Birdo
- “I'M READY FOR YA THIS TIME!”
- —Birdo, Super Mario Advance
Birdo is a dinosaur-like species resembling the Yoshi species. The species first appeared in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (Super Mario Bros. 2). Birdo is usually parterned with Yoshi and is presumed to be close to him. It is unknown why, but Birdo sometimes is a villain (such as in the earlier games) and sometimes seems to be a good character (such as in the spin-offs). Birdo is known as the first gender-confused in the Mario series.
Biography
Birdo in Subcon
The first appearance of Birdo was in Super Mario Bros. 2, where she was a mini-boss character of each level. Birdo, depending on her form, spat eggs and/or fireballs at the player. Her standard pink form fired eggs, a red color swap shot both eggs and fireballs, and a green one sent only fire after the characters. (In the event of a green Birdo, the player had to find a Mushroom Block to toss at her.) Rarely, a Birdo would appear as a common enemy, instead of a boss. Usually, those Birdos are invincible. (After the player defeats one of these Birdos, it comes right back.) The credits of Super Mario Bros. 2 label Birdo as Ostro (and vice versa), a different enemy that has nothing to do with Birdo.
In the game Super Mario Advance, remake of Super Mario Bros. 2, there was a robotic Birdo boss named Robirdo, who took over a second Mouser's position as the boss of World 3. Super Mario Advance is also notable for being one of the last games to give Birdo understandable voice acting (further games would simply allow her to emit honking noises); in this game she spoke clear sentences such as "This is as far as you go!" and "Hello there".
Birdo Teams up With Toad
Birdo was actually one of the heroes in Wario's Woods. The woodland monsters were attacking the Mushroom Kingdom, and she, along with Wanda and Toad, had to stop Wario. Although she is not playable, she aids Toad by giving bombs to Wanda, who then passes them to Toad. She will also shout instructions and encouragement to Toad from the corner. The instruction manual for this game calls her Catherine, which is the original Japanese name.
She is chased away when Wario takes her place.
Valentina's Worker
Birdo appeared as a boss in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Birdo was first seen as an egg named Shelly who was found in Nimbus Castle (while the stronghold was under the control of Valentina) and was strangely being watered by Shy Away, who was perhaps intending to use her as a weapon of sorts. When Shy Away saw Mario, though, he quickly abandoned his post and fled, leaving Shelly exposed. Mario could then speak to Shelly, who would request that Mario played with her; if Mario complied, though, a battle between his party and Shelly would begin. Although Shelly would never attack or perform any malicious moves toward Mario and friends, the group (through attacking) could gradually split her open to reveal Birdo. She would cheerfully introduce herself and start attacking. After suffering more attacks from Mario and company, Birdo would also raise her attacking methods, beginning to shoot out the explosive Eggberts rather than normal eggs. (Defending on a turn in which Birdo shot out Eggberts, though, would actually fling the explosive eggs back into Birdo's nest, where they could then be attacked so that they would explode and deal massive damage to Birdo herself.) Despite the pain and anger she showed ambiguous signs of going through, this Birdo eventually gave up mid-battle (though she actually suffered normal defeat and Mario's party earned battle spoils such as Experience Points as normally) due to the fact that she found Mario and his friends too cute to destroy.
The Stolen Voice of Birdo
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Birdo helped the heroes during the first part of the game. When Cackletta and Fawful visited the Mushroom Kingdom, Birdo disguised herself as Princess Peach. Cackletta therefore stole Birdo's voice, not Peach's, and when Cackletta unknowingly gave Birdo's voice to the Beanstar via Peach-bots, it went insane. The first time Birdo actually appeared though, was when Peach and Toadsworth reveal that it was she who got her voice stolen; as they said this, Birdo appeared and started wildly chasing one of Lady Lima's assistants, after winking at them flirtatiously. Later in the game, Birdo replaced Bowser as Popple's "Rookie" out of her mad love for the Beanish crook. She was a powerful opponent, as one of her attacks involves sucking in Mario or Luigi; if she is successful in this, she will not only hurt the unfortunate Mario Brother she sucked up, but will also revive her own HP. The only way to dodge this attack is to hit her with a hammer. She can also throw flaming eggs in a wild, sporadic and put Popple in protective but deadly egg shields. After Popple and Birdo failed in their attempt to destroy the Mario Brothers, Popple blamed it all on Birdo and even went as far as to fire her, and Birdo (who was noticeably less obedient than Popple's other side-kick, Bowser) responded by furiously knocking him away and ending their relationship (which was unrequited by Popple anyway). Birdo then gave a short speech about her new dedication to fight towards super-stardom, expressed anger at Mario and Luigi, and ran away. She did not reappear for the rest of the Mario & Luigi series so far.
Other Appearances
Birdo's debut into sports games was in Mario Tennis for the N64, which was the first game to ever give her understandable voice acting. (Super Mario Advance was the only other game to do so.) In this game, she appears next to Yoshi and they are seen to be very affectionate, but she did not appear in the more recent sequel, Mario Power Tennis.
In Mario Superstar Baseball, Birdo is a balance character that specializes in batting. She was on Yoshi's team as a Sub-Captain. She could also be chosen as a captain in Exhibition Mode. Her special shoot is the Weird Ball.
Birdo is in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as Yoshi's default partner. Like Yoshi's, her special item is an Egg, but hers has Pink Spots instead of green ones. She appears in Mario Kart Wii as a middle weight character. She is unlockable when a player defeats 250 other people in online racing, or play Time Trial mode on sixteen different courses.
Birdo is unlockable in Mario Party 7, when purchased at the Duty Free Shop with 1,000 mileage points. She is one of the two new characters along with Dry Bones. She also appears as playable from the start of Mario Party 8.
Birdo is an unlockable character in Mario Hoops 3 on 3. She is an all-around type and her shot is the Egg Shot.
It is possible that Birdo may be one of the many Birdos that appeared in Super Mario Strikers and the sequel Mario Strikers Charged. She is offensive in the first one and power in the sequel.
Birdo is also a playable character in the crossover game, Itadaki Street DS.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
In Super Smash Bros. Melee Birdo re-appeared in her two-dimensional Super Mario All-Stars sprite; she is on the Super Mario Bros. 2-based stage. Sometimes, she will come out from the side of the stage and shoot eggs, hurting any player who comes in contact with them. She can easily be destroyed by a strong attack, however. Strangely, whenever she is hurt, she will turn blue for a split second. Birdo also appears in her 2-D form as a trophy, which unlocks the stage she is in.
Other Information
Personality
Birdo displays great determination and confident in all aspects of her life. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga she revealed her goal of becoming a Superstar. She has tackled a wide variety of sports throughout her life and was the first known Birdo to emerge in the public spotlight in Mario Tennis.
Birdo perceives herself to be very beautiful and effeminate. She often strikes poses to show off her appearance. Additionally, she always wears a massive diamond ring on her finger. In Mario Party 7, when Birdo gets a Star, she shows off this ring during one of her poses.
Always looking for love, Birdo has had a variety of crushes and relationships throughout her life. She is very flirtatious and affectionate with others, even when she doesn't know them very well, as evidenced in her relationship with Popple in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. In the same game she expresses her high opinion of love and romance, explaining her flirtatious nature and drive to find love. The effect of these whirlwind romances on Birdo have only been hinted at in her Egg Shot move in Mario Hoops 3-on-3, which sends broken hearts flying. This is a stark contrast to Princess Peach's Heart Shot.
Gender Controversy
According to the instruction manual of Super Mario Bros. 2, one of the Birdos seen in that game is actually a boy who thinks he is a girl and likes to be called Birdetta. This is actually a decent localization, and contrary to popular belief, not incorrect. Birdo is known as Catherine in Japan, and also in Western manuals of Wario's Woods. In Japan, Catherine is male as well, and likes to believe that he is a girl. Like Birdo, he likes to be called Cathy as opposed to his real name. The misconception that the character is female in Japan is due to the fact that Catherine is a feminine name, but in the past hardly anyone ever translated his Japanese profiles, which all say that he is male since his debut in Doki Doki Panic. Due to 'its' nature, both "he" and "she" are acceptable when referring to Birdo.
Birdo's gender has been a source of dispute for many fans. Nintendo of America has chosen to censor Birdo in later appearances to avoid potential controversy amongst the American public by removing any statement saying that he is really male. In Mario Strikers Charged for the Wii, however, he is once again referred to as male in English, so that policy may be slowly fading away. Also, in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Popple pauses before settling on calling Birdo a "dame", which is contributed by his own confusion on the matter. There is said to be both a species and a character named Birdo. In the games, the individual character seems to be the only pink one, and the only one which now wears a diamond ring. It seems more than likely that Birdo is female, but others that are referred to as male, are different Birdos. Some fans implicate her as a male-to-female transsexual, although nothing is confirmed.
Powers and Abilities
In addition to eggs, Birdo can shoot fireballs from her snout, though this ability is only displayed in Super Mario Bros. 2 and its subsequent remakes. As well as spitting things from her snout, Birdo has also shown the ability to utilize her snout in a manner similar to a vacuum, using it to suck things closer to herself or even swallow them; Birdo displays this ability in both Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (which notably has her leeching away the health of those she sucks up) and Mario Superstar Baseball. Birdo has also shown, on occasion, to envelop people, including herself, in large eggs, in order to increase defense. Birdo is usually classified as all-around in sports who has a great deal of strength. In Mario Golf: Toadstool tour hitting a nice shot while playing as her will cause a rainbow to form similar to Yoshi, but rainbow abilities have since then not been seen. Birdo also has some hints of heart based power similar to Princess Peach as shown in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour in her victory cut-scene and Mario Hoops 3-on-3 in her special shot. However, they are not as strong or as useful as Peach's, often being slightly comedic, for example only succeeding in charming her Golf trophy into the air for a short time until it fell down again, to Birdo's surprise.
Relationship with other characters
Yoshi
- Main article: yoshi
Birdo and Yoshi's relationship is mysterious, the two are often partners in sports games such as Mario Kart Double Dash!! and Mario Tennis. A relationship is slightly hinted between the two however there is little evidence supporting this, Birdo's diamond ring was at one point speculated to be an engagement ring however official descriptions of Birdo have mentioned this ring directly and not confirmed this fact. It seems far more likely the two are simply close friends as they have a lot in common such as abilities and species. Birdo's willingness to flirt with others would also contradict any romantic relationship between her and Yoshi, the two seem close but nothing has ever been explicitly discussed. It is safe to assume they have a positive relationship and that Birdo may be somewhat attracted to Yoshi, also Yoshi being the kind hearted character he is always happy to make a friend.
Trivia
- In Super Paper Mario, there is a Sammer Guy named Squatting Birdo, an obvious reference to Birdo and her species. Also, like a few other Sammer Guys, Squatting Birdo recognizes his namesake as an almost deity-like creature, and his ramblings when first encountered suggest that Birdos are flightless birds rather than dinosaurs. This may have been a reference to the confusion between Birdo and and the ostrich-like Ostro in Super Mario Bros. 2. Birdos did indeed fly in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, however.
- On two courses from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, there are signs posted that read "Ribbon". They feature a picture of Birdo posing. The signs can be found in Mushroom City and Yoshi Circuit.
- The artwork of Birdos in Super Mario Strikers was the way they looked on Princess Peach's team.
- Birdo's emblem in various games is a Birdo Egg.
- In the original Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo actually held whatever she would give to player after being defeated, but in the Super Mario All-Stars version and Super Mario Advance, she actually held nothing, instead after being defeated spitting it out. (Which is odd, as the enhanced graphic would make this even more possible).
- The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Crocodile Mario" featured a sub-species of Birdos known as Birdoroos, which are a cross between Birdos and kangaroos.
- Birdo was seen in the backround of Mario Tennis: Power Tour when Ace and Clay got off the plane to get to the Mushroom Kingdom tennis court.
- In Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Birdo's voice gets replaced with an explosive vocabulary. Although, when talking to Popple and the Mario Bros. later in the game, her voice is fine.
Foreign Names
Info from Spin-Off Titles
Mario Hoops 3 on 3 Information
- Type: All-Around
- Special Shot: Egg Shot
- Letter to Tap: File:Triangle.png
Mario Superstar Baseball Information
- Teams: Birdo Beauties, Birdo Models, Birdo Bows
- Type: Balanced
- Starting Team Captain: Yoshi
- Status: Secondary Captain
- Stats:
- Batting: 6/10
- Pitching: 4/10
- Fielding: 4/10
- Running: 4/10
- Player Profile:
- Strong Point: Batting
- Special Talents: Suction, Body Check
- Trajectory:
- Field: Center
- Height: Normal
- Special Ball: Weird Ball
- Default Batting Position: Right
- Default Throwing Arm: Right
- Sweet Spot: The Purple spot on the bat
- Compatible Relationships: Yoshi, Shy Guy, Petey Piranha
- Bio: "A dinosaur that spits eggs from her huge mouth. Birdo is very particular when it comes to fashion, though her reliance on the color pink is a bit limiting. Her bow and ring are her pride and joy. Birdo's mouth has massive suction that can even catch a ball by sucking it in."
Trophy Information from Super Smash Bros. Melee
Trophy Information from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Gallery
Artwork
- Normal yoshibirdo.jpeg
- Birdo3.jpg
- DinoDuo.jpg
- BirdoHoops.PNG
- ItadakiBirdo.PNG
- Birdpmkwii.PNG
Screenshots
- Birdotennis64.JPG
- Birdo Golf Toadstool Tour.JPG
- Birdo in TurboBirdo.JPG
- Birdo Baseball.JPG
- Birdo hoops 3 on 3.JPG
- Mario Party 7.JPG
- Birdo turn2.JPG
- Birdo Itadaki Street DS.JPG
- Bmkw2.JPG
Template:SMRPG Bosses Template:Fire Template:Mario Strikers Characters Template:MLSS Bosses
| Super Smash Bros. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playable characters | Donkey Kong • Fox • Kirby • Link • Luigi • Mario • Samus • Yoshi • Others | |||
| Non-playable characters | Bob-omb • Whispy Woods | |||
| Bosses | Giant Donkey Kong • Metal Mario | |||
| Stages | Peach's Castle • Yoshi's Island • Congo Jungle • Hyrule Castle • Meta Crystal • Mushroom Kingdom • Others | |||
| Items | Barrel • Bob-omb • Crate • Egg • Fire Flower • Green Shell • Hammer • Red Shell • Star • Star Rod • Target | |||
| Moves | Miscellaneous | Jump • Taunt | ||
| Special | Standard | Up | Down | |
| Mario | Fireball | Super Jump Punch | Mario Tornado | |
| Luigi | Green Fireball | Luigi Cyclone | ||
| Donkey Kong | Giant Punch | Spinning Kong | Hand Slap | |
| Yoshi | Egg Lay | Egg Throw | Yoshi Bomb | |
| Other | Gallery • Glitches • Pre-release and unused content • Quotes • Smash Card • Super Smash Bros. Poll • Super Smash Bros. • Staff | |||
