Luigi

Luigi (Japanese: ルイージ, Hepburn: Ruīji, [ɽɯ.iː.dʑi]) (English /luːˈiːdʒi/; Italian: [luˈiːdʒi]) is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger but taller fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario franchise, often as a sidekick to his brother.

Luigi first appeared in the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. as the character controlled by the second player, and retained this role in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and other titles. The first game where he was available as a primary character was Super Mario Bros. 2. In more recent appearances, Luigi's role became increasingly restricted to spinoffs such as the Mario Party and Mario Kart series, though he has been featured in a starring role on three occasions: first in the 1991 educational game Mario Is Missing!, in Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube in 2001, and in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS. In all three of these games, he is called upon to act as the hero because Mario, the usual hero within the franchise, is in need of rescue. Luigi has also appeared in every episode of the three DiC TV series based on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System games.

List of Mario role-playing games

The Mario franchise has inspired a variety of Mario role-playing games (RPG) to be released on multiple Nintendo video game consoles. All the games feature Mario as the protagonist, who is often accompanied by one or more playable characters, including existing Mario characters and original characters introduced in each game.

The first game to introduce RPG elements into the Mario franchise was Super Mario RPG, developed by Square and released in 1996 for the Super Famicom and SNES. The game does not have a direct sequel. Considered to be its thematic and spiritual sequels, two successive RPG-themed Mario series, the Paper Mario series and the Mario & Luigi series, followed conventions established in the original. The Paper Mario games were developed by Intelligent Systems, a subsidiary of Nintendo, and are renowned for their distinctive visual style, which consists of two-dimensional paper cutout characters moving about in three-dimensional papercraft worlds. The Mario & Luigi games were developed by AlphaDream, another subsidiary of Nintendo, all of which appeared solely on handheld consoles. The most recent entries in each series are the Nintendo 3DS games: Sticker Star and Paper Jam. The game, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is a game in the Mario & Luigi series, featuring characters from the Paper Mario series.

Mushroom Kingdom

The Mushroom Kingdom (キノコ王国, Kinoko Ōkoku) is a fictional setting in Nintendo's Super Mario series, where most of the games take place.

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The Mushroom Kingdom is a monarchy and its heir is Princess Peach in the games. The Chancellor of the kingdom is its head of government in Super Mario RPG. Its capital, as set forth by Paper Mario, is Toad Town. Though Princess Peach and the Mario Brothers are human, the citizens of this area are the mushroom-like Toads (called "Kinopios" in Japan). Some of the Yoshis, dinosaur-like creatures from Dinosaur Land, immigrated into the Mushroom Kingdom shortly after Super Mario World.

The Mushroom Kingdom is often tormented by the Dark Land. Bowser, King of the Koopas, has kidnapped Princess Peach countless times. Initially, it was because she had the power to undo Bowser's handiwork, but in recent games he has developed romantic feelings for the princess. This can be best seen in the original Paper Mario. Games in the Mario series often suggest that the Mushroom Kingdom is a rival of Bowser's domain, the Koopa Kingdom. The Koopa Kingdom has been glimpsed at least five times as the last worlds in Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and New Super Mario Bros., though several maps and tracks from the Mario Kart and Mario Party series take place here as well. It is also seen in the credits reel of Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga when they drop off Bowser. It is unknown if the Koopa Kingdom is a completely separate area, or merely a captured portion of the Mushroom Kingdom.