Luigi

This article is about Mario's younger brother from the Super Mario franchise. For his infant counterpart, see Baby Luigi.

Luigi
Artwork from Super Mario Party Jamboree
Full name	Luigi Mario
Species	Human
First appearance	Mario Bros. (Game & Watch) (1983)
Latest appearance	Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024)
Latest portrayal	Kevin Afghani (2023–present)

“Eek! No one told me there would be gh-gh-ghosts here! I wish I'd brought my Poltergust 3000 with me.”

—Luigi, Fortune Street

Luigi is Mario's younger but taller twin brother, the secondary protagonist of the Super Mario franchise, and the main protagonist of the Luigi's Mansion series. Throughout his life, he has lived in Mario's shadow, developing both cowardly and heroic tendencies. Despite this, Luigi has helped and fought alongside his brother on many occasions. Mario Bros. for the Game & Watch marks his first appearance, in which he is an exact copy of Mario. He went on to gain a different color and be used to facilitate a second-player option. However, as Luigi established himself throughout the Super Mario franchise, he gained his own identity as a character.

Creation and development

Luigi was created when Gunpei Yokoi set out to produce Mario Bros. After observing the two-player competitive and cooperative gameplay of the arcade game Joust, he and Shigeru Miyamoto wished to incorporate a similar style of gameplay into their game. Their answer to Joust's stork-riding player 2 was Luigi, a younger twin brother to Mario, with whom he could compete or cooperate. Like Mario, Luigi received his name from Nintendo of America. Coincidentally, his name was also noted to be similar to the Japanese word 「類似ルイジ」 (ruiji), meaning "similar", possibly a reference to how Luigi was originally a simple palette swap of Mario. With the 2-player mode in mind, Nintendo and publishing companies such as Atari gave Luigi immediate publicity, making him the star and center of attention in many advertisements for the game.

Since his debut in 1983, Luigi has been constantly developing. Gameplay differences between him and Mario were first seen in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, which have been carried over into future games and have become standard for the character. After spending years as a palette swap of his brother, Luigi has consistently been given his own graphics since Super Mario Kart in 1992 to match his official appearance as Mario's taller, younger brother; though the American release of Super Mario Bros. 2 portrayed him in this way six years earlier. As he developed, Luigi gained more of a personality; it was as early as the DiC cartoons that Luigi was shown to be the more cautious of the two brothers, though it was not until Luigi's Mansion that this was truly and officially established.

In 2013, Luigi was the focus of the Year of Luigi, where in Nintendo released a number of themed games and merchandise and held events to honor the thirtieth anniversary of Luigi's first appearance in Mario Bros.

History

Main article: History of Luigi

Luigi has had a substantial history since his debut in Mario Bros. due to being a protagonist of the franchise. Like Mario and all other characters, his appearances are not limited to the core series, appearing in many spin-offs, literature, and animation.

General information

Concept and creation

The arcade game Mario Bros. incorporated a multiplayer mode, but due to memory restrictions, the second player character needed to have a sprite identical to the first. The development team thought of differentiating the second character by giving him different colors, but the color palette budget was similarly limited. As a result, Luigi was conceived as a twin of Mario to explain his resemblance and he was made green to recycle the color palette of the Shellcreeper enemy.

Physical description

Luigi's appearance from the Nintendo 64 era (left) and his current appearance (right)

Compared to Mario, Luigi is slimmer and taller. A pamphlet for Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen! gives his height and weight as 158 cm (5 ft. 2 in.) and 62 kg (136 lbs.) The Miis in Wii U version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games describe Luigi's mustache as "smooth", unlike Mario's "lumpy" mustache. Luigi's sideburn is also different, being a simple round shape while Mario's has an indentation, and his eyes are thinner than Mario's.

Luigi also wears clothes similar to Mario, but his shirt and cap are green instead of red. Layered over the shirt is blue overalls, which, starting with Luigi's Mansion, are a darker blue than Mario's. He also has brown work shoes, again darker than Mario's, with tan bottoms that reach above his ankles. He wears white gloves like Mario. Artwork however sometimes shows Luigi with the same color of blue overalls and brown shoes as Mario. The Luigi Cap is similar to the Mario Cap, being green instead of red and having an "L" replace Mario's signature "M"; the "L" was in italic from Mario Kart 64 to Luigi's Mansion for a few years. In some games, Luigi's cap does play some significance, such as in Super Mario 64 DS, where just like Mario's and Wario's caps, it can be stolen by Klepto and cause him to take extra damage so long as he is not wearing it. However, this does not occur in other games, such as Super Mario 3D Land and New Super Mario Bros. 2 after collecting the maximum number of lives.

The Mario & Luigi series up until Dream Team consistently depicted Luigi with overalls short enough to reveal his red-and-white striped socks in artwork, though the Nintendo 3DS remake Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey still shows these socks when his shoe falls off at the beginning of the game. Additionally, the green coloring on his clothing had more of a turquoise/teal color scheme. In Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the new cel-shading style gives Luigi some shades of blue around his shirt and hat, matching the shading used in artwork.

Mario and Luigi's color preferences are reflected throughout the land in the form of various enemies, such as Koopa Troopas and Cheep Cheeps, who also come in red and green varieties. These foes even reflect the brothers' personalities, with red ones being more aggressive and green ones acting cautious. In fact, Mario and Luigi are not the only known red and green brothers, with similarly color-coded siblings including Cork and Cask, the Red and Green bridge guards, The Iron Adonis Twins, Massif Bros., Elder & Junior Shrooboid and Gigi and Merri. When tattling the younger of The Iron Adonis Twins, Goombella theorizes that it may be some sort of rule that younger brothers must wear green, offering a possible explanation for Luigi's trademark green shirt and cap.

Luigi's shorter overalls in the Mario & Luigi series showing his red/white socks

However, Luigi has not always chosen to wear his usual green and blue clothes. Mario Bros. originally dressed Luigi in a black shirt and green overalls, although artwork showed his shirt to be red. Shigeru Miyamoto stated that the green color of clothing for Luigi was inspired by the enemy Shellcreeper. Wrecking Crew gave him a magenta pair of overalls and helmet, seemingly leaving him shirtless. Even Super Mario Bros. gave its Luigi a green shirt and white overalls (although Super Mario Bros. Deluxe replaced this with a less aberrant brown shirt and green overalls, leaving his original colors to Fire Luigi, who usually has an inverse scheme), even though his usual palette and appearance had emerged in artwork. Fire Luigi's palette in Super Mario Bros. uses the color scheme used by Fire Mario. In both Super Mario Adventures and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Luigi wears Princess Peach's dress as a disguise.

Luigi originated as being a palette swap of Mario in his earlier adventures. This applies to Mario Bros., Wrecking Crew, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and in a few versions of Mario is Missing!. Luigi's first depiction as taller and thinner is in Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally, although Luigi's first unique sprites came in Super Mario Bros. 2, in which his artwork appearance conveniently coincided with the tall Mama's sprite. Nintendo of Japan would not adapt Luigi's artwork differences to his in-game sprite until Super Mario Kart, although Luigi's various models have been unique almost ever since, even in remakes of games where he was originally a palette swap (such as Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3). However, Luigi's appearance in Super Mario Maker 2's Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 styles revert to depicting him as a palette swap of Mario - most likely in order to be faithful to his original designs - though in the Super Mario Bros. 3 style, his color scheme is a darker shade of green; on an interesting note, his fire form's colors in both styles are reimagined. In the game's Super Mario World style, Luigi's unique head shape from Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World is retained, though his body shape and his animations revert to those in Super Mario World.

Both Mario and Luigi have been described as "cutesy," to the extent that Shigeru Miyamoto considered redesigning them to "become a bit more grown-up" in the GameCube era—for instance, by removing their trademark V sign. However, aside from growing more realistic as graphics have advanced, Luigi and his brother have changed little over the years, and continue to flash the V sign, albeit to a much lesser extent.

Luigi's appearance does, however, tend to lend itself to heavy stylization. The Luigi's Mansion graphical team took it upon themselves to animate every part of Luigi to convey emotion, resulting in such exaggerations to his body as head-expanding screams during boss cutscenes and complete flattenings by fake doors. The Super Smash Bros. series applies Luigi's cowardice to his actions, making most of his attacks look reckless and unwilling and giving him awkward movements, securing his official title as the series' "dreamy, comical poster boy."

In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Luigi's appearance receives a few changes. He has more detail on his clothing and hair, and his head is more realistic. In addition, his overall buttons are smaller, similar to Mario.

Luigi's appearance has changed quite a bit throughout the Super Smash Bros. series. In the original Super Smash Bros., Luigi's overalls are indigo, with his entire appearance being original. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi borrows his appearance from Nintendo 64-era artwork, right down to having a tan complexion; Luigi's overalls are now their standard navy blue color, though they receive denim textures and back pockets. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Luigi uses his contemporary look, though his overalls have further pronounced textures, while his hair and other clothing receive simple detailing. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Luigi's model is sleeker and more vibrant, while his hair and clothing lose most of their detailing. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Luigi receives simple detailing in his hair and clothing once again, albeit not to the same extent as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Luigi has a total of eight selectable costumes to date in the Super Smash Bros. series, with 4 in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, 6 in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and 8 in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In Smash 64 and Melee, Luigi had his first three costumes introduced; the first costume consists of green overalls and a white undershirt and cap, which are derived from Fire Luigi's colors; the second costume consists of blue overalls and a cyan undershirt and cap, resembling Mario's appearance on the American boxart for Mario Bros.; lastly, Luigi's third alternate costume consists of red overalls and a pink undershirt and cap, resembling his appearance in Wrecking Crew. In Brawl, Luigi's fourth and fifth alternate costumes were introduced: the former consists of blue overalls and an orange undershirt and cap, resembling Mario's appearance on the boxart for Pinball; the latter consists of dark indigo overalls and a purple undershirt and cap, based off of Waluigi's colors. In 3DS / Wii U, Luigi's sixth and seventh alternate costumes are introduced: the former consists of blue overalls, a dark blue cap, and a garbage green undershirt based on Mario's appearance on the cover of the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong Jr. and one of the ScareScraper colors in the multiplayer mode of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon; the latter consists of teal overalls, and a dull yellow undershirt and cap based on the boy on the cover of the Game & Watch game Manhole.

In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Luigi wears different outfits depending on the sport or activity being played. He can wear a green tank top with white stripes, which, depending on the event, may also have short sleeves, with black shorts, white socks, and green sneakers that are the same ones he wore in Mario Tennis Aces; a green, white, and black wetsuit while barefooted; a karate gi; black swimming trunks with a green stripe while shirtless; or, in certain events, his normal outfit.

Personality

Luigi has a fearful personality, but can be brave when prompted.

Luigi is portrayed as a cautious, clumsy, self-conscious, and timid person who is especially afraid of ghosts, but like his brother Mario, he is kind-hearted and heroic. He becomes easily startled and hates dangerous situations, but overcomes his fears and acts like a hero when necessary, such as when someone or his homeland is in danger or needs help. In keeping with his personality-based Power Flower, a sign in Big Boo's Haunt in Super Mario 64 DS describes Luigi as "wispy." As shown in several Super Mario sports titles, the Mario Kart series, and especially the Mario & Luigi series, Luigi is sensitive and can be emotional, as he cries easily when he is particularly upset or scared. Though he showed several instances of cowardice in early non-game media such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Luigi's Mansion exemplifies his skittishness (aside from a few hints in Paper Mario) and has carried over to almost all of Luigi's subsequent appearances.

A few Paper Mario games portray a bolder Luigi. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, he is more arrogant and boastful while telling long and elaborate stories, which Mario and his partner fall asleep to; his partners claim his stories are heavily embellished. The novelizations of his escapades describe them with even more flowery exaggerations, stating for instance that he played an earth spirit in the Jazzafrazz Town Drama Slam (whereas, according to Hayzee, he played grass on the side of the road,) and that he awoke Cranberry with "a soft call" (which his partners claim is instead a sneeze).

Another recurring element of Luigi's personality is his apparent complex of being overlooked compared to Mario. Although his Superstar status has earned him many fans, including an entire fan club led by Toadia and multiple supporting Toads (one of which claims to be his biggest fan in Super Mario 64 DS), he is not as popular as Mario, with even Bowser and his minions having occasional trouble with remembering his name (as seen in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga), and he appears to be almost unknown in the Beanbean Kingdom. Although Luigi's biggest reactions to his frequent overlookings in the Mario & Luigi series are a few "…"s and face-faults, his inattention was played up for comic relief in Paper Mario, where he complains about being left behind and perpetually trains for that elusive next adventure, though he does not openly complain about it outside of the Paper Mario series. Luigi's bio in Mario Party 5 states that he has been gaining popularity in recent years.

Luigi's state of being in the shadow of his brother shows strongly in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For instance, the North American version of the game implies that his Final Smash in that game, Negative Zone, seemed to have developed because of living in his brother's shadow and represents his negative feelings about being overshadowed by him for this long and the darkest thoughts that developed with time. Despite this, however, the Negative Zone would later be replaced, and Masahiro Sakurai did not intend to play up Luigi's overshadowed status, instead aiming to make him "everyone's favorite man in green." Luigi's state in the shadow of Mario is present in other Super Smash Bros. games, since the original Super Smash Bros. addresses him as the "eternal understudy" when he is unlocked; Super Smash Bros. Melee also refers to him in a similar manner, and his cinematic in the game's Adventure Mode shows him Footstool Jumping on Mario, signifying his jealousy of his brother. In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, whenever a Palutena's Guidance conversation is activated when fighting against Luigi, Viridi and Palutena are quick to point out Luigi's status as "number two" in relativity to Mario, even though Pit held him in a higher regard; similarly, Colonel Campbell refers to him as the "King of Second Bananas" in his codec conversation on him with Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Despite the fact that he is not seen with the same regard as Mario, Luigi is very loyal to him, and his love for his brother pushes him to help him when he's in danger regardless of his fears, including defeating his nemesis, King Boo, multiple times to save Mario.

The Super Smash Bros. series also portrays Luigi more of a coward and buffoon than in his home series, including his awkward attack animations, and in a cutscene in The Subspace Emissary, he acts afraid of Waddle Dees, which are normally harmless.

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the Star Temple gate (which supposedly knows all) passes Luigi as "unworthy" to enter. It also mentions that Luigi did something either embarrassing or foolish which he has kept a secret ever since. However, in an interview with a localizer Nate Bihldorff, he stated that Luigi had no dark secret, and it was actually a reference to Luigi's constantly living in the shadow of his brother. "The point of the scene," Bihldorff said, "was to build Luigi up 'as a guy who was always living in the shadow of his older brother and that he needs to break out of that mold sometimes. But the way the text was originally phrased, it definitely made him sound like he had some deep dark secret that was awful. I think the powers that be were looking at it like, 'We don't want to paint Luigi as a bad guy here.''" Even the game itself makes a straightforward point that Luigi has a large heart, as proven when he hits the Aurora Block and it grows to a gigantic size, flattening him.

In Luigi's Mansion, when analyzing objects with the Game Boy Horror, Luigi is shown to be concerned about cleanliness, often complaining about the abundance of dust and moth holes in the mansion and saying that it would never pass the white glove test. He also hates animal cruelty and when animals are skinned as hunting trophies, reacting in horror and disgust to the embalmed animal heads and animal pelts scattered in the Safari Room. It is also shown that Mario and Luigi wash their hats differently: Luigi washes his hat by hand and disapproves of Mario washing his in a washing machine, thinking that it is a waste. He is also refined and enjoys art, which is also shown in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers, where some of his possible teams' names are the Luigi Gentlemen in the former and the Luigi Knights in the latter.

He is also shown at times to be clumsy. Luigi often trades his jumping skills with slippery traction. He is also accident-prone as evidenced in the Mario & Luigi games and in the ending of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where he accidentally locked himself out of the hot air balloon that Peach and Mario were on while waving goodbye to the Toads, and also ended up collapsing while trying to enter the hot air balloon, due to it having flown off. Several key art and cutscenes show Luigi being involved in accidents or misfortune such as his getting inked by a Blooper in Mario Kart DS, dropping baseballs in Mario Super Sluggers, getting hit by a Spiny in promotional art, and getting attacked by a Piranha Plant in key art for Super Nintendo World. Luigi's clumsiness also helped set the entire plot of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam in motion when he accidentally bumps into a bookshelf after he gets startled from a Scaredy-Rat. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, he accidentally bumps one of his partners, Blooey the Blooper, into a volcano while trying to stop evil, burning him to a golden crisp. His clumsiness is particularly emphasized in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, which director Bryce Holliday stated was drawn from the 1990 British comedy series Mr. Bean. In contrast, Luigi can be very agile and can do many stunts Mario cannot, often jumping higher than Mario and perform special jumping-related abilities such as scuttling.

Luigi's neutral focused expression in Mario Kart 8, read as sneering by internet onlookers, has given rise to an Internet meme in which Luigi is depicted as sour and relentless, seemingly rejoicing when his opponents are sabotaged during races. Dubbed "Luigi's Death Stare", the meme has been acknowledged and embraced by Nintendo as a facet of his character: in one instance, a screenshot of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe showing Luigi being pursued by a Red Shell is humorously described by Nintendo Australia and New Zealand as "Unstoppable force meets immovable object."

Speech

Luigi's voice is thinner, deeper and more nasal than Mario's, with a thick Italian accent. When he talks, he often awkwardly and nervously stammers, indicating timidity and a lack of confidence, such as during his recording to promote Year of Luigi. Like Mario, he often refers to himself in the third person. According to Charles Martinet, who voiced Luigi from Mario Kart 64 to Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, the character's voice originated from requests from audiences to speak to him during Mario in Real Time events. Because Luigi did not have a rigged model for the attraction, Martinet devised a voice that he could perform while keeping his face as still as possible (and thus not activating the motion-capture technology used to animate Mario), giving the illusion that Luigi was communicating from offscreen.

Early on in Super Mario history, Luigi did not have any voice acting, due to technical limitations on the Family Computer and SNES. Luigi also didn't receive text dialogue, making him silent like his brother. However, Luigi received voice acting in the 1986 Super Mario anime film, as well as the Amada Anime Mario Series (1987-1989), though he exclusively speaks in Japanese. Luigi first spoke English in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, where he spoke with a Brooklyn accent, provided by Danny Wells; Luigi later spoke with the same accent in future DIC Entertainment cartoons, though he is portrayed by Tony Rosato, who provides a higher, yet raspier voice than Wells. Luigi also spoke with this accent in the PC and CD-ROM versions of Mario is Missing!, making this the first game to give him voice acting. Four years later in Mario Kart 64, Luigi received two voice actors: Charles Martinet in overseas versions, and Julien Bardakoff in the Japanese version. The former provides him with a strong Italian accent, while the latter provides him with a higher-pitched voice and less evident accent. Julien Bardakoff reprises his role as Luigi in Mario Party, Mario Party 2, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit. In most games, Charles Martinet voices Luigi, and had portrayed him until his shift to Mario Ambassador in 2023. In more recent games like Luigi's Mansion 3 and Mario Kart Tour, his voice had become raspier, deeper and even more nasal due to Martinet aging.

Martinet's portrayal of Luigi has varied. Despite having a unique voice since Mario Kart 64, the first two Super Smash Bros. games have Luigi use higher-pitched versions of Mario's voice clips, with his clip for using Luigi Cyclone being directly taken from the latter. Luigi's Mansion and Mario Party 3 retain his unique voice, though it sounds higher in pitch, and somewhat akin to Mario's, while he used a quiet, deep voice in the N64 games that feature his voice for Luigi. However, all future installments, including recent Super Smash Bros. games, give him his distinct voice that is lower in pitch than Mario's (though like him, he has a considerably deeper voice in contemporary Super Smash Bros. games).

In most modern Super Mario games, Luigi speaks via catchphrases such as "Ho-ho!", "Let's-a go!", "Yahoo!", "Oh yeah!", and "Mamma mia!", as well as "It's-a me, Luigi!", a variation of Mario's famous quote. In the Paper Mario series, Luigi is mostly silent aside from the odd grunt, though he receives text dialogue to represent what he is saying; in the first three games, Luigi speaks English without an accent, though Paper Mario: Color Splash gives him an Italian accent while speaking. In the Mario & Luigi series, Luigi speaks through unintelligible gibberish that only in-game characters can understand.

Two months before the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, it was announced Charles Martinet would no longer be voicing characters in the franchise, and Kevin Afghani succeeded him in voicing Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi. Afghani's take on Luigi's voice is very similiar to Martinet's.

Age

The stork, carrying the newborn Mario Bros. to their parents

While Luigi was conceived as an identical twin during the development of Mario Bros., Nintendo introduced him simply as Mario's younger brother. In early media, when the franchise was not fully established, Luigi was described as Mario's much younger brother. While certain games including Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its Nintendo 3DS remake depict Luigi as a middle-aged man as well as Mario, other games and media depict them as younger men. In the pamphlet for Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, Luigi’s age is estimated to be around 23, two years younger than Mario. "Family Album 'The Early Years'" implies that Luigi was born after Mario by several years.

However, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi Touch & Go describe the brothers as twins. The reissue of the former, Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, does not explicitly call them twins, but it notes that Luigi is Mario's younger brother, carried to their parents at the same time.

Many video game sources still refer to Luigi as the younger brother, indicating that Luigi may have been the second born twin. For example, in Super Paper Mario, Luvbi refers to Mario and Luigi as twins at the end of chapter 7-1. Despite the small age difference, Luigi directly refers to Mario as "big bro" in the same game on more than one occasion. Also, while Luigi's Trophy description in Super Smash Bros. Brawl also referred to him as "younger twin brother," Colonel Roy Campbell calls Luigi a "kid brother" to Snake during Snake's Codec conversation in the same game. In the Mario cartoon series, Luigi playfully refers to Mario as his "little big brother," likely due to their height difference. Since Mario is stated to be 26 years old in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Melee and 24 or 25 by Shigeru Miyamoto, then, provided it is correct, Luigi is the same age.

Powers and abilities

Luigi's abilities are usually exactly the same as Mario's, such as in Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., and Super Mario World so as to not give players advantages over each other. In most instances where one player can choose between the two brothers, however, Luigi is given his own gameplay quirks. This first occurred in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, where Luigi can jump higher than Mario but has lower traction and speed. In the American Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi once again features the highest jump, but comparatively low speed and power. Luigi's high jumps but low traction would return in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, which, unlike its original version, allowed players to switch between Mario and Luigi at any time on the map screen. In three-dimensional adventures, such as Super Mario 64 DS, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy 2, Luigi is usually faster than Mario (at the cost of poorer acceleration), but retains his classic high jumps and poor traction.

As aforementioned, Luigi has a higher top speed, but poorer acceleration than his brother in Super Mario 64 DS, along with poor traction and increased agility. In this game, the two brothers are the fastest in all speeds. Luigi's jumps are perhaps at their strongest in this game; not only can Luigi jump higher than his brother, but he can also scuttle to slow his fall. His backflip has the same effect as being caught in a tornado or stomping a Fly Guy, allowing for a very slow descent. Unlike Mario, however, Luigi cannot Wall Jump in this game. As a result of his agility and lightness, Luigi can walk on water for a short time. Luigi's Power Flower ability is Vanish Luigi, allowing him to disappear for invincibility and the ability to walk through certain obstacles.

In Super Paper Mario, Luigi's specialty is the super jump, which sends him just off the screen to bound over obstacles and damage enemies mid-air. His standard jumps are also higher than any other character's and he has lower traction once more. However, the player can simply press down to stop instantly in this game (due to his super jump).

Electricity is sometimes depicted as Luigi's answer to Mario's fire. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Luigi is given the ability to harness and release electricity with a technique known as the Thunderhand, alongside his other specialty, the High Jump, to coincide with Mario's Spin Jump. This is referenced in Super Paper Mario with Mr. L's nickname of "The Green Thunder," and in Mario Strikers Charged where Luigi's Mega Strike involves controlling plasma.

Luigi is often associated to ice as a polar opposite to Mario's fire. Ice Luigi's special item in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX is an Ice Ball, and in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Ice Balls are one of Luigi's custom moves, serving as the second variation for his Fireball. In Mario Golf: Super Rush, Luigi's Special Shot is Ice Flower Freeze, and his Special Dash in Speed Golf is Speed-Skate Dash; both moves involve Luigi taking out an Ice Flower and transforming into his Ice form, while in the latter case, he ice-skates along the course while leaving behind an ice trail (similar to his Ice form from Super Mario Galaxy). Unlockable sports gear in Mario Sports Superstars uses Ice Flowers as Luigi's emblem, referencing his ice abilities.

Aside from this, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga also depicts him as being good at acting and disguises, as he dressed up as Princess Peach via her extra dress, with his acting being convincing enough that both Fawful and Bowletta ended up tricked into swapping out the real Peach with Luigi. An earlier instance of such was in Super Mario Adventures, which showed Luigi dressing as Peach and a nurse, with both disguises being convincing enough to fool a Big Boo, Bowser, and the Koopalings.

Occasionally, Luigi utilizes tornadoes against his foes. In Super Mario Strikers, Luigi's Super Strike is the Vicious Vortex, which has him surrounded in a green vortex before kicking the Soccer Ball. Luigi's Star Swing in Mario Super Sluggers is the Tornado Swing, which has him swing the ball while it is engulfed in a tornado. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Luigi's down special, Luigi Cyclone, has a vortex appear around him, shared with Dr. Mario's Dr. Tornado.

In addition to actual gameplay differences, Luigi often executes his moves differently than his brother. In Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, Luigi jumps with his legs back and descends with them forward, kneels when sliding, and appears to spit fireballs rather than throwing them. The Super Smash Bros. series and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! give Luigi green fireballs, and in the former games his fireballs levitate. Perhaps most famously, Luigi's jumping animation in Super Mario Bros. 2 is merely his walking animation sped up; although Luigi's "kicking" jumps were momentarily ignored, they returned in the Super Mario Advance series, complete with a high-pitched warbling sound effect in Super Mario Advance 2 and 4. Luigi's aforementioned scuttle from Super Mario 64 DS also involves walking in mid-air, and he "kicks" during his Triple Jump in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 instead of flipping like Mario.

Luigi has also exhibited many unique traits in various sports and spin-off games, despite usually being a balance character like his brother. In games such as Mario Kart Wii, Luigi has a higher top speed than Mario, but has lower handling and acceleration. In the Mario Golf series, Luigi hits with less power than his brother but features better control, although his shots consistently curve left. Luigi is slightly faster than Mario in Mario Superstar Baseball, and reveals his special pitch and swing (the Tornado Ball and Tornado Swing, respectively) in Mario Super Sluggers. Luigi is shown to be a good breakdancer in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games; whenever he gets a gold medal, he breakdances like Sonic, and in the events Sychronized Swimming, Figure Skating, and Rhythmic Ribbon, he is shown to be flexible and a good gymnast because of his long legs.

Roles taken

Though Luigi is a heroic character in the Super Mario games, he is usually made as a sidekick to Mario, although in some media and games he is referred to as a partner. In the Mario & Luigi games, he is the cowardly partner to Mario, and is occasionally forced to be brave. He is the hero of a separate adventure the player does not get to play or see in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where he is a coward who changes the story to make himself look more heroic. In Super Paper Mario he was not a sidekick, but rather one of the four heroes, which made him equal to Mario. He was also brainwashed by Nastasia to become a villain, Mr. L, and was later brainwashed again by Dimentio to become Super Dimentio, the final boss. His sidekick role was completely different in Mario is Missing!, Luigi's Mansion and its sequel, where he was the sole main character who had to rescue Mario. He has also taken the role of a doctor, similar to his brother, as shown in Dr. Luigi. Overall, Luigi's role in games is usually the same as Mario's when they appear together.

Relationships

Family

Main article: Mario and Luigi's family

Luigi has a close and caring relationship with his older but shorter brother Mario, if not occasionally competing against him.

Luigi and Mario hug after reuniting with each other in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Mario is Luigi's older but shorter twin brother. Luigi often accompanies him on his adventures, most prominently in the Mario & Luigi series. While there is some sibling rivalry between the two, with Luigi sometimes feeling jealous and overshadowed by his brother, he also admires and looks up to him, wishing to be "a great plumber like his brother Mario" in Super Mario RPG, and he is very loyal to him, helping him out whenever he can and fighting by his side against several enemies. As twins, the two share a brotherly bond so strong that when they were babies, it functioned telepathically, as Baby Mario could sense where his brother was after they were separated by Kamek and his minions. The brothers still keep their strong brotherly love and their tight-knit bond in adulthood, as they share a house and frequently help and save each other, both showing to be very protective of each other. In the Mario & Luigi series, they often hug each other when they reunite after getting separated, relieved that the other is alright, and if one of the brothers is defeated and loses consciousness during a battle, the other one will panic and carry his fainted brother on his shoulders while being on the defensive or running away, at the cost of being weighed down and reacting slower when countering with his hammer or dodging with a jump.

While Mario is generally the more heroic and active of the two, Luigi too saved him on multiple occasions, starting with Mario is Missing! and subsequently in games such as Luigi's Mansion and its sequels, fighting his arch-enemy King Boo and facing his fear of ghosts on three different occasions to rescue him, the Toads and Peach, adamantly refusing to escape without saving his brother and his friends first. Mario is shown to be proud of Luigi when he is rescued: in Dark Moon, he calls Luigi "number one" while energically shaking his hand and says, "That's my bro," and in Luigi's Mansion 3, he says "Way to go" both times he is rescued, and when they reunite before the final showdown against King Boo, Mario is so overjoyed to see that Luigi has come to save him once again that he rushes to Luigi and gives him a big hug to thank him.

In Super Mario Odyssey, Luigi shows himself to be very supportive of his brother's decisions when it comes to fashion choices. When talking to Luigi before starting the Balloon World minigame, Luigi will often comment on Mario's current costume, stating that he "looks good" in the outfit he wears, even when some frighten him. When Mario wears Peach's Wedding Dress, his own groom tux, or Bowser's Tuxedo, Luigi will comment with surprise that he did not know Mario was about to get married, only for him to realize that Mario is only wearing that outfit for fun, then respecting his decision to wear the outfit. Dream Team reveals that Luigi's deepest motivation for persevering through fearsome situations is his love for his brother, shown in his subconscious from Dream's Deep with inner thoughts such as "Big bro in danger!" and "I gotta help my bro!" This is also shown in the Luigi's Mansion series, where despite his fear of ghosts, he persists in searching for Mario.

Just as Luigi shows a strong brotherly love to him, Mario also loves his brother dearly, considering him a special person. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, he willing to give him proper credit for his heroism when it is due, like when they defeated the Shroobs, and declares to Princess Lipid that his brother is worth more than a treasure to him, and in Partners in Time, when the Star Gate badmouths Luigi and causes him to burst out crying, Mario objects in anger and takes his brother's defense, with his baby self even going as far as repeatedly whacking the gate with his hammer, though it turns out that it was only to test Mario and the babies' loyalty to him. Mario and Luigi are often partners in spin-offs and in Mario Superstar Baseball and its sequel Mario Super Sluggers, which have the Chemistry mechanic, they have good chemistry, working well together. Even when they hit each other in the Mario & Luigi series to access new areas or to perform some attacks, they trust each other to do so.

The strong brotherly love between Mario and Luigi is also a prominent part of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. When Luigi was bullied during their childhood, Mario protected him by attacking who was responsible, and he has as a strong admiration of him ever since then, constantly praising him and staying by his side in every step of the way despite not always agreeing with his reckless and risky decisions. As his big brother, Mario has always been very protective of Luigi, protecting him from bullies and dangers, and in turn, Luigi reassures him that he is not a weight to him when he confides in him about his insecurities. Also, Mario often calls Luigi "Lu", a nickname he uses as a show of affection to him. When Bowser indirectly mentions Princess Peach, of whom he is obsessively in love with, and asks him if she would find Mario attractive, he responds by saying that she would if she is a girl with good tastes, indirectly showcasing that he will always support Mario's relationship with Peach if they end up together. While he takes on Bowser to protect the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario self-imposed objective is not to defeat him, but to save his brother, and after Luigi almost falls to his death in the lava and is barely saved by him, Mario is on the verge of tears as he hugs him tight. Even though Luigi is not as much as a fighter as Mario, he can still be just as protective of him, as seen with how he faces his fears and saves Mario's life by blocking Bowser's Fire Breath with a manhole, giving them enough time to grab the Super Star and defeat him together. After they get separated, they constantly think about each other, with Mario mentioning during his second night in the Mushroom Kingdom that they had never been apart for such a long time, and their website and other media about the movie also refer to them as each other's best friend. Like in the games, they share a bedroom, both in their old apartment in Brooklyn, where they lived with their family, and at the end of the movie, after moving out in a new house in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Although Luigi and Mario generally have positive interactions with each other, some media do show sibling conflict, mostly due to sibling rivalry and how they get competitive with each other. In Mario Power Tennis, when Luigi wins a match, he is congratulated by Mario, though the latter intentionally steps on Luigi's foot and squirms his own foot against it, which leaves Luigi looking confused and uneasy for what happened. Mario and Luigi's heated argument is the central plot for the episode "Oh, Brother!" in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, with Mario getting kidnapped and forced to attack him because of a mind-control helmet afterwards, but Luigi saves him after successfully overloading the device and the brothers make up, promising to not get into fights with each other ever again. In a Super Paper Mario adaptation in Super Mario-kun, Mario has pleaded a brainwashed Mr. L to recall the "fond memories" he had with his brother, only for Mr. L to humorously remember the very unpleasant experiences with Mario and get angrier. One of Super Mario Maker 2's title screen animations show Mario cautiously trying to take a key away from Luigi only for the latter to run away with the key, and for Mario to forcefully take the key from Luigi. Performing an action with either the hammer or Hand Powers on the leading brother in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga before unlocking the map-related skill causes him to get angry and scold the other, and in Partners in Time, after the brothers lose consciousness from falling into the Gritzy Caves and Baby Mario smacks Luigi in the head with his hammer to wake him up, he gets enraged and gives him a stern scolding, accidentally making the babies cry, and Mario has a minor argument with his brother after waking up to this scene, reprimanding him for causing the babies to cry, resulting in Luigi bursting into tears as well.

Overall, while Luigi does feel jealous of Mario due to him being in his brother's shadow and their fame inequality, he does not complain much about it and is always available to help him in the times of need, protecting his friends and the Mushroom Kingdom by his side and keeping a very strong and healthy relationship with him.

While they are rarely shown, Mario and Luigi's father and mother are referenced a number of times, though Mama Mario appears in several episodes of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, and both of Mario and Luigi's parents make a full appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Several other relatives are also mentioned or shown in various medias, such as their aunts, uncles (including Uncle Arthur and Uncle Tony from the 2023 film), grandparents, and cousins.

Friends

One of Luigi's closest friends is Yoshi, and the two are often referred to as "The Green Team" when partnered up in spin-offs, although in the Mario Baseball, series their chemistry is only neutral. Their relationship is much closer in the Super Mario World TV Show, which depicted Yoshi as having originally thought Luigi was his mother and still enjoys hearing Luigi tell him bedtime stories, as seen in the episode Mama Luigi. He is also good friends with Toad, although they are not quite as close as Toad is with Mario, and while other Toads are almost unanimous in their praise and adoration of Mario, their opinions on Luigi vary greatly between individuals. Some are unabashed fans of Luigi, with one in Super Mario 64 DS even asserting that "We'll have to call you the Luigi Brothers soon!", while others are disbelieving that Luigi measures up to Mario due to his clumsiness and fearful nature, with one going so far as to call him "The world's most inept and least charismatic brother". Similarly, Luigi's relationship with Starlow is far less cordial than she is with Mario, with her often belittling and mistreating him, but at the same time acknowledging that despite not being as great as Mario, he is still a hero in his own way. As seen in both Dream Team and Paper Jam, she has grown fond of him over time, though she still has the tendency to tease him.

Luigi's picture with Rosalina

Princess Peach is another one of Luigi's good friends, with him often accompanying Mario on quests to rescue her from Bowser, the two sharing good chemistry in Mario Superstar Baseball, and overall friendly behavior seen between them, occasionally overlapping with hints of romantic attraction as well. Luigi is seen swooning over Peach after she blows a kiss in her Mario Power Tennis victory scene, and in games where Luigi can be substituted for his brother, her interactions with him are the same as they would be with Mario, such as rewarding him with a kiss at the end of most Super Mario platformers, or even being referred to as "special one" by Rosalina in Super Mario Galaxy. Overall, however, the two are portrayed as simple friends, with Daisy serving as Luigi's main love interest, although he has also expressed interest in the unseen Princess Eclair of the Waffle Kingdom. He has also been speculated to have an interest in Rosalina owing to the fact that he and Rosalina are photographed together just as Peach and Mario were pictured together in the image sent by the Mailtoad in Grand Finale Galaxy, and to the fact that he only gives Mario the Green Stars he collected in Battlerock Galaxy if Mario tells Rosalina they are from Luigi.

A fountain from Daisy Circuit depicting a statue of Luigi and Daisy. (Mario Kart Wii)

It has been stated that Luigi has a crush on Daisy, and the attraction appears to be mutual. In Daisy's second appearance in the Super Mario franchise, NES Open Tournament Golf, she served as Luigi's caddy, just as Peach was caddying for Mario, and as her trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee points out, since that point "some gossips started portraying her as Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach". They are often paired up in spin-off games: they are seen golfing together in Mario Golf Toadstool Tour, are "buddy players" with good chemistry in the Mario Baseball series, they appear together in the Miracle Book pages from Mario Party 6, and in Mario Kart Wii, there is a giant, golden statue on the Daisy Circuit that shows the two holding hands and dancing together, along with another of their respective younger counterparts: Baby Luigi and Baby Daisy. Their team names from the Mario Party series include "Steady Sweeties" and "Tango Tanglers", and when Daisy received her trophy from Luigi in Mario Power Tennis, she says, "Hey, sweetie! I'll take that".

Another one of Luigi's friendships can also be seen with Professor E. Gadd. Although the only interactions between them are not frequent, they work very well together. E. Gadd shows much trust in Luigi, despite Luigi's cowardly nature. Throughout Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, E. Gadd jokingly holds Luigi in low regards, though he also states to be proud of him for courageously exploring the hostile ghost filled mansions as well as defeating the various Possessor ghosts. Luigi was also devastated to see E. Gadd trapped in a painting in Luigi's Mansion 3, showing that Luigi cares about his well-being, as well as understanding that E. Gadd can help him save the others.

Luigi is shown to get along with his Rabbid counterpart, because they are willing to cooperate in order to defeat the Megabug, and restore order to the Mushroom Kingdom. Group artwork for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle shows the two characters posing together, while their in-game interactions are also friendly. Rabbid Luigi even possesses a few similarities to Luigi, such as being timid and polite in personality, as well as favoring long-ranged over close-quarter combat. In Mario & Sonic at London 2012 Olympic Games, Luigi is shown to be good friends with Miles "Tails" Prower, with them having a special victory animation in the sequels; later on, in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the two sidekicks would not hesitate to team up in order to rescue Mario and Sonic from the Tokyo64.

Enemies/Rivals

King Boo intimidates Luigi.

Though Bowser's main rivalry is with Mario, he views Luigi as almost as great of a threat as his brother in games such as Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel. At other times, Bowser has trouble even remembering Luigi's name, particularly in the Mario & Luigi series where he often defaults to calling him "Green 'Stache" (although Bowser finally calls Luigi by his real name at the end of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team). Rather than Bowser, Luigi's arch-nemesis is actually King Boo, whom he met and defeated single-handedly in Luigi's Mansion when the ghost king kidnapped Mario. King Boo would later try to get revenge in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Luigi's Mansion 3, and the rivalry can be seen in other series as well, such as the Mario Baseball games, in which Luigi (along with Mario) shares bad chemistry with the Boo king, Super Mario 64 DS, where King Boo (known as Big Boo in the English version) was the one keeping the key locking Luigi away, and the Adventure Tour of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, where King Boo selects Luigi to face him in Polatraits due to the latter's fear of ghosts.

Another heated rivalry exists between Luigi and Waluigi, with the two sharing bad chemistry in all the games they appear in together, and acting hostile and rude towards each other, such as Luigi making a gesture at Waluigi to anger him in Mario Tennis, the two scowling at each other in the Mario Party 3 group picture, and Waluigi's vandalism of Luigi's picture in the opening movie of Mario Power Tennis. Waluigi is constantly seen harassing Luigi, whether by humiliating him during the sports competition, following him wherever he goes, or even directly confronting him. The origins of their animosity is unknown, however jealousy may be a factor, as both Luigi and Waluigi have a crush on Princess Daisy, who rejects Waluigi. Luigi himself, while he despises Waluigi, mostly prefers to ignore him and his antics.

Just as Luigi's relationships with Daisy and King Boo nearly mirror Mario's with Peach and Bowser, respectively, his arch-rivalry with Waluigi parallels the one between Mario and Wario. Wario himself does not show as much antagonism towards Luigi as Waluigi, although the two do not get along well and it has been shown that Wario enjoys giving Luigi trouble, such as by tying his shoelaces together. However, Luigi has rescued Wario from Chief Chilly in Super Mario 64 DS, indicating some degree of respect for the two.

In the first two installments of the Mario & Sonic series, Luigi shares a competitive, friendly rivalry with Shadow the Hedgehog similar to his brother is with Sonic the Hedgehog. They competed in Hurdles and raced in Skating races (the latter in which Metal Sonic outpaced them and the opening's epilogue shows them standing side-by-side afterwards).

Profiles and statistics

Main article: List of Luigi profiles and statistics

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Spirit #4 Luigi
	Series/game	Super Mario Series
	Type	Fighter
	How to obtain	Classic Mode as Luigi

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

Initial stats

• Level: 1
• HP: 17
• BP: 16
• POW: 11
• DEF: 15
• SPEED: 9
• STACHE: 5

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

• Weapon: Sharpshooter
  • Range: 31m
  • Critical Chance: 130%
• Technique: Steely Stare
  • Radius: 31m
  • Weapon DMG Usage: 100%
  • Duration: 1 turn
  • Cooldown: 3 turns
  • Charges: x1
• Movement
  • Area of Movement: 13m
  • Glide: 3.75 sec
  • Dash: x1
  • Team Jump: 5m

Initial stats

• LVL: 1
  • XP: 90/100
  • HP: 480
  • Damage
    • Weapon: 190 - 210
    • Critical: 273
    • Dash: 50

List of game appearances

Title	Year	System/Format
Mario Bros.	1983	Game & Watch
Mario Bros.	1983	Arcade, NES
Mario Bros. Special	1984	NEC PC-88
Punch Ball Mario Bros.	1984	NEC PC-88
Family BASIC	1984
VS. Wrecking Crew	1984	Arcade
Wrecking Crew	1985	NES
Super Mario Bros.	1985	NES
VS. Super Mario Bros.	1986	Arcade
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels	1986	NES (Disk System)
I am a teacher: Super Mario Sweater	1986	NES (Disk System)
All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros.	1986	NES (Disk System)
Golf: Japan Course	1987	NES (Disk System)
Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally	1988	NES (Disk System)
Super Mario Bros. 2	1988	NES
Super Mario Bros. 3	1988	NES
Mario Bros. Returns	1988	NES (Disk System)
Tetris	1989	Game Boy, NES
Luigi's Hammer Toss	1990	Super Mario Bros. Watch
Super Mario World	1990	SNES
Mario Teaches Typing	1991, 1994	MS-DOS, Windows
Yoshi	1991	NES, Game Boy
Super Mario Bros. Print World	1991	MS-DOS
Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up	1992	MS-DOS
Super Mario Bros. (pinball)	1992	Arcade
Super Mario Kart	1992	SNES
Mario is Missing!	1992	MS-DOS
Mario Undōkai	1993	Arcade
Super Mario World	1993	Arcade
Mario is Missing!	1993	SNES
Mario is Missing!	1993	NES
Super Mario All-Stars	1993	SNES
Mario & Wario	1993	SNES
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters	1993, 1994	MS-DOS, SNES
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Numbers	1994	MS-DOS, SNES
Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun	1994	MS-DOS, SNES
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World	1994	SNES
Hotel Mario	1994	CD-i
Mario's Tennis	1995	Virtual Boy
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island	1995	SNES
Mario Clash	1995	Virtual Boy
Mario Bowl	1995	Arcade
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars	1996	SNES
Mario Teaches Typing 2	1996	MS-DOS
Mario Kart 64	1996	Nintendo 64
Game & Watch Gallery	1997	Game Boy
Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle	1997	Satellaview
Game & Watch Gallery 2	1997, 1998	Game Boy, GBC
Wrecking Crew '98'	1998	SNES
Mario Party	1998	Nintendo 64
Super Smash Bros.	1999	Nintendo 64
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe	1999	GBC
Mario Golf	1999	Nintendo 64
Game & Watch Gallery 3	1999	GBC
Mario Golf	1999	GBC
Mario Artist: Paint Studio	1999	Nintendo 64DD
Mario Party 2	1999	Nintendo 64
Mario Tennis	2000	Nintendo 64
Paper Mario	2000	Nintendo 64
Mario Tennis	2000	GBC
Super Mario Advance	2001	GBA
Mario Kart: Super Circuit	2001	GBA
Mario Family	2001	GBC
Luigi's Mansion	2001	GameCube
Super Smash Bros. Melee	2001	GameCube
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2	2001	GBA
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3	2002	GBA
Mario Party 4	2002	GameCube
Game & Watch Gallery 4	2002	GBA
Mario Bros.-e	2002	E-Reader
Super Mario Fushigi no Janjan Land	2003	Arcade
Mario Party-e	2003	E-Reader
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3	2003	GBA
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour	2003	GameCube
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!	2003	GameCube
Mario Party 5	2003	GameCube
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga	2003	GBA
Classic NES Series: Super Mario Bros.	2004	GBA
Mario Golf: Advance Tour	2004	GBA
Famicom Mini: Wrecking Crew	2004	GBA
Donkey Konga 2	2004	GameCube
Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Junior/Mario Bros.	2004	Arcade
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	2004	GameCube
Famicom Mini: Super Mario Bros. 2	2004	GBA
Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party	2004	Arcade
WarioWare: Twisted!	2004	GBA
Mario Power Tennis	2004	GameCube
Mario Party 6	2004	GameCube
Super Mario 64 DS	2004	Nintendo DS
Mario Party Advance	2005	GBA
Yoshi Touch & Go	2005	Nintendo DS
NBA Street V3	2005	GameCube
Yakuman DS	2005	Nintendo DS
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix	2005	GameCube
Mario Superstar Baseball	2005	GameCube
Mario Tennis: Power Tour	2005	GBA
Mario Kart Arcade GP	2005	Arcade
Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2	2005	Arcade
SSX on Tour	2005	GameCube
Super Princess Peach	2005	Nintendo DS
Mario Party 7	2005	GameCube
Mario Kart DS	2005	Nintendo DS
Super Mario Strikers	2005	GameCube
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time	2005	Nintendo DS
Tetris DS	2006	Nintendo DS
New Super Mario Bros.	2006	Nintendo DS
Mario Hoops 3-on-3	2006	Nintendo DS
Yoshi's Island DS	2006	Nintendo DS
Mario Kart Arcade GP 2	2007	Arcade
Super Paper Mario	2007	Wii
Mario Strikers Charged	2007	Wii
Mario Party 8	2007	Wii
Itadaki Street DS	2007	Nintendo DS
Super Mario Galaxy	2007	Wii
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games	2007, 2008	Wii, Nintendo DS
Mario Party DS	2007	Nintendo DS
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	2008	Wii
Mario Kart Wii	2008	Wii
Mario Super Sluggers	2008	Wii
Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher	2009	Arcade
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis	2009	Wii
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story	2009	Nintendo DS
Mario Calculator	2009	Nintendo DSi
Mario Clock	2009	Nintendo DSi
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games	2009	Wii, Nintendo DS
New Super Mario Bros. Wii	2009	Wii
Super Mario Galaxy 2	2010	Wii
Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition	2010	Wii
Mario Sports Mix	2010	Wii
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coin World	2011	Arcade
Super Mario 3D Land	2011	Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games	2011, 2012	Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Fortune Street	2011	Wii
Mario Kart 7	2011	Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party 9	2012	Wii
Mario Tennis Open	2012	Nintendo 3DS
New Super Mario Bros. 2	2012	Nintendo 3DS
Paper Mario: Sticker Star	2012	Nintendo 3DS
New Super Mario Bros. U	2012	Wii U
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon	2013	Nintendo 3DS
New Super Luigi U	2013	Wii U
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team	2013	Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX	2013	Arcade
Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher 2	2013	Arcade
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games	2013	Wii U
Super Mario 3D World	2013	Wii U
Mario Party: Island Tour	2013	Nintendo 3DS
NES Remix	2013	Wii U
Dr. Luigi	2013	Wii U (Nintendo eShop)
NES Remix 2	2014	Wii U
NES Remix Pack	2014	Wii U
Mario Golf: World Tour	2014	Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart 8	2014	Wii U
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS	2014	Nintendo 3DS
Ultimate NES Remix	2014	Wii U
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U	2014	Wii U
Mario Party 10	2015	Wii U
Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition	2015	Nintendo 3DS
Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure	2015	Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario Maker	2015	Wii U
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash	2015	Wii U
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam	2015	Nintendo 3DS
Minecraft: Wii U Edition	2015	Wii U
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games	2016	Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition	2016	Arcade
Mario Party Challenge World	2016	Arcade
Paper Mario: Color Splash	2016	Wii U
Mario Party: Star Rush	2016	Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS	2016	Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario Run	2016, 2017	iOS, Android
Mario Party Superstars	2017	Nintendo 3DS
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	2017	Nintendo Switch
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition	2017	Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR	2017	Arcade
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle	2017	Nintendo Switch
Minecraft: New Nintendo 3DS Edition	2017	New Nintendo 3DS
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions	2017	Nintendo 3DS
Mario Party: The Top 100	2017	Nintendo 3DS
Super Mario Odyssey (later updates)	2018	Nintendo Switch
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition	2018	Nintendo Switch
Mario Tennis Aces	2018	Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Party	2018	Nintendo Switch
Luigi's Mansion	2018	Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	2018	Nintendo Switch
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey	2018	Nintendo Switch
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe	2019	Nintendo Switch
Tetris 99	2019	Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Maker 2	2019	Nintendo Switch
Dr. Mario World	2019	iOS, Android
Mario Kart Tour (2019 Halloween Tour onwards)	2019	iOS, Android
Luigi's Mansion 3	2019	Nintendo Switch
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020	2019	Nintendo Switch
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition	2020	Arcade
Paper Mario: The Origami King	2020	Nintendo Switch
Super Mario 3D All-Stars	2020	Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Bros. 35	2020	Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit	2020	Nintendo Switch
Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.	2020	Game & Watch
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury	2021	Nintendo Switch
Mario Golf: Super Rush	2021	Nintendo Switch
Mario Party Superstars	2021	Nintendo Switch
Mario Strikers: Battle League	2022	Nintendo Switch
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope	2022	Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Bros. Wonder	2023	Nintendo Switch
WarioWare: Move It!	2023	Nintendo Switch
Super Mario RPG	2023	Nintendo Switch
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	2024	Nintendo Switch
Luigi's Mansion 2 HD	2024	Nintendo Switch
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition	2024	Nintendo Switch
Super Mario Party Jamboree	2024	Nintendo Switch
Mario & Luigi: Brothership	2024	Nintendo Switch

Portrayals

Luigi has been voiced by the following people: The first live-action portrayal of Luigi was by an unknown actor in an Atari commercial for Mario Bros. from 1983. The following is a list of all of the people who have portrayed Luigi.

• Yū Mizushima - Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land
• Naoki Tatsuta - Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.
• Jean-Claude Donda - Super Mario Bros.: Trapped in the Perilous Pit (French dub)
• Danny Wells - The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
• Tony Rosato - The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World
• Charles Martinet - Mario in Real Time, Mario Kart 64 (overseas version only)-Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Jørn Rosenville - Live action segments for the Danish dub of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
• Bob Sorenson - Mario is Missing!
• John Leguizamo – Super Mario Bros. film
• Marc Graue - Hotel Mario
• Julien Bardakoff - Mario Kart 64 (Japanese version only), Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• Vinny Balbo - Mario Kart 8 Mercedes-Benz GLA commercial
• Charlie Day - The Super Mario Bros. Movie
• Kevin Afghani - Super Mario Bros. Wonder-present

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Luigi.

• 

  Mario Bros.

• 

  Super Mario Bros. 2

• 

  Super Mario World

• 

  Mario Kart 64

• 

  Luigi's Mansion

• 

  Mario Party 4

• 

  Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

• 

  Super Paper Mario

• 

  Mario Party 10

• 

  Mario Tennis Aces

• 

  Mario Party Superstars

• 

  The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Quotes

Main article: List of Luigi quotes

• "Oh, yeah!" - Various games
• "Okey dokey!" - Various games
• "Let's-a go!" - Various games
• "Yay for me!" - Mario Party 9
• "I'm-a Luigi, number one!" - Mario Kart 64
• "Hello...?" - Luigi's Mansion / Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
• "Come here, doggy." - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
• "MARIO!!!" - Luigi's Mansion / Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
• "You wanna switch, bro?" - Super Mario Galaxy 2
• "Oh yeah, who's number one now? Luigi!" - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
• "Oh, this look bad." - Mario Power Tennis
• "Thanks, bro!" - Super Mario 3D Land
• "Hey! You know what would look good? A spaceship with MY face on it!" - Fortune Street
• "Yes! Luigi won!" - Mario Party 8
• "Whew! Made it!" - New Super Mario Bros. Wii / New Super Mario Bros. 2 / New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / Super Mario Run
• "Oh, what happened?" - Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• "Ha ha ha! I'm the best!" - Mario Party 4 / Mario Party 5
• "Nothing can hurt us...as long as we're together...!" - The Super Mario Bros. Movie
• "Let's take a photo together!" - Super Nintendo World
• "Wowie zowie!" - Luigi's Mansion 3 / Super Mario Bros. Wonder

See also

• Baby Luigi
• Mr. L

Voice samples

Mario Kart 64 - "I'm-a Luigi, number one!" (Charles Martinet, 1996)

File infoMedia:MK64 Luigi Win.oga 0:03

Super Mario Bros. Wonder - "Let's-a go!· (Kevin Afghani, 2023)

File infoMedia:Luigi Let'sGo SMBW.oga 0:01

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages

Main article: List of Luigi names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ルイージ[?] Ruīji	Luigi
Albanian	Luigji	Luigi
Arabic	لويجي Luiji	Luigi
Catalan	Luigi[?]	-	The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Chinese	路易吉[?] Lùyìjí	Luigi
Croatian	Luigi	-
Dutch	Luigi[?]	-
Finnish	Luigi	-
French	Luigi[?]	-
German	Luigi[?]	-
Greek	Λουίτζι[?] Luitzi	Luigi
Hebrew	לואיג'י[?] Luiji	Luigi
Hungarian	Luigi	-
Icelandic	Luigi	-
Italian	Luigi[?]	-
Korean	루이지[?] Ru'iji	Luigi
	마리지 Marigi	-	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Norwegian	Luigi	-
Polish	Luigi	-
Portuguese	Luigi[?]	-
Romanian	Luigi	-
Russian	Луиджи[?] Luidzhi	Luigi
Spanish	Luigi[?]	-
Swedish	Luigi	-
Thai	ลุยจิ Lui-chi	Luigi
Turkish	Luigi	-

Trivia

• Coincidentally, "Luigi" translates from Italian as "famous warrior," which is ironic or apt given the circumstance. Luigi is often portrayed as being the "lesser brother" and a coward, although he is an iconic video game hero as well.
• A collectable Mario & Wario card mistakenly spells Luigi's name as "Ruigi", due to incorrectly transliterating his Japanese name (Ruīji).
  • A similar mistake can also be seen on artwork used in a 1985 Japanese guide for Wrecking Crew, as an "R" is printed on Luigi's overalls.
• In the first page of the Nintendo Power magazine for Luigi's Mansion, Luigi is mistakenly referred to as Mario's older brother.
• Prior to Luigi's official debut, what looks like a second Mario can be spotted in the arcade opening sequence of Donkey Kong Jr.