List of Mario series characters

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The main characters as they appear in the instruction booklet for Mario Party 6
The main characters as they appear in the instruction booklet for Mario Party 6

This is a list of various fictional and recurring characters who appear in the Mario series of video games created by Nintendo, as well as spin-off media, such as books, comics, and animated series.

[edit] Protagonists

[edit] Princess Daisy

Princess Daisy (デイジー姫 Deijī-Hime?) (or simply Daisy) is the princess of Sarasaland. Daisy's debut appearance was in 1989 in Super Mario Land, where she was kidnapped by the tyrannical alien Tatanga who plans to marry Daisy and rule over her home Kingdom, Sarasaland. Daisy appeared later in NES Open Tournament Golf as Luigi's caddy. After a long hiatus of no game appearances, Daisy makes her return in the game Mario Tennis. After Mario Tennis, Daisy began to make recurring appearances in Mario sports and party games. Daisy is known to be best friends with Princess Peach, and according to the Mario Kart Wii manual, she is Peach's cousin. She is also rumored in the Mario universe to be in a romantic relationship with Luigi [1] The infant version of herself, Baby Daisy, debuted in Mario Kart Wii and is set to reappear in Mario Super Sluggers.

Daisy's first voice actress was Kate Fleming in Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. Daisy's next voice actress was Jen Taylor, who provided her voice in Mario Party 3, Mario Party 4, and Mario Party 5. In every other game, Daisy has been and is currently voiced by Deanna Mustard. Outside of the video games, Daisy appears as one of the main characters in the Super Mario Bros. 1993 film, played by Samantha Mathis, and takes up her Super Mario Land role in the Game Boy comic books.

[edit] Donkey Kong

He is the husband of Candy Kong.

[edit] Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr. is the son of the original Donkey Kong was introduced in the video game of the same name, which featured him as its protagonist who saved his caged father from Mario. Donkey Kong Jr. also appeared in Donkey Kong 2, Donkey Kong Jr. Math and Donkey Kong Classics as the main character. In Donkey Kong '94, Donkey Kong Jr. appears as an obstacle throughout the game, attempting to impede Mario in his progress by pulling levers and throwing poison mushrooms at him. Donkey Kong Jr. also appears in Super Mario Kart and as an unlockable character in Mario Tennis. Shortly after the release of Donky Kong 64, a representative from rare stated that the current Donkey Kong is a grown version of Junior.[2]

Donkey Kong Jr. is also featured as a major character in the 1982 cartoon series Saturday Supercade, which has him searching for his runaway father, who was being chased by Mario and Pauline.

[edit] Professor E. Gadd

Professor Elvin Gadd (オヤ・マー博士 Oya Mā Hakase?), more commonly known as E. Gadd, is a scientist that usually helps Mario and his friends with various inventions. In Japan, he is named after Nintendo game designer Yoshiyuki Oyama.[3] He first appears in Luigi's Mansion, where he starts to investigate the mansion that mysteriously appeared by his house to study ghosts, his favorite subject. To help him study the ghosts, he uses the Poltergust 3000, an invention that can capture ghosts, and the Game Boy Horror, an invention to track and detect objects. He lends it to Luigi, and helps him on his quest. Other major inventions include his FLUDD and Magic Brush used in Super Mario Sunshine. He later appears in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time where he creates a time-traveling machine.

[edit] Luigi

Main article: Luigi

[edit] Mario

Main article: Mario

[edit] Pauline

Pauline (ポリーン Porīn?) is the woman whom Mario must rescue from the eponymous ape in the original Donkey Kong. In the same way Mario was originally called "Jumpman", Pauline was simply referred to as Lady (レディ Redi?) in Japan. It was during the game's distribution in North America that she was given the name Pauline after Polly James, the wife of Nintendo of America's warehouse manager, Don James. [4] Following her first appearance in Donkey Kong, Pauline appeared in Family Basic and in Pinball for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Princess Peach, who was introduced in Super Mario Bros., took Pauline's place as damsel-in-distress in that game, eventually becoming Mario's primary romantic interest in most of the subsequent games in the series.

Pauline did not appear in another game until the 1994 Game Boy version of Donkey Kong, where she was once again taken captive by Donkey Kong and his son. Whereas the original arcade game's cabinet depicts Pauline with blond hair, the Game Boy remake features a redesigned modern Pauline as a brunette, distinguishing her from the blond-haired Peach, wearing a red dress with a torn skirt. This version of Pauline makes an appearance in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis for the Nintendo DS, where she appears as the guest of honor in the opening of the Super Mini-Mario World theme park.

[edit] Peach

Main article: Princess Peach

[edit] Poochy

Poochy is a dog-like creature that first appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where he could be found in few levels and could be ridden by Yoshi over spikes and into enemies, who are instantly destroyed upon touching Poochy. In Tetris Attack, Poochy is among the denizens of Yoshi's Island who are brainwashed by Bowser and Kamek; Poochy must be battled and defeated by Yoshi in order to free him from this brainwashing. In Yoshi's Story, Poochy appears in some levels, but is smaller in size and can not be ridden, and can only be used to sniff for buried treasures.

[edit] Rosalina

Rosalina (ロゼッタ Rozetta?) is the enigmatic princess who first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy. She runs the spaceship called the Comet Observatory, where she lives with the species of Lumas. She agrees to help Mario find Princess Peach who was kidnapped by Bowser. Princess Rosalina also appeared as a secret character in Mario Kart Wii. In Mario Kart Wii, a Luma follows her as she drives.

[edit] Toad

Main article: Toad (Nintendo)

Toad (キノピオ Kinopio?), is a humanoid mushroom that is both a single character and the collective name of the "Mushroom People" found in the Mushroom Kingdom. The Toad species first appeared in Super Mario Bros. as seven guards that serve Princess Peach, called Mushroom Retainers. Toad's voice is first heard in Mario Kart 64, which features actor Isaac Marshall. By the advent of the GameCube, Jen Taylor has continued to provide the voice of Toad until 2005, when Kelsey Hutchison took over for games such as Super Mario Strikers. Recently, Nicole Mills voiced him in Mario Party 8.

Toad first appears as a single character in Super Mario Bros. 2 as one of the four playable characters. He is stated to be the chief guard of the Mushroom Retainers. The character then goes on to star in Wario's Woods, and appear in the Mario Kart series and various sports games. In other games, he acts as an instructor, such as in the earlier Mario Party games, and helps guide characters in other games. As with the games, Toad plays a major supporting character in other forms of media starring Mario. He usually tags along with Mario in the various cartoons and comics as a sidekick.

[edit] Toadette

Toadette (キノピコ Kinopiko?) is a member of the Toad species who appears as a playable character in various Mario spin-off games. She first appeared as Toad's partner in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as a hidden character, and later appeared in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as an instructor when Mario received upgraded boots and hammers. She now appears regularly in the Mario Party series as a playable character starting with Mario Party 6, with the exception of the handheld games, where she acts as a NPC. The official Mario Kart Wii guide suggests that she is Toad's sister.

Other playable appearances include Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Kart Wii. She is voiced by Jen Taylor in most of her appearances, however in Mario Party 8, she is voiced by Nicole Mills.

[edit] Toadsworth

Toadsworth (キノじい Kinojii?), voiced by Charles Martinet, is an elderly Toad steward of Princess Peach who has taken care of Peach since she was a toddler. He first appears in Super Mario Sunshine, where he travels to Isle Delfino with Mario, Princess Peach and an entourage of Toads. He has a very minor appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. He plays similar supporting roles in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and Mario Party 7. He makes his first playable appearance in Mario Superstar Baseball, and will return for Mario Super Sluggers.

[edit] Yoshi

Main article: Yoshi

[edit] Antagonists

[edit] King Boo

King Boo (キングテレサ Kingu Teresa?, King Teresa) first appears as the final boss of Luigi's Mansion and plays minor roles in various other Mario games, including the Mario Kart series and Mario Party series. He appears as a playable character in Mario Kart Wii. King Boo is member of the Boo species, though he is larger than the average Boo and dons a crown, with a large ruby in Luigi's Mansion, and a regular crown in subsequent appearances, on his head. It is well distinguished by its green eyes, green tongue and unique evil laugh. As well as appearing as the main antagonist of Luigi's Mansion, he also appears as a boss in Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart DS, and Super Princess Peach.

[edit] Bowser

Main article: Bowser (Nintendo)

[edit] Bowser Jr.

Bowser Jr. (クッパJr. Kuppa Junia?, Koopa Jr.) is the child of Bowser that debuted in Super Mario Sunshine.[5] He acts as the main antagonist of both Super Mario Sunshine and New Super Mario Bros., with his father only playing a minor role in each. In Sunshine, he uses a magic paintbrush, invented by Professor E. Gadd, and special kerchief to transform into a translucent blue doppelgänger of Mario, Shadow Mario, who vandalizes Isle Delfino with graffiti, tricking the native people into believing that Mario himself is to blame. In New Super Mario Bros, he kidnaps Princess Peach, dragging her off to a new castle each time his old one is defeated. Additionally, he appears in Super Mario Galaxy, acting as his father's right hand and challenging Mario at several points of the game to impede him. He also appears in the various Mario sports games as a playable character.

Bowser Jr. shares many physical similarities with his father, with the main differences being a red ponytail as opposed to Bowser's mane, being about the same size as Mario, small black beady eyes, a more rounded snout, and a single sharp tooth visible in his mouth. He wears a kerchief constantly. It was originally a drawing of Mario's distinctive nose and mustache, but it is later replaced with a set of sharp teeth.

[edit] Clawgrip

Clawgrip, known as Chokkī (チョッキー?) in Japan, is an enemy boss character that appears in Super Mario Bros. 2. He is a giant crab monster that throws large rocks. It lives in a giant tree awaiting the arrival of Mario and his friends. In Super Mario Advance, he is voiced by Charles Martinet. Clawgrip made a few appearances in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, while several Clawgrips also appeared in the comics published by Nintendo Comics System. [6] In the NES and SNES versions of Super Mario Bros. 2, his name is misspelled "Clawglip"; however, he is correctly called "Clawgrip" in the Game Boy Advance version.

[edit] Foreman Spike

Foreman Spike, known as Blackey (ブラッキー Burakkī?) in Japan, is the main antagonist of the game Wrecking Crew during both regular gameplay and bonus levels and Wrecking Crew '98 after being hired by Bowser to build him a new castle. Foreman Spike also appears as an unlockable character in Mobile Golf. He depicted as an obese, bearded and corrupt construction worker, whose face is obscured by his sunglasses.

[edit] Fryguy

Fryguy, known as Hībōbō (ヒーボーボー?) in Japan, is an enemy character that appears in Super Mario Bros. 2. Fryguy is essentially a giant living fireball, given life by Wart, that spews smaller fireballs when it is angry.[7] He, along with Mouser, Tryclyde and Clawgrip, is one of the boss characters that appear at the end of each world in Super Mario Bros. 2.

Fryguy was also a recurring character on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, where he worked for King Koopa. He also appeared occasionally in Nintendo Comics System's Mario comic stories, which revealed that there was more than one of him. According to the comics, Fryguys are made by exposing Toads to fire or lava.

[edit] Kamek

Kamek (カメック Kamekku?) is a Magikoopa who acts as Bowser's caretaker during Bowser's childhood and one of his high-ranking minions afterwards. Kamek can perform various feats of magic, such as self-duplication, teleportation, shooting magical blasts and increasing the size of other creatures. He first appears as the main antagonist of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which has him trying to abduct Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, who he foresees as causing trouble for the Koopas in the future. Succeeding in only capturing Baby Luigi, Kamek and his minions, the Toadies, try to steal Baby Mario from the Yoshis throughout the game; before every boss battle, Kamek will appear and change an enemy creature into a giant, or perform some magical feat, and make them fight a Yoshi.

After his appearance in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Kamek appears in several other games, such as Tetris Attack, which features him as the penultimate boss and the one who brainwashed the inhabitants of Yoshi's Island; Super Princess Peach as a boss character; Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time as Baby Bowser's sidekick; Yoshi Touch and Go, where he kidnaps the babies once again; and as a main antagonist in Yoshi's Island DS. Kamek also appears throughout the Mario Party series, most commonly as an orb summon and or a boss.

[edit] Koopa Kids

Koopa Kids (Mini-Bowsers in PAL regions) are minions of Bowser that appear in the Mario Party series. They do his general bidding, interrupting the players as they traverse the game boards. In Mario Party 5 and Mario Party 6, the main one became a playable character, although they don't make an appearance in Mario Party 8 or Mario Party DS.

Mario Party 5 introduced three differently-colored Koopa Kids: Red Koopa Kid, Green Koopa Kid, and Blue Koopa Kid. They have been around in the Mario Party series ever since. While these three can compete with the player in mini-games in Mario Party 5 and Mario Party 6, only the original Koopa Kid has ever been playable. The colored Koopa Kids continue to make appearances in Bowser mini-games in Mario Party 7 and Mario Party Advance.

[edit] Koopalings

The Koopalings and Bowser as seen in the credits for Super Mario World.
The Koopalings and Bowser as seen in the credits for Super Mario World.

Koopaling (コクッパ Ko Kuppa?) is a generic title given to seven children of King Bowser who help him in various games. They first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3. Each Koopaling was a boss at the end of one of the game’s seven kingdoms.[8] The Koopalings are also world bosses in Super Mario World, Mario is Missing!, Yoshi's Safari, and Hotel Mario. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, however, they are mini-bosses in Bowser's Castle. They are made up of Larry Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., Wendy O. Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Lemmy Koopa , and Ludwig von Koopa, from youngest to oldest.[9]. Most of the Koopalings have wild punk hairstyles. It is said that each Koopaling was personally designed by a different member of the production staff of Super Mario Bros. 3. Explains Shigeru Miyamoto: “This is another way we give recognition to the many people who help make the games successful.”[10]

In the Mario cartoons by DiC, the original seven Koopalings are given different names based on their given personalities. They are called Cheatsy Koopa, Big Mouth Koopa, Kootie Pie Koopa, Hop Koopa, Bully Koopa, Hip Koopa, and Kooky Von Koopa. Aside from their names and personalities, they look slightly different and serve Bowser differently, compared to their video game counterparts. Instead of acting as minions, they act directly as his children, and do things such as seek his attention, and even plot against him. They also appear in the Mario anime, Nintendo Adventure Books, and comic books.

[edit] Mouser

Mouser (ドン・チュルゲ Don Churuge?) is one of Wart's generals featured as in Super Mario Bros. 2 and Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. His strategy is to throw bombs at his opponents.[11] Mouser is also a major character in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, which casts him as King Koopa's second-in-command and a member of the Koopa Pack. John Stocker provided the voice for Mouser, who spoke with a German accent in the series. He also appears in the Super Mario Bros. comic books as a king corrupted by Bowser, whose now-leaderless subjects now steal vegetables for food. He is voiced by Charles Martinet in Super Mario Advance.

[edit] Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha, known as Boss Packun (ボスパックン Bosu Pakkun?) in Japan,[12] first appears as the primary boss of Bianco Hills in Super Mario Sunshine. He has appeared as a boss in later games as well such as in Super Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, New Super Mario Bros., and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[13] He also acts as a playable character in spin-off Mario games like Mario sports games and in Mario Kart Double Dash!!.

Petey is a larger, much more powerful version of a Piranha Plant, which is the result of mutation. Whereas normal Piranha Plants usually grow from pipes, Petey's leaves and roots have grown into foot-like and arm-like appendages. He can also use his leaves to fly around in the air. Furthermore, Petey sports a pair of white-spotted red briefs. Although Petey does not speak, he does make some growling, drooling and licking noises, which translate into actual speech. Petey frequently vomits out mud-like Earth Goop, a substance similar to that of Shadow Mario's Paintbrush, which can make the ground slippery and sometimes generate more goop-based monsters.

[edit] Raphael the Raven

Raphael the Raven, also known as Raphael Raven, is large version of the Raven species of enemies in the Yoshi series. He first appears in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island as the boss character, who is a regular Raven enlarged by Kamek. He also appears in Tetris Attack as a boss that be rescued from Kamek's spell, and Paper Mario as a leader of tribe of Ravens on Lavalava island.

[edit] Tryclyde

Tryclyde (ガブチョ Gabucho?) is an enemy character that appears in Super Mario Bros. 2. Tryclyde is a large, red serpent with three heads and the ability to breathe fire. Tryclyde serves as Wart's lackey, and was apparently an outsider before Wart took him in due to his cunning and evil nature.[14] He was also a semi-regularly recurring villain in the animated series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show and a member of the semi-competent Koopa Pack. He was voiced by Harvey Atkin in the television show and by Charles Martinet in Super Mario Advance.

[edit] Tatanga

Tatanga the Mysterious Spaceman (宇宙怪人タタンガ Uchū Kaijin Tatanga?) appears as the final boss in Super Mario Land, where he kidnaps Princess Daisy of Sarasaland. He fights in a war robot called Pagosu (パゴス?) while Mario attempts to shoot him down from his Sky Pop airplane. Tatanga also appears in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the guardian of the Space Zone coin. Since then, Tatanga has remained largely obscure. Tatanga also appeared in the Game Boy comic books, published by Valiant as part of the Nintendo Comics System in 1990. There, in addition to an obvious change in his appearance, he had taken control of an estranged human from New Jersey by the name of Herman Smirch.

[edit] Wart

Wart (マムー Mamū?) plays the role of final boss in Super Mario Bros. 2, and Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, the game that it is derived from. Wart is a fat toad-like creature, with a crown on his head and a robe that can scarcely conceal his big belly. He is voiced by Charles Martinet in Super Mario Advance. Wart appears in the comics "Cloud Nine" and "Tanooki Suits Me" published for the Nintendo Comics System, his character design resembling a crocodile rather than a frog in the former story. Wart also appeared in book six of the Nintendo Adventure Books, titled Doors to Doom. There, though, he appeared as a skateboarder who ended up helping the Mario Bros. during their current plight.

[edit] Waluigi

Waluigiワルイージ (Waruīji?) is a character created by Camelot's Fumihide Aoki and is voiced by Charles Martinet. At first, he only appeared in the spin-off Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games and party games, as opposed to the main platformer titles. He is the same age as Luigi[15] and is his biggest rival and counterpart to Wario, Mario's nemesis. Waluigi has a mean attitude and is usually a bad loser, often throwing a fit if his opponent makes even a small amount of progress. Waluigi has a hat and gloves with an inverted L ( Γ ), which is similar to Wario's "W", an inverted "M".

Waluigi's first appearance was in the Mario Tennis games for the Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64, as Wario's doubles partner. Later, along with Princess Daisy, he joined the Mario Party series's roster in Mario Party 3 where he plays an important role, in which he owns an island full of hearts. He has been a playable character in many entries in the series since, as well as various Mario sports and Kart games. He acts as an antagonist in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, in which he wreaks havoc in the Mushroom Kingdom by stealing special objects called the Music Keys in order to hypnotize the world with his dancing, thus enabling him to conquer it.

[edit] Sometimes protagonists, sometimes antagonists

[edit] Birdo

Birdo, known in Japan as Catherine (キャサリン Kyasarin?), is an ally to Mario and playable character in various games. Birdo first appeared in the Japanese game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and the remade Super Mario Bros. 2 as a recurring boss. Birdo later appeared in Wario's Woods as an ally of Toad, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars as a boss character, and in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, as a boss paired with the thief Popple. Birdo made its first playable appearance in the Nintendo 64 installment of Mario Tennis, as Yoshi's partner. Since then, Birdo appears as a playable character in several Mario sports titles and in the Mario Party series. In the intro of Mario Superstar Baseball, it is seen on Mario's team but as a substitue player.

Birdo's distinguishing characteristic is its gaping tubular snout, which can shoot eggs, as well as fireballs on occasion. Birdo is most frequently depicted as pink, although various colored Birdos are also seen in Super Mario Bros. 2 and other games. Birdo's gender has changed throughout various American games, but Birdo has remained male in Japan. The Japanese Wikipedia states "While It's appearance, speech and general behavior would have you believe that it's a woman, it is, in actuality, a male transvestite." when translated [16]. In the original manual for Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo is referred to as male that believes he is female, and would liked to be called Birdetta.[17] Most later American games, such as the Mario sports titles, which have featured Birdo with a diamond ring, have listed Birdo as a female.[citation needed]

[edit] Wario

Main article: Wario

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Princess Daisy's trophy description: After her appearance in Mario Golf, some gossips started portraying him as Luigi's answer to Peach's Mario. HAL Laboratories. Super Smash Bros. Melee. Nintendo. Gamecube. (in English). (2001-12-03)
  2. ^ Scribes - August 25, 1999 (Wayback. “As far as I know, 'our' DK is the son of Cranky, which does indeed make him the original DK Jr. all grown up: so if you see Cranky referred to as DK's granddad anywhere, just cover your eyes and hum loudly until it goes away.)”
  3. ^ Inside Zelda, Nintendo Power, Nintendo, March 2006. vol. 201, pp. 46-8.
  4. ^ Sheff, David (1993). Game Over. Random House. ISBN 0-679-40469-4. 
  5. ^ Bowser Jr. Profile. IGN Entertainment. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  6. ^ The Fish That Should've Gotten Away, Nintendo Comics System, Valiant Comics, April 1991, Vol. 1, pg. 1-2.
  7. ^ Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo, 1988, manual, pg. 27
  8. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3, Nintendo, 1990, manual, pg. 3 & 5
  9. ^ Super Mario Bros. 3, Nintendo, 1990, manual, pg. 4
  10. ^ Pam Sather, Scott Pelland, et al., Mario Mania Player’s Guide, Nintendo Power, 1991. ISBN 0-45-049606-6 Copy at:Shigeru Miyamoto interview. Retrieved on May, 1991.
  11. ^ Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo, 1988, manual, pg. 27
  12. ^ MARIO KART - Double Dash!! The strongest character lineup of history. Nintendo. Retrieved on 2008-07-06.
  13. ^ Smash Bros. DOJO http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/gamemode/modea/modea04.html, HAL Laboratories, Nintendo, August 24, 2007.
  14. ^ Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo, 1988, manual, pg. 27
  15. ^ Waluigi's trophy description, Super Smash Bros. Melee, HAL Laboratories, Nintendo GameCube, 2001
  16. ^ http://www.geocities.com/megamanxtreme/catherinewiki.jpg
  17. ^ [1988] Super Mario Bros. 2 manual. Nintendo, pp. 27. “He thinks he's a girl and he'd rather be called Birdetta” 

[edit] External links

[[Image:|32x28px]] Nintendo Portal