Portal:Mario

Mario Portal

Mario (マリオ, Mario^?) is a fictional character in the Mario video game franchise by Nintendo, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the eponymous protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation. Though originally only appearing in platform games, starting with Donkey Kong, Mario currently appears in varied video game genres such as racing, puzzle, party, role-playing, fighting and sports.

Mario is depicted as a short, pudgy, Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom. He repeatedly rescues Princess Peach from the turtle-like villain Bowser and stops his numerous plans to destroy him and take over the kingdom. Mario also has other enemies and rivals, including Donkey Kong and Wario. Since 1995, he has been voiced by Charles Martinet.

As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is said by many to be the most famous character in video game history. Mario games, as a whole, have sold more than 210 million units, making the Mario franchise the best-selling video game franchise of all time. Outside of the Super Mario platform series, he has appeared in video games of other genres, including the Mario Kart racing series, sports games, such as the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series, role-playing video games such as Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG, and educational games, such as Mario Is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine. He has inspired television shows, film, comics and a line of licensed merchandise.

Selected article

The Koopalings (コクッパ, Ko Kuppa^?), also called the Koopa Kids, are a group of seven fictional characters in Nintendo's Mario franchise. Their individual names are (in order of age, oldest to youngest) Ludwig von Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr. and Larry Koopa. They first appeared in the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3, and again in the Super NES games Super Mario World and Yoshi's Safari. Following these appearances, however, they were not seen in any major roles until 16 years after Yoshi's Safari in the Wii game New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They were originally conceived as a replacement for recurring appearances of series villain Bowser; series creator Shigeru Miyamoto tasked the designers of Super Mario Bros. 3 with creating Koopalings and the seven best designs were chosen as the basis for the characters. Their names and appearances are based on music, particularly rock and roll.

They have made several appearances in other media, most notably in the cartoon The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, which featured entirely different names for the Koopalings due to them not having official names at the time of its airing. Since Super Mario Bros. 3, they have received positive reception, with critics citing them for adding variety to the series' villains compared to when the series merely featured Bowser multiple times. Critics bemoaned the lack of the Koopalings in many games, commenting on how it has taken more than 15 years for them to get another major appearance, as well as criticizing Bowser Jr. for replacing them.

Did you know...

• ...that Jumpman (the first incarnation of Mario in Donkey Kong) had the job of a carpenter instead of his current vocation as a plumber?
• ...that the U.S. version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan as Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, but since North America didn't have a SMB 2 yet, the sprites were changed to Mario characters?
• ...that the Mario series is the best-selling series of all time?
• ...that Mario Kart is the longest running spin-off series?
• ...that Super Mario Bros. 3 is the best-selling stand alone game of all time?
• ...That Mario's last name is also Mario? (At least they say so in the Hollywood film Super Mario Bros.).
• ...that there are only 2 Mario games on the Virtual Boy, Mario Clash and Mario's Tennis?
• ...that the Marioll is a spin-off of the now infamous RickRoll?
• ...that in a survey in 1999, Mario was found more recognizable than Mickey Mouse?
• ...that the concept of Super Mario Galaxy originated from ideas taken from a never released Super Mario 128?
• ... that Mario also appeared in preschool learning games?
• ...that Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach made a secret appearance in the GameCube version of NBA Street V3?
• ...that Nintendo never mentions the existence of Hotel Mario?
• ...in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the Solar System Planet in the first level (not the second) of the Yoshi Star Galaxy has 10 Goombas instead of the normal orbiting planetoids?

Related portals

• Japan
• Games
  • Video games
    • Nintendo
      • Mario
      • Zelda
      • Pokémon
    • Sega
      • Sonic

Mario news

• New Super Mario Bros. U came out on the Wii U worldwide.
• Paper Mario: Sticker Star came out on November 11, 2012 for the 3DS in digital downloads and on retail stores.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 came out on the Nintendo 3DS in digital downloads and on retail stores.
• There will be a Super Smash Bros. (Wii U/3DS).
• Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was delayed until 2013.

Categories

Mario topics

Things you can do

• Add more references to Mario and Wario.
• Participate in the Nintendo task force.

WikiProjects

• Nintendo