Nintendo’s flagship siblings, the Super Mario Brothers, are easily some of gaming’s strongest and most popular heroes. Both Mario and Luigi have been on countless adventures, debuting in arcades during the 1980s and still showing up on the Nintendo Switch, and are known by all sorts of people around the world.

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While they often stand side-by-side, they’re still far from equal in terms of their talents and abilities. If they were to compete, there’s certainly one that would come out the better brother, and it’s time to put them against each other. These are just some of the reasons why Mario is the superior sibling, and some that prove that it’s Luigi.

10 Mario: Perfectly Balanced

A screenshot showing gameplay in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Nearly any time Mario’s given stats in a game, the common trend is that he acts as the baseline for every other character. From platformers to Mario Kart, he's always perfectly moderate and evenly balanced in how he moves, hits, and turns.

Some gamers might consider him bland for this, this is often his strength. For one, it means that he fully lacks a weakness, being at least a little effective in any situation. More importantly, it makes him extremely easy for anyone with a little enthusiasm to play.

9 Luigi: Higher Jump

While not every game features this particular trait, Luigi’s traditionally had one significant skill in platformers in the form of a higher, wigglier jump. This was first introduced in Super Mario Bros. 2 on the NES, but this skill has shown up as recently as Super Mario 3D World.

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He’s also typically quite balanced in most appearances alongside Mario, but his skill set varies much more, making him a much more interesting character for gamers. Mario might lack weaknesses, but Luigi’s height and slipperiness make him an immediate choice for more experienced gamers.

8 Mario: Sports Star

Mario holding his racket in Mario Tennis Aces ready for a heated fight

His stats are balanced and Mario’s name is synonymous with the massive list of sports he can play. From baseball to dance, tennis, and countless other activities, this character is just as much a hero to the Mushroom Kingdom as he is a professional athlete.

This isn’t to say Luigi lacks these skills, as he does appear alongside Mario in most of these competitions. Unfortunately, Luigi’s prowess is not anywhere near as noteworthy as Mario when it comes to this skillset. After all, there’s a reason all these sports games are all named after only one brother.

7 Luigi: Master Of The Occult

He’s not exactly a professional sorcerer, but Luigi’s talents as a ghost hunter give him a skillset that Mario just can’t match. Throughout the Luigi’s Mansion series, he’s learned to use a long list of powerful tools to catch and find his foes, and ended up in far more situations where he can use his brain to get out of puzzling situations.

The extent of Mario’s experience with the undead usually involves surviving encounters with ghosts and skeletons. Luigi still can be quite afraid of encountering foes, but he has a much greater history of battling spirits head-on and has found a great amount of success.

6 Mario: Fire Expert

There is an obscene amount of supernatural powers that Mario has learned over the years, from his magical caps in Super Mario 64 to the possession of living beings in Super Mario Odyssey. But of all his powers through Nintendo history, the most iconic has to be his ability to throw fireballs.

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Luigi has this power too, even in the original Mario Bros. where this power debuts, but you’d never associate Luigi with this power. Mario’s flamethrowing talents and associated costumes are inherently connected to him, and can make levels and bosses a total walk in the park for him.

5 Luigi: Occasional Lightning Expert

Mario isn’t the only one with the powers to manipulate the elements, but Luigi has one power that Mario has rarely (if ever) used. On several rare occasions, Luigi's been given the gift of electricity, being able to throw and damage foes just the same as Mario's fire.

This is a power more commonly found in the Mario & Luigi RPG series, and it’s a shame that it hardly shows up anywhere else. If it were to show up more often, it’s a power that could easily rival Mario’s fireballs.

4 Mario: More Experienced Hero

Mario and Luigi have both been in a relatively similar number of games, but Mario has far more rescue experience than Luigi’s ever had. Several adventures might have an option to play as Luigi, but many games like the original Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine fully lack his brother, and most are entirely solo missions.

With that experience comes significantly more skills, and even though Luigi’s had his own independent adventures he’s still constantly just supporting Mario. His missions are simply often much greater in scale, and he’s far more prepared to complete them on his own.

3 Luigi: Nintendo Gave Him His Own Year

New Super Luigi Bros U Wii U DLC Box Art Luigi Smiling At Camera Toads Lakitu Yoshi

Mario has shown up in far more games and merchandise, but Luigi has had plenty of time to shine on his own. Mario might have a greater legacy, but Luigi has at least once reigned supreme when Nintendo decided to declare 2013 the official Year of Luigi.

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This came with tons of attention that Luigi has lacked over the years. It saw the release of several games starring him like Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon and Luigi-centered spinoffs like Dr. Luigi and the surprisingly challenging New Super Luigi U. It might have only lasted through a year, but it was a full and deserving year for this lean green machine.

2 Mario: He’s A Celebrity

Even outside of the Super Mario canon, Mario is one of the most iconic characters in all of pop culture. Luigi’s not that far behind in common knowledge, but Mario’s fame rivals that of many other well-known fictional characters, and he is bound to be recognized by people regardless of their relationships with video games.

This can make Mario somewhat plain and unexciting to veteran gamers, but he’s worked hard to achieve that status through his many years of life-risking adventures. Besides his talents, his voice and smile are both adorable and iconic, and help make him a wonderfully charming face of gaming.

1 Winner: Luigi

While Mario might have the popularity, Luigi is undoubtedly the better sibling by being the more underrated and unexpected hero at the end of the day. His list of achievements might be smaller, but many are just as large, and they were all made while stuck in his brother’s shadow.

Mario’s certainly a capable hero, but he’s not someone you’re going to root for him because he's boringly reliable. Luigi’s just as capable as Mario, but also has a far wider skill set and a unique personality that can shine in far more ways. Compared to Luigi, Mario is simply a generic protagonist.

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