Meet the Stars of the Mushroom Kingdom and More!

Mario

First Appearance: Donkey Kong™ (Release Year: 1981; Arcade)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG™ (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch™)
Upcoming Appearance: Mario vs. Donkey Kong™ (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Mario is the undisputed hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. He dresses in blue overalls, a red shirt, and a red hat with his first initial on it. He has a sunny disposition and a very nice mustache. Mario is Luigi’s older brother and Princess Peach’s trusted friend. Mario is always ready to face down Bowser and other dastardly foes.

Fun facts about Mario:

In the original Donkey Kong game for arcades, Mario was known as Jumpman.
Mario has appeared in more than 200 video games since his debut.

Luigi

First Appearance: Mario Bros.™ (Release Year: 1983; System: Arcade)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario Bros.™ Wonder (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch
Upcoming Appearance: Luigi’s Mansion™ 2 HD (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Ghosts and Goombas alike better not underestimate this hero! Luigi is the ghost-hunting star of the Luigi’s Mansion series of games. He dresses in blue overalls like his brother, but he wears a green shirt and a green hat with his first initial on it. Luigi isn’t always at the center of attention, but he’ll jump into harm’s way to help his older brother Mario and his friends.

Fun facts about Luigi:

In the Luigi’s Mansion franchise, Luigi has his own clone called Gooigi that’s stored in the Poltergust G-00 during Luigi’s Mansion 3.

Princess Peach

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. (Release Year: 1985; System: NES™)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Princess Peach™: Showtime! (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

This princess in pink rules over the Mushroom Kingdom with her loyal friend Toad by her side. When Princess Peach isn’t hanging out in her beautiful castle, she’s busy playing sports with friends or going on an adventure with her good friend Mario. In the Princess Peach: Showtime! game, available March 22, 2024, she transforms into many roles that give her distinctly powerful ways to save a theater from the clutches of evil.

Fun facts about Princess Peach:

Princess Peach was first playable in the Super Mario Bros. 2 game for the NES system, which was also the first time she was able to float.
Princess Peach was originally known as Princess Toadstool.

Toad

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. (Release Year: 1985; System: NES)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Toad is small in stature, but he has one of the biggest hearts in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is Princess Peach’s loyal companion and a good friend to Mario. While Toad is simply Toad, there are a number of related characters such as Captain Toad, Toadette, Professor Toad, and even Captain T. Ode.

Fun facts about Toad:

Even though there’s only one Toad, there’s still a variety of Toads that come in different colours.
Toad has the fastest dash among the playable characters in the Super Mario™ 3D World + Bowser’s Fury game, released on the Nintendo Switch system in 2021.

Yoshi

First Appearance: Super Mario World™ (Release Year: 1991; System: Super NES)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Paper Mario ™: The Thousand-Year Door (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Yoshi is one of Mario’s most loyal companions, always ready to flutter and jump to the rescue. He can grab things with his long, sticky tongue and sometimes lays eggs that can be tossed at enemies. He can even gobble up enemies! Yoshi was first discovered on an island and often carries heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom on his back.

Fun facts about Yoshi:

Yoshi has appeared as the hero in many games, including the Yoshi’s Crafted World™ game, released on the Nintendo Switch system in 2019.

BOWSER

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. (Release Year: 1985; System: NES)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Bowser is the King of the Koopas, commanding a large army of minions including Koopa Troopas, Goombas, Bullet Bills, and Shy Guys. For years, this spiky-shelled menace has tormented Mario and Princess Peach in his quest to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. However, Bowser occasionally teams up with Mario to fight mutual threats, like in the Super Mario RPG game.

Fun facts about Bowser:

Bowser has a son, Bowser Jr., who first appeared in the Super Mario Sunshine™ game. (Release Year: 2002: System: Nintendo GameCube™)

Goomba

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. (Release Year: 1985; System: NES)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Goombas are small, brown, mushroom-like creatures. Goombas are often the first enemies a player will meet in a Super Mario series game. But don’t worry—they are usually easy to defeat and can often be destroyed with a well-timed jump. These Mushroom Kingdom minions are still part of Bowser’s army, so beware!

Fun facts about Goombas

In the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game, Goombas finally get to reveal their true way of damaging Mario by biting him.
Goombas can come in many variations, including Goombeetle in the Super Mario Galaxy™

Koopa Troopa

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. (Release Year: 1985; System: NES)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Koopa Troopas are turtle-like creatures who patrol platforms and are a familiar enemy in Super Mario™ series games. You can usually find them marching through the Mushroom Kingdom, looking for trouble. These members of Bowser’s army of minions wear their homes—and their weapons—on their backs. Sometimes they will retreat into their shells!

Fun facts about Koopa Troopas:

Koopa Troopas have different shell colours. Green shells mean they walk off of platforms, while red shells mean they’ll turn around at the edge.
Their shells can be used to defeat other enemies and kicked in different directions, even up in some games.

Piranha Plant

These vicious, plantlike baddies typically hide in pipes, emerging with mouths open, awaiting victims. In later Super Mario series games, Piranha Plants can be seen outside of pipes, meandering around to and fro, presumably in search of something to bite. While there have been exceptions, they generally don’t appear if Mario waits on top of or just next to a pipe.

Fun facts about Piranha Plants:

Piranha Plants first spit fireballs in the Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels game, which originally released in 1986 in Japan.
Piranha Plants come in a wide variety, some shoot fireballs, some shoot ink, but all of them are ferocious.

Shy Guy

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. 2 (Release Year: 1988; System: NES)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

These masked rascals are total troublemakers. Shy Guys wear robes and masks to hide their true appearance. They frequently appear in Yoshi games as a common enemy. While they are not considered to be a particularly tough enemy, they can be useful—Shy Guys can even be picked up and thrown in a pinch.

Fun facts about Shy Guys:

When Shy Guy first appeared in the Mario Kart™ series they were a character that could only be played through Download Play in Mario Kart DS.

Dry Bones

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Release Year: 1990; System: NES)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario RPG (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

Dry Bones are undead, skeletal versions of Koopa Troopas. Dry Bones collapse when they are attacked or take damage but rebuild themselves after some time. These enemies have been known to attack by throwing bones and their ability to regenerate can be a real nuisance. However, in some games they can be permanently defeated by certain attacks.

Fun facts about Dry Bones:

Dry Bones first appeared in the Super Mario Bros. 3 game, released on the NES.
In Super Mario RPG, Dry Bones can only be defeated with Specials and the Pure Water item.
They are invulnerable to fireballs in the Super Mario series but are susceptible to fire-based attacks in the Paper Mario

King Boo

First Appearance: Luigi’s Mansion (Release Year: 2001; System: Nintendo GameCube)
Most Recent Appearance: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Release Year: 2023; System: Nintendo Switch)
Upcoming Appearance: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD (Release Year: 2024; System: Nintendo Switch)

King Boo is the supreme leader of all Boos and the arch-nemesis of Luigi. As a boss-level villain, King Boo is a key ally of Bowser. in the Luigi’s Mansion series. After being trapped in a portrait for years by Luigi, King Boo escaped and became determined to outsmart his nemesis, even capturing Luigi for a brief period of time!

Fun facts about King Boo:

King Boo was first playable in the Mario Kart: Double Dash!!™ game and would receive special items instead of having their own designated one.
Even though King Boo is a ghost, the character is classified as a heavyweight driver in the Mario Kart series.