Super Mario



         


Mario (full name Mario Mario, Japanese: マリオ), also known as Super Mario, is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo, named after the Italian landlord, Mario Segali, at Nintendo of America. He is one of Nintendo's best-known characters and considered by many to be the biggest video game character in history, appearing in literally hundreds of games.

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Overview

Mario is the official mascot of the Nintendo Corporation, and is almost synonymous with the Nintendo brand. Because of this, Mario only appears in Nintendo games on Nintendo systems. There are a few small exceptions in which he has appeared on PC educational titles in the United States, but these are rare deviations.

Mario first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong as a nameless protagonist, but later was called Jumpman. 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. Shortly thereafter Mario took on role of mascot of Nintendo and has since been extensively merchandized. In 1996, with the release of the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 marked Mario's 3-D debut and made him the very first 2-D established video game character to appear in a full 3-D game.

Mario has appeared on television (in several cartoons), in comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins.

Mario's supporting characters include Luigi, Princess Peach Toadstool, Toad, Yoshi, and King Bowser Koopa among others.

Little is known about Mario's history. Mario games specifically lack overly-complicated plots or too much character development as to not limit Mario's future roles. According to some American manuals and gameplay, Mario and his brother are Italian-Americans born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He is said to be a plumber (though he has held several other blue-collar jobs in his lifetime) and wears a red shirt, cap, and blue overalls. Other games and manuals suggest that he grew up in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario's distinctive look is due to technology restrictions in the mid-80's: with a limited number of pixels and colours, the programmers could not animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear" if his shirt was a solid colour, they did not have the space to give him a mouth, and they could not animate hair, so Mario got overalls, a moustache, 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.

His surname, also Mario, first became known in the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros. This was to explain how both Mario and his brother Luigi could both be known as the "Mario brothers" (though Nintendo has never confirmed this). This is also backed up by the title of the game Dr. Mario.

The original Super Mario Bros. series pioneered many concepts in modern video games, such as warp zones, power-ups, end-of-level bosses, and multiple endings. Even to this day, many adventure games operate in the same so-called "hop and bop" style gameplay that was first developed for SMB.

Miyamoto created these 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 came into contact with an enemy. This idea was derived from the "Eat me" and "Drink me" potions in the Lewis Caroll story, Alice in Wonderland. He also incorporated the idea of the "Beam me up, Scotty" phrase from Star Trek with 1980s

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In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario is a balanced character (as he is in many games featuring other playable choices). He is said to "reflect the actual skills of the player", according to the Super Smash Bros. Melee "Smash" character trophy description. His trademark move is the fireball. His fireballs are affected by gravity (unlike Luigi's fireballs). Also, Mario's fireballs are red in color, whereas Luigi's are green.

There are ten trophies of him in the game: three Mario ones, three Dr. Mario ones, one as he appeared in Paper Mario, one Racoon Mario, one Metal Mario, and one Baby Mario.

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, his weapon is the fireball. In Super Mario Kart, the computer controlled Mario has unlimited invincibility. In Super Mario Brothers 2, Mario is an average jumper and second only to Toad in carrying capacity.

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See also

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