Shigeru Miyamoto created Mario while developingDonkey Kong in an attempt to produce a successful video game forNintendo; previous games, such asSheriff, had not achieved the success of games such asNamco'sPac-Man.[9] Originally, Miyamoto wanted to create a game that used the 1930s charactersPopeye,Bluto, andOlive Oyl.[10][11] At the time, however, as Miyamoto was unable to acquire alicense to use the characters (and would not until 1982 withPopeye), he ended up creating an unnamedplayer character, along withDonkey Kong andLady (later known as Pauline).[10]
In the early stages ofDonkey Kong, Mario was drawn using pixel dots in a 16x16 grid.[12] The focus of the game was to escape a maze, while Mario could not jump. However, Miyamoto soon introduced jumping capabilities for the player character, reasoning that "If you had a barrel rolling towards you, what would you do?"[13][9] Continuing to draw from 1930s media,King Kong served as an inspiration, and Mario was set inNew York City.[14][15][16]
Name
Though the protagonist was unnamed in the Japanese release ofDonkey Kong, he was named "Jumpman" in the game's English instructions[17] and "little Mario" in the sales brochure.[18] Miyamoto envisioned a "go-to" character he could use in any game he developed if needed, albeit incameo appearances as Miyamoto did not, at the time, expect the character to become singularly popular.[19] To this end, he originally named the character "Mr. Video", comparing what he intended for the character's appearances in later games to the cameos thatAlfred Hitchcock had done within his films.[20] In retrospect, Miyamoto commented that if he had named Mario "Mr. Video", Mario likely would have "disappeared off the face of the Earth."[20]
The character was named afterMario Segale, a real estate developer.[11]
According to a widely circulated story, during thelocalization ofDonkey Kong for American audiences, Nintendo of America's warehouse landlord,Mario Segale, confronted then-presidentMinoru Arakawa, demanding back rent. Following a heated argument in which the Nintendo employees eventually convinced Segale he would be paid, they opted to name the character in the game Mario after him.[21][22] This story is contradicted by former Nintendo of America warehouse managerDon James, who stated in 2012 that he and Arakawa named the character after Segale as a joke because Segale was so reclusive that none of the employees had ever met him.[23] James repeated this account in 2018.[24] A friend of Segale commented: "My direct understanding and perception is that Mario Segale doesn't mind at all the fact that his name inspired such an iconic character, and that he shows humble pride in that fact in front of his grandchildren and close-knit adult circles."[25]
While it is implied by the title of theMario Bros. series, in a 1989 interview, his full name was stated not to be "Mario Mario".[26] The first notable use of "Mario Mario" was in the1993 live-action film adaptation of theSuper Mario series, and was further used inPrima's official video game strategy guides, in 2000 forMario Party 2[27] and in 2003 forMario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.[28] In 2012, after Mario voice actorCharles Martinet stated that the character's name was, in fact, "Mario Mario" atSan Diego Comic-Con,[29] Nintendo CEOSatoru Iwata said Mario had no last name,[30] with which Miyamoto agreed the month after.[31] Two months after Iwata's death in July 2015, Miyamoto changed his stance, asserting at the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary festival that Mario's full name was indeed "Mario Mario".[32][33] Mario can also be referred to as "Super Mario" when he acquires the Super Mushroom power-up.[34]
Appearance and profession
By Miyamoto's own account, Mario's profession was chosen to fit with the game design: sinceDonkey Kong takes place on a construction site, Mario was made into a carpenter; and when he appeared again inMario Bros., it was decided that he should be aplumber, because a lot of the game is situated in underground settings.[35] Mario's character design, particularly his large nose, draws on Western influences; once he became a plumber, Miyamoto decided to "put him inNew York" and make himItalian,[35] light-heartedly attributing Mario's nationality to his mustache.[36] Other sources have Mario's profession chosen to be carpentry in an effort to depict the character as an ordinary hard worker, making it easier for players to identify with him.[37] After a colleague suggested that Mario more closely resembled a plumber, Miyamoto changed Mario's profession accordingly and developedMario Bros.,[10] featuring the character in the sewers ofNew York City.[38]
Due to the graphical limitations ofarcade hardware at the time, Miyamoto clothed the character in redoveralls and a blue shirt to contrast against each other and the background, making the movements of his arms easily perceptible.[39] A red cap was added to let Miyamoto avoid drawing the character's hairstyle, forehead, and eyebrows, as well as to circumvent the issue of animating his hair as he jumped.[10][35] To give distinctly human facial features with the limited graphical abilities, Miyamoto drew a large nose and a mustache, which avoided the need to draw a mouth and facial expressions.[40] Omitting a mouth circumvented the problem of clearly separating the nose from the mouth with a limited number of pixels available.[39]
Over time, Mario's appearance has become more defined; blue eyes, white gloves, brown shoes, a red "M" in a white circle on the front of his hat and gold buttons on his overalls have been added. According to an interview, Japanese character designerYōichi Kotabe, who worked on redesigning characters inSuper Mario Bros. (1985), revealed that Mario's M on his hat was originally the resemblance ofMcDonald's logo; Kotabe later changed the design of M and straightened its lines to clearly distinguish the difference.[41] The colors of his shirt and overalls were also reversed from a blue shirt with red overalls to a red shirt with blue overalls. Miyamoto attributed this process to the different development teams and artists for each game as well as advances in technology.[37]
Mario was voiced byCharles Martinet from 1991 to 2023.[42][43] When he crashed the audition,[44] the directors were preparing to close for the night, already packing up when he arrived. He was prompted with "an Italian plumber fromBrooklyn"; when he heard the phrase, he immediately thought of a stereotypicalItalian accent with a voice similar to that of a mobster.[45] He then assumed the voice would be too harsh for children, so he planned on using a voice of an older figure.[45] However, according to Martinet, the audition for Mario was the only time where his thoughts crashed and he spoke complete nonsense. After he was prompted the character, he babbled the following in a soft and friendly voice instead:[46]
"Hello, ima Mario. Okey dokey, letsa make a pizza pie together, you go get somea spaghetti, you go geta some sausage, I getta some sauce, you gonna put some spaghetti on the sausage and the sausage on the pizza, then I'm gonna chasea you with the pizza, then you gonna chasea me with the pizza, and gonaa makea lasagne."[47]
The voice he chose was derived from another voice role he used to play the character Gremio fromWilliam Shakespeare'sThe Taming of the Shrew.[44][48] Martinet kept speaking with the voice until the audition tape ran out; the clip was the only tape sent back to Nintendo, and when the director called the company he said he "found our Mario".[42][49] For the following years he would use the voice for an attraction attrade shows: small tracking sensors were glued onto his face, and he would voice a 3D model of Mario's head on a television while he remained hidden behind a curtain. When attendees would approach the screen, they could talk and interact with Mario.[44][42][50] Due to the long shifts, Stevie Coyle was hired as a voice match to take over during breaks by Martinet's suggestion.[2][3] The attraction was successful and would be used for five years until Martinet was called by Miyamoto, requesting that he use the voice for a video game.[44]
His first official video game voice role would be the CD rerelease ofMario Teaches Typing in 1994, but his first major voice acting role wasSuper Mario 64. He received instructions on the types of sound clips needed from Miyamoto, and Martinet appreciated the fun tone of the game and later called Miyamoto a genius.[45] He would continue to voice other variousMario characters, such asLuigi,Wario, andWaluigi.[45] His time in the studio recording voice clips consisted of "45 takes of every sound [he] can think of", according to Martinet at a Q&A in Canada.[51] What time he gives vocals for the game varies, and according to him has ranged from three years before a game's release to one week. The amount of clips varies as well, ranging from one hour of audio to 20.[48][52] Martinet was recognized by theGuinness World Records for the most roles performed with the same character, at the time one hundred, and is the most of any video game voice actor.[53] As of January 2022, he has voiced Mario in over 150 games and has recorded 5 million audio files with the voice.[48][51] In an interview, Martinet said he wants to continue voicing the character until he "drops dead", or until he can no longer perform the voice accurately.[51] In August 2023, Nintendo announced Martinet would be retiring from the voice role of Mario,[43] though he would continue to promote the franchise as a "Mario Ambassador", abrand ambassador position.[54] Voice actorKevin Afghani succeeded Martinet inSuper Mario Bros. Wonder the following October.[55][56]
He wears a long-sleeved red shirt, a pair of blue overalls with yellow buttons, brown shoes, white gloves, and a red cap with a red "M" printed on a white circle. InDonkey Kong, he wore a pair of red overalls, and a blue shirt. InSuper Mario Bros., he wore a brown shirt with red overalls. He has blue eyes, and, likeLuigi, has brown hair, and a dark brown or black mustache. This consistent difference in color is attributed to being a relic from designing the characters for their original platforms, wherein certain features were actively distinguished while others had to be curtailed due to technical limitations.[65]
Mario's occupation is plumbing, though in the originalDonkey Kong games he is acarpenter.[35] Mario has also assumed several other occupations: in theDr. Mario series ofpuzzle games, which debuted in 1990, Mario is portrayed as a medical physician named "Dr. Mario";[66] in theGame Boy gameMario's Picross, Mario is anarchaeologist;[67] in theMario vs. Donkey Kong series, Mario is the president of a profitable toy-making company.[68] Mario partakes in sports activities such astennis andgolf inMario sports games, as well askart racing in theMario Kart series.[69] In September 2017, Nintendo confirmed on their official Japanese profile for the character that Mario was no longer considered a plumber,[70] but the statement was changed in March 2018.[71] According to Nintendo, Mario has seven careers, which include plumber, doctor, racer, martial artist, basketball player, baseball player, and soccer player.[72]
Nintendo's characterization of Mario as a Brooklynite Italian-American has been described as an example ofmukokuseki, or "nationlessness", with "roots across [the] three continents" of Europe, North America, and Japan.[73]
Luigi is Mario's younger fraternal twin brother, who is taller, slimmer, and can jump higher than him.[58][78] He is a companion in theMario games,[58] and the character whom the second player controls in two-player sessions of many of the video games.[79] Luigi has also occasionally rescued Mario as seen inMario Is Missing! and theLuigi's Mansion series.[80]Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Game Boy saw the arrival ofWario, Mario's greedycounterpart and self-declared arch rival, who usually assumes the role of a main antagonist or anantihero.[81] The dinosaur characterYoshi serves as Mario's steed and sidekick in games such asSuper Mario World.[82]Toad is Mario's trusted close friend, who gives him advice and supports him throughout his journey to rescue Princess Peach.[83]
Abilities
During the development ofDonkey Kong, Mario was known as Jumpman (ジャンプマン,Janpuman).[10] Jumping—both to facilitate level traversal and as an offensive move—is a common gameplay element inMario games, especially theSuper Mario series. By the timeSuper Mario RPG was released, jumping became such a signature act of Mario that the player was often tasked with jumping to prove tonon-player characters that he was Mario. Mario's most commonly portrayed form of attack is jumping to stomp on the heads of enemies, first used inSuper Mario Bros. This jump-stomp move may entirely crush smaller enemies on the stage, and usually deal damage to larger ones, sometimes causing secondary effects.[10] Subsequent games have elaborated on Mario's jumping-related abilities.Super Mario World added the ability to spin-jump, which allows Mario to break blocks beneath him.[84] InSuper Mario 64, Mario gains new jumping abilities such as a sideways somersault; a ground pound, which is a high-impact downward thrusting motion; and the "Wall Kick", which propels him upwards by kicking off walls.[85]
Super Mario Bros. introduced the basic three power-ups that have become staples for the series, especially the 2D games – theSuper Mushroom, a large red mushroom,[86] which causes Mario to grow larger and be able to survive getting hit once; the Fire Flower, which allows Mario to throwfireballs; and the Super Star, which gives Mario temporary invincibility. These powers have appeared regularly throughout the series.[10]
Traditional 2D(left/top) and 3D(right/bottom)Super Mario gameplay. In 2D, Mario is confined to moving left and right, while in 3D, Mario is free to move around and explore as the player pleases.
Mario is the protagonist of theSuper Mario series. Each game varies in its plot, but most of them have the ultimate goal of Mario rescuingPrincess Peach after being kidnapped byBowser. Mario explores a variety of locations, titled "worlds", and along the way, he can collect items and defeat enemies. Most levels have an end goal, such as stars or flagpoles, that he needs to reach to move on to the next. The series is divided into two general sets of games: the 2Dside-scrollingSuper Mario games and the 3Dopen worldSuper Mario games.
2D games
TheSuper Mario series had Mario starring inplatform games, beginning withSuper Mario Bros. on theNintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985. In these games, Mario traverses worlds that contain a set number of levels for Mario to complete. In them, he traverses them from moving left to right, the screen scrolling in the direction he moves. Mario has the goal of reaching the end of the level to move onto the next, typically marked with a flagpole.[87] These games are less focused on plot and more on platforming; most commonly, Bowser kidnaps Peach, and Mario, with the help of Luigi and other characters, sets out to rescue her. Most worlds have miniboss battles, which typically involve fightingBowser Jr. or one of severalKoopalings. The final level is a fight against Bowser.[10]
His first appearance in the 2D variant of the series wasSuper Mario Bros. in 1985, which began with a 16x32 pixel rectangle prototype as the character;Takashi Tezuka suggested the character to be Mario after the success of one of his previous roles,Mario Bros.[88] Certain other gameplay concepts were cut as well, such as how Mario could fly in a rocket ship and fire bullets.[89] Originally designed with a small Mario in mind with the intention of increasing his size further in development, the developers implemented the feature of his size changes via power-ups as they considered it a fun addition.[90] The concept was influenced byJapanese folktales.[12]
Super Mario Bros. 2 was originally not going to be a sequel toSuper Mario Bros., and was originally going to be a game calledDoki Doki Panic; directed byKensuke Tanabe.[91][92] One of the changes included the retexturing of the four main playable characters ofDoki Doki Panic, and since they varied in height, this was the first instance where Mario was noticeably shorter than Luigi.[10]Super Mario Bros. 3 experimented with Mario's looks with different power-ups that represented different creatures. An example included the raccoon tail, which was chosen over a power-up that represented acentaur.[93][94] The game's success led to an animated television series,The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, with Mario being portrayed by Walker Boone.[95]
Hiroshi Yamauchi wanted a launch game for theGame Boy that featured Mario, as he believed in the statement "fun games sold consoles".[10]Super Mario Land was designed without the help of Miyamoto, a first for the series.[10] The game uses completely different elements to pair with the small screen due to the Game Boy's portability. For example, instead of rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario is instead rescuingPrincess Daisy fromTatanga in Sarasaland. Mario was designed withline art.[96][97]
Super Mario World was the first video game to featureYoshi as a companion to Mario. Miyamoto had always wanted a dinosaur-like companion, ever since the originalSuper Mario Bros., but the concept was never achievable due to limited hardware. SinceSuper Mario World took place in a land of dinosaurs, Takashi Tezuka requestedShigefumi Hino to draw a character based on Miyamoto's concepts and sketches, which he drew during the development ofSuper Mario Bros. 3.[98][99]Super Mario World was released during aconsole war between Nintendo andSega; Sega's mascot,Sonic the Hedgehog, was considered a "cooler" alternative to Mario, to which Miyamoto apologized for.[100]
The plot forSuper Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins has Mario pursue something for his own benefit rather than for someone else, his goal trying to reclaim ownership of his island, Mario Land, fromWario.[101] The game was developed byNintendo Research & Development 1 (R&D1). The company was unmotivated by theSuper Mario series, and when they were tasked with creating aSuper Mario game without Miyamoto, they created Wario to emphasize the frustration of working with a character they did not make. The name "Wario" isword play of "Mario" and "Warui", the latter meaning "bad" in Japanese to mean "bad Mario".[102]
The character's models and backgrounds inNew Super Mario Bros. were 3D, but still only allowed for left and right movement and are considered2.5D.[103][104] With the 2D series ofSuper Mario games being absent for 14 years, the previous installment being released in 1992, game mechanics improved drastically. Since the characters were no longersprites and the backdrops were nottile-based, the developers were nearly restrictionless; new game mechanics, such as Mario teetering off of trees and swinging on ropes, were implemented.[105]New Super Mario Bros. was the first 2DSuper Mario game to use voice acting, with Charles Martinet voicing Mario and Luigi.[106] It was followed by three games similar toNew Super Mario Bros., namelyNew Super Mario Bros. Wii,New Super Mario Bros. 2, andNew Super Mario Bros. U, the latter of which being the first game to feature Mario inhigh-definition graphics (HD).[107]
Takashi Tezuka returned as a producer for the development ofSuper Mario Bros. Wonder, with Shiro Mouri as the director of the game.[108] The game director, Shiro Mouri, said that the game developers aimed to provide a "stress free" experience to the players by allowing them to move freely through the course.[108] In comparison to the previous 2D Super Mario games, Mario's facial expressions are now more detailed and expressive.[108]
3D games
Super Mario 64 featured Mario's first3D rendering(left). Due to 3D graphics being new at the time,Yoshiaki Koizumi(right) had trouble programming movement with no frame of reference.[109]
MostSuper Mario games in 3D featureopen world gameplay; instead of being confined to only moving left and right, Mario can move in any direction, and the player can complete the level however they please.[110] The player chooses from one of the multiple objectives before entering a level, and Mario is tasked with completing that goal, which ultimately ends with an obtainable item such as a star.[110] These games feature a more complex narrative, but most still have Mario rescuing a kidnapped Princess Peach from Bowser.
Mario's debut 3D role was inSuper Mario 64; since the concept of 3D video games was still new at the time, the developers knew they were helping to pave the way for future games, and they were not restricted on what the standard game was like.[110] However, whenYoshiaki Koizumi had to create a 3D model and animation of Mario, he had no frame of reference and struggled with the task. Koizumi stated how the whole concept was "arguably tough", but was overtaken by the enjoyment of innovating in a new field.[109] Mario's movement was among the top priorities in the game's development, with his animation being tested long before the basic layout of the game's locations was in place.Super Mario 64 was one of the first games voiced by Charles Martinet,[111] and Mario's character model was made with theN-World toolkit.[112] Mario's movements and animations were inspired byArale Norimaki fromDr. Slump, a Japanese manga series.[113]
Super Mario Sunshine was the first Nintendo game released afterSatoru Iwata became the CEO of Nintendo, succeeding Hiroshi Yamauchi. The game's original concept did not feature Mario, as the developers believed the role was too out of the ordinary for such a character. Later on, when they used a generic man for the role instead, they believed having a realistic person alongside a character like Mario would cause "incongruity", and it was ultimately changed to Mario instead. Mario's ally, F.L.U.D.D., was one of ten design options but was chosen because it fit the game's theme, although it was not their favorite option in terms of looks.[114]
Super Mario Galaxy had Mario exploring a number of spherical planets, which the developers at the time knew simply jumping on enemies would be difficult to perform. They instead took advantage of theWii Remote andNunchuk having motion controls, and gave Mario a "spin" attack where he knocked over the enemies via spinning.[115][116] To also balance the game's difficulty, Mario was given fewerhit points.[117]
To create a sense of familiarity forSuper Mario Odyssey, various references to theSuper Mario series were put in the game's environment. For example,Pauline was chosen to be a major aspect of the "Metro Kingdom" due to the kingdom representing the core of the game. Mario was also given a variety of costumes to represent other smaller games, such as theMario's Picross series.[118][119] The development team found the most fun way to use theJoy-Con controllers' motion controls was to throw a hat, and the gameplay was centered around Mario throwing his cap.[120]
OtherSuper Mario games
There have also been a variety ofSuper Mario games starring Mario that do not have typical 2D or 3D platforming. TheSuper Mario 3D series does have 3D gameplay, but the stages are linear and do not allow for open-world movement. TheSuper Mario Maker games are a series ofgame creation systems where the player can create their own 2DSuper Mario levels and play ones created by others.[121][122]Super Mario Run is a 2D platformingmobile game with other unnatural gameplay aspects.[123]
The main aspect ofSuper Mario 3D Land was bridging the aspects of 2D and 3DSuper Mario games.[124][125] One of the issues brought up was how Mario looked too small in comparison to the large terrain and the small, portable screen of theNintendo 3DS, so the game'scamera system needed to be fixed to one position in certain occasions.[126] The game brought with it the "Tanooki Tail" power-up, which was originally introduced inSuper Mario Bros. 3, and its existence was teased by the developers to the fans prior to its official announcement.[127][128] Concepts for Mario, which included a skater outfit and a power-up that would make Mario grow to a large size, were cut; the latter would appear in its sequel as the Mega Mushroom.[125][129]
Super Mario 3D World on theWii U included the "Cat Mario" power-up, which was implemented to help newcomers play the game and add new gameplay features such as climbing up walls. Another power-up was the "Double Cherry", which was added accidentally; one of the developers added a second Mario into the game in error, and found it humorous when both Marios were somehow controllable at the same time.[130] In 2020, also as part of theSuper Mario Bros. 35th anniversary, Nintendo re-releasedSuper Mario 3D World on the Nintendo Switch with a companion game,Bowser's Fury.[131]
OtherMario games
While the most prominent use of Mario has been directed toward theSuper Mario series, various spinoff series that split into numerous games covering various genres have also been released. This includes genres such asrole-playing games (RPGs),puzzle games,sports games, and eveneducational games in the 1990s.
Mario has been the protagonist of variousrole-playing video games (RPGs), beginning withSquare'sSuper Mario RPG on theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). According to Yoshio Hongo of Nintendo, the game came out of Shigeru Miyamoto's desire to develop aMario role-playing game while Square wanted a role-playing video game that sold well overseas.[132] The game was notable at the time for having a unique blend of action and role-playing game elements, and was a critical and commercial success, and led to two other spinoff RPG series starring the character,Paper Mario andMario & Luigi.
A sequel toSuper Mario RPG was planned for theNintendo 64. The original developer, Square, had signed a deal withSony to releaseFinal Fantasy VII for thePlayStation, so Nintendo passed on development responsibilities toIntelligent Systems. The new art designer, Naohiko Aoyama, changed every character to two-dimensional to bring out "cuter" graphics compared to low-polygon three-dimensional graphics on the console. In thePaper Mario games, Mario is often aided by numerous allies who progress the story while Mario remains silent.[133]
UnlikePaper Mario, both Mario and Luigi have voices in theMario & Luigi series and are voiced by Charles Martinet.[134] According to the developers, the early games usedcharacter sprites; the developers were generally inexperienced and did not know much about hardware at the time. Once theNintendo 3DS was released, the developers had the chance to switch to 3-dimensional graphics. They decided to change the background and world design but chose to keep the characters as 2D renderings of 3D characters as they believed it made it easier to convey comedic expressions. In 2013, they believed Mario took too much of the spotlight in theMario franchise, and they made Luigi the more story-focused character inMario & Luigi: Dream Team.[135]
Nintendo has released a variety of sports games featuringSuper Mario properties, which includetennis,golf,baseball,soccer,kart racing, and other miscellaneous.
In the 1984 video gameGolf, although one of the two playable characters looks similar to that of him, wearing red clothes and black pants,[136] he is never directly referred to be Mario;[137] In 1997, his look was changed in the re-release of theFamicom Disk System to that more like the character, and Nintendo later confirmed the character was Mario in a guide book of the game in 1991, marking his first sports video game appearance.[138] He then directly appeared inNES Open Tournament Golf in 1991 as one of two playable characters, the other being Luigi, along with a variety of otherMario characters with supporting roles. The character sprites were designed byEiji Aonuma, his first project in graphical art design.[137]
Mario's Tennis for theVirtual Boy was the first tennis game featuring Mario.Camelot Software Planning, who previously developedEverybody's Golf for Sony, was contracted to developMario Tennis for theNintendo 64.[137] Each character had a unique ability, with Mario having an all-around average set of skills to pair with his type of character.[139] This would eventually set the stage for futureMario Tennis video games.[140]
TheMario Kart series began withSuper Mario Kart for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992; early in development, the game did not have anyMario-themed elements. A few months into the process, the designers were testing how one character would look at another they had just passed.[141] They implemented Mario, simply to see how he would look inside a kart, and the original concept was scrapped entirely after they decided he looked better than the previous non-defined characters.[141] Similar to theMario & Luigi series, he appears as a sprite that turns in 16 different angles.[142]
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a crossover series of party and sports games featuring characters from theMario franchise and theSonic the Hedgehog series. It includes different varieties of sports such as skateboarding, fencing, volleyball, gymnastics, and many others.[143]
Mario has also starred in a variety of multiplepuzzle games, but sometimes only makes an appearance and is not playable. The first of which to release wasWrecking Crew, designed byYoshio Sakamoto. Surprisingly, in this game, Mario can't jump because of hammer's weight.[144] After which, three main series and a variety of spin-offs were released starring him, includingDr. Mario,Mario vs. Donkey Kong, andMario Picross.
The original game in theDr. Mario series, also titledDr. Mario, was designed by Takahiro Harada and had Mario assume the role of a doctor instead of a plumber.[145][146] His appearance and role have generally remained the same; to celebrate his 30th anniversary in the series, an 8-bit rendering of his original appearance was made unlockable in the most recent game,Dr. Mario World.[147]Mario vs. Donkey Kong is centered around "Mini Marios",wind-up toys that resemble Mario.[148] TheMario's Picross series was an attempt by Nintendo to capitalize on the popularity of Mario and the success of puzzle games in Japan at the time.[149][150] Released in 1995, the game was popular and was followed by two sequels,Super Mario Picross andPicross 2, but the first game was only made available to American audiences in 2020.[150]
Due to the abandonment of theSNES-CD hardware in the 1990s, a project developed by Nintendo and Phillips, as part of Nintendo's dissolving agreement withPhilips, they gave the licensing rights toMario andThe Legend of Zelda property to release games on theCD-i.[151][152] Multiple games were developed by the inexperienced Fantasy Factory, which included the puzzle gameHotel Mario in 1994.[153][154] ViaAnimation Magic,Hotel Mario had various cutscenes of Mario and Luigi, which borrowed animation elements fromDisney andJ. R. R. Tolkien. Mario was voiced by Marc Graue as the game was released prior to Charles Martinet receiving the role of voicing the character.[155]
Due to the popularity of theSuper Mario series, variouseducational games starring the character were released and appealed to younger audiences. These games had little involvement from Nintendo, with the games releasing for the NES,Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), andpersonal computers. The last of the genres to release wasMario Teaches Typing 2 in 1997, before the production of such games was discontinued.[156]
Mario is Missing! is one of the only occasions where Mario himself was kidnapped and rescued by another character. In the game, Mario and Luigi approach Bowser to stop his plans, but Mario is then captured; Luigi traverses real-world locations to follow after him, solving trivia along the way.[157][158] A similar game was released without the help of Miyamoto,Mario's Time Machine, which starred Mario against Bowser instead.[156]Mario's Game Gallery has the player competing in various card and board games against Mario. The game was Charles Martinet's first official voice acting role for Mario, one year prior toSuper Mario 64.[156]
ForMario Teaches Typing, the head ofInterplay Productions,Brian Fargo, saw the success of the typing gameMavis Beacon Teaches Typing, and knew a character like Mario as the teacher would be appealing.[159] Pre-datingMario's Game Gallery, Martinet did not voice Mario. After release, the concept was so successful, it began a negative relationship between Fargo and Les Crane, the creator ofMavis Beacon Teaches Typing.Mario Teaches Typing 2 was released in 1997, which Martinet voiced Mario for.[156] When they were approved of creatingMario's Game Gallery, another Mario-themed education game was also released that was of poor quality, so Miyamoto met with Fargo and halted production of any further education games using the character.[159]
Mario is portrayed byBob Hoskins in the 1993 film loosely based on theSuper Mario series,Super Mario Bros. In the film, he is the cynical older brother who takes great pride in being a plumber and is a parental figure to Luigi, portrayed byJohn Leguizamo.[181] At first, he held no belief in unusual things happening, but meeting Daisy and taking a trip to Dinohattan soon changed his mind.[181] Hoskins was ultimately cast to play the character after other choices fell out, such asDustin Hoffman andDanny DeVito.[182][183][184] Hoskins had previously done multiple roles in children's films and kept suggesting changes to the script before he agreed to portray the character.[185] According to one of the films' directors,Annabel Jankel, Hoskins was mainly considered due to his physical appearances.[186] In subsequent interviews, Hoskins considered the role his worst choice in his acting career, admitted to constantly drinking before and during filming, and noted that he was injured and almost died multiple times during production.[187][188][189]
Mario is voiced byChris Pratt in the 2023 film adaptationThe Super Mario Bros. Movie.[190] Although American actorSebastian Maniscalco originally auditioned to voice Mario in the 2023 film, he got the role of voicing Spike instead.[191] The film depicts him and Luigi asItalian-American plumbers who started their own business inBrooklyn after working for the antagonistic Foreman Spike, who supervises the Wrecking Crew.[192] They attempt to fix a significant manhole leak reported in the news to make a name for themselves, only for the pipe to transport Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi to the Dark Lands. Mario works with Peach, Toad, and later Donkey Kong to rescue Luigi and the Mushroom Kingdom from the tyrannical Bowser.[193] Martinet makes cameo appearances in the film as Mario and Luigi's unnamed father and as Giuseppe,[194][195] who appears in Brooklyn and resembles Mario's original design fromDonkey Kong, speaking in his in-game voice.[4][195] In response to criticism of Pratt's casting, co-directorAaron Horvath explained that he was cast mainly because of his history of playing good-natured,blue collar-type protagonists.[196]
Reception
Statue of Mario in front of the offices of Nintendo'sNordic distributorBergsala inKungsbacka, Sweden
As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is widely considered to be the most famous video game character in history, and has been called an icon of the gaming industry.[197][13][198] He has been featured in over two hundred video games.[10] Mario was one of the first video game character inductees at theWalk of Game in 2005, alongsideLink andSonic the Hedgehog.[199] Mario was the first video game character to be honored with a wax figure in theHollywood Wax Museum in 2003.[200]Kotaku writer Luke Plunkett had called Mario the most recognizable figure in the gaming industry, stating that, "Nintendo's mascot has been the most recognisable (and profitable) face this industry has ever - and will likely ever - see, almost single-handedly driving Nintendo through five whole generations of video game success".[201] In 2010,Guinness World Records gave Mario the title "Godfather of gaming" and "longest-running computer game character" and stated, "Mario is still 'The Godfather' of gaming as the most successful and enduring character in an industry which is constantly evolving."[202] In 2024, a poll conducted byBAFTA with around 4,000 respondents named Mario as the second most iconic video-game character of all time.[203] Ben Lindbergh ofThe Ringer described Mario as "the most iconic video character of all time", "the medium's most successful character", and "video-game-character equivalent of type-O blood" and also reported that Mario has the highestQ Score among video game characters, with Link,Pac-Man, andMaster Chief being one of his closest competitors.[204] Lucas M. Thomas ofIGN defined Mario as "gaming's greatest athlete", noting, "He's too short, he's out of shape and he's wearing entirely the wrong kind of shoes, but somehow Nintendo's main man Mario has still managed to become gaming's greatest athlete. From the tennis court to the ballpark, from the soccer field to the golf course, the heroic plumber has spent years now filling the time in-between his princess-rescuing adventures with a grand variety of leisurely sports".[205]
In 1990, a national survey found that Mario was more recognizable to American children thanMickey Mouse.[206][207] James Coates ofThe Baltimore Sun reported that, as author David Sheff notes, "In 1990, according to ‘Q’ ratings, Mario has become more popular than Mickey Mouse with American children" and he further mentions that his 9-year-old son is a Nintendo fan who is curious about what Mario is doing to the youth of America.[207] In 2005, American musicianJonathan Mann created an opera based on Super Mario Bros. and performed Mario Opera as a tribute to Shigeru Miyamoto.[208][209]Salman Rushdie, an Indian-born British-American novelist, was fond of Mario and his younger twin brotherLuigi. He also enjoyed playingSuper Mario World, which gave him the impression of having an enjoyment of life in comparison to the rest of the world.[210][211][212] In 2023, a survey was taken by gaming website Cribbage Online on "Top 20 most-loved "Super Mario" franchise characters", which consisted of over 87,000 voters. According to the survey, Mario was placed third with 5,602 votes, while Luigi andYoshi surpassed him with 5,771 votes and 6,084 votes, respectively.[213]
Cameron Sherrill ofEsquire praised Mario's athletic skills intrack and field, noting, "This is where Mario comes to life. I mean, he goes against the blue guy who's literally famous for going fast. Plus, Mario is the platforming king—i.e. running and jumping—so it stands to reason that he’d be good at track and field".[69] Philip Kollar and Allegra Frank of Polygon wrote in their review ofSuper Mario Odyssey that Mario plays an important role in making the game more pleasurable and special. They also wrote about Mario's legacy, stating that, "From a plumber to a doctor to a tennis star to, uh, a Goomba, Mario has endured. No, this will not be the last Mario game, but it is almost certain to be lauded as one of his best".[214]Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Mario their "Coolest Mascot" award for 1996, calling him "an age-old friend".[215]Nintendo Power listed Mario as their favorite hero, citing his defining characteristics as his mustache, red cap, plumbing prowess, and his mushrooms.[216] In a poll conducted in 2008 byOricon, Mario was voted as the most popular video game character in Japan by both men and women, overtaking popular video game icons such asFinal Fantasy'sCloud Strife andMetal Gear'sSolid Snake.[217]Yahoo! Japan held a poll between November 1, 2009, and October 31, 2010, to determine which video game character is more popular among readers. Mario won the poll with 9,862 votes.[218] Several publications have often compared Mario toSega's mascot and iconic character,Sonic the Hedgehog.[219][220][221] Mario also serves as an inspiration forSonic the Hedgehog's origin.[222]
Mario has been established as apop culture icon[224] and has appeared on lunch boxes, T-shirts, magazines, and commercials (notably in aGot Milk? commercial).[225] Other products include cartoon shows, movies, books, hats, plush dolls, cereals, ice cream, bedding, kitchenware, clocks,[197] purses, cufflinks, wallets, mugs, art prints, boxers,Lego sets, coaster sets,Hot Wheels sets, stationery sets, and board games.[226][227]
Mario's legacy is recognized byGuinness World Records, who awarded the Nintendo mascot, and the series of platform games he has appeared in, seven world records in theGuinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include "Best Selling Video Game Series of All Time", "First Movie Based on an Existing Video Game", and "Most Prolific Video Game Character", with Mario appearing in 116 original games.[244] In 2009,Guinness World Records listed him as the second most recognizable video game character in the United States, recognized by 93 percent of the population, second only to Pac-Man, who was recognized by 94 percent of the population.[245] In 2011, readers ofGuinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Mario as the top video game character of all time.[246] In 2018, Charles Martinet, voice actor of Mario, received theGuinness World Record for most video game voice-over performances as the same character.[247]
Mario Day is celebrated on March 10,[251][252] as when that date is presented asMar 10 it resembles the word "Mario".[253][254] Since 2016 the day has been officially observed by Nintendo,[255] who celebrates the day annually by promotingMario games and holdingMario-related events.[256] In March 2018,Google Maps collaborated with Nintendo for the celebration of Mario Day. By tapping on a yellow ? Block, the navigation arrow changes into Mario, who drives his Pipe Frame kart from theMario Kart series.[257][258][259] In March 2024, American actorGaten Matarazzo teamed up with Nintendo to celebrate that year's Mario Day.[260][261]
^abcde"Mario Voices (Super Mario Bros.)".Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information).Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. RetrievedOctober 3, 2021.
^ab"Real Time Mario at the 1992 SCES".YouTube. DigitalNeohuman. April 23, 2010.Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2021.Stevie Coyle: That's Charles putting the rig on me back in 1992. He has always been The Voice Of Mario. I was there to spell him on his breaks. Unfortunate, actually, that the video was shot when I was on the rig. Charles is da man!
^Kohler, Chris (2005).Power-up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Indianapolis, Indiana: BradyGAMES. p. 36.
^"マリオ映画公開記念！宮本茂さんインタビュー 制作の始まりから驚きの設定まで" [Commemorating the release of the Mario movie! Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto From the beginning of production to the surprising setting].Nintendo Dream (in Japanese). April 25, 2023.Archived from the original on April 25, 2023.もともと『マリオブラザーズ』は、土管がいっぱいあるニューヨークの地下で活躍する兄弟、ニューヨークのなかでもたぶんブルックリン、というところまで勝手に決めていて。『ドンキーコング』は舞台がニューヨークですし。[Miyamoto: Originally,Mario Bros. was arbitrarily decided as brothers who are active in the underground of New York, where there are many clay pipes, and probably Brooklyn in New York.Donkey Kong is set in New York.]
^Kohler, Chris (February 17, 2012)."Game Life Podcast: When Jay Mohr Met Tomonobu Itagaki".Wired. Archived fromthe original on April 17, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 28, 2024.And so we thought, 'This guy [Segale] is a recluse. No one's ever actually met him.' So we thought, 'Wouldn't it be a great joke if we named this character Mario?' And so we said, 'That's great,' and we sent a telex to Japan, and that's how Mario got his name. Interview with Don James starts at 51:16. Quotation occurs at 52:00.
^"Nintendo Treehouse Live - E3 2018 - Arcade Archives Donkey Kong, Sky Skipper".YouTube. Nintendo Everything. June 14, 2018.Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 28, 2024.Mr. Arakawa, who was the president, and myself looked at the character, and we had a landlord that happened to be named Mario as well, and we'd never met the guy, so we thought it'd be funny to name this main character Mario after our landlord in Southcenter. And that's actually how Mario got his name. Quotation occurs at 2:25.
^"Mario reveals his last name & other tales – San Diego Comic Con 2012".YouTube. Patrick Scott Patterson. July 16, 2012.Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. RetrievedMay 25, 2016.What's my last name? That's a very good question. That's right, it's Mario! My name's-a Mario Mario. Of course, my brother's name, a-Luigi Mario. And of course, my mama's-a Mama Mia Mario; my papa Papa Pio Mario. Of course, my grandmama Grandmama Mia Mario and my greatpapa et cetera, et cetera. Yeah, first name Mario, last name Mario. Yahoo!
^Totilo, Stephen (August 17, 2012)."Nintendo Chief: Mario Is Part Of Gamers' DNA".Kotaku.Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. RetrievedMay 4, 2022.Could that mean that Mario's last name is "Video Game"? No, Iwata replied. "He does not have a last name."
^"【衝撃事実】ついに任天堂公式のマリオの本名が判明！任天堂の代表取締役・宮本茂氏が明かす" [[Impact] fact finally found real name of Nintendo official of Mario! Reveal the representative director, Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo].ガジェット通信 GetNews (in Japanese). September 14, 2015.Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. RetrievedMay 25, 2016.
^Par William Audureau (December 6, 2018)."Les confidences du dessinateur historique des personnages Nintendo" [The secrets of the historic designer of Nintendo characters].Le Monde (in French).Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. RetrievedMarch 29, 2024.J'ai gardé la ligne de contour épaisse du personnage. En revanche, j'ai accentué les traits du « M » sur la casquette de Mario, pour bien le distinguer du logo de McDonald's, qui nous demandait, au contraire, s'ils pouvaient davantage se ressembler. [I kept the thick outline of the character. On the other hand, I accentuated the lines of the "M" on Mario's cap, to clearly distinguish it from the McDonald's logo, which asked us, on the contrary, if they could be more alike.]
^"2.宮本 茂ロングインタビュー マリオの生みの親からのメッセージ" [2. Long Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, Message from the Creator of Mario].Nintendo Co., Ltd. (in Japanese). 2005.Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. RetrievedMarch 9, 2024.
^Zhang, X., & Song, H. (2023). The Mukokuseki Strategy and the Application of Pivot Translation in the Localization of Japanese Games.Games and Culture, 0(0).
^"クリエイターズファイル 第101回" [Creators File No. 101] (in Japanese). Gpara.com. February 10, 2003. Archived fromthe original on September 30, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 11, 2011.
^Owen S. Good (August 23, 2014)."Watch the entire first act of the Mario Opera".Polygon.Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. RetrievedMarch 28, 2024.I think it's a great show that anyone who grew up playing Mario will appreciate and enjoy, and there are moments that will give you genuine feels.
^Kollar, Philip; Frank, Allegra (October 26, 2017)."Super Mario Odyssey review".Polygon.Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. RetrievedApril 9, 2024.
^Abt, Samuel (July 1, 1996)."Super Mario Comes Up Short".The New York Times.Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. RetrievedMarch 11, 2024 – via International Herald Tribune.
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