Mario
| |
| Mario | |
| Developer | Shigeru Miyamoto |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Distributor | Nintendo |
| Platforms | see below |
| Released | 1981-present |
| Added to Museum |
See Mario category |
Mario is the mascot of Nintendo. He is part of a multimedia series consisting of video games, television shows, films, music, and comic books.
He first featured in the Donkey Kong series, then the Mario Bros. series, followed by the Super Mario series. He appears in some games with his brother Luigi, in some games with the dinosaur Yoshi, and some games in the Wario Land series.
Mario was further spun-off into the Mario RPG series, its subseries Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario, the Mario Kart series, the Mario Party series, the Mario sports series, and the Super Smash Bros. series.
He also featured with Sonic the Hedgehog in the cross-over sports series Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and the Rabbids in the cross-over tactical RPG series Mario + Rabbids.
Mario also headlines a GameCube-exclusive Dance Dance Revolution rhythm dancing game developed by Konami titled Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix and a Nintendo 3DS-exclusive Puzzle & Dragons puzzle RPG game developed by GungHo Online Entertainment titled Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition.
Variations of Mario
Mario
Mario is an Italian-American plumber, who travels to the Mushroom Kingdom, sometimes bringing his brother Luigi along. The Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach, is repeatedly kidnapped by Bowser, King of the Koopa. Each time Princess Peach is captured, Mario, and sometimes Luigi, have to travel across several different worlds to rescue her.
There are a few exceptions to this. In Super Mario Land, Mario travels to Sarasaland to rescue Princess Daisy from the evil alien Tatanga. In Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, Mario's evil counterpart Wario steals his castle and seals it shut with six golden coins. Mario has to find and recover the coins so that he can unseal the magic keeping him out of his castle and defeat Wario.
Baby Mario
Mario was born to Italian-American parents alongside a twin brother named Luigi.
The two babies are being delivered by stork to their parents in New York City, when the stork is attacked by a magikoopa named Kamek.
Baby Luigi is kidnapped, while baby Mario falls down to Yoshi Island.
The Yoshis then set out to defeat Kamek, reunite the twins, and make sure the babies are delivered to their parents.
However, it turns out the babies are delivered to the wrong parents, and the Yoshis have to make sure they are delivered to the correct parents.
Tanooki Mario
By donning a Tanooki suit in Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario becomes Tanooki Mario.
In all other games where a Tanooki power-up appears, Tanooki Mario is activated by a leaf.
Tanooki Mario is also a costume for Mario that can be earned in some games in the Mario sports series.
As well as a power-up for Mario, Tanooki Mario also was a character of his own on a few occasions.
Tanooki Mario is a kart racer in some games in the Mario Kart series.
Metal Mario
By donning a metal cap, Mario becomes Metal Mario.
As well as a power-up for Mario, Metal Mario also was a character of his own on a few occasions.
He was a kart racer in some games in the Mario Kart series, and was one of the heavier racers.
He also played in some games in the Mario sports series.
He is also a fighter in some games in the Super Smash Bros. series.
As he is made of metal, he is slow, and not very agile.
Gold Mario
By grabbing a gold flower, Mario becomes Gold Mario.
He fires gold fireballs, which can defeat enemies that normal fireballs can not.
As well as a power-up for Mario, Gold Mario also was a character of his own on a few occasions.
He was a kart racer in some games in the Mario Kart series, and was one of the heavier racers.
He also played in some games in the Mario sports series.
He is also a leader in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition.
Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario is a doctor that eliminates viruses.
He is a character of his own, appearing in the Dr. Mario series.
To eliminate viruses, he uses four combinations of the same color of viruses and pills. Each pill has two parts, sometimes with the same color and other times with different colors.
He also appeared in some games in the Super Smash Bros. series.
Paper Mario
Paper Mario is made of paper.
As such, he can fold and crumple himself, and slide under thin spaces.
He is a character of his own, appearing in the Paper Mario series.
He met his main universe counterpart in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.
He also appeared in some games in the Super Smash Bros. series.
Video games with Mario as a playable character
Video games with Mario as a non-playable character
| Title | Developer | System | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donkey Kong Junior | Nintendo R&D1 Iwasaki Electronics |
Arcade | 1982 | Donkey Kong Jr. rescues Donkey Kong from Mario. |
| Donkey Kong Jr. | Nintendo R&D1 | Game & Watch | 1982 | Donkey Kong Jr. rescues Donkey Kong from Mario. |
| Donkey Kong II | Nintendo R&D1 | Game & Watch | 1983 | Donkey Kong Jr. rescues Donkey Kong from Mario. |
| Punch-Out!! | NES | Nintendo R&D3 | 1987 | Mario is the referee in Little Mac's boxing matches. |
| Mario is Missing! | Knowledge Adventure | DOS, Mac OS | 1993 | Luigi rescues Mario from Bowser. |
| Mario is Missing! | Radical Entertainment The Software Toolworks |
NES, SNES | 1993 | Luigi rescues Mario from Bowser. |
Films featuring Mario
| Title | Studio | Media | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Brothers: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach | Grouper Productions | Betamax, film, VHS | 1986 | |
| Super Mario Bros. | Hollywood Pictures | Blu-ray, DVD, film, Laserdisc, VHS | 1993 | |
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie | Illumination | Blu-ray, digital, DVD, film | 2023 | |
| The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Illumination | film | 2026 |
Toys and Toys-to-life figures
Several toys and Amiibo toys-to-life figures based on Bowser have been released.
| Image | Name | Series | Date Released |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mario All Star Collection plush (Fire Mario) | Little Buddy | May 9, 2017 |
|
Mario (Super Mario wedding) Amiibo | Super Mario | October 27, 2017 |
|
Delicious Amiibo | Super Mario Cereal | December 11, 2017 |
Actors
On television, Mario was voiced by Peter Cullen in the Donkey Kong segments of the animated series Saturday Supercade in the United States of America from September 17, 1983 to October 13, 1984.
In Japan, Mario was voiced by Furuya Tōru in the animated comedy adventure film Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!, which premiered on July 20, 1986.
Also in Japan in 1986, Ōtake Hiroshi voiced Mario in a 30-minute promotional video titled Mario's Great Adventure.
Furuya Tōru voiced Mario in Japan in a short fire safety public safety announcement video titled Super Mario's Fire Brigade in 1989 and three 15-minute direct-to-video animated short films released as Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros. on August 3, 1989.
From September 4 to December 1, 1989, Lou Albano portrayed Mario in live action and in animated segments on television in the United States of America in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
In Japan, in the 1990 audio drama known as the Super Mario Bros. Special Drama CD, Mario was portrayed by singer Sasaki Nozomu.
From September 8 to December 1, 1990, Walker Boone portrayed Mario in the American animated television series The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3.
Boone also portrayed Mario in the American animated television series Super Mario World, which ran from September 14 to December 7, 1991.
Furuya Tōru voiced Mario in a Japanese interactive video anime known as Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land in 1991.
On March 8, 1991, Ronald B. Ruben became the first person to voice Mario in a video game in the DOS version of the American educational typing video game Mario Teaches Typing.
Mario was voiced by Charles Martinet in most video games from 1991 until Nintendo announced that he stepped down from the role on August 21, 2023.
In 1992, Gerri Sorrells provided the voice of Mario in a 15-minute educational video titled Super Mario: ABC Song Video. The video taught children the English alphabet as well as counting from 1 to 10 in English.
Stevie Coyle voiced a puppet version of Mario during a show titled "Mario In Real-Time" at the summer Consumer Electronics Show, which ran from May 21 to May 24, 1992 in Chicago, Illinois.
On May 28, 1993, Bob Hoskins portrayed Mario in live action in the American film simply titled Super Mario Bros. In the Japanese dub, Mario was voiced by Tomita Kōsei.
On July 22, 1994, Charles Martinet replaced Ronald B. Ruben as the voice of Mario in the Windows CD-ROM version of the American educational typing video game Mario Teaches Typing. Martinet also voiced Mario in the Mac OS version, which was released on May 11, 1995.
In 1995, Mayumi Tanaka provided the voice of Mario in narration for Mario Kirby Masterpiece Video, an 18-minute Japanese educational video that taught children kanji.
Furuya Tōru voiced Mario in a video games for the Super Famicom Satellaview broadcast satellite service titled BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge in four weeks from March 31 to April 21, 1996.
From June 19 to June 29, 1997, Stevie Coyle reprised his role as a puppet version of Mario during the "Mario In Real-Time" show at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Furuya Tōru voiced Mario in the Super Famicom Satellaview video games Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium in four weeks from May 11 to November 9, 1997, and BS Super Mario Collection in four weeks from December 28, 1997 to January 18, 1998.
From May 28 to May 30, 1998, Stevie Coyle once again reprised his role as a puppet version of Mario during the "Mario In Real-Time" show at the E3 expo in Atlanta, Georgia.
In the American computer animated film titled The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was released on April 1, 2023, Chris Pratt voiced Mario in English and Miyano Mamoru voiced him in Japanese.
Kevin Afghani replaced Charles Martinet as the voice of Mario in video games beginning with Super Mario Bros. Wonder on October 20, 2023.
On April 3, 2026, Chris Pratt will once again voice Mario in the sequel to the American computer animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie titled The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.