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    Luigi

    Character » appears in 203 games

    Luigi is Mario's brother. He began as a simple palette swap of Mario, but was later differentiated. In his later forays, he provides comic relief.

    Short summary describing this character.

    Luigi last edited by Dededisciple on 09/04/23 10:34AM View full history

    Overview

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    Luigi is the shy and more timid younger brother to the famous Mario, and is one of the core characters in the Mario franchise, and the main protagonist of the Luigi's Mansion series. Despite his cowardice, he has accompanied his big bro on countless adventures and has proven to be very capable, having an even higher jump than Mario's, who's claim to fame is his jumping ability, and it seems what's truly holding Luigi back is how he doubts his own abilities.

    History

    Mario Bros.

    Luigi’s first appearance was in the Game & Watch Mario Bros. (released several months before the more-popular arcade Mario Bros.) game.

    Super Mario Bros. series

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    Critically, no difference existed between him and his brother, until Super Mario Bros 2 divided their abilities. Luigi was deemed the less powerful of the two, yet possessing a more advanced jump. The Mario team in Japan considered this to be an error unique to SMB2 (which they called Super Mario USA), and actually kept Luigi as a standard palette swap in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. Nintendo didn't acknowledge the brothers as 2 different people again until much later.

    Unlike the many rumors about playing as Luigi in Super Mario 64 (though years later it has been confirmed through datamining that he was originally planned to be in the game) Luigi is a playable character in the handheld remake, Super Mario 64 DS.

    In Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Super Mario 3D Land, Luigi is an unlockable playable character in the post-game.

    In Super Mario Odyssey, Luigi hosts the online minigame Luigi's Balloon World, that is only available after completing the main story.

    Luigi's Mansion series

    Luigi is the main playable character in all Luigi's Mansion games, where he busts ghosts with the assistance of Professor E. Gadd, and his inventions. Instead of being a platformer, the Luigi's Mansion series revolves around puzzle solving and out-of-the-box thinking.

    In the first Luigi's Mansion, Luigi was lured into a haunted mansion under the guise that it was a prize in a contest he didn't enter. Mario arrived at the location first to investigate, only to get himself captured and turned into a portrait by King Boo, who had also released several other ghosts from their paintings. After entering the mansion and meeting E. Gadd for the first time and being informed of the situation, Luigi is equipped with the Poltergust 3000 and the Game Boy Horror (a modified Game Boy Color) to capture the ghosts and rescue his brother. Notably, after completing the game, Luigi can use the riches earned over the course of his adventure to build himself a real mansion of his own, the quality of which varying depending on how much the player has amounted.

    In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Luigi is summoned by E. Gadd to restore the Dark Moon, a crystal moon that keeps the ghosts of Evershade Valley passive, after it was shattered into pieces by a vengeful King Boo. It is later revealed that Mario has been captured once again, and once again, Luigi saves him. This time, Luigi is equipped with the Poltergust 5000 and the Dual Scream (a modified Nintendo DS).

    In Luigi's Mansion 3, Luigi, Mario, Peach, and three Toads, are invited to the Last Resort, a seemingly luxurious hotel, that is, surprise, haunted, and initial grand appearance was merely an illusion. Once again King Boo returns with a vengeance, and this time traps not only Mario in a portrait, but Peach and E. Gadd as well. This time, Luigi is equipped with the Poltergust G-00 and the Virtual Boo (a modified Virtual Boy). The most notable feature of the Poltergust G-00 is that it stores a gooey doppelganger of Luigi dubbed Gooigi (who previously made his debut in the 3DS remake of the first Luigi's Mansion), who Luigi can summon at any time to solve puzzles.

    Paper Mario series

    Other escapades by the little green man are told rather than played, in the first Paper Mario, Luigi has a hidden diary that can be read, and in its sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Luigi has humorous side story running parallel to Mario’s own adventure.

    Luigi plays a notably larger role in Super Paper Mario, being one of the four Heroes of Light destined to save all of dimensions, but also being "the man in green" foretold to bring darkness to all through the Chaos Heart's power. In the game, he is both a playable character and member of the main party, while also being a pawn to the antagonists as Mr. L, his brainwashed alter-ego.

    Spin-off Titles

    As a core character in Nintendo’s franchise, Luigi makes regular appearances in Mario’s spin off titles, such as Mario Party and Super Smash Bros..

    Other Appearances

    Luigi as a card dealer in New Super Mario Bros.
    Luigi as a card dealer in New Super Mario Bros.

    A handful of games have starred Luigi, despite his reluctance to go adventuring. The well-known edutainment title Mario is Missing! was not developed by Nintendo’s core team, and so was somewhat lost in the familiarity of the Mario universe. In fact, the GameCube title Luigi’s Mansion ignored the existence of Mario is Missing! and described itself as Luigi's first starring role, and was much better received, allowing the taller brother to finally shine. The irony that both of these titles involve rescuing Mario seems not to be lost on the game’s creators.

    Supposedly his greater athletic ability led to him becoming a taller and slimmer size than his better known pasta loving brother.

    Baby Luigi

    Baby Luigi as seen in Mario Kart Wii.
    Baby Luigi as seen in Mario Kart Wii.

    Baby Luigi is the baby version of Luigi that usually gets kidnapped in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. During his appearance, Yoshi and Baby Mario traveled all across the island to save him from Kamek and Bowser. After that, the babies are reunited with his parents. Baby Luigi has since appeared in many Mario spin-offs.

    Special Appearances

    In the minigames in New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64 DS, Luigi is a card dealer and you can play games such as Luigi-jack (actually blackjack with a different name), Mushroom Roulette, and Picture Poker. He also appeared in all 91 episodes of the Mario cartoon series.

    Relationships

    Although various games in the franchise have often poked fun at how Luigi is "the lesser of the two brothers," and he and Mario share some sibling rivalry at times, his relationship with Mario is a healthy one, and they have saved each other on plenty of occasions. In the Luigi's Mansion series, Luigi is willing to face his fear of ghosts for Mario's sake, and in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Luigi's Mansion 3, Mario is shown to be very grateful and proud of his little brother. In the Mario & Luigi series, the brothers are so coordinated, that they are capable of pulling off team attacks, and in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and its 3DS remake, even coming up with original ones on the fly for advanced Bros. Attacks. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, when Star Temple gate deems Luigi unworthy of passing and insults him to the point of tears, Mario angrily objects in the name of his brother, while his baby self hammers the gate, and after it is revealed that it was all a test, the gate calls them "the best siblings ever." Their brotherly bond is most emphasized in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where instead of rescuing Peach, Mario's quest is driven by the desire to rescue his brother from Bowser, and is undying in his resolve, enduring countless failures during a training montage and facing the Jungle Kingdom's champion, Donkey Kong, in a duel, just for the chance to see his brother again, and both of them constantly think of each other while being separated.

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    Several games seem to imply that Luigi is romantically linked to Princess Daisy, if for no other reason than to give a counterpart to Mario's feelings for Peach.

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