Mario also known as Super Mario, is a world renowned video game character created by Shigeru
Miyamoto for Nintendo. As well as being Nintendo's mascot he is one of the most recognized
characters in video game history, appearing in hundreds of games, many of them bestsellers. Mario first appeared in Donkey
Kong under the generic title of Jumpman, and appeared alongside his brother Luigi
for the first time in Mario Bros To date, nearly 200 million games featuring Mario have been sold, making
it the best selling video game franchise of all time.
Luigi
Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by intendo is the younger (sometimes
twin) brother of Nintendo mascot Mario. He first appeared in Mario Bros as the character controlled by the second
player, and his role as the second player's character continued in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and
Super Mario World. It is commonly believed among fans that his full name is Luigi Mario, as he and Mario are referred
to as the Mario Brothers. This theory has been supported by Nintendo of America. Luigi's name was inspired by a pizza parlor
near Nintendo of America's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, called Mario
& Luigi's. His name is also a pun on the Japanese word ruiji, meaning "similar", a play on the fact that his sprite
was the same as Mario's in his original appearances. Luigi's voice is performed by Charles Martinet, the same actor who provides
Mario's voice.
Peach
Princess Peach Toadstool is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario video games series. Formerly called Princess
Toadstool in the early English translations of the games, Peach is the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom with a multitude of
Toad servants, and is Mario's apparent love interest, although officially their relationship to each other is "unknown". In
North America, Peach is no longer regularly referred to as Princess Toadstool. The name "Peach" was first used in Yoshi's
Safari, and became the norm as of Super Mario 64. The text in Super Mario 64, however, does occasionally use the retro moniker.
Peach first appeared in Super Mario Bros. and has since appeared in many subsequent games, in which she is usually kidnapped by Bowser. She has also shown
her fighting abilities in Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario RPG, Super Princess Peach and Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Yoshi
Yoshi is a species of fictional dinosaur from various Nintendo video games and, more commonly, the name of a
specific member of that species. Yoshis have very long, sticky tongues, and can swallow almost anything, even things that
are much larger than they are. Almost everything they swallow is transformed into (or encased in) an egg, which they can throw
as a weapon. They prefer fruit, although they can and usually will eat other things, including living creatures. Their noses,
taking up half of their heads, can detect fruit buried underground and other strange secrets. Even though they have teeth,
these are rarely seen or used. While Yoshi himself is depicted as green, other Yoshis in general come in a variety of colors,
much like how Birdo is usually portrayed pink, but is also shown in many other colors. Yoshi is the protagonist of his own
series as well as a supporting character in the Mario series.
Bowser
Bowser, known in full as King Bowser Koopa, and known in Japan as Koopa or Kuppa, is a fictional turtle-like creature
from Nintendo's Mario series, and is Mario and Luigi's arch-nemesis. Although Bowser has joined forces with the good guys
in a few games, he never ceases to attempt to kidnap Princess Peach and conquer the Mushroom Kingdom since his first appearance
in Super Mario Bros. As the central villain of one of the world's most popular video game franchises, Bowser is one of the
most recognizable video game villains ever. He rules over the Koopa Kingdom and has seven Koopa Kids, who help him steal and
wreak havoc in the Mushroom Kingdom.
In all of his various incarnations throughout the Super Mario Bros. series, he has been depicted as obsessed with
Princess Peach. Though he has repeatedly tried to kidnap her, Bowser has never declared what he plans to do with her once
she is in his grasp, although the most likely theory is that Bowser is in love with Peach and wants to make her his wife.
According to Mario Party Advance he "has the hots for Peach", and in Paper Mario, he talks affectionately to her in several
scenes, and is said to have made a wish to the Star Spirits that went "I want Princess Peach to like me". He even wrote in
his diary that he loves Peach, which Peach reads later in the game. In the Super Mario Brothers movie (which is not considered
canon), Koopa wanted the Princess to merge his world (the Mushroom Kingdom, or Dinosaur Land) with Earth, so he could rule
both worlds. Bowser is depicted fairly consistently as nasty, brutish, and not particularly bright, though still a bit of
a sarcastic wit. It is odd to note that in some games he appears to be quite intelligent, although he is always evil.
Toad
Toad is a humanoid mushroom in games of Nintendo's Mario series. Toad is the general collective name of
the "Mushroom People" found in the Mushroom Kingdom, who are a sapient, anthropomorphic mushroom race, with a peaceful, human-following
monarchistic culture. It is believed that the English name originated from the word "toadstool" (just as the original Japanese
name comes from kinoko, meaning "mushroom"), though the English name may also be construed as a variant of the word
"toady," a loyal follower. Like other characters in the Mario games such as Yoshi, Toad is both a unique character called
"Toad" and a specimen of an entire, homonymous race. The Toad species first appeared in Super Mario Bros., in which
they were called merely "Mushroom Retainers". In later games prior to Paper Mario, which featured an entire race of
Toads inhabiting Toad Town, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom, manuals referred to them as "Mushroom People".
Toad as an individual character made his debut in Super Mario Bros. 2, where he was a playable character
(the fastest and strongest one) on equal standing to the other protagonists — Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach. His
relationship to the other main characters of the series is unclear (as most of those between characters in the Mario
series are), but it can be seen that he is a good friend of Mario and Princess Peach. He lives with the princess in her castle
as her personal servant and constant companion.
Koopa Troopa
The Koopa Troopa is a member of the fictional turtle
species in the Mario video
game series, and the most common classification of Koopa.
Koopa Troopas are the standard troopers of the Koopa Army who work for Bowser,
King of the Koopas. Alongside Goombas, Bullet
Bills, and Piranha Plants, they are the
most common enemies featured in the series.
Koopa Troopas are all common Koopas, meaning they have no special abilities or characteristics. As the lowest ranking
members of the Koopa Army, they just patrol their assigned areas on foot. Koopa Troopas are also sometimes just called "Troopas".
Bomb-omb
A Bob-omb is a robotic bomb character or item, featured in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. In some
games they will follow the player until they explode, while in others games they stand still while exploding. Bob-ombs are
mostly black, though in some games they flash red when about to explode. Along with Goombas, Shy Guys, Piranha Plants, Snifits,
and Koopas, they are the most common enemies in the Mario series. They are also among the first kamikaze enemies and
one of the most popular enemies in existence. This is probably due to their simple, innocent, and cute appearance despite
their destructive nature.
Goomba
The Goomba, or Little Goomba is a fictional species from Nintendo's series of Mario video games. Goombas are the first enemy character to appear in
the original Super Mario Bros., for the NES. Alongside Koopa Troopas, Piranha Plants, and Lakitus, they
are the most common enemies in the Mario series.
Variants of the Goomba include the Microgoomba. The Microgoomba is a miniature, parasitic
Goomba that either attaches onto Mario to reduce his jumping ability or hides under a brick and jumps whenever Mario approaches
it (the latter is known as a Pile Driver Micro-Goomba.) To destroy the Micro-Goombas, Mario just simply has to dunk himself
in water or vigorously repeat quick jumps and the Micro-Goomba will drop off. In New Super Mario Bros.,
the Microgoomba appears in several areas that can only be reached by Mini Mario. These Microgoomba simply act like a miniaturized
version of their larger Goomba brothers. The Microgoomba first appears in Super Mario Bros. 3 along with the Paragoomba.
According to the Super Mario Bros. 3 game manual (p. 35), Microgoombas are the children of the Paragoombas. In comparison
with a regular Goomba, the Paragoomba has two wings which give it the ability to fly across the game screen. In Super Mario
Bros. 3, it appears in two shades of brown: the lighter colored Paragoomba can fly and occasionally release Mugger Microgoombas,
while the darker colored Paragoombas do not release Microgoombas, and merely hop along the ground like green Paratroopas.
Paragoombas roughly correlate with the seagoing Blooper enemies, who sometimes lead a string
of nuisance Baby Bloopers.
Piranha Plant
A Piranha Plant is a Venus fly trap-like enemy in Nintendo's
Super Mario video games. Piranha Plants are almost always portrayed as a leafy green stalk
topped with a white-spotted green or red globe, almost bisected by a toothy white mouth. Like Super Mushrooms,
their coloring resembles that of the hallucinogenic Amanita muscaria and they are one of the most instantly recognizable
Mario-related creatures, appearing in almost every Mario game. They are also the precursor to "ambush" enemies. They were
most likely inspired by the Audrey Junior plant in the 1960 cult film The
Little Shop of Horrors.
Piranha Plants typically hide within pipes, periodically emerging and ensnaring
unwary passersby. There are two varieties of normal Piranha Plants: green and red. Often they have big white lips around enormous,
toothed maws. Green Piranha Plants don't attack people that are touching their pipes, but the faster-moving Red Piranha Plants
(which originated in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, a.k.a. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) will emerge
even if someone is standing next to or on the very edge of their pipes. Pipes infested with such plants are usually vertical,
but horizontally dwelling Piranha Plants are not unknown, and some even hang from the ceiling. They are most dangerous when
their pipes are the only platforms across a ravine. Some species can also spit fireballs (such as the Venus Fire Trap in Super
Mario Bros. 3), or even jump all the way out of their pipes (the Jumpin' Piranha Plant from Super Mario World). Others live
entirely outside pipes, being either rooted in the ground or even walking about on rootlike legs. Although they are immune
to jump attacks, Piranha Plants are vulnerable to projectiles, such as fireballs, Troopa
shells, and hammers.
Bullet Bill
Bullet Bills are large, living bullets that launch from Bullet Bill Blasters, large vertical cannons. They first appeared
in Super Mario Bros. Bullet Bills generally have beady eyes and a fierce scowl painted on them. There are several variation
that include Banzai Bill, a very large Bullet Bill, Torpedo Ted, one that is launched underwater, and Sniper Bill, a Bullet
Bill that uses a Super Scope as a weapon. In most games, Bullet Bills are depicted with arms instead of a mouth, and sometimes
they are depicted with both. As of New Super Mario Bros., only arms are exclusive to Bullet Bills, while mouths are
only used for Banzai Bills.
Lakitu
Lakitu, known in the Japanese version as Jugem, is a character in the Mario series of video games from Nintendo.
He is typically depicted as a turtle-like creature (a Koopa in Mario terms) with a green shell, orange or yellow body,
and thick, black glasses. He usually rides in a cloud with a smiling face (known as Jugem's Cloud). The name Lakitu is also
used for an entire type of Koopas, most of whom fly about in this fashion.
Lakitu is one of the few Mario enemies to have appeared in the series from the beginning. This puts Lakitu
into the same pantheon as foes such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Bullet Bills and Piranha Plants. However, unlike most of these
other enemy characters, Lakitu has not changed a great deal from one game to the next.
In his role as an enemy character, Lakitu typically flies about and throws spiked eggs at Mario, although variant
types employ other attack patterns. Lakitu appears in a number of games as a figure neutral to Mario. Lakitu features in a
handful of non-Mario games and media such as comic books and animated cartoons.
International Nintendo Gameing Association
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