Luigi (character): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:41, 23 March 2007

Revision as of 17:42, 23 March 2007

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{{dablink|This article is about the [[Nintendo]] character. For other uses of the name '''asswholeLuigi''', see [[arseLuigi (disambiguation)]].}}

{{General CVG character

|width= 250px

|name=Luigi

|name=SHITHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

|image=[[Image:luigi.jpg|150px]]

|caption=Luigi's current appearance, in a rendered promotional image from the ''[[Mario Party 6]]'' press kit.

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|born=March 6, 1975

}}

{{nihongo|'''Luigi'''|ルイージ|Ruīji}} is a [[video game character]] created by [[Japanese people|Japanese]] game designer [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]. He is the taller yet younger brother of Nintendo's official mascot, [[Mario]], and has appeared in games throughout the [[Mario series]]. He can also jump higher than [[Mario]], yet he still is seen as less than his brother. His voice is performed by [[Charles Martinet]], the same actor who provides the voice for Mario, as well as other characters throughout the franchise.<ref>{{cite web | author=Nintendoland.com | title=Charles Martinet--Voice Over | work= | url=http://www.charlesmartinet.com/voiceover.html | accessdate=August 14 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref>

{{nihongo|ASHITe blue and red while Luigi wore green and black.

Because of the common reference to him and Mario as the "Mario Brothers," it has been speculated his full name is "Luigi Mario," and in certain non-game sources (comic books and the ''[[Super Mario Bros. (film)|Super Mario Bros.]]'' film), this is the case. However, Nintendo of America stated in the 1980s that neither Mario nor Luigi have last names.<ref>{{cite web | title=Nintendo 1988 Inside Edition TV news report with Super Mario | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGFRi_ueq-M | accessdate=2006-11-10}}</ref>

Although he was originally identical to Mario except for a green color theme as opposed to red, Luigi has since developed a personality and style of his own. Like the way he jumps is somewhat similar to Yoshi's "flutter" jump. Luigi's name was inspired by a pizza parlor near Nintendo of America's headquarters in [[Redmond, Washington]], called "Mario & Luigi's".<ref name="Mario_Bros">{{cite web | author=International Arcade Museum | title=Mario Bros. Arcade | work= | url=http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=8624 | accessdate=August 14 | accessyear=2006 }}</ref> His name may be a pun on the Japanese word ''ruiji (類似, ruiji?)'', meaning "analogous",<ref name="dict">Nakao, R: "Random House Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary". Random House, 1997</ref> a play on the fact that his [[Sprite (computer graphics)|sprite]] was the same as Mario's in his original appearance.

==Concept and creation==

[[Image:MarioLuigi_MarioBrosSprites.png|200px|thumb|left|The arcade version of ''[[Mario Bros.]]'' featured Luigi (right) in his debut appearance as a [[palette swap]] of Mario.]]During the development of ''[[Donkey Kong]]'', designer Shigeru Miyamoto had created Mario (then known as "Jumpman") hoping that he would be able to recast the character in a variety of different roles in future games.<ref name="hiscore">Demaria, R: "High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Games", page 238. McGraw Hill-Osbourne, 2002</ref> Miyamoto had been inspired by the game ''[[Joust (arcade game)|Joust]]'' to create a game with a simultaneous two-player mode, which resulted in the creation of the game [[Mario Bros.]] and of the Luigi character.<ref name="Mario_Bros"/> Because of software constraints of the time, Luigi's first appearance was a simple [[palette swap]] of Mario designed to represent the second player. In accordance with Nintendo's marketing policy of naming and promoting individual characters,<ref name="hiscore"/> Luigi was given a name, but the only definite biographical detail provided for the new character was that he was Mario's brother. Graphically and in terms of gameplay, the characters were completely identical except for their color schemes: Mario wore blue and red while Luigi wore green and black.

Luigi was introduced to a wider audience in ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', functioning again as second-player palette swap of Mario, this time appearing with matching white hat and overalls and a green shirt, to contrast with Mario's red cap and overalls and brown shirt. It wasn't until the Japan-only sequel ''[[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels|Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' was released that Luigi began to become distinguished from Mario. In that title, Luigi was a better jumper than Mario though with less accuracy and traction; similar to the character of "Mama" in Miyamoto's ''[[Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic]]'' of the same era. In 1988, a version of ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' with the graphics altered to represent characters from the Mario franchise was released in the United States as ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'', after the Japanese sequel was deemed to be too difficult for American audiences. In this version, the "Mama" character was redesigned as Luigi in his new taller, thinner look, marking the introduction of the new design to English-speaking audiences. Luigi's thinner, taller appearance and color scheme were later adopted in Japan as well, and has since remained consistent in most subsequent promotional art and in-game appearances.