Luigi

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“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 (Japanese: ルイージ, Ruīji) is Mario's younger, taller twin brother and is a major protagonist of the Mario franchise. 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. marks his first appearance in the Mario series and his debut in general. Originally a palette swap of Mario, Luigi was created to facilitate a second player option. Since the two-player mode was dropped from most main Super Mario games beginning with Super Mario Land, Luigi has gained his own identity and personality. This is especially noticeable in installments for the Luigi's Mansion and the Mario & Luigi series of games.

Creation and development

Luigi was created when Shigeru Miyamoto set out to create Mario Bros.[1] after being told that Mario resembled a plumber, a notion he wanted to officially establish.[2] After observing the two-player competitive and cooperative gameplay of the arcade game Joust, Miyamoto wished to incorporate a similar style of gameplay into his own game.[2][3] Miyamoto's answer to Joust's stork-riding player 2 was Luigi, a younger twin brother to Mario, with whom he could compete or cooperate. While Mario's name was based on Mario Segale, Luigi's name is said to have been based on a popular pizzeria near Nintendo of America's headquarters, named Mario & Luigi's[4]; coincidentally, his name was also noted to be similar to the Japanese word 「類似」 (ruiji), meaning "similar"[5], which was one of the reasons why Luigi was a simple palette swap of Mario in the older games. 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.[6][7]

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 nine 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

Mario Bros

Luigi's first playable appearance, as well as his debut, is in Mario Bros., where he is simply a palette swap of Mario, having the same actions and abilities as Mario. Aside from his green and black color scheme, there are no other differences in physical appearance. In the game, Luigi and Mario are portrayed as plumbers, who are trying to rid the sewers where they are working from Shellcreepers, Slipices, and many other monstrous creatures. In the remakes of this game, such as the one in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Luigi's color scheme changes to his current color scheme, which is based on the game, though his attributes remain unchanged. Luigi was played by an unknown actor in a live-action commercial for the Atari 2600 version of Mario Bros. The commercial portrays Luigi as a coward, though it is unknown if this had any influence on Luigi's current personality or not.

Mario Golf series

Artwork of Luigi reading the green from Mario Golf: World Tour.
Luigi as he appears in Mario Golf: World Tour.

Luigi has appeared in every game of the Mario Golf series. His first appearance was in Family Computer Golf: Japan Course, followed by Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course and NES Open Tournament Golf. In the latter two games, Luigi wears green and white striped overalls and hat along with a blue shirt with white stars imprinted on it, and are the only games to show Luigi in this outfit. Gameplay-wise, there are no differences between him and Mario.

Luigi reappeared in Mario Golf as a default character in the Nintendo 64 version and an unlockable character in the Game Boy Color version. He is one of the first characters that can be unlocked in the Game Boy Color version by beating him on the "Get Character Mode". He had a unique course (in the sense that it was the only course in the game set up like a mini-golf course) named Luigi's Garden. At his strongest, Luigi can hit the golf ball up 220 yards and his shot type is "Fade".

He made his fourth Mario Golf appearance in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour as a default character. In this game he has a fade with low trajectory and can hit 207 yards, or 240 when he's a starred character.

Although Luigi is not a default character in Mario Golf: Advance Tour, he is unlockable by linking the game with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. His stats are about the same as in Toadstool Tour, hitting 206 yards instead of 207.

Luigi is a default playable character in Mario Golf: World Tour. Yet again, he has a low shot with a fade. His Star character is unlocked by completing a match challenge on Cheep Cheep Lagoon.

Wrecking Crew

Luigi is once again the second player in Wrecking Crew. Luigi's sprite is a palette swap of Mario's, having him dressed in red and had purple eyes and hair with a purple hammer. Otherwise, Luigi has the same controls and role as Mario.

Super Mario series

Super Mario Bros.

In Super Mario Bros., Luigi has the same jumping powers, same traction, and the same running speed as Mario. He is only playable in 2-player mode and is controlled by the second player only. Luigi's color scheme in this game shows him in a green shirt with white overalls and hat, while remakes of the game show him in his modern colors established since Super Mario World.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

Luigi also appears in the Japan-only sequel of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, known as Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan. For the first time, Luigi could now jump higher and further than Mario, though he has less traction, causing Luigi to slide slightly after moving. Instead of being strictly available only in 2-player mode, players could select him as their character in the single player adventure. His sprites from this game are reused from Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. 2

Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 2.

In the Western Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi is one of four playable characters, where, like in The Lost Levels, he could jump higher than anyone else, though he is the second weakest in the group behind Princess Toadstool. This is the first game where Luigi isn't a recolor of Mario's sprite, instead, he is portrayed as taller than his brother. As Super Mario Bros. 2 was a Western version of the Japanese game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, this was done so Luigi could fit the proportions of the character Mama.

Super Mario Bros. 3

LuigiwalkgreenshellSMB3.gif

In Super Mario Bros. 3, Luigi is once again a pallet swap of Mario; none of the original skills he had in the versions of Super Mario Bros. 2 were carried over. Luigi has all of Mario's additional abilities, which includes carrying objects and the several power-up transformations, but his high jumps and low traction were removed. The only discernible differences are his green overalls and hat. Also, like in Super Mario Bros., Luigi can only be controlled by the second player in a 2-player game.

Super Mario World

Luigi's sprites from Super Mario World, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, and Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2.
Luigi's sprites

Luigi appears in Super Mario World again as a palette swap of Mario, having his brother's abilities and properties, and can only be played by the second player in a 2-player game. While his appearance was updated in the SNES port, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, his attributes stayed the same, though his actions differed from Mario's. In the GBA port, Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World, Luigi regained his high jump and low traction attributes and can be switched out with Mario during the single player adventure.

Super Mario 64 DS

Luigi artwork from Super Mario 64 DS
Artwork of Luigi from Super Mario 64 DS.

While he was originally supposed to appear in the final version of Super Mario 64[8], Luigi appears in its remake Super Mario 64 DS instead as an unlockable character. Luigi was one of the characters to be invited to Princess Peach's Castle, along with Mario and Wario. However, Bowser trapped everyone inside the castle walls and paintings, with Luigi and the other heroes being locked behind a door with the key to his door being guarded by King Boo. To unlock Luigi, Mario has to go to the top floor of Big Boo's Haunt and jump into the Luigi Painting, which will bring Mario to the Big Boo Battle course. Defeating the Big Boo will reward the player the key needed to unlock Luigi. Once Luigi is unlocked, Luigi Caps can be found on every course after he has been rescued. The Luigi caps allow the wearer to mimic Luigi's appearance, attributes and abilities perfectly, save for his voice. Through standard means, Luigi is the only character who can save Wario from Chief Chilly's grasp, as he is the only character who can walk through the mirror in the Snowman's Land room by using his invisibility power to get to Wario's painting. While Luigi is needed to collect certain Power Stars, he is not required to complete the game.

Luigi looking at the Whomp King from Whomp's Fortress.
Luigi battling the Whomp King.

While the instruction booklet for Super Mario 64 DS says that he has the greatest agility, Luigi's acceleration is actually lower than Mario's. He does, however, have higher top speed. He can also swim faster than the other characters Luigi is also one of the best jumpers, along with Yoshi, and gives out the biggest distance by long jumping. His attacks do the same amount of damage to enemies as Mario's, but he moves a little slower while carrying enemies and objects. If Luigi performs a backward somersault, he will do a Spin Jump, like what happens when any of the characters jump on a Fly Guy or Spindrift. Luigi can additionally Scuttle for a short period of time after any of his forward jumps, and he can run on water for a few seconds due to being lighter on his feet. Luigi's ability from a Power Flower is to turn invisible, similar to the invisible power Mario gets in the original game when wearing the Vanish Cap. This ability allows him to evade enemies and run through certain interfaces such as steel grates, however, Vanish Luigi cannot go through ice, unlike Vanish Mario.

All of Luigi's minigames from the Rec Room revolve around gambling games. Luigi acts as the dealer in all of the card games, and he does not wear his usual attire, instead wearing a white shirt with a black vest and a green bow tie.

New Super Mario Bros.

File:Luigi Artwork (alt) - New Super Mario Bros.png
Artwork of Luigi from New Super Mario Bros.

In New Super Mario Bros.'s main story, Luigi has the same role and controls the same as Mario. In order to play as Luigi, the player needs to hold down the L Button and R Button Buttons when selecting a file. Luigi's voice will be heard, indicating the code was inputted correctly. While the code will be revealed to the player after the credits roll, the player can use the code at any time.

Luigi is also playable in the multiplayer mode, "Mario vs. Luigi." Here, he and Mario compete to see who can collect the most Big Stars. Like in the main game, Luigi's attributes and controls are the same as Mario's. The player who starts the mode has the option of choosing between Mario or Luigi to play as with the guest player taking the role of the other brother.

In the minigame mode, three of Luigi's minigames from Super Mario 64 DS return under the category "Table": Memory Match, Picture Poker, and Pair-a-Gone. Luigi's appearance and role in these minigames is the same as in Super Mario 64 DS. Luigi also appears in the Whack-a-Monty and Wanted! minigames.

Super Mario Galaxy

Luigi
Luigi looking up at Luma in Super Mario Galaxy.

Luigi appears in Super Mario Galaxy, both as an NPC and as an unlockable character. When Bowser abducts Peach's Castle, Luigi and the Toad Brigade are apparently inside, though they all soon escape and end up getting lost in space. Luigi is found imprisoned in the Ghostly Galaxy as the goal of the first star. After rescuing him, Luigi will go out on his own in search of the Power Stars appearing in three different galaxies: the Good Egg Galaxy, the Honeyhive Galaxy, and the Battlerock Galaxy. Rescuing him in his respective missions will reward the player with a Power Star or, in the Battlerock Galaxy's case, a Green Star. When Luigi is not actively seeking Power Stars, he can be found in the Garage of the Comet Observatory.

After the player collects all 120 Power Stars and defeats Bowser again, the player has to play the entirety of the game again, this time as Luigi. Luigi has different attributes and controls differently than Mario: he runs faster, but takes longer to build speed and is harder for him to stop running, he can jump higher and farther, and the air meter depletes faster when spinning underwater. Cosmic Luigi is also faster and takes different routes than Cosmic Mario. Additionally, the names of the stars that have "Mario" in their title are changed to "Luigi".

File:MLNPC.PNG
(Left to right) Comparison of models for Mario, playable Luigi, and non-playable Luigi.

While Luigi is the controlled character, the NPC Luigi in the game is not switched out, essentially having two Luigis in the game. While the playable Luigi is adjusted to fit Mario's build for gameplay purposes, the NPC Luigi is slightly taller and colored darker, matching Luigi's actual proportions. When the playable Luigi first rescues the trapped Luigi in the Ghostly Galaxy, the NPC Luigi dismisses the player as someone who happens to look like him. When the player rescues the NPC Luigi in three rescue missions, the NPC Luigi refers to the player as "me" (for example, "I knew I could rely on... me!"). When the NPC Luigi is in the Garage and the player talks to Rosalina, she refers to both Luigis as "twins". When the Mailtoad has mail, the letters will be addressed to Mario as usual instead of Luigi, causing the Mailtoad to feel bad for Luigi. Additionally, some of the letters will contain 20 1-Up Mushrooms instead of the usual 5.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

File:NsmbLuigi.png
Luigi jumping in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Luigi appears in New Super Mario Bros. Wii as a main character, along with Mario, a Blue Toad, and a Yellow Toad. During any of the modes, player one will always be Mario and players two through four can choose to be either Luigi or one of the Toads. Luigi's and the Toad's properties are all the same as Mario's, meaning Luigi doesn't have his unique attributes like the higher jumps or low traction. Luigi is slightly taller than the other characters, however, making him easier to get by hit by enemies above him.

If the player(s) die enough times in a stage, a Super Guide Block will appear. Hitting it will activate the Super Guide where a computer-controlled Luigi will play through the stage for the player. This Luigi will only attempt to get to the end of the stage, usually avoiding any secrets or unneeded power-ups. At any time during the Super Guide's playthough, the player can take control by pressing Plus Button.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

“Hey, Bro! I'm all over the place these days, exploring the universe!”
Luigi, Super Mario Galaxy 2
Luigi in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Luigi appears in Super Mario Galaxy 2 where he is an unlockable playable character. His attributes and controls are retained from the first Super Mario Galaxy. After the player collects 30 Power Stars and completes Bowser's Big Lava Party, Luigi can be found at the beginning of some levels. If Mario talks to Luigi, he will ask Mario if he can get the Power Star instead and accepting his offer will have the player control Luigi instead of Mario until the player completes or exits the current mission. Completing missions with Luigi will unlock staff ghosts for that current mission. The ghosts will appear as Luigi and will begin moving to a particular spot in the stage once the player touches them. If the player uses the Co-Star Luma to spin in front of Luigi when he appears in a galaxy, he releases several Star Bits.

Once the player completes Bowser's Galaxy Generator, they can alternate between using Mario or Luigi by way of entering the large door behind where the player starts on Starship Mario. The Mailtoad will receive a letter from Luigi telling the player about the option, signifying when the option becomes available. Also, while the player is playing as Luigi, the Tip Network signs and the Cosmic Guide do not appear.

Super Mario 3D Land

Luigi
Luigi in Super Mario 3D Land.

In Super Mario 3D Land, Luigi is an unlockable character. To unlock Luigi, the player has to clear Special 1-Castle, in which Luigi will become playable. To switch between Mario and Luigi, the player has to tap either the "M" or "L" icon (depending on which brother is currently being played as) on the bottom screen during the level select map screens.

In term of controls, Luigi controls much like how he does in Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Galaxy: Luigi has a higher jump than Mario, but lower traction, causing him to slide. Luigi can use all of the same power-ups as Mario, though when collecting a Super Leaf, instead of turning into Tanooki Luigi like in Super Mario Bros. 3, he gains a suit that looks like a kitsune, which is a Japanese fox. Most other languages, including the Japanese version, call this form Kitsune Luigi. Later English games officially call this form Kitsune Luigi as well.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

Luigi
Luigi, as he appears in New Super Mario Bros. 2.

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi is an unlockable character in single-player mode and is the character for player 2 in Co-Op Mode. Like with the other New Super Mario Bros. series of games, Luigi's physics and controls are the same as Mario's. Luigi's Raccoon appearance appears similar to his Kitsune form from Super Mario 3D Land, taking on the ears and tail of the fox, and Luigi turns silver instead of gold when under the effects of the Gold Flower. Both forms are to differentiate him from Mario and both appearances are purely cosmetic; they do not affect the power-ups' properties at all.

Luigi is unlocked for the single-player mode after clearing World 6-Bowser's Castle. Defeating Bowser will reveal the code the player has to input when choosing a file, which is the same as in New Super Mario Bros. (L Button + R Button). Like in New Super Mario Bros., the player can use the code anytime they start up a file, even if they haven't cleared World 6 yet.

New Super Mario Bros. U

File:Luigi and Yoshi Artwork - New Super Luigi U.png
Luigi, riding Yoshi, in New Super Luigi U.

Luigi appears as a playable character in New Super Mario Bros. U. Like with New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Luigi can only be controlled by players either two, three, or four as Mario is always player one. To make it easier on the players, Luigi controls like the other characters, with him and the two playable Toads having the same controls and attributes as Mario.

In the opening title sequence of the game, Luigi moves along with the other characters, though in some rare cases, Luigi ends up tripping instead, causing him to mess up his Ground Pound action.[9]

New Super Luigi U
Solo artwork of Luigi from Super Mario 3D World.
Luigi in Super Mario 3D World.

To celebrate 2013 as the Year of Luigi, Luigi appears as the main playable character in the expansion of New Super Mario Bros. U titled New Super Luigi U, with Mario making no appearance at all in the expansion pack. In this game, Luigi is given his unique play style again; he jumps higher and farther than Mario, but has worse traction, as in other titles such as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. This makes New Super Luigi U the only title in the New Super Mario Bros. series where Luigi has his unique attributes. Consequently, the other characters jump higher as well.

New Super Luigi U, as part of 2013's Year of Luigi, includes Luigi sightings These are images, statues, and 8-bit sprites of Luigi that are hidden in every level.

Super Mario 3D World

Luigi returns in Super Mario 3D World as one of the default playable characters. As the game's cast is primarily based on Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi retains his attributes from that game, being able to jump higher and farther, while having low traction. Unlike with the other titles with simultaneous multiplayer, Luigi can be selected by player one. The power-ups Luigi uses also change to his color scheme accordingly, such as the Boomerang Suit becoming green, and his Kitsune Luigi form returns when he gets a Super Leaf.

Luigi is also featured as the playable character in the game's "Luigi Bros." minigame, a game identical to Mario Bros., but replacing Mario with Luigi as the main playable character. Player one's Luigi will be colored similar to his modern appearance, whereas player two's Luigi will have the colors from the original game. Both Luigi's have the same physics and controls, which are carried over from the original game.

Like in New Super Luigi U, Luigi sightings also appear in this game as part of the Year of Luigi. They are usually 8-bit sprites of Luigi and are hidden in most of the levels.

Super Mario Maker

Luigi appears as an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume in Super Mario Maker. The costume can be unlocked either at random upon completion of the 100-Mario Challenge, or by scanning a compatible Luigi amiibo. The costume replaces some of the usual Super Mario Bros. sounds with sounds from Luigi's Mansion. Fire Luigi in his Super Mario Bros. sprite (though with a green shirt rather than a red) also appears on the Splash Screen of the game on Sundays and shoots a fireball at Mario, knocking him off-screen.

Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!

Luigi
Luigi in a yellow shirt and navy hat in Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!.

The first animated Luigi appears in the anime movie Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!, where he was voiced by Yuu Mizushima. His color scheme in the movie is different from the games, as he is wearing a blue cap and overalls with a yellow shirt (and a red shirt in the promotional artwork for the anime), although it may be worth noting that, at the time of Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!'s creation, Luigi had not yet been given a consistent palette and his current color scheme had not been introduced in-game. The anime also marked the first time Luigi was ever given a personality; Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! depicted Luigi as very greedy, typically thinking only of profits and characterized by his pick-axe and shovel, both of which he used to mine for Coins. (As a matter of fact, Luigi often left adventuring with Mario and Kibidango to search for Coins, though he usually ended up helping them progress in various ways through his miserly efforts.) Luigi in the anime was also noticeably more serious and less dreamy than Mario, and he seemed to lack his brother's almost otherworldly connection to Princess Peach.

DIC cartoons

Luigi saying, "That's Mama Luigi to you, Mario!" in the Super Mario World cartoon
Luigi as he is seen in the Super Mario World animated series.

Luigi appeared in all ninety-one episodes of the three cartoon series produced by DIC Entertainment, though Mario only appeared in ninety episodes. In these cartoons, he was given green eyes instead of the usual blue that he has in the games. Luigi is the only character to appear in every episode of the DIC Mario cartoons.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

In the television series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Luigi, portrayed by Danny Wells, is seen living in Brooklyn together with Mario in the live-action segments. Like his brother, Luigi works as a plumber, running Mario Brothers Plumbing together with him. The episode Plummers Academy shows that he graduated from the Brooklyn Plumbers Academy together with Mario. The live-action segments show the two as having gained a reputation for their plumbing skills, even being awarded the title Plumbers of the Year in the segment of the same name. In the cartoon segments of the show, Luigi regularly joins his brother in various adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom. In the cartoon segments, Luigi is depicted as cowardly and overly cautious, a trait he'll later show in the Luigi's Mansion and Mario & Luigi games.

The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3

File:Luigi-CasanovaKoopa.jpg
Luigi as Casanova Koopa.

Luigi is played by Tony Rosato in the two cartoon follow-ups to the Super Show: The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. The former is almost exactly like the Super Show, except the Koopa Kids join their father in making trouble for Luigi and the others. Once again, Luigi is depicted as a cautious and timid character; easily startled and reluctant to do anything dangerous, unless it means saving others.

In the episode The Beauty of Kootie, Casanova Koopa is what Luigi turned into to trick Kootie Pie into letting Toad, Toadstool, and the King of Desert Land free. Kootie tricked Mario by having her brother Cheatsy change her into a human so she could flirt with him and distract him in order to carry out their plan. After the trick was revealed and the Mario brothers got away, Mario used a swiped Magic Wand to transform Luigi into Kootie's "dream reptile" as a distraction. The trick worked for awhile, but after Casanova Koopa tricked Kootie Pie into releasing the prisoners and Kootie started kissing him, she accidentally activated her wand. Subsequently, Luigi was reverted into his true state, which made Kootie Pie scream and chase him with Cheatsy behind her.

Super Mario World

The Super Mario World television series shifts the setting from the Mushroom Kingdom to Dinosaur World, but once again, is relatively the same as the earlier cartoons, with Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool stopping the evil plots of King Koopa and his Koopa Kids. However, the heroes are now aided by the dinosaur Yoshi (replacing Toad), who was actually discovered by Luigi, who found a Yoshi Egg after falling down a waterfall. When he hatched, Yoshi affectionately called Luigi Mama Luigi.

Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land

Luigi in Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land.
Luigi in Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land.

Luigi is a main character in the interactive OVA Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land. He is part of a group trying to rescue Princess Peach from King Koopa. His appearance is notable for being one of the earliest examples of his cowardly personality, depicting him and Yoshi initially being too scared to enter a Ghost House. He also gets easily angered when Mario triggers an explosion when Luigi is in blasting range, and everyone laughs at him, causing him to abandon the mission. However, he eventually overcomes this through his love for his brother and Princess Peach, and comes to the rescue when Mario is having trouble fighting King Koopa.

Club Nintendo

Luigi also made several appearances in the Club Nintendo comic series, usually as a companion of his brother Mario. In the story "Super Mario: Im Rausch der Geschwindigkeit", however, Luigi worked as a policeman and actually imposed a fine on Mario when the latter was violating the speed limit of Brooklyn while riding Yoshi. Luigi also insisted on being called "Officer Luigi."

Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.

Luigi fighting Koopa.
Luigi and Koopa in the Super Mario anime series.

Luigi also appears in another anime, called the Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros., where he is depicted as wearing his traditional blue overalls and green shirt. Luigi only appears in the last story of the Super Mario anime series film, Shirayuki-hime appearing just in time to save Mario and Princess Peach from King Koopa.

Mario is Missing!

The "idle" sprite of Luigi from the PC game Mario is Missing!. This sprite is the source image for "Weegee," a drawing of the character that has become an Internet meme.

In Mario is Missing!, Mario gets kidnapped by Bowser, so it's up to Luigi to rescue him. In order to do so, Luigi has to recover stolen artifacts in order to figure out what real world city he's in so he can call Yoshi to leave and return to the main castle. While the gameplay and details of the game differed between versions, Luigi's role remained the same. This game marked Luigi's first solo adventure and was the only one until Luigi's Mansion, eight years later.

The PC version of the game has become infamous among fans and internet memes due to the strange sprite of Luigi fans have dubbed "Weegee".

Super Mario Bros. film

Main article: Luigi (film character)

Luigi is a main character in the Super Mario Bros. movie, played by John Leguizamo. Here, Luigi is portrayed as a kind and courageous character, often jumping into trouble and making brash decisions due to his determination to protect and save Daisy.

Super Mario Adventures

Luigi
Luigi in Super Mario Adventures.

The Super Mario Adventures comic serial's depiction of Luigi, oddly, features him in an opposite portrayal to his personality in the games and cartoons. In the first installment, Luigi wants to eat his lunch first and whines about his hunger as Mario continues with their plumbing job. Later, Luigi is actually willing to go into a Ghost House that Bowser has set as a trap for them, despite Mario's warnings, and then ends up going in when Bowser lets loose the scent of a giant hunk of aged provolone cheese. It is also worth noting is that Luigi disguises himself as Princess Peach to infiltrate the Koopalings' hideout at one point, a strategy he would later use in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

Mario Kart series

Luigi has appeared in every Mario Kart game to date. Throughout all his appearances, he is classified as a medium weight, making him a balanced racer, like Mario.

In Super Mario Kart, a computer-controlled Luigi will often use Super Stars as his item of choice. In Mario Kart 64, Luigi gains a course of his own called Luigi Raceway, which is the first race of the Mushroom Cup and, consequently, the first race of the game. Luigi also has a race course in Mario Kart: Super Circuit's Lightning Cup. Notably, Luigi uses his Mario Kart 64 Japanese voice-overs in all versions of Super Circuit.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Luigi has a special item, the Green Fireball, as well as an unlockable personal kart, the Green Fire. Mario is his default partner. As in Mario Kart 64, the first course in the game is Luigi Circuit, but Luigi also has a battle course, which is his haunted mansion. Baby Luigi also makes his debut playable appearance in the Mario Kart series here.

Luigi's personal karts in Mario Kart DS are the Poltergust 4000, the Streamliner, and the Standard LG. Luigi's karts each offer all-around stats for the speed, acceleration, and handling categories, but with poor drifting abilities. A race course based on his mansion reappears as a course in the Mushroom Cup, as well as the Luigi Circuits from Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in the Leaf Cup and Shell Cup respectively.

Luigi in Mario Kart Wii can use a variety of karts and bikes, although there are no personal karts. The only course based on Luigi in this game is Luigi Circuit, the first course of the Mushroom Cup. Luigi adds a small speed boost to his karts, but his best bonus is the weight stat.

In Mario Kart 7, Luigi is once again a middleweight racer with relatively balanced stats. Luigi Raceway from Mario Kart 64 and Luigi's Mansion from Mario Kart DS return as the first and last races of the Shell Cup respectively.

Luigi returns in Mario Kart 8 as a playable character, though he does not have any races based on him in this game. This is the first game in the main series since Super Mario Kart to not feature a course of any kind based on Luigi. Luigi is also set to reprise his role in the port of game, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Luigi also appeared in the Mario Kart games for the arcade, Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX. His and Mario's special character items are the Super Star, Fireball, Hammer, and Chain Chomp. In Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, his personal kart is a train-like vehicle while in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, his personal kart is the Vacuum Star. Luigi has also an alternate color which resembles Ice Luigi.

Mario & Wario

Luigi

In Mario & Wario Luigi appeared as the level's goal and the player had to navigate the level to get to Luigi. Luigi himself doesn't do much aside from pacing at the goal while waiting for the player to arrive. Once the player does reach Luigi, he will remove the bucket covering the player character's head.

Hotel Mario

Luigi is one of the main characters in the game Hotel Mario. Princess Peach was retained as a "permanent guest" by Bowser, who turned the Mushroom Kingdom into his own personal resorts. Luigi was controlled by the second player, his sprite being a palette swap of Mario and his controls being the same as Mario's once again. Despite this, the cutscenes feature Luigi with a different appearance. This was Luigi's only appearance on the Philips CD-i.

Yoshi's Island series

Main article: Baby Luigi

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Mario and Luigi's mother and father
The two babies with their family.

In the beginning of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are shown being delivered to their mother and father's home by the Stork. However, Baby Luigi is snatched away by Kamek and taken to Baby Bowser's castle. His kidnapping is the primary reason for Baby Mario and the Yoshis to embark on their adventure in this game. At the end of the game, Baby Luigi is rescued from Baby Bowser. After the credits, he and his brother are brought to their parents, who discover the two on their doorstep.

Yoshi's Story

Luigi made a small cameo in Yoshi's Story in the level Torrential Maze of the second world. His name was printed in the background of the stage.

Yoshi's Island DS

File:Starchildren1.PNG
Six of the star children.

Baby Luigi appears again in Yoshi's Island DS. Here, he is one of several babies that are kidnapped by Bowser and Kamek in their search for the star children. He is eventually rescued by Baby Mario, Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Wario and the Yoshis at the end of the game. After his rescue, Baby Luigi is revealed to be one of the star children along with all the other babies.

Yoshi's New Island

In the prequel to Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi's New Island takes place immediately after the moment in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island when Baby Luigi and Baby Mario are brought to their parents, who turn out not to be their real parents. Once again, Luigi is kidnapped by Kamek and held by Baby Bowser somewhere on Egg Island. Despite his separation from Baby Mario, he is sensed from a great distance by Baby Mario and helps the Yoshis rescue Baby Luigi.

Mario Tennis series

Luigi
Luigi in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.

Luigi also appears as a reoccurring character in the Mario Tennis cast. Through all titles, Luigi is an all-around tennis player like his brother, although he had better control and net play. Luigi also gained a rival by the name of Waluigi in the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Tennis and Luigi is one of the few characters to be initially playable in the Game Boy Color version. In Mario Power Tennis, his mansion appears as a court. In both Mario Power Tennis and Mario Tennis: Power Tour, Luigi's Offensive Power shot is the Squeaky Mallet and his Defensive Power Shot is the Poltergust Return. In Mario Tennis Open, the Miis can wear a suit based on Luigi.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Luigi in the credits.

Luigi only made a few appearances in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. On Star Hill, Luigi is seen making a wish, wanting to be a great plumber like his brother. During the ending of the game, Luigi is the leader of the parade. Luigi also hosted the manual of Super Mario RPG. A screenshot from a pre-release version of the game showed Luigi (along with Mario and Mallow) attending a banquet hosted by Valentina, suggesting he might have been playable or at least would've had a bigger role.

Game & Watch Gallery series

Mario and Luigi, from the Game & Watch Gallery version of Fire. Luigi, from the Game & Watch Gallery 3 version of Mario Bros.
Luigi, from the Game & Watch Gallery 4 version of Boxing.
Luigi's different game sprites from the Game & Watch Gallery series.

Luigi appears in each of the Game & Watch Gallery titles, with his role changing based on the Game & Watch game being played.

In the Game & Watch Gallery game Fire, Luigi assists Mario in trying to save passengers who are escaping from the top of a burning castle. In Oil Panic, Luigi will normally be sleeping. However, if Mario spills any oil on him, he'll wake up, get mad, and the player will get a miss.

In Game & Watch Gallery 2, Luigi appears in Chef as one of the cooks who will deliver food to Princess Peach.

In Game & Watch Gallery 3, Luigi appears in Mario Bros., where he assists Mario in moving cakes onto a truck.

In Game & Watch Gallery 4, Luigi retains his roles in Chef and Mario Bros., as well as appearing in Rain Shower and Boxing. In Rain Shower, one of the characters that Mario has to keep dry is Luigi himself. In Boxing, Luigi has to face a Wiggler, a Boo, and Waluigi in a set of three different boxing matches.

Mario Party series

Artwork of Luigi in Mario Party: Star Rush
Luigi in Mario Party: Star Rush.

Luigi has appeared in every Mario Party installment to date and has been a playable character in each title, aside from Mario Party-e. In the earlier Mario Party games, his character color was green, but has been changed to blue starting in Mario Party 3 (green is now specific to Yoshi). Like with other characters in the first Mario Party, Luigi has his own board called Luigi's Engine Room. In Mario Party 2 and Mario Party 3, his favorite item is the Skeleton Key, and his Duel Mode partner is a Goomba. Also in Mario Party 3, Luigi is used in a character's place during the story mode if the player is already playing as that character. In Mario Party 7 he shares his Character Orb, the Fireball Orb, with Mario and his partner is usually his brother. Whenever Luigi throws an orb, it has Luigi's emblem on it, which is a green letter L on a blue background. In Mario Party Advance, Luigi (or Mario) is needed to complete the Mustached Hero! quest. During Toad Scramble in Mario Party: Star Rush, if the player has Luigi on their team, he will stomp on the Goombas in their way and grant the player use of the Jumpy Dice Block.

Super Smash Bros. series

Template:SSB Infobox

Super Smash Bros.

Main article: SmashWiki:Luigi (SSB)

In the first Super Smash Bros., Luigi is an unlockable character. He can be unlocked by completing the Break the Targets bonus game with all eight of the starter characters, followed by beating him on the Peach Castle stage. Despite being a locked character, he'll always appear alongside Mario on Stage 4 of 1-P Mode and the How to Play tutorial.

Luigi is one of the slowest characters in the game, on the ground and in the air (tied with Ness for the slowest running speed, and the slowest air speed), as well as one of the lowest falling speeds. Keeping with his distinct gameplay in the Mario series, Luigi also has the lowest traction of any character, but has the highest jumps. Luigi's moves are mostly copied from Mario, though his copied moves have their distinctions. His neutral special move is Fireball, which travels in a straight line through the air rather than across the ground like Mario's. His down special is Luigi Cyclone, in which Luigi spins around rapidly; the move only hits twice, but deals greater knockback. Finally, his up special move is Super Jump Punch, which only hits one time, but if it hits at the start of the move it deals much greater damage and knockback. In addition, Luigi's taunt is a low, short kick that can damage opponents, making it the only taunt in the game that can deal damage.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Main article: SmashWiki:Luigi (SSBM)

Luigi is also a locked character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. To unlock him, the player has to either fight 800 VS matches or clear the first level of Adventure Mode with the seconds value on the timer being a 2 (ex. XX:X2XX). Upon clearing the later requirement, Luigi will take Mario's place in the following fight on Princess Peach's Castle. Fighting 800 VS matches or clearing Adventure Mode while meeting the requirements will take the player to the Mushroom Kingdom II stage to fight Luigi. Defeating Luigi will unlock him.

For this game, many of Luigi's moves were changed, increasing his distinction from Mario. In addition, his taunt, returning from Super Smash Bros., is now a meteor smash when used against opponents on or near the ledge. Luigi also gains a distinct side special move, Green Missile, in which Luigi launches himself head-first into opponents.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Main article: SmashWiki:Luigi (SSBB)
Luigi in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl opening cutscene.
Luigi's snapshot in The Subspace Emissary.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Luigi appears as an unlockable character once more. To unlock him, the player must either play 22 Brawl matches, clear Classic mode without using a continue, or have him join the party in The Subspace Emissary by clearing Subspace (Part 1); with any of the former two methods, Luigi must be defeated on Luigi's Mansion to be unlocked. For this game, Luigi's appearance has been updated to reflect his current design, and his voice clips use his distinct voice, rather than being Mario's voice clips at a higher pitch like in the previous games.

For this game, Luigi is now lighter than Mario rather than sharing his weight. He is also one of the few characters that is able to crawl. While few of Luigi's moves are changed in this installment, his Final Smash is Negative Zone, in which Luigi creates a green void that deals a random status effect to any opponents caught in it.

The Subspace Emissary
Luigi and Ness are revived by King Dedede's badges.

Luigi first appears where he pretends to threaten and attack on-coming Waddle Dees. They are harmless and make no move to attack him, but he is frightened by them nonetheless. From behind, he is attacked by King Dedede, who slams Luigi with his mallet, sending him flying into the air. After he comes back down, he becomes a trophy. A Western-style remix of the Luigi's Mansion theme plays during this segment. King Dedede places him on the road as bait for Wario, who iss coming down the road. Wario takes the bait, and King Dedede manages to steal Luigi along with the rescued princess and Ness.

Later, Dedede places a special brooch on Luigi and the others. When Tabuu transforms everybody else into trophies, the brooches, which were revealed to be timer-based revival tools, turn Luigi and Ness back into living beings. Luigi and Ness then revive King Dedede. The unlikely trio set off to help out the others in Subspace. Luigi, along with Ness, then watch King Dedede battle Bowser, and later help him convince Wario to join them. After they turn the trophies back to normal, they all face off against Tabuu.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U

Main article: SmashWiki:Luigi (SSB4)

Luigi appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and, for the first time in the series, he is a default character. None of his moves have been changed from the previous game with the exception of his Final Smash, which is now Poltergust 5000; when used, Luigi pulls out the vacuum, which sucks in opponents, damages them, and launches them back out.[10]

In this game, Luigi can use equipment to boost his stats at the cost of others. In addition to generic badges, Luigi, like Mario, can wear certain additional equipment such as shoes (speed), overalls (defense), and gloves (attack). Finally, Luigi can use alternate special moves, which function differently than the base moves.

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario

Luigi dressed up to lead the parade at the end of Paper Mario.

At the start of Paper Mario, Luigi accompanies Mario to Princess Peach's Castle for her party. Once Bowser started lifting Peach's Castle into the sky with his own castle, Luigi escaped back to his house, where he is found for the remaining duration of the game.

Luigi spent most of his time lamenting his own inactivity, begging for Mario to take him along and practice for future quests. With all his downtime, Luigi also built a basement in which he kept a secret diary where he wrote about various things, such as how he disliked being left out of adventures with his brother. One notable entry in his diary had him dreaming about starring in his own game, foreshadowing his next solo quest, Luigi's Mansion. Every time Mario gets a move upgrade, Luigi will be in a different spot. Mario could use his new moves to enter or affect these areas, triggering some humorous dialogue with Luigi. He also leads the parade in the end credits, much like in Super Mario RPG. Later in the game, a Duplighost will try to turn himself into Kooper, but instead manages to turn himself into Luigi by mistake.

Tattle information

He's Luigi. I don't have to say anything about him, do I? He's your brother!

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

File:PaperLuigi2.png
Luigi, telling Mario his first story.

While Mario is on his mission to collect the Crystal Stars in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Luigi is on a mission of his own. After every chapter in the game, Mario could find Luigi and listen to his story in Rogueport. When telling Mario the story, Luigi constantly exaggerated to make the story better and to make himself sound much more heroic; Luigi's partners (including Blooey, Hayzee, Jerry, Screamy and Torque), who generally hated him and only traveled with him because Luigi owed them a debt, almost always secretly told Mario what really happened. Later, Luigi got interviewed and five Super Luigi books were sold. Luigi's adventure involved rescuing Princess Eclair of the Waffle Kingdom from the Chestnut King. Luigi's story sounded extremely similar to Mario's in most aspects. He usually messed up during his adventure, such as accidentally knocking his partner Blooey the Blooper into lava.

Luigi also appears in the audience of Mario's battles, sometimes throwing helpful items to him. He'll also cheer Mario on during the final battle with the Shadow Queen, shouting "YOU GO, BRO!". His fan club, whose members include Toadia, a Toad from Poshley Heights, was also given two mentions in the game. The "L Emblem" Badge will change Mario's color scheme to Luigi's when equipped. The character Pennington constantly mistakes Mario for Luigi until almost the very end of the game. Lastly, Luigi's silhouette is the first of the many white character silhouettes that walk across the screen during the game's ending credits, continuing Luigi's past RPG roles as a parade leader.

Tattle information

Who's this guy? ...Come on, you really need to ask me that? Gimme a break! That's your brother, Luigi! But...I wonder why he's here? I'm sure he'll tell you if you ask him.

Super Paper Mario

File:Paper Luigi.png
Luigi's appearance in Super Paper Mario.
Main article: Mr. L

In the game Super Paper Mario, Luigi plays a much bigger role than he did in the previous Paper Mario games. He is noticeably braver here, rushing in to save Princess Peach, jumping on Bowser, and calling Count Bleck a "goon". His special move is the Spring Jump, which has him fold up then launch into the air. He is a playable character and the last character to join Mario's party.

At the beginning of the game, Mario and Luigi head to Bowser's Castle once they learn Peach has been kidnapped again. Luigi is then sucked into a vortex along with Bowser and his minions by Count Bleck. Luigi then wakes up during Peach and Bowser's forced marriage and attempts to stop the wedding, but fails. He is then rendered unconscious until the end of Chapter 2, where a pair of Goombas witness his awakening. Luigi wishes to try and save the Princess again, but the Goombas convince him to help them escape. They head off, but are stopped by a dead end. As they try to think of what to do next, Nastasia appears and hypnotizes one of the Goombas. Trapped by her and a group of Koopa Troop-turned-Bleck minions, the other Goomba simply surrenders to her and willingly joins Bleck's forces. Nastasia then orders the minions to hold Luigi in place as she brainwashes him. It is due to this that Luigi became Mr. L, also known as "The Green Thunder".

Before Mario could get his hands on the fifth Pure Heart, Mr. L makes appearance in the Whoa Zone, Mario and his team don't recognize that Mr. L is actually Luigi. Mr. L returns again as a boss during Chapter 6, after Sammer's Kingdom is destroyed. After being defeated, Dimentio betrays him and sends Mr. L to The Underwhere. He lost all memory of his having been Mr. L and returned to his normal state. Mario finds Luigi scared in The Underwhere (Chapter 7), and the two soon regrouped with the other playable characters (Bowser and Princess Peach) as well.

Eventually, Luigi faced Dimentio in Castle Bleck alone, without a single Pixl by his side. After defeating Dimentio, Luigi gets knocked out by Dimentio's fake suicidal attack. Peach later finds and awakens him, and they and Bowser later rejoined Mario, and their combined strength allowed them to defeat Count Bleck. However, Dimentio then snatched the Chaos Heart from him and activated a mind-controlling Floro Sprout he had planted on Luigi much earlier, turning his mind back into Mr. L. After explaining that the prophetic Dark Prognosticus stated that Luigi was the ideal host for the Chaos Heart, Dimentio merged himself and Luigi with the Chaos Heart, becoming Super Dimentio. After defeating Super Dimentio, Luigi returns to normal, and they all witness Count Bleck and Tippi using their love to stop The Void.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Luigi makes another appearance in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Here, he can be seen in the backgrounds and scenery within five areas:

  • W1-6: Goomba's Fortress - While Mario crosses the bridge to the tower, Luigi is seen sitting on the wall in the background.
  • W2-5: Drybake Stadium - When Mario reaches the fourth floor, if he takes the exit on the left, Luigi is sitting near a window on the right.
  • W3-12: Whitecap Beach - As Mario walks along the pier, Luigi can be seen sitting on the rock on the right.
  • W4-5: Whiteout Valley - Near the end of the ski ride, Luigi is seen sitting on one of the ski lifts going downhill.
  • W5-5: Rugged Road - After the Save Block, Mario will reach an area with volcanic rocks falling from the sky, creating holes in the ground. Causing one rock to make a hole below an ledge lets Mario reach the underground. Heading north to a hot spring, Luigi is seen in another spring in the background.

The player can Paperize the environment to pull Luigi out, who appears in a small size. Luigi will then jump out of the scenery and leave. Upon finding Luigi in the five areas, he'll be seen leading the parade at the credits (replacing the Green Toad), much like in Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In Shy Guy Jungle, if the player keeps digging through the pile of paper, they may find a piece of paper that says a "mysterious green guy" was spotted at Goomba's Fortress. The player can also read articles about Luigi's various appearances in the northernmost house in the east section of Decalburg. Sticker Star is notable for being the only game in the Paper Mario series where Luigi had no lines of dialogue.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

Luigi reappears in Paper Mario: Color Splash. Like in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Luigi can be found in various places throughout Prism Island, which usually require Mario to use the Cutout ability to find him. He can be found in the following six areas:

  • Bloo Bay Beach: Located in an outdoor shower room behind the juice bar.
  • Marmalade Valley: Located near the Save Block found on the second level of the excavations area is an "L" carved into an inaccessible corner.
  • The Golden Coliseum: Located on top of one of the spectator stands while Mario is in the arena.
  • Plum Park: Located in the tree found in the area where Birdo is encountered.
  • Redpepper Crater: Located in a waterfall within the hot springs area.
  • Green Energy Plant: A sideways "L" can be found on a monitor outside on the far right near the Green Toad House.

Luigi plays a somewhat larger role compared to Paper Mario: Sticker Star where he helps Mario and Huey reach Black Bowser's Castle with his Kart once all the Big Paint Stars have been found, as well as helping Mario and Peach escape said castle. Unlike Sticker Star, Luigi has dialogue this time around. If he's found in all of the six locations, he'll once again be seen leading the ending parade whilst on his kart.

Luigi's Mansion series

Luigi's Mansion

Luigi
Luigi, as seen in Luigi's Mansion.

For the first time since Mario is Missing!, Luigi gets his own solo adventure in Luigi's Mansion. Before the events of the game, Luigi wins a mansion in a contest he hadn't even entered. Overjoyed, Luigi tells Mario to go ahead and meet up with him there, though upon arriving, Mario is nowhere to be found. While searching for his brother, Luigi meets Professor Elvin Gadd who proceeds to tell him that the mansion is haunted and that Mario was taken captive. Handing Luigi his Poltergust 3000, a vacuum that can capture ghosts, Luigi sets out to find and rescue Mario.

Luigi's cowardice is more prominent in this game than most others; every time a ghost appears nearby or something makes a loud noise, Luigi gets startled, making him jump slightly into the air and prevents him from moving for a short time. Luigi also has a Health Meter that depletes whenever he takes damage, and if it reaches 0, Luigi dies. Unlike most other Mario games, Luigi cannot jump with a button command, which limits his movement. However, Luigi can use the Poltergust 3000 to suck in ghosts after stunning them with his Flashlight and shoot out fire, ice, and water blasts.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

Luigi enters the Gloomy Manor.

In the sequel to Luigi's Mansion, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Professor E. Gadd calls for Luigi's help from Evershade Valley and transports him over there with E Gadd's Pixelator. Once there, Luigi is told the Dark Moon has shattered and the ghosts are acting strange. E. Gadd then sends Luigi to the first mansion, Gloomy Manor, to retrieve the improved version of the Polergust 3000, called the Poltergust 5000, and to see what he can find out.

Luigi's controls and personality are mostly retained from the previous game. Luigi still can't jump, but he isn't as easily frightened from ghosts, being able to still move around while being startled. Luigi's Health Meter also returns, functioning the same way as it did in the original game, though players can recover from a Game Over if they have found a Gold Bone. While the Poltergust 5000 can't shoot out elemental blasts, Luigi can still use it to suck up ghosts and objects, cause a wider and stronger beam of light, and reveal hidden objects.

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Luigi in Superstar Saga.

In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Luigi joins Mario on his adventure. Though he originally didn't intend to go, Bowser scooped him up and brought him along in the Koopa Cruiser and they headed off to the Beanbean Kingdom. Luigi's personality shines through during this adventure, as he is often reluctant to do anything dangerous. One such time is when Mario comes down with the Bean Fever and Luigi must go to Guffawha Ruins to find the cure, though hearing of the dangers, he becomes too scared to move properly, disabling his Jump command for the time being.

Luigi's actions and attributes differ from Mario's as well. For example, Luigi has higher HP, but lower Attack Power than Mario. While both he and Mario can both Jump and use Hammers, the actions they perform depend on their positioning. Luigi can learn the High Jump, which has him jump on to Mario to jump higher, and he can also turn Mario into Mini-Mario by hitting him with his hammer, both are performed if Luigi is in the back. Additionally, Luigi can burrow into the ground if he is hit with Mario's hammer if Mario is in the back. Later in the game, the bros. will learn special hand techniques; in Luigi's case, the Thunderhand, which has him create a ball of electric energy in front of him. If used on Mario while Luigi is in the back, he will stun him, allowing them to move in sync while facing in one direction.

While Luigi can use his standard techniques in battle, Luigi has different Bros. Attacks than Mario as well. Bounce Bros., Knockback Bros., and Thunder Bros. are taught to Luigi at the same time as when Mario learns his variants, with Cyclone Bros. being a hidden skill.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Luigi carrying Baby Luigi
Luigi, with his younger self Baby Luigi.

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario and Luigi travel through time between the past and the present. While in the present, Luigi meets his infant self, Baby Luigi. The two team up with Mario and his baby self in order to find Princess Peach, who has been kidnapped by the Shroobs. Luigi's cowardly personality is still apparent, with his younger self seemingly having more courage than him. When talking to the Star Gate and completing the quest given, it is shown that Luigi has a very large heart and cares deeply for his brother and friends.

Luigi and Baby Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

While Luigi retains his Jump ability, the Hammer commands are given the younger versions of the bros. Luigi also does not have his High Jump, instead gaining Mario's move from the last game, the Spin Jump, which allows him and Mario to float across large gaps. Later, he and Mario learn the Bros. Ball technique, which has him and Mario curl into a ball and allows them to move faster.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Luigi in Bowser's Inside Story.

At the start of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the Bros. go to an emergency meeting in Princess Peach's Castle, warning about the dangerous disease plaguing the Mushroom Kingdom, called the Blorbs. Mario and Luigi arrived in the castle so hastily that Luigi was first shown hopping on one foot while trying to put on his overalls, causing him to trip and fall face-first on the floor. During the meeting, Luigi ends up falling asleep, causing him to miss the fight between Mario and Bowser. Once Luigi is inhaled into Bowser's body due to the Vacuum Mushroom, he lands in the Trash Pit and has to be rescued by Mario. Afterward, he'll join his brother on the adventure. At one point during the adventure, however, Mario is separated from Luigi by a gang of Sockops, forcing Luigi to rescue him alone.

While Mario and Luigi's controls are relatively the same, Luigi has additional commands. On the field, Luigi can once again turn Mario into Mini-Mario by hitting Mario with Luigi's hammer. Luigi will join in on Mario's Spin Jump, though Luigi can activate Drill Bros., which will burrow the brothers into the ground, allowing them to dig under gates or uproot items such as Beans.

Luigi also has his own set of Badges, which boosts the effect of Mario's corresponding badge.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Luigi
Luigi, as he appears in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Luigi makes an appearance in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the fourth installment of the Mario & Luigi series. Due to the game being released during the Year of Luigi, Luigi's role is far greater than the previous entries in the series. Luigi's appearance has also been updated from the previous 3 games, as his overalls hide his socks and the L on his cap is green, to match his appearance from the main games.

When on the main field, Luigi can use his hammer to turn Mario into Mini-Mario once again, though only on hard surfaces. If on soft surfaces, such as dirt, the move becomes Mario Dunk instead, which pounds Mario into the ground. He'll also learn the Side Drill, which sends Mario and Luigi spinning in the direction they're facing, breaking certain blocks and obstacles. Finally, he and Mario can use Ball Hop, which allows them to jump higher and reach previously inaccessible areas.

One of the main elements in the game are the Luiginary Works, which has a dream variant of Luigi transform into various different things by interacting with the objects around him. However, certain transformations are limited to specific areas. One such transformation has the Luigi turn into a giant, much like how Bowser turned into a giant in the previous game.

Both versions of Luigi also have their own special attacks, with the "real" Luigi having different Bros. Attacks than Mario and the Dreamy Luigi having attacks that help Mario in battle.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Luigi
Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

For the first time in the series, Luigi starts off the adventure in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. He and a Toad enter the attic of Princess Peach's Castle. Through a series of events involving a Scaredy Rat, Luigi knocks over a book that contains the characters from the Paper Mario series. Upon landing, the book opens, releasing the characters from that world into the world of the Mario & Luigi series. Luigi soon meets up with Mario and the paper version of Mario to help put things back together.

Luigi controls much like how he does in the previous Mario & Luigi games. He gains additional Bros. Attacks and assists in the Trio Attacks, but overall Luigi isn't much different from the other games. He does, however, have a Papercraft based on him called Papercraft Luigi, which allows the player to use the Flying Hammer Attack that can damage spiked enemies. Additionally, several Battle Cards have artworks of Luigi from previous games.

A paper variant of Luigi is seen sleeping next to a gramophone when the player is viewing the Music Player.

WarioWare series

File:Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift.PNG
Luigi's appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift, WarioWare: Twisted!.

Luigi rarely appears in the WarioWare series. In WarioWare: Twisted!, Luigi appears alongside his brother in Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift, where he appears on the Level 3 variant of the minigame and he (along with Mario) must dodge incoming enemies. He also appears in Mario Brothers, again during the Level 3 variant, where he and Mario try to kick the enemy before the player can flip it back up-right.

In WarioWare: Touched!, Luigi appears alone in the third level of the microgame Spin a Yarn. On the 3rd level difficulty, the player can unravel a Luigi making an "L" formation.

In WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Luigi is one of the main instrumentalists who plays the violin in 9-Volt's minigame, Opening Night.

NBA Street V3

Luigi, along with Mario and Princess Peach, as a result of the Nintendo and EA partnership, makes a fully playable guest appearance exclusive to the Nintendo Gamecube version of NBA Street V3. The three are part of a team entitled "Mario All-Stars", alongside other all-star basketball teams. Luigi's team additionally has a special basketball court.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

In Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, Luigi is one of the characters (with the other being Mario) that can be chosen at the start of the single-player adventure. Aside from the hat at the starting house changing from Mario's to Luigi's, nothing in the adventure is changed. Luigi will travel with Toad to recover the stolen Music Keys in Mario's place.

Luigi will also appear as the second player during the two-player Dance-Off mode.

Mario Baseball series

Mario Superstar Baseball

In Mario Superstar Baseball, Luigi is an alternative captain to Mario. His team names are the Luigi Gentlemen, Luigi Vacuums, Luigi Mansioneers, and Luigi Leapers. Luigi has similar stats and abilities to Mario, but Luigi can perform a Super Jump on the field while Mario cannot, and his Star Pitch is the Green Fireball. Luigi's stats are well balanced, although his batting skills are slightly weaker than his other skills.

Mario Super Sluggers

In Mario Super Sluggers, Luigi is a team captain, leading his team called the Luigi Knights. Luigi, along with Bowser Jr. and Daisy, are the only secondary team captains to have a home stadium, with Luigi's being Luigi's Mansion. Compared to the predecessor, Luigi's batting, fielding, and running have been improved slightly, while his pitching skills remained the same. He gained the Star Swing Tornado Swing along with a new Star Pitch called the Tornado Ball to differentiate him from his brother. In challenge mode, Luigi is the first player that joined the team. Luigi's Mario Super Sluggers baseball card listed his Rookie Year as 1982, although Mario Bros., the game that he first appeared in, was released in 1983.

SSX on Tour

Luigi, Mario, and Peach, as with NBA Street V3, make another playable guest appearance in the Nintendo GameCube version of SSX on Tour, stemming from the same partnership with Nintendo and EA. In SSX on Tour, Mario snowboards in a mountain and performs various stunts to earn points.

Super Princess Peach

Luigi and a Hammer Bro.
Luigi captured by a Hammer Bro.

During the opening story of Super Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi, and several Toads were taken captive by Bowser and his minions, using the power of the Vibe Scepter. While Mario was guarded by Bowser himself, Luigi was given to a Giant Kamek to be guarded. Once Princess Peach defeats the Giant Kamek, Luigi (called "the green man") will be rescued. Luigi does not appear again until Mario is rescued at the end of the game, where he is shoved to the side by Peach as she runs to Mario.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3

Luigi appears in the game Mario Hoops 3-on-3 as one of the starting playable characters and is an All-Around character. To use his Special Shot, the Green Fire Shot, the player has to tap out the letter "L" twice on the touch screen. Luigi's Baller Bame is the Mushroom Dynamite.

Mario Strikers series

Super Mario Strikers Artwork: Luigi
Artwork of Luigi in Super Mario Strikers.

Luigi is a team captain in Super Mario Strikers (also known as Mario Smash Football in the PAL regions). Luigi's number in Super Mario Strikers is 2, probably referring to him being Mario's "younger brother" and him usually filling the "Player 2" role in earlier titles. His emblem is a lightning bolt, an element he has been associated with since Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. In the game, his Super Strike is the Vicious Vortex.

Luigi returns as a team captain in the sequel to Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged (also known as Mario Strikers Charged Football in the PAL regions). He is now classified as a Balanced player alongside Mario, meaning his stats are well-rounded and he doesn't have any glaring strengths or weaknesses. Luigi's Super Ability is Super Luigi!, which allows him to become giant and crush his opponents, opening scoring opportunities, and his Mega Strike is called Thunder Luigi, which completely electrifies Luigi and the soccer ball.

Mario & Sonic series

Luigi is a playable character in every one of the Mario & Sonic series as an All-Around character. His emblem in the series is his trademark green "L".

In the story mode of DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Luigi is found in Frostown. He asks Mario and Sonic to challenge him at Cross Country. Upon being defeated, he'll join their party. Once at Sparkleton, Luigi helps Mario and Sonic look for a key. A Boo scares Luigi away, which makes Luigi run into a tree, causing the key to fall from it and Boo steals it. Luigi gives chase to the Boo and, if gets the key in less than forty seconds, the Boo runs away and reports to King Boo. After the players clear the ice walls at Polastraits, King Boo is angry when the Boos tell him that Luigi upset them in Sparkleton. Luigi challenges him on Alpine Skiing GS. After Luigi beats King Boo, King Boo flees.

In the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Luigi takes part in the Heroes Story portions of the story mode. Here, he journeys with Mario, Sonic, and Tails to find the source of the strange fog covering London. There is also a Mii costume based on Luigi, which is carried over into later games in the series.

While Luigi is playable for all events in the Wii U version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, he is only playable in the Table Tennis and 110m Hurdles events in the 3DS version.

Mario Sports Mix

Luigi appears in Mario Sports Mix, where he is classified as an all-rounder (all-around in North America) type character. His speed is average, while he has an above average technique, though his power is below average. His special move involves Luigi pulling out his Poltergust 3000 from Luigi's Mansion to suck his opponents toward him, followed by firing the ball at the intended target. Luigi also has a court based on his mansion that can be played on during the Vollyball and Basketball modes.

Fortune Street series

Luigi appears as a locked character in Itadaki Street DS, unlocked by playing through the Tour Mode of the game. He is a Rank C character when controlled by the computer. Several pieces of Luigi's clothing and gear also appear as unlockable customizations for the player's avatar character.

Luigi returns in the Wii follow-up to Itadaki Street DS, Fortune Street, this time as an initially playable character. Like in the last game, Luigi is a Rank C character when he's a computer controlled character.

Dr. Luigi series

Main article: Dr. Luigi

In Dr. Luigi, Luigi gains the role of a doctor, much like his brother's persona. In Dr. Luigi, his appearance is similar to Dr. Mario's, but Luigi wears his cap instead of a doctor's head mirror. In Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure, Luigi gains a head mirror to wear.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition

Sprite of Super Luigi, from Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition.
Luigi in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition.

In Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, Luigi is one of the main characters. If Luigi is selected as the leader, he can call on others as a helper. If anyone else is the leader, Luigi can be called as a helper. Luigi shares the same number of forms as Mario, having eighteen forms, all of which are based on power-ups from other games and can be seen here.

Minecraft: Wii U Edition

In the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack in Minecraft: Wii U Edition, Luigi appears as a playable skin. Luigi wearing the Poltergust 5000 and Kitsune Luigi also appear as skins.

Super Mario Run

In Super Mario Run, Luigi is an unlockable character. To unlock his house, the player has to recruit 150 Green and Purple Toads each through Toad Rally, then spend 1000 coins to build the house. Luigi has his higher jump in this game.[11]

Mario Sports Superstars

Luigi appears in Mario Sports Superstars as a Balance type character in most sports; in tennis, he is the similar All-Around type instead. Due to this, Luigi has no glaring weaknesses in his stats, but does not excel in any one stat in particular. In golf, Luigi's default drive is 209 yards, and his shots travel low in a fade trajectory.

Other portrayals

The first live-action portrayal of Luigi was in a commercial for Mario Bros. from 1983[6].

General information

Physical description

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

Compared to Mario, Luigi is slimmer and taller. His face is noticeably thinner, his eyes are slightly more bluish, and his hair is the same style as Mario's, but more of an auburn or dark maroon. Luigi's mustache is dark brown, sometimes black, and smooth, unlike Mario's ragged mustache.

Luigi also wears clothes similar to Mario, but his shirt and hat 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. In Luigi's Mansion, Luigi's shoes have Velcro on them, which is not present in any other game. Luigi's Cap is similar to Mario's 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. Artwork for the Mario & Luigi series has consistently depicted Luigi as wearing red and white striped socks; this trait is not present in any other games.

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 hat.

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[12]. 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. Strangely, Fire Luigi's pallet in Super Mario Bros. uses the color scheme used by Fire Mario.

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.[2] 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).

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.[13] 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 regularly.

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,[14] resulting in such exaggerations to the plumber's 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."[15]

Personality

A nervous Luigi, walking with a flashlight in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.
Luigi has a cowardly personality, but can be brave when prompted.

Luigi is portrayed as timid and a bit of a coward. He is also extremely worrisome and is considerably self-conscious. However, he overcomes his fears and acts like a hero when necessary, such as when someone he knows is in danger. On the New Super Mario Bros. Wii website, it describes Luigi as "Mario's fearless brother". In keeping with his personality-based Power Flower, a sign in Big Boo's Haunt in Super Mario 64 DS describes Luigi as "wispy."

Luigi cowering at the sight of Boo Mario.
Luigi cowering at the sight of Boo Mario in Super Mario Galaxy.

Arguably, Luigi's most apparent trait is his seeming cowardice. Though he showed several instances of cowardice in early non-game media such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, his cowardly nature was not actually shown in-game until Luigi's Mansion (aside from a few hints in Paper Mario), and has carried over to almost all of Luigi's subsequent appearances. Although Luigi's phasmophobia is his most overbearing fear, he usually reconsiders at the mere thought of any monsters or trials, especially in the Mario & Luigi series. However, Luigi can be quite brave, and has saved the Mushroom Kingdom alongside his brother multiple times. Super Paper Mario especially glimpses into Luigi's more courageous side, showing him boldly rushing into dangerous situations and rarely even implicating his cowardice. In addition, the ending for Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon also hinted that he got over his phasmophobia, or at the very least takes exception to Polterpups and makes friends with the ghosts of Evershade Valley.

Another strong element of Luigi's personality is his apparent complex of being overlooked. 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, with the snarky man in green complaining about being left behind and perpetually training 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. An example would be the way Luigi is almost never happy, how his commentary is very monotoned, and how one of his taunts is a bashful kick of the ground. Also, his Final Smash, Negative Zone, seemed to have developed because of living in his brother's shadow forever. Additionally, whenever the crowd cheers for Luigi, not too many people are heard cheering for him and when the announcer says Luigi's name, he sounds a little surprised. 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."[15]

When Luigi finally went on a quest of his own in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, he's presented as be more arrogant and somewhat of a liar, as he changes the stories of his adventure to make himself look better; his partners claim his stories are false. 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 he actually played grass on the side of the road, according to Hayzee) and that he awoke Cranberry with "a soft call" (rather than a sneeze).

In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the Star Gate (which supposedly knows all) passes Luigi as "unworthy" to enter. This most likely has something to do with Luigi's "dark secret from his past," which it also mentions; Luigi did something either embarrassing or foolish which he has kept a secret ever since. However, in a interview with a member of staff, he stated Luigi had no dark secret, and it was actually a reference to Luigi's constantly living in the shadow of his brother. He also added: "Why make Luigi into a bad guy? We have Waluigi for that instead!"Template:Refneeded 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 Mario Strikers Charged and Mario Kart Wii, Luigi is shown to cry when he is frustrated and losing a game.

Luigi is also portrayed as somewhat refined, leading the "Luigi Gentlemen" in Mario Superstar Baseball. Luigi's Mansion shows him to be a bit of a neat freak, constantly criticizing the dustiness of his mansion and even mentioning at one point that he hand washes his cap as opposed to using a washing machine as his brother does. He also seems to have an eye for art, but doesn't appreciate many of King Boo's decorations. Luigi has also been known to cross-dress several times, usually as Princess Peach in order to trick their enemies. Luigi can be sensitive when someone insults him, especially if the jab in question regards his mustache (as proven prior to his showdown with Dimentio). Luigi also appears to show concern for cruelty to animals; he is horrified by the deer heads and leopard skin rugs in the Safari Room in Luigi's Mansion and declares that he won't stand for an animal being treated in such a manner.

Whereas Mario rarely speaks in the video games aside from numerous yells and grunts, Luigi is proven to be quite the conversationalist in the Paper Mario series, except in Paper Mario: Sticker Star (where he has no dialogue at all). When speaking, he talks in a strong Italian accent like his brother. In Super Paper Mario, Luigi is almost Mario's "mouth". He does all the speaking for Mario in the beginning of the game (a role later taken by Tippi). Once he joins Mario's party, however, he talks only during scenes where the four heroes are shown together. Curiously, the inverse seems to be the case in the rare instance of a Luigi-only quest; both brothers are capable of captioned speech in Luigi's Mansion, but Luigi is limited to ellipses and question marks when interacting with another character. In the Mario & Luigi series, Luigi, as well as Mario, talks in gibberish that the player can't interpret, but the other characters in the game do.

In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Luigi is consistently portrayed as being the smarter of the two, but the cowardice trait is also shown as Luigi is scared of things going very wrong. He also doesn't take as many risks as Mario does.

Revealed in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is that he is willing to help his brother whenever he is in danger. He thinks that Mario is much cooler than he is, that he adores his brother because of this trait. The messages that appear in Dream's Deep further explains this trait.

Overall, Luigi's personality is hard to determine and tends to change depending on the appearance. Very few games have portrayed him with a personality that lasts throughout the subsequent release. Overall, however, Luigi can be described as timid and cautious, yet kindhearted and willing to protect his homeland with Mario's help, though can be a bit negative at times.

Age

Artwork of the Stork carrying Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Yoshi's New Island
The Stork, carrying the newborn Mario Bros. to their parents

Luigi was initially introduced as Mario's much younger brother. The first indication of their specific age difference was in Family Album "The Early Years", which implied that Luigi was born after Mario by several years.

However, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi Touch & Go[16] described the brothers as twins. The remake of the former, Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, did not expressly call them twins, but noted that Luigi was 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, then, provided it is correct, Luigi is also 26 years old.

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 Advance 2: Super Mario World, 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 Tweester 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 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 electricity.

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.

Despite his skills, Luigi is also somewhat clumsy. For example, 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 but not killing him. Usually, though, he is very agile and can do many stunts Mario can not, and in fact appears to be the best jumper in the Mushroom Kingdom and he 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 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 doesn't 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

National Siblings Day Celebration
Luigi has a loving relationship towards his brother, if not occasionally competing against him.

Luigi often accompanies his older twin brother Mario on his adventures, most prominently in the Mario & Luigi series. While there is some sibling rivalry between the two[17], 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. The two share a loving twin bond so strong that as babies, Baby Mario could sense where his brother was after they were separated by the Koopas. This closeness continues into adulthood, with the brothers frequently coming to each other's aid and rescue. While Mario is generally the more heroic and active of the two, Luigi has saved him on a few occasions, starting with Mario is Missing! and subsequently in Luigi's Mansion, and its sequel, Dark Moon, wherein Mario calls Luigi "number one" upon his rescue.

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, 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 even asserting that "We'll have to call you the Luigi Brothers soon!", while others are disbelieving that Luigi should measure up to Mario, 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.

This picture is sent to the Wii Message Board once Luigi gets all 121 Power Stars and talks to Mailtoad
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're from Luigi.

File:LuigiDaisyStatue.PNG
Fountain from the Daisy Circuit depicting Luigi with 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 Mario series, 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 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 aren't 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.

Enemies

King Boo, looking at Luigi from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
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, who he met and defeated single-handedly in Luigi's Mansion when the ghost kidnapped Mario. King Boo would later try to get revenge in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and the rivalry can be seen in other series as well, such as the Mario Baseball games, in which they share bad chemistry, or Super Mario 64 DS, where King Boo (Known as Big Boo in the English version) was the one to lock Luigi away.

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 are unknown, however jealousy may be a factor, as both Luigi and Waluigi have crushes on Princess Daisy. Luigi himself, while he despises Waluigi, prefers to ignore him and his antics.

Just as Luigi's relationships with Daisy and King Boo mirror Mario's relationships with Peach and Bowser, respectively, so too does Luigi's rivalry parallel the one between Mario and Wario. Wario himself does not show as much antagonist 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[18].

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

A list of all the people who have portrayed Luigi.

Gallery

Template:Morepic

Quotes

Main article: List of quotes by Luigi

Games

Mario comics

Main article: List of quotes in Mario Comics § Luigi

Mario cartoons

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Main article: List of quotes in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! § Luigi
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
Main article: List of quotes in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 § Luigi
Super Mario World
Main article: List of quotes in the Super Mario World television series § Luigi

See also

Names in other languages

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Trivia

  • Coincidentally, "Luigi" translates to Italian as "famous warrior", which is ironic or apt given the circumstance. Luigi is often portrayed as being the "lesser brother", although he is an iconic video game hero as well.
  • In the first page of the Nintendo Power magazine for Luigi's Mansion, Luigi is accidentally called Mario's "older brother." This is probably a typo, as Luigi is known as the younger brother.

References

  1. ^ The Mushroom Kingdom (Accessed on 7-2-09)
  2. ^ a b c McLaughlin, Rus (November 8, 2007). IGN Presents The History of Super Mario Bros. IGN. (Accessed on 6-28-09)
  3. ^ The International Arcade Museum (Accessed on 7-2-08)
  4. ^ Mario Bros. - Videogame by Nintendo. The International Arcade Museum at Museum of the Game. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  5. ^ News article covering interview with Shigeru Miyamoto. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Commercial for Atari Mario Bros. featuring a live-action Luigi.
  7. ^ Print ad for Mario Bros.
  8. ^ http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wiiu/super-mario-3d-world/0/6
  9. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBdQUWl7JeI
  10. ^ https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKlpzooN0A
  11. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKG5jU6DV70
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ IGN (Accessed on 7-6-09)
  14. ^ N-Sider (Accessed on 6-28-09)
  15. ^ a b Smash Bros. DOJO!! (Accessed on 6-28-09)
  16. ^ The Yoshi Touch & Go instruction booklet states that the Stork is carrying a pair of newborn twins (referring to Mario and Luigi) on page six.
  17. ^ The Super Mario Kart manual (page 21) states that "Mario and Luigi have had a friendly rivalry that goes back to their childhood."
  18. ^ Wario Land 4 official website (now defunct) (Accessed on 7-3-09)

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