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In his first appearance in Donkey Kong, all that was stated was that he was a carpenter whose duty it was to save Pauline from Donkey Kong. Furthermore, before the game was widely released in America, the hero was simply labeled 'Jumpman', having not yet acquired his Italian moniker. His second appearance in Donkey Kong Jr. solidified the character's name. It was in his third appearance in Mario Bros. where he changed his profession to plumber, which was more fitting with the long-running pipe theme established in that game. Here, Mario and his brother Luigi fought monsters in the sewers of Brooklyn.

Because of this, and the American made cartoon series and the movie, it led many to believe that Brooklyn was Mario and Luigi's original home. However, the games (starting with Yoshi's Island) indicate that Mario and Luigi were born in the Mushroom Kingdom. The game, Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, also shows that Mario and Luigi were living in the Mushroom Kingdom while they were still babies. It is possible that the two were born in the Mushroom Kingdom, but after the events of these games (and the upcoming Yoshi's Island 2), they somehow ended up in Brooklyn, where they grew up before returning to the Mushroom Kingdom. It is also important to note that no official game or resource has stated that Mario and Luigi were raised in the Mushroom Kingdom. Miyamoto himself has confirmed that Mario and Luigi are from Brooklyn.

Over the course of his many games, Mario has rescued a number of women from captivity (including Pauline, Princess Peach, and Princess Daisy) and has become regarded as the great hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. There is no definitive timeline for the events that take place in the various games, most of which could have happened in nearly any order.

Powers

In Donkey Kong he is known as Jumpman for his keen ability to jump at exceptional heights. He still utilizes these abilities, now with double jump and Triple Jump. Mario is incredibly athletic, and is a strong runner; however, speed isn't his specialty. He is also shown to use pyrokinesis from time to time, and shoot bouncing fireballs. In Super Mario 64 DS Mario's power flower ability was to bloat like a balloon to reach otherwise untouchable areas, as well as wall kick, which has the same effect.

Personality

Mario is always portrayed as being a kind-hearted and brave hero. He helps those in need without any hesitation. Despite his status as a great hero, Mario is very humble. His cheerful personality and love of life make him a very approachable video game character. He also has a love of pasta, as the stereotypical Italian does. This was first started in the cartoons, but soon afterward, Nintendo supported the idea by having Mario dream of pasta. On his trip to Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine, he daydreams about the food there. Also, in Super Mario 64 if the player does not press any buttons for long enough Mario will take a nap and mutter the names of various pastas in his sleep.

Occupation and hobbies

Despite Mario's given occupation as a plumber, he is almost never seen doing any plumbing during the games. The closest Mario came to actually doing any plumbing was clearing pipe levels of enemies in Mario Bros. and fixing some pipes in the Mario and Luigi games. Pipes have, however, remained a mode of transportation in almost all Mario games.

Mario was most often seen plumbing during the animated series. In fact, he often carried around a plumber's wrench which turned out to be handy in many episodes as a weapon and tool. However, most likely due to its loose continuity (especially in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, where out-of-place movie parodies were common), most do not consider the animated series part of the Mario video game canon.

Beginning with the Dr. Mario series of puzzle games which first debuted in 1990, Mario has been occasionally depicted as medical physician as well. As a doctor, Mario fights various germs by throwing pills into an infected jar that would match the color of the specific germ. When a certain number of color matching pills hit the germ, it is destroyed. In 2001, Mario appeared in doctor form as a secret character in the Nintendo Gamecube hit, Super Smash Bros. Melee. Mario's most recent appearance as a doctor was in 2005 on the Gameboy Advance.

Apparently, Mario works so hard at this job that he must often take a vacation – Super Mario World and Super Mario Sunshine detail such events. He is also quite the party animal; the Mario Party game series has already numbered seven titles, plus Mario Party Advance.

Mario and his friends are highly skilled in a variety of sports. The Mario franchise has spun off into games involving go-karting, soccer, baseball, tennis, golfing, and dancing.

Mario has also demonstrated himself as being a great and powerful fighter in the very popular Nintendo all-star fighting series, Super Smash Bros..

In the animated series, Mario was quite fond of food, particularly Italian delicacies. As Luigi notes in one episode, he never misses lunch unless he's in trouble. Though Nintendo was not directly involved with the cartoons, Mario's appetite is mentioned in Super Mario 64; whenever he falls asleep, he murmurs generic Italian terms, many of which are food (eg. "Spaghetti", "Ravioli"). This aspect of Mario's personality is also referred to in Super Mario 64 DS (The owl that Mario can get a ride from in certain areas of the game tells Mario to "lay off the pasta" after flying him around for a short time and drops Mario) and Super Mario Sunshine (in the introduction video) as well as in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time.

Baby Mario

Baby Mario is the infant version of Mario. Although he has paradoxically appeared alongside his older self in Nintendo sports titles such as Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, it is generally accepted that these games are outside the continuity of the main Mario series, and therefore do not suggest that Mario and Baby Mario are separate characters in the main storyline. An alternative solution is that the babies were present via time travel, as was the case in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Like the older Mario, he is voiced by Charles Martinet (See Voice).

Baby Mario first appeared in the Super NES game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island where the Yoshis saved his brother Luigi from Kamek the Magikoopa. In Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario has a rather passive role, essentially being carried around by different Yoshis for most of the game. However, in some levels, a power-up resembling a star allows him to transform into Super Baby Mario, giving him very high speed, relative invincibility, and the ability to float for short distances. Other than this, Baby Mario is remembered for his boisterous and annoying sobs whenever Yoshi ran into an enemy. When Yoshi took a hit, Baby Mario would float within a bubble while bawling loudly, and the player controlling Yoshi would have between 1-30 seconds to recover Baby Mario and hitch him safely on Yoshi's back. If the time ran out, Mario would be kidnapped by Kamek's Toadies and Yoshi would lose a life. Baby Mario and Mario are the same person, just from different times.

More recently, Baby Mario appeared in Yoshi Touch & Go and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS. In Yoshi Touch & Go he reclaims the role he held in Yoshi's Island; Baby Mario falls from the sky, this time held up by balloons, as the player guides him by drawing clouds down to the ground where Yoshi waits to catch him. He then rides on Yoshi's back for the rest of that level of the game. In some game modes, Baby Mario can again find the power-up that turns him into Super Baby Mario, making him temporarily invincible. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, he appears alongside his adult counterpart, along with both respective versions of Luigi. The pair of brothers team up in order to save Princess Peach (the grown-up version) from a group of alien invaders known as the Shroobs.

The Japan only game Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa is sometimes referred to as "Mario Baby" due to that name being applied to a ROM hack of the game.

According to the information revealed about Yoshi's Island 2 at E3 2006, Baby Mario was schooled on Yoshi's Island. When a mysterious island appeared and kidnapped most of his school mates, he teams up with Yoshi, Baby Peach, and even Baby Donkey Kong to save them.

Development

Mario first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong The game was surprisingly successful, and when the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, Mario was given the starring role in the revolutionary Super Mario Bros. game.

Mario's distinctive look is due to technology restrictions in the mid-'80s; with a limited number of pixels and colors, the programmers could not animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear" if his shirt was a solid color; they did not have the space to give him a mouth or ears; and they could not animate hair, so Mario got overalls, a mustache, sideburns, and a cap to bypass these problems. Mario's creator Shigeru Miyamoto has also stated when interviewed that Mario wears a cap because he finds it difficult to draw hair.

When Mario was first conceived, he looked, more or less, as he does today; a short, stubby man with the trademark hat, brown hair, black mustache, and overalls. He normally wears blue overalls on top of a red shirt, but such was not always the case. Originally, he wore red overalls on top of a blue shirt — exactly opposite what he wears now. The American Super Mario Bros. 2 was the first appearance of his modern outfit (the box had the red overalls-on-blue shirt, but the game itself had a blue overalls-on-red shirt); however, it was Super Mario Bros. 3 that standardized today's blue overalls-on-red shirt outfit. Incidentally, the original Super Mario Bros. has neither in-game; Mario wears a brown shirt with red overalls. In the animated series, Mario was always depicted as having red overalls and a blue shirt.

Mario's outfit rarely changes, though he's known to change it on occasion if the situation calls for it. For example, in Super Mario Strikers (Mario Smash Football in Europe), Mario wears an Association Football (soccer) outfit as opposed to overalls. Also, in some Mario games, Mario can transform into different forms, each with a different costume, such as Tanooki Mario, Fire Mario, Frog Mario, and Hammer Mario. He also flashes different colors when utilizing a star, which gives him temporary invincibility.

Miyamoto created many of the elements in the Mario world from ideas he had seen in other media. One of his most recognizable contributions to his Mario universe is the Super Mushroom, which would enlarge Mario until he got damaged by an enemy. There is also a Poison Mushroom, which is darker than the Super Mushroom in the Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 (although colored purple in the Super Mario All-Stars version of the game), and shaded differently in Super Smash Brothers. When Mario eats it (or whatever he does) he is either returned to small Mario, killed (SMB2J), or becomes smaller and lighter for a short period of time (Super Smash Bros. Melee). These ideas were derived from the "Eat me" cakes and "Drink me" potions in the Lewis Carroll story, Alice in Wonderland, after he was forced to shrink the original sketches of Mario because they were too big. The concept behind warp pipes, colored tubes which sometimes transport Mario to another area, was inspired by Star Trek.

The surname "Mario" (which would make his full name Mario Mario) was first used in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, and then in the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros. This was meant to explain how both Mario and his brother Luigi could be known as the "Mario brothers". This surname theory has never been employed in any official Nintendo games or media, however, and it is broadly accepted that Mario and Luigi are collectively called the Mario Bros. simply because Mario is the headliner of the pair.

Mario has taken on the role of mascot of Nintendo and has since been extensively merchandised. Mario's major rival was Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog who debuted in the early 1990s; the two mascots competed head-to-head for nearly a decade afterward, until around 2001 when a Sonic game showed up on a Nintendo console due to Sega's new third party status, ending a lengthy rivalry. Fans have wanted the two characters to appear in a game together for so long, the concept has become something of a cliché within the gaming community. With Konami-owned Solid Snake's inclusion in the recently revealed Super Smash Bros. Brawl, this may become a reality.

Romances

Mario usually has the role of saving the damsel in distress. Originally, he had to rescue his girlfriend Pauline in Donkey Kong from the clutches of the giant ape himself. Pauline didn't last long as a character and was soon replaced by new damsel in distress Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros., (she was initially referred to as Princess Toadstool in the US. Peach is the princess's Japanese name; there, the character has always been referred to as Princess Peach). Pauline is recently returning in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, although whether or not she still has a relationship with Mario is unknown at this point, especially since the Mario Toy Company has expanded its toy line to include Mini-Peach toys, among others.

Mario has rescued Peach multiple times since Super Mario Bros., often receiving a kiss as a reward. Although the true nature of their relationship is never revealed, it is evident that there is a mutual affection between the two characters. It has been revealed that Mario's nemesis Bowser is in love with the Princess, which explains why he constantly steals her away from Mario.

Mario once rescued Princess Daisy in Super Mario Land on the Game Boy, at the end of which Mario received a kiss. Additionally, the Japanese-only album Super Mario Compact Disco mentions Daisy as Mario's number-one girl. In sports titles, though, Daisy hangs out with Luigi more often, leading to fan speculation that she is Luigi's significant other and not Mario's.

In the Nintendo all-star fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee, after receiving Princess Daisy's trophy its text hints at the possibility of Luigi and Daisy romance. The text reads, "gossips started portraying her as Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach." Though this quote does not officially confirm a romance between Luigi and Daisy, it does confirm a romantic connection between Mario and Princess Peach.

Abilities and techniques

Despite being slightly portly, Mario's most prominent talent is his athletic jumping ability. At first, that was the extent of it — just jumping — but more abilities were built on top of this. In the game Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario (and the three other playable characters) have the ability to perform a powered-up Squat Jump. When Mario runs fast, he jumps higher than normal, which, given the right power-up, is required to fly; in such games, he would stick his arms out at his sides when at maximum speed to signify the proper jumping time. Super Mario Bros. 3 secretly gives little Mario (before a Super Mushroom) the ability to jump off of a wall to attain even more height, notably in the sixth world; this could be considered a precursor to the "Wall Kick" technique that he has in most of his recent platformers. Super Mario World added the ability to spin-jump, which allows Mario to break blocks beneath him if he is of sufficient size to do so, without the requirement for another power-up or a Koopa Shell. Later, Game Boy Donkey Kong added the now-recuring power to jump higher with consecutive jumps, and back-flip. Super Mario 64 continued the use of these abilities as well as a long jump, a sideways flip (called the Side Somersault), and a ground pound. It also made jumping off of walls much simpler to accomplish, and named it the "Wall Kick." Super Mario Sunshine then re-introduced the spin jump, but changed its function; in Sunshine, the spin-jump makes Mario jump a little bit higher, also falling more slowly than in a normal jump. Super Mario Sunshine also made wall-jumping even easier to perform, so that it could be used even by novice gamers.

When Mario obtains a Super Mushroom, he becomes Super Mario, which is normally labelled as his standard form. In this form Mario is much larger and has the ability to break bricks with his fist, at the cost of possibly being unable to maneuver in small gaps. If an enemy hits him, he turns back into normal Mario again. Powering up to this super-sized form was usually the only way to gain the power of most other items, as well. This is one of the most common power-ups in the series; although most of the 3D games have not used them (the remake of Super Mario 64, Super Mario 64 DS, adds this power-up, but it functions much differently).

Mario's secondary technique is the ability to wield the Hammer as a weapon (and occasionally the mightier Super Hammer or Ultra Hammer) in a few games like in his games with Donkey Kong (except Donkey Kong Jr.), the Wrecking Crew games, and the entire Super Mario RPG series. He can whack enemies and switches which are used in puzzles. The Mario Bros. are also seen with the Hammer in a castle end cutscene in Super Mario World, but it is not a power-up. Mario's third-most popular move is a move that most video game characters have - the punch. This is generally a move that Mario has in adventure games with no set battle system and is his weakest move. If Mario punches twice, the third blow will be a kick. This move is not present in many of the original games, however.

Originally, there were few power-ups for Mario to collect. The first game to feature a power-up was the original Donkey Kong arcade game, which has a Hammer (which has lately become his other trademark ability besides Jumping and Fireballs) in certain levels that can be used to hit barrels. The later Super Mario Bros. includes the Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower and the Starman (later simply referred to as the Star or Power Star). The Fire Flower transforms Mario into Fire Mario. It gives him the ability to throw Fireballs from his hands, and in later games, he is able to throw Fireballs in a circle when he does a Spin Jump.

In Super Mario Land, instead of Fireballs, the manual claims that Mario throws "superballs", which act a bit differently in that they bounce off walls.

In most games, Mario in a special form will be transformed into Super Mario instead of shrinking to regular Mario when hit.

The Starman gives Mario invincibility for about ten seconds, allowing Mario to defeat enemies simply by touching them, although he is still vulnerable to falling off a cliff or running out of time. It has not disappeared from the games entirely. In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, Mario has to collect enough Power Stars to free the princess. The Starman is also used as a power-up in the sporting, racing, and fighting games.In "New Super Mario Bros" for the Nintendo DS, the Starman also gives Mario the ability to run much faster.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels did not introduce many new power-ups, other than the Poison Mushroom (which is the opposite of the Super Mushroom, shrinking or killing Mario), making this the first game to add on to the list of powerups (or in this case, "power-downs").

Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced several new power-ups and abilities to the Mario series. It features the classic Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Starman, and introduces several others, such as the Super Leaf, which gives Mario the ability to fly, and swing a raccoon tail. Other popular power-ups are the Tanooki Suit, which gave Mario Super Leaf abilities and a stone transformation; the Hammer Suit, which is a powered up version of the Fire Flower that launches hammers; and the Frog Suit, upgrading Mario's swimming abilities. Super Mario Bros. 3 also featured the rare Kuribo's Shoe, which only appears in one level. The Kuribo's Shoe is later called the Goomba's Shoe in the English NES re-release. This is actually an accurate translation, but they didn't localize it in Super Mario All-Stars like they should have, as this was changed back to the Kuribo's Shoe. Super Mario Advance 4 changes it back to "Goomba's Shoe". Super Mario Bros. 3 was the first traditional Mario game to allow the player to grab and throw shells. Certain blocks could also be picked up and tossed at foes.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins features the Fire Flower and introduced the Power Carrot, which causes bunny ears to appear on Mario's cap. When Mario flaps these ears, he is able to descend after a jump much slower than normal, and float over long distances.

Super Mario 64 eliminated the original power-ups altogether. Mario has three different power-ups to choose from; the Wing Cap, the Vanish Cap, and the Metal Cap. The Wing Cap allows Mario to fly, the Vanish Cap makes him transparent and allows him to go through certain walls (as well as passing harmlessly through enemies), and the Metal Cap makes him sink in water and makes him invulnerable to all enemies along with defeating enemies simply by touching them. Additionally, this game lets Mario ride on the shells of defeated Koopa Troopas like skateboards, allowing him to quickly traverse large levels and defeat minor enemies. Super Mario 64 DS made some changes, making it so that only Mario can use the ability of the Wing Cap (now in Feathers). All the characters can use the Feather otherwise, but only in the Vs. multiplayer game. New power-ups called "Power Flowers" replaced all the other caps, giving the characters different abilities depending on who they are or which Cap they're wearing (their physical appearance changes if, say, Yoshi had a Red Cap, changing him to look like Mario). Mario, when hitting a box that doesn't contain a Feather, gains the ability to float like the Balloon power-up from Super Mario World, Luigi gained the exclusive ability to use the ability once held by the Vanish Cap, and Wario gained the exclusive ability to use the ability once held by the Metal Cap. Additionally, Yoshi gains heartburn via a Power Flower or swallowing a flame, which can ignite certain things.

Mario also has the ability to kick shells around to knock over enemies and break bricks. In Super Mario Bros. 2, he had to pick various objects from the ground and toss them at his enemies to defeat them, ranging from vegetables to his enemies themselves. Keys were also present for opening locked doors, but were also handy as a weapon or platform. Super Mario Bros. 3 implemented this act of picking things up, but instead of being on top of them to pick them up, Mario must come at them from the side with the pick-up button held, and release the pick-up button to kick it. Super Mario World extended this ability to include vertical kicking, as well as keys that could be picked up and put into keyholes to open secret levels.

Super Mario World also features Mario's ally, Yoshi, quite prominently. Like Toad, Yoshi is both the name of the individual, and what his species is called. When riding a Yoshi, Mario can clear spiky terrain and stomp foes that he otherwise cannot. Also, Yoshi can eat almost any foe; if he eats a Koopa Shell, he can spit it back out, or (after a few seconds) swallow it for a possible special power. (In the Super Mario Advance 2, Luigi, when controlling Yoshi, has the option of spitting out any opponent that would otherwise be eaten.) Blue shells make Yoshi fly for a short period of time, red shells make Yoshi spit fireballs, yellow shells make Yoshi conjure dust when he touches the ground from jumping, wiping out any close enemies, and a rare flashing shell allows for all of these abilities at once. Yoshi usually comes only in the color green, but in Star Road he can be found in blue, red, and yellow, which, when fully-grown, will have the corresponding special shell effect as a default regardless of which shell is eaten. In some other cases, the food he consumes can turn into eggs which provide various powerups for Mario. Yoshi's basic abilities were expanded upon for Yoshi's Island. Super Mario World introduced two items that have never appeared since: a smiling crescent moon that gives Mario three extra lives, and the magic feather, an item that gives Mario a cape and allows him to fly (similar to the Super Leaf in Super Mario Bros. 3). The Feather was, however, used as an item in the original Super Mario Kart, allowing a character to perform a large jump.

Mario wears the FLUDD in Super Mario Sunshine, which extends his jumping abilities further. Given enough water and the right nozzle, Mario can hover across large gaps (while going upward very slightly), propel himself upward with great force, or propel himself forward at phenomenal speeds. The game in question is centered heavily around this added jumping maneuverability, though it takes away the FLUDD for a few jumping-only segments. Also, a tropical version of Yoshi appears in SMS, as an egg. Mario has to find and carry the fruit that Yoshi wants to the egg, hatching it. When ridden, this Yoshi has jumping abilities, the ability to eat all fruit and all enemies, and spray special juice, which turns enemies into platforms for a limited period. But, Yoshi has to eat fruit now and again, because if his juice tank empties, he will disappear. Also, if Yoshi goes into water that is deep enough for swimming, he will materialize back into the egg. Depending on what fruit he is fed, Yoshi can be pink, purple or orange.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as opposed to power-ups, Mario has "curses" placed on him by demons in black chests. These curses are actually helpful, giving him new abilities. The first curse gives the ability to turn into a paper plane at certain points, allowing Mario to fly through the air. The second curse gives the ability to turn sideways, allowing Mario to go through small passageways. The third gives the ability to roll up into a paper tube in order to get under some obstacles, and with the final ability, Mario can turn into a paper boat at certain points, allowing him to traverse waters.

Paper Mario gives Mario a Hammer that Mario can use to smash enemies, a power-up re-used in all subsequent Mario RPG titles. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars actually went with the Hammer idea first, but it wasn't a necessary attack like Paper Mario.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario gained new abilities (though not closely related to the original games): The cape, with the ability to deflect attacks, the ability to use fireballs as a close ranged weapon, and the tornado move, closely related to the spin he does in some earlier games. He also has an attack called the Super Jump Punch. This attack makes coins appear in midair when it connects, and it hits multiple times. It also is useful in order to get back onto the edge of the arena. In addition, Mario and any other character can pick up a Hammer. It works in similar fashion to the Hammer in Donkey Kong, but slows down the player, reduces his or her jumping capabilities, and makes him or her vulnerable to attacks from behind.

In Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario could use Fireballs once again. This is similar to the Super Smash Bros. games, where Mario can use a Fireball without a Fire Flower power-up (though it takes longer and isn't instant), except in this game, he kept them in the palm of his hand and simply touched enemies briefly with them. Additionally, Luigi, who had the power of green, straight Fireballs in those games, now has a brand new ability. He can shoot electricity out of his hand. Mario also earned the ability to combine his powers with Luigi's. One move allowed him to jump on Luigi's head. Then Luigi would perform a spin jump, carrying his brother into the air. The duo would turn upside down and smash an enemy with their heads. The Knockback Bros. technique let Luigi smash Mario with his Hammer and then use him as a projectile by hitting him with his Hammer once again.

In Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time , Mario could use many abilities with special Bros. items. Most of the items were reused from previous games (shell kicking, being launched from a cannon, Fire Flowers) but there were a few new abilities, like the Ice Flower, which allows Mario to throw ice, the Copy Flower, which allows Mario to clone himself and launch a jumping armada at the enemy, and the Mix Flower, which combines Mario's, Luigi's, Baby Luigi's and Baby Mario's Fireballs into a larger Fireball. Another new move in Partners in Time was the ability for Mario and Luigi to roll into a ball and move around faster.

In New Super Mario Bros., Mario or Luigi could gain a Giant Mushroom that allowed them to grow to amazing sizes that let them crash through almost every obstacle found within the levels. They could also get a mini mushroom that would shrink them to a point where they could fit into small spaces, jump higher, and even run on water. Lastly, they could obtain a Blue Shell that would let them spin around in a Koopa Shell and crash into enemies.

In the upcoming Mario game on the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario seems to gain special "Astronomical" ablilities like blasting to other planets and grabbing things using the "Wii-Mote". Nintendo says that Mario might also have some other special abilities in this 3D platformer.

Metal Mario

First appearance was Super Mario 64. Metal Mario started as a powerup for Mario. In Hazy Maze Cave, there was a pool of swirling metal in which held a new area. Once the switch in that area was pushed, Metal caps were available. Metal Mario was completely invulnerable. Similar to Sega's Super Sonic, Metal mario could harm enemies by simply running into them. The ability was limited to a time limit. When Metal Mario was hit, he would sometimes flinch, but would be completely invincible and not lose health. Along with this, Metal mario would not have to breathe which allowed him to walk in noxious gas and water. His heavy weight would allow him to be able to sink in water helping in some mission. Metal mario would also lose the ability to speak which wasn't important, just a side note to show he truly became metal.

In Super Smash Bros, Metal Mario would come back as a sub-boss. he would deliver nasty damage to opponents and took double damage to die. Metal Mario's strategy would be the movement of which he would walk back and forth delivering loud thuds on easier difficulties he would merely hit you if you got in the way. The higher the difficulty, the more aggressive to the point where Metal Mario would be using extremely furious Smash attacks with devastating combos. To top it off, it took double damage to knock him as far since he weighed double that of normal character. The arena would be set in that of a metallic mine to give an interesting atmosphere to the fight.

In Super Smash Bros Melee, Metal mario would return a little more agressive than before, however after unlocking Luigi it would not be just Metal Mario one would have to deal with. Metal Mario would not only be aided by Metal Luigi, but both characters would be monstrously difficult at the higher difficulties due to the increase in attacks and combos from the last game. Other Metal characters could appear as enemies in classic mode although Metal Mario (and Metal Luigi if Luigi was unlocked) would be a battle every time played in adventure mode.

Mainstream success

Since his creation, Mario has established himself as a pop culture icon having appeared on his own television show, comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins. He has also appeared on lunchboxes, t-shirts, in magazines, in commercials, in candy form, and as a plush toy. There was even a book series, the Nintendo Adventure Books. In 1990, a national survey found that Mario was more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse. In addition, Mario made history in 2003 by becoming the first video game character to be honored with a wax figure in the legendary Hollywood Wax Museum. In 2005, Jonathan Mann even wrote an opera based on the character, and performed The Mario Opera at the California Institute of the Arts.

Mario is the official video game mascot for Nintendo, and is synonymous with the Nintendo brand. Because of this, Mario only appears in Nintendo games on Nintendo systems.

Special cameo appearances

In the earlier days of the NES and Game Boy, Mario did several cameos, usually in the early sports titles on both systems. Often he was depicted as the referee, such as in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! or Tennis, but was also the playable character in both versions of Nintendo's early Golf-title. However some of his other cameos were more bizarre, such as the one in the Breakout-clone Alleyway which featured Mario on the game's box-art and also at the beginning of each stage where Mario jumps "into" the paddle. He was also featured on the Game Over screen for the Game Boy version of Qix dressed in Mexican clothes, playing a guitar in the desert next to a cactus with a vulture perched on it.

Mario made brief appearances in three games from Nintendo's other popular franchise, the Legend of Zelda series. In A Link to the Past, his picture hangs on the walls of certain village houses. In Ocarina of Time, a picture of him (along with Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, and Bowser) is visible through a window in the castle courtyard where Link meets Zelda. In Majora's Mask, one of the masks on the Happy Mask Salesman's pack depicted Mario's face.

In 1999, Mario was included in the cast for Nintendo's popular fighting game, Super Smash Bros., for the Nintendo 64. He returned with the cast from the original in the 2001 GameCube sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and will also appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl a upcoming game for the Wii. In the recent Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer, Mario was seen picking up a Smash Bros. emblem (as an item), then he threw out a large fire wave at his opponents. In this series, he is considered a well-balanced character and is easy for most players to use. His brother Luigi appears in both games as a secret character.

In Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes, he appears on Otacon's desk next to a Yoshi figurine. When players shoot the Mario figure, they regain HP.

In the GameCube version of NBA Street V3, Mario makes a cameo alongside Luigi and Peach as their own playable basketball team, along with their own exclusive Nintendo themed court. SSX On Tour also features the three and an exclusive Nintendo themed track.

Mario has also made a cameo appearance in the Nintendo DS game Nintendogs. In this game, his hat can be unlocked, as well as a toy Mario in a radio-controlled kart. The latter is only unlockable on the Dachshund & Friends version.

In the game "Animal Crossing: Wild World" you can buy Mario's hat in the clothes store owned by the Able Sisters. In the game, the hat is called "Big Bro's Hat". You can also buy an accessory in the game that resembles a fake mustache and nose called the "Big Bro's Stache".

In 1080 Avalanche, Mario appeared on the bottom of a snowboard and as an ice sculpture.

Mario's popularity has been parodied and/or referenced in many television shows other than his own. For example, he appears in two episodes of The Simpsons: in "Marge Be Not Proud", he, along with Luigi, Sonic, and Donkey Kong try to convince Bart to steal a video game; and in "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", Mario is an Italian tourist who, when visiting Homer (famous after an embarrassing video on the Internet), gets trash cans thrown at him - just like Donkey Kong. He is also parodied in the Futurama episode "Anthology of Interest II", when Fry asks the What-If Machine what would life be like as a video game. In the sequence that follows, Mario is the Italian ambassador at the United Nations.

In a crossover spoof on Attack of the Show, Mario and Luigi are potrayed in a The Sopranos-type story.

Action figures of Mario, Luigi, and Wario are also shown taking part in a Fast and the Furious parody on an early episode of Robot Chicken.

In the cartoon Megas XLR, episode 18 "Thanksgiving Throwdown", parodies of Mario and Luigi appear, known as "The Super Fabio Brothers". The Fabio brothers attack using wrenches and their famed jumping ability.

In an issue of Nintendo Power magazine, Mario was rumored to star as a playable character in the GameCube version of Sega's Sonic Riders prior to its release.

Appearances on non-Nintendo platforms

Even though Nintendo holds the copyright to Mario in many nations, and they have almost invariably retained these rights for their own use to achieve competitive advantage, there are a few small exceptions. Mario appeared in several educational PC titles in the United States such as Mario Teaches Typing and in some very early games for non-Nintendo systems such as the Atari 2600 and the Mattel Intellivision. Philips made several games, such as Hotel Mario, featuring Nintendo characters for their Philips CD-i which was the result of a compromise with Nintendo over failing to release a joint CD-ROM product. Mario Is Missing was another game ported to the PC.

There are many PC Mario games distributed over the Internet. There are also mini-movies, such as the violent Rise of the Mushroom Kingdom series. These have been produced by fans of the Mario series, not by Nintendo. They vary from clones of the original games to more novel games that merely incorporate the Mario characters. These games, which include Mario Forever and Super Mario: Blue Twilight DX , are available to download for free. Similarly, fans have produced and distributed simple games incorporating Mario on graphing calculators such as the TI-83. There have also been a number of fanmade games using the Super Mario World engine.

See also

• List of Mario games
• List of best-selling computer and video games
• List of Mario series characters
• List of Nintendo characters
• List of Nintendo games created by Shigeru Miyamoto
• List of video games developed by Nintendo
• Hot Mario Bros
• Mario Forever
• Shigeru Miyamoto
• Luigi
• Princess Peach
• Princess Daisy
• Bowser
• Donkey Kong
• Toad
• Yoshi
• Wario
• Waluigi

Notes and references

1. David (2005). "Nintendo reveal sales figures". Australia's PAL Gaming Network. Retrieved February 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
2. Demaria, R: "High Score! The Illustrated History of Electonic Games", page 238. McGraw Hill-Osbourne, 2002
3. O’Connell, Patricia (November 7, 2005). "Meet Mario's Papa". BusinessWeek. Retrieved February 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

• Sheef, David. Game Over, Nintendo's Battle to Dominate the Game Industry. Hodder and Stoughton LTD, UK 1999. ISBN 0340751932.
• Super Mario Wiki
• Template:GameFAQs
• Bizarre, Crazy, Silly, Unknown Holidays & Observances
• Holidays on the Net

External links

• Mario's World (Nintendo of America Official Site, currently replaced by The New Super Mario Bros)
• Mario's Megasite (Nintendo of Europe Official Site)
• Super Mario Wiki, a wiki dedicated to everything Mario
• The Mushroom Kingdom
• Super Mario Bros. Headquarters
• The Evolution of Mario History of Mario Sprites
• Mario: The Unauthorized Biography
• Video game parodies with Mario on Newgrounds
• Mario Licensees at MobyGames
• Mario Monsters List of Monsters from Mario Games
• Mario at Answers.com

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