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Life & Arts

No love for Luigi in the Mushroom Kingdom

My 8 Bits

Jason Poland

The day Mario emerged from the warp zone that was his mother's womb, the world rejoiced. Not too long after, his brother Luigi crawled out from the same pipe, but everyone's affection was already spent on the bambino in the red cap. Was Luigi just an afterthought brought into this world to be player two? Luigi is the taller of the Super Mario Brothers, but he's spent his life standing in his brother's shadow.

Luigi never has the chance to develop his own identity. His full name is Luigi Mario, so he can't even fill out a credit card application without being reminded of his brother. 

Luigi can always change his last name, but that wouldn't change his brother's "It's-a me, Mario!" attitude. By birthright, Mario is player one and given all the perks of the firstborn. Player one always gets to go first and has complete control over the pause button. Pausing the game when player two is about to jump over a huge pit is a good way to keep Luigi from passing his brother up. 

With each sequel in the Super Mario Bros. series, it's obvious Nintendo made attempts to swing the spotlight Luigi's way. Super Mario Bros. 2 was a single player game in which you could choose to be Mario or Luigi. Luigi can totally out-jump his stumpy brother with his insane hang time, but at the end we find out the whole game was just Mario's dream. In 

Super Mario Bros. 3, the game forces Mario and Luigi to take turns after completing each stage. This is a good move toward brotherly equality, but doesn't Luigi deserve retribution for all the second fiddles he's played?

Mario is Missing! was an attempt not only to give Luigi a starring role, but also to educate. The premise was a rip-off of Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? with saving Mario as the end goal. So Luigi finally gets his own game, and he spends the entire time globetrotting in search of his brother? 

Even though Luigi was born with player two's controller in his hands, he should pursue goals that won't be overshadowed by Mario's successes. Basketball goals perhaps? Princess Toadstool would go for a 6-foot-2-inch baller over a stocky plumber any day.
 

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