Mario is the main character of the Mario series and the main mascot for Nintendo. He was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and has appeared in over 200 games. Originally, he only appeared in platform games, where he uses his well-known jumping abilities to save the Mushroom Kingdom from the hands of Bowser and other enemies. However, he now also features in sporting games, racing games, and fighting games and others. His appeal all over the world has made him one of the most famous characters in video game history.[1]
Mario is a short Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. In the Mario series, he stops 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.[2]
History
Mario first appeared in 1981, in the Donkey Kong arcade game, as a carpenter named "Jumpman".[3]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.[4]
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.
Biography
Donkey Kong Series
Donkey Kong Circus
- (Please Note that this is the second game released in the Donkey Kong series but takes place before the first game.)
Mario was a carpenter who had come in possession of a Kong and his son, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior. 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.
Donkey Kong
Mario was a carpenter who had come in possession of a Kong and his son, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior. One day the ape captured his 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.
Donkey Kong Jr
Mario went on to imprison the ape in a cage. Dk Junior 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.
Mario Bros
- (Please Note that despite not featuring Donkey Kong, it ends the saga started by the Donkey Kong game, and is considered part of its series.)
Mario and his brother Luigi, leaving Donkey Kong, alone repaired Brooklyn's sewers which had been badly damaged by strange creatures. Mario and Luigi were able to defeat the creatures but heard a voice and they followed it eventually going to the Mushroom World.
Super Mario Bros Series
Super Mario Bros
After ending up in the Mushroom World, Mario and Luigi attempted to stop Bowser's reign of terror and defeated seven Fake Bowser's and freed Toads. Mario and Luigi were then able to defeat the real Bowser and freed Princess Peach.
Super Mario Bros 2
Mario and Luigi ended up in the dreamland Subcon with his brother Luigi 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 woke up for a while before returning to his sleep.
Super Mario Bros 3
Bowser returned yet again, but this time with his children. Seven of his children took over a world in the Mushroom World 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 Series
Super Mario 64
As Mario was heading to the Castle, invited by Princess Toadstool, Bowser and his minions invaded the palace, seized the Power Stars and locked everyone within the walls. Mario had to enter the castle´s paintings -each one holds a door to different worlds- to retrieve the Power Stars and kick Bowser out of the Castle, freeing the Princess and her attending Toads.
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 made human again.
Super Mario Sunshine
Bowser tricking his eight son Bowser Jr into kidnapping Peach by telling his son that the princess was his "mama" Mario collected shine sprites and earned the help of the water nozzle FLUDD to free Peach. Along the way Mario gained access to many of FlUDD's nozzles as well as Yoshi. Eventually he entered Corona Mountain and defeated Bowser.
Super Mario Galaxy
Bowser had again kidnapped Peach and Mario set off to find stars to free Peach. With the help of Rosalina and Luigi Mario is able to get all the Grand Stars and defeat Bowser.
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Bowser had repeated the action he had done the first time but with the help of the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. Mario was able to stop him with Luigi and the Toads.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Not much about the plot is known about this game, but it is said to have less focus on the plot than the original. Bowser Jr. has been confirmed as a villain.
Appearances
- See also: List of Mario games
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.[5] 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. Mario has had a cameo role in many other games such as The Legend of Zelda and Metal Gear Solid.
Personality
Mario is a basically simple character who doesn't build much of the character in himself, since it was meant to have a connection with the player. When his demeanor is shown, Mario is aggressive and impulsive, sometimes going head-on into things without much meditation. 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,(proven into the Nintendo world store). He is friendly, persistent, and always knows what he is doing. Mario enjoys Italian food. His favorite food is Alfredo Pasta (that is the cause of his fatness).
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 twice the health with each hit, making it´s recovery a top priority. In the Mario and Luigi RPG series, the ´Stache stat is the equivalent of Charisma in the RPG gameplay, meaning that a high number here (a "well groomed mustache") will translate in 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 SMBSS live-action segment, often wore a plain white shirt.
In addition tho 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.
Relationships
Mario has got a variety of relations with various persons in the game franchise. He is the elder brother of Luigi (originally a twin brother until Super Mario Bros. 2, when Luigi was given his own appearance different from that of Mario). He had a girlfriend named Pauline in the Donkey Kong arcade game and its Game Boy remake.
Cameos
- Mario made a "cameo" in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the farmer Talon, a man with blue overalls, red shirt and a big mustache. However, he sports a long ponytail instead of a cap.
- 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.
- Mario, as a plumber, is mentioned in Banjo Tooie when Loggo The Toilet asks for help and Banjo says "Maybe Mario's Free at the Moment".
- 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 and Peach make an appearance in a short on Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy.
- Mario again makes a cameo during The Simpson's episode Ned and Homer's Hail Mary Pass.
- Mario and Luigi both have a segment on Robot Chicken.
- Punch Out! (NES),as referee
- NES Pinball,in bonus stage
- Animal crossing, as trophy
- Kirby Super Star Ultra, Audience at the Dedede boss.
- Wii Fit
- Tetris (Game Boy) as player one when in multiplayer mode
Landmark Games
References
- ↑ "The History of Mario". Retrieved on 2009-05-10
- ↑ "Charles Martinet Down Under". Retrieved on 2009-05-10.
- ↑ "Console Portraits: A 40-Year Pictorial History of Gaming". Retrieved on 2009-05-10
- ↑ "Sigeru Miyamao Talk Asia interview". Retrieved on 2009-05-10.
- ↑ "Japan vs. US Sales". Retrieved on 2009-05-10.
External links
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