(NEXSTAR) — When it comes to the fan-favorite character from Nintendo’s “Super Mario Bros.” media franchise, we’re sorry, but it’s-a not you, Mario. Or you, Luigi.
(Photo: Business Wire via AP Images)
Over 87,000 people recently voted in a survey by gaming website Cribbage Online, with the results showing that the most-beloved “Super Mario Bros.” character is none other than the egg-laying, stretchy tongued dinosaur Yoshi.
As explained by Nintendo, players can always count on Yoshi, saying that when trouble goes down, Yoshi “will flutter jump to the rescue.”
Yoshi, whose full name is “T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas,” first appeared in 1990’s Super Nintendo game “Super Mario World.” Yoshi has remained a staple of the franchise ever since — and has even become the star of his own games.
The character has taken the spotlight in the games “Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island,” “Yoshi’s Story,” “Yoshi’s Woolly World,” and “Yoshi’s Crafted World.” The character appeared as a more life-like dinosaur (perhaps unsuccessfully) in the 1993 “Super Mario Bros” live-action movie and is set to appear in the forthcoming CGI-animated “The Super Mario Bros Movie.”
The top 20 most-loved “Super Mario” franchise characters, according to the survey, are:
| Character | Votes |
| 1. Yoshi | 6,084 |
| 2. Luigi | 5,771 |
| 3. Mario | 5,602 |
| 4. Toad | 5,514 |
| 5. Bowser Jr. | 5,229 |
| 6. Bowser | 4,871 |
| 7. Princess Peach | 4,727 |
| 8. Kamek | 4,653 |
| 9. Waluigi | 4,637 |
| 10. Donkey Kong | 4,182 |
| 11. Koopalings | 4,170 |
| 12. Wario | 4,115 |
| 13. Birdo | 4,077 |
| 14. King Boo | 3,987 |
| 15. Princess Daisy | 3,807 |
| 16. Lemmy Koopa | 3,592 |
| 17. Toadette | 3,464 |
| 18. Toadsworth | 3,189 |
| 19. Petey Piranha | 3,033 |
| 20. Pauline | 3,004 |
Super Luigi World?
As you may have noticed, Mario himself — despite his name being in the title of the series — doesn’t always rank as everyone’s top favorite. Cribbage Online voters tended to favor his green-suited brother, Luigi. And they’re not alone.
Back in 2020, CBR writer Anthony Gramuglia argued in favor of Luigi’s superiority in a piece called, “Mario: Why Luigi is significantly better than his brother.” Gramuglia insists that in addition to having more personality than Mario, the “Super Mario” games (and Luigi’s own solo adventures) show the oft-overshadowed brother as being more emotionally vulnerable, kinder and less-reliant on power-ups than Mario.
“We see in the ‘Luigi’s Mansion’ titles that Luigi is a naturally anxious person, which means he often puts himself in situations that are stressful for him to help his brother out,” writes Gramuglia.
A year earlier, writer Renan Fontes listed “10 things Luigi can do that Mario can’t” for gaming news outlet Game Rant. Among Luigi’s “bests” over Mario are his higher jumping and invisibility capabilities. Fontes also lays out why a player might strategically select Luigi over Mario, writing, “Mario is meant to be the player’s offensive character, having a higher Strength stat, whereas Luigi is meant to take more hits, having a higher Defense stat.”
Did you know? Before starring in his popular “Luigi’s Mansion” series of games, Luigi’s first starring role was in the 1993 educational game “Mario is Missing!“
Beloved baddies
In case you’re wondering who Kamek is — a seeming deep-cut character who cracked the top 10 — think about the little wizard, known as a “Magikoopa,” who sometimes helps out the games’ antagonists. Meanwhile, Bowser’s minions the Koopalings (Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Roy Lemmy and Ludwig) placed at 11.
Lemmy Koopa proved to be particularly popular among the Koopalings. The ball-riding henchman ranked 11th as part of the Koopalings and 16th on his own.