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If you've found your way to Giant Bomb, you probably have a good idea of who Mario is and why he's significant. Mario is the character who launched Nintendo's first console, the Nintendo Entertainment System, into millions of homes around the world. He's since become the company's mascot and most beloved character. On top of this, he is also considered by many to be the face of the video gaming medium as a whole, and is consistently seen as one of the most recognizable characters ever created.
Mario lives in the Mushroom Kingdom, which is where he fights Bowser (originally called King Koopa). In most of his games, Mario is rescuing Princess Peach (originally called Princess Toadstool) from the evil Bowser. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his first appearance. Since Super Mario 64, Mario is currently voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario's brother, Luigi, their "evil'' counterparts, Wario and Waluigi, his friends Toadsworth and MC Ballyhoo and their baby versions of themselves, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
Mario's trademark mustache, hat, and overalls also have their own unique origin, connected to the primitive design capabilities of the time. Jumpman was given a mustache in order to tell apart his nose from the rest of his face, as they did not have enough room to give him a mouth. His overalls allow his arms to be a different color then the rest of his body, thus allowing for clear animation. Finally his hat was created because hair was too difficult to animate.
Being Nintendo's mascot, Mario's major rival is Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega's mascot). Sonic and Mario's rivalry was incredibly fierce, until Sega became a third-party developer, and stopped creating consoles. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was the first Sonic game to appear on a Nintendo console, ending the rivalry. Since then, Sonic has appeared in several Nintendo games, including Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Baby Mario is the infant version of Mario. He first appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's island, released in 1995 for the SNES. He has appeared in many titles since.
Ever since his first appearance as merely the baby version of Mario in Yoshi's Island for the SNES, Baby Mario's place in the Mario timeline has always been a bit confusing. This confusion mostly comes from the fact that Baby Mario appears in many Mario sports titles as well as many Mario kart games alongside his fully-grown counterpart. This led many to the false belief that Baby Mario was, in fact, the son of Mario. Regardless of poor logic, Baby Mario actually did appear, legitimately, alongside adult Mario in the RPG Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
Because of the relative popularity of the character, Baby Mario has spawned many other "baby" counterparts of other popular Mario characters including Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Daisy, and even Wario. Though they appear, as previously mentioned, in Mario kart and Mario sports games, the babies have become a staple ot the Yoshi Island series (most recently, the extremely popular Yoshi's Island DS).
Paper Mario is a version of Mario that is paper thin. He First appeared in Paper Mario, an RPG game for the Nintendo 64. He has since appeared in sequels for the Gamecube and the Wii.
Games in the Mario series are constantly redefining their own standards, and often influencing the games that follow as a result.
Super Mario Bros. defined the 2D platforming genre in the mid-80's. Super Mario World showed the abilities of the Super Nintendo with scaling and rotation of sprites, and gameplay mechanics that rewarded 100 percent completion of levels. Super Mario 64 famously set the standard for 3D platforming, and for taking traditional 2D franchises into the third dimension. Most recently, Super Mario Galaxy has offered innovative uses of the Wii's unique control scheme. Even offshoot games like Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario have consistently surprised Mario's fans with their refreshing and unexpected styles of gameplay. Mario has also starred in many spin-off sports games, ranging from racing (Mario Kart) to golf and tennis (Mario Golf, Mario Tennis) and baseball (Mario Baseball), as well as a successful series of party games (Mario Party).
Originally an acrobat named Jumpman, this Italian plumber has gone on to become the most recognizable video game character of them all, starring in a veritable pantheon of titles. He is currently voiced by Charles Martinet.
Overview
Mario flying!
The star of various franchises and Nintendo's mascot.
Mario lives in the Mushroom Kingdom, which is where he fights Bowser (originally called King Koopa). In most of his games, Mario is rescuing Princess Peach (originally called Princess Toadstool) from the evil Bowser. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his first appearance. Since Super Mario 64, Mario is currently voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario's brother, Luigi, their "evil'' counterparts, Wario and Waluigi, his friends Toadsworth and MC Ballyhoo and their baby versions of themselves, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
Origin
Mario was created by Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and first premiered in Donkey Kong in 1981. Back then, he was a carpenter named Jumpman, who had to save his girlfriend Pauline from the eponymous rampaging gorilla. Jumpman's name was changed to Mario after the landlord of Nintendo's U.S. office, Mario Segale, barged in asking for their rent; the surprising resemblance between the two made the name stick. After Donkey Kong, Mario began appearing in his own games. The first was Mario Bros., along with his brother Luigi. When the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, Mario went on to star in Super Mario Bros., one of the best-selling games of all time. 
Mario, in Donkey Kong.
Mario's trademark mustache, hat, and overalls also have their own unique origin, connected to the primitive design capabilities of the time. Jumpman was given a mustache in order to tell apart his nose from the rest of his face, as they did not have enough room to give him a mouth. His overalls allow his arms to be a different color then the rest of his body, thus allowing for clear animation. Finally his hat was created because hair was too difficult to animate. 
Being Nintendo's mascot, Mario's major rival is Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega's mascot). Sonic and Mario's rivalry was incredibly fierce, until Sega became a third-party developer, and stopped creating consoles. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was the first Sonic game to appear on a Nintendo console, ending the rivalry. Since then, Sonic has appeared in several Nintendo games, including Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Alternate versions
Through the years there have been many different versions of Mario appeared in different games:Baby Mario
Baby Mario and Mario in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time.
Ever since his first appearance as merely the baby version of Mario in Yoshi's Island for the SNES, Baby Mario's place in the Mario timeline has always been a bit confusing. This confusion mostly comes from the fact that Baby Mario appears in many Mario sports titles as well as many Mario kart games alongside his fully-grown counterpart. This led many to the false belief that Baby Mario was, in fact, the son of Mario. Regardless of poor logic, Baby Mario actually did appear, legitimately, alongside adult Mario in the RPG Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
Because of the relative popularity of the character, Baby Mario has spawned many other "baby" counterparts of other popular Mario characters including Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Daisy, and even Wario. Though they appear, as previously mentioned, in Mario kart and Mario sports games, the babies have become a staple ot the Yoshi Island series (most recently, the extremely popular Yoshi's Island DS).
Paper Mario
Paper Mario as seen in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Metal Mario
Metal Mario originally appeared as a power up in Super Mario 64, although he has since appeared as an unplayable character in the Super Smash Bros. Games. He is a stronger, heavier and slower version of Mario, and has a higher resistance to damage.Legacy
Mario is ready to race in the Mario Kart franchise with his red go-kart.
Paper Mario
Fun Facts
- Mario has a mustache because he was too small to draw a mouth onto when he was first created.
- It was difficult to animate hair and ears at the time, so that's why Mario has a hat and sideburns.
- Mario and Luigi are both bright colours to make them stand out from the background of the older games.
- Mario also wears bright colours and overalls to fix a problem with Mario's hands disappearing when he walked.
- In Mario's first appearance, the color of his overalls were red and his shirt was blue, an opposite of the clothes we see him wear today.
- Mario is named after Mario Segale, the landlord of one of Nintendo of America's original warehouses who was lenient with Minoru Arakawa while Nintendo was still finding its feet in America.
Quotes
| Quote | Game Appearance |
|---|---|
| "Here we go!!" | Super Mario 64/Mario Kart DS |
| "Let's a go!" | All |
| "Mario Kart Wii!" | Mario Kart Wii |
| "Thank you so much for to playing my game." | Super Mario 64/Galaxy |
| "Nintendo!" | Mario & Luigi series |
| "Mamma mia!" | All |
| "Fight!" | Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! |
| "Welcome, welcome new galaxy!" | Super Mario Galaxy |
Mario games
Edit
| Character Name: | Mario |
| Real Name: | |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birthday: | June 2, 1983 |
| Appears in: | 166 games |
| First appearance: | Donkey Kong |
| Aliases |
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