Whether you call it Mario Bros.,Super Mario, or just Mario, the games have featured an expansive cast of characters over the years. In its over forty-year history, there has been an effort to keep the series fresh with new gameplay mechanics and lead characters withnow being a better time than ever to check these games out.
Luigi has had his own games and Peach also has her own exciting entry withPrincess Peach: Showtime!thatgives her a chance to progress past being a Bowser abductee. That said, there is still a goldmine of interesting Mario characters who haven’t had the chance to shine.
8Nabbit
Nabbit, the purple thieving rabbit, has been playable in more than one game before. But he has never had his own game, which is honestly surprising. The opportunities for a stealth-based Nabbit game seem obvious, allowing you to attempt bigger and bigger heists, and given that Nabbit has been playable in other games before, it’s a little strange Nintendo hasn’t jumped on the chance.
Nabbit has a great design, is a known entity to fans, and has a popular genre of games he’d be perfect for. We also don’t actually know that much about Nabbit, so a game exploring his identity and place in the world of Mario would be a prize worth snagging.
7Petey Piranha
Petey Piranha has appeared in almost 30 Mario games, serving as both a boss and a playable character. For all of his popularity though we haven’t had a game where Petey takes front and center and it feels like it’s time.
The popularity of cozy gaming,games you’re able to cuddle up on the couch with, might offer an opportunity for Petey. Perhaps tired of the constant fighting his life as a mid-boss brings him, Petey turns to a quiet life of farming. Granted, the idea of a plant farming other plants raises some strange ethical questions but that only makes the idea more intriguing.
6Fake Bowser
It’s something of a tradition in the Mario games for our red-clad hero to encounter a less-than-legitimate Bowser before battling the real one. Usually a Koopa or Goomba in disguise, these serve as red herring boss fights on your journey to save Princess Peach.
There’s something about the idea of a story that follows one of these Fake Bowsers rather than the real one. A game where the real Bowser is missing and one of his body doubles, played by you, has to try and fill in has the potential to be one of the funniest entries in the series.
5Shy Guy
Shy Guy first wobbled onto the scene in a non-Mario game, Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic. This game would then be reskinned as the sequel you know and love, Super Mario Bros. 2, pulling Shy Guy into the Mario universe. Since then Shy Guy in various forms has been featured in and even playable across a huge number of Mario titles.
With how well associated the masked mysteries are with the series it seems like the time is right for a Shy Guy spinoff. Whether it follows a generic Shy Guy or a specific one given a little more of a distinct style, it could be great.
4King Boo
What Bowser is to Mario, many would consider King Boo to be to Luigi. The primary antagonist of the charmingLuigi’s Mansionseries of games this royal spectre, identifying himself as the scariest of spirits, has gotten up to all kinds of spooky mischief over the years. One thing he hasn’t gotten is his own game.
Bowser has taken the lead before, namely in Bowser’s Inside Story, so it only seems fair that his villainous equivalent gets the same treatment.Games where you play as a ghosthave worked before so there’s no reason why the same can’t be true for the ethereal King Boo.
3Koopas
Whether it’s Koopas, the Koopalings, or even Bowser himself, there is no Mario without the Koopas. And as interesting as Bowser and the Koopalings are, there’s an appeal to the mundane. What is life like for the little guys, constantly getting jumped on by a portly plumber while just doing what their king tells them?
APaper Mario-style story that spends time with a mostly regular-old Koopa as the protagonist could be fascinating, giving us an insight into these undervalued mascots. Especially if it answers the question - when you fire a shell in Mario Kart, what happened to the Koopa it belonged to? It might be better not to know.
2Pauline
Pauline shares a regrettable trope with Princess Peach, that of the damsel in distress. Peach is moving past this overplayed role and although Pauline has made strides, she deserves even more. Best known for being kidnapped and held prisoner by Donkey Kong, Pauline could be considered one of the poster girls for the outdated idea that women in video games existed to be rescued.
More recently she has taken on less regressive roles as a DLC playable character inMario Kart 8and the mayor of New Donk City inSuper Mario Odyssey, the latter especially going a long way to revamp her reputation. If there’s to be any hope of keeping Pauline relevant, she needs to continue receiving prominent roles like this, with the role of protagonist in her own game as a priority.
1Waluigi
Waluigi not having his own game has become a meme at this point. Originally created exclusively to give Wario a doubles partner inMario Tennis, Walugi has only ever appeared in spin-off games. Wario has had his own games, why should his lanky sports-loving pal be any different?
It actually doesn’t matter what kind of game Nintendo gave Waluigi, the excitement of it finally happening at all would drive fans into a frenzy. With an internet-led campaign lasting years for Waluigi to get his own game, pre-orders would be all but guaranteed.
