Luigi

Luigi is Mario's younger brother. He made his debut in the original Mario Bros. game as Player 2's character. Since then, he, alongside his older brother Mario, have been considered the major mascots of Nintendo. He and Mario are Nintendo's most successful video game characters. He has also appeared in the Mario Kart series, the Super Smash Bros. series, and the Mario Party series. After Nintendo decided to move Luigi out of being nothing more than a palette swap to Mario since his first appearance, he has gained his own personality and lifestyle, earning him appearances in his very own games, Mario is Missing! and the widely popular Luigi's Mansion as the central character instead of Mario.

In Super Mario Bros. 2, it was learned that Luigi can actually jump higher than Mario. However, he's also slower and has worse traction. Some games including Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl supported the fact that Luigi is faster and can jump higher than Mario but his strength and power are slightly weaker.

While the brothers were initially considered heroes in the same level of fame, it wasn't too long until Mario started taking the spotlight and Luigi passing as a more secondary character. However, it was later learned that Luigi is not quite as brave as his brother, though still quite brave, but usually prefers Mario to do all the hard work.

It is also thought that Waluigi is Luigi's arch enemy as Wario is to Mario. The reason for this is because Waluigi has an upside down L and Wario has upside down M. L stands for Luigi and M stands for Mario and as Mario and Wario are rivals it is only fair to say that Luigi and Waluigi are rivals too.

History
Luigi's first game was in Mario Bros., an arcade game that featured Mario, and his brother, which is Luigi. The game took place in underground pipes. In these pipes, bugs and other animals have gotten inside of them and Mario and Luigi have to get them out.

After Mario Bros, Nintendo came out with Super Mario Bros., in this game, Luigi was almost identical to Mario, other than green overalls, though he could do everything that Mario could do, in exactly the same way. The sequel to Super Mario Bros., was the Japan only Super Mario Bros. 2, in this game, Luigi could jump much higher but couldn't run faster than Mario. Some levels were only beatable with Luigi.

In the sequel, Super Mario Bros. 3, Luigi was once again exactly the same as Mario, just with a few changes in color. The same happened with Super Mario World, though in Super Mario All-Stars, Luigi had a different sprite change.

After Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, Nintendo went on to create spin-offs such as Super Mario Kart staring Mario characters such as Luigi. In the games, he was usually equal in stats to Mario, but some times he was lighter.

During the Nintendo 64 era, Luigi didn't star in any platforms, although he was in many spin-offs. This was quickly changed with the GameCube's launch when they forgot all about Mario and made Luigi the star of Luigi's Mansion for the new console. In the game, Luigi wins a new mansion in a contest he didn't even enter. Once he arrives, he finds out that Mario has been taken by King Boo and put into a painting. Now Luigi will have to use many new gadgets to go and save him. Luigi is a playable character in many more spin-offs such as Super Mario Strikers and its sequel, Mario Strikers Charged. Luigi is a supporting character in Super Mario Galaxy, but he can only help Mario after Mario saves him from a galaxy filled with Boos. After that, Luigi will get Power Stars Mario couldn't get, but he'll have to be rescued first, again. Once you collect 120 Stars, you'll be able to play as Luigi. Luigi is also a playable character in Mario Kart Wii.

Luigi is one of the playable characters in New Super Mario Bros. Wii along with Mario and two Toads. In single player mode, Luigi appears after the player chooses to go into to Super Guide mode. With Super Guide, the computer will take Luigi through the stage, but the player can also take control of him (after the stage ends, the user will have to play as Mario).

Appearance
Luigi is Mario's younger brother. With that said, it's obvious that they would look the same. Unlike Mario's red clothes, Luigi wears a green undershirt, and dark blue overalls. He is taller than Mario, and has a different style of mustache and sideburns. He also wears a green hat that has a L on it. For some reason, in many games Luigi is referred to as names like "the green guy".

Friends

 * Mario - Mario is Luigi's older brother, and has usually been his partner since Mario Bros. on the arcade. They share a very close bond and relationship.
 * Yoshi - Yoshi has helped Luigi multiple times such as in Super Mario World, and in Super Mario World 2 and has been seen to be very good friends with him.
 * Peach - Luigi has helped save Peach in multiple games, the first being Super Mario Bros. He is very close friends with her.
 * Daisy - Luigi and Daisy shared chemistry in Mario Superstar Baseball, and have been rumored to be a couple throughout many appearances. Although it's not really confirmed by Nintendo that they are a couple, this relationship seems to have been made true in Mario Kart Wii, as there are statues of Luigi and Daisy dancing with one another on Daisy Circuit.
 * Toad - Toad is seen as a friend to Luigi and provides him with assistance in games such as Luigi's Mansion and many others..

Enemies

 * King Boo - After his appearance in Luigi's Mansion, King Boo is one of Luigi's arch enemies.
 * Bowser - Luigi has helped in defeating Bowser on a few occasions
 * Bowser Jr. - In New Super Mario Bros. Luigi helps rescue Peach from Bowser Jr.
 * Kamek - Kamek helps Bowser on many of his schemes
 * Waluigi - It is thought that Waluigi is Luigi's main rival. The reason for this is because Waluigi has an upside down L, also Wario is Mario's enemy and Waluigi and Wario are brothers as Mario and Luigi are. Also in Waluigi's first appearance in Mario Tennis on the N64, it is hinted that he and Luigi have fought before.

Super Mario 64 hoax
For years people thought that Luigi was a playable character in Super Mario 64. Even though the game was already released and still no sign of Luigi, people still believed that he was in the game somewhere hidden away. It was once thought that the pedestal on the statue had something to do with unlocking Luigi, as some thought it said "L is Real 2041". It is currently known that the game does not include Luigi what so ever. However, some fans have went as far as to hack the game then change Mario's image into Luigi's, which also got fans to believe he was included once more.

Fans were pleased to find that Nintendo included him in the Super Mario 64 remake Super Mario 64 DS for the Nintendo DS, and as a playable character in Super Mario Galaxy after finding all 120 stars and defeating Bowser (with Mario) soon afterwards, as well as the sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2. Luigi was also included as a playable character in the Nintendo 3DS title, Super Mario 3D Land.

Cameos

 * F-1 Race - You'll see Luigi waving you down on Course 3.
 * Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Seen in a ceramic window in Hyrule castle.
 * Tetris - Luigi is Player 2.
 * Kirby Super Star - Luigi is cheering in the audience during the battle with King Dedede.
 * Stunt Race F-X - While driving, you'll see a sign with Luigi on it.
 * NBA Street V3 - Luigi is a playable exclusive character for the GCN version.
 * SSX on Tour - Luigi is a playable exclusive character for the GCN version.
 * Animal Crossing - A shirt titled Lil' Bro's Shirt, is in the game, and has a L on it that looks like the L on Luigi's hat.
 * Animal Crossing: Wild World - You can wear Luigi's Hat.
 * Tetris DS - Luigi is found in Multiplayer as the rival.
 * Nintendogs - One of the presents your dog finds on a walk is a green hat with a L on it inside. This is most likely Luigi's cap.