Mario
Mario is the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario was orignally created by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981, where he first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong in the arcades. Despite his lengthy history, Mario is in many ways an undeveloped character, with many details of his accepted biography having been created through a complex lore spawned from the imaginations of comic book artists, cartoon writers, and fans.
Mario got his name when someone at Nintendo thought that he looked like the Italian landlord of a Nintendo of America office in New York, Mario Segali. His surname is also "Mario" since the name of the first game starring Luigi had the name "Mario Brothers."
Officially, Nintendo producers have stated that Mario's biography is kept simple in order to make the character versatile and reusable in many different games and situations. Mario is one of the most underdeveloped characters in the Marioverse, with characters such as Bowser and Princess Peach having more complex, consistent, and unique back stories.
In his first appearance in Donkey Kong, all that was stated was that he was a carpenter who had to save Pauline from Donkey Kong. His third appearance in Mario Bros. changed his profession to plumber, which was more fitting with the pipe theme of that game. Here, Mario and his brother Luigi cleaned out the sewers of Brooklyn. This fact, in addition to both the cartoon series and the movie, led many to believe that Brooklyn was Mario's original home. Newer games and manuals, however, state that he grew up in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom. Some have suggested that the brothers were taken to the "Real World" at an early age, while others disagree with this because it contradicts the other games and the Super Mario 64 guide, which was written after Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
Over the course of his many games, Mario has rescued a number of women from captivity (including Pauline, Princess Peach, and Princess Daisy) and has become regarded as a great hero in the Mushroom Kingdom. There is no definitive time line for the events in the various games, most of which could be placed in nearly any order. Mario's distinctive look is due to technology restrictions in the mid-'80s: with a limited number of pixels and colors, the programmers could not animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear" if his shirt was a solid color; they did not have the space to give him a mouth; and they could not animate hair, so Mario got overalls, a moustache, and a cap to bypass these problems. Mario's creator Shigeru Miyamoto has also stated when interviewed that Mario wears a cap because he finds it difficult to draw hair.
When Mario was first conceived, he looked, more or less, as he does today: a short, plump man with the trademark hat, brown hair, black mustache and overalls. He normally wears blue overalls on top of a red shirt, but such was not always the case. Originally, he wore red overalls on top of a blue shirt — almost exactly the opposite of what he wears now. The American Super Mario Bros. 2 was the first appearance of his modern outfit (the box had the red overalls-on-blue shirt, but the game itself had a blue overalls-on-red shirt); however, it was Super Mario Bros. 3 that standardized today's blue overalls-on-red shirt outfit. (Incidentally, the original Super Mario Bros. has neither in-game; Mario wears a brown shirt with red overalls).Mario's outfit rarely changes, though he's known to change it on occasion if the situation calls for it. For example, in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario wore short sleeves instead of his usual long sleeved shirt, and could even forgo this entirely in favor of a more tropical shirt design worn over his normal shirt, which he always wore with sunglasses.
Initial Stats in SMRPG
- Level 1
- HP: 20
- FP: 10
- Speed: 20
- Attack: 20
- Defense: 0
- Magic Attack: 10
- Magic Defense: 2
- Special Attacks:
- Jump:
- FP Used: 3
- Magic Power: 25
- Description: Mario jumps one one enemy. Right before he stomps, push the "Y" button.
- Jump:
Tattle Information
It's Mario, silly! He's here to save Princess Peach, who was kidnapped by Bowser. Remember? He fights until the bitter end, no matter what enemies attack! -Lee or a Duplighost, when copying Goombario's Tattle ability
Mario's Powers and Abilities
- Mario can (in some games) control fire without a powerup.
- In Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario and the other three playable characters have a Super Jump. Mario would duck down, and after about two seconds, he'd start to glow. When he releases his energy, Mario would jump twice as high.
- Mario's Super Jump height was exceeded only by his Ultra Jump, from Super Mario RPG'. With this special attack, Mario can jump on enemies consecutively one hundred times (if performed correctly). This is one of Mario's most dangerous attacks.
- Mario even has his own fighting style. Although he never really uses it in his games, he does use the martial arts in a Super Mario Bros. 3 comic. In the comic, while figting Lemmy Koopa, Mario says "Good thing I know karate." In the following panel, Mario jumps many times in a rapid motion, dodging all of Lemmy's attacks with ease.
- Mario has many different jumps: Jump, Super Jump, Ultra Jump, Running Jump, Backflip, Somersault, Spin Jump, Mario Tornado, Super Jump Punch, and the Triple Jump.
- In Super Smash Bros., Mario can perform four or more jumps in midair.
- In Super Mario 64, Mario can hold his breath underwater for 46 seconds before dying. However, in other Mario games, the plumber can hold his breath indefinitely.
- Mario has 4 powerups that can make him fly- the Tanooki Suit, the Raccoon Suit, the Wing Cap, and the Cape.
- In the RPG sub-series, Mario's most powerful weapon is the Ultra Hammer (However, in Super Mario RPG, the Ultra Hammer is only the second most powerful weapon; the hidden item, the Lazy Shell, is his most powerful weapon.).
Paper Abilities of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Airplane Mode: The player can make Mario enter this mode by positioning him over a plane panel and pressing Y. This turns him into a plane. He can then glide through the air. The player uses the control stick to steer him.
Paper Mode: Mario can turn sideways if the player presses R. (He is paper thin in the Paper Mario series, so sideways he can get through thin cracks.)
Tube Mode: Hold down R and rotate the control stick.
Boat Mode: Position Mario over a boat panel and press Y.
Names of Mario
- Jumpman (Mario's original name in the Japanese arcade version of Donkey Kong. He was renamed for the American release)
- Doctor Mario (Mario when he assumes her medical persona in Dr. Mario)
- Mario (Mario's standard name)
- Super Mario (Mario when he grows large from a Super Mushroom)
- Fiery Mario (Mario when he grabs a Fire Flower)
- The Great Gonzales (Mario's fighter name in the Glitz Pit)
- Mario Mario (Mario's full name)
Portrayals
Was voiced/portrayed by:
- Lou Albano in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
- Walker Boone in the Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World cartoons.
- Charles Martinet in most of the video games.
- Bob Hoskins in the Super Mario Bros. movie.
