Mario, as a franchise outside of Donkey Kong, has existed for 35 years now. 1985 is the year that Super Mario Bros appeared on the NES and changed gaming forever. The mustachioed plumber still has it as Nintendo’s iconic mascot. But what about his friends?
In honor of the momentous occasion of his 35th birthday, this article is going to look through Mario’s history to uncover the origins of some of the other characters in the series. For example, where did Daisy and Waluigi originate? Some of these answers may be common knowledge, while others have a trickier past to unravel due to regional changes.
10 Yoshi
Let’s begin with an easy one. Yoshi first appeared in Super Mario World in 1990 for the Super Nintendo in Japan and in 1991 in the West.
Since then, he has gone on to star in a variety of spinoffs, like Yoshi’s Island, also on the SNES. His most recent venture was on Switch via Yoshi’s Crafted World. Not bad for starting off as a sidekick.
9 Wario
Wario first appeared for both regions in 1992 in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Game Boy.
Some think that Spike from Wrecking Crew was his first appearance, as they share similar features. That game was released for the NES in 1985. However, this game is the real debut, as he and the villain would later star in the sequel, basically taking over Mario’s portable franchise.
8 Daisy
Speaking of this series, Daisy first appeared in 1989 in both regions. Her debut was in the first game, Super Mario Land, also for the Game Boy.
On the box art, she looked like Peach in a yellow dress, but she was named Daisy in the game. Unlike the previous few entries here, Daisy has yet to appear in a main role besides competing in sports and mini-game collections.
7 Geno
If we're delving into the weird territory of Mario’s history, let’s look at the name everyone has been wanting to see in Super Smash Bros for ages, Geno. He first appeared in 1996 in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES and it came out in both regions at this time.
He has made very brief cameos since then, like in a mini-game in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and as a costume in said fighting game series, but he hasn’t been a real character since he first debuted. It’s high time Square Enix and Nintendo team up again for a proper Super Mario RPG sequel.
6 Captain Toad
Another beloved side character, Captain Toad first appeared in 2007's Wii game, Super Mario Galaxy, for both regions.
Most mistakenly believe that his first appearance was in Super Mario 3D World since its puzzle sections would later become the demo for Captain Toad’s own Wii U adventure, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. However, he was a galaxy explorer before these games.
5 Birdo
Birdo first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2 for the NES - in 1987 in Japan and in 1988 in the West. This is an interesting case, considering how this game started off as a non-Mario title in Japan, Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic.
Despite this game being one and done and it being adapted for the West as the second Super Mario game, many characters besides Birdo have now become classic canon, including Shyguys. And yet this game still hasn’t been put into Super Mario Maker.
4 Bowser Jr.
Bowser Jr. first appeared in both regions in 2002, for the Game Cube's Super Mario Sunshine.
Yes, the baby version of Bowser in the aforementioned Yoshi’s Island is just that, a baby form of the real Bowser. It can be kind of confusing, but hey, so is the rest of the Mario lore.
3 Kamek
Baby Bowser wasn’t even the true villain in Yoshi’s Island. So, who was the big boss behind the scenes? Kamek.
This was his first appearance as a named character, but prior to this, he did appear in Super Mario World. Yoshi’s Island was released in 1995 for the SNES in both regions.
2 Waluigi
Waluigi is another favorite in the Super Smash Bros. community. Wario’s counterpart first appeared in 2000 in Mario Tennis for the N64.
Since then, like Daisy, he has only appeared in sports and mini-game titles. The time for a Wario and Waluigi proper team-up is nigh.
1 The Koopalings
Prior to Bowser Jr., Bowser’s first “kids” were the Koopalings. While they did first appear in Japan in 1998 in Super Mario Bros. 3, they wouldn't make an appearance in the West until 1990. At this time, the cartoon, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, was also in the works.
Even though it aired much later after the game debuted, from February to September, the Koopalings had different names due to colliding production schedules. Their names are as follows: Bully (Roy), Big Mouth (Morton), Kooky Von Koopa (Ludwig), Cheatsy (Larry), Kootie Pie (Wendy), Hip (Lemmy), and Hop (Iggy).