Mario

Mario in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Mario
Species	Human
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Blue
Relatives	Luigi (brother)
Voiced by	Charles Martinet (1996-2022) Kevin Afghani (2023-Present)
Debut	Donkey Kong

Mario is the main star of the Super Mario series and acts as the mascot of Nintendo. He is part of a pair of twin siblings known as the Mario Brothers. Mario is the more commonly featured and popular of the pair, who generally has a greater tendency to adventure. He has gone on many types of adventures against a variety of foes, often saving damsels in distress and/or entire kingdoms, with his most common type of quest involving rescuing Princess Peach from the grasp of the evil Koopa king, Bowser. Despite his short stature, Mario is famed throughout the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond for his jumping abilities, and he has been acknowledged by many as a great hero. He is often joined by his brother Luigi, who is a better jumper but more reluctant to engage in constant adventure.

Background

Baby Mario

Mario as a baby.

Mario's first adventure took place before he was officially born, in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. He and his brother Luigi were being delivered to their parents by the stork. But Kamek, having prophesied that the babies would grow up to cause trouble for the Koopa clan, intercepted the stork and attempted to kidnap the babies. Luigi was captured, but Kamek but Mario was accidentally dropped in the process. Baby Mario fell down to Yoshi's Island and landed on the back of a Yoshi. The Yoshi's clan helped to escort Baby Mario across the island in search of his brother, before Kamek's men kidnapped Mario as well. Baby Mario was able to lead the Yoshis towards Luigi's location through some kind of strange intuition (possibly referring to the concept of 'twin telepathy'). Mario was mostly a backseat rider for the adventure, but he had some brief moments of glory whenever he grabbed a Super Star, which temporarily made him invincible and able to run around with Yoshi in tow. In the end, Yoshi defeated Baby Bowser. The Baby Mario Brothers were reunited and taken to their parents by the Stork.

Yoshi's New Island later retconned that the stork accidentally took the brothers to the wrong house. Once he realized his mistake, he went to take the brothers to the correct home, only to be ambushed by Kamek once again, who also was only able to kidnap Baby Luigi again. Baby Mario ended up on Egg Island and tried moving under his own power, but the Yoshis took note of this and soon came to help him. They took Baby Mario on a similar adventure and defeated Baby Bowser once more, followed by Bowser's adult self. After Bowser was defeated, Baby Luigi was saved once again, and this time the stork brought the brothers to their true parents. In Yoshi's Island DS, a future version of Kamek tried kidnapping all the world's babies to see which of them contained the seven fallen stars. Mario was among the babies kidnapped, but the Stork was able to save him. Baby Mario was reunited with the Yoshi clan, and this time he wasn't the only baby on board. Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario and Bowser (the latter two only joining temporarily) also rode the backs of the Yoshis to free the rest of the kidnapped babies, which included Luigi. This adventure was also successful, and the Baby Mario Brothers were returned home again. The ending revealed Mario to be one of the babies born with one of the seven stars.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time showed Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, now appearing to be toddler-aged, having become playmates with Baby Peach. They also defended her from Baby Bowser's attempts to kidnap her, starting a pattern that would repeat itself for years. Baby Mario and Luigi proceeded to go on a a time-traveling adventure with their adult selves.

Not much is known about Mario's upbringing. Unofficial sources used to indicate that he was raised in Brooklyn in New York and later stumbled into the Mushroom Kingdom, but this was discouraged by Yoshi's Island and its sequels as well as Partners in Time, which depicted Mario residing in the Mushroom Kingdom since infancy. It has also been mentioned in the instruction manual for Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins that Wario has been antagonizing him since they were children.

Misc Mario Spin-Off Appearances

Baby Mario has appeared in various Mario sports games set in the present as a playable character. His existence in the present time period has not been explained. While these games generally seem to be detached from continuity and feature several doubles of characters, his presence could alternately be explained through the time travel established in Partners in Time. Baby Mario has made playable appearances in in Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Tennis GBC (in the minigame mode), Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Tennis Open (unlocked by completing the third level of Super Mario Tennis), Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, Mario Sports Superstars, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Dr. Mario World (as Dr. Baby Mario, added in September 2019) and Mario Kart Tour. In Dr. Mario World and Mario Kart Tour, he had to be unlocked at random through each respective game's gacha feature, and he has a Normal rarity level in the latter game. A Koala variant of Baby Mario was made available in certain tours of Tour starting with the Sydney Tour in April 2021, depicting Baby Mario with koala ears on his hat and wearing a koala backpack. He also made cameo appearances in the Game Boy Color Mario Golf, Mario Power Tennis and Mario Kart Arcade GP 2.

Baby Mario was also featured in Yoshi Touch & Go, which consisted of several minigames based on Yoshi's Island. This includes a segment in which the player controls Baby Mario falling through the sky after being dropped from the stork. In Super Mario Maker, Baby Mario (using his sprite from Yoshi's Island) appeared as one of the Mystery Mushroom costumes that Mario can transform into, after unlocking the costume as a random prize for completing a 100 Mario Challenge on Expert or harder.

The Arcade/NES Era

One of Mario's first known acts of heroism in his adult years was when he chased and battled the angry ape Donkey Kong to save his girlfriend Pauline in Donkey Kong. The initial battle took place at a construction site, which would later be established as part of New Donk City. In the original game, Mario defeated Donkey Kong there, but in the 1994 remake, Donkey Kong was able to escape with Pauline, and the chase continued over a variety of locales. Mario finally defeated Donkey Kong at the top of a tower after he became a giant. At the end, Mario and Pauline found themselves in what seemed to be the Mushroom Kingdom, and Pauline tossed him what may have been his first Super Mushroom. This version's ending also implied the beginning of a friendship between the humans and the Kongs when they all posed together for a photograph. Despite that ending, Mario later played the villain for the first and only time in his career in Donkey Kong Jr., when he held Donkey Kong captive in the jungle while armed with a whip. Donkey Kong Jr. defeated Mario and saved his father.

In his early days, Mario's overalls were red instead of blue.

Initially described as a carpenter, Mario was later portrayed as a plumber who worked with his brother Luigi. Mario and Luigi worked together to battle some monsters in the sewers in Mario Bros., and they also worked together in demolition work in Wrecking Crew. In the Mushroom Kingdom, the brothers later embarked on an adventure to save Princess Peach from Bowser, whom had taken over the Mushroom kingdom in Super Mario Bros.. They defeated Bowser and saved the princess in what would be the first of many battles to come. They proceeded on a similar adventure in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

Mario would later embark on an adventure his sleep. In Super Mario Bros. 2, he saved the dream world of Subcon from Wart with the aid of Luigi, Peach and Toad, or possibly the dream versions of them. Mario and Luigi embarked on another quest to defeat Bowser in Super Mario Bros. 3. In this adventure, Mario initially set out to liberate the seven countries of the Mushroom World from the Koopalings under Bowser's command. While he was defeating the last of them, Ludwig von Koopa, Bowser captured Peach, and Mario went to the Dark Land to save her once again. At some point, Mario received his own island, which was known as Mario Land and featured a castle. Despite this, Mario and Luigi lived in a small pad known as the Pipe House that was located within the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario also saved the foreign land of Sarasaland and its Princess Daisy from the alien warlord Tatanga in Super Mario Land, with the aid of new power-ups and special vehicles. While he was away, Wario took over Mario Land and occupied Mario's castle. Mario then ventured throughout his own land, infested with Wario's minions, to gain the six golden coins in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Mario eventually accessed the castle with the six golden coins and defeated Wario.

The SNES/N64 Era

Mario in Super Mario Kart, a prominent forerunner for several spinoff series

In Super Mario World, Mario, Luigi and Peach went on vacation to Dinosaur Land. But the vacation had to go on hold when Peach was captured by Bowser. Mario and Luigi were joined in this adventure by Yoshi, who needed Mario's help in freeing his friends from the Koopaling. Mario defeated Bowser once again, and this marked his last adventure with Luigi for a period of time, as Luigi became more comfortable guarding the Pipe House while Mario fought evil. Mario and Yoshi later teamed up again to save Jewelry Land and its rulers from the clutches of Bowser and the Koopalings in Yoshi's Safari. Wario returned to pester Mario in Mario & Wario, by dropping buckets and other objects over the heads of Mario and his friends so that they would blindly wander into unfriendly obstacles. Luckily, a friendly fairy named Wanda guided them to Luigi, who removed the items. Mario also made a cameo appearance at the end of Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, when he arrived at the last minute to retrieve the stolen statue of Princess Peach - and in the process he completely ruined Wario's plans, as Wario planned to hold it for ransom.

One of Mario's biggest adventures ensued in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. What started out as a routine rescue of Peach from Bowser shifted into an adventure to save the entire world. Mario found that he had to find the seven shards of the broken Star Road, or no wishes would ever come true in the world. He also had to find it before the Smithy Gang, who planned to use the stars for their own nefarious purposes. In this adventure, Mario was joined by two new partners, Mallow and Geno. Peach and even Bowser joined up with him in this quest as well. After a lengthy battle, Mario and his group of adventurers succeeded in destroying Smithy and restoring peace to the world.

In Super Mario 64, Mario (as well as Luigi and Wario in the DS version) was invited to Princess Peach's Castle for cake. Upon his arrival, he found that Peach and her retainers had been sealed within the walls of the castle by Bowser. Only the power of the Power Stars (120 in the original game, 150 in the DS version), hidden throughout the castle and the worlds hidden in the castle's portraits, could restore the castle. In the DS version Mario was captured early in the adventure and held captive by the Goomba King until Yoshi saved him. Mario and the others continued on their adventure and defeated Bowser again, at which point they celebrated with Peach.

Bowser once more kidnapped Peach in Paper Mario, but this time there was a twist in that Bowser had stolen the magical Star Rod and used it to make himself invincible. Mario was defeated by Bowser and left for dead near Goomba Village. He was nursed back to health by the family of a young Goomba named Goombario. Goombario and six others became Mario's partners in his latest quest. He was contacted by the seven Star Spirits and instructed to find and save them. Their combined powers could nullify the effects of Bowser's Star Rod. Mario succeeded in saving the Star Spirits, but it was only when Peach contributed her own power to Mario and the Star Spirits that Mario was able to finish Bowser off.

The Gamecube Era

The Mario Bros. in action again.

Despite always being the rescuer, Mario was the one who needed rescuing in Luigi's Mansion. Mario had been captured by King Boo and trapped in a painting. Luckily, Luigi was able to face his fears and eventually rescue Mario. In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario and Peach tried going on a vacation again to Isle Delfino, but it once again turned rotten due to Koopa intervention. Upon arriving on the island, Mario was arrested as he was suspected of being the man responsible for polluting and vandalizing the island. Mario was sentenced to clean up the mess, which he worked on with the aid of a talking water-pump named FLUDD, collecting the island's Shine Sprites at the same time. He also had several confrontations with the true vandal, Shadow Mario, who later revealed himself to be a disguised Bowser Jr. and kidnapped Princess Peach for his father. The adventure concluded with a showdown against both Bowser and Bowser Jr. FLUDD nearly died out afterwards, almost bringing Mario to tears, but Peach's Toads were able to repair it. Afterwards, Mario's true vacation began.

The original plumbing duo was reunited in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga when Mario and Luigi traveled to the Beanbean Kingdom, initially to retrieve Princess Peach's voice from the evil Cackletta. The brothers found themselves lost in a land they were not familiar with, one where not everyone saw them as the superstars they were in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Luigi had to learn several new cooperative Bros. Moves and Attacks in order to survive. They eventually destroyed the evil Cackletta and whipped her minion Fawful into submission. Mario's popularity led to the creation of a line of Mini-Mario toys. But this caused trouble in Mario vs. Donkey Kong, when Donkey Kong became infatuated with the toys and stole a giant bag of them. Mario went on a long quest, similar to his pursuit of the original Donkey Kong, until Donkey Kong was defeated. But Mario was generous enough to let the Kong keep one of the toys, rekindling their friendship.

The paper-version of Mario in the second Paper Mario game.

Mario embarked on another grand-scale adventure in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. This time Peach had been captured by the X-Nauts, who were seeking the seven Crystal Stars that were needed to open the Thousand-Year Door. Mario went on a journey to find the Crystal Stars before the X-Nauts did and attempt to save Peach. Mario had many great experiences along the way, gaining another seven partners. He became the champion of the Glitz Pit in Glitzville under the fighting name of the Great Gonzalez. But at one point, Doopliss assumed Mario's form, turning Mario into a pale shadow. Even Mario's partners believed that Doopliss was the real Mario. Despite being shunned by his friends, Vivian sympathized with Mario and helped him to defeat Doopliss and gain his form back. Mario and his partners continued their adventure and gathered the seven Crystal Stars, but they were tricked by the X-Nauts into using it to open the Thousand-Year Door. Within, the X-Nauts performed a ritual that freed the spirit of the Shadow Queen, who possessed Princess Peach's body. With the help of the Crystal Stars and all the people he had helped throughout his adventure, Mario was able to separate the Shadow Queen from Peach's body and destroy her.

In Mario Pinball Land, another quest to save Peach from Bowser forced Mario to utilize a machine that turned him into a living pinball. Mario was able to master this handicap and defeat Bowser. In another weird adventure, Mario and Luigi mastered their dancing abilities in order to save the Music Keys from Wario and Waluigi in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

The DS/Wii Era

Mario in Super Mario Galaxy

Mario and Luigi were later captured by the Koopa Troop in Super Princess Peach, after they had used the Vibe Rod to render them overly emotional and incapable of clear action. Ultimately it was the princess who saved them, repaying them for all the times they saved her from the Koopa King. Mario was held within Bowser's Villa, and he was freed from his cage by Peach after she defeated Bowser, at which point they were reunited in a running hug, with Mario instantly producing a bouquet for her. The Mario Bros. later embarked on a time-traveling adventure in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time in order to defeat the evil alien race known as the Shroobs. This adventure teamed the brothers up with their infant selves. Together, this quartet of Marios was able to repel the alien invasion. Mario and Luigi also went on an old-fashioned adventure in New Super Mario Bros., in order to save Princess Peach from Bowser Jr. while having several encounters with the original Bowser along the way (including his alternate form of Dry Bowser).

Mario later opened a theme park based around the Mini Mario toy and had Pauline dedicate it at the grand opening in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. Donkey Kong kidnapped Pauline and sealed Mario out of the area, so he sent the Mini Marios to rescue her from Donkey Kong instead. A similar course of events later played out in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, but in that case, Mario ultimately discovered that Pauline and Donkey Kong had staged the kidnapping in order to test the Mini Mario toys. In Super Paper Mario, Mario and Luigi went out to save Princess Peach from Bowser, only to see that Count Bleck had captured them both. Bleck then tossed Mario into another dimension, Flipside. There Mario met with Merlon and the Pixl Tippy. Mario joined with Tippy and a group of other Pixls in order to gather the eight Pure Hearts, which would prevent the Void created by Count Bleck from destroying all worlds. Mario was also accompanied by Peach, Bowser and Luigi. Together they were the four warriors foretold in the prophecies of the Light Prognosticus. They were able to defeat Count Bleck and afterwards his mutinous follower, Dimentio, and thus save all worlds from destruction.

In Super Mario Galaxy, Mario was invited to the castle by Princess Peach for the Star Festival. However, as he arrived Bowser began an attack on the castle with his fleet of airships as well as several spacecrafts. To Mario's dismay, Bowser towed Peach's castle away into space with Peach still aboard. Mario himself was teleported safely to the Gateway Galaxy by a Luma. He met the "mother" of the Lumas, Rosalina, who entrusted Mario with Lumas to aid him by granting him the ability to travel through space. At Rosalina's request, Mario traveled to many galaxies from the Comet Observatory to find the Power Stars and Grand Stars needed to power the Comet Observatory (with help from Luigi and a group of Toads). After he collected enough, Rosalina was able to pilot the observatory to Bowser's hideout in the center of the universe, where he was building his own galaxy. Mario was able to best Bowser once again in combat, and the Lumas were able to save Mario and all the others from the explosion, and safely returned them to the planet along with Peach's castle. Mario went on another intergalactic adventure in Super Mario Galaxy 2 when Bowser used the power of the Stars to become a giant and captured Peach during the Star Festival. As Bowser once more retreated into space to build a space empire, Mario wound up receiving passage from a friendly Luma named Lubba, aboard a planetoid spaceship which he converted to resemble Mario's face, at which point it became known as Starship Mario. Mario was accompanied by a special baby Luma that was lost from the Comet Observatory and explored various galaxies to collect the Power Stars, teaming up with Yoshi and occasionally tagging in Luigi along the way. Mario ultimately defeated Bowser in one last battle, saving the last Grand Star as well as Peach. At that point, they were also reunited with Rosalina, and the baby Luma returned to her while taking Mario's hat as a keepsake. Mario, Peach, Luigi, Yoshi and Lubba then returned to the Mushroom Kingdom to celebrate.

Mario and Luigi explore Bowser's body.

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the Mario Bros. attended a conference in Peach's Castle regarding the Blorbs epidemic and defeated Bowser after he crashed the meeting. However, he soon returned under the influence of a Vacuum Shroom and sucked up everyone in the conference room, which had the added effect of shrinking them and trapping them within his body. Mario and Luigi, with the guidance of the Star Sprite Starlow, navigated Bowser's body in search of Princess Peach and the missing Toads, at the same time performing various tasks within Bowser's body to improve his abilities as well as allowing them to progress further through his body. They eventually rescued Peach, but she was then snatched by Fawful, who was using her to resurrect the Dark Star. At this point, the Mario brothers found Warp Pipes that took them out of Bowser's body, although they still had to return there several times later on. After seeking guidance from Dr. Toadley, they sought the three Star Cures that they needed to get to Peach's Castle (as well as cure the Blorbs) and stop Fawful. Mario and Luigi were able to gather all three (although it was actually Bowser who retrieved the second one), and successfully created the Miracle Cure. After freeing Bowser from being trapped in a safe, they returned to his body so that he could storm the castle more easily. They then hunted down and defeated the Dark Star Core after Bowser swallowed it, but it was able to reform as a Dark Bowser. During Bowser's climatic battle with the Dark Bowser, he made sure to swallow the Dark Star Core (which had bonded with Dark Fawful's remains), and the Mario brothers were able to defeat it. Dark Fawful then attempted to take Mario and Luigi down with him by self-destructing, but this instead made Bowser regurgitate everyone. Mario and Luigi proceeded to trounce Bowser, who was furious to learn Mario and Luigi had been inside his body all along, over the end credits. They then however helped Peach to prepare a thank you cake for their old enemy.

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Bowser had Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings capture Princess Peach on her birthday. As usual, Mario and Luigi (as well as two Toads) traveled relentlessly across eight lands, defeating all eight of the Koopalings as well as Kamek and Bowser Jr. as they proceeded. In the end, they were able to defeat Bowser as well in order to save the princess. Luigi and the Toads then stole a pair of hot air balloons from Bowser's castle, one of which Mario and Peach rode him together while she told him about the secret ninth world. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, Donkey Kong captured Pauline again after missing out on a giveaway of Mini Pauline toys, and Mario sent the Mini Mario toys to defeat Donkey Kong and rescue her once again.

The 3DS/Wii U Era

Mario went on another adventure to save the princess from Bowser in Super Mario 3D Land. A Tanooki Tree near the castle had been stripped of its Super Leaves, which empowered many of Mario's enemies with Tanooki tails. At the same time, Mario was also able to make heavy usage of the suit. He once again defeated Bowser and rescued the princess. This unlocked a secondary adventure within the Special Worlds, where he saved Luigi, and after this was accomplished, one of them had to save Peach a second time. Mario and Luigi embarked on further adventures to defeat Bowser and save Peach from him in New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario Run. In the latter game, he also ended up saving Daisy from Bowser in the Remix 10 mode.

In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Mario attended the Sticker Fest at Decalburg with Princess Peach to watch the passing of the wish-granting Sticker Comet. However, Bowser intervenes and attacks the comet, causing the six Royal Stickers to scatter and absorbing one of them himself to become more powerful. With his newfound power, Bowser was able to defeat Mario, kidnap Peach and leave a lot of Toads taped up. He was accosted by Kersti, a sticker fairy who looked after the Royal Stickers, and they decided to work together to find the Royal Stickers. After gathering five of the Royal Stickers, they went to Bowser's Castle for the last one. Kersti sacrificed herself to become a sticker and give Mario the power to defeat Bowser, and once he defeated him, Mario used the Royal Stickers to restore the Sticker Comet, the festival and Kersti. In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario was captured by King Boo and turned into a painting again. Luigi ultimately restored him after defeating King Boo once more. Mario proceeded to join in on the celebrations with Luigi, E. Gadd, Gadd's Toad assistants and the now-friendly ghosts. Mario also appeared in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, where he worked with Donkey Kong and Pauline to host a Mini Toy Carnival, with Mario hosting the game's Main Event.

The Mario Brothers later accompanied Princess Peach and Toadsworth on a trip to Pi'illo Island in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. Peach and Toadsworth soon got lost in the ancient ruins of the Pi'ilo Castle, and as the brothers searched the area for them, they discovered a Pi'illo that was trapped in a pillow-like form and found that Luigi could open up portals to the dream world when he slept on said Pi'illos. Mario traveled to the dream world and worked with Luigi's dream self, Dreamy Luigi, to rescue Prince Dreambert of the lost Pi'illo Kingdom. However, Peach was also pulled into the Dream World and captured by Anatasma, the enemy of the Pi'illo people. Mario and Luigi, accompanied by Dreambert and Starlow, embarked on a quest across the Pi'illo Kingdom to awaken the other cursed Pi'illos and seek a way to save Peach. They eventually found Peach and saved her, but then Bowser intervened and teamed up with Antasma. The two villains stole the Dream Stone and used its power to make a floating fortress with a weapon that destroyed the island's barrier islands. Mario and Luigi tried to help Peach find shelter in the dream world, only to find that she had already been captured by Bowser and replaced by Kamek. They then went to assemble the pieces of the legendary Ultibed and find a bedsmith who could put it together, so that they could use it to awaken the Zeekeeper and call upon the being's aid. They succeeded in this task, and with the Zeekeeper's aid, they then entered Bowser's castle. There, they fought Bowser in the dream world to force him to wake up, so that Antasma could stop draining power from him. They proceeded to destroy Antasma and then defeated Bowser, who had been temporarily empowered by the recently-shattered Dream Stone. They then returned to the island with the princess, where the Dream Stone was restored as a Dream Coin by the Zeekeeper, and they proceeded to enjoy the rest of their vacation.

In Super Mario 3D World, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad discovered that the seven Sprixie Princesses of the Sprixie Kingdom had been captured by Bowser. The four of them teamed up on an adventure through the Sprixie Kingdom and then Bowser World, liberating the Sprixie Princess and defeating Bowser. Mario later sent the Mini Mario toys on another quest to save Pauline from Donkey Kong in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, in which the kidnapping once again turned out to have been staged, this time for the sake of luring Mario to a surprise party. In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, it was shown that Paper Mario versions of everyone existed within a storybook that was kept in the attic of Peach's castle, and Luigi accidentally unleashed them from the book. Mario and Luigi teamed up with Paper Mario after both versions of Bowser kidnapped both versions of Princess Peach. The three of them worked together as a trio and sometimes operated a variety of giant Papercraft constructs that were made by Toadette. After the Bowsers were defeated, farewells were exchanged as Paper Mario and his other Paper allies returned to the storybook. Mario and Luigi wasted no time in fending off Bowser again.

Mario later traveled to Prism Island with Peach in Paper Mario: Color Splash in order to investigate the mystery of a Toad who had been drained of color. The island itself was found to have been drained largely of color, and it was discovered that this had to do with the Big Paint Stars having gone missing from the Prisma Fountain. Mario worked together with a living paint can named Huey to track down the different Paint Stars, while battling the Koopalings and other forces of Bowser's. Peach was kidnapped in the process, and Mario later learned that Bowser was actually being possessed by some evil black paint this time. Mario and Huey worked together to defeat Black Bowser and restored him to normal. They then escaped from the collapsing castle, except for Huey who stayed behind to deal with the black paint. Peach later tried to comfort him about Huey's status, and Huey was indeed ultimately confirmed to have survived.

The Switch Era

The events of Super Mario Odyssey started with Bowser kidnapping Peach again, this time intent on forcing her into a marriage. Mario attempted to stop Bowser and fought him on his airship. However, Mario was defeated and thrown from the airship while Bowser shredded his signature cap. Mario landed in the Cap Kingdom, where he was found by a local Bonneter named Cappy. Cappy had witnessed the battle and salvaged the remains of Mario's hat. Cappy's own sister, Tiara, had also been captured by Bowser to be used in the marriage. As they shared a common goal, Mario and Cappy agreed to team up to stop Bowser. Cappy acted as Mario's new hat and gave him the ability to possess other beings and objects by throwing Cappy at them. They journeyed from kingdom to kingdom on Cappy's ship. the Odyssey, and they collected Power Moons to power the craft while pursuing Bowser and his new comrades, the Broodals. They were constantly a step behind Bowser, and there were also instances were they caught up to the enemies (with Mario beating Bowser at a fight in on instance), only for the Odyssey to be damaged and for them to end up stuck in remote areas. Ultimately, they found Bowser in a wedding chapel on the moon in the middle of his attempt at a marriage ceremony. Mario and Cappy ended up fighting Bowser in the caves underneath the chapel and defeated Bowser. However, the surrounding area immediately started to collapse, so Mario possessed the defeated Bowser and used his brute strength to find an escape route for all of them, the princess and Tiara included. Once they were safe, they witnessed Cappy and Tiara's reunion. Mario and Bowser both chose this chance to make a move, and they chose to try to present flowers to Peach at the same time (Bowser's being a Piranha Plant bouquet), only for Peach to turn both of them down. She then started to leave without them in the Odyssey, but she then beckoned them aboard, and Mario was able to leap to the ship while leaving Bowser behind. Afterwards, Mario and Cappy decided to adventure some more together to gather more Power Moons.

Mario was also featured in Super Mario Maker 2, where he acted as Builder Mario and took on tasks to raise money to help rebuild Princess Peach's Castle within the Story Mode. In Luigi's Mansion 3, Mario and Peach came with Luigi to the hotel known as The Last Resort, as Luigi had won a free stay for him and his friends. Mario settled in his own room, and he was implied to have eaten a lot of pizza, with three empty boxes being found in his room. The hotel was a trap, however, and King Boo trapped him in a portrait once again, along with Peach and the Toads that had come with them. Mario's portrait was guarded by Hellen Gravely, the owner of the hotel. After Luigi defeated her at the Master Suite, the top floor of the hotel, he was able to free Mario from his portrait. It seemed that Mario had some awareness while he was trapped in the portrait, as he was able to lead Luigi up to the hotel's rooftop, where Peach's portrait was held. Peach was briefly freed, only for King Boo to trap everyone except for Luigi in a new portrait. They were freed for good after King Boo was defeated. Afterwards, Mario helped everyone to build a new hotel in the old one's ruins, and then they departed on the same bus that they had arrived in.

In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Mario and Luigi were invited to attend an Origami Festival at Toad Town. They arrived only to find that Peach had been transformed into an origami being, and that Peach's Castle was overrun by Folded Soldiers who were other creatures who had been forcibly folded into origami forms. The culprit behind this was a living origami named King Olly, who wanted to make the whole world into his origami kingdom. Mario rescued Olly's sister, Olivia, who was seeking to stop her brother. Mario and Olivia went on a quest together to undo the five streamers that were keeping them from reaching Olly. Along the way, they worked with other companions such as a Bob-omb, Professor Toad, Kamek and even Bowser. Mario and Olivia were ultimately able to defeat Olly together. In the aftermath, Olivia folded the last of 1,000 paper cranes and used the ensuing wish to restore everything back to normal, while disappearing in the process. Mario then attended the Origami Festival with Peach, and they released an origami lantern in Olivia's honor.

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Mario and his friends were invited by Prince Florian to visit the Flower Kingdom for the first time. Their visit was quickly disrupted by the arrival of Bowser, who used a Wonder Flower to merge with the Flower Castle. Mario and his friends volunteered to help Prince Florian to save the kingdom. Accompanied by the prince, they traveled across the different areas of the Flower Kingdom to collect Wonder Seeds and the powerful Elder Seeds while battling Bowser Jr. several times along the way. In the end, they succeeded at defeating Bowser and restoring peace to the kingdom.

In Other Mario-Related Games

Sports, Racing and Party Spin-Offs

Aside from all his constant adventuring, Mario is also known to play a variety of sports and other recreational activities, such as kart racing. He is usually joined by other inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom and even some of his enemies.

Mario playing soccer.

• Golf: Mario originally made a playable appearance in NES Open Tournament Golf. He was later playable in Mario Golf (where he had to be unlocked through the sixth character match), the Game Boy Color Mario Golf (outside of Story Mode), Mobile Golf, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Golf: Advance Tour, Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario Golf: Super Rush. Mario was also the final opponent in Story Mode of the Game Boy Color Mario Golf, in which he was overthrown as the Mushroom Kingdom's golfing champion by Kid.
• Kart Racing: One of the most well-known examples, Mario has headlined many kart racing games, starting with Super Mario Kart and continuing in Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
  • In Tour, Mario had to be unlocked at random through the game's pipe-firing feature, with his rarity level being Super. There were also alternate versions of Mario (mostly based on outfits from Super Mario Odyssey) that were available with High End rarity during certain tours: Musician, Hakama, Santa, Happi, Classic (utilizing his clothes' color scheme from Super Mario Bros.), Builder Mario, Chef, Swimwear, SNES (his original sprite from Super Mario Kart), Sunshine, Halloween, Racing, Tuxedo, Baseball, Penguin Mario, Tanooki Mario, Satellaview, Golf, Aviator, Samurai, Dr. Mario, Cat Mario, White Tanooki Mario, King and Black Suit. High End variants of Mario who were also potentially available outside of individual tours were Metal Mario and Ice Mario (added in January 2020). Gold Mario was also exclusively playable in the Coin Rush mode until being made available as a normal racer in the Anniversary 2023 Tour.
• Tennis: Mario's first tennis game was Mario's Tennis on the Virtual Boy, and he continued to appear as a main playable character in Mario Tennis 64, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Tennis Aces. In Mario Tennis GBC and Mario Tennis: Power Tour, he was the final opponent of Singles Mode and was unlocked as a playable character after being defeated. He was also paired up with Peach in the Doubles Modes of both games.
• Baseball: Mario was a playable captain in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers .
• Soccer: Mario was also a playable captain in Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged and Mario Strikers: Battle League.
• Olympics: Mario was playable in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
• Other Sports: Mario was playable in Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario Sports Mix and Mario Sports Superstars.

Mario Party

In addition to all these, Mario has starred in the long-running series of Mario Party games. These feature Mario and friends adventuring across giant board games and competing in minigames. The individual stories for each game vary, but most involve Mario and the others competing for some sort of title, most commonly that of 'Superstar'. Mario is a playable character in every single game. The following are all the storyline roles Mario plays throughout these games.

• Mario Party: Mario and his friends (Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Wario) argued about which of them as a Superstar. To break up the argument, Toad brought them to Mushroom Village, and they used a Warp Pipe there to travel to different areas where they competed to decide who was the true Superstar. Mario had his own board in this game, known as Mario's Rainbow Castle.
• Mario Party 2: Presented as a stage play, Mario and his friends (Luigi, Peach, Yoshi and Donkey Kong) worked together to build a new 'world' that they decided to call Mario Land. Wario suddenly appeared and objected to the title, demanding that it be named after him instead. This caused everyone to want the land to be named after them, and Bowser launched an invasion in the process. At Toad's suggestion, they decided to compete in seeing who could defeat Bowser. The winner would be deemed the Superstar and get to name the land after themselves.
• Mario Party 3: Mario and his friends met a being who appeared to the legendary Millennium Star, who could only be possessed by someone known to be the Superstar of the universe. This resulted in another argument among the group, until a Lakitu suggested that they decide through playing Mario Party together. After being teleported into a toy box, they all began competing for Star Stamps to earn the Millennium Star's favor. In the end, the star they were talking with turned out to be an impostor, but the real Millennium Star revealed itself from within Tumble and acknowledged the winner of the game. If the player played as a character other than Mario, then Mario would appear to challenge the player's character to a Duel Map duel for the Courage Star Stamp.
• Mario Party 4: It is the birthday of whichever character has been chosen by the player. A group of hosts (Toad, Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy and Boo) have arrived on the Party Cube to commemorate the occasion by inviting Mario and his friends to compete in party games to win birthday presents.
• Mario Party 5: Mario and his friends have been invited to visit the Dream Depot, due to the Star Guards considering them to be the biggest dreamers there are. Bowser and the Koopa Kid chose to attack the Dream Depot, so Mario and his friends competed against the Koopa Kid in a series of boards in order to stop them.
• Mario Party 6: After Brighton and Twila began feuding over which was better, Mario decided that the best way to settle this conflict was by filling the Star Bank and using the power of the Stars to get them to make up. And so, Mario and his friends competed in another round of games, and in the process they filled pages of the Miracle Book that got them to settle their differences.
• Mario Party Advance: Bowser has stolen all of the Gaddgets and scattered them across Shroom City. Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad traveled across the city and helped various people in order to recover all of the Gaddgets, which led to a showdown with Boswer. As one of only four playable characters in this single player-oriented adventure, Mario's set starting position was in the Town Area.
• Mario Party 7: Toadsworth decided to treat Mario and his friends to a luxury cruise to honor all of the good that they've done throughout their adventures. Bowser was jealous that he was not invited and tried to ruin their cruise. Mario and his friends proceeded to play a series of Mario Party games before going to defeat Boswer.
• Mario Party 8: Mario and his friends have been invited by MC Ballyhoo and Bigtop to take part in a special event known as the Star Carnival, where the winner would be considered the Superstar and receive a year's supply of candy. The Star Rod was later revealed to be an extra prize. Mario and his friends took part in the competition, and the winner would have to fight Bowser to retrieve the Star Rod after Bowser had stolen it.
• Mario Party DS: Mario discovered a Sky Crystal that landed nearby. Shortly afterwards, Mario and his friends were invited to a buffet that Bowser was hosting, apparently as an apology for his past behavior. The party turned out to be a trap, as Bowser used his Minimizer to shrink Mario and his friends down and stole their Sky Crystal. While shrunken down, Mario and his friends went on an adventure across various locales, where they competed in Mario Party games and took on bosses to earn all of the Sky Crystals.
• Mario Party 9: Mario and his friends were stargazing together and specifically watching Mini Stars in the sky. This was brought to a sudden halt when Bowser and Bowser Jr. sucked up all of the Mini Stars in the sky. Mario and his friends proceeded to travel across several boards in order to collect the Mini Stars and foil Bowser.
• Mario Party: Island Tour: Mario and his friends have been invited to a party in the sky on a set of floating islands known as the Party Islands, and they are almost immediately taken there within bubbles. There, they could compete and play games with each other. But they also had to contend with a jealous Bowser, who built Bowser's Tower there and started sealing the fun of the islands within bubbles there. One character had to navigate Bowser's Tower with the help of a green Toad and contend with bubble clones of the characters.
• Super Mario Party: Once again, Mario and his friends argued over which of them was the Superstar, and once more it was suggested that they compete in Mario Party games to decide it, which Mario now knew as a 'time-honored tradition'. This time, Bowser and his friends intervened, as they wanted a chance at Superstardom as well. So it was decided that all of them would compete together this time, with Kamek joining Toad and Toadette as impartial judges.
• Mario Party Superstars: A Koopa Troopa invited Mario and his friends to Mushroom Village to revisit locales from their past in a new competition to decide the Super Star.

Other Mario Party games without stories or other points of note are Mario Party-e, Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party, Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2, Mario Party 10, Mario Party: Star Rush and Mario Party: The Top 100.

Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario

Some games seem to feature Mario in other roles that seem to contradict his role in the main games games. The most notable example is Dr. Mario, who has appeared in a series of puzzle games and invented the Megavitamins. While this would logically seem to clash with his normal occupation, games such as Dr. Mario World do show that it is indeed the same Mario assuming a medical persona. The original game was Dr. Mario, in which Dr. Mario worked at the virus research lab in the Mushroom Kingdom Hospital with Peach as his nurse. After an experiment went wrong and caused the outbreak of a virus, Dr. Mario used his newly-invented vitamin (presumably the Megavitamin) to stop the viruses.

Dr. Mario later used his Megavitamins to go around curing people in Dr. Mario 64. But both Wario and Rudy sought the Megavitamins, and eventually Mad Scienstein stole it for Rudy. Dr. Mario and Wario chased the Scienstein until they reached Rudy's lair. After defeating Rudy, he found that Rudy only wanted the Megavitamins to cure his flu, so he treated him. A Metal Mario version of Dr. Mario also appeared as an unlockable character in the game. At the end of Wario's story, if it was completed without losing any matches, Dr. Mario would accidentally swallow all of the Megavitamins and transform into Metal Mario. He would then be faced as the secret final boss.

In Dr. Mario World, Mario was shown to don his labcoat in order to protect the Mushroom Kingdom from an invasion of the viruses. This time, his other allies such as Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi and even Bowser also acted as doctors in order to help defeat the viruses. Dr. Mario was the sole playable character for the first ten stages of the game. After reaching that point, the player could choose to play as Dr. Mario, Dr. Peach or Dr. Bowser. If Dr. Mario was not chosen, he could be unlocked at random through the game's Staffing feature. His skill is to clear away the bottom-most row. A Fire Mario variant of Dr. Mario was later made available in January 2020, and a variation based on his original 8-bit sprite was added for the game's first anniversary in August 2020. Dr. Mario was also added to Mario Kart Tour as a racer who could be unlocked through that game's gacha feature during certain tours, starting during the Doctor Tour in May 2022.

Dr. Mario is also notable for appearing as a separate playable character in several Super Smash Bros. games, as detailed below.

Cameos and Non-Storyline Appearances

Mario has also been featured or made appearances in some other games that are completely detached from storyline, as well as making cameo appearances in related series.

• Mario was featured in several Game & Watch games, some of which acted as counterparts to the early arcade games: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong II, Mario Bros., Mario's Cement Factory, Mario's Bombs Away, Donkey Kong Circus (as a background character), Donkey Kong Hockey, Super Mario Bros. and Mario the Juggler.
• Mario was featured in both Yoshi and Yoshi's Cookie. The gameplay of both puzzle games involved Mario trying to feed Yoshi, and he did so as Chef Mario in the latter game.
• Mario was featured in Mario Paint on the Super NES and later the Mario Artist series of games for the Nintendo 64DD.
• He starred in several Picross games, which depicted him dressed as an explorer chiseling at the game's puzzles. Mario was featured in Mario's Picross, Mario's Super Picross and Picross 2.
• Mario starred in Mario Clash, a Virtual Boy game in which he attacked numerous enemies with shells in Clash Tower as a spiritual follow-up to Mario Bros..
• In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, Mario made a cameo appearance as one of the participants in Cranky Kong's Video Game Heroes competition. Mario was originally in first place (over Yoshi and Link), having collected all but one of the DK Coins, and the player could surpass him (with Diddy and/or Dixie) by completing the collection.
• Game & Watch Gallery and all of its sequels not only included some of the Game & Watch games that Mario appeared it, it also featured Modern versions of Game & Wartch games which cast Mario and/or his supporting cast in roles from the original games.
• Within the WarioWare series, Mario has not directly appeared, but he has been featured in some of the microgames, mostly the ones that use scenarios from past Nintendo games.
• Mario was also featured in Super Mario Maker, with a new form known as Builder Mario. The game had no story, and instead Mario was played as in a variety of levels that were based on elements from past 2-D games. One power-up featured in the original Wii U version of the game was the Mystery Mushroom. With it, Mario could become Costume Mario and become costumes of other variations of himself (including Baby Mario, Dr. Mario and the version of Mario from the Super Mario-Kun manga), or he could become costumes of other characters, including characters from other Nintendo series (such as most of the playable cast of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U) and some other characters from outside companies.
• In Yoshi's Woolly World, there were Yoshi designs based on the appearances of Mario and Dr. Mario that could be unlocked by scanning the respective amiibo.

Abilities

Mario is most well-known for his jumping abilities, although most games feature Luigi as being the better jumper of the duo. The Hammer is also shown as Mario's most reliable weapon in various games; they're mostly used in the RPGs, but it originated as a power-up in Donkey Kong. He has also been known to kick or throw Koopa shells at enemies. He could also don gloves and use his own fists to fight in Super Mario RPG. In the platforming games, Mario can often gain a variety of power-ups that he uses to take on new forms that usually come with special abilities.

Mario also has a keen control over fire. In most games, especially his platforming adventures, Mario could only shoot fireballs when powered-up by a Fire Flower. However, Mario could shoot fireballs as a special move in Super Mario RPG and a special item in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario also learned the Firehand technique, which allowed him to produce fireballs in the palm of his hand. These different fire powers may be seen as contradictory to each other.

Metal Mario

This form is introduced in Super Mario 64 as a power-up form caused by the Metal Cap, which is found within a unique box known as the metal box. It allows Mario to take on a solid metallic appearance. In this form, Mario is nearly invincible. He can walk underwater and can only be hurt by long falls. In the remake, Super Mario 64 DS, only Wario was capable of assuming a Metal form as a result of touching the Power Flower. Dr. Mario also turns into Metal Mario in Dr. Mario 64 (as a result of eating Megavitamins), and in Mario Strikers Charged, Mario's Mega Strike involves becoming a Fiery Metal Mario. The Metal Shroom Orb item also has a similar effect in Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 8 on anyone who uses it.

Metal Mario notably appears as a playable character in a variety of spin-off games. He is unlockable in Mario Golf 64, Dr. Mario 64, Mario Kart 7, Mario Tennis Open (where he is a QR Downloadable Character), Mario Sports Superstars, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX and Mario Kart Tour. He was also featured as a miniboss in Super Smash Bros.. The latter games of the Super Smash Bros. series partially followed this precedent, but changed it up by including metallic versions of the other characters, and also introduced a Metal Box power-up that any character could use to temporarily become a metal version of themselves. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Metal Mario acts as the final boss of Bowser's Classic Mode route. A trophy for Metal Mario also appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as well as an Ace-class Primary Spirit in Ultimate.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Mario has made cameo appearances as a referee/umpire in several games as such as the NES Punch-Out!! and Tennis.
• In the NES version of Tetris, Mario made a cameo appearance on a congratulatory screen that appeared upon completion of the Type B mode. He was seen jumping in place next to Luigi, while most of the other characters played musical instruments.
• The playable golfer of the NES game Golf has been identified by Mario by some supplementary materials, and the Western cover art for the Game Boy version of the game featured Mario on the cover. The golfer himself resembles a taller version of Mario, wearing different clothing than his usual overalls, but still featuring the color red. The golfer from this game appeared in Captain Rainbow and was identified as "Ossan" (the Japanese word for a middle-aged man or uncle) instead of Mario.
• Mario appeared as a playable racer in Famicom Grand Prix: F-1 Racer and Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally.
• In Alleyway, Mario was shown to control the game's bumper, technically making him playable.
• Mario has been featured in several licensed edutainment games in the early 90s. These included several computer games (Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up, two Mario Teaches Typing games and Mario's Game Gallery/Mario's FUNdamentals) and several games that were released on both Nintendo systems and computers (Mario's Time Machine, Mario is Missing! and a trio of Mario's Early Years! games). Mario Teaches Typing and Mario's Game Gallery/Mario's FUNdamentals were notable as the first games to feature Charles Martinet as the voice of Mario, prior to his first official game role as Mario in Super Mario 64.
• He made an appearance in the LazerBlazer game of Super Scope 6, in which he was seen flying a plane, and the player would receive a penalty for trying to shoot him.
• Mario was featured as the main character of Hotel Mario, a licensed game for the Philips CD-i. This game featured animated cutscenes, in which both Mario and Luigi were voiced by Marc Graue.
• Mario was featured as one of the main playable racers in Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium.
• Mario was included as a Gamecube exclusive character in the Electronic Arts games NBA Streets V3 and SSX On Tour.
• In the Just Dance series, Mario was featured in a special track called "Just Mario" where the plumber danced in some settings based on Super Mario Bros.. This track was available on Japan's Just Dance Wii and as DLC for the Wii version of Just Dance 3.
• In Yakuman DS, Mario is the default playable character and can also be faced as a rival.
• Mario appeared as a playable character in the board game-themed crossover games Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street.
• He and various other Mario characters were featured in the puzzle game Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition. In the story, Mario had to collect Orbs and save Peach from Bowser.
• In Nintendo releases of Minecraft, Mario is available as a playable skin through the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack. There are also alternate skins for other variations on Mario: Boomerang Mario, Cat Mario, Dr. Mario, Fire Mario, Mario with FLUDD and Tanooki Mario.
• Mario starred in a pair of the crossover games called Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Mario + Rabbids Sparkes of Hope, where Mario and his friends went on an adventure with Ubisoft's characters, the Rabbids. One of the other playable characters was Rabbid Mario, a Rabbid who dressed as Mario.

Super Smash Bros.

Mario has appeared throughout the Super Smash Bros. series since its beginning as one of its recurring playable fighters, appearing in Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Throughout the series, most of his alternate costumes are simply color swaps on his ordinary clothes. In Ultimate, he gains two extra costumes based on Builder Mario from Super Mario Maker and Mario's wedding clothes from Super Mario Odyssey. Mario's hat was also available as headgear for Mii Fighters in the latter two games.

Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario originally appeared as a playable fighter in Melee, and he later made return appearances in the 3DS/Wii U Smash and Ultimate. He acted as a slower clone of Mario, with some variations in his moveset such as throwing Megavitamins instead of fireballs and using a medical blanket instead of a cape. He became more balanced in his later appearances and gained a Final Smash known as Dr. Finale, in which he launched large Megavitamins similar to the fireballs in Mario's own Final Smash.

In Melee, he was unlocked by playing 100 Vs. Mode matches or by completing Classic Mode with Mario on any difficulty without continuing. He was unlocked by playing 60 Vs. Matches or by beating Classic Mode with Mario on a difficulty level of 4.0 or higher, and in the Wii U version he was unlcoked by playing 50 Vs. Matches or by clearing Master Orders on a Hard difficulty. In Ultimate, he could be unlocked through the game's variable-based system for unlocking characters or by awakening Dr. Mario in Adventure Mode.

Although he was absent from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a text dump of the game listed him as a fighter, implying that he may have been intended to return at some point.

Abilities

Mario is generally shown to be a balanced, all-around fighter. Dr. Mario's moves are generally a slower version of Mario's, but with some of the moves altered to be medical-themed.

Mario's special moves throughout the series are as follows:

• Standard Special Move: Fireball- Mario shoots out fireballs which bounce along the ground. Dr. Mario instead fires Megavitamins.
• Side Special Move: Cape- Mario whirls his cape from Super Mario World. This move can be used to deflect projectiles and toss off enemy attacks. Dr. Mario instead uses a medical sheet. This move is introduced in Melee.
• Up Special Move: Super Jump Punch- With this move, Mario will unleash an extra jump into the air as in the classic 2-D games with his fist-upraised. This can cause extra damage to enemies above and causes coins to drop from the enemy as an added effect.
• Down Special Move (1): Mario Tornado- Mario's original down special move, the Mario Tornado causes Mario to spin his arms around in a circle. In Brawl, this becomes one of his normal moves instead. For Dr. Mario, it remains a special move in his reappearance.
• Down Special Move (2): F.L.U.D.D.- Introduced in Brawl. When this move is used, FLUDD appears on Mario's back and will blast a jet of water after being charged. This move actually does no damage but can push enemies away and even off of ledges.
• Final Smash: Mario Finale- When Mario's Final Smash is activated, he temporarily unleashes a powerful barrage of fireballs that launch in various directions and angles, blowing most enemies away.
• Final Smash: Doctor Finale- Dr. Mario's version of the Final Smash, seen only in the 3DS/Wii U Smash. This move involves him attacking with a giant Megavitamin.

Brawl: Subspace Emissary

In "The Subspace Emissary", Mario first appears in the opening, where he engages Kirby in an exhibition match in a floating stadium while the Princesses Peach and Zelda watch. Afterwards, the stadium was attacked by the Subspace Army, and Mario was hit by a cannonball that sent him flying to Skyworld and reverted him to trophy form. He was discovered and revived by Pit, and the two were together to fight through various Subspace minions. After returning to land and failing in their pursuit of The Ancient Minister, a misunderstanding arose after Mario witnessed Link and Yoshi's defeat of a possessed Peach, or Link witnessed Mario and Pit's defeat of a possessed Zelda, which led Mario and Link to battle each other due to thinking the other had killed his princess.

Following the battle, they realized the misunderstanding and teamed up to pursue King Dedede, who had one of the princesses as well as several other trophies. They were joined by Kirby, and the five continued their chase but ultimately Bowser escaped with the princess. They then tried to capture the Ancient Minister again, but they were forced to retreat after another Subspace Bomb activated. The five heroes then arrived to help Marth and several others fight off Subspace minions at the base of the Glacial Mountain, and there the main party united then traveled into Subspace for the final battles against Tabuu.

Ultimate: Adventure and Classic Mode

In the Adventure Mode of Ultimate, "World of Light", Mario was seen in the opening cutscene, where he was among the forces assembled to confront Galeem and his Master Hand army. However, they were all wiped out by the beams of light that Galeem ended up firing, with Kirby being the only fighter to escape. Mario and the others were held captive by Galeem, who made puppet fighters of them and placed the original fighters under his control. Mario was found shortly after starting the game, and after defeating him in battle, he would be reawakened as his old self and join Kirby as a playable fighter. As for Dr. Mario, he could be found and awakened near the city area.

In Classic Mode, Mario's personal Classic Mode route is called "Let's-a Go!". In the first five stages of this route, each stage is based around pitting Mario against a group of characters from the same series (excluding antagonists). This is followed by a battle with all of the Koopalings, with the boss of this route being Bowser followed by Giga Bowser. As for Dr. Mario, his personal Classic Mode route is "Colorful Treatment Plan". In each stage, he fights a group of three fighters who are color-coded to match the three Viruses. The last fighters faced before the boss stage are a group of Warios, in possible reference to the story of Dr. Mario 64, and it ends with a boss fight against Master Hand (and Crazy Hand on higher difficulties).

Trophies/Stickers/Spirits

• Mario and Dr. Mario each have three unlockable trophies in Melee, and trophies of Baby Mario, Metal Mario, Raccoon Mario and Paper Mario can also be obtained. In Japan, it was also possible to obtain an extra trophy of Mario with Yoshi.
• In Brawl, Mario has two main trophies - his normal trophy and one of his final smash - as well as additional trophies of Paper Mario and Baby Mario. He also has ten different stickers which use art of him from Mario Kart DS, Mario Superstar Baseball, Super Paper Mario, with Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, with Yoshi in Super Mario Sunshine, two as Baby Mario in Yoshi's Island, one of Raccoon Mario from Super Mario Bros. 3, one of Dr. Mario from Nintendo Puzzle Collection and one special Super Mario Bros. image.
• In the 3DS/Wii U installment, Mario and Dr. Mario each have two standard unlockable trophies in both games, as well as an extra trophy for their respective Final Smashes in the Wii U game. The 3DS version also has trophies for Paper Mario, Tanooki Mario & Kitsune Luigi, Boomerang Mario, Statue Mario (from Super Mario 3D Land), Mario with a Propeller Box, Mario with a Gold Block, Mario from Mario Golf: World Tour, Mario with a Standard Kart and Baby Mario, while the Wii U version has trophies for Bee Mario, Boo Mario, Spring Mario, Rainbow Mario, Cloud Mario, Rock Mario, Flying Squirrel Mario, Cat Mario, Propeller Mario, Penguin Mario and Mario with a Standard Bike from Mario Kart Wii.
• In Ultimate, Mario and Dr. Mario each have a Fighter Spirit, and there are also Fighter Spirits for Mario's alternate costumes (Builder Mario and Wedding Mario). There are also Spirits of Baby Mario (which can be enhanced into a Spirit of Baby Mario's Superstar Mario form), Metal Mario, Paper Mario, Boo Mario, Rock Mario, Gold Mario and Mario from Mario Tennis Aces. He is also part of the art used for the Spirits of Papercraft Mario and the Monster from Famicom Grand Prix II.

Other Media

• Mario's first appearance outside of the video games was in the Donkey Kong segment of the Saturday Supercade cartoon. Mario endlessly pursued Donkey Kong with Pauline, who was actually his niece in the series. Mario was shown as the aggressor, like the Ranger Smith to Donkey Kong's Yogi Bear, and he often ended up being humiliated in classic cartoon fashion. Mario was voiced by Peter Cullen.
• Mario also starred in a Japan-only anime movie based on Super Mario Bros. In this version, Mario and Luigi were pulled into a video game, and they then went on a mission to save the princess from King Koopa (Bowser). He was voiced by Furuya Toya, who voiced several other popular anime characters such as Amuro Rei from the original Gundam series and Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon.
• Mario also appeared in a three-part anime OVA based on Super Mario Bros. 3. This OVA featured Mario and other Mario characters in classic fairy tales.
• Mario starred in three cartoons in the late 80's and early 90's: the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World. In the first show, he was portrayed, both in animation and the first series' live action skits, by the wrestler Captain Lou Albano, while Walker Boone voiced him in the two follow-up series. This series introduced the concept that Mario and Luigi lived in Brooklyn before being pulled into the Mushroom Kingdom, which was located in another world. Mario and Luigi's occupations as plumbers and their love for Italian food was also emphasized.
• In 1990, Mario starred in a series of comic books published by Valient Comics under their Nintendo Comics System line. Mario also starred in a series of Choose Your Own Adventure Books set in the continuity of the Super Mario Bros. comics as well.
• Mario also starred in a comic that ran in Nintendo Power in 1992 known as Super Mario Adventures. An extra issue called Mario vs. Wario was included in the collection released in the following year, depicting Mario and Wario as lifelong rivals and competing for Peach's affections.
• In the 1993 live action film Super Mario Bros, Mario was played by Bob Hoskins. Mario was shown as the older brother in this version, and he raised Luigi himself. Also, Luigi ended up being involved with the princess (Daisy instead of Peach) in the movie, although Mario had a girlfriend named Daniella. This movie also featured them as plumbers living in Brooklyn who were sucked into the Mushroom Kingdom, although this version of the (Mushroom Kingdom was more dystopian in nature and inhabited by reptilian beings that evolved from dinosaurs.
• Mario starred in the 2023 CGI film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where he was voiced by Chris Pratt. This film acted as an origin story for Mario and was closer to the game canon, while following a variation of the origin from the animated series and films in which Mario and Luigi start off as human plumbers in Brooklyn before discovering the Mushroom Kingdom while exploring the sewers. The film depicts Mario discovering the Mushroom Kingdom and rising as a hero. It also includes other references to Mario's past, such as Foreman Spike appearing as the brothers' former employer in reference to Wrecking Crew. designs similar to the toddler versions of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi being used in a childhood flashback and the theme song from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show being used for one of their in-universe plumbing commercials. Mario was depicted with more of a New Yorker accent and was shown to only imitate an Italian accent in their commercials. A character named Guiseppe also acts as an home to Mario, as his design resembles Mario's original Donkey Kong design, and he is voiced by Charles Martinet using Mario's game voice, with the character supporting the brothers' attempts at accents. Charles Martinet also voices Mario's father in the film. On the note of Mario's family, this film depicts Mario and Luigi's family as consisting of their parents, two uncles, an aunt, a niece and a grandfather.

Canceled Appearances

• Donkey Kong no Ongoku Asobi was a canceled edutainment game for the NES (similar to Donkey Kong Jr. Math) that would have used the characters from the original Donkey Kong arcade to teach music lessons. Mario would have appeared in the game and was depicted playing the piano in a screenshot.
• A Mario Land game was being developed for the Virtual Boy, before it was canceled as a result of the system's failure.
• Super Mario's Wacky Worlds and Mario Takes America are a pair of Mario games that were being developed for the Philips CD-i, but they were ultimately canceled. The former was an attempt at a traditional Mario sidescroller (conceived as a sequel to Super Mario World) and the latter involved Mario on a roadtrip across America.
• There were several potential Mario games on the Nintendo 64 that were ultimately canceled: the four additional games of the Mario Artist series, Mario Paint 64 and a Super Mario 64 sequel. The latter was being developed for the Nintendo 64 DD add-on and was canceled due to the add-on's perceived failure.
• Mario was shown as a playable character in one build of the canceled game Diddy Kong Pilot.

Trivia

• Mario was originally called Jumpman before receiving his name 'Mario' in Donkey Kong Junior. Prior to that, Shigeru Miyamoto had actually called him "Mr. Video" due to his intentions to make the character appear in a variety of video games, which he considered akin to Alfred Hitchcock making cameo appearances in all of his movies or of how manga artists Osamu Tezuka and Fuji Akatsuka used the same character in a variety of appearances. Another early name for him was "Ossan", which was simply a Japanese word used to refer to middle-aged men.
• Mario was named after Nintendo of America's Italian landlord, 'Mario Segali'.
• Like Luigi, his original outfit was different. He used to wear red overalls with a blue shirt. His appearance was decided to fit the limitations for Donkey Kong.
• Mario is often referred to as the older of the brothers, despite Yoshi's Island seemingly establishing them as twins. It is still common for the twin to be born first to be known as the older one.
• His backstory (and Luigi's by extension) has undergone some revision over the years. Originally, American media projects conveyed the idea that Mario and Luigi started out as plumbers working in Brooklyn in the "real world" until they found their way into the Mushroom Kingdom, where they became heroes in Super Mario Bros.. The Game Boy version of Donkey Kong in particular seems to support this view, but it seems that later games have been retconning this. Yoshi's Island showed that the Mario Bros. were actually born within the Mushroom Kingdom, and later games featuring the infant characters have implied that the brothers lived in the Mushroom Kingdom for all their lives. Super Mario Odyssey also established that Donkey Kong took place in the same world as the Mushroom Kingdom. There is still the possibility for Mario and Luigi to have spent parts of their lives in Brooklyn, but Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that he prefers to keep details of the characters' lives (and the stories of their games in general) simple.
• Another misconception that was spread by the 1993 film is the idea that Mario's last name is also Mario. This is implied by the fact that they are called the Mario Brothers, and it was canon within the movie. On this matter, Miyamoto has stated that he found the joke in the movie to be funny, but he prefers to consider Mario and Luigi as having no last names for simplicity's sake.
• Mario 'joined' the Koopa Troop when Bowser joined his party in Super Mario RPG. His brother Luigi would inadvertently share the same fate in the beginning of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
• According to Belome, Mario tastes sour.