Mario, originally called Jumpman in the successful arcade game Donkey Kong, is a popular video game character created by the company Nintendo, and is also the titular hero of numerous successful video games, many of the platforming genre. He is Nintendo's mascot and the typical protagonist of the company's best selling video game series. Therefore, the character, aside from a few exceptions, only appears on Nintendo's consoles. With over 193 million units sold, Mario is not only Nintendo's most successful franchise, but the most successful video game series of all time. Furthermore, Mario is considered the most well-known video game character in the world. In 2005, he was honored with a star on the Walk of Game.
Mario is a 155 cm (5 ft 1 in) tall, pudgy, Italian-accented, black moustachioed, brown haired man with a blue pair of overalls with yellow buckles, red shirt, white gloves, tan shoes, and red cap with an 'M' emblem on it. Some of his typical catchphrases are "Mamma Mia!", "Lets a-go!", "Here we go!", "I got it!", "Just what I needed!","Thank you very much!" and "It's a-me, Mario!"
After his appearance in Donkey Kong Junior, Mario appeared again in 1983 in Mario Bros., Mario's first appearance as the titular hero. In this game, which was originally called Pipe Jump, Mario and his brother Luigi must exterminate shellcreepers (the origin of Koopa Troopas) and other pests that entered from the underground pipes by jumping up against the platform where the creature was.
In Super Mario Bros., Mario and Luigi now live in the Mushroom Kingdom where they must rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil clutches of the Koopa Bowser. By hitting certain blocks, power-ups are released. The Super Mushroom allows Mario to become Super Mario, who is able to destroy certain blocks, but he will shrink back into regular Mario if he is hit by an enemy. Normally, Mario can defeat his enemies only by jumping on top of them, but by collecting the Fire Flower, Mario can throw fireballs, which can be used for the same purpose. The 1-up Mushroom is hidden in diverse locations around the game. If Mario collects this Mushroom he will be granted another life. The Starman makes him temporarily invulnerable.
In Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario and his companions are out to stop Wart. In Super Mario Bros. 3, he and Luigi track down Bowser and the Koopalings to save seven kingdoms and Princess Peach once again. Various suits are available to Mario, which lend him special abilities. For example, the frog suit improves Mario's jumping and swimming capabilities, and the Tanooki suit allows Mario to turn into a statue and hide from enemies.
From Wikipedia.
