Mario Mario

" “ On all these adventures, it's not about the stars you collect, the trophies you win, the amount of mushrooms you consume, or even the Yoshis you ride; it really, at the end of the day, is all about the friends you make, the lives you touch... ” ― Mario • Promotional Mario Sports Mix interview"

Mario Mario, or simply called Mario (Japanese: マリオ) and known as Jumpman in the 1981 arcade game, Donkey Kong, is the titular main protagonist of the longest-running video games series with the same name, and the mascot for Nintendo.

He's the main hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, who is always bright and cheerful and instantly recognizable with his blue overalls, red cap, and trademark moustache. He's a trusted friend of Princess Peach, and he and his brother Luigi are known across the land for their acts of bravery.

Mario excels at sports including tennis, golf, baseball, soccer, and even kart racing. He's good at all of them! He's a plumber by profession but is really a jack of all trades. He uses his masterful jumping ability and a variety of power-ups to take on his archrival, Bowser.

Why He's a Superstar

 * 1) Mario is to gaming what Mickey Mouse is to animation and Superman is to comic books. He is extremely iconic, practically being the face of the medium he helped save and revolutionize, with his titles being held as the bar all other platformers try their hardest to measure up to, and usually fail.
 * 2) He saved the video game industry after it went into a crash, with his first video game being what helped bring hope back into video games again and paved the way for the platforming genre of games and for other video game characters, such as his rival Sonic the Hedgehog. Although, this is point is more about his games rather than himself as an actual character, so we'll get to that.
 * 3) * This wouldn't be the only time he'd revolutionize gaming, as when he made the jump to 3D (Super Mario 64), he paved the way for 3D platformers and collect-a-thons.
 * 4) Unlike the rest of his cast, who excel in certain areas and lack in others (ex: Luigi jumping higher but being more slippery and Toad being the fastest but having the worst jump), Mario is a reliable all-rounder and the perfect pick for first-time players because of it.
 * 5) Since his main games are all about parkour, Mario is super athletic, and his wide array of moves make the simple act of going from point A to point B fun and his games infinitely re-playable.
 * 6) Despite being a simple character, he's not a bland one by any means. From being a brave and headstrong hero to a food-loving, goofy and hopelessly romantic everyman, he has tons of defining characteristics that make him lovable, inspiring and maybe even relatable.
 * 7) Although they may compete and have a little bit of sibling rivalry from time to time, Mario is a good, supportive, and caring big brother to Luigi. This can be seen in the Mario & Luigi series, and the latter entries of the Luigi's Mansion series.
 * 8) While Mario and Bowser are undoubtedly arch-enemies, Mario still lets him join in on the fun during sporting events and kart races and is there to comfort him when Peach rejects them both in Super Mario Odyssey 's ending.
 * 9) He is extremely good at making friends and always shows care for them, no matter how long they've been traveling with him for. Some games that exemplify this are Super Mario Sunshine, where he is saddened by F.L.U.D.D.'s "death", and w:Paper Mario:Paper Mario: The Origami King, where he rushes to stop Bobby from sacrificing himself.
 * 10) *Mario has even made friends with characters outside of his own series. Most famously with Sonic, who he now has a friendly rivalry with in the Olympic Games. They even have their own special handshake. Another good example would be Pit, who happily recalls his past adventure with Mario back in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and shows admiration for him and wants his autograph during Palutena's Guidance.
 * Charles Martinet's portrayal of him is iconic and beloved for good reason. Part of what makes Mario who he is is his jovial and whimsical personality, and Charles captures that perfectly in Mario's "yippee!"s and "yahoo!"s. There are also many examples of Charles Martinet speaking in full sentences as Mario, such as in-character interviews, and cute Instagram skits.
 * 1) * Speaking of which, Charles once stated in an interview that he wishes to be able to incorporate some of his character's personality traits into his life. Namely, his optimism and self-confidence.
 * 2) In the official 1993 Nintendo Character Guide, he is accurately described as adventurous (enough said), brave (due to how he never cowers before any foe), curious (as he is usually willing to explore the locals he's in as much as needed), resourceful (since he often makes use of whatever he can find in the levels), tolerant (for the most part) and last but not least, loyal (as seen with his relationships with Luigi and Peach).

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) While this aspect is short-lived, Mario lacked some clarity in his personality, giving rise to some inconsistent portrayals in many other pieces of media since there wasn't a lot to adapt from the games at the time:
 * 2) *In the DIC Entertainment cartoon trilogy, he can be annoying sometimes in the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, as he and Luigi act too much like Italian stereotypes often, especially with all the Italian food puns.
 * 3) *In Hotel Mario, he and Luigi are depicted as jokey goofballs who spout hilariously stupid one-liners, his design in the game is laughable and his voice is utterly mismatched, but it all became a meme in spite of that.
 * 4) **"You know what they say, all toasters toast toast!"
 * 5) **"Maybe there's a switch in one of the rooms! Remind me to check!!""
 * 6) *His portrayal in the 1993 film was very bad, as he ultimately looks nothing (except near the end) like his original self in that one and he seems to be more of a parody of his original counterpart rather than an adaption of his character. Thankfully though, this version of him remains largely forgotten.

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Trivia

 * Mario is named for the late, Seattle-based Italian American landlord Mario Segale. During the American localization process for Mario and fellow great character Donkey Kong's debut game, Donkey Kong, Segale confronted Nintendo of America's then-president Minoru Arakawa, demanding overdue rent for a warehouse. After a heated argument that ended with an agreement to pay the rent, the character was named Mario.
 * The history behind his design is fascinating. Unlike Sonic who was deliberately designed for mascot marketability in a contest, Mario's appearance is actually owed to the limitations of arcade hardware at the time. The reason he wears a red shirt and blue overalls? To make the colors contrast against each other and the background. Why does he wear a hat? To avoid drawing the character's hairstyle, forehead, and eyebrows. Why does he have a moustache? To give distinctly human facial features with the limited graphical abilities. And despite everything about his design being a product of hardware limitations, Mario's design has become undeniably iconic, from the trademark red cap to the 6-stroke 'stache.
 * According to an entry of the second issue of Nintendo Power (1988), Mario's birthday is October 11.
 * He has made numerous cameos in several other games, such as in The Legend of Zelda series, Kirby series, and Animal Crossing series.