Super Mario (franchise)/Characters/Mario and Friends

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A list of characters that describes Mario and his various allies from across the Mushroom Kingdom.

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Super Mario Bros

The Super Mario Bros are the protagonists of the series, as the name implies. Mario is the everyman, all-around hero, while Luigi is the quirky, cowardly, and much more developed sidekick. Together, they fight Bowser (or whatever threat comes their way), utilizing power-up items and their own natural abilities.

Tropes that apply to both of the Mario Brothers:

• Airplane Arms: They've dashed this way in the 2D games since Super Mario Bros 3 in order to facilitate their flight power-ups.
• Almighty Plumber: And how!
• Badass: Think about it, two plumbers who, for the most part, only utilize pure athleticism in order to level entire Badass Armies in 1-4 man wars in order to save Peach. Just imagine the body count (even with the fact that most of their enemies survive) both of them have racked up in all of the games (Mario moreso, but Luigi's no slouch either) which also include Eldritch Abominations whenever applicable.
  • Badass Adorable
  • Badass Cape: The Cape powerup in Super Mario World.
  • Badass Moustache: Back then, it was tough to draw a mouth on an 8-bit sprite, so he was instead given his iconic moustache.
    • It doubles as a stat in the Mario & Luigi sideseries: the more badass your mustache is, the better chances you have to land a critical hit, and the better discounts you can get in shops!
• Balloon Belly: Literally with the P-Balloon and with Mario's flower ability in 64 DS
• Bare-Fisted Monk: While they usually use hammers or magic; the two are perfectly capable of fighting like this, and will do so.
• Bash Brothers: The villains continuously make the mistake of fighting both at once.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Luigi especially.
• Big Eater: Mario loves to eat pasta, and, according to Super Mario Sunshine, tropical seafood. In the Super Mario Adventures comic, Luigi constantly talks about food and was really eager to eat a giant slice of cheese in the middle of a ghost house.
• Blue Eyes: Except in the old TV shows, where Luigi has Green Eyes.
• Brains and Brawn: Invoked in the manual to Mario Party, which describes Luigi as the brains, and Mario as the brawn.
• Brought to You by The Letter "S": Their caps both have the first letter of their name.
• Catch Phrase:
  • Both:
    • "Lets-a-go!"
    • "Here we go!"
    • "Thank you so much for playing my game!"
    • "Mamamia!"
  • Mario:
    • "It's-a-me, Mario!"
    • "Wahoo!"
    • "Here I go!"
    • "Mario's number one!"
  • Luigi:
    • "Okiedokie!" Whenever you hear Mario say "Let's-a-go!" in the Mario & Luigi series, you will hear Luigi reply with this, whether he actually does or not.
    • "Mario!"
    • "Go Luigi!"
    • "A-wawawawawawawawawah!"
    • "Waah!"
    • "Yay for me, Luigi!"
• Chosen One: A lot. Most interestingling, in Super Paper Mario, Mario's the chosen hero of light, while Luigi is the chosen host of ultimate destruction, and the one who makes the choice determining the fate of all worlds.
• Clothes Make the Superman: Their special powerups, most notably Super Mario 3's Frog, Tanuki, and Hammer Suits, which allow them to swim faster, fly, and throw hammers, respectively. Also their hats in several games.
• The Determinator: Mario's only real personality traits are his kindness and simply not stopping for anything to save the world. Luigi may be scared, but if you threaten his friends, he becomes even more unstoppable than Mario.
• Early Installment Weirdness / Art Evolution
  • Mario's always had the same basic character design, but the coloration of his outfit and hair was in flux until Super Mario Bros. 2. For example, do you remember when Mario wore a blue hat?
  • Early installments had Luigi (even in official art!) as a white-and green Palette Swap of Mario, or wearing red. His voice can also be an example of this: In the N64 to early Game Cube days, it fluctuated between higher in pitch than Mario to a voice that's lower in pitch than the voice he sports nowadays. His current voice debuted in Mario Kart 64, and it wasn't made the standard until after Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Super Smash Bros Melee.
• Elemental Powers: Courtesy of the various powerups found around the Mushroom Kingdom.
  • An Ice Person: with an Ice Flower, they gets literally made of ice in Galaxy, and they shoot iceballs in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: with a Rock Mushroom, they can roll over enemies as a boulder. To an extent, the Tanooki Suit (when one of them turns into a statue) and Galaxy 2's drill.
  • Playing with Fire: with a Fire Flower, this is their most commonly used power. Sometimes even without a Fire Flower.
    • Fireballs: Provides the page image.
  • In the Mario & Luigi series, as well as some other games, Luigi gets lightning based powers to compliment Mario's fire-based ones.
• Everything's Better with Spinning: They do quite a bit of spinning. For example, there's the Spin Jump, the Star Spin, and the Cape spin.
• Flying Brick: Except with flight replaced by extraordinary jumping ability.
• Goomba Stomp: Their main method of defeating their enemies.
• Gratuitous Italian
• Ground Pound
• Heroic Mime: Mostly Mario, though Luigi is one from time to time. Sometimes they utter Italian Simlish in the Mario & Luigi series.
• Heterosexual Life Partners: Well, they're brothers, but still.
• Improbable Weapon User: In the old cartoons, you'll see them using wrenches, plumber's snakes, plungers, and pieces of pipe as weapons.
• Jack of All Stats: Mario was the former Trope Namer for a reason.
  • Mario Exceptions:
    • Unskilled but Strong: Mario Golf
    • Glass Cannon: Mario & Luigi
  • Luigi Exceptions:
    • Lightning Bruiser: Frequently, his only weakness is his traction.
    • Fragile Speedster: Super Mario 64 DS.
    • Stone Wall: Mario & Luigi
    • Weak but Skilled: Mario Golf
• The Messiah: Both are portrayed this way, especially when they're working together.
• Multiple Choice Past: Mario's birth is described in four different ways, and none of them are normal. In addition, where they grew up is either various locations on Earth (usually Brooklyn), or the Mushroom Kingdom, and there are multiple variations on how they got to the Mushroom Kingdom from Earth.
• Nice Hat: Thanks to how hard it was to draw hair on an 8-bit sprites back then, Mario was instead given a hat, and Luigi started out as a Palette Swap
  • His hat also plays a vital gameplay role in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. In the former, if Mario has his hat blown off or stolen, he takes more damage without the hat on and in the latter, Mario takes damage being exposed to the intense sunlight (unless he is in the shade) without his hat.
• One-Man Army: Though they usually work together as a two man army, each can be this on their own.
• Only One Name: Officially, Mario's name is simply Mario, and Luigi's is just Luigi. But in the American-made Super Mario Brothers film, his name was Mario Mario, making Luigi's name Luigi Mario. This has been widely embraced as Fanon, but Jossed by Shigeru Miyamoto, who says that they are called the Mario Bros. simply because Mario is the frontman of the pair.
• Power Creep, Power Seep: Like you wouldn't believe. They can be anywhere from normal guys who jump good to extremely overpowered Flying Bricks minus the actual flying.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Mario is the Red Oni: agressive, competitive, and reckless; while Luigi is the Blue: calm, thoughtful, and cautious.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: To an extent. Mario is always the aggressive go-getter, while Luigi is more prudent, often to the point of cowardice.
• Signature Move: Their Jumping of course. Fireballs as well. Lampshaded in Super Mario RPG and Mario & Luigi where NPC characters recognize Mario on sight when he jumps.
• Stock Super Powers
  • In a Single Bound: Mario's jumping abilities are legendary, and Luigi's are even better. Though, Mario seems to be somewhat more coordinated than Luigi, since in Super Mario Galaxy, he does a front flip in his triple jump, while Luigi just kicks his feet to go upwards.
    • Unless it's the DS version of Super Mario 64.
  • Super Speed: Both can run up walls and outpace a soundwave, even without the help of the secret Pixl Dashell. Luigi's also the only character who can run on water without the help of a powerup.
  • Super Strength: You see Mario displaying his strength more often, but Luigi's just as strong.
• Swiss Army Hero: They have many forms that the many Power Ups give them. Which powerups those are depends on the game.
• Talking to Himself: Charles Martinet voices Mario, Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, and Toadsworth (as well as their younger (if not, baby) selves)!
• Wall Jump: One of their abilities as of Super Mario 64. It originated out of a glitch in the original Super Mario Bros.
• Weapon of Choice: Hammers in Donkey Kong, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, and Mario & Luigi.
• Underestimating Badassery: They're on the receiving end of this frequently.

Mario

It's-a me, Mario!

"Life is a game, kid! It all depends on how you play!" Debut: Donkey Kong

The Hero; a short, pudgy Italian plumber and inhabitant of the Mushroom Kingdom. He is primarily charged with saving the perpetually Damsel in Distress, Princess Peach, from the clutches of Bowser and the Koopas. Since his debut in Donkey Kong in 1981, he's gone on to take many different professions, including golfer, tennis player, doctor, and go-kart racer.

Mario doesn't have much of a personality, aside from a cheerful get-up-and-go attitude; he's primarily a silent protagonist through which the player gets to experience the game.

Tropes associated with Mario:

• Acrofatic: Shigeru Miyamoto recently explained that his chubbiness is the result of games back in the 80's only being able to register collisions with squares. Doesn't stop him from pulling off all sorts of acrobatic feats.
• Arch Enemy: Bowser
• Badass in Distress: Four times: Mario Is Missing (which is safely forgettable), Luigis Mansion, Super Mario 64 DS, and Super Princess Peach. Not to mention several minor incidents in the Mario & Luigi series.
• Berserk Button: Just... Don't threaten to hurt his friends. Especially his brother. He REALLY doesn't take it well.
• Blood Knight: Sorta. Just listening to him in the 3D games makes it obvious he's enjoying himself as he traverses dangerous terrain, dodges obstacles, and battles all sorts of monsters, in comparison to Luigi's more serious tone while doing so. He's also known to be rather competitive.
• Captain Obvious: "All toastuz toast toast."
  • Actually, they toast bread. Toasting toast would probably give you burnt toast.
• Celibate Hero
• Chick Magnet: Most definitely this in the Paper Mario series. In fact, every female playable character in The Thousand-Year Door kisses him at least once.
• Chrome Champion: Metal Mario.
• Dance Sensation: "Do the Mario!"
• Elemental Powers: See the folder for both brothers for powers shared with Luigi.
  • Extra Ore Dinary: Metal Mario in Super Mario 64.
  • Making a Splash: F.L.U.D.D.
  • Playing with Fire: Firehand in Superstar Saga, the Fire Orb series of spells in Super Mario RPG, and various special moves in sports spinoffs.
• The Everyman: The producers say that they have intentionally kept his characterization minimal to make him versatile and able to be put in many situations.
• Famed in Story
• Flat Character: He's been intentionally kept flat so that he can be anything.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Sure, Mario and Bowser are mortal enemies, but that doesn't stop them from playing games together every once in a while.
• The Hero
• Hope Bringer: He is considered to be a symbol of hope and liberty for the Mushroom Kingdom.
• Humble Hero: Originally, but that changed as games got more sophisticated.
• Ideal Hero: In every game he is in, he is always an ideal hero, which comes with being The Everyman.
• I Have-a Many Names: Some call him Jumpman, or The Great Gonzales, or Butterball, or New Bee, or Hero of Legend.
• Implied Love Interest: Princess Peach.
• It's All About Me: At first, he was a Humble Hero, but Mario has been falling in this role more and more with more sophisticated games. He takes losing badly, sees no problem with stealing someone's food and nonchalantly telling them he did so, and generally treats Luigi badly (though it's really not any worse than your typical big brother teasing).
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: If this interview for Mario Sports Mix is anything to believe, Mario can be a bit of a dick when it comes to his popularity. This also shows up in Fortune Street and the Paper Mario series (if you want him to be). If there's one thing for sure, though, he's always got the world's best interests first and foremost, not to mention he does show there that he genuinely cares about all the friends he shares his adventures with.
• Keet: In modern games, he happily whoops and squeals with every step. Even if he's jumping across boiling lava pits. Contrast with Luigi, who has a more serious tone.
• Narcissist: In recent games.
• Platonic Life Partners: According to Luigi, this is what his relationship with Peach is.
• Required Spinoff Crossover: Has made cameo appearances in both Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
• Showy Invincible Hero: We all know he will win, but dear God, it's fun to watch him win.
• Stout Strength: Not as much as Wario, but this guy can spin around Bowser by the tail.
• Suddenly Voiced: in Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Also gives a ten minute long press conference for Mario Sports Mix.
• Title Scream: He does it in many games.
• Tohru Furuya: Provided the first-ever spoken voice for Mario in The Great Mission To Rescue Princess Peach OVA. Surprised?
• Trademark Favorite Food: Pasta. To be precise, Spaghetti Bolognese with alfredo sauce and meatballs. Also, toast in YouTube Poop, thanks to Hotel Mario.
• Vocal Dissonance: Mario's voice seems to go perma-falsetto when he's excited, and otherwise regularly breaks between his falsetto register and his lower tenor register. This is especially noticeable when contrasted to Luigi's more consistently tenor voice that never goes falsetto.
  • And then there's that faux-boyish voice that's something of a low tenor given to him in The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! movie courtesy of Tohru Furuya.

Luigi

Yay for me, Luigi!

"I wanna be a great plumber like my brother Mario." Debut: Mario Bros.

Mario's taller, marginally younger, and not-quite-as-famous twin brother. Eventually got his own proper game in Luigis Mansion. Unlike Mario, Luigi is more of a reluctant (read: cowardly) hero who would rather stay at home than save the world, but he still always pulls through in the end. Luigi is often paired off with Princess Daisy (especially by Shippers).

Tropes associated with Luigi that aren't shared with Mario:

• Adorkable
• Ambiguously Gay: His mannerisms are occasionally Camped-up, most egregiously in Super Smash Bros.. Melee. Also: Gay Luigi?
  • The ambiguity drops to dangerously low levels when he encounters Prince Peasely. Luigi actually gets a heart over his head when Peasely pokes him in the back with a rapier.
  • Although, he did seem pretty much madly in love with Princess Eclair in the second Paper Mario game, as well as hints of having a crush on Rosalina in Galaxy, and Daisy in the spinoffs and a few non-game depictions, leading him into Bi the Way territory.
• Apocalypse Maiden: In Super Paper Mario.
• Attractive Bent Gender: Twice. Once in Superstar Saga, and once in the old Super Mario Adventures comic. Inverted off-screen in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where his Bob-omb partner Jerry only follows him to keep him from going in a dress again.
• Badass Arm-Fold: As a victory pose. While grinning.
• Balloon Belly
• Berserk Button: Don't make fun of the 'stache, don't call him a pushover, and never hurt his friends.
• Brother Chuck/Demoted to Extra: Semi-example--after Super Mario World in 1991, Luigi more or less dropped off the face of the planet aside from small cameos or supporting appearances in multiplayer games like Mario Kart or Mario Party till Luigis Mansion in 2001, and didn't appear as a playable character in any main series games or RPGs until Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga in 2003 and New Super Mario Bros. in 2006--basically he was stuck in Comic Book Limbo for nearly a decade. He was, however, in Mario Is Missing, which most fans don't want to remember.
  • Breakout Character: Despite this setback, Nintendo seems to have caught onto his popularity; every main series game since New Super Mario Bros. features him as a playable character in some capacity (often as a Secret Character of some sort), side series frequently feature him prominently (Super Paper Mario, the Mario & Luigi series, and Luigis Mansion being notable examples), and he often gets major roles in cutscenes of the sports spinoffs. Despite being the poster boy of neglected sidekicks, he is still one of the most prominent characters in the series.
• Brilliant but Lazy: Luigi's pretty laid-back most of the time, but proves to be incredibly intelligent when he actually applies himself, even showing shades of being a Gadgeteer Genius.
• Butt Monkey: A comic series is devoted to him being one!
• Characterization Marches On: Some games have him be reluctant; other games, like in the Paper Mario, he's pretty eager for adventure and doesn't like to stick at home. He seems to be leaning towards the second a bit more though, even chasing down a spaceship that Mario's on by himself (Literally. He chases it down without a spaceship of his own.)
• The Chew Toy: Hilariously.
• The Chick: At least on the chess board where he is the Queen.
• Confusion Fu: His more powerful abilities, such as the Negative Zone, tend to be random.
• Cowardly Lion: Can easily become The Determinator if you threaten his friends.
• Cowardly Sidekick
• Dark Is Not Evil: Three recent games have given Luigi a place as an evil entity in an ancient text, a dark secret from his past, and the power to create a void of nothingness said to come from the darkness in his heart, respectively. He's not a villain outside of fanfiction just yet.
  • The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time has a Mythology Gag where there are two characters, Talon and Ingo, who resemble Mario and Luigi. "Mario" owns a ranch, but is lazy and spends most of the time napping. "Luigi" does most of the work, but "Mario" gets all of the credit. "Luigi" grows bitter after spending all of his time in "Mario"'s shadow and eventually sides with Ganon to overthrow "Mario".
• Deadpan Snarker: In Luigis Mansion and the cartoons.
• Desperately Craves Affection: A variation. He doesn't crave affection so much as for people he's known for years to remember his name.
• Divergent Character Evolution: When he first started out, Luigi was nearly identical to his brother in every way. The game designers started to differentiate him in the U.S. version of Super Mario Bros. 2 with the floaty jump, and, as of Luigis Mansion has since started to take on a personality of his own, in contrast to Mario. A more cowardly one, but at least it's something. (Heck, the trope was originally called "Luigification"!)
  • His divergent character evolution actually began with the Japanese Super Mario 2, where he could jump higher than Mario but had terrible traction and slid around quite a bit.
    • Inverted in New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where he plays identically to Mario.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: You really shouldn't expect anybody to give Luigi credit for what he does. He's... Not exactly happy about this.
• Elemental Powers: Luigi has used pretty much element you can think of over the games. Even more than Mario.
  • Making a Splash: The Poltergust 3000's water power-up, as well as the Frog Suit to an extent.
  • An Ice Person: Galaxy's Ice Flower and the Poltergust 3000's - wait for it - ice power-up.
  • Blow You Away: The Tornado Ball and Tornado Swing in Super Sluggers. Inverted In Name Only with the Poltergust 3000's vacuum mode.
  • Shock and Awe: Thunderhand in Superstar Saga, along with his Super Strike in Strikers Charged.
  • Casting a Shadow/Soul Power/Pure Energy/Time Master/Gravity Master/Power of the Void: The Negative Zone is profoundly bizarre, and a source of minor Nightmare Fuel for some, but it's at least one of these.
    • Green Thumb: Plus, it puts the Lip's Stick flowers on people's heads sometimes.
• Garfunkel: Despite being the one with "famous" in the etymology of his name, Luigi is generally referred to as being "in his brother's shadow".
• Gadgeteer Genius: Especially as Mr. L, but shows a bit of this when he isn't fulfilling the "Lazy" in Brilliant but Lazy
• Happy Dance: Happens frequently, especially in Mario & Luigi. In some games, it turns into happy breakdancing.
• Hidden Depths: Hinted at during Partners in Time by way of an apparent Noodle Incident.
  • And his Final Smash trophy in Super Smash Bros.., which clearly states that the Negative Zone is "a reflection of The Dark Side he embraced in his brother's shadow."
• The Lancer: He acts as the cowardly foil and trusted brother companion to Mario.
• Lightning Bruiser
• Lovable Coward: as of Luigis Mansion.
• Miles Gloriosus: Portrayed this way in the Paper Mario series. In the second game, he tells Mario of his adventures in the Waffle Kingdom, but the accounts of his partners reveal him as cowardly and a bit clumsy. However, his stories are mostly true: He really did save the day, he just did it in a more clumsy way than he says.
• Neat Freak: Revealed as such in Luigi's Mansion.
• Nice Guy: One of the friendliest, most open characters in the entire cast.
• The Other Darrin: In Mario Party 1 and 2 and the Japanese version of Mario Kart 64 he's voiced by a French man called Julien Bardakoff. His take on Luigi is completely different from Martinet's. You can hear him here.
• The Pollyana: Luigi exhibits a rather unique variation of this trope. He's optimistic about everything... Except his own abilities, where his insecurities lie.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: "Mister L."
• Rounded Character: Probably the only one in the series. Apparent even as far back as Mario Party 3, when he was the ONLY character who wasn't defined by one personality trait.
• Secret Character: In the recent platform games most of the time, due to his Lightning Bruiser tendencies. He is also one of only two characters to attend all the games in the Super Smash Bros. series as a secret fighter.
• The So-Called Coward
• Spring Jump: His Signature Move in a number of spin-offs and Super Paper Mario.
• Unskilled but Strong: He's frequently shown to be an even stronger jumper than Mario, but he lacks his brother's control and coordination. However, this only applies to his coordination, see Weak but Skilled.
• Weak but Skilled: He's usually portrayed as somewhat weaker physically than Mario, but his skills are more diverse and powerful than Mario's.
• Willfully Weak: He's more powerful than Mario, but lacks the control and confidence to use his full potential. He can also jump much higher than he normally lets on.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Luigi has a fear of ghosts.

Princess Peach Toadstool

Oh, did I win?

"Listen, everybody, let's bake a delicious cake... ...for Mario..." Debut: Super Mario Bros

Originally named Princess Toadstool in America, she is the crown princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario's main love interest. She gets kidnapped frequently by Bowser in the main Super Mario Bros. games, but proves herself to be very skilled in sports. Though she's often the Damsel in Distress, there are times she will get up and do something herself (such as in Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario RPG, and her own game, Super Princess Peach).

Tropes associated with Peach:

• Achilles' Heel: Word of God says it's cake.
• Action Girl: In Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Princess Peach, Super Mario 3D World, Super Paper Mario, and Super Mario RPG.
  • She's no slouch in Super Smash Bros., or the Paper Mario games either. One wonders why she's so easy to kidnap when she can fend for herself so formidably. Distress Ball, perhaps?
  • In a Nintendo Power comic run in the days of the Super NES, until Bowser brainwashed her Peach was pretty much the hero of the story. While the Mario Brothers were characterized as happy-go-lucky bumblers, Peach was a Badass Damsel. She charged down a warp pipe after Bowser when he attacked her kingdom, and once she got captured the first time she rescued herself' from the Koopalings by flying out of their tower on a cape, then broke back in with Luigi and Yoshi to rescue Mario when he got kidnapped.
• Ambiguously Human: Her race is frequently debated. As far as we know, she's a native of the Mushroom Kingdom, but in Super Mario RPG, she has a "grandma" that's a Toad.
• Baby Got Back: Emphasized more in the sports games and especially Smash Bros, in the former she either flaunts her buttocks in thongs or short shorts where in the latter she can use her ass as a means of attacking.
• Badass Princess: Can be this at times.
  • Badass in Distress: Yet she can also be this.
  • Badass Adorable
• Bare Your Midriff: In the Strikers games, where she wears a belly shirt in her soccer outfit.
• Barrier Maiden: In the RPG's.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Peach is the blonde, Pauline is the brunette, and Daisy is the redhead.
  • Funnily enough, Peach herself has been all three over the years due to the limited color pallete on the NES.
• Blue Eyes: To show her kindness.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: In Mario Golf for the N64, whenever she makes a bad shot she says, "Mama mia!"
  • She also says that in Super Mario Advance when she loses a life.
• Cloudcuckoolander: She shows this at times, most especially during The Subspace Emissary.
• A Day in the Limelight: The entire point of Super Princess Peach.
• Deadpan Snarker: Is shown to be this in Super Paper Mario.
• Damsel in Distress: All too often, except for Super Princess Peach, where she is the main character, while Mario gets to be in James Bondage. Frequently lampshaded in the RPGs.
• The Ditz: Was originally a more generic princess but became this is later games.
• Dub Name Change: America originally called her Princess Toadstool. Later, Super Mario 64 and later games would call her Peach, making Toadstool her last name.
  • Oddly enough, one episode of the Super Mario Bros Super Show has her say "Princess P. to the rescue!"
• Ermine Cape Effect
• Everything's Better with Princesses
• Fragile Speedster: In the racing and sports games.
  • Inversely, she's a Mighty Glacier in Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario 3D World, being the slowest of the four characters (it must be hard to run fast in a Pimped-Out Dress).
• Girly Run: In SSBB.
• Heart Beat-Down: Tends to be associated with attacks that involve hearts in the sports games and Smash Bros.
• Hair of Gold
• 100% Adoration Rating: She's loved so dearly by her subjects that it's not uncommon for them to have sets of Princess Peach merchandise in their homes.
• Implied Love Interest: To Mario and vice versa.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Constantly described as this.
• Informed Attribute: Her ability to govern, as noted in the tropes below. May have something to do with Conservation of Detail, since she gets kidnapped often and talking is boring.
• The Messiah: Shown this way especially in the RPGs, where she shows no ill will to anyone, even villains.
• Ms. Fanservice: In the spinoff games she tends to wear outfits that put her in this territory, especially in the Strikers games.
• Only Sane Man: In "Super Smash Bros.. Brawl"
• Opera Gloves: With the exception of Super Mario Sunshine and the sports games.
• The Other Darrin: Peach had a much lower voice in Super Mario 64 and the non-Japanese versions of Mario Kart 64. Her original voice was recently brought back in Super Mario 64 DS, complete with newly recorded lines for the ending to take the added playable characters into account... and then she's back to her high voice for the subsequent games.
• Parasol of Pain
• Parasol of Prettiness
• Parasol Parachute
• Pimped-Out Dress: Moreso in Super Smash Bros.. Melee, Brawl, and the fourth game/s.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: We've seen her do exactly two actual acts of government in the past 25 years. Though there are plenty of meetings shown in the RPGs, they either get interrupted or were trivial to begin with.
  • Funnily enough, Mario&Luigi reveals a bit of the economic state of the Mushroom Kingdom... which is not good. Specifically their coins are rather low value per coins compared to the Bean Bean Kingdom's. Then again, this is a country where they have a university specifically for Tennis, go-kart races in the streets, and get invaded and ransacked twice a month.
• Platonic Life Partners: According to Luigi, this is her relationship with Mario.
• Power Creep, Power Seep: She ranges from a Damsel in Distress to an effective Lady of War depending on the game.
• Princesses Prefer Pink: She's the present page picture proper.
• Princess Classic: Parodied, especially in the Paper Mario series.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: In Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Princess Peach.
• Spoiled Sweet: Has her castle, her kingdom, and her pretty dresses. She is not the Alpha Bitch, though.
• Statuesque Stunner: She seems to be at least six feet tall.
• Super Empowering: In Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World.
• Supreme Baker: An oft-referenced ability of hers is her ability to bake cakes.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly girl to Daisy's tomboy.
• Trademark Favorite Food: She is associated with cakes.

The Toads

Mario! Is the princess OK?

"Thank you Mario. But our princess is in another castle!"

Peach's many loyal subjects; the primary inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom. "Toad" is both the name of this race of people, and of a single character within this race. Toads in general are peaceful but steadfast, with a jolly demeanor. Notable Toads include:

• Toad: One of Peach's advisors called the "Mushroom Retainers". Confirmed to be the leader of the Toad Brigade. Debut: Super Mario Bros.
• Toadette: Either Toad's friend or sister, treated as a star among the Toads. Debut: Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
• Toadsworth: Peach's aged steward and right-hand fungus. Debut: Super Mario Sunshine
• The Toad Brigade: Red, Blue, Purple, Green, and Yellow; five adventurous Toads who help out Mario; possibly the same Toads from Super Mario Sunshine. The tie-in trading cards for Super Mario Galaxy 2 confirm that the Red Toad is the Toad. Debut: Super Mario Galaxy
• Blue Toad and Yellow Toad: A pair of brave Toads who leap to Mario and Luigi's side to save the Princess. Debut: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Tropes associated with the Toads:

• Always Lawful Good
• The Big Guy: Green Toad in the Toad Brigade.
• The Chick: Yellow Toad in the Toad Brigade.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Toadsworth has been absent from mainline titles since Super Mario Galaxy, though he still appears in spin-offs.
• Distaff Counterpart: Toadette.
• Girlish Pigtails: Toadette has part of her mushroom top shaped like pigtails.
• Guards Must Be Crazy: The games don't even pretend that they can protect the kingdom anymore.
• The Hero: Red Toad in the Toad Brigade.
• Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Almost all male Toads look alike, with the exception of Toadsworth.
• The Lancer: Purple Toad in the Toad Brigade.
• Lightning Bruiser: Toad was the fastest runner and fastest grabber in Super Mario Bros. 2, but he was held back by a poor jump.
• Lovable Coward: Toad is utterly worthless in dangerous situations, but cute enough to get away with it.
• No Name Given: The Blue and Yellow Toads, but see Fanon and Word of God.
• Old Retainer: Toadsworth.
• Pink Means Feminine: Toadette
• Punny Name: In the Paper Mario games, the Toads all have names like Zest T. and the like. May cross with Species Surname.
• Redshirt Army
• Ridiculously Cute Critter
• The Smart Guy: Blue Toad in the Toad Brigade.
• Species Of Mushroom Headpieces
• Word of God: The nicknames the developers gave the Blue and Yellow Toads are Buckenberry and Alagold, respectively.

Yoshi

Yoshi!

"I know! We should team up! Come on! Hop on my back!" Debut: Super Mario World

A reptile-like creature who hails from Yoshi's Island. Like Toad above, there is "Yoshi" (singular), and the race of Yoshis (plural). They often serve as mounts for Mario and his friends.

Tropes associated with Yoshi:

• A Day in the Limelight: Yoshi's Island and all related games.
• Always Lawful Good: Except for Boshi in Super Mario RPG, who is more of a bully anyway. All Yoshis encountered in the games are friendly.
• Baby Talk: In the cartoon.
• Balloon Belly
• Big Eater
• Black Hole Belly
• Dinosaurs Are Dragons: It flip-flops whether Yoshis are dragons or dinos.
• Double Jump: Since Yoshi's Island, all members of the species have the ability to "Flutter Jump", which means it kicks rapidly in midair to gain additional height.
• Everything's Better with Dinosaurs
• Extreme Omnivore
• Fan Nickname: Stupid freakin' Horse
• Ground Pound: Trope Namer
• Horse of a Different Color: Many different colors, in fact...
• Killer Rabbit
• No Biological Sex: Yoshis are neither male nor female, and can reproduce asexually.
• Non-Human Sidekick
• One-Gender Race: See No Biological Sex above.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Very different, as they can't breathe fire normally and have an overly-cute appearance.
• Overly Long Tongue
• Species Of Hats
• Powerup Mount
• Ridiculously Cute Critter
• Super Drowning Skills: Yoshis that live on Isle Delfino die on contact with water.
• Super Speed: He gains this whenever he eats a Dash Pepper in Super Mario Galaxy 2.
• Variable Mix: In any game where he can be ridden, there will always be a drum beat added to the music when he's mounted.
• The Voiceless: He has spoken English in Super Mario World, yet all we get are drum beats & Baby Talk.

Princess Daisy

Hi, I'm Daisy!

"Yo, this is Princess Daisy. You're listening to Super Mario Compact Disco. Kick it!" Debut: Super Mario Land

Daisy made her first appearance in the Game Boy game Super Mario Land as Princess Peach's analogue in Sarasaland. Though she hasn't appeared in a main, storyline game since her debut, Daisy pops up frequently in the Mario Sports and Mario Party titles. She is friends with Princess Peach and has been believed to be romantically involved with Luigi.

Tropes associated with Daisy:

• American Accents: Tomboyish slang and sometimes even ghetto slang.
• Ascended Extra: Originally considered Peach's look-alike, she now has her own set of recognizable traits.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Peach is the blonde, Pauline is the brunette, and Daisy is the redhead.
• Dishing Out Dirt: She appears to have some level of control over crystals.
• Damsel in Distress: Super Mario Land only.
  • Badass Damsel: In Mario Party 3, Bowser attempts to get in everyone's way before the Beauty Star Stamp battle. What does Daisy do in response? She slaps him so hard he goes flying and becomes a Twinkle in The Sky. And people wonder why Bowser goes only for Peach...
• Expy: Started out as this for Peach, but has since changed into a very different character.
• Fiery Redhead
• Flower Motifs
  • Elemental Powers
    • Green Thumb
    • Petal Power
  • Meaningful Name
  • Pimped-Out Dress
• Heroes Want Redheads: Luigi is confirmed to have a crush on her, though he doesn't appear to have any intention to act on it.
• Informed Attribute: Her tomboyishness in some games, such as Mario Party 3, where her whole character revolves around her pride of being "the fairest of them all."
• Jack of All Stats: Interesting in that she is usually a specialty character; but her specialty is different for each activity.
• Odd Friendship: Daisy is officially good friends with Mario as well as Birdo.
  • Although her friendship with Mario might not seem odd at first, when you consider her debut appearance showed her in a romantic situation with him, and then you remember now she is his brother's strongly hinted love-interest, as well as his not-love-interest's best friend, it feels a little weird when you put all this together.
  • Daisy doesn't even have interactions with Yoshi, so how is it she became friends with the gender-defying Birdo ever since their first playable appearances together in Mario Tennis? Possibly a connection to Pair The Spares as listed below.
    • She doesn't need to know her boyfriend in order to be friends with her.
• Pair the Spares: Obviously Luigi, and at times Waluigi.
• Requisite Royal Regalia
• Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful: In Mario Party 3: "When it comes to beauty, there's no denying Daisy is fairest of all! There's no need to battle."
• The Rival: Daisy might give Peach much-needed female companionship, but just as the most likely reason they are even friends, the same reasoning is applied to any moments the two rival one-another in spin-off games.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Peach's girly girl.
  • Cute Bruiser
  • Genki Girl
  • One of the Boys
  • Shorttank
  • Tomboy Princess
• What Beautiful Eyes!
  • Blue Eyes

Professor Elvin Gadd

"Tonight I'll make an old family recipe. Pickled dandelions with barnacles in a diesel marinade!" Debut: Luigis Mansion

Elvin Gadd is a friendly, absentminded scientist who helps the Mario Bros. with his many inventions, including the FLUDD pack (Super Mario Sunshine) and Luigi's Poltergust 3000 Ghost vacuum (Luigis Mansion). He also has smaller roles in a lot of the RPG titles, providing backup with even more inventions. His name in the Japanese version of the games is "Oya Ma" ("Oh my!").

Tropes associated with the Professor:

• Absent-Minded Professor'
• Cool Old Guy
• Gadgeteer Genius
• Miniature Senior Citizens
• Mission Control
• Nerd Glasses
• The Professor
• Punny Name: E. Gadd
• Speaking Simlish: "Siki-siki! Medabe!"
• Techno Babble
• What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: He treats some inventions this way (such as the espresso machine in Mario & Luigi)

Princess Rosalina

"These star people are my family... They mean so much to me." Debut: Super Mario Galaxy

Once, Rosalina was a young girl living on the Mushroom World, but she found an old spaceship with a Luma (a living star-person) inside. Together, they traveled across the universe, and as she grew older, to fill the void left by the loss of her mother, Rosalina adopted the Lumas as her own children. She built the Comet Observatory to travel the space lanes and keep them safe, and returns to check up on her planet of birth once a century. She aided Mario during Bowser's ill-fated attempt at conquering space. In Japan, her name is Rosetta.

Tropes associated with Rosalina:

• Barrier Maiden
• Big Good: In Super Mario Galaxy 1.
• Blue Eyes
• Demoted to Extra: She only shows up at the ending of Super Mario Galaxy 2.
  • She's also not seen in any of the spinoffs besides the latest two Mario Kart games.
• Everything's Better with Princesses: It isn't clear exactly what dominion she is princess of, yet Nintendo stuck the title on her anyway.
  • Of the Lumas, obviously. Or space.
• Queen Of All Cosmos: Nobody's quite sure how powerful Rosalina is, but she seems to enjoy racing in go-karts and motorcycles and making fat plumbers do her dirty work.
• Glacier Waif: In Mario Kart Wii, she's classified as a heavyweight despite being approximately the same size as Peach.
• Hidden Depths: Despite her elegant, soft-spoken manner, Mario Kart Wii reveals that Rosalina has a passion for motorcycles.
• The High Queen
• Missing Mom
• Mystical Waif
• The Other Darrin: In both Galaxy games and in Mario Kart Wii, Rosalina was voiced by Mercedes Rose, but from Mario Kart 7 onwards, she is instead voiced by Kerri Kane.
• Peek-a-Bangs
• Power Echoes: In Mario Kart Wii, at least.
• Power Floats
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: She may look only a little older than Peach, but she's mentioned that her real age is at least in the realm of centuries. (Though since she travels at faster-than-light speeds in the Comet Observatory, maybe she's just moved through time faster than everyone else thanks to the theory of relativity...)
• What Could Have Been: Word of God states that there were plans to make her related to Peach, but that idea was dropped.

The Lumas

Debut: Super Mario Galaxy

These star-shaped childlike creatures are found throughout the universe, but mainly reside in the Comet Observatory, where they acknowledge Rosalina as their "mama". They are eventually destined to transform into various objects, from Power Stars to small planetoids to entire galaxies.

Notable Lumas:

• Luma: A silver-peach colored Luma who gives Mario the ability to Star Spin. He is the first Luma that Mario meets
• Polari: A Black Luma who acts as Rosalina's main assistant in caring for the Lumas.
• Lubba: A large purple Luma who builds Starship Mario and acts as the Lumas' leader in Super Mario Galaxy 2.
• Lumalee: A light blue Luma who runs the Luma Shop, where Mario can buy a Life Mushroom or a 1-Up. She transforms into whatever Mario chooses for him to eat, but she continuously improves.
• Co-star Luma: In Super Mario Galaxy 2, a second player could take control of an orange Luma that follows Mario around and can attack enemies and deliver items to him.

Tropes applying to the Lumas:

• Big Eater: Hungry Lumas must be fed many Star Bits to get them to transform.
• Color Coded for Your Convenience: The generic Lumas have various purposes according to their color.
  • Yellow: Transforms into Sling Stars or Launch Stars
  • Blue: Transforms into a chain of Pull Stars
  • Red: Guards the Red Star, which gives Mario the ability to fly
  • Green: Guardians of the Trial Galaxies, they transform to launch Mario into them.
• Deadpan Snarker: Lubba
• Happily Adopted: The Lumas have this opinion of Rosalina.
• Heroic Sacrifice: All Lumas throw themselves into the black hole in Bowser's galaxy to neutralize it and recreate the universe
• Pungeon Master: Lubba
• Star-shaped Alien
• Super Empowering: Mario's Luma gives him the ability to Star Spin.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Star Bits
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Lumas have the ability to transform into various objects, from useful items to planets and galaxies. See Color Coded for Your Convenience.

Pauline

Debut: Donkey Kong

Mario's first girlfriend and a celebrity of some sort. Many years ago, Pauline was kidnapped by Donkey Kong, but Mario rescued her in his very first adventure. Her current relationship with Mario is unclear, though they remain good friends. Although Donkey Kong still causes trouble for her from time to time, she holds no hard feelings for the big ape.

Tropes associated with Pauline:

• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Peach is the blonde, Pauline is the brunette, and Daisy is the redhead.
• Blue Eyes/Gray Eyes: Halfway between.
• Demoted to Extra: Poor Pauline got hit by this hard over the years - while she made a few appearances in The Eighties, her appearances became a lot more rare afterwards. In fact, she was pretty much a Brother Chuck in the main series after Donkey Kong, and she gets occasional appearances in spin-off games.
• Damsel in Distress
• Lady in Red

Mini Marios

Debut: Mario vs. Donkey Kong

A group of friendly little Mario-shaped robots created by the Mario Toy Company. The Mini Marios are popular toys that Mario has also used to help him in some of his adventures. There are also Mini Peaches, Mini Toads, Mini Donkey Kongs, and Mini Paulines.

Tropes associated with the Mini Marios:

• Drop the Hammer: They can dual wield them.
• One-Hit-Point Wonder
• Redshirt Army
• Robot Buddy
• Robot Me

NPCs (debuting in Super Mario 64)

Bob-omb Buddy

These friendly pink bombs are not as hotheaded as the "normal" Bob-ombs and will help Mario with cannons and locating red coins.

Tropes associated with Bob-omb Buddies:

• Color Coded for Your Convenience
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much

Dorrie

A large sea monster who helps Mario reach otherwise difficult areas.

Tropes associated with Dorrie:

• Gentle Giant
• Stock Ness Monster
• Powerup Mount: Despite appearing in a game with Yoshi, Dorrie is more or less one of these.

Headless Snowman

"I need a good head on my shoulders."

A snowman without a head. If you help him, he will gratefully give you a star.

Hoot

An tired owl who will give Mario a ride around whatever areas he can be found in. Handy for getting places quickly.

Tropes associated with Hoot:

• Video Game Flight
• Powerup Mount: Again, more or less.

Koopa the Quick

An outgoing Koopa Troopa who lives to race. If Mario defeats him, the Koopa will reward the hero with a star.

Tropes associated with Koopa the Quick:

• Giant Mook: Subverted as you can't kill him, nor will he try to attack you.
  • Except in Little Island, where you can get to squish him when you get larger there.
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much
• Racing Mini Game

Lakitu Bros.

"For now, reporting live, this has been the Lakitu Bros. "

The cameramen (cameraturtles?) who film the whole adventure.

Tropes associated with the Lakitu Bros:

• Camera Screw
• My Species Doth Protest Too Much

Penguins

Several penguins are featured in the game---a baby named Tuxie, his mother, a penguin that races you (for a star, of course), and another baby. If Mario finds the lost Tuxie, he receives (you guessed it!) a star. Another Penguin appears in Snowman's Land, who may or may not be one of the aforementioned characters.

Tropes associated with the penguins:

• Everything's Better with Penguins
• Fetch Quest: Find Tuxie!
• No Name Given: Tuxie is the only one named.
• Racing Mini Game
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Despite being annoying, Tuxie and the other baby are quite adorable.
• Video Game Cruelty Potential: Yes, you can drop Tuxie off a cliff.
• You All Look Familiar: Played for Laughs, Tuxie's mother knows which one her baby is, despite both baby penguins looking exactly alike.

NPCs (debuting in Super Mario Sunshine

Piantas

A race of large, fruitlike natives to Isle Delfino.

Tropes associated with the Piantas:

• Amazing Technicolor Population
• City Guards: A pair of cops who mostly stand around and yell at you.
• Invulnerable Civilians: Subverted, they can sink in goop and need to be rescued.
• Kangaroo Court: Their trial for Mario makes almost no sense, and they hardly have any evidence!
• Recurring Traveler: A few Piantas appear in different areas. Justified, since they all live on the island.
• Redundant Researcher: Played with, a Pianta professor serves as a Mr. Exposition to Mario and gives him some info on the Sand Bird...which then flies away before said professor can do any research on it.
• Suddenly Voiced: Inverted. In Sunshine, they all spoke in full dialogue, but in Galaxy 2 and in the spinoffs, they communicate with Voice Grunting instead.

Nokis

A smaller, gentler race of shellike people.

• Foil: While the Piantas are big, stupid and lazy, the Nokis are small, smart and active.

Il Piantissamo

A mysterious man who is disguised as a Pianta who challenges Mario to races across the island.

Tropes associated with Il Piantissamo:

• Expy: He provides the same function as Koopa the Quick.
  • When looked underneath his mask, Piantissamo looks identical to the Running Man, but with darker skin.
• Racing Mini Game

Sunflowers

A group of friendly flowers who were briefly plagued by Snooze-a-Koopas until Mario saved them. They are naturally cheerful and will provide coins if watered.

• Ridiculously Cute Critter
• Sunny Sunflower Disposition: Naturally!