Super Mario (franchise): Difference between revisions

The sequel, ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', recast the carpenter, now explicitly named Mario, as the antagonist, from whom the captured Donkey Kong must be rescued. Mario's name and nationality came from the landlord of Minoru Arakawa, the president of Nintendo of America at the time. Said landlord's name was [[wikipedia:Mario Segale|Mario Segale]], and he hailed from Italy. Arakawa thought Jumpman looked exactly like him; thus, Jumpman became Mario.

 

 

All this led to the game which more or less defined the entire [[Nintendo]] product line: ''Super Mario Bros.'' The story, which would recur countless times through the franchise, was simple enough: Bowser, a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|giant fire-breathing turtle dragon ox dinosaur]] and King of the Koopas, kidnaps Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom (who would later revert to her Japanese name, Peach). Mario and Luigi must fight their way through a number of obstacles to face Bowser and rescue the princess. The formula has become codified to the point that the deliberate and highlighted trope subversions in spinoffs have themselves become tropes.

 

=== Super Mario Bros. (Classic 2D) ===

* ''[[Super Mario Bros. (video game)|Super Mario Bros]].'' ([[NES]])

* ''[[Super Mario Bros the Lost Levels|Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]'' ([[Famicom Disk System]])

* ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' ([[NES]])

=== Super Mario Land (Game Boy 2D) ===

* ''[[Super Mario Land]]'' ([[Game Boy]])

* ''[[Wario Land]]: Super Mario Land 3'' ([[Game Boy]]; series converts to ''[[Wario Land]]'' from here)

 

* ''Super Mario All-Stars'' ([[Compilation Rerelease]] of all four NES games, later versions had ''[[Super Mario World (video game)|Super Mario World]]''; on [[SNES]] and later ported to [[Wii]] as a [[Milestone Celebration]])

* ''Super Mario Bros. Deluxe'' ([[Game Boy Color]]; includes ''Super Mario Bros.'' and ''The Lost Levels'')

** ''Super Mario Advance'' (remake of ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'')

** ''Super Mario Advance 2: [[Super Mario World (video game)|Super Mario World]]''

* ''Yoshi'' ([[NES]] and [[Game Boy]])

* ''Yoshi's Cookie'' ([[NES]] and [[SNES]])

 

=== Roleplaying Games ===

** ''[[Mario Strikers|Mario Strikers Charged]]'' ([[Wii]])

* ''Mario Hoops 3-On-3'' (basketball, for [[Nintendo DS]])

* ''[[Mario Sports Mix]]'' ([[Wii]]; includes volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, and hockey)

 

* ''[[Wario Ware]]'' series ([[GBA]] and onward)

* ''[[Luigi's Mansion]]'' ([[Game Cube]])

* ''[[Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix]]'' ([[Game Cube]])

 

* [[Almighty Janitor|Almighty Plumber]]

* [[Alternate Universe]]: The Mushroom World is an alternate version of Earth.

* [[Ambiguously Brown]]: Morton Koopa Jr. is darker brown compared to his siblings, who look much more like their father.

* [[And Now You Must Marry Me]]: Frequently this is Bowser's motivation for kidnapping Peach.

* [[Annoying Laugh]]: Boos let out a grating, high-pitched cackle when they chase Mario.

* [[Arch Enemy]]: Bowser and Mario are each other's.

** And Mario is also Wario's, though he swerves between this and [[The Rival]].

* [[Badly-Battered Babysitter]]: Yoshi's role in the first ''[[Yoshi's Island]]'' game.

* [[Ballistic Bone]]: Thrown by Dry Bones, most notably in ''[[Super Mario World (video game)|Super Mario World]]'' and ''[[Paper Mario (franchise)|Paper Mario]]''.

* [[Bat Family Crossover]]: Done in the spinoffs with ''[[Donkey Kong Country (video game)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' and, to a lesser extent, ''[[Wario Ware]]'', to the point where Baby Donkey Kong was a major character in ''[[Yoshi's Island|Yoshi's Island DS]]''.

* [[Big Bad]]: Bowser plays this role in most games, though some other games have different big bads.

** SMB's running on the top of the screen was essentially breaking the 4th wall.

* [[Breath Weapon]]: Bowser's trademark and most often used attack.

* [[Brother Chuck]]: Wart, the Big Bad from ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]''. Somewhat justified in that Subcon was a dream world. Emphasis on "somewhat" as Subcon natives like [[Canon Immigrant|Shy Guys and Bob-ombs]] continue to exist.

** Tatanga, another platformer [[Big Bad]] unrelated to Bowser, appeared in two games and, like Wart, some obscure comics... then he disappeared (though its possible he may have died in ''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'').

*** Though none are actual named Final Fantasy characters. They're based on classic races and classes: White Mage, Black Mage, Ninja, Cactuar and Moogle

*** Continued in Mario Sports Mix. All the Final Fantasy based characters return and a Slime from the ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' series joins the cast

** ''Idataki Street DS'' & ''Fortune Street'': ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and the ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' series.

** ''[[Basketball|NBA]] Street V3'' and ''SSX On Tour'': ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and ''[[Electronic Arts|EA Sports BIG]]''.

** The first time they've appeared in years, mind you.

* [[Depending on the Writer]]: The sentience of Bob-ombs, as well as their ability to regenerate from explosives.

* [[Digital Piracy Is Evil]]: Mario guest stars in one [[Stylistic Suck|quirky]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plrcDeDa7LQ anti-piracy advertisement.]

* [[Dinosaurs Are Dragons]]: Yoshi, a fire-breathing, flying dragon that has some markedly dinosaur-like features.

** The Super Mario World cartoon series and movie also had a lot to do with dinosaurs.

* [[Everything's Better with Penguins]]: Since ''[[Super Mario 64]]'', penguins have regularly appeared as Mario's friends.

** Averted, however, with 1995's ''[[Yoshi's Island]]'', in which penguins are frustrating platforming elements in an already frustrating [[Slippy-Slidey Ice World|ice world]].

* [[Everything's Better with Princesses]]: Peach is just the start.

::: and

{{quote|"I'll ''Bowserize'' it!"}}

** Aside from Bowser, many of the villains who originated from the spin-offs and RPGs fill in this spot. Cackletta and Fawful in particular take it [[Up to Eleven]] (though one could say that [[Fountain of Memes|Fawful]] takes it Up To Twelve).

* [[Law of One Hundred]]: The ''Bros.'' series and coins.

* [[Pacifist Run]]: It is possible to get through the original Super Mario Bros. without directly attacking ''any'' enemy.

* [[Painfully-Slow Projectile]]: Bullet Bills.

* [[Pair the Spares]]: Back in the day, Peach also blew kisses to Luigi, as he was just a [[Palette Swap]] of his brother. Mario also was said to be romantically involved with almost any princess he meets in a given adventure (notably Daisy). Years passed, and with Mario and Peach being appointed as the [[Official Couple]] in many games, now and then some games like to hint Luigi and Daisy being at least interested in each other, even though they never had a main adventure to reinforce this; given Luigi's [[Divergent Character Evolution|development]] to [[Lovable Coward]] and Daisy's more apparent portrayal as a [[Tomboy]], they are pretty much presented as a [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy]] example.

** In ''Open Tournament Golf'', Daisy caddied for Luigi just as Peach did for Mario.

* [[Power-Up Food]]: Mushrooms, mushrooms, and more mushrooms.

** Though it's never specified what Mario does with them, the various flowers (fire, ice) may also qualify.

** ''[[Mario Party]] 8'' has candies that, when eaten, gives the player different abilities, such as zapping opponents with lightning or stealing other players' items.

* [[Power-Up Motif]]: The most common is the [[Invincibility Power-Up]] theme but in many games, there are others too.

* [[Tomboy Princess]]: Daisy is described as a tomboy within the series, although Peach has moments of this as well.

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Princess Peach has been kidnappped by Bowser countless times. If it weren't for Mario, she'd probably be married to him or killed by him, depending on [[Your Mileage May Vary|whatever his intention is]].

* [[Trapped in Another World]]: Mario and Luigi are clearly Italian, and are said to have grown up in Brooklyn. It's not brought up often in the games, and when it is, it's quite minor, but it is still there.

* [[Traveling Pipe Bulge]]: In several of the recent games (but not the NES or SNES games).

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[[Category:Video Game Long Runners]]

[[Category:Trope Overdosed]]

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[[Category:Franchises]]

[[Category:Nintendo]]