Luigi (Nintendo character)
Luigi Mario (Japanese: ルイージ) is Mario's twin brother in the Nintendo video games. He first appeared in Mario Bros. as the second player. His role as the second player continued in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World.
Luigi's name was inspired by a pizza parlor near Nintendo of America's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, which was called Mario & Luigi's.
Because of software constraints of the time, Luigi initially appeared as a palette swap of Mario, identical except in terms of color. As technology improved, Luigi evolved into a physically distinct character, taller and thinner than his brother. Luigi's personality has also developed, and he is said to be more nervous and cowardly than his brother; thus, he is rarely seen.
In Super Mario Bros. 2 he was one of the player-controlled characters, characterized by a hovering jump. This feature made him quite popular amongst fans of the games. Luigi has starred in two games, the first of which was the edutainment title, Mario is Missing, released for the Super Nintendo and PC. It was a fairly lackluster game, involving Luigi traveling throughout the world and answering questions related to famous area he was in (Japan, Russia, etc). It was not produced by Nintendo, and remains one of the few "Mario Games" created and developed entirely by an American third-party developer. His second starring role was in Luigi's Mansion, released for the Nintendo GameCube. He also co-starred in a recent game (being a substitute for Mario doesn't count as co-star) called Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, the unofficial sequel to Paper Mario in which you control both the brothers equally to save the Princess again.
In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Baby Luigi was kidnapped by Kamek the Magikoopa. He was freed by Yoshi after the defeat of Baby Bowser at the Koopa Kingdom.
In the remake of Super Mario World for Game Boy Advance, Luigi is slightly more integral; you have a choice between Mario or Luigi. Luigi can jump higher and run faster, and he is designed to be the easier character to play as.
With the debut of Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, Luigi also gained his own rival, Waluigi (Waluigi is a counterpart to Wario).
Luigi is also a hidden character in the N64 hit Super Smash Bros., and an initial character in the GameCube sequel Super Smash Bros. Melee. He is similar to Mario. His Green Missile move is an addition to Super Smash Bros. Melee. It is similar to Pikachu's Skull Bash. His taunt pose is the only taunt pose in the game that inflicts damage; it inflicts 1% damage. Unlike Mario's fireballs, Luigi's fireballs are not affected by gravity. Luigi also has the lowest traction in the game, making him the best candidate for wavedashing.
In the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros., Luigi was played by John Leguizamo. In this film, Luigi's name is revealed as Luigi Mario, giving a convenient explanation as to how both Mario and Luigi can be known as the Mario Brothers.
