Super Mario (franchise): Difference between revisions

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{{quote| ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}ZhadLMDWcGA It's-a me! Mario!]''}}

Undoubtedly the most recognizable video game franchise of all time, and centerpiece of [[Nintendo (Creator)|Nintendo]]'s gaming empire. It was created by [[Shigeru Miyamoto (Creator)|Shigeru Miyamoto]], and popularized the [[Platform Game]].

The story of the Mario Brothers begins not in their own game, but in ''[[Donkey Kong (Video Game)|Donkey Kong]]''. In that game, a carpenter (curiously named [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Jumpman]]) was charged to rescue the beautiful Pauline from a rampaging ape.

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 [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Segale:Mario Segale|Mario Segale]], and he hailed from Italy. Arakawa thought Jumpman looked exactly like him; thus, Jumpman became Mario.

Mario was joined by his brother, Luigi, for their own game, ''[[Mario Bros (Video Game)|Mario Bros.]]'', in which the brothers, having taken up plumbing, fought an infinite number of turtles and other menaces issuedissuing from a number of pipes.

Since then, Mario has become Nintendo's [[Mascot]] and their most prolific character, branching out from platformers into [[Mario Kart (Video Game)|racing games]], sports titles, [[Super Mario RPG (Video Game)|Role]] [[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Playing]] [[Mario and& Luigi (Video Game)|games]], and more. Along the way, he's picked up more friends like his dinosaur buddy Yoshi and [[Anti -Hero]] Twin Wario, who along with Luigi and Peach have spun off successful games of their own.

Of course, Mario hasn't completely limited himself to the realm of video games. Mario and Luigi appeared in the ''[[Super Mario Bros Super Show]]'', with live-action linking segments featuring the brothers as plumbers in Brooklyn and cartoons that showed them in the world of the games. The secondary [[Theme Song]] for the cartoons explains that they "found the secret warp zone while working on the drain" which is how they got to the Mushroom Kingdom from Brooklyn. Interestingly, none of the television show is technically 'canon', inasmuch as the games have that anyway, though it has affected some [[Fanon]]. This might be related to the irony that there's never been a show made of it in the country of origin, aside from the obscure theatrical anime ''[[The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach]]''. There was also a [[Video Game Movies Suck|critically-panned]] [[Super Mario Bros. (Filmfilm)|motion picture]], where Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the titular brothers faced off against Dennis Hopper as Koopa, a hyperevolved dinosaur from [[Another Dimension]], intent on rejoining his own, mostly desolate world with ours. We were all confused, and the movie's [[Backstory]] has never been even obliquely referenced in other media. In addition, ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' was notable for being previewed in the Fred Savage film ''[[The Wizard (Filmfilm)|The Wizard]]'', whose climactic scene involved an autistic child playing the first stage of the game. A far [[Truer to the Text]] animated film, ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]'', was released in 2023.

In addition to the major games, Mario has appeared in dozens of other [[Nintendo]] games, including a random appearance as referee in ''Mike Tyson's [[Punch -Out!!]]'' and as a painting in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: aA Link Toto Thethe Past]]'' and has appeared on every Nintendo platform (except the Pokémon Mini and Color TV Game), including the ill-fated Virtual Boy (in ''Mario's Tennis'' and ''Mario Clash'').

=== '''<big>The series has contributed the following games: ===</big>'''

==== MainSuper SeriesMario Bros. (Classic 2D) ====

* "''[[DonkeySuper KongMario 94 (Video Game)|Donkey Kong 94Land]]''" (official title just ''Donkey Kong'') ([[Game Boy]])

* ''[[Super Mario VSLand Donkey2: Kong6 Golden Coins]]'' series ([[GBAGame Boy]] and onward)

=== New Super Mario Bros. (ClassicModern 2D) ===

* ''[[Super Mario Bros (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros64]].'' ([[NESNintendo 64]])

* ''[[Super Mario Bros. SpecialSunshine]]'' ([[PCGame 88|NEC-PC8801Cube]], Sharp X1)

* ''[[Super Mario Bros the Lost Levels (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros.: The Lost LevelsGalaxy]]'' ([[Famicom Disk SystemWii]])

* ''[[Super Mario Bros 2 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros.Galaxy 2]]'' ([[NESWii]])

* ''[[Super Mario Bros3D 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros. 3Land]]'' ([[NESNintendo 3DS]])

* ''[[Super Mario LandAll-Stars'' 2([[Compilation SixRerelease]] Goldenof Coinsall four NES games, later versions had ''[[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario LandWorld]]''; 2on Six[[SNES]] Goldenand Coinslater ported to [[Wii]]'' (as a [[GameMilestone BoyCelebration]])

* ''Super Mario Advance'' series ([[Game Boy Advance]]; remakes of various games, all four with the ''[[Mario Bros (Video Game)|Mario Bros.]]'' arcade game included)

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

** ''Super Mario Advance 2: [[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario World]]''

** ''Super Mario Advance 3: [[Yoshis Island (Video Game)|YoshisYoshi's Island]]''

** ''Super Mario Advance 4: [[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros 3]]''

==== Spinoffs ====

=== Roleplaying GamesSports ===

* ''[[Mario Tennis (Video Game)|Mario Tennis]]'' ([[Nintendo 64]] and [[Game Boy Color]])

* ''[[Mario Strikers (Video Game)|Super Mario Strikers]]'' (soccer, for [[Game Cube]])

* ''[[DonkeyHotel Kong Country (Video Game)|Donkey Kong CountryMario]]'' series ([[SNESPhilips CD-i]])

* ''[[WarioMario Land (Video Game)|Wario LandKart]]'' series ([[Game BoySNES]] and onward)

** ''[[Mario Is Missing (Video Game)|Mario Is Missing]]'' ([[NES]], [[SNES]], and [[PC]])

* ''[[MarioWario Party (Video Game)|Mario PartyWare]]'' series ([[Nintendo 64GBA]] and onward)

* ''[[WarioLuigi's Ware (Video Game)|Wario WareMansion]]'' series ([[GBAGame Cube]] and onward)

** ''[[LuigisLuigi's Mansion (Video2: Game)Dark Moon|Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon]]'' ([[GameNintendo Cube3DS]])

** ''[[Luigis Mansion 2 (Video Game)|Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon3]]'' ([[Nintendo 3DSSwitch]])

* ''[[Super Mario Bros Super ShowAdventures]]'': ClassicA live-actionserialized ''and''comic animatedloosely seriesbased fromon ''[[TheSuper EightiesMario World]],'' starringfor [[WWE|Captainthe Lou Albano]] as MarioSNES.

* ''[[Super MarioSmash Bros.]]'' (Fan[[Nintendo]] Games)|Fan[[Mascot GamesFighter]]; [[Nintendo 64]] and onward)

* ''[[FortuneItadaki Street (Video Game)|Fortune Street]]'' (aka ''Itadaki Street'' in Japan; [[Square Enix]] board game series, Mario and friends are featured in [[Nintendo DS]] (Japan only) and [[Wii]] versions)

* [[Big BoosBoo's Haunt]]

* [[Face Ship]]: Named from Lubba's [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] describing [[Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Video Game)|Starship Mario]].

* [[Go -Karting Withwith Bowser]]

* [[Jack of All Stats]] (formerly [[The Mario]]): The Mario character almost always has average stats, right across the board.

* [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle]] ([[Beam Me Up, Scotty|even if those aren't the exact words]])

* [[Aborted Arc]]: Throughout ''[[Super Princess Peach (Video Game)|Super Princess Peach]]'', there are little cutscenes that develop Perry's character a bit, showing that he was once a Toad turned into a parasol... this has absolutely no point beyond trivial [[Character Development]]. To put things in perspective, in the last of these, Perry says, entirely in parentheses, "Grandpa... I've decided to stay with the princess for a while. I have this feeling that if I accompany her on this adventure...someday...I'll find you, Grandpa..." This may or may not be a [[Sequel Hook]], depending on the nature of the games as a whole...

* [[Adorable Evil Minions]]: Pretty much every [[Mook]] in the series is [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|cute]] [[Ugly Cute|in]] [[Cute Monster|some]] [[Cute Little Fangs|way]] or another.

* [[Always Night]]: Every ghost house in ''[[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario World]]'', ''[[New Super Mario Bros (Video Game)|New Super Mario Bros.]]'' for DS and Wii and every haunted house stage in a spinoff (''[[LuigisLuigi's Mansion (Video Game)|Luigis Mansion]]'', being a haunted house ''game'', also counts). As well as Bowser's kingdom (Dark Land) in ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', [[Big BoosBoo's Haunt]] in [[Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|Super Mario 64]] and far too many more to list. Dark Land, in particular, is especially noteworthy for somehow managing to be [[Always Night]] DESPITE the sun's presence in one level.

* [[Appropriated Title]]: Early games in the series went under a variety of titles, the most well-known games being ''[[Donkey Kong (Video Game)|Donkey Kong]]'', ''[[Mario Bros (Video Game)|Mario Bros.]]'', and ''Wrecking Crew''. It wasn't until ''[[Super Mario Bros. (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario Bros]]'', the 15th unique game in the series (counting Game & Watch spin-offs), that the series finally got a definitive title.

** And the kings in ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', the queen Boo in ''[[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Paper Mario]]'', and actually a lot of others, too. Also, King Crocaus is kind of a subversion in ''Super Paper Mario'', as at first he seems evil but turns out good.

* [[Artifact Title]]: Super has [[Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|remained]] [[Super Mario Sunshine (Video Game)|in]] [[Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|games]] without "normal Mario" and "Super Mario" forms (or the Super NES, for that matter).

** Distinctively enough, most spinoffs don't use the "Super" before Mario's name, with the only possible exception being ''Super Mario Strikers'' (considering that the ''[[Mario Kart (Video Game)|Mario Kart]]'' games ditched it since the N64 version, making the Super NES game a case of [[Super Title 64 Advance]] instead), (which even then is known in Europe as ''Mario Smash Football'').

* [[Ascended Extra]]: Luigi started off as little more than a [[Palette Swap]] of Mario, and would you just [[LuigisLuigi's Mansion (Video Game)|look at him now]]. We're proud of you, buddy.

* [[Attack of the 50 -Foot Whatever]]: All of the bosses from the ''Yoshi's Island'' games.

** Also, the boss of World 4 in ''New Super Mario Bros.'' was a giant Goomba, and Giant World from ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' thrived on this trope, as it's... [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Giant World]].

* [[Audience Murmurs]]: The title screen for ''All-Stars''.

* [[Auto -Scrolling Level]]: Pops up here and there.

* [[Badass Abnormal]]: Mario and Luigi, with a little help from the Mushroom Kingdom's flora and fauna. In addition, [[YoshisYoshi's Island|Yoshi's Island DS's]] revelation that the two have extraordinary power gifted to them by the stars.

* [[Badly -Battered Babysitter]]: Yoshi's role in the first ''[[Yoshis Island (Video Game)|Yoshi's Island]]'' game.

* [[Ballistic Bone]]: Thrown by Dry Bones, most notably in ''[[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario World]]'' and ''[[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Paper Mario]]''.

** And by extent, Dry Bowser in ''[[New Super Mario Bros (Video Game)|New Super Mario Bros.]]''

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

* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|Breaking/]][[Leaning Onon the Fourth Wall|Leaning On/]][[Painting the Fourth Wall]]: Lots of it, especially in the RPGs. But special mention goes to ''New Super Mario Bros'', in which the [[Mooks]] "dance" to the stage music. This actually has an effect on gameplay, as you must adjust your timing when attacking the enemy.

** He's not the only one. Many other characters have Breath Weapons too, like the Reznor and Petey Piranha (who has goop breath). Also, all of his children share his fire breath, as shown by the Koopalings in [[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]. Bowser Jr. was once underdeveloped in this power, but has finally shown mastery of it in [[New Super Mario Bros Wii (Video Game)|New Super Mario Bros. Wii]].

* [[Brother Chuck]]: Wart, the Big Bad from ''[[Super Mario Bros 2 (Video Game)|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.

* [[Bubbly Clouds]]: World 5 in ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros. 3]]'' and some of the bonus stages.

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Later depictions of Luigi are rather harsh. Possibly in retaliation for ''Luigi's Mansion'', he has gotten captured by ghosts in ''Super Mario 64 DS'' and ''Galaxy'', depicted as a coward and stereotypically fey in ''[[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', completely ignorant and possibly a bit of a liar in ''Paper Mario 2'', [[Brainwashed]] to evil in ''Super Paper Mario'', and cowardly and ineffective in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|Super Mario Galaxy]]''. Even in the special unlocked part of ''Galaxy'' {{spoiler|where you play as Luigi, it's not really Luigi, but some kind of magical clone. Or is the other Luigi the clone?}}

** Subverted in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Brawl'', {{spoiler|in which Luigi is one of only three characters left to rescue all the others after they've been incapacitated by the final boss... if only because he was one of the first to get transformed into a trophy and recovered later because Dedede put one of his badges on him.}}

** Bowser is also a subject of mockery in the RPGs, where he had his own castle taken over in ''[[Super Mario RPG (Video Game)|Super Mario RPG]]'', failed at everything he tried in ''[[Paper Mario: theThe Thousand Year Door (Video Game)|Paper Mario the Thousand -Year Door]]'', lost his memory and was later {{spoiler|possessed}} in ''[[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', and is in general treated as a complete joke.

*** As in the ''Brawl'' example, this is subverted in ''[[Mario and& Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story (Video Game)|Mario and Luigi BowsersBowser's Inside Story]]'': The game does start with Bowser getting his routine beating from Mario, but due to complications in the plot, Bowser gets full reign of the world, handling the problems the Mushroom Kingdom is having with his own agenda, while Mario and Luigi are [[Womb Level|stuck inside Bowser's body]], but more or less up to their usual antics. Of course, Bowser has no idea the Mario Bros. are inside him, and they both unwittingly help each other out in various ways.

** When you really think about it, Luigi [https://web.archive.org/web/20080324002346/http://my.deviantart.com/messages/#/d38r826 doesn't have it that bad] compared to his brother.

* [[Clown Car Base]]: Bowser's Clown Copter in ''[[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario World]]''.

* [[Color -Coded Multiplayer]]

* [[Combo -Platter Powers]]

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Only on occasion, the most obvious one being Princess Peach's Castle, which seems to now have a mostly consistent design as of ''[[Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|Super Mario 64]]''.

* [[Crossover]]: [[Super Smash Bros.|Besides the obvious:]]

** ''Mario Hoops 3-On-3'': ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series.

** ''[[Mario and Sonic At The Olympic Games (Video Game)|Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'': ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series.

** ''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]]''.

** And of course, as mentioned before, the frequent [[Bat Family Crossover|Bat Family Crossovers]] with ''[[Donkey Kong Country (Videovideo Gamegame)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' and [[Wario Land (Video Game)|Wario's]] [[Wario Ware (Video Game)|games]] (and recently, the Miis that were first created from the [[Wii]]).

* [[Cowardly Sidekick]]: Luigi in the [[Di CDiC]] cartoons and various Post-''[[LuigisLuigi's Mansion (Video Game)|Luigis Mansion]]'' games. Example: ''[[Mario and Luigi (Video Game)|Mario and& Luigi]]''.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: {{spoiler|The Koopalings}} in ''[[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]''.

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

* [[Determinator]]: Bowser's been dropped into lava multiple times ([[New Super Mario Bros (Video Game).|twice in one game]], the second time as a ''skeleton''), sent plummeting of a cliff, had his vehicle explode WHILE HE WAS IN IT, thrown into an airborne bomb, TOSSED INTO THE CENTER OF THE SUN, AND BEEN SUCKED UP BY A BLACK HOLE. And he STILL hasn't died. It's even [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in [[Super Paper Mario]].

* [[Distressed Damsel in Distress]]: Peach and Daisy (the latter to a ''much'' lesser extent).

* [[Easily -Conquered World]]: The Mushroom Kingdom.

** Mario - [[Playing Withwith Fire]]

** Luigi - [[Playing Withwith Fire|Playing With Green Fire]], [[Shock and Awe]], and [[Blow You Away]] after [[LuigisLuigi's Mansion (Video Game)|Luigis Mansion]]

** Peach - [[Heart Beat -Down]]

* [[Elemental Shapeshifter]]: In ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', Mario could turn into a statue with the Tanooki suit. It turned him invincible, and he could kill nearly anything by falling on it.

* [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Bob]]: The bomb enemies are named Bob-Ombs, and ''[[Mario Party (Video Game)|Mario Party]] Advance'' featured a Goomba named Goombob.

* [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Dinosaurs]]: Super Mario World took place in Dinosaur Land, where Yoshi made his first appearance.

* [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Penguins]]: Since ''[[Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|Super Mario 64]]'', penguins have regularly appeared as Mario's friends.

** There was even a penguin-suit power-up in ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]''.

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

* [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Princesses]]: Peach is just the start.

*** It helps that Bowser, [[Card -Carrying Villain|surprisingly]], avoids [[Complete Monster]] territory in general -- yes, even in the core games.

* [[Exposed to Thethe Elements]]: Mario can navigate through levels with hot and cold climates without any apparent problems adjusting to the temperature, and is also [[Super Not -Drowning Skills|able to breathe underwater]] in the 2D games and ''[[Super Mario 3D Land (Video Game)|Super Mario 3D Land]]'', but not any other 3D games. It's only when he goes into outer space (such as in ''Super Mario Land 2'' and ''Super Paper Mario'') that this really becomes an issue (though even this is given [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|an exception]] in ''Super Mario Galaxy'').

** Possible explanation is that his hat is magically enchanted to help protect him, as he takes more damage without it and slowly loses health in sunny areas of [[Super Mario Sunshine (Video Game)|Isle Delfino]] without it.

* [[Fireballs]]: A ''Mario'' staple. Mario can throw them with the Fire Flower [[Power -Up]], enemies can use them, and there are [[Fireballs]] enemies known as Podoboos, which gained eyes later in the series.

* [[Follow the Leader]]: ''[[Mario Kart (Video Game)|Mario Kart]]'' is often joked about for launching countless ripoffs, but it's often forgotten that [[Super Mario Bros. (Videovideo Gamegame)|the original SMB]] launched just as many during its time.

* [[Game Mod]]: ''[[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario World]]'' has been hacked frequently, with varying degrees in difficulty and quality. ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros 3]]'', the original ''Super Mario Bros.'', and even ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' have gotten a few hacks as well.

* [[Giant Mook]]: All the baddies in Giant Land in ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', as well as various bosses and minibosses from throughout the series.

* [[Gratuitous English]]: Two words from ''Super Mario Sunshine'': "Shine get!" (This line was "corrected" for the NA release, but [[Woolseyism]] in ''[[Paper Mario: theThe Thousand Year Door (Video Game)|Paper Mario the Thousand -Year Door]]'' brought it back.) It returns in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|Super Mario Galaxy]]'' with "Star get!"

* [[Half -Dressed Cartoon Animal]]: Many non-human characters fall under this.

* [[Invincibility Power -Up]]: Starmen

* [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]]: {{spoiler|Bowser}} from Mario Super Sluggers; when {{spoiler|a Bullet Bill shot by Wario and Waluigi nearly hits Mario, Bowser unexpectedly jumps in, hitting the Bullet Bill back toward the two before he is seen later about to leave, much to Mario's notice}}, though [[Your Mileage May Vary]].

* [[Laborious Laziness]]: Wario is ''made'' of this trope. In fact, ''[[Nintendo Power]]'' commented on it once in a preview of ''[[Wario Master of Disguise (Video Game)|Wario Master of Disguise]]''.

{{quote| "Stomping fools is my business! Show me a fool, and I'll stomp it! I don't even need a reason!"}}

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

* [[Laughably Evil]]: Bowser fits this in the spin off games and RPGs. However, in the main platforming series, [[Took a Level Inin Badass|he's portrayed in a much more serious manner.]]

** Taken to its logical extreme in ''Mario Super Sluggers'', with 41 individual characters (12 captains and 29 team players, without counting the color-swapped ones, like Yoshis and Koopas), as well as incorporating for good the ''[[Donkey Kong Country (Videovideo Gamegame)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' cast into the Marioverse (even K. Rool is playable in that game!).

* [[Long Runner]]: Mario debuted (as Jumpman) in ''[[Donkey Kong (Video Game)|Donkey Kong]]'' in 1981. 2011 is his 30th birthday. Happy birthday, Mario!

* [[Magic Mushroom]]: The Super Mushroom, together with the [[One 1-Up]]-mushroom, has become one of the most iconic game-items in history.

* [[Man -Eating Plant]]: The Piranha Plant.

** These theories are directly addressed in ''[[Super Mario Sunshine (Video Game)|Super Mario Sunshine]]'', where one of Bowser's kids insists that Peach is his mother, without her denying this in any way ([http://www.cracked.com/article_19148_6-bizarrely-creepy-moments-from-mario-universe_p2.html to the shock of many viewers]). {{spoiler|She's not.}}

* [[Minsky Pickup]]: The classic ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEKDF_WbMlg theme] starts with [[The Jimmy Hart Version]] of this.

* [[Non -Human Undead]]: A staple of the series is the Dry Bones, a reanimated Koopa skeleton. The ''[[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Paper Mario]]'' series adds variations of Dry Bones, along with other [[Non -Human Undead]] (e.g. Bonetail from ''The Thousand Year Door'' and Bonechill of ''Super Paper Mario'')

* [[No Periods, Period]]: ''Super Princess Peach''. Some theorize that that game is just one huge thinly-veiled metaphor for menses.

** In ''[[Mario Party (Video Game)|Mario Party]] 5'', Mario and Peach are called the "Cutest Couple".

** In ''Mario Power Tennis'', given it has the most number of voiced lines out of all ([[Canon Dis ContinuityDiscontinuity|all of it]]) Mario games, Mario outright professes his love for Peach in her trophy winning sequence, and she responds with a smile and blows a kiss. In Mario's own winning sequence, Peach kisses him on the cheek.

{{quote| '''Mario:''' (applauding Peach) I love you so much.}}

** In [[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Paper Mario]], the first one, [[Shipper Onon Deck|one of the Toads tells Mario to take Peach on a date to Shooting Star Summit]].

* [[One -Hit Kill]]: Generally, in the 2D games, falling into lava is this (while being squashed isn't), while in the 3D games, it's the other way around.

* [[One -Hit -Point Wonder]]: In the sidescrolling games, Mario doesn't have a life meter. He starts out one hit away from losing a life, unless he grabs a powerup.

* [[One -Man Army]]: Mario/Luigi are usually the only ones to save the princess. And kick everyone's asses while doing it.

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

* [[Pain -Powered Leap]]: This happens to Mario whenever he touches the lava in Mario 3D platform games, beginning with the [[Lethal Lava Land]] in ''[[Super Mario 64]]''.

* [[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.

** Their team names from the [[Mario Party (Video Game)|Mario Party]] series include: "Steady Sweeties", "Tango Tanglers", and "Shy Sidekicks".

{{quote| '''Daisy:''' Hey, sweety! I'll take that.}}

** In [[Super Smash Bros.]] Melee, Daisy's trophy biography states:

{{quote| "After her appearance in Mario Golf, some gossips started portraying her as [[Pair the Spares|Luigi's answer]] to [[Official Couple|Mario's Peach]]".}}

* [[Paper -Thin Disguise]]: Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings hiding in the birthday cake in ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii''. This being Mario, it ''works''.

* [[Pimped -Out Dress]]: Peach's dress starts out simple, but grows more elaborate as graphics in the games advance. Daisy's similar dress is also elaborate.

** Super Mario Bros 3 provides us with the most extreme example of this trope with the second to last world, Pipe World. [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Guess what every single level in this world is.]]

* [[Player MooksMook]]s: Of all the spinoffs, the baseball games love this trope the most.

* [[Playing Withwith Fire]]: The Fire Flower power-up allows Mario and Luigi to sling fireballs at their enemies.

* [[Power -Up]]: Loads of them. The first Super Mario game had the iconic mushrooms, fire flowers, and stars.

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

** In ''[[Super Mario Land 2 (Video Game)|Super Mario Land 2]]: 6 Golden Coins]]'', Mario can eat a carrot that gives him bunny ears and make him fly a bit.

** ''[[Mario Party (Video Game)|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.

** The Koopa Bros from ''[[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Paper Mario]]'' would count if it wasn't for the fact that they're the main boss battle of their chapter rather than a miniboss.

* [[Replacement Mooks]]: Congratulations on rescuing the Princess, Mario. [[New Game Plus+|Why not play again?]] Huh? Goombas? What's that?

* [[Save the Princess]]: A recurring plot in the series, including the first and third games, ''[[Super Mario World (Videovideo Gamegame)|Super Mario World]]'', ''[[Super Mario Land (Video Game)|Super Mario Land]]'' (though this was a different princess), ''[[Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|Super Mario 64]]'', all the ''[[Paper Mario (Video Gamefranchise)|Paper Mario]]'' games, and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|Super Mario Galaxy]]''. ''[[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'' had the variation of "Save the Princess's voice". Speaking of which, ''[[Mario and Luigi Partners In Time (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Partners inIn Time]]'' revealed that Bowser had been kidnapping her since they were ''[[Spinoff Babies|babies]]''! It was inverted in ''[[Super Princess Peach (Video Game)|Super Princess Peach]]'', where you ''play'' as the Princess, and you have to save Mario.

* [[Sequel Difficulty Drop]]: ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros 3]]'', compared to ''The Lost Levels'', at least. It's still harder than the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' though.

* [[Sequel Difficulty Spike]]: ''[[Super Mario Bros the Lost Levels (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]'', compared to the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]].''

** And ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Video Game)|Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'', compared to the first ''[[Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|Super Mario Galaxy]]''.

* [[Shared Universe]]: With ''[[Donkey Kong Country (Videovideo Gamegame)|Donkey Kong Country]]'', ''[[Wario Land (Video Game)|Wario Land]]'', and ''[[Wario Ware (Video Game)|Wario Ware]]''.

*** While some games and sources still mention Birdo being male (particularly in Europe and Japan), it´s mostly played for laughs or merely given a nod, such as the European Mario Strikers manual or Birdo´s trophy in Super Smash Bros Brawl; the closest to delving in the subject being the (in)famous Birdo mission in the Captain Rainbow game, which jokes around with the topic a lot (even giving Birdo a male sounding voice) yet, despite the jokes, the game technically still concludes that Birdo is female.

* [[Slippy -Slidey Ice World]]: World 4 in ''Super Mario Bros 2'', World 6 in ''Super Mario Bros 3''.

* [[Songs in Thethe Key of Panic]]: Hurry Music is most commonly used when a timer reaches 100 in most games.

* [[Spinoff Babies]]: The ''[[Yoshis Island (Video Game)|Yoshi's Island]]'' series, ''[[Mario and Luigi Partners In Time (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Partners inIn Time]]'', and the various sports game include younger versions of the characters.

* [[Star -Shaped Coupon]]: ''64'', ''Galaxy'', and the ''Party'' series see you collect Power Stars. The RPGs have various star-shaped objects as well. ''Sunshine'' has Sun Shaped Coupons, which might be considered close enough.

* [[Stuck in Their Shadow]]: Luigi has gone from a [[Palette Swap]] to a [[Garfunkel]] to this, but this is the only state that's been acknowledged in-universe. According to ''[[Mario and& Luigi: BowsersBowser's Inside Story (Video Game)|Bowser's Inside Story]]'', even Bowser tends to forget his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache."

* [[Super Not -Drowning Skills]]: in the earlier games.

** [[Mario Kart (Video Game)|"Mario get you next time!"]]

** [[Mario Tennis (Video Game)|"Luigi win, Luigi win!"]]

* [[Tiny Guy, Huge Girl]]: Mario and Peach provide the page picture.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: Bowser in ''Super Mario Galaxy'', and in ''Bowser's Inside Story''.

* [[Trope 2000]]: Luigi uses a vacuum called a Poltergust 3000 to hunt ghosts in ''[[Luigis Mansion (Video Game)|Luigi's Mansion]]''.

* [[Universal Adaptor Cast]]: The ever-expanding "spinoff cast" can probably be put into every conceivable genre of game. In fact, they adapt to several themes in ''[[Mario Party (Video Game)|Mario Party]]''.

** [[Law of Wiki Expansion]]: It also has extensive information on the [[Spin -Off]] games such as [[Donkey Kong (Video Game)|Donkey Kong]] and [[Wario Land (Video Game)|Wario Land]], and related series' such as [[Super Smash Bros (Video Game)|Super Smash Bros.]].

* [[Youkai]]: The classic Koopa enemies are named and slightly based on Kappas, and Mario gets a Tanuki Suit in ''[[Super Mario Bros 3 (Video Game)|Super Mario Bros 3]]''.

[[Category:Super Mario BrosFranchises]]

[[Category:FranchiseNintendo]]