Super Mario Bros. is one of the most popular and successful video game franchises in history. The loveable Mario is perhaps more recognizable than most cartoon characters today. We’ve grown up with him and gone on his adventures, hopping from Goomba to green pipe in an effort to save the princess. Despite being in countless numbers of video games, Mario refuses to lose appeal with players and only seems to grow in popularity with each new release. So, what’s so great about this Mario world and his friends? Here are 25 Crazy Facts About Mario Characters You Probably Didn’t Know
Chain Chomps came out of a traumatic childhood event.
When Shigeru Miyamoto was a child, he had a traumatic event where he was chased by a dog. Fortunately, the dog was pulled back from biting him by the chain attached to its collar. Miyamoto used this as inspiration for the chain chomps.
Mario was originally going to be an action hero.
Rather than wielding fire and super invincibility, Mario was originally going to ride rockets and have laser guns.
Birdo is actually a guy.
In the original Super Mario Bros. 2 booklet, it says “He thinks he is a girl, and he spits eggs from his mouth. He’d rather be called Birdetta.”
Luigi means "Similar" in Japanese.
Luigi is pronounced “ruiji” in Japanese which means “Similar.” Of course, in the game, he’s the younger brother of Mario and looks pretty much identical to him until later versions in which he’s taller and slimmer.
Wario's first appearance was Super Mario Land 2.
In the Game Boy game Super Mario Land 2, Mario didn’t battle his usual hero Bowser but instead took on a new villain, Wario. It was Wario’s first appearance in a Mario game.
Wart showed up in a Zelda game.
Wart first appeared in the video game Super Mario Bros. 2 as the main antagonist. He makes a few casual cameos in some other Mario games but not many. Surprisingly, he shows up in the Game Boy game, Zelda: Link’s Awakening. However, he’s not an antagonist.
Princess Daisy is princess of Sarasaland.
While Princess Peach rules over the Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland is ruled by Princess Daisy and makes her first appearance in Super Mario Land.
Mario is dying on the Super Mario Bros. cover.
If you take a second look at the original cover for Super Mario Bros., you might notice that Mario actually is dying. The lava is below him and the bricks are in his way. He’s tumbling to his death. Game over.
Peach has appeared in more games than any female in video game history.
Being in the Mario world since 1985, Princess Peach has continued to show up time and again becoming a staple for the Mario universe. She has appeared in over sixty titles.
Peach was also on Forbes wealthiest fictional people list.
Not only has she been in a ton of video games, she made the Forbes list of wealthiest fictional people. They estimated her overall wealth at $1.3 billion.
Mario was originally a carpenter.
Though we all know and love him as the plumber who goes in and out of large green pipes, in the very first Mario game, his occupation is a carpenter.
Super Mario Bros. 2 defined Luigi’s character.
Originally, Luigi was just a copy of Mario with green clothes instead of red. However, in Super Mario Bros. 2 that all changed as they made him taller and gave him the ability to jump higher than Mario.
Bowser becomes a good guy in Super Mario RPG.
In order to defeat Smithy in Super Mario RPG, Bowser teams up with Mario and the gang instead of battling against them, a big turn for the villain who primarily was Mario’s main antagonist.
The enemy Boo is based on the creator's wife.
In Super Mario 64, the ghost Boo will shrink whenever Mario looks at it but grow larger whenever he turns away. The creator Takashi Tezuka based this off of his wife, who would be quiet when he paid attention to her but grow angry when he focused too much on his work.
Boo's laugh is also Bowser's laugh sped up.
Also, in Super Mario 64, Boo’s high pitched laugh is really just Bowser’s laugh sped up super fast.
Mario was named after the Nintendo office landlord.
In the early days of Nintendo, they named their jumping carpenter character after their landlord Mario Segale. Segale also happens to be an avid duck hunter.
The Masked Ghoul is a reference to Jason Voorhees.
The Masked Ghoul in Super Mario Land 2 is a reference to Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th films.
Waluigi was created for Mario Tennis.
Making his first appearance on Mario Tennis 64, Waluigi was created out of necessity when Wario didn’t have a tennis partner. Of course, his name is a combination of Wario and Luigi.
Luigi plays the violin.
In WarioWare: Smooth Movies, Luigi plays a mean violin and even shares his name with famed composer Luigi Boccherini.
The Goombas were originally intended to be Koopa Troopas.
As the legend goes, the Koopa Troopas were considered too difficult and the developers needed to create an easier starting opponent. So, the Goomba was born and, of course, is the first baddie you face in the first Super Mario Bros.
Toad is both a single character and the collective name of the “Mushroom People."
First appearing in Super Mario Bros., Toad is one of seven guards that serve Princess Peach. Toad both represents the single character but also the entire “Mushroom People.”
Bowser has appeared in over 150 video games.
Sometimes the villain can be just as iconic if not more so than the hero, and this is certainly true of Bowser. He’s become so indispensable to the Mario canon, he’s been in 150 of their video games.
Mario was originally called Jumpman.
When Mario appeared in the original Donkey Kong game, his name was actually Jumpman.
Yoshi had strange unused transformations in Yoshi’s Island.
In Yoshi’s Island, Yoshi could transform into various things like a plane or submarine. However, some ROM hackers discovered there were other unused transformations as well, including a mushroom and a tree.
The Starman was the first Mario power-up to have eyes.
Everyone knows about the magical star you can get in Super Mario Bros that lets you become temporarily invincible and fast, killing all the baddies in your wake. Well, apparently, it’s also the first Mario power-up to have eyes.
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