Mario
- For fighter info, see Mario (SSB), Mario (SSBM), and Mario (SSBB).
| Mario | |
|---|---|
 Official artwork of Mario. | |
| Universe | Mario |
| Debut | Donkey Kong (1981) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | SSB Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate |
| Console/platform of origin | Arcade (Donkey Kong) Nintendo Entertainment System (Mario Bros.) |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Place of origin | Mushroom Kingdom |
| Created by | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Designed by | Shigeru Miyamoto (Donkey Kong) Yoichi Kotabe (Super Mario Bros. series) Shigefumi Hino (Super Mario World) |
| Voice actor | Video games Ronald B. Ruben (1991-1997) Mark Graue (1994) Charles Martinet (1995-present) Television Peter Cullen (1983-1985) "Captain" Lou Albano (1989-1990) Walker Boone (1990-1991) |
| Japanese voice actor | Video games Charles Martinet (1995-present) Anime Toru Furuya (1986) |
Mario (マリオ) is a prominent character in Nintendo games and is the long-running eponymous hero in the extensive Mario series of video games. Ubiquitously viewed as the mascot of Nintendo, Mario is the most well-known video game character in the world, having been appeared in over 200 video games, and he appears as a main playable fighter in all three Super Smash Bros. games. Mario was also the rival to Sega's Sonic The Hedgehog in the 1990s. His voice actor in all three Super Smash Bros. games is Charles Martinet.
Character description
Years before video gaming exploded into mainstream popularity, prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto designed the original arcade game Donkey Kong in 1981, debuting Mario as the main playable character and Donkey Kong as his in-game nemesis. Mario's character design was heavily influenced by the extreme technical limitations of digital games at the time; as a small batch of pixels, Mario was given a mustache under his big nose to show he had a face, and suspenders with his shirt to show a distinction between his arms and body. In this game Mario was originally known as "Jumpman" in the initial Japanese release, and he was portrayed as a carpenter whose girlfriend Pauline (originally "Lady" in Japan) was held captive by the colossal ape Donkey Kong, and must jump his way over the barrels and flames DK throws at him to rescue Pauline.
After his initial appearance in this pioneering game, the sequel Donkey Kong Junior introduced Mario (under his proper name for the first time in Japan) and was identified as of Italian ethnicity by Nintendo's president Hiroshi Yamauchi; Mario was named as sauch because of his comical resemblance to Nintendo of America's landlord Mario Segale. Then Mario and his newly introduced brother Luigi starred in the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. as plumbers.
Miyamoto's next game was the world-famous Super Mario Bros. for the Famicom/NES, the game that singlehandedly brought video gaming into the mainstream and made Nintendo a major company in a now major industry. Many iconic aspects of Mario and his franchise were established: Mario and Luigi now live in the Mushroom Kingdom ruled under Princess "Peach" Toadstool and her mushroom-retaining Toad servants, and the turtle king Bowser kidnaps the princess for Mario to rescue, and Mario must bound across side-scrolling platform stages to rescue her, jumping on the heads of common enemies like Goombas and Koopa Troopas to defeat them. He starts out tiny but can grow to double his size if he grabs a Super Mushroom powerup, gain the ability to shoot out fireballs by grabbing a Fire Flower, and can turn invincible for a short period of time by grabbing a Starman. Super Mario Bros. became a franchise with these elements, lasered into video game iconography, consistent in future games in the Mario series.
For over twenty years afterward, Mario would star in many, many games for Nintendo systems. Mario and his accompanying franchise can be viewed as Nintendo's thematic tileset with which to create games of a whimsical, colorful, and light-hearted nature. Mario himself is meant to be a character anyone can enjoy playing as, and can fit well as a protagonist figure and/or main balanced character in many genres of games; to this end he is not portrayed as a character that undergoes development like what you would see with a character in an epic RPG's story. He in fact is rarely depicted speaking coherent English sentences. In contemporary Mario games, his high-pitched Italian voice, provided by Charles Martinet, is used mainly for grunts and yells, and the occasional catchphrase ("Mama-mia!", "It's-a-me, Mario!", "Let's-a-go!"). As a semi-silent, optimistic protagonist, Mario is inherently easy for players of his various games to appreciate, and he is ideally the most balanced selectable character in any game he appears in.
Genres of games in which Mario appears in a playable role include the traditional 2D side-scrolling platformer, including various sequels to Super Mario Bros., the seminal Super NES launch platformer Super Mario World which introduced Yoshi as a mount of sorts for Mario, and the DS homage to these games in the form of New Super Mario Bros.; 3D platforming adventures such as the especially seminal Super Mario 64 3D platforming adventure game launching for the Nintendo 64, which is one of the most influential and best-reviewed games ever, followed up by Super Mario Sunshine for GameCube and Super Mario Galaxy for Wii; the Mario Kart series of power-up and obstacle course-based racing games, whose best-reviewed entry is Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for GameCube; a long-running series of multiplayer-based party games named Mario Party; various series of Mario-themed Sports titles such as Mario Golf and Mario Tennis; hands-on RPGs such as Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for GameCube and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS; and a puzzle game named Dr. Mario, where Mario in the garb of a medicine man throws pills into a bottle to combat viruses (his persona in this game is also a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, see Dr. Mario). Throughout a lot of these games have been appearances by a baby version of himself as well, named Baby Mario, who's often treated as a separate character. Mario made his first appearance in a fighting game in 1999's Super Smash Bros., and has appeared traditionally in all subsequent installments of that series.
In Super Smash Bros.
As a playable character
- Main article: Mario (SSB)
Mario makes his first appearance in a fighting game in the original Super Smash Bros. as a starting playable character. Like in many other games, he is touted as the most balanced character with no real strengths or weaknesses, therefore, new players of the game are encouraged to play as him first. In the competitive meta-game, he can combo well but lacks a multipurpose finisher. His lack of outstanding strengths make him a middle-tier fighter. His B-move shoots a moderately fast, bouncing, low-damage Fireball in the direction he is facing, his B-Up is an uppercut third-jump called the Super Jump Punch which can hit multiple times for minor damage (and coins briefly appear with each hit), and his B-Down move is the Mario Tornado, where he whirls his body to damage foes around him, before throwing them up into the air.
Mario's in-game character description reads:
- Mario
- Although best known as the mustachioed plumber who battles the turtle Tribe with his distinct jumping action, this internationally-famous hero has also acted as a referee, a driver, and even a doctor! He's been linked to Princess Peach of Mushroom Kingdom for years, but to this day their true relationship remains a mystery.
- Works: Super Mario Bros. (NES), Super Mario Kart (SNES), Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64)
In Super Smash Bros. Melee
As a playable character
- Main article: Mario (SSBM)
By tradition, Mario returns as the most balanced character of the Melee roster, and new Melee players are encouraged to try out the game as him because of that. As a starting playable character in this game, he is touted as the most balanced character of the game's character roster, much like his appearances in other games, with no real strengths but no outstanding weaknesses either; therefore, new players of the game are encouraged to play as him first. His new B-Forward move is whipping out his yellow Cape from Super Mario World to turn the enemy in front of him facing the opposite direction, which is useful for diveting enemy attack and recovery. In the competitive meta-game, he can easily combo opponents, has a long wavedash, and is good at juggling opponents, but it is his lack of a reliable finisher that causes him to remain in the game's Middle Tier; his Smash attacks do not even feature all that much knockback and range, impairing his ability to fight like a character like Marth. He also has low grab range and bad recovery. It is notable that in both versions Mario has great combo potential coupled with the lack of a good finisher.
Trophies
By tradition, Mario as a playable character is featured on his personal 3 trophies. His normal trophy is acquired by beating the Classic mode with Mario on any difficulty, and his Smash Red and Smash Blue trophies are acquired the same way by beating the Adventure and All-Star modes, respectively.
Other trophies featuring Mario are Raccoon Mario, Metal Mario, Paper Mario, and Mario and Yoshi. The last trophy in particular is especially notable for being one of two "gift trophies" never findable during normal play, and in fact can only be acquired through hacking. There is also a trophy for Baby Mario, a baby version of Mario that has appeared in some Mario games.
Mario's Classic Mode trophy, and his Baby Mario trophy, read as follows:
Mario
Known worldwide as Mr. Nintendo, Mario uses his incredible jumping ability to thwart the evil Bowser time after time. While he's best known as a hero, Mario has played many roles, including racer, doctor, golfer, and villain. His tastes have changed over 20 years of gaming; he long ago swapped the colors of his shirt and overalls.
- Donkey Kong, Arcade 1981
Baby Mario
Long ago, when the stork was carrying Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to the Mario household, the stork was ambushed, causing Baby Mario to tumble onto Yoshi's Island. This marked the beginning of the Yoshi's adventure to deliver Baby Mario to his parents. Since then, Baby Mario's been spotted on golf courses and tennis courts.
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (10/95)
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
As a Playable Character
- Main article: Mario (SSBB)
In a maneuver both traditional and expected, Mario is a confirmed playable character in the Wii fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is ostensibly meant to be the most balanced character like before. He has undergone a visual redesign, but he is apparently essentially the same fighter as he appeared in Melee, retaining all of his moves (although his former Down B attack, the Mario Tornado, has become an aerial attack, unexpectedly replaced by F.L.U.D.D.). His Fireball looks more realistic. Like all of the games other returning characters, he comes equipped with a high-end new Final Smash attack which can be used once he collects a Smash Ball. His Final Smash is the Mario Finale, where he projects a colossal, intertwining fireball to engulf all opponents in his direction. The Mario Finale extends to both well above and well below Mario's position, so Smash Bros. DOJO!! recommends that he is standing on a moderately elevated platform for maximum effect.
Trophies
Mario has a trophy that is awarded each time the Classic mode is completed with Mario on any difficulty. See Mario Finale for the trophy description of Mario's Final Smash:
Mario
A familiar overall-clad figure who is Nintendo's flagship character. His courage and jumping ability have seen him through countless adventures. He's a multi-talented plumber with the knowledge of a physician, a top-notch golfer, and a veteran tennis umpire. Is his jumping prowess a boon from his girder-climbing days?
- Donkey Kong (1981)
- Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Baby Mario
Mario as a baby...a crybaby at that. Although he lacks overalls, we can see the trademark red hat even at this young age. Everyone's favorite hero was riding Yoshi and adventuring from his youngest days, and even as a baby, it's clear that Mario had quite the nose.
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Super Nintendo)
- Yoshi's Island DS (Nintendo DS)
- Mario and Luigi: Partners in time (Nintendo DS)
