Princess Daisy

Princess Daisy (, Princess Daisy) is a recurring character in the series. Originally appearing in ', Daisy is the ruler of and has become a recurring playable character in several Mario spin-off games since her debut, most notably the ' and  series.

Origin
Princess Daisy is the ruler of, a country that is composed of four kingdoms: the deserted , the oceanic UFO hotspot , the Moai head-littered , and the China-esque , all located very far away from the. One day, a mysterious space alien named invades Sarasaland. In addition to hypnotizing all the country's inhabitants to enslave them into his army, Tatanga kidnaps Daisy in order to marry her and make her his queen, thus setting the events of  into motion.

Upon hearing of this, Mario journeys to Sarasaland to rescue Daisy and bring peace to the country by traveling through each of its four kingdoms in order to stop Tatanga and his invasion. Throughout the game, enemies disguise themselves as Daisy to trick Mario into believing he has rescued her, only to reveal their deception seconds afterward and run away. Although Tatanga ultimately manages to escape, Daisy is rescued regardless and Sarasaland returns to peace, resulting in Daisy thanking Mario with a kiss as she flies away with him in an airplane.

After a short hiatus, with only a cameo in ' and a character bearing her name in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. live action movie, Daisy made a return to the series in ' on the Nintendo 64. Since then she has gone on to appear in many Mario titles, albeit almost entirely spin-offs such as the ' and ' series.  specifically is notable for redesigning Daisy into her modern look, including shorter hair in a flipped bob cut, a golden crown in place of her magenta crown, orange elements on her dress in place of white elements, and a fairer skin tone—though her skin would eventually regain its tan starting in Mario Party Superstars. However ' marked Daisy's return to the ' series almost 30 years after her debut in Super Mario Land. In this game, Daisy is an unlockable character as of version 3.0.4. When the Remix 10 opens, Toad informs Mario that she has gotten lost and thus needs to be rescued. Daisy is unlocked once Area 30 is cleared during Remix 10 mode, and her special ability is the (which works very much like the double jump that can be universally performed in Smash Bros.). She also appears as a playable character in , where she is available right from the start. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Daisy has no unique gameplay traits of her own and controls identically to all other characters (with the exception of the Yoshis and Nabbit).

In addition to her initial design being strikingly similar to Princess Peach's,  furthered the notion of Daisy being a counterpart to Peach by having her as Luigi's caddie. Daisy and Luigi's relationship has since progressed into a reciprocal, yet subtle romance that has been demonstrated in numerous instances, such as her victory scene in '; her personal race course in '; and her trophy information in Super Smash Bros. Melee and. Daisy has also forged a close friendship with Peach upon traveling to the Mushroom Kingdom, and has remained a friend of Mario's ever since their first encounter.

Unlike Peach, however, Daisy is an energetic tomboy. Despite being featured almost exclusively in spin-off games with little to no plot or dialogue since her debut, Daisy's personality has nevertheless been explored to a degree. In particular,  reveals that Daisy is energetic to the point of being impulsive, eager to take on challenges, and brash enough to talk down to the likes of Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser, though also in touch with her feminine side, finding enjoyment from activities such as tea parties and nail painting.

In Mario Tennis, Daisy was voiced by the late, sounding significantly lower-pitched compared to later games. Then in Mario Party 3 and the two subsequent games in the Mario Party series,, Peach and Toad's voice actress at the time of the game's release, voiced Daisy as well with a higher-pitched voice. Starting with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour for the Nintendo GameCube, took over Taylor's role, giving Daisy her now-signature middle-high-pitched, loud voice. Super Mario Bros. Wonder for Nintendo Switch replaced Princess Daisy's longtime voice actress Deanna Mustard with, a voice actor who imitates Mustard's distinctive Daisy voice.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee
Daisy appears as a trophy. She is also the basis for one of 's alternate costumes, which changes many aspects of the latter's appearance to match Daisy's, to the point where said costume in question is essentially Peach dressed up as Daisy. Both Daisy's trophy and Peach's Daisy-based alternate costume are based on Daisy's classic design, which was used between Super Mario Land and Mario Party 3.

Trophy
Notably, Daisy's trophy has a graphical glitch in which she has a third eye on the back of her head under her hair. This glitch was removed in the NTSC 1.02 and PAL versions.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Daisy once again appears as a trophy, this one depicting her athletic gear from ; she also appears on two stickers. Daisy is once again the basis for one of 's costumes; however, unlike in Melee, no model elements are changed for this costume and it is a simple recolor. Also, Peach's Daisy-based alternate costume is based on the colors of Daisy's current appearance since Mario Party 4.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
Daisy appears as four trophies in these games, with one exclusive to depicting her tennis outfit, and three being exclusive to  depicting her standard and baseball outfits (unlocked by hitting Sandbag 1,000m (3,280 ft.) or more in Home-Run Contest), as well as her baby self. Daisy continues to be the basis for one of 's costumes.

As a Mii costume
A Daisy wig is available as a headgear for all Mii Fighter types.

As a Smash Tour item
More notably, Daisy's baseball appearance appears in Smash Tour as a red item. A player who uses it will automatically catch all thrown items for the duration of a battle.

As a playable character
Daisy was confirmed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable fighter on June 12, 2018 at the E3 2018 direct and is an Echo Fighter of. Daisy has no differences in any of her attacks and is functionally identical to Peach, aside from slightly different hurtboxes due to altered animations. She also has various aesthetic changes such as unique animations and expressions, and flower effects in her attacks instead of hearts.

Like Peach, Daisy's appearance is altered in ; her dress has more elaborate details and is stylized. Also, Peach no longer has her Daisy-based alternate costume as Daisy now has her own character slot; in its place, Peach has received a golden alternate costume.

As a Mii costume
Additionally, the Daisy wig returns as a headgear option for s.

Trivia

 * With four trophies, Daisy has more trophies than any other non-playable character referenced in Super Smash Bros. 4.
 * Other than her various trophies and Peach having an alternate costume based on her color scheme, there are other references to Daisy in Super Smash Bros. 4:
 * In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the video cutscene that plays after Peach's congratulations screen makes various references to Princess Daisy. In one scene, Peach in her Daisy color scheme is shown grabbing Luigi, and in another scene, Peach along with another Peach in Daisy's color scheme are shown floating away from a Chain Chomp together.
 * Peach's congratulations screen in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS also features a picture of her and another Peach in Daisy's color scheme posing together.
 * 's Classic Mode congratulations screen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U also features two Rosalinas posing and standing close together; one pink and one yellow. This may be a reference to Peach and Daisy, and bears a resemblance to their artwork from Mario Party 7.