Mario

Mario (Japanese: ???, Mario), also known as Super Mario and originally Jumpman (??????) in Japan, is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. He is one of Nintendo's best-known characters, and is considered by many to be the most well-known video game character in history, appearing in hundreds of games, many of them bestsellers. Mario first appeared in the 1981 Donkey Kong arcade game, while Mario's brother Luigi first appeared in Mario Bros., the arcade game. The Mario franchise has, as of 11 August 2005, sold 180,000,000 games (making it by far the biggest selling franchise in the history of video games).

Abilities and techniques

Mario's most prominent feature is his jumping ability. At first, that was the extent of it ? just jumping ? but more abilities were built on top of this. When he runs fast, he jumps higher than normal, which, given the right power-up, is required to fly; in later games he would stick his arms out behind him when at maximum speed to signify the proper jumping time. Super Mario Bros. 3 secretly gave little Mario (before a Super Mushroom) the ability to jump off of a wall to attain even more height, notably in the sixth world. Super Mario World added the ability to spin-jump, which allowed Mario to break bricks beneath him if he was of sufficient size to do so, without the requirement for another power-up or a Koopa Shell. Later, Super Mario 64 added to Mario's jumping the ability to jump higher with consecutive jumps, as well as a long jump, a back-flip, and a ground pound. It also made jumping off of walls much simpler to accomplish. Sunshine then re-introduced the spin jump, which made Mario fall slower than a normal jump (though he jumped no higher).

Related Topics:
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Super Mario World - Super Mario 64

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When Mario obtains a Super Mushroom, he becomes Super Mario. In this form Mario has the ability to break bricks with his fist, at the cost of possibly being unable to maneuver in small gaps. If an enemy hits him, he turns back into normal Mario again. This is one of the most common power ups in the series, although the 3D games have not used them (the remake of Super Mario 64, Super Mario 64 DS, adds this powerup).

Related Topics:
Super Mushroom - Super Mario 64 DS

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Originally, there were few powerups for Mario to collect. The first game to feature a powerup was Donkey Kong arcade game. It had a hammer in each level you could hit barrels with. The later Super Mario Bros. included the Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower and the Starman. The Fire Flower would transform either small Mario (doubling his size) or regular Mario into Fire Mario. It gave him the ability to throw fireballs from his hands, and in later games, he was able to throw fireballs in a circle when he spins. Like the Super Mushroom, it has since disappeared from the newer games. In remakes of the early Mario games, Mario would to go regular Mario instead of shrinking to small Mario. The Starman gave Mario invincibility for ten seconds, also allowing Mario to defeat enemies just by touching them. It has not disappeared from the games entirely, in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, Mario (with help from Yoshi, Luigi and Wario in SM64DS,) has to collect enough power stars to free the princess.

Related Topics:
Donkey Kong arcade game - Super Mario Bros.

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' (the Japanese version) had not introduced new powerups, other than the Poison Mushroom (which was the opposite of the Super Mushroom, shrinking or killing Mario), making this the first game to add on to the list of powerups.

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Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced several new powerups. It features the classic Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Starman, and introduces several others, such as the Raccoon Leaf, which gives Mario the ability to fly, and swing a raccoon tail. Other popular powerups are the Tanooki Suit, the Hammer Bros. Suit and the Frog Suit.

Related Topics:
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Hammer Bros.

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Super Mario Land 2 featured the Fire Flower and introduced the Power Carrot, which would cause bunny ears to appear on Mario's cap. When Mario flaps these ears, he's able to descend after a jump much slower than normal.

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Super Mario 64 had eliminated the original powerups altogether. Mario had three different powerups to choose from; the Wing Cap, the Vanish Cap and the Metal Cap. The Wing Cap allowed Mario to fly, the Vanish Cap allowed Mario to go through certain walls, and the Metal Cap made Mario sink in water. Super Mario 64 DS made some changes, making it so that only Mario could use the Wing Cap. Luigi gained the exclusive ability to use the Vanish Cap, and Wario gained the exclusive ability to use the Metal Cap. Two new powers, the Balloon powerup (from Super Mario World), which could only be used by Mario, and fire, which, if eaten by Yoshi, could be spit onto certain things.

Related Topics:
Super Mario 64 - Super Mario 64 DS - Luigi - Wario - Yoshi

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Mario also has the ability to kick shells around to knock over enemies and break bricks. In Super Mario Bros. 2, he had to pick various objects from the ground and toss them at his enemies to defeat them, ranging from vegetables to his enemies themselves. Super Mario Bros. 3 implemented this act of picking things up, but instead of being on top of them to pick them up, Mario must come at them from the side with the pick-up button held, and release the pick-up button to kick it. Super Mario World extended this ability to include vertical kicking, as well as keys that could be picked up and put into keyholes to open secret levels.

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Super Mario World also featured Mario's ally, Yoshi, quite prominently. When riding a Yoshi, Mario can clear spiky terrain and stomp foes that he otherwise couldn't. Also, Yoshi can eat almost any foe; if he eats a Koopa Shell, he can spit it back out, or swallow it for a possible special power. (In the Game Boy Advance re-release, Luigi, when controlling Yoshi, has the option of spitting out ANY opponent that would otherwise be eaten.) Blue shells make them fly for a short period of time, red shells make Yoshi spit fireballs, yellow shells make Yoshi conjure dust when he touches the ground from jumping, wiping out any enemies in his path, and a flashing color shell allows for all of these abilities at once. Yoshi usually comes only in the color green, but in Star Road he can be found in blue, red, and yellow, which, when fully-grown, will have the corresponding special shell effect as a default when any shell is eaten. In some other cases, the food he consumes can turn into eggs which provide various powerups for Mario. Yoshi's basic abilities were expanded upon for Yoshi's Island.

Related Topics:
Yoshi - Star Road

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Mario wore the FLUDD in Super Mario Sunshine, which extended his jumping abilities further. Given enough water and the right nozzle, Mario could hover across large gaps (while going upward very slightly), propel himself upward with great force, or propel himself forward at phenomenal speeds. The game in question was centered heavily around this added jumping maneuverability, though it frequently took away the FLUDD for a few jumping-only segments.

Related Topics:
FLUDD - Super Mario Sunshine

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In ', as opposed to power-ups, Mario has 'curses' placed on him by Demons in black chests. These curses are actually helpful, giving him new abilities. The first curse gives the ability to turn into a paper airplane at certain points, allowing Mario to fly through the air. The second curse gives the ability to turn sideways, allowing Mario to go through small passageways. The third gives the ability to roll up into a roll of paper in order to get under some obstacles, and with the final ability Mario can turn into a paper boat at certain points, allowing him to traverse through the waters.

Related Topics:
Demon - Paper airplane - Paper boat

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In "Super Smash Brothers Melee", Mario gained a new ability, though not closely related to the original games. The cape, with the ability to deflect attacks, and the ability to use fire as a close ranged weapon. And, the tornado, closely related to the spin he did in the original games. He also has an attack called Super Jump Punch. This attack makes coins appear in midair when it connects, and it hits multiple times. It also is useful in order to get back onto the edge of the arena.

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