The Mario reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Mario

A newer version of this article is available: see Mario at Schools Wikipedia
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Mario (Japanese: マリオ), also known as Super Mario, is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo, supposedly named after the Italian landlord, Mario Segali, at Nintendo of America.

He is easily the most popular video game character in history, and has appeared in literally hundreds of different games.

Table of contents
1 Overview
2 Games
3 See also

Overview

Mario is the official mascot of the Nintendo Corporation, and is completely identified with the Nintendo brand. He first appeared in the video game Donkey Kong as a nameless protagonist, but later players called him Jumpman. The game was surprisingly successful, and when the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, Mario was given the starring role in the revolutionary Super Mario Brothers game. Shortly thereafter Mario took on role of mascot of Nintendo and has since been extensively merchandized. In 1996, with the release of the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64 marked Mario's 3-D debut and made him the very first 2-D established video game character to appear in a 3-D game.

Mario has appeared on television (in several cartoons), in comic books, and in a feature film where he was played by Bob Hoskins.

Mario's supporting characters include Luigi, Princess Peach Toadstool, Toad, Yoshi, and King Bowser Koopa among others.

Little is known about Mario's history. According to manuals and gameplay, he is an Italian-American man, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He is a plumber (though he has held several blue-collar jobs in his lifetime) with a red shirt and blue overalls.

Mario's distinctive look is due to technology restrictions in the mid-80's: with a limited number of pixels and colours, the programmers couldn't animate Mario's movement without making his arms "disappear" if his shirt was a solid colour, they didn't have the space to give him a mouth, and they couldn't animate hair, so Mario got overalls, a moustache, and a cap to bypass these problems.

His surname, also Mario, first became known in the 1993 feature film Super Mario Bros. This was to explain how both Mario and his brother Luigi could both be known as the "Mario brothers." This is also backed up by the title of the game Dr. Mario.

The original Super Mario Brother series pioneered many concepts in modern video games. Miyamoto created these from ideas he had seen in other media. One of his most recognizable contributions to his Mario universe is the Power mushroom, which would enlarge Mario until he came into contact with an enemy. This idea was derived from the "Eat me" and "Drink me" potions in the Lewis Caroll story, Alice in Wonderland. He also incorporated the idea of the "Beam me up, Scotty" phrase from Star Trek with warp pipes, usually green pipes that sometimes warped Mario to another area.

Games

Over the years Mario and his brother, Luigi, have appeared in several popular video games, both their own and others. Here is a brief chronological list of games Mario has appeared in, or games with other Mario characters:

1980s

Year 1981 Year 1982 Year 1983 Year 1985 Year 1986 Year 1987 Year 1988 Year 1989

1990s

Year 1990 Year 1991 Year 1992 Year 1993 Year 1994 Year 1995 Year 1996 Year 1997 Year 1998 Year 1999

2000s

Year 2000 Year 2001 Year 2002 Year 2003 Year 2004 In Super Smash Bros and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario is a balanced character (as he is in many games featuring other playable choices). He is said to "reflect the actual skills of the player", according to the Super Smash Bros. Melee "Smash" character trophy description. His trademark move is the fireball. His fireballs are affected by gravity (unlike Luigi's fireballs). Also, Mario's fireballs are red in color, whereas Luigi's are green.

There are ten trophies of him in the game: three Mario ones, three Dr. Mario ones, one as he appeared in Paper Mario, one Racoon Mario, one Metal Mario, and one Baby Mario.

In , his weapon is the fireball. In Super Mario Kart, the computer controlled Mario has unlimited invincibility. In Super Mario Brothers 2, Mario is an average jumper and second only to Toad in carrying capacity.

See also

Super Mario is also a nickname for Mario Monti, as well as for Mario Lemieux and also Mario Basler.