal flag, a green pipe, and a '?' block. In 1080 Avalanche, Mario appeared on the bottom of a snowboard and as an ice sculpture. In the game Pilotwings 64, Mario's face can be seen with those of the Presidents on Mt. Rushmore. If his face is shot, it turns into Wario's face. In Pokémon Red and Blue, in the Mimic's house in Saffron City, if the player looks at the TV, there is a "game with Mario wearing a bucket on his head" in progress. This is a reference to a game released only in Japan entitled Mario and Wario - where Mario would be moving in a level, with a bucket on his head. Mario makes a secret appearance in Animal Crossing, in which he can be unlocked as a statue in the player's room. Along with this is a silver Luigi statue, and a series of Mario items. They are extremely rare - The only way to get them is to tell Tom Nook the universal codes that Nintendo released in its magazine. The statues are found in Tom's raffles but they are rare. Mario is also set to star along side Square-Enix's Dragon Quest characters in the Nintendo DS version of Itadaki Street Special. In the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, two characters named Muigin and Larion can be found in the Un' Goro Crater. Larion, who is clad in red and blue, is based on Mario while Muigin, in green and blue, is based on his brother Luigi. Also, Muigin (Alliance side) and Larion (Horde) begin quests where the player must hunt Bloodpetals, which look suspiciously like the Piranha Plants from the various Super Mario Brothers games. Upon quest completion, Muigin references previous injuries when attempting to jump on the Bloodpetals, stating "Plants shouldn't be so strong!" In the Rockstar Games game Bully, Random Nerd NPCs can be heard saying "They say that kids imitate video game characters, but I have yet to be turned into a moustached plumber." Characteristics Mario is a plumber motivated by a sense of justice, though at times he has been depicted as a doctor and numerous other professions. His distinctive appearance was defined somewhat by the limitations of early video game hardware. Though he began with the ability to jump high, in subsequent games, he received additional powers such as throwing fire balls (pyrokinesis) and flight, and additional playable versions, including Frog suit Mario, Tanooki suit Mario, and Metal Mario, through the use of power-ups. In adventure games, Mario has used varying techniques for defeating enemies and solving puzzles in his games, both by using his own abilities and the properties of items or abilities of allies he encountered. ' Mario's appearance has frequently altered ever since. He originally wore red overalls over a blue shirt but that has now changed to the inverse. However, Mario is depicted with red overalls over a brown shirt in the original Super Mario Bros.. His hair has also changed a bit. In promotional artwork for Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World, he has very light brown hair. More recent depictions show his hair in a darker brown. Mario's height has been of much debate in the fanbase. Nintendo Official Magazine in Europe produced a pack of cards several years ago stating that Mario is 135 centimeters (4 ft 4 in) tall. However, recently, a Japanese shopping site known as Trend One announced a limited run of actual life-size Mario statues with a height of 155 centimeters (5 ft) licensed by Nintendo with claims that this height was based on actual background story.* Many fans believe Mario is usually "Super" in his 3-D games based on his size compared to other characters in the game. This is somewhat supported by games such as New Super Mario Bros. and ''Donkey Kong'' for the Game Boy.* Over the years the promotional artwork style has changed too. In the art released alongside early games he was shown in 2D. With the advent of the Nintendo 64 this changed, and he was rendered in 3D. Since then, successive 3D renders have depicted him with more detail and improved texturing. The Super Smash Bros. series has depicted him with still more detail, including a noticeable denim texture. Personality Mario is always portrayed in the games and other media as being a kind-hearted and brave hero, known to fight "to the bitter end," as Paper Mario puts it. He helps those in need without any hesitation. Despite his status as a great hero, Mario is very humble. His cheerful personality and love of life make him a very approachable video game character. He also has a love of pasta and pizza, as the stereotypical Italian does. This was first started in the cartoons, but soon afterward, Nintendo supported the idea by having Mario dream of pasta. Not much else is known about Mario's personality, as much of it remains hidden due to the fact that the character never openly converses in the games. Mario's cheerful personality is reflected in his voice, which since Super Mario 64 has been provided by Charles Martinet. Although often limited to simple exclamatory noises ("Woo!", "Woohoo!" etc.), he also often enthusiastically announces the titles of his games. An infamous catchphrase used by Mario is "It's-a me, Mario". Although he largely speaks in English (with a thick Italian accent), he has been known to sporadically break into Italian (for example, in Super Mario Sunshine he occasionally says "arrivederci" upon losing a life), and naturally says "Mama mia!" when in distress. Occupation and hobbies
Doctor Mario Marking his first appearance in 1990, as a doctor, Mario fights various germs by throwing pills into an infected jar that would match the color of the specific germ. When a certain number of color matching pills hit the germ, it is destroyed. In 2001, Mario appeared in Dr. Mario 64 in an updated version of the original puzzle game (fighting an epidemic with Mega vitamins that a scientist steals, and either Dr. Mario or Wario try to get it back.) Mario was also in doctor form as a secret character in the Nintendo GameCube hit, Super Smash Bros. Melee. Dr. Mario was also parodied in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! for the Game Boy Advance in a mini-game called "Dr. Wario"; an unlockable remake of the original game replacing Mario with Wario, using slightly different character designs for the viruses, and only the "Chill" music. Mario's most recent appearance as a doctor was in 2005 on the Game Boy Advance. Baby Mario
Relations 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 the giant ape himself. 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 in North America until the late 1990s). Pauline is soon to return in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, although whether or not she still has a relationship with Mario is unknown at this point, especially since the Mario Toy Company has expanded its toy line to include Mini-Peach toys, among others. Mario has rescued 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-based games), it is evident that there is a mutual affection between the two characters. It has been revealed that Mario's nemesis Bowser is in love with Peach, which explains why he constantly steals her away from Mario. Oddly enough, in Super Princess Peach, the roles Peach and Mario usually have are reversed, and Peach gets to act as the hero. Mario once rescued Princess Daisy in Super Mario Land on the Game Boy, at the end of which Mario received a kiss. Additionally, the Japanese-only album Super Mario Compact Disco mentions Daisy as Mario's number-one girl (Peach does get a mention, but only once during the song "Super Mario USA"). In sports titles, though, Daisy frequents with Luigi more often, leading to some fan speculation that she may be romantically inclined toward Luigi rather than Mario. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the text on Princess Daisy's trophy states that "after her appearance in Mario Golf, some gossips started portraying her as Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach." In the Game Cube game , it is revealed that Mario is quite popular with many of the female characters. After Mario rescues Goombella from Lord Crump and his X-Naut soldiers at the beginning of the game, she rewards him with a kiss and at the end of the game in Goombella's e-mail it seems she has had a crush on him as well. Also when Mario and his companions return Flurrie's necklace to her, she forcibly gives him a kiss. Another recurring character, Ms. Mowz (who is also an optional partner) is instantly smitten by Mario when she first meets him and his companions and continuously flirts with him and gives him a kiss before she leaves every time she runs into them, much to the dismay of Goombella. Finally, another character who seemed to have a crush on Mario is Vivian, one of the Three Shadow Sirens. When Mario's name and body are stolen and is turned into a shadow of himself, he helps her search for a bomb she needed, and she is touched by his kindness, even though she becomes aware that he has worse problems than her. At the end of the game, just as Mario is about to board the boat back to the Mushroom Kingdom with Princess Peach and Toadsworth, Vivian sounds like she is about to reveal her feelings for Mario but stops and says that he and Peach would make a great couple. All of the female characters that join Mario's team have kissed him at least once. Not only that, but Beldam also expressed that she found Mario attractive as well when she and her two sisters were glancing at the sketch of him that was given them to Grodus in order for them to find Mario and his friends. It should also be noted that during the scene in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars in which Mario crashes Booster's wedding, Mario receives a kiss from Peach if he recovers her accessories from the aisles quickly. However, if he takes too much time, Peach tricks Bowser and Booster into him. Bowser quickly mentions that (regardless of if he's kissing a Mario or Booster) it tastes like sandpaper. She also tells Mario that he is her "knight in shining armor" and hopes that she will get married someday. There is also a female Toad in the game that says to Mario that she and he will "get hitched", but asks him to give her time to grow into her mother's wedding dress. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Game Boy saw the arrival of Wario, Mario's demented and greedy alter ego. Though there is no official, tangible relationship between the two, it is clear that Wario is designed to act, in a way, as an anti-Mario, similar to the relationship between Bizarro, a Superman comic book character, and Superman himself. Abilities and techniques 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, fliping 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 also kick or toss these shells at enemies or barriers in many games. Beyond this core mechanic, many 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 also 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, also fall more slowly than after a normal jump. Mario also makes use of a wide array of items in most games in which he appears. The most prominent and best known 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 enables Mario to throw fireballs at enemies (pyrokinesis), and a Starman renders Mario temporarily impervious to harm. In addition, beginning with Super Mario Bros. 3, leaves or feathers have been used as items that give Mario the ability 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 included the Frog Mario frog suit, granting Mario improved jumping and swimming abilities (Super Mario Bros. 3); the feather, giving Mario a cape and allowing Mario to fly, and the Power Balloon, allowing 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); a carrot that made Mario sprout rabbit ears, 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. also introduced the Mega Mushroom, which causes Mario to grow to screen-filling proportions, and allows him to not only crush enemies, but even destroy level scenery. Originally, Mario could swim underwater indefinitely, but in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, he will take damage underwater, although he will instantly regain health when he reaches the surface. The lack of a separate underwater health gauge allowed Super Mario 64 players to recover health by diving under water then returning to the surface, reducing the game's difficulty in some places. 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 also 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 a number of different boxes with hats (or 'Caps') inside that, when donned by Mario, offer him different abilities; the Winged Cap, for example, allows him to fly for a limited amount of time, while the Metal Cap transforms him into Metal Mario. Although Mario is not usually portrayed using weapons in games, one exception is the use of hammers as a weapons in some games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, as well as the original Donkey Kong and the Super Mario RPG series. In the Super Mario RPG 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, but not offensively. The other times that Mario would use weapons is in the Super Smash Bros. Series where he can wield bats, hammers, laser guns and others. Metal Mario Metal Mario started as a powerup for Mario in Super Mario 64. In Hazy Maze Cave, there was a pool of swirling metal which held a new area. Once the switch in that area was pushed, Metal Caps were available. Metal Mario was completely invulnerable. Similar to Sega's Super Sonic, Metal Mario could harm enemies by simply running into them. The ability was limited to a time limit. When Metal Mario was hit, he would sometimes flinch, but would be completely invincible and not lose health. Along with this, Metal Mario would not have to breathe, which allowed him to walk in noxious gas and water. His heavy weight would allow him to be able to sink in water, helping in some missions. Metal Mario would also lose the ability to speak (which, while not having any significant impact on overall story or gameplay, only serves to show that Mario became composed entirely of metal). In the enhanced remake, Super Mario 64 DS, the ability to turn into an all-metal being would be granted to Wario instead. In Super Smash Bros, Metal Mario would make a return appearance as a sub-boss. He delivers a heavy amount of damage to opponents and takes double the normal amount of damage to be knocked from the stage. On easier difficulties he merely hits the player if their character gets in the way. However, the higher the difficulty, the more aggressive the character became to the point where Metal Mario would be using extremely furious Smash attacks with devastating combos. The arena is set in that of a metallic mine to give an interesting atmosphere to the fight. Metal Mario was given such a heavy weight in this game as to be absurd, with damages of up to 300% necesarry to KO, unlike the usual 100%. On the other hand, once he was knocked off the stage, he had an extremely difficult time getting back up; his heavy weight made him drop very fast, much like, well, like a chunk of metal. In Super Smash Bros Melee, Metal Mario would return a little more aggressive than before; however, after unlocking Luigi, it would not be just Metal Mario the player would have to contend with, but the "Metal Bros.". Metal Mario would be aided by Metal Luigi, while both characters would be extremely difficult on the higher difficulty levels due to the increase in attacks and combos from the last game. Other metal versions of characters could appear as enemies in Classic mode, although Metal Mario (and Metal Luigi if Luigi was unlocked) would be encountered every time while playing in Adventure Mode. The Metal Box was included as a power up (which bore a resemblance to the original box in Super Mario 64) and its effect allowed any character to transform into a metal version of themselves. These Metal characters were not nearly as heavy as Super Smash Bros.'s Metal Mario, but they were still substantially heavier. Metal Mario appeared as a secret unlockable character in Dr. Mario 64 and in Mario Golf. In Mario Golf he was very strong, having an even longer drive than the super-powerful Bowser. Conception and creation
In popular culture Since his creation, Mario has established himself as a pop culture icon having starred in three television shows, comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins. Nintendo of Japan also produced a 60-minute anime feature starring Mario and his friends in 1986, although this film has never been released outside of Japan. He has also appeared on lunchboxes, t-shirts, in magazines, in commercials, in candy form, and as a plush toy. The animated series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show featured a live-action series of skits starring (former WWF manager) "Captain" Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi. There was even a book series, the Nintendo Adventure Books. In 1990, a national survey found that Mario was more recognizable to children in the world than Mickey Mouse . In addition, Mario made history in 2003 by becoming the first video game character to be honored with a wax figure in the legendary Hollywood Wax Museum. In 2005, Jonathan Mann even wrote an opera based on the character, and performed The Mario Opera at the California Institute of the Arts. In mass media
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