Luigi

Luigi (, Luigi) is a character in the series. Originally debuting as a near-exact copy of his marginally older twin brother Mario, Luigi gradually developed his own appearance and personality, to the point of becoming the co-star and deuteragonist of their home series, as well as the main protagonist of his own spin-off series.

As a member of the "perfect-attendance crew", Luigi has been featured as a playable character in every installment of the  series.

Origin
Two years after the widely acclaimed classic ', Shigeru Miyamoto wished to incorporate the two-player competitive and cooperative gameplay of the arcade game ' into his own game. To this end, he created Luigi, Mario's twin brother, for the arcade game  However, Luigi's actual debut was in the otherwise unrelated Game & Watch game of the same name.

Luigi's name is said to have been inspired by a pizza parlor called "Mario & Luigi's", which was located near Nintendo of America's headquarters. Coincidentally, his name was also noted to be similar to the Japanese word 「類似」 (ruiji), which means "similar", and further ties into his formative years being essentially identical to Mario other than color.

Luigi's original design, both in official artwork and gameplay, was a palette swap of Mario. In this case, his overalls and shirt were green and black, respectively; in addition to contrasting with Mario's red and blue color scheme, Luigi's color scheme came about because of the limited color palettes in the arcade version of Mario Bros. While the Game & Watch version of the game has one player control both brothers, the arcade version features Luigi as the character that the second player would control.

Luigi would then be featured in the widely acclaimed classic Super Mario Bros., which saw the brothers travel through the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time to rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil Koopa King, Bowser. Unlike its predecessor, Super Mario Bros. features Luigi clad in a green shirt, white overalls and white hat, which would become his color scheme as Fire Luigi in subsequent games, starting with Super Mario World. Super Mario Bros. also notably, albeit quietly, abandoned the concept that he and Mario were Italian-American plumbers from New York City, though this backstory would remain intact in certain Western multimedia adaptations for the rest of the 80s and into the early 90s, and be revived in the 2020s for .

In both the Japanese Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and the international Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi was established as having superior jumping prowess compared to Mario. The Lost Levels also gave him worse traction compared to his brother; both traits would become Luigi's defining gameplay mechanics in the overwhelming majority of subsequent games, including in the Super Smash Bros. series. Both of these sequels also further codified Luigi's physical appearance, with artwork for The Lost Levels introducing a taller and thinner design that would be seen in-game in Super Mario Bros. 2.

Although Mario effectively became Nintendo's mascot thanks to the success of Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros., Luigi's relevance, which was still at a respectable level, stagnated in the 1990s. Relegated to minor appearances such as ' and the edutainment-based spin-off ', Luigi's relevance began to wane, with him having even been left out of some games entirely, especially on the handheld Game Boy system. The most notable instance of this was his complete absence in the widely acclaimed classic '; however, this was in fact attributed to the Nintendo 64's technical limitations, with him having been intended to appear, and it was rectified by him being an unlockable character in the game's Nintendo DS remake, '.

After his absence in Super Mario 64, however, Luigi's relevance was renewed via his playable appearances in three other very popular Nintendo 64 games: ', ', and Super Smash Bros. Luigi's newfound popularity was most notably demonstrated in , his first starring role within his own spin-off series. The game established Luigi's defining personality: bashful and good-hearted, yet cowardly and afflicted by a deep-seated fear of ghosts. Despite encountering many obstacles and being consistently terrified of the mansion's various ghosts, Luigi nevertheless manages to save Mario from.

Luigi received slightly more character development via the Mario Tennis series: its first installment marked the debut of his antagonistic rival Waluigi, while ' saw Princess Daisy become a reciprocal love interest for Luigi after her appearance as his caddie in '. Although Luigi did not appear in , his relevance has remained steady since Luigi's Mansion. This has been most obvious with his co-starring role in the Mario & Luigi series alongside Mario, and has been further supplemented by his playable appearances in ', ', ', ', ', and '.

Luigi's relevance reached its peak during the, which was announced on February 14, 2013 and commemorated the 30th anniversary of his debut. Various games and collectibles focusing on Luigi were released, with two of the games, ' and ', further developing his character. Dream Team further cemented the deep bond between the Mario Bros., and saw Luigi courageously rise to the occasion against Bowser, which resulted in his critics—such as and even Bowser himself—coming to view him as Mario's equal. Dark Moon saw him develop a slightly more courageous attitude, save Mario yet again, and clearly cemented King Boo as his archenemy, evoking reminders of the long-standing rivalry between Mario and Bowser.

Aside from his character development, Luigi's abilities were also highlighted during the Year of Luigi.  notably lacks Mario and instead focuses on Luigi's signature higher jump and slippery traction.  marks his debut as a doctor like his brother before him, and sees him utilize unique L-shaped Megavitamins. This game mode returns in the Nintendo 3DS title . Although the Year of Luigi officially concluded on March 18, 2014, one final Year of Luigi game, Super Luigi Bros., was released a little over a month later as a part of . Like 's Luigi Bros., Super Luigi Bros. is a modified emulation of Super Mario Bros., but noticeably differs by retaining Luigi's higher jump and sporting mirrored versions of every level.

Although replicas of Luigi's hat and outfit are available for Mario to wear, Luigi himself returned to an ancillary role for his appearance in ; he appears as the non-playable host of the minigame, which was made available in a post-launch update on February 21, 2018. Later that year, a remake of Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo 3DS was released. This remake introduced Luigi's gelatinous counterpart,, who serves as his partner in multiplayer mode. Gooigi also features prominently in , a brand new installment in the spin-off series released on October 31, 2019.

In the series
In Luigi's Mansion, Luigi is informed that he had won a mansion in a contest he never actually entered. Prior to his arrival, Mario was observed entering the mansion by the elderly ghost researcher, or E. Gadd for short, but never returned. Upon his arrival at the mansion, Luigi realizes his brother is nowhere to be found and is nearly captured by an orange ghost before being saved by E. Gadd. The professor escorts Luigi to his laboratory near the mansion and offers him a crash course in using the and, a modified vacuum cleaner capable of sucking up ghosts and other objects. With his Poltergust in tow, Luigi musters the courage to re-enter the mansion to find his missing brother.

Upon delving deeper into the mansion, Luigi unwillingly unleashes a wave of captured Boos, including their leader, and must reclaim them before being able to face the king himself. On his way to recapture the Boos, Luigi discovers that King Boo has actually captured Mario and trapped him in a painting. In the final confrontation, the king attempts to stop Luigi using a lifelike Bowser costume, though Luigi ultimately succeeds in capturing King Boo and rescuing his captured brother, freeing him from his painting prison.

In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, E. Gadd takes his studies to a new venue,, and makes peace with various friendly ghosts in the area to assist in his research. Unbeknownst to anyone, King Boo managed to escape his portrait prison and shatters the titular, a large floating crystal that normally has a pacifying effect on the ghosts of Evershade Valley. With the Dark Moon destroyed, the friendly ghosts turn hostile and start causing chaos, prompting E. Gadd to retreat and recruit Luigi to help recover the shattered fragments.

Along the way, Luigi acquires some new tools to his new, including the , the , and the , as he travels to five distinct mansions to recover the Dark Moon fragments. Along the way, he and E. Gadd discover that Mario has been captured in a painting again, and in one final illusion he confronts King Boo and succeeds in defeating him in his illusion. With Mario saved and the Dark Moon restored, the ghosts become friendly again and Luigi returns home with a new pet in tow.

In Luigi's Mansion 3, Luigi, Polterpup, Mario, Peach, and a few Toad assistants have been invited for a vacation at a luxurious high-rise hotel,. Its proprietor,, assists the group in checking into the hotel and escorts each of them to their own rooms. That night, Luigi hears Peach cry out in terror and leaves his room to investigate, only to find the initially warm and inviting presence of the hotel to be an illusion. Hellen Gravely appears to personally introduce Luigi to the returning King Boo, whom she managed to set free once again to vow revenge on Luigi. With the others trapped in portraits, King Boo tells him that he plans to finish his collection with a special Luigi portrait.

However, Luigi narrowly escapes though a laundry chute and finds himself in the hotel's bottom floor. Upon being awakened by Polterpup following his fall, Luigi discovers the new, and climbs to the lobby to discover that Professor E. Gadd was also captured in a painting. Upon freeing him, the two retreat to the basement and Luigi is introduced to two new tools, the and, that will aid him in his trek up the 17 floors of The Last Resort to save his friends and stop King Boo once again.

As a playable character
Luigi's first appearance in a fighting game is in Super Smash Bros., where he appears as one of the four unlockable characters. His design is based on his appearance in '; however, his overalls in-game are colored indigo instead of blue, which references his sprite from '. Luigi can be unlocked after completing Break the Targets with all of the starter characters.

Luigi's abilities are almost identical to 's, although there are a few differences between them. His neutral special move is also a Fireball, albeit colored green and immune to gravity. Luigi's up special move is also the Super Jump Punch, but his is very polarized compared to Mario's: due to consisting of a sweetspot and a sourspot, Luigi's version can deal up to 25% when landing the former, but only 1% when landing the latter. Lastly, his down special move is Luigi Cyclone: it is similar to Mario Tornado, but instead consists of only two distinct hits and that each launch the opponent away from Luigi. Unlike the rest of the cast, Luigi's taunt is the only one capable of dealing damage.

Largely because of his awkward physics, Luigi is considered the worst character in the game and is currently ranked 12th out of 12 on the tier list. This places him at the bottom of the C tier as a bottom tier character.

Luigi's in-game character description reads:
 * Luigi
 *  Though often hidden in his older brother Mario's shadow, Luigi, is in reality, very popular. Taller than Mario, Luigi also jumps higher. Although he didn't appear in Super Mario 64, in Mario Kart 64 he performed to the best of his ability. For one who always seems to be in the background, he has many fans who eagerly await his appearance.
 * Works:
 * Mario Bros (NES)
 * Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
 * Mario Kart 64 (N64)

As a playable character
Luigi returns in Super Smash Bros. Melee as an unlockable character. Unlike in SSB, his design has been updated to appear almost exactly like his Nintendo 64 render artwork, instead of a combination of his in-game appearance in Mario Party and indigo overalls from Super Mario World. Luigi can be unlocked in by finishing the first stage with the number 2 in the timer; in addition to causing him to take 's place in the subsequent battle, it may also be a reference to Luigi originally being the player 2 analog to his brother. Luigi can also be unlocked by playing 800 Versus Mode matches.

Due to his neutral attack's third hit, up tilt, down tilt, forward smash, and forward aerial being completely overhauled both aesthetically and mechanically, Luigi has been de-cloned into a semi-clone of his older brother. Like his fellow veterans, Luigi now has a side special move; in his case, it is Green Missile. Green Missile propels Luigi forward and can be charged. In addition to being usable for recovery like Super Jump Punch, Green Missile can potentially misfire, which significantly increases its damage output and travel distance. Lastly, Luigi's taunt is now capable of meteor smashing edge-hanging opponents, although it is extremely situational to use in such a manner.

Due to Luigi's moveset and mobility being improved thanks to Melee's game physics, (most notably wavedashing and chain grabbing), he is currently ranked 12th out of 26 on the tier list. This places him in the B- tier, and positions him as a mid tier character.

Trophies
As a playable character, Luigi is featured on three trophies: his normal trophy, acquired by clearing Classic Mode with him on any difficulty, and "Smash Red" and "Smash Blue" trophies won by clearing Adventure and All-Star Modes, respectively. A fourth trophy featuring Luigi is also available, which is styled after his appearance in .

As a playable character


Luigi returns as an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He can be unlocked by playing 22 Versus Mode matches, completing without using any continues, or by having him join the party in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary. Luigi's design has been updated, as it is now based on his appearance as of Luigi's Mansion and Mario Party 4, albeit with a realistic aesthetic and subdued color scheme. By extension, he now has his own unique voice clips, instead of using higher-pitched versions of Mario's voice clips.

Like his fellow veterans, Luigi now has a Final Smash; in his case, it is Negative Zone, which emits a -esque field that inflicts a myriad of effects at random intervals. In the transition from Melee to Brawl, Luigi has received a mix of buffs and nerfs, with the number of buffs being larger overall. In paticular, many of his attacks have become stronger or faster, while his recovery has significantly improved. However, the removal of wavedashing drastically harmed Luigi; when coupled with the stronger defensive play of Brawl, this makes his poor traction much more of a liability, as his inability to punish out of shield with wavedashing is a more significant problem in Brawl. The introduction of hitstun canceling is also detrimental, as it significantly limits Luigi's combo game. Due to his abundance of buffs being outweighed by the considerable impact of his nerfs, Luigi is currently ranked 28th out of 38 on the tier list. This places him at the top of the E tier, and posits him as one of the three lowest ranked mid tier characters.

Trophies
Luigi has a trophy that is awarded each time is completed with him on any difficulty.

As a playable character
Luigi returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. However, SSB4 is the first installment of the series to announce him as a playable character before release, as well as the only installment where he is a starter character. Luigi's design has also been updated, as it is now based on his appearance as of ' and '. He also received a new a new Final Smash that uses the from .

Luigi has been buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. In addition to retaining his overall fast frame data and varied recovery, Luigi's moveset now boasts an impressive amount of utility, particularly in regard to combo potential. This is best demonstrated by Luigi's grab game, which is among the most effective in the game thanks to his quick grabs, his back throw being a viable KOing option, and his down throw's outstanding combo potential.

However, Luigi retains his overall slow mobility, especially while airborne, as well as his extremely low traction. Update 1.1.1 also altered the knockback of his down throw, which removed its guaranteed KO set-ups. Despite his flaws, Luigi overall remains a force to be reckoned with, and he has achieved fairly strong tournament representation and results throughout SSB4's lifespan. As a result, he is currently ranked 18th out of 54 on the tier list; in addition to placing him in the B tier, this posits him as a high tier character.

As a costume
Luigi's hat is available as headwear for Mii Fighters.

As a playable character
Luigi returns as an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was formally announced alongside the rest of the cast via Ultimate's E3 2018 trailer on June 12th, 2018. Like, Luigi's design is now based on his appearance in , albeit without the accessories he wears in that game. In addition, Luigi now has a tether grab, using his from  for his grabs, pummel and throws; in addition to granting him a grab aerial, it fittingly replaces the  for his Final Smash. The combination of his Poltergust G-00, new dashing animation, and new up tilt have collectively de-cloned him into a pseudo-clone of his older twin brother after previously being a semi-clone of him from Melee to SSB4.

Luigi received a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition to Ultimate. His down tilt and dash attack, arguably his two worst moves in SSB4, are significantly more useful, his KO options (especially Super Jump Punch) have been strengthened, and his combo game has improved (thanks primarily to his new up tilt as well as lag decreases to his down throw and up aerial). Luigi Cyclone's utility has also expanded: it deals more damage and knockback, has more range, pulls opponents in easier thanks to it gaining windboxes, and it grants Luigi full body invincibility (especially in the air, which activates on frame 1). He also benefits from the universal changes, having less landing lag on his aerials and his mobility improved in all areas. The most crucial improvement however, was to his notoriously low traction, which has been drastically increased, no longer being the lowest in the game, improving his approach and out of shield options.

However, Luigi Cyclone's recovery potential has been virtually removed, due to it barely gaining any height with consistent button mashing. Its aforementioned windboxes have also removed its ability to gimp opponents offstage. Luigi's grabs can also be more difficult to land, due to their slower startup in lieu of their longer ranges. Although the reintroduction of directional air dodges allows Luigi to gain some extra recovery distance, their increased lag and ability to be used only once before landing makes recovery mix-ups with them far less reliable.

Overall, Luigi has become a more polarized character due to his strengths improving while his weaknesses have been further exacerbated. Despite this, he has gained respectable results in competitive play both offline and online, to the point that he generally perceived as a lower high tier-to-upper mid tier fighter by most professional players, currently ranking 47th out of 82 in the current tier list at the bottom of the B+ tier.

As a costume
Once again, Luigi's hat is available as headwear for Mii Fighters. It can be found in a Treasure Chest in World of Light.

Trivia

 * Much like in their home series, Luigi is largely perceived as being in Mario's shadow within the Super Smash Bros. series. Aside from Super Smash Bros. 4, Luigi has been an unlockable character, whereas Mario has consistently been a starter character. In Super Smash Bros., the notice for unlocking Luigi described him as "The Eternal Understudy". In Super Smash Bros. Melee, one method to unlock Luigi is by clearing the first level in Adventure Mode with the timer set to the number 2 in the seconds area (XX:X2:XX), which results in him being fought on Mushroom Kingdom II. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the ways to unlock Luigi is to play 22 versus matches; additionally, Snake's Codec Conversation sees Colonel Roy Campbell describe Luigi as the "King of Second Bananas". His Boxing Ring character title in SSB4 is "The Eternal Understudy", which continues his "second hand" theme and is a direct reference to his notice in SSB. He was also the second veteran to be revealed after the initial trailer prior to SSB4's release.
 * Prior to Ultimate, Luigi's portrait on the full character selection screen was always directly adjacent to Mario's.
 * Luigi has always been portrayed as being slower at dashing compared to Mario in the Super Smash Bros. series. However, aside from certain games, such as the Mario & Luigi series, Mario is generally the slower runner of the two.
 * Similarly, from Melee onward, Mario has been portrayed as being slightly weaker than Luigi. However, the Mario series has generally depicted Luigi as being slightly weaker than Mario.
 * Luigi's floatiness in the Super Smash Bros. series is similar to his mobility physics that debuted in Super Mario Bros. 2.
 * Despite being able to in all Mario games aside from , Luigi has been unable to do so in any Super Smash Bros. game.
 * However, he was seemingly able to wall jump in the early E3 build of.
 * Prior to Brawl, Luigi had no unique sound effects whatsoever, despite having his own distinct voice beginning with ', which was released before Smash 64. Instead, his voice clips and sound effects are simply higher-pitched versions of Mario's from ', while Luigi Cyclone's voice clip and sound effect are directly copied from Mario Tornado. In Melee, Luigi received only one unique sound effect: the spring sound effect from  for his planking victory pose.
 * Due to his playable appearance in ', a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube, Luigi is the only character in Melee to appear as a playable character on the Nintendo GameCube before Melees release, and the only time that that his modern design is used in Melee''.
 * Luigi, Yoshi, Snake, Corrin, and Joker are the only playable characters to feature material from games scheduled for release after an installment of Super Smash Bros. In Luigi's case, the from  is used for his grabs, pummel, throws, grab aerial and Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
 * Oddly, in every installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, Luigi has had very low air speed, while in Super Mario games where his mobility differs from that of Mario, his air speed is rarely slower, and when it is so, only slightly.