Super Smash Bros. Fighters – Super Mario series – 02 Luigi

Debut

In the Super Mario series: Mario Bros. (1983)
In the Super Smash Bros. Series: Super Smash Bros. 64 (1991)

Boxing Ring Title: The Eternal Understudy

Theme Song: Main Theme – Luigi’s Mansion (Ultimate Remix)

The man in green who busts ghosts now and then, it's none other than Mario's younger twin brother Luigi! Luigi is a resident of the Mushroom Kingdom, living alongside his brother Mario and helping him defend the place on occasion. Unlike Mario, Luigi is less well-known, with many people unaware of him or doubting his heroics. That being said, he does have a small-but-dedicated fanbase.

Luigi made his debut in the arcade game Mario Bros. In the sewers of New York, Shellcreepers, Sidesteppers, and Fighter Flies have invaded, and it's up to Luigi and Mario to defeat them! Every time they defeat a foe, a coin would spawn from the pipes up above.

Mario on the left, Luigi on the right

Luigi would then show up in Wrecking Crew, where he and Mario temporarily switch from plumbers to demolition workers, They work under Foreman Spike, a greedy individual who sometimes tries to get in the brothers way, as well as attempt to steal the hidden coin in the game's Bonus Rounds. Notably, Luigi wears pinkish-red clothes, in contrast to his usual green colors.

Luigi next appearance would be Super Mario Bros., which would lay down most of the foundations for the Super Mario series going forward. The evil Bowser and his Koopa Troop have invaded the Mushroom Kingdom, kidnapped the princess, and turned most of its citizens into blocks. Luigi tags along with Mario to help rescue Princess Peach, as she's the sole one who can undo Bowser's Magic.

In Japan, Super Mario Bros. 2 - better known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels over here - was released, with a similar story to the first. Multiplayer was removed, with the option to play as either Mario or Luigi in its place. Luigi could jump higher than Mario, but had worser traction, making it easy for him to accidentally slide off the ground he's standing on. These traits would later become associated with Luigi in certain games.

The rest of the world would get Super Mario Bros. 2 - referred to in Japan as Super Mario USA - which was a reskin of another game called Doki Doki Panic. Luigi controlled just like he did in Japan's Super Mario Bros. 2, with the added effect being that his jumps were more floaty compared to others. Notably, Luigi was made slightly taller and thinner to set him apart from Mario, though this wouldn't be the first game to do so. Rather, it was another game released before this called Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally, that was only in Japan.

In this game, Mario tells Luigi, Peach, and Toad how he had dreamed of a world called Subcon, land of dreams. The people there were ruled by the tyrannical Wart, and they begged Mario to save them. Luigi was surprised, as he has a similar dream, as did Peach and Toad! As they were preparing to have a picnic near a certain spot, Mario would spot a cave that lead to Subcon. Realizing it wasn't a dream, Luigi tags along with the others to save Subcon!

In Super Mario Bros. 3, Luigi was not only reverted to controlling just like Mario (since 2-player returned as an option) he was also made to look like "green Mario" again! In this game, Luigi and Mario are informed by Peach that Bowser has returned, and has sent his children, a group of seven referred to as the Koopalings, to conquer the seven kingdoms of Mushroom World! Luigi and Mario set off to the various kingdoms to defeat the Koopalings and reclaim the wands they've stolen from the land's King.

Super Mario World has Luigi tagging along with Mario and Peach to a vacation at Yoshi's Island! Unknown to the group, Bowser and his Koopa Troop have recovered from their losses in the last adventure, and manage to kidnap Peach while the Mario Bros. were out exploring the island. As Luigi and Mario look for the princess, they come across a giant egg in a forest. Once it hatches, a green dinosaur emerges, and introduces himself as Yoshi! He tells the group he was trying to save his friends from Bowser and the Koopalings, only for Bowser to trap him in an egg for his efforts. Realizing Bowser is behind this, Luigi, Mario, and their new friend Yoshi head off to save not only Peach from Bowser, but also Yoshi's friends who are being held captive by the Koopalings!

In the Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World port, Luigi is given his own unique sprites to set him apart from Mario. Notably, it includes things like Fire Luigi spitting fireballs from his mouth instead of his hand, a trait that would never show up again.

After that, Luigi would end up disappearing from the mainline Mario games. However, he would eventually make his return in the side-scrolling games in New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS. To play as Luigi, one needs to hold the L or R button when selecting a file. Luigi's story is identical to Mario's, where he's taking a walk with Peach until they see that something is happening in Peach's Castle. Luigi goes to investigate, only for Bowser Jr. to arrive and kidnap her! When Luigi realizes this was just a distraction, he heads off to save her.

Following that, the next installment, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, would introduce 4-player cooperation, allowing four players to play together! Luigi would get his own title in this series called New Super Luigi U, a harder version of New Super Mario Bros. U where Player 1 plays as Luigi, with Mario nowhere in sight. In his place is Nabbit, who can't take damage from enemy attacks, but is unable to use power-ups.

As for the 3D Platformers, Luigi would make his first appearance in one in Super Mario 64 DS, a remake of the original Super Mario 64 where he was made a playable character, alongside other new playable characters Yoshi and Wario. Princess Peach sends Mario a letter inviting him over to her castle for some cake. Luigi and Wario happen to learn about this and tag along with Mario. Once they entered Peach's Castle, they learned that Bowser is not only holding Peach captive, he's also stolen some of the castle's Power Stars! The three head off to Bob-omb Battlefield to begin their adventure, only to end up getting captured by Bowser's Koopa Troop and locked away in a room.

The key to Luigi's room is hidden inside a Luigi painting in the attic at Big Boo's Haunt, which Mario ends up finding after collecting 16 stars. Exploring a confusing labyrinth of doors, Mario eventually makes it to King Boo's lair and battles him. Once King Boo is defeated, Luigi is freed and joins the team. Sometime later, Luigi finds Wario's Painting in the giant mirror room in the upper floors of Peach's Castle. He heads in there and arrives in an ice world, where he battles Chief Chilly and frees Wario. At the end of the game, the four manage to obtain 149 Power Stars, after which Mario heads off alone to confront Bowser one final time, with Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario waiting outside the castle. Mario returns victorious, and after Peach gives her thanks, they head in to have cake.

Luigi would then show in Super Mario Galaxy, where he heads to Peach's Castle to celebrate the Star Festival that is held once every 100 years. He and the Toad Brigade where inside Peach's Castle when Bowser arrived to take it with him into space. Luigi and the Toad Brigade managed to escape, but ended up getting lost in space. Mario ends up finding Luigi at the Ghostly Galaxy, where a couple of Boos have imprisoned him. Upon freeing him, Luigi decides to travel with the group in Rosalina's Comet Observatory, where he mostly hangs out at the Garage. Sometimes, Luigi decides to go and find some Power Stars himself, only to end up needing to be saved by Mario. Notably, upon finding a Green Power Star in Battlerock Galaxy, Luigi implies he may have an interest in Rosalina, though this hasn't been explored much afterwards.

Once the player manages to collect 120 Power Stars and defeat Bowser, the player unlocks Super Luigi Galaxy where Luigi is the playable character! The story remains the same, including the parts of the game where Mario had to save Luigi, except now it's Luigi saving Luigi! Strange, isn't it?

Super Mario 3D Land would introduce a new gameplay-style for the 3D Platformer series; instead of collecting a certain number of stars, it involved getting from Point A to Point B. After beating the game for the first time, Mario receives a letter from Dry Bowser, revealing that he kidnapped Luigi! Once the player beats Special World 1-Castle, Luigi is rescued and becomes a playable character. He is able to jump higher than Mario, but is more slippery. Notably, the game began the trend of Luigi's powered-up forms having a different appearance from his older bro; Mario becomes Tanooki Mario upon grabbing a Super Leaf, while Luigi becomes Kitsune Luigi instead.

While not part of the initial release for the game, Luigi shows up in Super Mario Odyssey in the Version 1.2.0 update. After beating the game, Luigi shows up in the various kingdoms, where he hosts Balloon World, a minigame that has two game mode: "Hide It," and "Find It." Hide It involves the player trying to hide a balloon in a certain area in under 30 seconds. Find It has the player try to find a balloon that another player has hidden in the game world in under 3-40 seconds, depending on how far the balloon is.

Beyond that, a costume based on Luigi are purchasable items in the Crazy Caps stores. Luigi's Suit will appear once the player acquires 160 Power Moons, and Luigi's Hat will appear once the player acquires 180 Power Moons. Speaking of costumes, Luigi will also has a few reactions upon seeing whatever costume Mario is wearing, such as mistaking Mario for "another Luigi" if Mario is wearing Luigi's Hat and Suit.

During Luigi's absence from the mainline games, Luigi would manage to have the starring role in 2001's Luigi's Mansion. Here, Luigi wins a mansion in a contest he never entered. Despite that, Luigi is excited, and invites Mario to come over to the Mansion and celebrate! Luigi ends up arriving late, and discovers that there are ghosts lurking inside! Luckily, an eccentric old man named Professor Elvin Gadd - E. Gadd for short - rescues him. At E. Gadd's bunker, the professor reveals that the mansion was built only recently by the ghosts, and that they have captured Mario. Determined to save his brother, E. Gadd teaches Luigi how to fight ghosts with the Poltergust 3000.

As Luigi explores the mansion and captures the ghosts, he discovers that the ones responsible for this are the Boos, lead by their leader King Boo, who seeks revenge against the Mario Bros. for the trouble they've caused to the Boo Clan. Since Boos gain great strength in numbers, Luigi is forced to hunt down at least forty of the fifty Boos hiding throughout the mansion in order to reach King Boo's Secret Altar.

Once Luigi captures all fifty of them, he enters the Secret Altar. King Boo threatens to trap Luigi in a painting like he did Mario, and transports both of them into an arena resembling the rooftop of the mansion. Luigi than comes face to face with Bowser, who Luigi quickly learns is actually a Bowser Suit King Boo is controlling. Despite his fears, Luigi manages to overcome King Boo and captures him! Returning back to the Secret Altar, Luigi grabs Mario's painting and uses E. Gadd's Ghost Portificationizer to turn Mario back to normal.

Afterwards, Luigi uses the treasure he obtained to build a new mansion! Depending on how much treasure was obtained determines how fancy Luigi's New Mansion looks, to a fancy-looking building, a nice-looking house, to literally just a tent. Mario Kart Double Dash's Luigi Circuit suggests he got the Rank A Mansion (the best ending) while the game's direct sequel suggests it was the Rank D mansion (which is the 4th-best ending).

The game would also receive a remake for the Nintendo 3DS. The story is quite similar to the original, with one major difference: after Luigi is done with his training from E. Gadd, E. Gadd from the future contacts the two! He uses an invention of his, the Pixelator, to send Gooigi - a sentient glob of goo - to the past so that Gooigi can gain valuable ghost-busting knowledge from Luigi. In other words, Gooigi arriving allows the game to played with 2 Players. If multiplayer was used at any point in the adventure, then Future E. Gadd would assess Gooigi's stats after the adventure is concluded.

Additionally, the game redesigned the appearance of Luigi's New Mansion, all eight of them. Not only that, it added a new best ending, Rank S, which one could only obtained by playing the Hidden Mansion mode.

In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Luigi is resting at his new mansion when Professor E. Gadd contacts him through his TV! The professor uses a new invention he made, the Pixelator, to quickly teleport Luigi to his location at Evershade Valley. Once Luigi arrives, E. Gadd reveals that the Dark Moon has suddenly shattered, causing all of the ghosts in the valley to go crazy! E. Gadd then sends Luigi to Gloomy Mansion to obtain the newly upgraded Poltergust 5000 he accidentally left there. Once he accomplishes that, Luigi begins his quest to battle against the mischievous ghosts and find the shattered remains of the Dark Moon to restore peace.

During his adventure, Luigi also comes across a ghost puppy named Polterpup, who seems to be more interested in finding a friend to play with than anything. He occasionally steals something Luigi needs, but the man in green manages to get it back from him eventually. As the plumber slowly obtains each piece of the Dark Moon - as well as rescuing some of E. Gadd's Toad assistants - he and the professor soon learn from a photo that one of the Toads had that King Boo and his minions have managed to capture Mario at some point! They suspect he's hiding at the Train Exhibit in the Treacherous Mansion, only to find out it was a trap set up by Big Boo, who Luigi manages to defeat.

Afterwards, King Boo opens up a Paranormal Portal near the Treacherous Mansion, allowing a lot of ghosts to invade the place! Since the paranormal activity in the area could cause the dimensions to collapse upon themselves, Luigi is tasked with capturing the ghosts King Boo let loose. Once he accomplishes that, he heads into the portal itself, fighting off the last Possessor. Just before Luigi can grab the Dark Moon piece, King Boo shows up and reveals he was responsible for destroying the Dark Moon, as he wanted revenge for what happened in their last battle. He also reveals he plans to not only capture Luigi as a painting, but all of his other friends as well!

Despite the odds being stacked against Luigi, he manages to overcome King Boo's trials and defeats him once more, after which he grabs the last Dark Moon piece and frees Mario from his painting. With the Dark Moon now restored, all of the ghosts go back to being friendly, and are grateful for the green plumber's help. Additionally, Luigi decides to adopt the Polterpup that followed him around on his adventure.

Sometimes later in Luigi's Mansion 3, Luigi, Mario, Peach, Toad, Polterpup, and Toad's friends are invited to The Last Resort Hotel for a vacation! Upon arriving,  they meet the owner, a mysterious woman named Hellen Gravely, who decides to personally escort them to their respective rooms. Once inside, Luigi looks around before hopping in bed, where he briefly reads a novel before falling asleep. Luigi then wakes up in the middle of the night upon hearing Peach scream, and grabs his flashlight to investigate, where he notices everyone else is missing in their respective rooms! As he heads to the elevator, Hellen Gravely appears and reveals that she's not only a ghost, but that she's also working for King Boo, as she greatly admires him and wants to help him in his revenge scheme!

King Boo tries to nab Luigi, but the plumber manages to escape via a laundry chute. As Luigi wanders throughout the basement, he manages to find the Poltergust G-00 from E. Gadd's car, after which he finds the professor a bit later. E. Gadd wants to escape, but decides to stick around and help Luigi when the plumber is determined to rescue his friends. After defeating the Steward and retrieving E.Gadd's briefcase that was stolen by Chambrea, E. Gadd introduces Luigi to Gooigi, a being made entirely of goo, to help him out. Thus, Luigi begins his quest to save his friends and stop King Boo and Hellen Gravely!

In Super Princess Peach, Bowser's Koopa Troop invade Peach's Castle in hopes of kidnapping her. However, she was out on a walk, thus they nab Luigi, Mario, and a lot of Toads instead. Luigi is guarded by Giant Kamek at Giddy Sky. Once Peach triumphs over the Koopa Wizard, Luigi is freed! Afterwards, Luigi shows up when Peach rescues Mario from Bowser, where he ends up getting shoved aside by the princess who rushes to embrace Mario. Afterwards, the three head home.

On the RPG side of things, Luigi has made consistent appearances throughout the Paper Mario series. In Paper Mario 64, Luigi tags along with Mario to the party at Peach's Castle, but after Bowser lifts it into the sky, he ends up staying home instead. In his hidden diary, it's revealed that he laments not tagging along with Mario on this adventure, and hopes to go on a big adventure by himself some day. His wish would be answered in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where he goes off on an unseen adventure to rescue Princess Eclair of the Waffle Kingdom from the evil Chestnut King! After Mario completes a chapter, he can find Luigi resting somewhere in Rogueport to hear about Luigi's escapades.

Super Paper Mario is the first time Luigi is given a major role. After he, Mario, Bowser, and the Koopa Troop get sent to a different dimension, Luigi ends up getting hypnotized by a woman named Nastasia. He then adopts the identity of Mr. L and serves under her master, Count Bleck, who needs Luigi due to his book, the Dark Prognosticus, mentioning that a "man in green" would determine whether the Dark Prognosticus or the Light Prognosticus prophecy would come true. Mr. L clashes with the heroes at least two separate times, after which another minion of Bleck's named Dimentio sends Luigi to the Underwhere, where Luigi is cured of his hypnosis, though with no memory of his time as Mr. L. Once Mario finds him, Luigi joins him on his quest to stop Count Bleck's plan to destroy every dimension.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star would revert Luigi back to a minor role, where he hides in certain locations. If the player manages to find all of them, Luigi shows up at the end credits. Paper Mario: The Origami King gives Luigi a slightly bigger role, where he tries to find the key to Peach's Castle, which has been taken over by King Ollie.

Luigi also is one-half of the starring duo in the Mario & Luigi series! In these games, Luigi is able to take hits better than Mario, but is slightly weaker and slower then his bro. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Luigi ends up getting dragged along with Mario to the Beanbean Kingdom to reclaim Peach's voice, which was stolen by an evil woman named Cackletta. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time would see the Mario Bros. teaming up with their younger-selves to stop an alien invasion taking place in the Mushroom Kingdom's past.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team would give Luigi  more of a focal role. During the adventure, Luigi and friends head to Pi'illo Island for a vacation. Upon arriving, Luigi would end up taking a nap on a fancy-looking bed in the Collection Room, where its discovered that Luigi is able to open up portals to Dream Worlds if he sleeps in certain areas! Unfortunately, the Dream Portal he opened up allows a nasty bat-creature named Antasma to kidnap Peach! To save her, Luigi has to go and nap in certain areas of the island to allow Mario to travel to the Dream Realms, save the thought-to-be-extinct Pi'illo people, and figure out a way to defeat Antasma! Mario isn't alone exploring these areas, as Dreamy Luigi - the Dream World avatar of Luigi - tags along to help!

Luigi also shows up in the various spin-off games, such as the Mario Golf series! Luigi's first outing was in Family Computer Golf: Japan Course, which was released only in Japan. He later shows up in NES Open Tournament Golf, where Princess Daisy serves as his caddy. This first interaction between the two would be the start of a romantic interest in each other, which has persisted ever since. Luigi also plays similar to Mario. Starting with Mario Golf 64, Luigi was made distinct from him, having better control, but less power, with his ball curving a bit to the left. Notably, it also had Luigi as an unlockable character, which the console installments would stop with by Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

In Mario Golf GBC, Luigi is one of the only two playable Mario characters, with the others being original characters made for the game. In the game's story mode, once Kid - or Sherry, Azalea, and Joe - make it to the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi expresses his interest in seeing how they'll do in the tournament.

In Mario Golf: Advance Tour, Luigi serves as the final boss in the game's Story Mode in Doubles, where he teams up with Mario to compete against Neil and Ella in the Mushroom Kingdom Tournament. Luigi was also a playable character, though the only way to unlock him in that game was to link the game up with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

The other notable sports game is Mario Tennis! In these games, he's an all-around player, though with better control and netplay compared to Mario. Luigi first appears in Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy, which isn't a great start to be honest. Luckily, Mario Tennis 64 would be a better first start for the green plumber! The game is also notable for the debut of Waluigi, an eccentric man who views himself as Luigi's ultimate rival, and the two have clashed quite often. While the console games are well-known for not having Story Modes, this changed with Mario Tennis Aces, where Luigi ends up getting possessed by an evil tennis racket named Lucien.

In the Story Mode of Mario Tennis GBC, he is happy to see Alex and Harry - or Nina and Kate - arrive at the Mushroom Kingdom, but when Bowser, Wario, and Waluigi begin to complain, Luigi surprisingly stands up to them. Once Alex and Harry - or Nina and Kate - agree to play against Mario, Luigi heads to the audience stand to watch Alex/Nina play against Mario in singles mode, or watch Alex and Harry/Nina and Kate play against Mario and Peach in doubles mode.

In Mario Tennis: Power Tour, Luigi travels with the other Mario crew - who are all in disguise - to teach the Academy, Empire, Factory, and Union schools about Power Shots. At the end of the game, once Clay and/or Ace arrive to compete in the Mushroom Kingdom Tournament, Luigi once again tries to stand up to Bowser and Waluigi when they complain, but this time, he backs off when Bowser begins to yell back at him.

Luigi has also appeared in the Mario Kart series, making his first appearance in Super Mario Kart! In these games, Luigi is considered a middleweight, allowing him to easily tackle every track and push lighter character around, but heavier ones could easily do the same to him.

Luigi also has a few tracks based on him, such as the Luigi Raceway in Mario Kart 64, the Luigi Circuit in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Luigi's Mansion in Mario Kart DS.

Luigi has also been a consistent party-goer in the Mario Party series, only missing out on Mario Party-e. While all of the characters have an equal chance of winning, some games tried to make Luigi behave differently if you're facing him as an opponent, such as always prioritizing buying Skeleton Keys in Mario Party 3. In another game, Mario Party 7 made Fireball Orbs an exclusive item that only he and his brother Mario could use.

Luigi makes a few appearances in some of the sub-series. In the Yoshi series, Luigi appears as a young infant referred to as Baby Luigi. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are being delivered by the Stork to their parents, only for a Magikoopa named Kamek to swoop in and kidnap Baby Luigi, holding him hostage in Baby Bowser's Castle! Baby Mario ends up falling towards Yoshi's Island, where he meets Yoshi. Baby Mario begins to lead the Yoshi Clan to Baby Luigi's location, as he's able to detect where he is due to their strong connection.

In the Wario series, Luigi doesn't physically appear in WarioWare himself, but he makes cameos in the various microgames. Luigi makes his first appears in 9-Volt's Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift and Mario Bros; in both instances, he only appears on the third difficulty level. In WarioWare: Get It Together, one of 9-Volt's microgames is "Luigi's Mansion," where the player has to help Luigi locate a ghost hiding in the room.

Personality-wise, Luigi is a kind-hearted individual, if a bit timid, with his most noticeable trait being his somewhat cowardly nature. His cowardice has varied in throughout the series, in some games like the Mario & Luigi series, he's portrayed as being reluctant to go on adventures; in other games like the Paper Mario series, he’s shown as being eager to go out on one.

One consistent trait is Luigi's fear of ghosts, which started back in Luigi's Mansion. Probably not helping is the fact that King Boo, leader of most of the hostile ghosts, considers Luigi his arch-enemy following their first battle, leading him to specifically target him. That being said, there have been a few times where Luigi has made friends with ghosts, such as Polterpup. Luigi was also happy to hang out with the peaceful ghosts of Evershade Valley once the Dark Moon had been restored in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.

Luigi has a bit of a complex of being overshadowed by Mario, though he tends to mostly respond to people not knowing him with “…” or face-faults. Despite that, he does admire his older brother, and Mario being in danger will motivate Luigi to overcome his fears to help and/or save his older twin.

In Super Smash Bros., Luigi might be a somewhat clumsy, but even he can be scary when he gets in the groove of things. Go out and bust some of your opponents with the man in green!

Luigi’s also one of the twelve members of the “Perfect Attendance Crew.”

Special Moves  

 Neutral Special: Fireball

Luigi shoots a Fireball from his hand. Unlike Mario’s, his defies gravity, though it will bounce off of sloped surfaces, which might make it a bit more difficult to use when approaching opponents. Also, it’s green.

Inspired by the Fire Flower power up that debuted in "Super Mario Bros.," which allowed Luigi to shoot fireballs. There could only ever be two fireballs onscreen; one of them would have to either go offscreen, hit an enemy, or hit a wall in order for Luigi to throw another one.

The Fireball’s green coloration and behavior is inspired by the arcade game “Mario Bros.” In that game, Green Fireballs would periodically appear and bounce across the screen, all the while defying gravity compared to the Red/Orange Fireball.

Side Special: Green Missile

Hold the Special button, and Luigi begins charging himself up. Let go and Luigi will fire in the direction he’s facing. The more you charge, the further he flies and the more damage he does! But if you hold the charge for too long, Luigi gets tired, and you’ll have to redo the charge again.

Rarely, Luigi may use Misfired Green Missile instead, a stronger version of the move that flings him even farther!

If Luigi uses the Green Missile near a wall – misfired or not – there’s a chance he’ll get briefly stuck in it, leaving him open to attack! Poor Luigi…

The move is original to Super Smash Bros, but it has snuck its way into a few Mario games, such as “Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games” as one of Luigi's Special Moves in racing events.

 Up Special: Super Jump Punch

Luigi jumps straight upwards! If Luigi lands this move on the opponent at any point beyond the instant he uses it, a single coin flies upward as the opponent takes very minor, non-flinching damage. Regardless, Luigi will be helpless as he comes falling back down, leaving him open for a counterattack!

However, if Luigi lands this move on the opponent during its startup, Luigi will use Fiery Jump Punch, a stronger version of the move that deals heavy damages and flings the foe upwards!

Inspired by Luigi’s basic jumping move, mainly when he bashes coin blocks from underneath, in “Super Mario Bros.” The ‘Fiery Jump Punch’ variant is original to Super Smash Bros.

Yellow coins are collectibles that debuted in the arcade game, "Mario Bros." Starting in "Super Mario Bros.," collecting 100 of them would grant the player an extra life. In some games, such as the "Mario Party" series, coins can be used to purchase stuff.

Down Special: Luigi Cyclone

Luigi twirls around with his arms outstretched, which will suck in nearby opponents who will take various hits from him. Luigi then stops twirling and quickly swings his arms outwards, sending the opponents flying away from him. By rapidly tapping the Special Button, Luigi can also use the move to try and gain some vertical distance, but only once per time he’s in the air. To perform that maneuver again, he'll first either have to land on the ground, or grab the ledge.

Loosely inspired by the Spin Jump from "Super Mario World." In that game, Luigi could use the Spin Jump to defeat certain enemies in one hit, or even safely "jump" on certain dangerous enemies. If Luigi was in his Super form, he could use it to break yellow blocks from below. In "Super Mario Galaxy," one of Luigi's moves is the Star Spin, which is somewhat similar to the Luigi Cyclone, even allowing Luigi to slightly rise upwards if used in the air.

 Final Smash: Poltergust G-00

Luigi uses the Poltergust to suck up any nearby opponent into his vacuum. Opponents that get captured take damage while trapped inside the Poltergust. After a few seconds, Luigi will stop trying to suck anyone up. If Luigi has captured anyone, he’ll then fire them upward in a diagonal direction, one-by-one.

Inspired by the suction powers of Poltergust 3000 from “Luigi’s Mansion,” albeit greatly exaggerated. “Luigi’s Mansion 3” would feature suction powers similar to what Luigi does in Super Smash Bros. with the new “Super Suction” ability.

Additional Notes

Luigi uses the plunger from his Poltergust G-00 for his grabs. If this move is used while Luigi’s in the air, the plunger will damage foes instead.

Luigi’s down taunt – where he shyly kicks the ground – can actually damage opponents, though it’s pretty weak. If he manages to use it on an opponent hanging from a ledge, they'll go flying downwards!

Back in Super Smash Bros. 64, Luigi shared an identical moveset to Mario, with the major difference being that he could jump higher, but was slower and had worse traction. Super Smash Bros. Melee would give both Mario Bros. different Side Specials, Super Smash Bros. Brawl would give Mario a new Down Special, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would have Luigi use his Poltergust as his new grab. Talk about slowly becoming his own unique fighter!

Although Luigi debuted in Mario Bros., the intro to Donkey Kong Jr. shows another “Mario” helping Mario carry Donkey Kong’s cage. Perhaps this unnamed guy is Luigi?

Luigi got his name from a pizzeria called “Mario & Luigi’s.” Coincidentally, Luigi’s name is also pretty similar to the Japanese word 「類似」 (Ruiji) which means “similar.” Luigi's name also means "famous warrior" in Italian, which is pretty ironic in-universe - since many don't know who he is - and pretty fitting out-of-universe, since he's one of Nintendo's well-known characters.

Luigi was originally considered to lack a last name until an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto in 2015 confirmed that Mario and Luigi’s last name is “Mario”, making him “Luigi Mario.” Before that, the idea that “Mario” is his last name was also used in the cartoon series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, as well as the 1993 film Super Mario Bros. The Movie.

Throughout 2013 and 2014, Nintendo declared "The Year of Luigi" to celebrate Luigi's debut in the Super Mario series. In addition to various merchandise, various games were also released to celebrate, such as Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, New Super Luigi U, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and Dr. Luigi. Luigi was also unveiled pretty early on as a returning playable character during the development of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U.

According to a calendar that was included in the second issue of Nintendo Power, Mario's birthday is October 11. As Mario and Luigi are twins, this also means that date marks Luigi's birthday as well!