Luigi is an Italian-American plumber and the younger fraternal twin sibling of Nintendo's mascot, Mario. The deuteragonist of the Mario franchise, Luigi made his first appearance in the Game & Watch title Mario Bros. before making a more wider and defining debut in Mario Bros. Luigi's role in most mainline games of his home series since Super Mario Bros. on the NES is to assist his brother in rescuing Princess Peach from their archenemy Bowser in the Mushroom Kingdom as the second player.
Luigi has starred in some of his own games as well, most famously the Luigi's Mansion series. His first starring role is in Luigi's Hammer Toss in 1990, although it received only a limited release as a McDonald's toy. A few years later, in 1992, Luigi would receive a more recognized starring role of his own, in Mario is Missing!, where he goes on a journey to rescue Mario. It would not be until the release of New Super Luigi U in 2013 that Luigi would have a starring role in the mainline Super Mario series.
Although Luigi himself has never physically appeared in any core series games of The Legend of Zelda series, he does make one cameo in the Nintendo 64 title Ocarina of Time, and as in the case with Mario, various characters in some games resemble him, likely as Easter Eggs. In the spin-off Super Smash Bros., he appears in every installment as a hidden character (except for SSB4) and in the middlewight-class. In Mario Kart 8/Deluxe of the Mario Kart series, Link can compete against Luigi and several other mainline Mario characters in races.
Characteristics
Physical appearance
Luigi is distinctively taller but slimmer than Mario. Luigi's height is not always consistent, as besides early in-game appearances where he is a mere palette swap of Mario, some media such as cartoons depicted Luigi as tall as Princess Peach, while most games have him shorter than her.
For his clothing, Luigi's shirt and cap green instead of red like Mario's, with his cap having an "L" on the front rather than "M."
In the original Super Mario Bros., Luigi was not yet given his standard clothing colors, as in this title he wears white overalls and a green shirt, which looks very similar to that of his Fire Luigi form (whose colors are inverted). In the same game, that power-up via a Fire Flower, due to hardware limitations of the NES, appears identical to that of Fire Mario. The inconsistency was fixed with the release of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.
Following the palette swap note, since Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1988, Luigi's distinctive appearance was displayed in official artwork, and was even given a proper sprite. However, the in-game graphics being identical to Mario's would continue until the first installment of the Mario Kart series, Super Mario Kart, in 1992, where his appearance became standard ever since.
Personality
Luigi is timid, easily scared, and often overshadowed by Mario. Luigi is afraid of ghosts, which is explored especially in the Luigi's Mansion series. Luigi does his best to put his fears aside whenever he needs to rescue Mario or some other playable characters.
Like Mario and Link, Luigi often has the role of being a "silent protagonist," limiting how much dialogue he has. However, Luigi has dialogue more often than Mario does.
Although Luigi's common antagonist throughout the long-running Mario franchise is well-known to be Bowser as in the case of Mario, the plumber in green's true archnemesis is actually King Boo. In the Luigi's Mansion games where Luigi himself serves as the main protagonist, this villain kidnaps Mario, forcing him to go on a personal journey in a haunted mansion (which had Luigi face his fears as he is afraid of ghosts) to rescue his brother, just as in Mario is Missing!.
Power and abilities
Though a lot of Luigi's skills are similar to Mario's, Luigi does have the ability to jump higher than Mario in most games, considerably on par with Yoshi's, and he is first shown with the ability in Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. Luigi can also run faster, although he has less acceleration. Both abilities appear to be present only in games where the player can choose either him or Mario as their playable character. However, there are games like Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario World where Luigi's speed and jumping identities are identical.
Luigi normally kicks his feet with a warbling sound, known as scuttling, as he performs his classic high jumps, there are very few exceptions, as seen in Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels and the original Super Smash Bros., where he simply leaps like Mario does.
In an interview, the former long-time voice actor of Luigi (alongside Mario, Wario and Waluigi), Charles Martinet, Luigi's more powerful jumping ability and some other unique skills is because since he is often overlooked, Luigi works a little harder than his brother. Coincidentally, this is also referenced for Ingo in Ocarina of Time, where he is the polar opposite of Talon, who is usually seen sleeping. He also uses Green Fireballs in the Super Smash Bros. series and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
Luigi's main equipment in the Luigi's Mansion series is a flashlight and one of E. Gadd's Poltergust models, which he uses to vacuum ghosts, just like the protagonists of the Ghostbusters franchise. Luigi first used the Poltergust 3000 in Luigi's Mansion, then the Poltergust 5000 in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and the Poltergust G-00 in Luigi's Mansion 3. Luigi even uses the Poltergust 5000 as his Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and the Poltergust G-00 in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Poltergust G-00 even debuted in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate before having a more iconic appearance in Luigi's Mansion 3.
Due to Luigi's athletic body, as seen in the Mario & Sonic series, he is shown to be good at breakdancing and gymnastics.
Relationships
Although Luigi has feelings for Princess Peach, due to Mario more often taking her favor, the tomboyish Princess Daisy serves as his love interest, instead.
Similar to Mario having a villainous rival being Wario, Luigi's own is the very tall and thin Waluigi. Just like his brother, Luigi is also a doctor, skilled driver, and also has a baby counterpart. Like other primary Mario characters, Luigi is one of the most important and recognizable Nintendo video game figures.
Mainline appearances
Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, inside Hyrule Castle Courtyard where the young Hero of Time meets Princess Zelda, the window on the east side contains a portrait of Luigi alongside the likenesses of Princess Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, and his brother Mario, based on the then-new Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64. However, in Ocarina of Time 3D, this was removed and replaced with a scenery from New Super Mario Bros.
References in The Legend of Zelda games
Link's Awakening
In Link's Awakening as well as the Switch remake, alongside featuring many enemies from his home franchise, the Cucco Keeper resembles Luigi.
Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Ingo, the hard-working employee of Talon's (who resembles Mario) at Lon Lon Ranch, is based on Luigi. His outfit during Link's childhood closely resembles the plumber's clothing from Super Mario Bros., and his jealousy towards Talon and greater efforts at his job are likely a nod to Luigi being annoyed at being constantly at the shadow of his brother Mario as the second player. Ingo can also move his eyebrows and mustache, something Luigi himself can also do in a few Mario games. Unlike Talon and his daughter Malon, however, Ingo does not wear the brooch based on the face of Bowser.
Majora's Mask
In Majora's Mask, as Gorman and the Gorman Brothers each reused Ingo's model from the game's prequel as his Terminan counterparts, they all resemble Luigi.
Oracle of Seasons
Ingo makes a reappearance in Oracle of Seasons, where he shares a green color matching that of Luigi's theme.
A Link Between Worlds
In A Link Between Worlds, the Lorule counterpart of the Milk Bar Owner strongly resembles Ingo, and therefore, Luigi. Ironically, the character in Hyrule looks like Talon, and therefore, Mario.
Crossover appearances
Luigi is a playable character in every game of the Super Smash Bros. series. In most installments except for the fourth installment, Luigi has to be unlocked in order to play as him.
Etymology
Like his older brother Mario, Luigi's name was given by Nintendo of America. Coincidentally, it is similar to the Japanese word "類似" (ruiji), ironically meaning "similar". This is likely a reference to the fact that Luigi is Mario's twin as well as himself being an alternate costume of his brother in the NES and Super NES (Super Mario World only) era due to hardware limitations, which has led some older fans calling the plumber "Green Mario".
Trivia
- Luigi's creation was based on Shigeru Miyamoto and former Nintendo employee Gunpei Yokoi wanting to incorporate a similar style of gameplay based on the 1982 Williams arcade Joust, with the character being the answer to the Player 2 stork, being able to compete or cooperate - a rule which still occurs in some Mario games today.
- Whenever Luigi performs his standard taunt in the Super Smash Bros. games, he simply kicks his feet, which can actually cause damage to opponents when stood directly next to him.
- There is a popular meme among fans of the character, specifically for the Mario Party series, where Luigi were to be left completely alone during mini-games and somehow still win, namely "Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing".
- Much like Mario, as he is the second born twin, Luigi is iconic among many fans for his catchphrases, power-ups, skills, and roles similar to his brother, but is also believed to be somewhat underrated, as his status of being not quite as acknowledged due to his brother in-universe had made him become jealous towards in him some games such as Paper Mario.
- Much like his brother, Luigi can be seen performing the iconic V sign pose in early Mario games and rarely spin-off titles.
- In the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario World where Luigi's sprites are corrected to his official appearance, himself as Fire Luigi can spit fireballs as opposed to throwing them.
Gallery
Super Smash Bros. series
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Super Smash Bros. artwork -
Super Smash Bros. Melee artwork -
Super Smash Bros. Brawl artwork -
Mario franchise
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Luigi's debut artwork from Mario Bros. -
Luigi as he appeared in the Mario Bros. arcade -
Luigi as he appeared in Super Mario Bros. (NES version) -
Luigi in Super Mario Bros. (SNES version) -
Luigi performing the V sign in the SNES version of Super Mario Bros. -
Luigi's corrected 8-bit colors in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe -
Super Mario Bros. 2 artwork -
Super Mario Bros. 2 artwork of pulling a vegetable -
Luigi as he appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES version) -
Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 2 (SNES version) -
Super Mario Bros. 3 artwork -
Luigi as he appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES version) -
Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 3 (SNES version) -
Japanese Super Mario World artwork of Luigi and Mario together -
Luigi as he appeared in Super Mario World (original) -
Luigi in Super Mario World (revised) -
Luigi as he appeared in Super Mario Kart -
Mario Party 1 render -
Luigi as he appeared in the early Mario Party games -
Super Smash Bros. intro artwork -
Luigi's Mansion artwork of Luigi sucking up a ghost with his vaccum -
Luigi being intimidated by his arch-nemesis King Boo -
A serious Luigi from an artwork of Super Mario Strikers -
New Super Luigi U artwork of Luigi riding Yoshi -
Modern artwork of Luigi -
Luigi as a doctor -
Luigi at a very young age, known as Baby Luigi -
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon artwork -
A competitive Luigi playing badminton -
Luigi as he appears in Super Mario Bros. Wonder -
Luigi's Mansion 3 artwork -
An old artwork of Luigi playing NES with Mario, specifically the Dr. Mario game -
1989 Nintendo Power ad of The Adventure of Link featuring Luigi and Mario -
A Link to the Past concept art of Luigi's size in comparison to other mainline Mario and Zelda series characters -
Luigi with Mario, ready for plumbing work -
An older artwork of Luigi's powerful jumping ability compared to Mario -
Mario Party 1 win icon -
A statue of Luigi and Princess Daisy together as seen in Mario Kart Wii -
The Year of Luigi (PAL release) -
Luigi as seen in The Super Mario Bros. Movie -
Luigi as a trophy captured by King Dedede, alongside Ness and Princess Zelda, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl -
SSBU stock icon -
An artwork of Luigi beating Mario on the Nintendo Switch
