Nintendo The Mario Cast

I don't know why, but I just got the urge to make this thread out of nowhere and don't even know what exactly I'm going to do with it. So now I'm just going to explain my association with the Mario series and cast for no reason and list out the main cast and why they're great and fun.

Spoiler: Long-Winded Mario Love Explanation

I didn't used to be a big fan of the Mario series. I played a few of the games at friends' houses, as well as Mario Kart Wii and Mario Super Sluggers on my Wii, all of which I had a fun enough time with. But the broad series was never something I was super interested in until recently.

I got Super Mario Odyssey for my birthday and completely fell in love with it. I watched a playthrough of it back when it came out and thought it was cool enough, but actually playing through it myself two and a half years later, it really grabbed me. Then about a month ago, a mister Scott Wozniak (Scott the Woz on YouTube) made a video about Mario Kart 8, continuing his sub-series covering all the Mario Kart games. This put me on a Mario Kart kick and I proceeded to go back to Mario Kart Wii, which I hadn't played for years, to try and unlock all the characters, as I hadn't ever done that. So I did and it was only mildly painful toward the end. This endeavor made me investigate the characters more, and really appreciate their designs. Now, I've never hated any of the Mario designs, but I never really fully appreciated them until this point. And now, ever since, I have fallen in love with all the characters.

Spoiler: Cast List and Summaries

The main Mario cast, in my opinion, are designed incredibly well. Everything from the look, to the animations, and even to the color schemes are acutely designed to make everyone completely different and unique, both visually and personality-wise. Even Daisy and Waluigi, who exist solely as partners/friends for Peach and Wario, have their own personalities that are reflected in everything. So here's my brief(ish) summary of all these character's personalities and why like them.

Mario, "The Good Guy": Mario is the most generic one. "He's the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom! He's always the good guy!" is pretty much the only thing to describe him. But that's not a bad thing. Everyone he interacts with knows this, and it's shown through what they say. Luigi looks up to him as a role model and a brother. The Toads (and other citizens) all adore him, Peach obviously loves him for being "the good guy", and even Bowser still respects him and sees him as a rival. But we'll get to him later.

Luigi, "The Brave Coward": Luigi's an interesting one. In most games he's in, Luigi is depicted as being a big of a scaredy-cat. A bit of a timid foil to Mario's unwavering willingness to do good despite the danger. But I feel like what many don't notice is that his cowardice never gets in the way of him doing what he needs to do. the Luigi's Mansion games are the best example of this. In these games, Luigi, despite his fear, steps up to be the hero. Without the aid of his brother Mario to support him. Scared out of his mind at times, he still trudges forward to help E. Gadd with his ghostbusting. But he's not always timid. As shown in Mario Kart, Mario Party, and the sports games, he still shares Mario's love of having fun.

Peach, "The Strong Damsel": Peach is often depicted as being nothing more than the damsel in distress in the main series. The love interest. The final goal of the game. There are a few obvious exceptions, such as Super Mario Bros 2 and 3D World, where she's even playable as a main protagonist. But most of the time, she's just used as a plot device so Mario can go fight Bowser again. But in the party games, there's a bit more to her. She's depicted as fairly delicate and feminine, but not to the point of being a stereotypical, defenseless female character that refuses to do anything that could mess up her hair. She likes sports just as much as her man and isn't afraid of getting a little dirt on her heels. She can fend for herself and will do so if need be. But despite all this, she is still seen as this caring, nurturing princess, despite all the dirt that may be on her dress or how often she lets Bowser kidnap her. Again, we'll get to him later.

Daisy, "The Tough Tomboy": Daisy is my favorite of the cast. I've always kind of had a thing for this type of girl, and she just stuck with me because of that for years. She also has a surprising amount of personality crammed into her, despite not really being relevant in the main series at all outside of the original Super Mario Land, where she just filled the exact same role as Peach. Through all the party games, specifically the Mario Party and Mario Strikers games, she is depicted as a tough, energetic tomboy who isn't afraid to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Donkey Kong and Bowser. She still wears a dress and a crown, sure, but she is the most non-princessy a princess can get. This personality also makes her relationship with Luigi very interesting. Compared to Mario and Peach, who are both pretty standard, Luigi's timid and cowardly nature is directly countered by Daisy's tenacity and outgoing nature. It's a case of opposites attract. Daisy gets Luigi out of his comfort zone and trying new things, while Luigi reaches Daisy's emotional and loving side.
Also I really like her die in Super Mario Party so I will always play as her both because I love her and because of that.

Wario, "The Brute": Wario is interesting because of how he came to be. He was originally created as the villain of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, as quite literally an anti-Mario. That was pretty much his whole personality. But in later games, he kept getting expanded upon. In the Mario series, he became this sort of dastardly anti-hero character. He still doesn't like Mario and sees him as a rival, but he's not really a villain. Compared to Bowser, who acts as a villain with his rivalry against Mario, Wario instead keeps their rivalry confined to kart racing, sports, and giant board games. However, he's a bit different in his own series. In Wario Land, while still being somewhat of an anti-hero, he's more of a reluctant hero. He's not acting as the hero because he wants to do good like Mario, he jsut wants the reward. This is where his greedy nature came in. This money-loving quirk was made an even bigger part of his character in the WarioWare series, where he makes a video game company that just makes compilations of what he calls "microgames" in order to make a ridiculous amount of cash with as little effort as possible. But back to the Mario games. Compared to Mario's agility, Wario prefers to brute force his way through problems. This is shown by his incredible strength. He may be a bit large in the stomach, but his arms are ripped. He's described in Mario Kart as liking to ram into other racers just for fun. He also seems to like causing a bit of harmless chaos with Waluigi.

Waluigi, "The Schemer": I may have called Wario dastardly earlier, but Waluigi almost personifies that word sometimes. He may not have the Mario Bros agility and versatility or Wario's brute strength, but he is depicted in several series as being a sort of evil genius. Well he's not really evil, per se. He simply sees Luigi as a rival in the same way Wario views Mario. Together, the two of them for a very nice "anti-Mario Bros" motif. They're both kind of exaggerations of each Mario Bros and despise the others. The beloved intro to Mario Power Tennis shows how these two see Mario and Luigi perfectly. That said, I have never seen it. I have seen clips of it, but I don't think that's enough to describe to you how amazing it is for the characters.
I hate to leave off Waluigi's explanation as pretty much just "He's Wario's partner and Luigi's rival", so I'll add something more. Waluigi is basically that over-the-top, cartoony villain who makes really convoluted plans ans is fun to watch. Pair that with Wario, and they are amazing. Also he reminds me of Robbie Rotten, if that means anything to you.

Bowser, "The Bad Guy": Oh boy, here we go. On the surface, Bowser doesn't seem like anything more than a stereotypical bad guy. He doesn't seem to have much motivation beyond kidnapping Peach and beating Mario. Even in the Mario Party games, Bowser was always the "villain" of each game; the one who would do bad things like taking coins or stars from you if you were a bit unlucky. But in a few games, it's shown Bowser actually has a personality beyond "antagonist". Super Mario Sunshine shows he wants Bowser Jr. to have a proper mother. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story makes him one of the main protagonists and shows he isn't really a bad guy, just a bit overaggressive at times. He also apparently has a fair bit of character in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, but I haven't played that so I can't really elaborate. My point is, Bowser has a personality. He isn't a villain, he's just a bit misunderstood. He sees Mario as a rival, and kidnapping Peach is kind of a game for him. That's why it happens so often and why it escalates so much at times. The goal isn't to get Peach, it's to beat Mario. However, Super Mario Odyssey's ending shows that he does actually care about Peach. In fact, this ending is great because it shows that that Mario and Peach don't see Bowser as a villain either. He's also been a mainstay character in Mario Kart since the original, he's in most (if not all) of the sports games, and most recently he was made playable in Super Mario Party, along with Jr. So he is welcome to hand out with the gang, along with his son and minions. This further emphasizes that their role in the main series isn't exactly the true interpretation of them

Bowser Jr., "The Brat": Bowser Jr. is a spoiled brat. His cocky and entitled. But he's also just a little kid. He has a great relationship with his father and looks up to him. Not wanting to be seen as some little kid, he wears a bandanna with a scary face drawn on it to appear more intimidating. He also actually has a lot of pressure on him when you think about it. He's the heir to the throne. One day, he will take Bowser's place as the Koopa King. Maybe his cockiness is a way to mask his own insecurities. While I do find him annoying at times, I do think he deserves to be part of the roster, and enjoy that he's here.
Side Note: The Koopalings are pretty much the same, but more mature and erratic. They're all different from each other, but they generally have the same personality since they're never depicted alone.

Rosalina, "The Gentle Queen": Rosalina is basically a combination of a motherly figure and a queen. She just oozes power to me, but not in the way that makes her intimidating. You immediately know she's more than just a princess like Peach and Dasiy, but her presence is also calming. While she's basically a goddess, she would never think to use her power for her own benefit. In fact, the only time she ever uses her power is when she resets the freaking universe in Super Mario Galaxy. Outside of that, she just floats. But you can still see that power in her appearance. The gentle expression, the delicate way she holds her wand, the way she always floats slightly above the ground. All of this makes her seem like a fairy godmother, always watching over you and keeping you safe.

My GOD that took forever. I wasted about an hour and a half writing this, and it's only nine characters. I didn't include Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as most of their personality is shown in their own games, and the two are pretty similar in the Mario series. The only real difference is DK is strong and Diddy is an acrobat. I also didn't include Yoshi and Birdo as I can't really find much personality for them. Yoshi is a super friendly, food-living dinosaur and Birdo is a transgender dinosaur. That's about it.

Anyway, feel free to reply below with who you're favorite Mario cast characters are and why you like them. And if you think I'm wrong, go ahead and yell at me but please be nice. I wrote this on a whim and didn't really research anything during it. It's all just derived from what I've found looking up the characters previously and my own observations.

Have a good day/night, and sorry for making this as stupidly long as I did. I have no idea why Wario's bio needed to be that long.

 

Sort of I guess? It might've put the idea in my head but I'm not really sure. As I said, this just came out of nowhere.

Also that color I used for Mario is the best one available. It's the only red that's not faded or too dark.

Yeah, I haven't played that yet. I really want to but just haven't been able to get it.