Mario is a video game character created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and the official mascot of Nintendo. He has appeared in over 100 video games since his creation, more than any other character. Originally used for platforming games, he has also found his way into racing games, puzzle games, role-playing games, fighting games, sports games, and many others.
Mario first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong as a character named "Jumpman".[1] The game was surprisingly successful.[2] Mario also starred in an arcade game simply called Mario Bros. and when the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, Mario was given the starring role in the revolutionary Super Mario Bros..
"Jumpman", the protagonist of Donkey Kong, was called "Mario" in certain promotional materials for the game's release overseas.[3][4] His namesake was Mario Segale, the landlord of Nintendo of America's office,[5] who barged in on a meeting to demand an overdue rent payment.[6][7] In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario is given the stage name of "Great Gonzales" during his battles in Glitzville. Before a battle, one of the audience members refers to Mario as "Jumpman," a joke about Mario's first identity. Mario's nickname in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 is "The Jumpman", again making reference to his original name. Mario is currently voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Luigi, both their baby counterparts, Wario, Waluigi, and other characters such as Toadsworth.
The surname "Mario" (which would make his full name Mario Mario) was first used in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, and then in the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros.[10] This was meant to explain how both Mario and his brother Luigi could be known as the "Mario brothers". This surname theory has never been employed officially by Nintendo, and it is broadly accepted that Mario and Luigi are collectively called the Mario Bros. simply because Mario is the head-liner of the pair.
Mario has taken on the role of Nintendo's mascot and has since been extensively merchandised. Mario's major rival was Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog who debuted in the early 1990s; the two mascots competed head-to-head for nearly a decade afterwards, until around 2001 when a Sonic game (Sonic Adventure 2: Battle) showed up on a Nintendo console due to Sega's new third party status, ending a lengthy rivalry.[11] Mario and Sonic officially appeared together in a crossover sports game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and will be together again in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Mario was one of the first video game characters to be honored at the Walk of Game in 2005, alongside Link and Sonic the Hedgehog.[12]
Mario is portrayed in games and other media as being a kind-hearted and brave hero, with a love of pasta and pizza, as the stereotypical Italian does. This idea was started in the American cartoons, but soon afterwards, Nintendo supported the idea by having Mario dream of pasta, as well as a magical gate advising Mario to "cut down on the Alfredo sauce" in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time.
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 DK. 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" or simply "the Princess" in English-speaking territories until 1993, when Yoshi's Safari debuted, even though the name was not widely used until Super Mario 64 was released three years later.)[20] Pauline returned in the Game Boy remake of Donkey Kong in 1994, and later Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis in 2006, although the character is now described as "Mario's friend."[21]
Most of Mario's abilities stem from the collection and usage of items. In the platform genre, the most prominent of these items is the Super Mushroom, which allows Mario to grow to twice his size. In this form he is usually labelled "Super Mario", and receives an additional hit point. Other examples include a Fire Flower, which transforms Mario into Fire Mario (originally called "Fiery Mario") and allows him to throw fireballs at enemies, and the Star, which renders Mario temporarily impervious to harm, and gives him the ability to defeat virtually all foes with but a touch.
In Super Mario Galaxy, Mario has three additional suit transformations: the Bee Suit, the Boo Suit, and the Spring Suit. He also gains the use of the Ice Flower, the Flight Star, and the Rainbow Star, as well the first appearance of the Fire Flower in a 3-D Mario game, though all four only last for a limited amount of time.
In Super Mario 64, Mario will take twice the normal damage if he is attacked without his hat. In Super Mario 64 DS, should he lose his hat, he will take twice the normal damage and when he strikes a "?" block, a Bob-Omb will be released instead of the normal item. 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 different boxes with special caps inside that, when donned by Mario, offer him different abilities; the Wing Cap, for example, allows him to fly for a limited amount of time (Wing Mario), the Metal Cap transforms him into Metal Mario, and the Vanish Cap into Vanish Mario.
