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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.

Protagonists[link]

Mario[link]

Luigi[link]

Princess Peach[link]

Toad[link]

Yoshi[link]

Supporting[link]

Donkey Kong[link]

Diddy Kong[link]

Pauline[link]

Pauline (ポリーン, Porīn^?) is the damsel in distress and heroine of the original Donkey Kong,^[1] as well as the 1994 Game Boy game of the same name.^[2] 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.^[1] 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^?).^[3] 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.^[3] Princess Peach, introduced in Super Mario Bros., supplanted Pauline's original role as damsel in distress in the Mario games.

Several years later in the Game Boy version remake of Donkey Kong, Pauline gets an official portrait of herself. While previous depictions of Pauline (such as in the arcade game's cabinet artwork) portrayed her as a blonde, she was redesigned as a brunette in the new version.^[3] As in the original game, she is taken captive by Donkey Kong. She then officially returns in Mario Vs. Donkey Kong 2: March Of The Minis, using the same character design as in the remake. She is a guest VIP at the grand opening of the "Super Mini Mario World" (a theme park based on Mini-Mario toys), where she is kidnapped by Donkey Kong. She also appears in Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! for the DSiWare, and Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem for the DS, where she is once again kidnapped by Donkey Kong.

Pauline was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and other developers for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong. She is the earliest example of a female with a speaking role in a video game, and is cited as a famous example of a damsel in distress in fiction.^[4][5][6] In the book Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, author Tracey Fullerton discusses Donkey Kong, mentioning Pauline at times. She states that one thing that could be improved was to increase the distress Pauline suffers as the game goes on.^[7]

Princess Daisy[link]

Professor E. Gadd[link]

Professor Elvin Gadd (Professor Oya Mā (オヤ・マー博士, Oya Mā Hakase^?) in Japan), more commonly known as E. Gadd, is a scientist who, with his various inventions, helps Mario and his friends. His nickname is a pun on the interjection "Egad!" In Japan, he is named after Nintendo game designer Yoshiyuki Oyama.^[8] He first appears in Luigi's Mansion, in which he investigates the mansion that mysteriously appeared by his house. To help him study the ghosts in the mansion, he uses the "Poltergust 3000", a high-powered vacuum cleaner that can suck in and capture ghosts, and the "Game Boy Horror", an invention for tracking and detecting objects such as Boos. He lends it to Luigi and helps him on his quest. His voice is played by Kazumi Totaka, who also played Yoshi.

Other major inventions include a Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device or "F.L.U.D.D." and Magic Brush used in Super Mario Sunshine. E. Gadd also a creates a Time Machine in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and various inventions as rewards for making bean coffees at the Starbeans Cafe Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. In Mario Party 6, E. Gadd is featured on a party board called E. Gadd's Garage. He will again make an appearance in Luigi's Mansion 2 in a remodelled lab to assist Luigi again.

Rosalina[link]

Toadette[link]

Toadette (キノピコ, Kinopiko^?) is Toad's female counterpart; she appears as a playable character in various Mario spin-off games, such as those in the Mario Party and Mario Kart series. She first appeared as Toad's partner in Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ as a character, and later appeared in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as an instructor when Mario receives upgraded boots and hammers. Since Mario Party 6, she has regularly appeared in the Mario Party series as a playable character, with the exception of the handheld games, where she acts as a non-player character.

Other playable appearances include Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Kart Wii; in both games, she must be unlocked. She appeared in Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix as the owner of a hotel Mario and Toad must rebuild. She has made a cameo appearance in the introduction of Super Mario Galaxy. She was voiced by Jen Taylor in most of her appearances; however, in Mario Party 8, Mario Kart Wii, and Mario Super Sluggers, she was voiced by Samantha Kelly. She was also in Mario Party DS as a non-playable character who needs help to get rid of a Hammer Bro. that has been beating up her musical instruments with his hammer in her music room. In this game, Toadette has a number of collectable musical items, such as her trumpets.

Toadette is a mushroom like woman. She has the regular mushroom hat, except hers is pink with white spots, contrary to the usual white with coloured spots. She has a magenta vest lined with gold over her lighter pink dress. She wears white bottoms and brown, padded shoes. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! she is depicted as wearing an orange dress. In most games, she has pink, balled "braids".

The relationship between her and Toad varies between sources. Their team name in Mario Party 6 indicates that they're good friends. The official Mario Kart Wii guide from Prima names her as Toad's sister, though this is unconfirmed by Nintendo itself.^[9] Additionally, the two Toads can be seen holding hands on the ending-screen of Mario Kart Wii, while she winks at the camera.

Toadsworth[link]

Toadsworth (キノじい, Kinojii^?) is an elderly Toad and Princess Peach's longtime steward, first appearing in Super Mario Sunshine, when he comes along with Princess Peach and Mario to Isle Delfino. He makes a brief appearance in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga at the beginning (where he presents Mario and Luigi with a suitcase) and end of the game; and he accompanies Princess Peach on her trip to Rogueport during Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, keeping Princess Peach very close to him, but ends up losing her. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, he is with Mario and Luigi when Princess Peach takes an experimental trip back in time. He is also included in Super Princess Peach where he gives Peach a parasol named Perry in the cinema and is seen as a lead guitarist of the band called Peach Hit Five in the music room. He also appeared in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, where he was inhaled by Bowser.

Toadsworth makes a brief appearance in Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ when the player wins a cup. He acts as an umpire in Mario Power Tennis for the Nintendo GameCube as well as in the remake for the Wii, in which Toadsworth reprimands the player when a foul shot is made. In Mario Party 7, he is a host of the boards. He finally becomes playable in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers on Peach's team. Toadsworth is voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi.^[10] N-Philes criticized Toadsworths' voice in Super Mario Sunshine, calling it "laughable", "comical", and "utterly pessimistic". ^[11]

Antagonists[link]

Bowser[link]

Bowser Jr.[link]

Bowser Jr., known as Koopa Jr. (クッパJr., Kuppa Jr.^?) in Japan, is the child and heir of Bowser. He acts as the other main antagonist since Super Mario Sunshine^[12] with his father. In Super Mario Sunshine, he uses a magic paintbrush,^[12] invented by Professor E. Gadd, and a special kerchief to transform into a translucent blue doppelgänger of Mario, Shadow Mario.^[13] Thus disguised, he vandalizes Isle Delfino with graffiti,^[12] tricking the native people into believing that Mario himself is to blame. In New Super Mario Bros., he kidnaps Princess Peach, taking her to a new castle each time he is defeated. He also appears in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, acting as his father's right hand and challenging Mario at several points of the game to impede him.^[14] Bowser Jr. also makes an appearance alongside his siblings, the Koopalings, in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. He has also appeared in Mario sports games as a playable character ever since Super Mario Sunshine. Bowser Jr. is voiced by Dolores Rogers in his early appearances; however, since Super Mario Galaxy, he has been voiced by Caety Sagoian. Bowser Jr. also appears in many Mario spin-offs, including Mario Kart games Double Dash and Wii.^[15] He is also available in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and Mario Power Tennis.^[16] Bowser Jr. is playable in Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Super Sluggers, Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Mario Strikers Charged, Mario Sports Mix and Mario Tennis Open. Bowser Jr. is also one of the fourteen bosses that appears in Mario Party 9.

Bowser Jr. ranked sixth on GameDaily's list of the top 10 Nintendo characters that deserve their own games list.^[17] They also listed him as the 18th best Mario enemy, calling him a "chip off the ol' block" from Bowser.^[18]

Fawful[link]

Kammy Koopa[link]

Kammy Koopa (カメックババ, Kamekkubaba^?) is an old, female Magikoopa who acts as an adviser and babysitter for Bowser in the first two Paper Mario games. She possesses the usual Magikoopa powers, and is primarily distinguished by her ability to summon yellow blocks, which she has used to both impede and combat Mario. She first appeared in Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64, helping Bowser by leaving enemies in Mario's way, transporting Bowser into the Star Spirit Sanctuary, and augmenting his size and power in the final battle. After being defeated by the Star Kid, Twink, she continued to work for him. In Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, she acted as Bowser's second-in-command.

IGN rated her as one of the weirdest Mario characters.^[19]

Kamek[link]

Kamek (カメック, Kamekku^?) is a Magikoopa who acts as Bowser's caretaker during his childhood^[20] and one of his high-ranking minions afterwards. Kamek can perform various feats of magic, such as self-duplication, teleportation, shooting magical blasts, and changing the size of other creatures.^[20] He first appears as the main antagonist of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which has him trying to abduct Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, who he foresees as causing trouble for the Koopas in the future.^[20] Succeeding in only capturing Baby Luigi, Kamek and his minions, the Toadies, try to steal Baby Mario from the Yoshis throughout the game; before every boss battle, Kamek will appear and change an enemy creature into a giant, or perform some magical feat, and make them fight a Yoshi.

After his appearance in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Kamek appears in several other games, such as Tetris Attack, which features him as the penultimate boss and the one who brainwashed the inhabitants of Yoshi's Island; Super Princess Peach, which includes him as a boss character; Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, in which he is Baby Bowser's sidekick; and Yoshi Touch & Go, where he kidnaps the babies once again; Yoshi's Island DS, which features him as a main antagonist; and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where he assists Bowser and the Koopalings against Mario. Kamek also appears throughout the Mario Party series.

GameDaily listed Kamek as the 16th best Mario enemy, describing him as both a "wise dude" and a "crafty opponent".^[20]

King Boo[link]

King Boo (キングテレサ, King Teresa^?) is the primary antagonist of Luigi's Mansion and plays minor roles in various other Mario games, including the Mario Kart and Mario Party series. King Boo's only major role is as the final boss of Luigi's Mansion, where he pilots a giant Bowser mecha. King Boo is a member of the Boo species, though he is much larger than the average Boo (in games after "Luigi's Mansion"), dons a crown, with a large ruby in Luigi's Mansion, and a regular crown in all other appearances. As well as appearing as the main antagonist of Luigi's Mansion, King Boo also appears as a boss in Super Mario 64 DS, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Princess Peach, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He is also an unlockable playable character in several sports games in the series and in the Mario Kart series. In Mario Party 9, he is one of the fourteen bosses in the game, with his minigame entitled "King Boo's Puzzle Attack". He will again return as the main antagonist in the upcoming game Luigi's Mansion 2.

Koopalings[link]

Petey Piranha[link]

Petey Piranha or 'Planty', known as Boss Packun (ボスパックン, Bosu Pakkun^?) in Japan,^[21] first appeared as the primary boss of Bianco Hills in the game Super Mario Sunshine. He has since appeared as a boss in several Mario games such as Super Princess Peach, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, New Super Mario Bros., and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.^[22] He has also appeared as a playable character in many spin-off Mario games, such as Mario sports games, and Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ where Petey was paired up with King Boo. In this installment of the Mario franchise Petey Piranha inexplicably possesses exceptional driving ability and an unusually speedy race car. Petey is a large, powerful Piranha Plant, and the result of a mutation. Whereas normal Piranha Plants usually grow from pipes, Petey's leaves and roots have grown into foot-like and arm-like appendages, which allows him has to use objects such as tennis rackets and golf clubs. He can also use his leaves to fly around in the air. Furthermore, Petey sports a pair of white-spotted red shorts. Although Petey does not speak, he communicated by making growling, drooling, and licking noises, which translate into actual words.

Tatanga[link]

Tatanga is an alien villain. He is the main antagonist in Super Mario Land, which is his first appearance. In the game he invades Sarasaland and kidnaps Princess Daisy. Mario has to travel across Sarasaland in order to reach him and in the end defeats him in his spaceship with his plane in a dogfight and rescues Daisy. Later Tatanga returns in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as a boss and henchman for Wario. But again, Mario was able to defeat him. Tatanga has not appeared in video games since, but is mentioned in some games that Daisy appears in.

Wario[link]

Waluigi[link]

Wart[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Mario series characters
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

	Nintendo portal
	Mario portal

• Characters of the Mario series at Super Mario Wiki