Mario
Mario | |
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Artwork of Mario and Cappy for Super Mario Odyssey | |
First appearance | Donkey Kong (1981) |
Latest appearance | Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (2022) |
Created by | Shigeru Miyamoto |
Full name | Mario Mario |
Species | Human |
Gender | Male |
Residence | Mushroom Kingdom |
Occupation | Plumber |
Affiliation(s) | Luigi, Princess Peach, and many others |
Aliases | Several, usually recurring power-up forms such as Fire Mario |
Mario is the main character and titular protagonist of the long-running Mario franchise as well as the mascot of Nintendo. Depicted as a short, pudgy, Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario's adventures are generally centered around rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser. Mario's fraternal twin brother is Luigi.
Mario first appeared as the player character of the 1981 arcade title Donkey Kong. It was originally meant to star Popeye characters, with Popeye being the main protagonist, but when Nintendo could not achieve the licensing rights, Mario was created to be used as the character instead. Miyamoto expected the character to be unpopular and planned to use him for cameo appearances; originally called "Mr. Video," he was renamed to Mario after Mario Segale, one of Nintendo of America's former landlords.
While Mario is widely recognized as being the star of the Mario franchise, his debut appearance, Donkey Kong, is actually a title within the Donkey Kong franchise. The first title of the Mario franchise is the Game & Watch game Mario Bros., which was also the debut appearance of Mario's brother Luigi. Mario then began to star in the Super Mario series of platforming titles, with the introduction of Super Mario Bros. in 1985.
After Super Mario Bros., Mario, and by extension the Mario franchise, began to branch off to different genres, including puzzle games such as Dr. Mario, role-playing games such as Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, and sports games such as Mario Kart and Mario Tennis. Mario has appeared in other Nintendo properties, most notably the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games. Mario has also appeared in various animations, including three series produced by DIC Entertainment (voiced by Lou Albano and later Walker Boone). Since 1992, Mario has been voiced by Charles Martinet in most media. In the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, he was voiced by Bob Hoskins, and about 30 years later, Chris Pratt was cast as the voice of Mario for the animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Mario has appeared in over 200 games, more than any other video game character, and his likeness has appeared in a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectible items. Mario is near-unanimously considered to be the most famous character in the video game industry, which is supported by how the Mario franchise has sold over 500 million units worldwide, and is the bestselling video game franchise of all time.[1]
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario.
Names in other languages
- Main article: List of Mario names in other languages
Language | Name | Meaning |
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Japanese | マリオ Mario 救助マン (Donkey Kong) Kyūjo Man |
Mario Rescue Man |
Chinese (simplified) | 马力欧 Mǎlìōu |
Mario. The Simplified Chinese name is chosen by Shigeru Miyamoto and used by iQue, Nintendo's former subsidiary in mainland China[2] (even after the Simplified Chinese names for many characters have been changed to the same as the Traditional Chinese variants since Mario Tennis Aces), despite the popular unofficial name 马里奥 Mǎlǐào.[3] |
Chinese (traditional) | 瑪利歐 Mǎlìōu |
Mario. This Traditional Chinese name is used by Nintendo in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Its Simplified form, 玛利欧, was used by Mani (万信), Nintendo's former sale agency in mainland China before iQue.[4] |
Dutch | Mario |
- |
German | Mario |
- |
Greek | Μάριο Mario |
- |
Hebrew | מריו Mario |
- |
Italian | Mario |
- |
Korean | 마리오 Mario |
Mario |
Polish | Mario |
- |
Portuguese | Mario |
- |
Russian | Марио Mario |
Mario |
Spanish | Mario |
- |
References
- ^ Fraser, Mick (December 26, 2016). "The 10 best-selling video game franchises ever". Red Bull (archive.is). Retrieved October 25, 2022.
- ^ From an interview of iQue staff: "A:先提醒一下,宫本茂先生认为这位大胡子水管工的中文名称是马力欧,请大家尊重原创者的意见哈~" (A: First, Mr. Miyamoto thinks that the mustache'd plumber should be named "Mǎlìōu" in Chinese; please respect the original creator :) Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ "不过由于「马里奥」在中国大陆由来已久,目前,中国大陆方面的通用译名为「马里奥」。" (But because the name Mali'ao has existed in mainland China for a long time, it is in wide use there now.) ~ Mandarin Wikipedia contributors. "马里奥 (角色)". Mandarin Wikipedia. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ aquariuslegend (January 23, 2017). 万信国行初代GB 任天堂 GAME BOY 开箱. Chiphell. Retrieved February 5, 2017.