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).

Biography

Little is known about Mario's history since games involving him tend to lack plot correlations, with the series instead depending mostly on re-occurring characters and locations to provide continuity. Despite his lengthy history Mario is in many ways an undeveloped character, with many details of his accepted biography having been created through a complex lore spawned from the imaginations of comic book artists, cartoon writers, and fans.

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Officially, Nintendo producers have stated that Mario's biography is kept simple in order to make the character versatile, and reusable in many different games and situations. Mario is one of the most underdeveloped characters in the Mario universe however, with characters such as Bowser and Princess Peach having more complex and consistent back stories.

Related Topics:
Bowser - Princess Peach

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In his first appearance as Jumpman in Donkey Kong, all that was stated was that he was a carpenter. His next appearance in Mario Bros. changed his profession to plumber, which was more fitting with the pipe theme of that game. Here, Mario and his brother cleaned out the sewers of Brooklyn. This fact, in addition to both the cartoon series and the movie, led many to believe that Brooklyn was Mario's original home. Newer games and manuals, however, state that he grew up in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom. Some have suggested that the brothers were taken to the "Real World" at an early age, while others disregard it because it contradicts the other games and the Super Mario 64 guide which was written after '.

Related Topics:
Donkey Kong - Carpenter - Plumber - Brother - Brooklyn - Cartoon series - Movie - Mushroom Kingdom

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Over the course of his many games, Mario has rescued a number of girls from kidnapping (including Pauline, Princess Peach, and Princess Daisy) and has become regarded as a great hero in the Mushroom Kingdom. There is no definitive timeline for the events in the various games, most of which could be placed in nearly any order.

Related Topics:
Pauline - Princess Peach - Princess Daisy - Mushroom Kingdom

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Baby Mario

Baby Mario is the infant version of Mario, although he has appeared alongside his older self in Nintendo sports titles such as Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball and '. However, it is generally accepted that these games are outside the continuity of the main Mario series, and therefore do not suggest that Mario and Baby Mario are separate characters in the main storyline.

Related Topics:
Mario Golf - Mario Tennis - Mario Superstar Baseball - Continuity

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He first appeared in the Super NES game ' where with the help of the Yoshis he saved his brother Luigi from Kamek the Magikoopa. In Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario has a rather passive role, essentially being carried around by different Yoshis for most of the game. However, in some levels, a power-up resembling a star allows him to transform into Super Baby Mario, giving him very high speed and relative invincibility.

Related Topics:
Super NES - Yoshi - Luigi - Kamek the Magikoopa - Power-up - Star - Invincibility

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More recently, Baby Mario appeared in Yoshi Touch & Go for the Nintendo DS. Reclaiming the role he held in Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario falls from the sky, this time held up by balloons, as the player guides him, by drawing clouds, down to the ground where Yoshi waits to catch him. He then rides on Yoshi's back for the rest of that level of the game. In some game modes, Baby Mario can again find the power-up that turns him into Super Baby Mario, making him temporarily invincible.

Related Topics:
Yoshi Touch & Go - Nintendo DS - Yoshi's Island - Yoshi

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Baby Mario will also star in ' with his brother, his older self, and his brother's older self. His abilities in battle appear to be identical to those of his older self. The game explains the co-existence of the two sets of brothers in this game by saying that Mario and Luigi are sent back in time to a period when they were still babies.

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