Mario (Japanese: マリオ)/mɑːrioʊ/ is a character created by the Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the Mario franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario is an Italianplumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Their adventures generally center on rescuing Princess Peach from the villain Bowser while using power-ups that give them different abilities.
Mario first appeared as the player character of Donkey Kong (1981), a platform game. Miyamoto wanted to use Popeye as the protagonist, but when he could not gain the licensing rights, he created Mario instead. The graphical limitations of arcade hardware influenced Mario's design, such as his large nose, mustache, and overalls. Miyamoto expected the character to be unpopular and planned to use him for cameo appearances. Originally called "Mr. Video" and "Jumpman," he was renamed Mario after Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segale. After Donkey Kong, Mario starred in Mario Bros. (1983). Its 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System sequel, Super Mario Bros., began the successful Super Mario series. Charles Martinet voiced Mario from 1991 to 2023, when he was succeeded by Kevin Afghani.
An established pop culture icon, Mario is widely considered the most famous video game character in history. He has appeared in a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectible items, and people and places have been nicknamed after him. He has also inspired a considerable amount of unofficial media.
^"Donkey Kong Cereal". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
^ abcdefghijklmn"Mario Voices (Super Mario Bros.)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Super Mario Bros Ice Capades". YouTube. Game Informer. Retrieved February 21, 2021. Mario's voiced by Henry Corden, who took over voicing Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed passed away.
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