Luigi

This article is about Mario's younger brother from the Super Mario franchise. For the portrayal of Luigi in the Super Mario Bros. film, see Luigi (film character). For his infant counterpart, see Baby Luigi.

Luigi
Artwork from Mario Party Superstars
Full name	Luigi Mario
Species	Human
First appearance	Mario Bros. (Game & Watch) (1983)
Latest appearance	Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)
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」 (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 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. 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 isn't 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.

Artwork for the Mario & Luigi series up until Dream Team consistently depicted Luigi as wearing red-and-white striped socks; this trait is not present in any other games; additionally, the green coloring on his clothing had more of a turquoise/teal color scheme.

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 Armored Harriers, Massif Bros., Elder & Junior Shrooboid and Gigi and Merri. When tattling the younger of the Armored Harriers, 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.

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 Advance 2, and Super Mario Advance 4). 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; the latter consists of teal overalls, and a dull yellow undershirt and cap; neither of these costumes have inspirations.

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 cowardly personality, but can be brave when prompted.

Luigi is portrayed as a frail, clumsy, self-conscious, and timid person who is most afraid of ghosts, but is kind-hearted and heroic. He 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." In several Super Mario sports titles, the Mario Kart series, and especially the Mario & Luigi series, Luigi is shown to get emotional at times, as he cries easily. 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 elaborate stories; 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), even Bowser and the Koopa Troop have 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. 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, his Final Smash, Negative Zone, seemed to have developed because of living in his brother's shadow forever. Despite this, however, 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. 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.

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.

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. In contrast, he can be very agile and can do many stunts Mario can not, 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.

Early on in Super Mario history, Luigi did not have any voice acting, due to technical limitations on the NES 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 soft voice and strong Italian accent, while the latter provides him with a higher-pitched, 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 Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. In more recent games like Luigi's Mansion 3 and Mario Kart Tour, his voice has become raspier, deeper and even more nasal due to Martinet aging.

However, 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 retains his unique voice, though it sounds higher in pitch, and somewhat akin to Mario's. 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.

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. In the pamphlet for Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!, his 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. In addition, when either carrying a large object on his back, or when left extremely terrified, his jumping abilities are reduced significantly to the extent of appearing inferior to Mario's. This is best demonstrated during the climax of Luigi's Mansion 3 where the two brothers are racing to the top of the hotel to locate Peach. Mario in particular is able to cross large gaps up the stairs with a single bound, while by contrast, Luigi has to hug the wall to cross over to the other side.

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 Spring 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 Spring 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 didn't 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's 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's obsessively in love with, and asks him if she would find Mario attractive, he responds by saying that she would if she's 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 isn't 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 everyone 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! Several other relatives are also mentioned or shown in various medias, such as their aunts, uncles, 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 a great 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

Mario Tennis series

Mario Tennis

• Type: All-Around
• Instruction Booklet Bio: His height lets him hit even the balls that look like they're out of reach.

Mario Power Tennis

• Type: All-Around
• Offensive Power Shot: Squeaky Mallet
• Defensive Power Shot: Poltergust Return
• Stats:
  • Power: 6/10
  • Speed: 7/10
  • Reach: 7/10
  • Serve: 6/10
  • Lunge: 7/10
  • Control: 7/10
• Doubles Partner: Mario
• Bio: Luigi has better ball control than his famous sibling and is especially skilled at volleying.

Mario Tennis Open

• Type: All-Around
• Bio: Compared to Mario, he is a bit less powerful, but Luigi is good at ball handling. His specialty is playing up front, at the net.
• Bio 2: Like his brother, Luigi is pretty good at everything. Although not as powerful as Mario, he has greater accuracy and is excellent at coming into the net.

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.
• Bob Sorenson - Mario is Missing!
• Danny Wells - The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
• Tony Rosato - The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World
• Jørn Rosenville - Live action segments for the Danish dub of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
• Julien Bardakoff - Mario Kart 64 (Japanese version only), Mario Party, Mario Party 2, Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• John Leguizamo – Super Mario Bros. film
• Marc Graue - Hotel Mario
• Charles Martinet - Mario in Real Time, Mario Kart 64 (overseas version only)-Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Charlie Day - The Super Mario Bros. Movie
• Kevin Afghani - Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Gallery

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

• 

  Mario Bros.

• 

  Super Mario Bros. 2

• 

  Super Mario Bros. 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

See also

• Baby Luigi
• Mr. L

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.
  • The Japanese pronunciation of Luigi (ルイージ, Ruīji) is also comparable to a Japanese word for similar (類似, ruiji) which is pronounced almost identically, save for a shorter "i" sound. This coincidentally matches Luigi having been created as a color swap of Mario.
• 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.
• Luigi is a playable character in Monopoly Gamer. He is sold separately as a "Power Pack" expansion figure.