Luigi

"I'm-a Luigi, number-a one!"

Article by: Paul Watkins (watkinzez)
Pictured from: New Super Mario Bros.
Created by: Nintendo
First appearance: 1983

Bio

It's not easy being Luigi. The lesser of the two Mario brothers constantly plays second fiddle to the more famous Nintendo mascot Mario, a fact that has become so true over the years that some of their games actively poke fun at it. The 'skinny one with the green hat' is constantly presented as the shyer, more timid of the two. Indeed, the original reason pertaining to his creation was the need for a 'player two' character in Nintendo's games.

Luigi's first appearance was in the arcade game Mario Bros., quite literally a colour change from the Mario sprite used. Critically, no difference existed between him and his brother, until Super Mario Bros. 2 divided their abilities. Luigi was deemed the less powerful of the two, yet possessed a more advanced jump. Supposedly his greater athletic ability led him to become taller and less fat than the pasta-loving Mario. His somewhat paranoid nature has influenced him to stay behind at home while letting the elder of the siblings save the Princess and the Mushroom Kingdom.

As a core character in Nintendo's franchise, Luigi makes regular appearances in Mario's spin-off titles, such as Mario Party and Super Smash Bros. A handful of games have starred Luigi, despite his reluctance to go adventuring. The rather infamous edutainment Mario is Missing was not developed by Nintendo's core team, and so was somewhat lost in the familiarity of the Mario universe. It wasn't until the release of the GameCube that the plumber could use his abilities to the fullest in Luigi's Mansion. The irony that both of these titles involve rescuing Mario seems not to be lost on the game's creators. Other escapades by the little green man are told rather than played — the second iteration of Paper Mario involves a humourous side story running parallel to Mario's own adventure.

Selected game appearances

Arcade

• Mario Bros. (1983)

NES

• Super Mario Bros. (1985)
• Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
• Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)

Super NES

• Super Mario World (1990)
• Super Mario Kart (1992)
• Super Mario All-Stars (1993)
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996)
• Kirby Super Star (1996)

DOS

• Mario is Missing! (1992)

Nintendo 64

• Mario Kart 64 (1996)
• Mario Party (1998)
• Super Smash Bros. (1999)
• Mario Golf (1999)
• Mario Party 2 (1999)
• Mario Tennis (2000)
• Paper Mario (2000)
• Mario Party 3 (2000)

Game Boy Color

• Mario Golf (1999)

GameCube

• Luigi's Mansion (2001)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003)
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004)

Game Boy Advance

• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003)

Nintendo DS

• Yoshi Touch & Go (2005)
• Mario Kart DS (2005)
• New Super Mario Bros. (2006)
• Kirby Super Star Ultra (2008)
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009)

Wii

• Super Paper Mario (2007)
• Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)
• Mario Kart Wii (2008)
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009)

Nintendo 3DS

• Super Mario 3D Land (2011)
• Mario Kart 7 (2011)
• Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (2013)

Wii U

• Super Mario 3D World (2013)
• Mario Kart 8 (2014)
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014)
• Paper Mario: Color Splash (2016)

Nintendo Switch

• Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
• Super Mario Maker 2 (2019)

References

• Wikipedia - "Luigi"
• The Daily Orange - "Character Bio: Luigi by Scott Stahl"
• TMK | Reference | Mariopedia | Luigi