Hey there again tiktakers! Surely many of you remember our video about Mario Bros. (brothers)
(video card). And today, we want to revisit this legendary videogame franchise, but to talk about
Mario's loyal brother-in-arms, Luigi! And although he plays a secondary role in most Mario games,
many Nintendo fans consider Luigi their favorite character in the Super Mario universe.
Luigi was created for Nintendo by the Japanese designer Shigéru Miyamóto. He's Mario's younger
brother, and first appeared in 1983 in the game Mario Bros., where both brothers are playable, and
have to defeat enemies that have invaded New York's sewer system. In this game Mario and
Luigi couldn't jump yet, which later on became a staple mechanic in the series.
Luigi's name was inspired by the pizza place "Mario & Luigi's",
located right next to Nintendo of America's headquarters in Washington.
At first, Luigi's appearance was very similar to Mario's, only with his color
palette swapped for green tones. This was due to the software limitations at the time.
Luigi appeared again in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and other Mario
titles, playing the role of the playable character for player two. However, in Super Mario Bros. 2
Luigi is featured as a protagonist, and can be chosen as a playable character from the
very beginning. The playable characters in this game are Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach.
Luigi's appearance also changed in that game: He was made taller and a bit thinner than his
brother. He was also given the ability to jump higher than the other characters, which
certainly made him stand out to the players. Luigi's personality gradually started to
take form as more Mario games were released, and that's one of the most interesting aspects about
this character. And although Luigi is usually depicted as nervous and coward, deep down he's
much more than just a scaredy-cat! However, we'll learn more about that a bit later on, tiktakers.
Another important stage in Luigi's development took place in 1992, when Nintendo released an
educational video game titled "Mario is Missing!". Luigi is the sole protagonist of this game,
and his mission is to rescue his brother who was kidnapped by a fearsome enemy.
But even then, over the next few years Luigi remained a secondary character living under
his brother's shadow in the next Super Mario games. Additionally, neither Super Mario 64,
nor Super Mario Sunshine, would feature Luigi as a playable character.
It wasn't until 2001 that Nintendo finally broke this pattern,
and released Luigi's Mansion as a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube.
Mario had always been the protagonist whenever Nintendo launched a new console,
but this time around, Luigi would be the one under the spotlight! In Luigi's Mansion, Luigi
becomes a ghost hunter who has to help Professor E. Gadd solve problems in a haunted mansion.
This game was a very different take in the Super Mario franchise – it was simple, but very fun!
Luigi gradually gained more fans thanks to one of the most important titles for the Nintendo DS:
Super Mario 64 DS (2004). Luigi was one of the four playable characters in the game,
and had very particular abilities, such as turning invisible when grabbing a power flower,
and a higher back-flip. This hadn't happened since Super Mario Bros. 2.
Luigi also became a co-protagonist with his brother in other titles for different
Nintendo consoles, such as in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy
Advance (2003). This title was then followed by Mario & Luigi: Partners
in Time for the Nintendo DS (2005), where the player also controls Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
And later on they released Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story for the Nintendo DS (2009).
Nintendo kept on surprising the gaming world with subsequent games taking place
in the Super Mario universe. In most of them Luigi appears either as a secondary character,
or as a secret character you can play as once you finish the game with Mario. But even then,
it's clear that Luigi is always taken into account, and we have seen him in other Super
Mario titles such as the Mario Kart series, the Smash Bros. series, and the Mario Strikers games.
As we can see, every now and then Luigi alternates his main role as a secondary character,
either for roles as a protagonist such as in Luigi's Mansion or in Dr. Luigi, or for roles
as a co-protagonist such as in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. In 2013 Nintendo declared that year
as "The Year of Luigi", to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the creation of this character.
And thus, many games featuring Luigi as the main star were released that year.
It's difficult to talk about all the games in the Super Mario franchise and all the
roles Luigi plays in each of them, since there are just so many! However, what's clear to us
is that this tall plumber, with his blue overalls and his green hat with a big L, has won over the
hearts of many gamers… including ours, tiktakers! And what about you? Do you like Luigi too?