- "It's a me Mario"
- —Mario
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Mario (Japanese マリオ, Mario) is the main protagonist of the Mario series and Nintendo's primary mascot of games. Normally a plumber, in the game series, Mario uses his legendary jump and combat abilities to defend the peaceful inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom and the world from power-hungry villains such as Bowser. While not adventuring, Mario participates in a variety of sporting events and other fun activities with his younger brother Luigi and a whole cast of friends from his many adventures.
Mario has currently appeared in multiple crossover titles alongside Sonic. In these games.
Early Rivalry[]
Nintendo was once business rivals with Sega; this rivalry peaked during the 16-bit era (the era of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis). As such, Nintendo and Sega often attempted to put each other down through their games. Examples include Sonic's appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2, to the left, and the blue hedgehog enemies of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island called "Harry Hedgehog". In the Sonic children's book, Secret Admirer, there is a sign outside Robotropolis that reads "No Nintendo Game Playing".
In a commercial for the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, Bernita Stokes, President of H.A.G. (Humans Against Genesis), criticizes the game by saying, "Why can't he be more like that nice boy Mario?" while an animated Sonic is seen on the cover of the box mimicking her (probably hinting that Sonic always had some resentment towards Mario). Sonic then blows her a raspberry and runs out of the box and into the TV screen which makes her angry, calling him a little brat.
At the Olympics[]
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is the first official cross-over between the worlds two most popular video game characters. In this game, Mario comes as an all around character along with Luigi, Amy and Blaze. His emblem is the red trademark "M" that he has worn on his hat for so many years. He returned in the sequel Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.
Bio
This persistent little plumber developed his skills chasing down a big ape. Now he's taking his All-Around skills to the Olympic Games, where his running and jumping experience should come in more than handy in events like the high jump and hurdles.
Stats
Name | Skill Type | Stats | Flag |
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Mario | All Around |
Continued Rivalry
Mario and Sonic are both the world's top video game heroes. They both seem to have a competitive relationship with each other since Sonic was created. Sonic appears to be Mario's friend instead of a complete rival, but they both have issues with ending conflict with each other (show in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games TV ads). Example: in the first TV spot, Sonic figures out that Mario gets intimidated by him making fun of him on TV. In the second TV spot, Mario tries wetting poor Sonic up with the hose, knowing that Sonic hates water. This still continues on in TV spots 3 through 6, but they still appear to be good friends, and this is shown in the commercial for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games where they give each other a high five.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Making his 3rd playable appearance in the Smash Bros. series, Mario is the lead character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is middle-weight and very well balanced having a good compromise between speed, agility and strength.
Special Moves
- Standard: Fireball
- Shoot a bouncing fireball that disappears once it loses speed.
- Side: Cape
- Repel projectiles and turn foes around with a flick of the cape.
- Up: Super Jump Punch
- Jump while attacking. Useful in recoveries.
- Down: F.L.U.D.D.
- Press the B Button once to prime, then again to shoot water that pushes foes (no damage).
- Final Smash: Mario Finale
- Launch a great fiery blast. The blast spreads outwards vertically as it travels, so maximize damage by taking a small hop before letting loose.
Trophy/ Sticker Info.
Item | Image | Game(s) | Description/ effect |
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Trophy | File:TrMario.jpg |
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A familiar overall-clad figure who is Nintendo's flagship character. His courage and jumping ability have seen him through countless adventures. He's a multitalented plumber with the knowledge of a physician, a top-notch golfer, and a veteran tennis umpire. Is his jumping prowess a boon from his girder-climbing days? |
Trophy | File:TrMario finale.jpg |
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Mario with a Smash Ball, unleashing his ultimate attack. The twin dragons of flame he releases wallop all characters in range. The flames spread up and down, so it's best to release them from the edge of the screen at an appropriate height. His flaming eyes are proof of his excitement for this explosive attack. |
Trophy | File:TrStriker mario.jpg |
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A team captain in Super Mario Strikers, which features combat- style soccer that allows fighting and items. Mario proves to be a great all-around player, well balanced on offense and defense, and he wields a critical shot—the Mega Strike—that can chalk up a maximum of six goals! Mario is easily identified by the "M" marks on his spikes. |
Trophy | File:TrPaper mario.jpg |
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A legendary hero whose adventure unfolds when he sets out to rescue Princess Peach from the nefarious clutches of Count Bleck. He has the ability to flip the world from 2-D to 3-D and back again. If he grabs a Mega Star, he'll transform into a pixelated giant Mario. In this state, he's invulnerable and capable of stomping through enemies and obstacles with ease. |
Trophy | File:TrBaby mario.jpg |
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Mario as a baby...a crybaby at that. Although he lacks overalls, we can see the trademark red hat even at this young age. Everyone's favorite hero was riding Yoshi and adventuring from his youngest days, and even as a baby, it's clear that Mario had quite the nose. |
Sticker | File:Super Mario Bros Sticker.jpg | Super Mario Bros. | [Arm, Leg] - Attack +15 |
Sticker | File:Mario and Luigi 22.png | Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga | [Flame] - Resistance +19 |
Sticker | File:Mario and Yoshi 9.png | Super Mario Sunshine | [Specials: Indirect] - Attack +13 |
Sticker | File:Mario 58.png | Mario Kart DS | [Leg] - Attack +22 |
Sticker | File:Mario 114.png | Mario Superstar Baseball | Carry Home-Run Bat |
Sticker | File:Mario 174.png | Super Paper Mario | [Electric] - Attack +20 |
Sticker | File:Mario 140.png | Super Mario Bros. 3 | Flinch Resistance +112 |
Sticker | File:Mario 37.png | Nintendo Puzzle Collection | [Head] - Attack +18 |
Sticker | File:Mario 175.png | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | [Flame] - Attack +5 |
Sticker | File:Mario 176.png | Yoshi's Island DS | Launch Resistance +6 |
"Sonic and Mario" Event
Brawl contains a co-op event match where players must control Sonic and Mario as they team up in Green Hill Zone to defeat two more Marios. This event is appropriately named "Sonic and Mario".
Caption: "No problem! It's nothing at all! Only a race can decide the true victors! (KO two Marios)"
"The FINAL, Final Battle" event
In the 1 player event mode, there is a last event titled "The FINAL, Final Battle". In this event match, the player must defeat an over sized Mario plus Sonic, and Solid Snake. This event takes place in the Final Destination stage.
Caption: "It's the REAL final battle! (KO Snake, Sonic and Giant Mario.)"
Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games[]
Mario returns, once again as an all around type character in the anticipated sequel to Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Games. Being the third time they have met, Mario and Sonic seem to of built a friendship out of their rivalry. This is indicated by the game's opening cinematic which depicts Mario and Sonic coordinating with each other to thwart the plans of Dr. Eggman and Wario. Mario and Sonic also cooperate in the story mode of this game (Nintendo DS version only) where they work together to rescue the Snow Spirits from Eggman, Bowser and all their villainous associates.
Stats
Icon | Name | Ability Type | Wii Stats | DS Stats | Special | Emblem |
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File:Marioicon.png | Mario | All-Around | File:Mario-Wii-Stats.png | File:Mario-DS-Stats.png | Spin | File:Mario flag.jpg |
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games[]
Mario makes his fourth appearance aloung side Sonic in Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. For a third time, Mario is yet again an all-around character. His relationship has seem to grown more friendlier than the last 2 games, as they are seen atop Big Ben together, giving each other a high-5. Mario and Sonic once again cooperate in the story mode version (Nintendo 3DS version.) where they clear the colorful fog in all over London along with Luigi and Tails.
Bio
After Mario's many adventures, he is now taking his all-around skills to the London Olympic Games, where his jumping and running experience should come in more than handy in events like the 100m sprint and Pole Vault.
Sonic the Comic[]
Sonic the Comic introduced the Marxio Brothers, characters that seem to be a combination of the Mario Bros. and the classic comedians, The Marx Brothers.
Mario-Kart Demo Disk[]
In 2003, Mario Kart Double Dash was released for the Nintendo Gamecube. In the US, if people were to pre-order this game they would receive a complimentary bonus disk which had demos and videos of up coming Gamecube games. One of the major draws of this disk was a 2 level playable demo of Sonic Heroes where players could control either Team Sonic or Team Dark. Also appearing on this disk was multiple mini games from Mario Party 5.[1]
DiC Entertainment[]
Both Mario and Sonic have had three cartoon series' produced by DiC. One major difference is that Mario's three series' (The Super Mario Super Show, Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World) were all consistent with its cast and tone of the shows. Sonic's 3 cartoons (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground) were all completely different with different casts of characters, different tones and themes.
In more recent years, DiC has been releasing these cartoons on DVD and have been very openly compiling episodes from Mario's shows with those of Sonic's shows. Most notable is an Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 / Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 1 DVD compilation box set (released on the date of December 4, 2007). Other DVDs such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, King Koopa Katastrophe includes full episodes of Sonic Underground as special features. Another was a Sonic Underground DVD titled Dr. Robotnik's Revenge which included a Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode as a special feature.
Similarities in Gaming[]
As gaming rivals, Mario and Sonic have both gone into similar territory with one another with the games for their respected series (in most cases it's due to Sega intentionally or unintentionally using the Sonic series to make competition with Nintendo). These are a few examples:
Similarity | Sonic | Mario |
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Being intended from the start to compete with Mario, Sonic's first game already had similarities with Super Mario Bros. as a "Point A to Point B" type game, such as running towards the goal, picking up rings instead of coins, jumping on top of Badniks in a way similar to Goombas and Koopa Troopas, and rescuing small animals instead of Toads after each boss level. Dr. Eggman's Egg Mobile also shares similarities with Bowser's Koopa Clown Car, although Bowser didn't use it until Super Mario World. | Sonic the Hedgehog - 1991 | Super Mario Bros. - 1985 |
Both characters had been in a pinball game where the character himself was the ball, however it should be noted that Mario's game wasn't made until 11 years after Sonic's first game Sonic Spinball. Sonic did have a second pinball game called Sonic Pinball Party that was released a year before Mario Pinball Land (both games being made for the Game Boy Advance). |
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Mario Pinball Land - 2004 |
Both have had their own kart racing games (including the mini-game featured in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle). Kart racing has been more commonly used with Mario over the years than it has with Sonic. The Sonic Riders series doesn't count as it uses boards, and most of the characters in Sonic R ran on foot. |
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Mario Kart series(1992–present) |
Both have had their own art games. Sonic had appeared in Art Alive! as a set of stamps but had more of a starring role in Wacky Worlds as a way of competing with Mario Paint. Both Wacky Worlds and Mario Paint had a special mouse peripheral created for each of their systems. |
Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio - 1994 | Mario Paint - 1992 |
Sonic had his own party game for the Dreamcast called Sonic Shuffle that was intended to be a response to Mario Party on the N64 (it should be noted that Hudson Soft, who developed Mario Party, also developed this game). While Mario Party proved to be a successful ongoing series, Sonic Shuffle had gotten a negative response from gamers and so far hasn't been made again. |
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Mario Party 1-9, GBA ,DS and 3DS - 1999-present |
Both characters have played golf. |
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Both characters have played tennis. |
Sega Superstars Tennis - 2008 |
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Both have a Game Boy Advance adventure series with the word "advance" in the titles. |
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Both have a 2D adventure console game that is meant to take the series back to their roots. |
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - 2010 |
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 2009 |
Both have an adventure set in space where they travel to different planets. |
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Both have been accused of doing something wrong in a game. |
Stealing a Chaos Emerald - Sonic Adventure 2 - 2001 |
Polluting Isle Delfino - Super Mario Sunshine - 2002 |
Both have crossovers with the all stars and other numerous franchises created and licensed from the same respective video game company. |
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Both have characters in their series that are of royal blood. |
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Neither character debuted in their own game. |
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Both have used a talking weapon. |
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Both have teamed up with their younger selves. |
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Together in Parody[]
Marge Be Not Proud[]
In December 1995, the hit prime time comedy The Simpsons showed Episode 3F07, "Marge Be Not Proud" which featured appearances by Sonic and Mario. There was a scene in this episode where Bart is tempted to steal a video game. In his head, Bart is visited by Luigi, Mario, Donkey Kong and Sonic who all try to justify Bart stealing the game, also in the scene is Lee Carvallo, a golfer, who is trying to talk Bart out of stealing the game because it won't help his putting.
- Mario's Quote
- "The store, she is so rich, she a won't even a know."
- Sonic's Quote
- "Just take it! Take it! Take it! Take it! Take it! Take it!... Take it!"
The Simpsons Game[]
Both Sonic and Mario have appeared in The Simpsons Game in the level "Enter the Cheatrix" as background characters. However, they are poorly-drawn and somewhat unrecognizable. Towards the end of the game, the Simpsons escape the video game world with Mario, Sonic and others following them back to Springfield. When Homer Simpson asks what is for dinner, Mario jumps on the couch and shouts "I hope it's-a Spaghetti! Here we go!"
Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny[]
Sonic and Mario make a small appearance together in the music video for The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny (shortened as Ultimate Showdown) by Lemonic Demonic (better known as Lemon Demon), in which they are engaged in a slap fight with one another. This a clear reference to the rivalry between Sonic and Mario in the 1990s.
Trivia[]
- Yuji Naka admitted that he loves Super Mario Bros. and running through the game as fast as he could inspired him to create Sonic the Hedgehog.
- Sumo Digital considered making Mario a guest star in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing exclusively on the Wii version. But SEGA rejected the idea, not wanting to cross contaminate with the Mario & Sonic Series.
- Despite a life-size poster measuring at 5'1", crossover artwork shows Sonic (who stands at 3'3") to be at least two or three inches taller.