Mario: Difference between revisions

'''Mario''' ({{ja|マリオ}}, ''Mario'') is a prominent character in [[Nintendo]] games and is the long-running eponymous hero in the extensive ''[[Mario (universe)|Mario]]'' series of video games. Ubiquitously viewed as the mascot of [[Nintendo]], Mario is said to be the most well-known video game character in the world, having appeared in over 200 video games, causing him to be described as a "Video Game Legend". Mario appears as a main playable fighter in all four [[Super Smash Bros. (universe)|''Super Smash Bros.'' games]]. Mario was also the rival to Sega's [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] in the 1990s. His voice actor in all three ''Super Smash Bros.'' games is [[Charles Martinet]], who also voices [[Luigi]], [[Wario]], [[Waluigi]], and [[supermariowiki:Toadsworth|Toadsworth]] in the [[supermariowiki:Mario_(series)|Mario series.]]

Years before video gaming exploded into mainstream popularity, prominent game designer [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] designed the original arcade game ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'' in 1981, debuting Mario as the main playable character and [[Donkey Kong]] as his in-game nemesis. Mario's character design was heavily influenced by the extreme technical limitations of digital games at the time; as a small batch of pixels, Mario was given a mustache under his big nose to show he had a face, and suspenders with his shirt to show a distinction between his arms and body. In this game Mario was originally known as "Jumpman" in the initial Japanese release, and he was portrayed as a carpenter whose girlfriend [[supermariowiki:Pauline|Pauline]] (originally "Lady" in Japan) was held captive by the colossal ape [[Donkey Kong]], and must jump his way over the [[SuperMarioWiki:Barrel|barrel]]s and [[SuperMarioWiki:Firefox|flames]] DK throws at him to rescue Pauline.  

Miyamoto's next game was the world-famous ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' for the Famicom/NES, the game that singlehandedly brought video gaming into the mainstream and made Nintendo a major company in a now major industry[http://www.g4tv.com/top-100/478/super-mario-bros/]. Many iconic aspects of Mario and his franchise were established: Mario and Luigi now live in the [[Mushroom Kingdom]] ruled under Princess "[[Peach]]" Toadstool and her mushroom-retaining [[Toad]] servants, and the Koopa king [[Bowser]] kidnaps the princess for Mario to rescue. Mario must bound across side-scrolling platform stages to rescue her, jumping on the heads of common enemies like [[Goomba]]s and [[Koopa Troopa]]s to defeat them. He starts out tiny but can grow to [[supermariowiki:Super Mario|double his size]] if he grabs a [[Super Mushroom]] powerup, gain the ability to [[supermariowiki:Fire Mario|shoot out fireballs]] by grabbing a [[Fire Flower]], and [[supermariowiki:Invincible Mario|turn invincible]] for a short period of time by grabbing a [[Starman (item)|Starman]]. ''Super Mario Bros.'' became a franchise with these elements lasered into video game iconography, consistent in future games in the ''Mario'' series.

For over twenty years afterward, Mario would star in many games for various Nintendo systems. Mario and his accompanying franchise can be viewed as Nintendo's thematic tileset with which to create games of a whimsical, colorful, and light-hearted nature. Mario himself is meant to be a character anyone can enjoy playing as, and can fit well as a protagonist figure and/or main balanced character in many genres of games. To this end he is not portrayed as a character that undergoes development like what players would see with a character in an epic RPG's story. He is, in fact, rarely depicted speaking coherent English sentences. In contemporary Mario games, his high-pitched Italian voice, provided by Charles Martinet, is used mainly for grunts and yells and the occasional catchphrase, such as "Mama-mia!", "It's-a-me, Mario!", "Let's-a-go!". As a semi-silent, optimistic protagonist, Mario is inherently easy for players of his various games to appreciate, and he is ideally the most balanced selectable character in any game he appears in, including the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Smash'' games]].

Genres of games in which Mario appears in a playable role include the traditional 2D side-scrolling platformer, including various sequels to ''Super Mario Bros.'', the famed Super NES launch platformer ''[[Super Mario World]]'', which introduced [[Yoshi]] as a mount of sorts for Mario, and the DS homage to these games in the form of ''[[supermariowiki:New Super Mario Bros.|New Super Mario Bros.]]''; 3D platforming adventures such as the especially seminal ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' adventure game launching for the [[Nintendo 64]], which is one of the most influential and best-reviewed games ever, followed up by ''[[Super Mario Sunshine]]'' for [[GameCube]] and ''[[supermariowiki:Super Mario Galaxy|Super Mario Galaxy]]'' for [[Wii]]; the ''[[Mario Kart]]'' series of power-up and obstacle course-based racing games; a long-running series of multiplayer-based party games named ''[[supermariowiki:Mario Party (series)|Mario Party]]''; various series of ''Mario''-themed Sports titles such as ''[[supermariowiki:Mario Golf (series)|Mario Golf]]'' and ''[[supermariowiki:Mario Tennis (series)|Mario Tennis]]''; hands-on RPGs such as the ''[[supermariowiki:Paper Mario (series)|Paper Mario]]'' and ''[[supermariowiki:Mario & Luigi (series)|Mario & Luigi]]'' series; and a puzzle game named ''[[Mario (universe)#Dr. Mario|Dr. Mario]]'', where Mario in the garb of a medicine man throws pills into a bottle to combat [[supermariowiki:Virus|viruses]] (his persona in this game is also a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'', see [[Dr. Mario]]). A [[supermariowiki:Baby Mario|baby version of Mario]], who's often treated as a separate character, has also appeared in many of these games. Mario made his first appearance in a fighting game in 1999's ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', and has appeared traditionally in all subsequent installments of that series.

Mario makes his first appearance in a fighting game in the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' as a starting playable character. He is based off his appearance in ''Super Mario 64''. Like in many other games, he is touted as the most balanced character with no real strengths or weaknesses; therefore, new players of the game are encouraged to play as him first. In the competitive meta-game, he can combo well but lacks a multipurpose finisher. His lack of outstanding strengths make him only a high tier fighter, not top tier, placing him at 5th in B tier on the ''SSB'' [[tier list]]. His [[neutral special move]] shoots a moderately fast, bouncing, low-damage [[Fireball]] in the direction he is facing; his [[up special move]] is an uppercut third-jump called the [[Super Jump Punch]] which can hit multiple times for minor damage (and coins briefly appear with each hit); and his [[down special move]] is the [[Mario Tornado]], where he whirls his body to damage foes around him, before throwing them up into the air.

[[File:Mario SSBM.jpg|right|120px|thumb|Mario, as he appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''.]] As a starting playable character in this game, Mario is touted as the most balanced character of the game's character roster, much like his appearances in other games, with no real strengths but no outstanding weaknesses either; therefore, new players of the game are encouraged to play as him first. His new [[side special move]] is whipping out his yellow [[Cape]] from ''Super Mario World'' to turn the enemy in front of him facing the opposite direction, which is useful for diverting enemy attack and recovery. In the competitive meta-game, he can easily combo opponents, has a long [[wavedash]] like {{SSBM|Luigi}}, and is good at juggling opponents, but it is his lack of a reliable finisher that causes him to remain in the game's Middle Tier; his Smash attacks do not even feature all that much knockback and range, impairing his ability to fight like a character like {{SSBM|Marth}}. He also has low grab range and bad recovery. It is notable that in both versions Mario has great combo potential coupled with the lack of a good finisher.

In addition to the standard three trophies which playable characters in ''Melee'' get - a standard trophy won by defeating [[Classic Mode]], and "Smash Red" and "Smash Blue" trophies won by beating the Adventure and All-Star modes, respectively - Mario, as Nintendo's mascot, also features on a number of other trophies as [[Dr. Mario]] (see [[Dr. Mario (SSBM)]]), [[supermariowiki:Raccoon Mario|Raccoon Mario]], [[Metal Mario]], [[Paper Mario]], and Mario and Yoshi. The last trophy in particular is especially notable for being one of two "gift trophies" never findable during normal play, only available at all in the [[NTSC]] version of ''Melee'', and then only at special Japanese events or by using a hacking device. There is also a trophy for [[supermariowiki:Baby Mario|Baby Mario]], a baby version of Mario that mostly appears in ''Yoshi'' games.