There have been numerous sports games in the Mario franchise.

Mario Golf is a sports video game series that was developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. It began on the Nintendo 64, with a second version for the Game Boy Color. Since then, there have also been releases of one game on both the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance. In addition, both NES Open Tournament Golf and Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64 have been re-released for the Virtual Console.

The N64 and Game Boy Color versions can communicate each other via Transfer Pak connectivity, and the GameCube and GBA versions can do the same via the Nintendo GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable. Players can upload characters and data into the other game.

Mario Tennis is a sports video game series that began in 1995 with Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy. In the vein of other Mario sport games, it features Mario and his all-star cast competing in a game of tennis. Since its second generation on the Nintendo 64, each successive generation features a console and a handheld version and all of them are developed by Camelot Software Planning.

Mario (マリオ, Mario^?) is a fictional character in the Mario video game franchise by Nintendo, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the eponymous protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation. Though originally only appearing in platform games, starting with Donkey Kong, Mario currently appears in varied video game genres such as racing, puzzle, party, role-playing, fighting, and sports.

Mario is depicted as a short, pudgy, Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. He repeatedly rescues Princess Peach from the turtle-like villain Bowser and stops his numerous plans to destroy him and take over the kingdom. Mario also has other enemies and rivals, including Donkey Kong and Wario. Since 1995, he has been voiced by Charles Martinet.

As Nintendo's mascot, Mario is said to be the most famous character in video game history.Mario games, as a whole, have sold more than 210 million units, making the Mario franchise the best-selling video game franchise of all time. Outside of the Super Mario platform series, he has appeared in video games of other genres, including the Mario Kart racing series, sports games, such as the Mario Tennis and Mario Golf series, role-playing video games such as Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG, and educational games, such as Mario is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine. He has inspired television shows, film, comics, and a line of licensed merchandise.

This is a list of fictional characters who appear in the Mario franchise of video games developed by Nintendo, as well as spin-off media, such as books, comics, and animated series.

Pauline (ポリーン, Porīn^?) is the damsel in distress and heroine of the original Donkey Kong, as well as the 1994 Game Boy game of the same name. She also appeared in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again.

In the original Donkey Kong, she is held captive by Donkey Kong and it is Mario's objective to climb up the construction site and rescue her. Along the way, the player can collect feminine articles (a hat, purse, and parasol) that Pauline drops for bonus points. In the same way that Mario was originally called Jumpman in Japan, Pauline was originally known as Lady (レディ, Redi^?). The name Pauline was chosen for the character during the game's distribution in North America after Polly James, the wife of Nintendo of America's warehouse manager, Don James.^{[citation needed]} After Donkey Kong, Pauline made cameo appearances in two NES games, Pinball and Famicom BASIC.Princess Peach, introduced in Super Mario Bros., supplanted Pauline's original role as damsel in distress in the Mario games.