Penguin

Penguin
	; Artwork of a penguin from Super Mario Galaxy
First appearance	Super Mario 64 (1996)
Latest appearance	Mario & Luigi: Brothership (cameo) (2024)
Variant of	Small bird*
Variants
	Baby Penguin
Derived subjects
	Bumpty; Cooligan; Lemguin; Pendril; Pengoon; Penguin (enemy); Penkoon; Penpen; Tucks
Comparable
	Small bird
Notable members
	Big Penguin; Coach; Mother Penguin; Penguin King; Penguin Racers; Penguru; Pengwen

This article is about a fictional species of the Super Mario franchise. For other uses of the term "penguin", see Penguin (disambiguation). For a list of all penguins, see Category:Penguins.

“Hey, old man! Are you practicing how to skate too? Well, why don't we play a game? Can you catch me?”

—Penguin, Super Mario Galaxy

Penguins are a species of anthropomorphic, flightless bird found in the Super Mario franchise. They are good swimmers and often inhabit cold climates, like their real-world counterparts, to which they bear varying degrees of resemblance depending on the game. Many also inhabit tropical areas, as seen in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Most of them do no harm to Mario but may act as obstacles. Friendly penguins often speak with Mario, sometimes asking for his help or offering him a service.

Penguins from the Super Mario franchise are colored a moderate dark shade of blue with white bellies, making them similar to Bumpties. They also resemble little penguins, also colored dark blue. Uncommonly in the Super Mario franchise, Mario Party Advance and Super Mario Galaxy feature red, green, and yellow penguins (the red one in the latter having long, yellow eyebrows similar to rockhopper penguins), while a purple one appears in the latter. Penguru and Coach are colored similar to both king penguins and emperor penguins and are gray and black respectively. In some games, the back of their heads is tapered by a small crest.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS[edit]

“Egad! My baby!! Have you seen my baby??? She's the most precious baby in the whole wide world. (They say she has my beak)...I just can't remember where I left her. Let's see...I stopped for herring and ice cubes, then I...oohh! I just don't know!”

—Mother Penguin, Super Mario 64

Penguins are found at Cool, Cool Mountain and Snowman's Land in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. Mario helps a Mother Penguin at Cool, Cool Mountain find her lost child Tuxie and later races a champion sledder down an icy slide. There is a penguin on the bridge to the top of the giant snowman in Snowman's Land, and Mario can use it to sneak around the giant snowman head.

Super Mario Galaxy[edit]

Screenshot from Super Mario Galaxy

The Penguins of Super Mario Galaxy appear in tropical environments often. They are found in Loopdeeloop Galaxy, Sea Slide Galaxy, Drip Drop Galaxy, Buoy Base Galaxy, Loopdeeswoop Galaxy, and Beach Bowl Galaxy, as well as one in Freezeflame Galaxy. They assist Mario and usually provide a water sports activity, and the Penguins of the Loopdeeloop Galaxy and Loopdeeswoop Galaxy also do ray surfing themselves. Penguin characters include the Coach, Penguin Racers, and the elderly Penguru. There is a small penguin at the lighthouse during the race mission of Sea Slide Galaxy.

Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]

Penguins reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2. They inhabit only Cosmic Cove Galaxy, along with Penguru and Coach. The penguins teach Mario to swim in the first mission, and then for the second mission they have him find an imprisoned Luma. Once both missions are cleared, a penguin boards Starship Mario, still providing the controls for swimming.

Super Mario Odyssey[edit]

Penguins inhabit the Snow Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey. They fly away when approached, something that real-life penguins cannot do, and their eyes are closer to the sides of their head.

Mario Kart series[edit]

A sliding penguin in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Penguins are recurring obstacles in the Mario Kart series. In Mario Kart 64, they are present throughout Sherbet Land, waddling and belly-sliding while spinning out players who drive into them. A significantly larger penguin is also present on an ice island, although it is not normally accessible. In Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Penguins appear in Snow Land, however they no longer move about the course. Instead, they now spin in place, and cause players who drive into them to lose coins. Penguins returned in Mario Kart Wii alongside N64 Sherbet Land, behaving identically to how they did in Mario Kart 64. In Mario Kart 7, penguins appear on Rosalina's Ice World and Sherbet Rink, although they no longer slide nor do players spin out upon driving into them. In Rosalina's Ice World, penguins also swim in the underwater portion, jumping between it and the icy area above. Penguins made their Mario Kart Tour debut in the Steer Clear of Obstacles bonus challenge for SNES Vanilla Lake 1, before making regular appearances in 3DS Rosalina's Ice World, RMX Vanilla Lake 1, GBA Snow Land and RMX Vanilla Lake 2. In addition to once again spinning players out and belly-sliding on certain courses, attacking them grants players points. Penguins were introduced to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in the Booster Course Pass, appearing on both GBA Snow Land and 3DS Rosalina's Ice World while behaving similarly to those from Mario Kart Tour.

Starting with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, penguins have also appeared as spectators, with them being present as such in GBA Snow Land and 3DS Rosalina's Ice World. They can be either standing or sitting, and lean from side to side. In Mario Kart Tour, penguins appear as spectators on Sky-High Sundae, although they are now static.

Mario Kart Tour additionally held a dedicated Penguin Tour, and features the penguin-themed Penguin Slider kart and Penguin Wingtip glider, as well as a penguin-themed badge.

Mario Party series[edit]

Mario Party 3[edit]

Penguins are part of the board Chilly Waters in Mario Party 3.

Mario Party 4[edit]

A penguin appears in one of the puzzles of Photo Finish, a minigame in Mario Party 4.

Mario Party 5 / Mario Party: The Top 100[edit]

Penguins are featured in Pushy Penguins, a minigame in Mario Party 5 and later Mario Party: The Top 100 where characters move around Penguins, which prepare to dive in the sea.^[1] Penguins are among the spectators in Later Skater, another minigame in Mario Party 5.

Mario Party Advance[edit]

“I've been trying to win enough to buy a ring, but I'm doing badly. Actually, I'm broke! I lost everything! I can't marry her now!”

—Penguin, Mario Party Advance

Penguin is a gambler at the Ice Game Room in Mario Party Advance. Upon meeting the player, the Penguin tells them that he wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Pengwen, for whom he wanted to afford a ring by gambling. By winning the minigame Drop 'Em on Penguin's behalf, which is through having at least one more coin than at the start, the player can keep the minigame. Before going to buy a ring for Pengwen, Penguin happily exclaims that they can be married and compares the player to the Game Mage.

Penguin Race involves players 1 through 4 controlling a blue, a green, a red, and a yellow penguin, respectively. The winner is always the player with the highest record in single-player minigames.

Mario Party 8[edit]

Penguins are non-playable characters in Mario Party 8. There is a penguin in Moped Mayhem, as a racer, as well as Specter Inspector, as one of the hiding characters. The introduction of Grabbin' Gold also has a penguin plushie. The Carnival Wagon also has a purchasable Carnival Figure of three miniature dancing baby penguins atop an iceberg.

Mario Party 9[edit]

Penguins are obstructions in the minigame Polar Extreme of Mario Party 9. They move around on chunks of ice, stunning players they bump into, but Penguins can be stomped to flatten them briefly.

Mario Party: Island Tour[edit]

Penguins are part of the minigames Slip 'n' Slip, Starring Artist and Go with the Floe in Mario Party: Island Tour.

Super Mario Party[edit]

Penguins in Tall Order from Super Mario Party

Penguins are in the minigame Tall Order of Super Mario Party, moving the bowl as players shave ice into it.

Mario Party Superstars[edit]

Some Penguins in Mario Party Superstars

Normal Penguins, referred to as big penguins by Jordan on Play Nintendo,^[2] alongside baby Penguins, retain their role in the returning minigame Pushy Penguins in Mario Party Superstars. Penguins also have their own page in the encyclopedia.

Super Mario Party Jamboree[edit]

Super Mario Party Jamboree features Penguins and Baby Penguins in the minigames Which Door Has More?, Sled to the Edge, and Parfait the Course. Rainbow Galleria also has a Penguin in Party-Planner Trek, with a quest revolving around gathering all the scattered Baby Penguins in the mall. An additional Baby Penguin also appears in Mega Wiggler's Tree Party, in which it asks Mario to ring a bell to wake up Wiggler.

Mario Pinball Land[edit]

Penguins in Mario Pinball Land

Penguins waddle on ice at the Frosty Frontier Stage in Mario Pinball Land, slipping and sliding if Mario or another penguin hits them. They player can get 2,000 points for hitting a sliding penguin.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix[edit]

Several penguins can be seen dancing to "Frozen Pipes" in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

Mario Strikers Charged[edit]

Penguins appear in Mario Strikers Charged as part of the audience.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games[edit]

A penguin sprite

A penguin is one of the VIP characters in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, and penguins are spectators in Dream Curling.

Mario Sports Mix[edit]

Penguins are on icebergs in the background of the Sherbet Sea arena in Smash Skate, a party game in Mario Sports Mix.

Mario Tennis series[edit]

Penguins appear in the background of some courts in the Mario Tennis series, including as line judges in the Penguin Iceberg court of Mario Tennis Open and in various courts of Mario Tennis Aces.

A Penguin appears in the level Snowball Fight during the Adventure mode campaign of Mario Tennis Aces, informing Mario and Toad that the train is unavailable because of the Shy Guys onboard, though it becomes accessible after defeating the Shy Guys.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

A penguin is visible on the Starship Mario spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Dr. Mario World[edit]

Penguins appear in Dr. Mario World as Assistants. They were added on December 12, along with World 10. When equipped in stage mode, the doctor's skill gauge will further increase by a percentage if four or more viruses are simultaneously eliminated. For example, with a level 3 Penguin (fills skill by 50% more), if a row of four viruses is eliminated with one half-capsule, there will be five objects (four viruses + one half-capsule) eliminated but the skill gauge will fill by 7.5 points: 5 points from the match and 2.5 extra points (50% of 5 points) through this assistant. In versus mode, each attack by the user has a chance of ignoring the opponent's defense, resulting in the attack landing regardless of how likely the opponent can block the attack. Penguin assistants are each rewarded by clearing the first are in World 10 and World 26.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope[edit]

Regenesis with penguins in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

“ The penguins aren’t super happy I stopped playing hide n’ seek without telling. I got voted out as captain. ”

—Regenesis, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

In Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, penguins appear in Pristine Peaks in the side quest Hide N' Squeak. The Spark Regenesis tasks the heroes to find three penguins in a game of hide-and-seek after Regenesis decides to play "pirate" instead. The heroes must throw the three penguins on a boat after finding them. After returning the penguins, Darkmess engulfs the boat and the heroes must stop it in a battle. After the battle, Regenesis states that the penguins did not like the fact that Regenesis abandoned their hide-and-seek game, and voted Regenesis out as captain.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]

Penguins in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Penguins appear in The Super Mario Bros. Movie as residents of the Snow Kingdom, ruled by a king, which comes under attack by Bowser and his forces. They self-assuredly try to defend themselves by throwing snowballs at the enemy, but are easily defeated and their citadel is destroyed. The penguins are held captive in cages suspended over lava along with Luigi, some Goombas, and a Lumalee. They are almost sacrificed during Bowser and Princess Peach's wedding before Mario and Donkey Kong arrive to rescue them, and DK is able to pull the chain up and save them.

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Mario Pinball Land[edit]

Instruction booklet description:
- English (British):
  They appear in a group (sometimes called a "waddle" of penguins!) and move around in a circle. Go for a combo!^[3]