Mario

For the series of games Mario is in, see Mario (series).

Mario (マリオ Mario) is the main protagonist of the Mario series and the mascot for Nintendo. He was created by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, and has appeared in over 200 games. Originally, he only appeared in platform games. However, he now also features in sporting games, racing games, and fighting games and others. He is considered by many to be the most famous character in video game history, and is known to many as "The Face of Video Games," having 6 games out of the top 10 on the list of best-selling video games of all time.

Mario is a short Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. In the Mario series, he uses his well-known jump and combat abilities to stop Bowser from kidnapping Princess Peach and taking over the Mushroom Kingdom. Along with Bowser, he has had other enemies such as Wario and Donkey Kong. In the video games, Mario is voiced by Charles Martinet.

History
Mario first appeared in 1981, in the Donkey Kong arcade video game, as a carpenter named "Jumpman." There are two possible theories why Mario was named such: a heated argument ensued between Nintendo's warehouse landlord Mario Segale, and the president of Nintendo at the time, Minoru Arakawa. After a resolution was brought between the two, fellow Nintendo employees chose to name the character in the game Mario, after him. Theory 2: There was a family-owned restaurant nearby Nintendo of America called Mario and Luigi's.

Due to hardware limitations at the time, Miyamoto dressed Mario in bright red overalls and a blue shirt to contrast against the background. He also gave him white gloves, so that the player could see the arms moving on the screen. A cap was added so that Miyamoto would not have to animate the character's hair when he jumped up and down. A mustache was added for the same reasons, as it was difficult to animate facial expressions at the time.

Mario was developed as a "go to" character for games that could be put in any title as needed. At the time, Miyamoto did not expect Mario to become popular. Over time, his appearance has become more defined, for example a red "M" in a white circle has been added to his hat, and gold buttons have been added to his overalls. He has appeared in many television programs, video releases, comic books, and a feature-length film. He has also spawned a series of branded merchandise.

Donkey Kong arcade games
Mario was a carpenter and plumber who had come in possession of Donkey Kong and his son, Donkey Kong Jr. first appearing in Donkey Kong. Mario, unwittingly, mistreated the ape by putting him in a circus. In the circus Donkey Kong had to use his legs to balance the barrel he was on, juggle pineapples and avoid deadly flames. One day, Donkey Kong captured Mario's girlfriend Pauline and took onto a construction site. Mario went on to rescue his girlfriend avoiding Barrels thrown at him by Donkey Kong and a fire started by the ape. After going through four different areas on the construction site Mario rescued Pauline and Donkey Kong was recaptured.

Mario went on to imprison Donkey Kong in a cage in Donkey Kong Jr. Donkey Kong Jr. went on to try and rescue his father. Mario attempted to stop the young ape and released various types of traps mainly consisting of animals. Junior eventually did make it to his father and the two returned to Donkey Kong Island just after Donkey Kong made a shot at Stanley the Bugman's greenhouse. This was the only time that Mario was assigned as a villain.

Forgetting about Donkey Kong and meeting up with his brother Luigi, the two would be called to repair a badly damaged Brooklyn sewer line. Alone in the sewers, they would find the line to be damaged by strange creatures. The brothers would be forced to fight off the creatures in a tough battle. The brothers would, albeit briefly, see Bowser for the first time to be in charge of the creatures, but would not fight the reptile king. After defeating the creatures, Mario and Luigi would hear the voice of Princess Peach and would follow it into the Mushroom Kingdom.

Super Mario Bros.
After ending up in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario and Luigi attempted to stop Bowser's reign of terror and defeated seven Fake Bowsers and freed Toads. Mario and Luigi were then able to defeat the real Bowser and freed Princess Peach.

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
After defeating Bowser and his minions, He comes back and kidnaps the Princess again. Mario and Luigi attempt to stop him but Bowser has set traps around the kingdom. Mario and Luigi manage to get past these traps and stop the evil king yet again and save the Princess.



Super Mario Bros. 2
Mario and Luigi ended up in the dreamland Subcon to end the evil Frog Tyrant Wart's rule over the land. Aided by Peach and Toad, the brothers were able to defeat Wart and free the Subcon fairies. Mario then looked for a while before returning to his sleep.



Super Mario Bros. 3
Bowser returned yet again, but this time with his young children. Seven of his children took over a world in the Mushroom Kingdom that was liberated by Mario with Luigi. Taking advantage of the plumbers handling his children Bowser kidnapped Peach. Peach was later freed by Mario.

Super Mario World
Bowser captured Princess Peach while she, Mario and Luigi were on vacation at Dinosaur world. On the way, Mario and Luigi met Yoshi who told them that Bowser and his children trapped his friends in castles. Mario and Luigi work with Yoshi to defeat Bowser's children, save his friends and beat Bowser once and for all. Afterwards they save the Princess and the four continue their vacation.

Super Mario 64
Mario heads to Princess Peach's Castle after he receiving a letter from her, inviting him to eat cake. Upon entering, Mario hears Bowser speaking and finds out that Peach and the Toads have been captured inside Painting Worlds that Bowser created. To save them, he enters the Painting Worlds and gathers the Power Stars that he scattered. After saving the Toads, he collected enough Power Stars and faced Bowser in combat and ended his terrible reign. Princess Peach was saved, and she thanked him with a kiss and baked him a cake. This is also Mario's first 3D debut.

Mario Party series
The hero parties on with his own series of annual Mario Party series. Mario is always represented by his trademark red color. The mini-games test Mario's luck, skill, and endurance and reward him with coins. In the first three Mario Party games, Mario aimed to become the Superstar. Though Mario doesn't have many distinguishable abilities from the other Mario Party characters, the most notable difference is Mario's ability to use the Fireball Orb in Mario Party 7. Whenever Mario used an Orb on a space, the space would have Mario's "M" insignia. As it was revealed in the official artwork of Mario Party 4, Mario's item of choice is the Mega Mushroom. Mario's Duel Mode partner is the defensive Koopa Troopa in Mario Party 3. He also challenged by the player for the Courage Stamp if he was not selected. Throughout the series, Mario's famed jumping ability is also evened out with the other characters, leveling the playing field.

Luigi's Mansion
In Luigi's Mansion, King Boo tricked Luigi into thinking he had won a mansion and was able to trap Mario in a painting. Mario was later rescued by Luigi and was freed from his painting.

Super Mario Sunshine
After Luigi saved him from the painting he was imprisoned in by King Boo, Mario took a well deserved vacation with Peach and Toadsworth during the events of Super Mario Sunshine. Upon arriving on the Pianta populated Isle Delfino however, Mario was branded a criminal. Apparently, an impersonator of Mario called Shadow Mario had been vandalizing Isle Delfino with a strange type of slime called Goop. Confused, Mario took a defensive hearing of his so-called "crime". Using a smart portable water pump named F.L.U.D.D., Mario had to clean the whole island of Goop and return the Shine Sprites back to the Shine Gate. During this adventure, Mario also saved the many Yoshi sub-species of Isle Delfino. Mario started cleaning up the isle and found out who his impersonator was. It was Bowser Jr., Bowser's youngest son. He kidnapped Princess Peach and took her to the volcanic Corona Mountain. After Mario defeated Shadow Mario in Episode 7 of every level, Bowser Jr. flooded Delfino Square. Mario went to Corona Mountain and discovered Bowser and son, bathing in a tub of hot Slime Goop. When Mario flipped the tub upside down, they fell and Isle Delfino was saved. Mario then was finally able to enjoy his vacation with Peach and the others.

New Super Mario Bros.
Mario went back to his side scrolling roots during the events of New Super Mario Bros. Surprisingly, Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser Jr., not Bowser. Mario and Princess Peach were taking a stroll around Princess Peach's Castle. On their way back, the castle was struck by lightning, possibly from Lakithunder. Mario rushed to the castle, being distracted and forgetting about Princess Peach. Princess Peach was then captured by Bowser Jr. and Mario gave chase.

Mario had his classic battle with Bowser at the end of the first world, dropping him into the lava. The reluctant Bowser Jr., took Princess Peach through eight different worlds. Mario finally confronted the undead King Koopa who had become Dry Bowser, who was then defeated again. Bowser Jr. later tossed his father's skeletal remains into a cauldron and revived Bowser to his natural self and they both battled Mario together. Mario emerged victorious and received a kiss from Princess Peach.

Super Mario Galaxy
During the night of the Star Festival, Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach telling him that she is waiting for him at the castle and wants to give him something. Suddenly, Bowser invades, turning the festival into chaos. He captures Princess Peach by ripping the castle from its foundation, lifting it into space. Mario makes to the castle in time as it is lifted up trying to protect Peach. Suddenly, a Magikoopa appears, and blasts Mario off into the cosmos. Later, he wakes up on a mysterious planet. He discovers a white bunny, who later is known as a white Luma. He also meets Rosalina, the protector of the Lumas. She summons the white Luma whom Mario found earlier on the planet. Giving him the Luma, Mario gains the power to Spin. He also can fly through the cosmos using items known as Launch Stars.

After retrieving the first Grand Star, Mario is transported to the Comet Observatory, which acts as a hub area. Each time Mario gains a Grand Star, a new dome would open up. After gaining sixty Power Stars, Mario is able to fly to the center of the universe to fight Bowser. Bowser Jr. holds Peach captive while Mario and Bowser are fighting. Eventually, Mario lands the final blow on Bowser, sending him to the very lava of the planet he was creating. Mario then retrieves the seventh and final Grand Star. On his way to the Comet Observatory, Bowser Jr. drops Peach out of his Airship. Mario catches her at the last second. Then Bowser appears, badly hurting, either from the battle with Mario or the landing in the lava. He moans over his defeat and his crumbling galaxy. Suddenly, the Sun explodes and transforms into a black hole, sucking in everything in the universe including the castle and the observatory. Mario's Luma spurts out of his hat, saying goodbye. Then it throws itself into the black hole. All of the Lumas then go into the black hole to reverse its effect, saving the entire universe. When Mario wakes up, he sees he is back in the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach and Bowser can be seen alongside him. After the credits, it shows that Mario's Luma is safe, alive and happy on a planet that has a place that resembles the remains of a destroyed Starshroom.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario and his friends Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad celebrate Princess Peach's Birthday. Suddenly, a cake appears. While the group investigates it, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings emerge from the cake. They trap Princess Peach in the cake, and ride off in the airship, dropping off Koopalings at their respective castles. After a dangerous adventure through all the worlds, Mario and his friends finally reach Bowser's Castle and fight Bowser. In a long and difficult battle, Mario throws Bowser to a chasm. But the "Peach" Mario saves is really Kamek the Magikoopa in disguise, who uses magic to make Bowser so big that he is virtually invulnerable. Mario must make it through the rest of the level while Giant Bowser breathes fireballs and, near the middle, jumps and creates waves of lava. Eventually, Mario reaches the real Peach and a skull switch that will drop Bowser out of the castle. When Mario exits the castle, with Peach at his side, Luigi appears in a hijacked hot air balloon, with Toads in another one behind him. Luigi offers Mario and Peach his balloon. Luigi intends to get into that balloon too, but when he tried to open the door, he fell over instead. They had taken off. Luigi then gets into the Toads' balloon. Peach then tells Mario about the secret world, World 9.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mario appears in the sequel of Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2 where he is occasionally joined by Luigi and Yoshi to save the universe from being ruled by Bowser and to retrieve the Power Stars.

Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach and goes to her castle. On his way, he finds a lost Luma, who decides to stow away in his hat, giving Mario the power to Star Spin. When he goes to the castle, he notices that Bowser is gigantic and has the princess in his hand. Mario goes after him and ends up on the Starship Mario, where he meets Lubba and his crew. To defeat Bowser and rescue Princess Peach, Mario had to collect seventy Power Stars so the Starship Mario can advance to Bowser's Galaxy Reactor. After a long fight, Mario defeats Bowser. Suddenly, Rosalina and her Comet Observatory appear before Mario and Peach. Rosalina thanks Mario for watching over the Luma that he had found, and the Luma returns to the Comet Observatory along with Mario's hat. Mario and his companions return to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario and luigi have the same abilities except in a few situations. Luigi runs faster and jumps higher but can't swim as well as Mario. when Luigi swims, spinning under water takes air. This doesn't hjappen with Mario.

If Mario obtains the remaining fifty Power Stars, he may go on a hunt for the Green Power Stars, referred to as Cosmic Jewels. Once the Green Stars have been found, Mario can travel to the Grandmaster Galaxy to get the last two Power Stars.

Super Mario 3D Land
Mario appears in Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. He use several classic power-ups, the most notable of which is the Tanooki Suit from Super Mario Bros. 3. He once again saves Princess Peach from Bowser's evil clutches. During the adventure, Mario battles Bowser as well as two of his henchmen Boom Boom and Pom Pom.

After a devastating storm, all of the Tanooki Leaves were blown off the Tail Tree outside Peach's Castle. The next day, Mario and three Toads check on the scene when they notice a floating letter. They open it to find out that Bowser kidnapped Peach while she checked the damage to the tree. Mario and the Toads then run to rescue her. While running through the worlds, he receives letters from Peach to learn about her predicament.

At Bowser's castle, Mario fights the Koopa king, activating the switch on the other side of the bridge and sending Bowser into the lava. However, the area beside the castle only contains a cage lying on its side. He enters a door and finds Peach, but, upon running over to her, he finds out that it is only a wooden cutout. Bowser then emerges, carrying the real princess, and flees to his second castle.

After heading through another level, Mario reaches Bowser's second castle and the princess, this time tied to the flagpole. Bowser then appears, and the two begin their battle. This time, Mario has to head through a type of obstacle course to get to the bridge, and eventually the switch at the end. He pushes this, sending Bowser into the lava below. However, he then emerges from the lava, and Mario has to reach another switch in order to actually defeat him. Pushing the switch once again sends Bowser falling into the lava below once more. Mario then reappears back at the flagpole, and frees the princess. Mario, along with three Toads, then use Super Leaves to get themselves and the princess back home.

Sometime after that, Mario receives a letter from Luigi, depicting him in captivity. Mario runs through Special 1 and frees Luigi from Dry Bowser. Then, Peach is captured by Bowser again. Mario goes back to his castle and defeats him again. Once the player gets 5 Stars in their profile, the level Special 8-Crown is unlocked. There he faces Boom Boom and Pom Pom for the last time. When they are defeated, a giant "THANK YOU" is made out while Toads surround the final Goal Pole of the game.

Appearances
Mario was first seen as "Jumpman" in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong. He was first seen as "Mario" in the following arcade game Donkey Kong Jr. in 1982, where he was the enemy of the player. The following year, his brother Luigi was introduced in the arcade game Mario Bros. However, it was the release of Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System that sparked major popularity for the character.

Several sub-series have also been released. The successful Mario Kart series started with Super Mario Kart, and has become one of the most successful kart-racing franchises, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. Other sports games in the franchise include Mario Golf, Mario Tennis and Super Mario Strikers.

Role-playing games, such as Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, have also been created, along with party games such as Mario Party which have popular minigames.

Personality
Mario is basically a simple character without a solid personality, since he was meant for players to integrate their own personality into his character. When his demeanour is shown, Mario is aggressive and impulsive, sometimes going head-on into things without much meditation.

Despite these potential flaws, Mario is a brave and kindhearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality and righteousness. He puts, more often than not, other people's needs before his own, and he is willing to risk his life to save millions of others from the forces of evil.

Although Mario is generally a good natured person, it seems he doesn't enjoy losing much, often when losing in spin off games (i.e. Mario party) he has a sad look on his face, and in Luigi's ending in Mario Power Tennis he seems to be congratulating his brother, but he intentionally steps on Luigi's foot because he lost to him in the tournament.

He remains quiet but when he talks he talks heavy and harshly. In the cartoons, Mario speaks with a characteristic Brooklyn accent, but his current incarnation—voiced by Charles Martinet - has a blatant Italian accent. Mario is also funny and comical, along with friendly, persistent, and always knows what he is doing. In addition, he enjoys Italian foods such as pasta or pizza.

Physical Description
Mario appears as a short and portly adult man in most of his appearances. Most of the time, he is wearing his trademark outfit: his red cap (with the M symbol), blue overalls -with gold colored buttons-, red shirt, white gloves and brown shoes. He has short light brown hair and a thick black mustache. Every part of his looks has had, at some point, a certain significance in plot and gameplay: the cap worked as a "shield" of sorts in Super Mario 64, and when he had his cap stolen, he´d lose 50% more the health with each hit, making its recovery a top priority. In the Mario and Luigi RPG series, the ´Stache stat is the equivalent of Charisma in RPGs, meaning that a high number here (a "well groomed mustache") will translate to healthy discounts in stores. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his overalls (and Luigi´s) appear to be made of denim.

Mario´s looks were a product of the limited graphics technology of the time: his arms would vanish with a shirt of a solid color, hair could not be properly drawn, detailed or animated; and the head could not host a proper mouth. As the developing team, headed by Shigeru Miyamoto, wanted a properly detailed character, so they gave him overalls, the mustache, the cap and a big nose, in order to make a recognizable sprite. Mario´s looks have been mostly unchanged for much of the franchise´s history, except for the first games: in Donkey Kong, he had red overalls and a blue shirt, and in Super Mario Bros his sprite had red overalls and a brown shirt, while the artwork retained the original red/blue outfit. It wasn't until Super Mario Bros. 2 that Mario got his current clothes. Unsurprisingly, due to the notoriety of the first Mario games, his appearances in merchandising and the Super Mario Bros. Super Show cartoon segment, his clothes had the Donkey Kong palette. It´s also worth noting that Lou Albano, Mario in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show live-action segment, often wore a plain white shirt.

In addition to his trademark clothes, Mario has used several other outfits depending on the activities. He has been seen with several sporting clothes (tennis, soccer, golf) and he wore lighter, more laid-back shirts in Super Mario Sunshine, in tune with the tropical vacation setting of the game.

Although Mario's age is never really confirmed, Super Smash Bros. Melee says that Mario is 26 years old when reading the description of his trophy in the game.

Powers

 * Superhuman Strength: Mario is able to lift and press objects that are several times his own weight. The exact upper limits of his strength, but in Super Mario World, Mario can easily lift a castle. In Super Mario 64, Mario is shown to lift King Bob-omb. An even more impressive feat is during the fight with Bowser. Mario can lift him by the tail, spin him around and then throw him. Mario spins Bowser around faster and farther with more spins. Mario's incredible strength also extends to his legs, allowing him to perform his signature move, the jump. Mario is extremely good at jumping, and is capable of leaping two stories high. He is the second best jumper in the Mushroom Kingdom, bested only by Luigi.
 * Superhuman Durability: Mario has a significant level of durability. He can endure great impacts, such as falling from a height of several stories or being struck by an opponent with superhuman strength. Mario can also endure extreme environments, such as volcanoes and tundras. Also, he can withstand fire, electricity and ice.
 * Superhuman Stamina: Mario can maintain continuous physical activity for an indefinite period of time.
 * Superhuman Speed: Mario is capable of running up walls in Super Mario World, and is capable of outpacing sound in Super Paper Mario. Koopa the Quick has referred to Mario as a "human blur."
 * Pyrokinesis: Mario has the ability to create and manipulate fire. This ability changes throughout the games he has appeared. In the platform games, such as Super Mario Bros., Mario needs a Fire Flower to obtain this power. But in the RPGs and Super Smash Bros. series, Mario already has this power. Also, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario uses the Mario Finale, in which he unleashes a powerful blast of fire. In spinoffs, Mario is always associated with the element of fire.

Abilities

 * Master Combatant: Mario has his own fighting style. However, he never uses it in his games, except in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Indomitable Will: Mario is shown to have a powerful force of will, completely free of evil or temptation. He is very optimistic and never gives up, even when things look bad.
 * Leadership: Mario has proven many times to be a capable leader, inspiring others with his charisma, ardour and idealism.
 * Expert Vehicular Driver: As shown in the Mario Kart series, Mario is skilled in driving vehicles, such as karts and motorbikes.

Luigi
Luigi is Mario's younger twin brother. Luigi usually joins and accompanies Mario on his adventures, serving as the secondary protagonist (although Mario has been known to go on adventures by himself). Through the years, Mario and Luigi have maintained a brotherly love for each other as shown in games like Luigi's Mansion and the Mario & Luigi series. In addition, the two of them are normally paired together in sports titles and spin-offs and although Luigi has shown to be slightly jealous of Mario at times (as he admits in Paper Mario), he loves his brother very much and looks up to him as a positive role model. For his part, Mario seems to allow his sibling rivalry to get the best of him when competing directly with Luigi. When Luigi receives a trophy in Mario Power Tennis, Mario is shown slapping Luigi's back and stepping on Luigi's foot intentionally.

Princess Peach
Princess Peach is shown to be Mario's close companion since childhood. Mario saves Peach quite often and she usually will bake him a cake or kiss him upon her rescue. Since Peach's debut appearance, the two have been largely speculated to be in a romantic relationship. This is confirmed in the official European Mario website, in which Peach is listed as Mario's girlfriend.

In Luigi's Mansion, she sends Toad to help Luigi search for his brother, and in Mario Party 5, Peach and Mario are called "Cutest Couple". They also share chemistry together in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, as they are "buddy players". Mario Power Tennis even goes as far as showing Mario himself telling Peach of his love for her in Peach's victory scene. Peach responded with a smile and blew a kiss. Also, in Mario's victory scene in Mario Power Tennis, Peach gives him a small kiss on his cheek. They both show deep devotion to each other as depicted in many of the games, especially in the Paper Mario series. In the comic "Warios Weihnachtsmärchen", published in the German Club Nintendo magazine, it is even revealed that they spent their graduation ball in school together, and that Peach decided in favor of Mario and against Wario. Mario and Peach are the Secret Staff Ghosts for Rainbow Road in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The official guide describe them at this: Aw, isn’t that cute? Mario and Peach are together again, zipping down the Rainbow Road and leaving the player coughing up their dust.

In the first Paper Mario, one of the Toads tells Mario to take Peach on a date to Shooting Star Summit. For the official guide of Yoshi's Island DS, in the description for the level Baby Mario and Baby Peach: Dynamic Duo, Nintendo mentioned that before the "romantic entanglements" in their adult lives, they teamed up as babies to stop evil. Also the official guide for Mario Party 8 stated that Peach is apple of Mario's eye. Rosalina in Super Mario Galaxy even referred to Peach as Mario's 'Special One'.

Rosalina
Rosalina befriended Mario in Super Mario Galaxy. She trusted him enough to help her restore the Comet Observatory; and in return she helped him to defeat Bowser.

Toad
Toad is shown to be Mario's good friend. Toad usually helps Mario with supporting roles and gives him advice. In the Mario cartoons, Toad was shown to be a close friend of both Mario and Luigi's, as he would commonly be seen assisting them in stopping King Koopa's evil plots. Toad even helped in domestic situations, alongside Princess Peach. Throughout the issues of the Nintendo Comics System, the comics often portrayed Toad to being Mario's loyal and trusted sidekick. In Super Mario 64 and it's DS remake, Toad completely trusted Mario throughout his adventure. In the Super Mario Galaxy games, Toad often relied on Mario to back him and his brigade up in various situations during the adventure.

Yoshi
Yoshi is Mario's best friend. They have gone on many adventures together, not to mention he saved and helped Mario when he was a baby. Mario occasionally rides Yoshi, although Yoshi has been known to be as good as Mario on his own two feet. Mario and Yoshi are often seen together trying to foil Bowser's plans. Yoshi can eat enemies too, which helps Mario a lot on his adventures.

Wario
Wario is Mario's rival. Their relationship started out very violent with such acts as Wario stealing Mario's Castle in the Super Mario Land games, but their rivalry has settled down in later games. The two even teamed together in Super Mario 64 DS (though they did attack each other possibly for fun in the intro). Nintendo Power has stated that Wario is Mario's cousin, but this is unconfirmed. In the Super Mario Kun comics, the rivalry between the two characters is frequently a theme.

Bowser
Bowser is Mario's arch nemesis and main enemy. Bowser and Mario have had a long history of antagonism and rivalry for Princess Peach. However, Mario almost always defeats Bowser one way or another. Bowser always tries to find a way to take Peach from Mario and have her all for himself. Bowser is jealous of Peach's friendship with Mario, as he admits in Super Paper Mario. Occasionally, Bowser is on the same side as Mario when they shared a common enemy, as shown in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Super Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Oddly enough, Bowser has saved Mario from a few obstacles, as shown in the last cinema in Mario Super Sluggers; Bowser stops a Bullet Bill from taking out Mario. Of course, Bowser's only reason for saving Mario is so that he needs a rival and he wants to destroy Mario himself. Mario (along with Luigi and Yoshi) is also one of the three main heroes that Bowser absolutely hates, as they always get in the way of his plans.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic is the mascot of Nintendo's competitive company Sega and Mario's friendly rival. In Adventure Mode on the DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, he joins with Sonic to save the snow spirits from Bowser and Dr. Eggman. Since they would both risk their own life to save others with no hesitation, and are always hunting more adventure, it's safe to assume these similarities have made them good friends. Mario and Sonic have currently starred in 4 crossover games together: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Winter Games, London 2012 Games, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Alternate Forms
Mario appears as many forms throughout the game franchise. He uses various items to unlock these forms. However, Mario can't unlock alternate forms in certain games such as Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Certain items give Mario the ability to use "one hit kills" on his enemies. Some items aren't for offense, but for defensive moves. There are also items that are exclusive to just one game or game series; some of these items are the Bee Mushroom (Super Mario Galaxy series), the Propeller Mushroom (New Super Mario Bros. Wii), and the Tanooki Suit (Super Mario Bros. 3 + Super Mario 3D Land). In the game Dr. Mario, Mario is in an alternate form (as Dr. Mario) throughout the entire game. He also makes an appearance as Dr. Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Cameos

 * He made a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Princess Zelda's room in Hyrule Castle in a window, along with other Mario characters, such as Luigi and Yoshi.
 * In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, he appears in several portraits within NPC homes.
 * Mario made a cameo in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask as a mask hanging in the Happy Mask Salesman's backpack.
 * In Kirby Super Star, as well as its remake Kirby Super Star Ultra, he can be seen in the crowd when battling King Dedede, and Rock Kirby can transform into a golden Mario statue.
 * Mario makes a cameo in the Japanese-only Captain Rainbow as a portrait above Tracy's (from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening) throne. An empty portrait and Link are sitting to the left of his picture. The portrait is Mario's artwork from Mario Party DS.
 * Mario makes a cameo as the referee in Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!.

Landmark Games

 * Donkey Kong
 * Mario Bros.
 * Super Mario Bros.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
 * Super Mario Bros. 2
 * Super Mario Bros. 3
 * Dr. Mario
 * Super Mario World
 * Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
 * Super Mario 64
 * Paper Mario


 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
 * Super Mario Sunshine
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
 * Super Paper Mario
 * Super Smash Bros. fighting series
 * Super Mario Galaxy
 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2
 * Super Mario 3D Land
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2
 * New Super Mario Bros. U

Trivia

 * According to the team name, Super Mario Bros., this states that Mario and Luigi's last names are "Mario", but this is not true. Their real last names are unknown, but they might be "Batali", as in the chef "Mario Batali".
 * In the classic games, Mario used to have red overalls and a blue shirt underneath. But it was later changed to blue overalls and a red shirt.
 * Mario has always had his signature cap, ever since he was a baby.
 * Mario used to have a very low, New York voice instead of high-pitched Italian.
 * Mario is one of the very few Nintendo characters who actually talk in sentences.
 * Mario's name before jumpman was supposed to be Mr. Video.
 * Mario, along with Luigi, were intended to have cameo appearances in the 2012 Disney film, Wreck-It Ralph. But since the producers of the movie were unable to pay Nintendo's (hefty) fee, their appearances were cancelled. However, Mario is mentioned by Fix-It Felix Jr. during the party scene as being fashionably late as usual.