All Mario Characters: The Complete Guide
Forty years of history have filled the Mushroom Kingdom with a considerable crowd. This page brings them all together, each with its origin, its role and the game that brought it into existence.
The ranking follows a simple rule: a character appears only once. They are filed by species or family before their game of origin — Goombella sits with the Goombas and not with Paper Mario, King Boo with the ghosts and not in Luigi's Mansion.
Mario & Luigi
6 characters
The core of the saga: the two brothers, their baby versions and their spin-off forms.
Mario
The fixed point of the whole edifice. An Italian plumber born a carpenter in Donkey Kong in 1981, he became the face of Nintendo as much by accident as by design: his overalls and his cap existed first of all to work around the graphical limits of the era.
Luigi
It took him twenty years to step out of the shadows. Taller, more fearful, blessed with a floatier jump, he finally earned his own series with Luigi's Mansion — where his cowardice becomes the comic engine.
Baby Mario
The childhood version of the hero, introduced with Yoshi's Island. His role reverses the usual formula: here, he is the one who has to be protected.
Dr. Mario
Mario in a white coat, hero of the 1990 puzzle game — a second career that became a franchise in its own right.
Baby Luigi
Kidnapped by Kamek in the opening scene of Yoshi's Island, he spends the entire game out of the player's reach. It would take Partners in Time to finally give him an active role.
Metal Mario
Born in 1996 as a temporary transformation in Super Mario 64, fifteen years later he became a fully fledged racer — the only power-up promoted to the rank of character.
Peach, Daisy & princesses
5 characters
The rulers of the Mushroom Kingdom and of the neighbouring realms.
Princess Peach
She reigns over the Mushroom Kingdom. Long reduced to an end-of-level objective, she has gained real depth: playable in Super Mario Bros. 2, heroine of her own game, a sovereign who genuinely governs.
Princess Daisy
She comes from Sarasaland, a neighbouring kingdom introduced in Super Mario Land. Her sporty, straight-talking temperament sets her apart from Peach's more composed register.
Princess Shokora
A royal figure of Wario's adventures, whose fate serves as the thread running through Wario Land 4.
Baby Peach
Created for Partners in Time, she has mechanics of her own: a parasol to glide with and a fit of crying that paralyses enemies.
Baby Daisy
She turned up straight behind the wheel in Mario Kart Wii, with no game of origin and no plot. She pushes the athletic energy of the adult Daisy even further.
Rosalina & cosmic characters
2 characters
The figures who came from space, keepers of the stars and the observatories.
Rosalina
Harmonie in the French version. She watches over the Comet Observatory of Super Mario Galaxy; her story, told as a picture book inside the game, remains the most melancholy passage in the series.
Polari
The black Luma who assists Rosalina aboard the Comet Observatory. Amid a swarm of exuberant living stars, he speaks with the measured voice of a steward.
Toads
6 characters
A whole species, not a character: you run into them everywhere at once.
Toad
He is not a character but a species, which explains why you meet him everywhere at once — guard, shopkeeper, guide and travelling companion.
Toadette
The most popular variation on the Toad people. Racer, explorer and, since New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, a playable heroine in her own right.
Captain Toad
He earned his own series of puzzles built on the most radical design constraint in the saga: he cannot jump.
Toadsworth
Peach's steward and tutor, he has watched over the court of the Mushroom Kingdom since Super Mario Sunshine.
Toadbert
The learned adviser of the series Mario & Luigi, as erudite as he is clumsy.
Toadiko
A discreet figure of the Toad people, met along the kingdom's RPG adventures.
Yoshis
3 characters
The mount that became a franchise, and the variants the series has drawn from it.
Yoshi
He arrived in Super Mario World as a mount before becoming a franchise in his own right. His tongue, his egg and his fluttering jump: three mechanics the series has been reusing for thirty years.
Yoob
A disturbing variation on the Yoshi concept, introduced in Partners in Time — the friendly mount turned threat.
Boshi
A blue Yoshi in dark glasses who rules his island through sheer speed. The only one of his species to behave like a petty tyrant, and he never came back.
Wario & Waluigi
2 characters
The rivals, born to balance out a game and turned into cult figures in their own right.
Wario
A greedy, noisy version of Mario, born in Super Mario Land 2. The anti-hero has since built an empire of his own, from WarioWare to treasure hunts.
Waluigi
Created to even out a doubles tennis match, he became a cult figure precisely because he has never had a game of his own. The waiting has become his identity.
Kongs
9 characters
The oldest clan in the Mario universe: it predates Mario himself.
Donkey Kong
Chronologically older than Mario: he is the one who gives the 1981 game its name. From initial antagonist, he went on to headline his own series.
Cranky Kong
The original Donkey Kong, now a grumpy mentor. His nostalgia for the 8-bit era is a recurring comic device.
Diddy Kong
DK's nimble sidekick, introduced in Donkey Kong Country. Fast, light, and the star of his own racing game.
Dixie Kong
Recognisable by her helicopter ponytail, which gives her a glide where the other Kongs simply drop.
Funky Kong
The clan's surfing mechanic, supplier of gear and vehicles across almost the entire series.
Lanky Kong
The Kong with the outsized arms from Donkey Kong 64, whose improbable look has become a signature.
Tiny Kong
The smallest of the clan, able to shrink and slip through where the others cannot fit.
Chunky Kong
The colossus of Donkey Kong 64: brute strength, unapologetic shyness.
Candy Kong
She ran the save point in Donkey Kong Country: a technical function turned into an encounter, at a time when saving was a rationed privilege.
Bowser & his family
3 characters
The king of the Koopas, his heir and his alternate forms.
Bowser
The king of the Koopas, chief antagonist since 1985. His constancy has become a signature: he kidnaps, he loses, he starts again — and the series has been built on that ritual.
Bowser Jr.
The only son and designated heir, who appeared in Super Mario Sunshine. His bandana bib and his Koopa Clown Car have become inseparable from the character.
Dry Bowser
The skeletal version of the Koopa king, born in New Super Mario Bros. It turns Bowser's defeat into a second battle form.
Koopalings
1 character
Bowser's seven lieutenants, each with their own wand and attack pattern.
Koopalings
Bowser's seven lieutenants, each with their own wand, hairstyle and attack pattern. They appeared together in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Koopas
8 characters
The shelled turtle and all its kin, from rank-and-file soldier to fortress guardian.
Koopa Troopa
The shelled turtle, whose shell becomes a projectile. A mechanic invented in 1985 and never abandoned since.
Dry Bones
The Koopa reduced to a skeleton: stomp him and he puts himself back together. The enemy that refuses to stay beaten.
Spike
The Koopa that coughs up spiked balls, introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Boom Boom
The fortress guardian of Super Mario Bros. 3, back as a recurring mini-boss in the modern 3D instalments.
Pom Pom
Boom Boom's counterpart, who dodges and counterattacks instead of charging.
Kooper
A blue Koopa passionate about archaeology, who hurls himself shell-first to reach switches that are out of range. Here the shell becomes a tool instead of a projectile.
Chargin' Chuck
The football-playing Koopa who charges head down: a single behavioural variation that was enough to turn him into a character.
Koops
The shy Koopa from The Thousand-Year Door, whose narrative arc is the passage from fear to courage.
Kameks & Magikoopas
2 characters
The wizards in Bowser's service, wand in hand.
Kamek
The Magikoopa wizard in Bowser's service, present as early as Yoshi's Island where he enlarges bosses with a wave of his wand.
Kammy Koopa
Bowser's witch adviser in the series Paper Mario, as devoted as she is caustic.
Goombas
4 characters
The brown mushroom from the first level and its countless variations.
Goomba
The brown mushroom from the very first level: the simplest enemy in the series, and the first one every player ever stomped.
Goombella
The archaeologist Goomba who travels with Mario in The Thousand-Year Door and comments on every enemy encountered.
Goomboss
The giant version of the Goomba, promoted to boss in Paper Mario then in Super Mario 64 DS.
Goombario
The first partner in Paper Mario, able to size up enemies and scenery in order to comment on them. The Goomba, the most basic enemy in the series, becomes its sharpest pen here.
Boos & ghosts
2 characters
The Kingdom's spirits, whose behaviour tells you their character.
Shy Guys & Snifits
2 characters
A masked silhouette that became one of Nintendo's most endlessly reworked designs.
Bob-ombs
4 characters
The walking bomb with its fuse lit — enemy, ammunition and sometimes ally.
Bob-omb
The walking bomb with its fuse lit. By turns enemy, ammunition and, in certain games, a chatty ally.
King Bob-omb
The first boss of Super Mario 64, self-proclaimed monarch of the mountaintop — you beat him by picking him up.
Bombette
A pink Bob-omb who blows open cracked walls. The explosion stops being a weapon and becomes a key to progress.
Bobbery
The old Bob-omb sailor from The Thousand-Year Door, whose painful past makes him the most moving partner in the series.
Piranha Plants
4 characters
The carnivorous plant of the green Warp Pipes and its giant forms.
Piranha Plant
The carnivorous plant that springs from the green Warp Pipes, present without a break since Super Mario Bros.
Petey Piranha
The Piranha Plant turned legged colossus, introduced in Super Mario Sunshine and a kart racer and tennis player ever since.
Dino Piranha
The first boss of Super Mario Galaxy: a prehistoric plant you beat by swinging its own bud around.
Hammer Bros
4 characters
The throwers: hammers, fireballs, boomerangs and shockwaves.
Hammer Bro
The Hammer Bro, lobbing his hammers in high arcs, one of the most feared enemies of the NES era.
Fire Bro
The incendiary variant of the Hammer Bro, swapping the hammer for fireballs.
Boomerang Bro
The one whose projectile comes back: he forces you to watch both sides of the screen.
Sumo Bro
The colossus who pounds the ground from the high platforms and sets off columns of flame.
Bullet Bills
2 characters
The human-faced shells fired from the fortress cannons.
Bullet Bill
The human-faced shell fired from the fortress cannons, one of the rare enemies you can use as a platform.
Banzai Bill
The giant version of the Bullet Bill, wide enough to fill the entire screen.
Chain Chomps
1 character
The chained iron ball that snaps its jaws.
Chain Chomp
The chained iron ball that snaps its jaws. Freed from its chain, it charges straight ahead.
Lakitus & Spinies
2 characters
The Koopa on his cloud and the spiked balls he drops.
Thwomps & Whomps
2 characters
The falling stone and the slab that slams down: scenery turned threat.
Bloopers
2 characters
The squids of the water levels, from the smallest to the outsized.
Blooper
The squid of the water levels, which has been zigzagging after Mario since Super Mario Bros.
Mega Blooper
The outsized version of the squid, met in Super Mario Sunshine.
Cheep Cheeps & fish
1 character
The wildlife of the water levels, present since the very first game.
Cheep Cheep
The orange fish of the water levels, present since the very first Super Mario Bros.
Pokeys & desert creatures
1 character
The dwellers of the sand flats, to be taken apart segment by segment.
Pokey
The segmented cactus, taken apart ring by ring. The emblem of the desert levels.
Moles & underground creatures
2 characters
The ones that burst out of the ground just when you are not expecting them.
King Mogu
The giant mole of the Gusty Gardens, a boss fought at the summit of a wind-battered planet.
Monty Mole
The mole that bursts out of the ground without warning: an enemy designed to punish the player who runs without looking.
Assorted animal creatures
12 characters
The critters that belong to no family: caterpillars, dinosaurs, rabbits and curiosities.
Wiggler
The yellow caterpillar you had better not trample: it turns red and furious.
Birdo
The pink creature with the egg-launching snout, first seen in Super Mario Bros. 2 and a regular of the sports spin-offs ever since.
Rex
The blue dinosaur from Super Mario World who flattens at the first stomp before carrying on forward.
Ninji
The little black jumper, first seen in Super Mario Bros. 2 and put back in the spotlight by Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Buzzy Beetle
The hard-shelled beetle, immune to fireballs — you have to jump on it or send its own shell back at it.
Cataquack
A creature of Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine, emblem of the sun-drenched island.
Mips
The rabbit you chase through the castle basement in Super Mario 64 — a chase with nothing at stake that became a shared memory.
Nabbit
The thief of the Toad Houses, who has to be caught before he vanishes with the loot.
Amp
The electric sphere that spins on its axis, introduced in Super Mario 64: impossible to defeat, only to avoid.
Lava Bubble
The Podoboo that leaps from the lava of the castles: a steady-rhythm obstacle you learn to count rather than fight.
Plessie
The mount for the rapids in Super Mario 3D World, who turns the platforming into a river ride.
Poochy
The invincible dog of the series Yoshi: he crosses spikes and lava without flinching, and serves as a vehicle as much as a companion.
Lumas
2 characters
The living stars that turn into planets.
Piantas
2 characters
The palm-tree people of Isle Delfino, neighbors of the Nokis.
Il Piantissimo
The masked runner of Isle Delfino, Mario's self-proclaimed rival in races he loses every single time.
Piantas
The palm-tree people of Isle Delfino: tall, cheerful, a tree growing out of their heads, they fill the island's land and beaches.
Nokis
1 character
The sea people of Isle Delfino, neighbors of the Piantas.
Nokis
The second people of Isle Delfino, small and turned toward the sea, wearing a shell for a body. Their sheltered bay hosts the finest diving sequences in the game.
Poplins
1 character
The people of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and its prince.
Prince Florian
The companion of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, who takes on in this game the guide role Yoshi held elsewhere.
Inhabitants & assorted peoples
2 characters
The peoples met across the kingdoms, from the Bonneters to the clouds.
Humans
2 characters
The human characters who belong to no species of the Kingdom.
Pauline
The most astonishing journey in the saga: captive of the very first Donkey Kong in 1981, she returns thirty-six years later as the mayor of New Donk City in Odyssey.
Captain Syrup
The leader of the Brown Sugar Pirates, Wario's designated rival throughout the series Wario Land.
Luigi's Mansion
3 characters
The figures unique to the haunted mansion series.
Professor E. Gadd
The resident inventor of the series Luigi's Mansion, to whom Luigi owes the Poltergust and most of his borrowed courage.
Polterpup
The ghost puppy of Luigi's Mansion, the only specter in the mansion no one tries to vacuum up.
Gooigi
The green goo double from Luigi's Mansion 3, able to slip through where Luigi cannot — and every bit as fragile as you would expect.
Paper Mario
21 characters
Allies and adversaries born of the paper adventures.
Vivian
A repentant shadow from The Thousand-Year Door, who became one of the best-written characters in the whole saga.
Carmina
A standout figure in the series Paper Mario, somewhere between ally and enigma.
Cumulia
A traveling companion of the paper adventures, tied to the cloud kingdoms.
Doopliss
The identity-stealing ghost of The Thousand-Year Door: he does not steal objects, but names.
Beldam
The real mastermind of the Dark Trio in Paper Mario: she works in the shadows while others parade around.
Dimentio
The interdimensional jester of Super Paper Mario, a manipulator with a permanent smile.
Count Bleck
The antagonist of Super Paper Mario, whose motives have less to do with conquest than with grief.
Mr. L
Luigi under hypnosis, turned into a henchman. The most transparent disguise in the saga.
King Olly
The origami sovereign of The Origami King, who folds the Mushroom Kingdom to his will.
Shadow Queen
The entity sealed beneath Rogueport in The Thousand-Year Door, whose awakening threatens the entire world.
O'Chunks
A standout figure of Super Paper Mario, between menace and comedy.
Cortese
An adversary from the series Paper Mario, as formidable through cunning as through sheer force.
Occicroc
A boss from the series Paper Mario, built for end-of-chapter showdowns.
Fawful
An antagonist of the paper adventures, a specialist in dirty tricks.
Carbocroc
A massive creature from Paper Mario, a mid-adventure obstacle.
Grodus
A member of the X-Nauts, the organization hunting down the Crystal Stars in The Thousand-Year Door.
Lord Crump
Another face of the X-Nauts, more brute than strategist.
Magnus von Grapple
The iron mech of the X-Nauts, the organization's heavy artillery.
Gold Hawk
A high-flying adversary of the paper adventures, as fast as he is elusive.
Grubba
The wrestling promoter of The Thousand-Year Door, whose folksy slang and shady schemes hide very real exploitation.
Olivia
King Olly's sister and traveling companion in The Origami King: she is the one through whom the game delivers its emotion.
Mario & Luigi (RPG series)
7 characters
The characters unique to the two brothers' handheld adventures.
Starlow
The mascot of the series Mario & Luigi, a shining guide through the two brothers' adventures.
Prince Dreambert
The prince of the dream world in Dream Team, guiding Mario and Luigi through dreams.
Cackletta
The witch of Superstar Saga, the main antagonist and one of the best-written villains in the series.
Antasma
The bat king of Dream Team, who rules over the nightmares of the dream world.
Queen Bean
The sovereign of the Beanbean Kingdom in Superstar Saga, whose stolen voice sets the whole adventure in motion.
Popple
The apprentice master thief of the series Mario & Luigi, as skilled with his hands as he is clumsy with his plans.
Prince Peasley
The prince of the Beanbean Kingdom in Superstar Saga: the flair of a storybook hero and the ego of a rock star.
Super Mario RPG
7 characters
The figures of the very first Mario role-playing game, from 1996 to the remake.
Geno
A puppet inhabited by a celestial spirit in Super Mario RPG, and the object of a lasting cult following — one of the characters fans ask for most.
Mallow
A cloud prince who believes he is a frog. His quest for identity gives Super Mario RPG its most moving side.
Croco
The recurring trickster of Super Mario RPG, an unkillable thief you run into at every turn of the adventure.
Valentina
The usurper of the cloud kingdom in Super Mario RPG, as theatrical as she is ambitious.
Smithy
The main antagonist of Super Mario RPG, come from another world to forge weapons and shatter the Star.
Culex
The optional boss of Super Mario RPG, an unabashed tribute to Final Fantasy right down to its music.
Booster
Peach's eccentric suitor in Super Mario RPG: a character built entirely on misunderstanding and excess.
WarioWare
2 characters
The faces of the microgame studio founded by Wario, a universe next door to the main series but quite separate from it.
Donkey Kong (excluding the Kongs)
1 character
The rivals and characters of the DK series who are not Kongs.
King K. Rool
The crocodile king of the Kremlings, Donkey Kong's long-standing rival ever since Donkey Kong Country.
Robots & machines
2 characters
The mechanical creations that belong to no species at all.
F.L.U.D.D.
Short for Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device: the talking water pump from Super Mario Sunshine, at once a cleaning tool, a weapon and a jetpack.
Mechakoopa
The little mechanical Koopas that Bowser drops in Super Mario World: you kick them straight back to sender.
One-off bosses
8 characters
The showdowns that belong to no family: one appearance, one fight, one signature.
Wart
The final boss of Super Mario Bros. 2, brought down with thrown vegetables, and for a long time the most unusual villain in the saga.
Tatanga
The invader from outer space who kidnaps Daisy in Super Mario Land — the only kidnapper ever to beat Bowser to it.
Mouser
The bomb-throwing rat from Super Mario Bros. 2, the first truly memorable boss of that game.
Reznor
The fire-breathing triceratops perched on a spinning wheel, encountered in the fortresses of Super Mario World.
Métaboss
Bowser's grotesque mirror image: a warped copy of the king of the Koopas, born of a fight in which you had to defeat his own caricature.
The Broodals
The family of rabbit wedding planners in Bowser's service in Super Mario Odyssey.
Madame Broode
The leader of the Broodals in Odyssey, owner of a golden Chain Chomp kept on a leash.
Grand Caputl
The high-flying adversary of Odyssey, a hat hunter in Bowser's service.
One-off NPCs
1 character
The named characters who belong to no family and to no series.
Perry
The talking umbrella from Super Princess Peach, at once a weapon, a mount and the narrator of his own story.
Dig deeper into the enemies
Every enemy on this page gets the full treatment on the page devoted to them: origins, variants, game-by-game appearances, but also the castles, the flying fortresses and the mini-bosses that complete the picture.
See the full enemies pageExplore the Mario universe
Frequently asked questions
How are the characters sorted on this page?
Each character appears only once. They are filed by species or family first, and only then by the game they come from. That is why Goombella sits with the Goombas rather than with Paper Mario, and Petey Piranha with the Piranha Plants rather than among the bosses.
How many characters does the Mario universe have?
There is no official count: the series adds together recurring heroes, entire species such as the Toads and background creatures promoted to characters over the course of the games. This page brings together 154 of them.
Which is the oldest character in the series?
Donkey Kong. He gives his name to the 1981 game in which Mario appears for the very first time, under the name Jumpman and in the role of a carpenter.
Why has Waluigi never had his own game?
He was created in 2000 to even out a doubles match in Mario Tennis, with no world of his own. That absence of a role became his identity and explains his cult status.
Where can I find the enemies in detail?
A dedicated page covers Bowser, Bowser Jr., the Koopalings and the whole hostile bestiary, along with the castles, the fortresses and the mini-bosses.