10 Worst Things About Mario (2024)

The video game industry owes so much to Shigeru Miyamoto and his little plumber. Mario helped save the Western game industry from its disastrous 1983 crash, revolutionized 3D gaming with his Nintendo 64 debut, and has continuously found new ways to reinvent himself through countless installments. While character mascots like Sonic the Hedgehog and Crash Bandicoot have come for the throne, Mario still retains his place as the king.

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However, this champion of gaming wasn't always so squeaky clean. Nintendo's baby face still has his share of dry bones in the closet, and his misdeeds are surprisingly numerous for a video game hero. Miyamoto's mustachioed mascot has a lot to answer for.

10 Mario Imprisoned Donkey Kong And Attacked His Son

Younger players might not realize that Nintendo's golden child was once depicted in a less than heroic light during his first two games. The premise of the original Donkey Kong arcade title is that the big ape breaks loose and kidnaps the lovely Pauline after being mistreated by his owner Mario.

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The sequel, Donkey Kong Jr, puts players in control of the eponymous ape's son and shifts roles a bit by placing his father in distress and making Mario his malevolent captor – a far cry from the champion of the Mushroom Kingdom that players have come to love.

9 Mario's Medical Methods Are Rather Suspect

In the Dr. Mario series, the hero hangs up his wrench and overalls for a medical uniform with a copious amount of pills. It's a good thing that the games have only had players test out Mario's techniques on bottles filled with viruses because if they were applied to an actual living citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom, they might have to face a malpractice suit.

It's dubious whether he actually got his medical degree. Even series creator Shigeru Miyamoto said during a Q&A that he would not allow himself to be operated on by the good doctor.

8 Mario Takes The Glory Even When His Younger Brother Saves The Day

Despite doing all the work as his older brother, Luigi rarely gets the same amount of credit. In what seems to be a rather unfortunate design oversight in the phenomenal Super Mario World, not only is Mario always the one who's credited with defeating the Koopalings, the congratulatory screen gives kudos to "Mario, the Princess, Yoshi, and his friends."

Even though it was Luigi who saved the day, the only half-hearted acknowledgment of his valor is "his friends." In Nintendo's defense, they seem to be more aware of this and have shown Mario praising his younger brother in the Luigi's Mansion titles.

7 Mario Badly Mistreated The Yoshi Clan

Both Mario and Luigi owe their lives to the altruism of the Yoshi clan, as the benevolent dinosaurs rescued them in their infancy and helped deliver them to their parents. Years later, the brothers would replay them by riding on them, and leaving them for dead to access hidden areas.

As bad as Mario's treatment of Yoshi is in the final game, it was actually toned down from what the developers had initially planned. According to Super Mario World designer Shigefumi Hino, the plumber was originally going to punch Yoshi to make his tongue stick out, but this was wisely phased out of the final release.

6 Mario's Parties Can Get Pretty Out Of Hand

Unless anyone wants to get struck by a bullet bill, burned by some lava, or crushed by some thwomp at any of Mario's shindigs, they'd do well to RSVP in the resoundingly negative.

Mixing a bunch of wild and potentially lethal mini-games with a board game that provokes more cursing and fistfights than a game of Monopoly, the Mario Party games bring out the worst in both players and Nintendo's cuddly mascot characters. While doing well in the mini-games does give players an advantage, getting stars in the actual board game is just pure luck.

5 Misfortune Seems To Follow Mario And His Friends Wherever He Goes

Alright, so a social gathering at Mario's pad probably isn't such a good idea, but how about joining him on a vacation in some exotic locale? Savvy players should know that if the plumber ever invites anyone for some leisure or R&R, it's not going to go smoothly. Before the events of Super Mario World, Mario, Luigi, and the Princess had their sights set on the lovely Dinosaur Islands before Peach found herself getting kidnaped once again by Bowser.

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However, surely the same thing can't happen twice, right? Wrong. Years later, the heroes' vaycay on Isle Delfino was upended by an evil Doppelgänger with a paintbrush in Super Mario Sunshine.

4 The Ghosts Of Those Mario Defeated Still Haunt The Sunken Airships

Players might remember the airship segments that preceded the fights with the Koopalings in Super Mario Bros. 3, but it's unlikely that they ever wondered what fate befell them after the brothers successfully rescued the princess. In a neat little call-back, Super Mario World reveals that these once-mighty vessels now lie at the bottom of the ocean near Bower's hidden fortress in the center of Dinosaur Land.

Not only that, but many boos inhabit these sunken galleons, suggesting that they're the spirits of the Koopa Troopas who operated, maintained, and defended them.

3 Mario Bullied Wario When They Were Kids

While Wario has gained a reputation for being Mario's greedy and repellent foil, a Nintendo Power comic reveals that the latter played a huge role in the former's malevolent path. In the 44th edition of Mario Vs. Wario, Wario recalls his painful childhood memories of Mario playing cowboys and tormenting him, letting him get bitten by piranha plants while they were picking flowers, and allowing him to get smashed by whomps when showing him how to flatten coins.

When Wario calls him out on this, Mario decides to bury the hatchet and proceeds to chase him with another game of cowboys.

2 Many Of Mario's Titles Were Content To Play It Safe

There was a period between Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey that the plumber was content to just play it safe with a series of fun titles, but offered really nothing new to players who hadn't already played Super Mario Bros 3 and World.

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The catsuit was one of the main selling points of 3D World, but it didn't quite change the dynamic the same way F.L.U.D.D. and the spherical worlds had in Sunshine and Galaxy, respectively. To be fair, Where does a series go and how much can they meaningfully elevate upon it once it's been to space?

1 Mario's Methods Of Dispatching Enemies Is Pretty Gruesome

Some gaming protagonists dispatch their enemies with a traditional whip, a trusty firearm, or even a legendary blade. Other heroes manage to find Non-lethal methods of confronting their foes. None of these apply to Nintendo's mustache man, whose main tactic is basically to crush them to death under his considerable girth. Dubbed, "the Goomba stomp," this kind of attack only works in the realm of animation.

Even in the abysmal live-action film where Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo played the eponymous brothers, the filmmakers at least had the foresight to see that this aspect of the franchise would be less palatable with real people.