Man of many hats: The history of Marios costumes

Its-a my wardrobe!

When we first met Mario in the arcade version of Donkey Kong, he was but a simple carpenter, wearing red overalls, a matching red hat, a blue shirt, and work boots. He may have been fighting a giant monkey, but Mario still felt too common to have a dense collection of costumes, let alone become a cosplayer. What a difference three decades makes.

To celebrate Mario's 30th anniversary, let's take a look back at all the wonderful, empowering costumes he's donned over the years. Variety is the spice of life, especially when it comes to clothing, and no one knows Mushroom Kingdom fashion better than Mario.

Fire Mario

First seen: Super Mario Bros.

For many players in the west, Fire Mario was their introduction to the plumber, as the hero is wearing the outfit on the Super Mario Bros. box art. The fire-hurling combo of red and white have appeared in the majority of core Mario games, though the colors flipped post-Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the few times the red and white design was replaced, though remakes of SMB3 exchanged the all-orange attire with the standard look.

Raccoon Mario

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

The second Super Mario Bros. - both US and Japanese versions - didnt add any new costumes, so Super Mario Bros. 3 chose to bring them back with a vengeance. Chief among them was the cover-featured Raccoon Mario. Like a sexy Halloween costume, Mario simply adds ears and a tail to normal clothes, but with the added benefit of flight. The raccoon outfit lay dormant for years until it returned in New Super Mario Bros. 2. The reappearance was likely hastened by the popular return of...

Tanooki Mario

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

Tanooki Mario doesnt believe in half measures. If youre going to dress as a magical raccoon, its best to go all the way with the furry getup. Based on Japanese myth, Tanooki Mario can not only fly, but also transform into a statue, and both those skills were recreated in Super Mario 3D Land. While the Tanooki Suit was pretty rare in Super Mario Bros. 3, the useful transformation was everywhere in 3D land, and it returns in Super Mario 3D World.

Frog Mario

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

This green ensemble was fun, but it was also hard to handle. Frog Mario moved pretty well underwater, but his stuttering half-steps werent all that useful on land. About as rare as the Tanooki Suit, Frog Mario has yet to make a return outside of an allusion in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. If it ever does, we hope Nintendo can find a better approach to the controls.

Hammer Mario

First seen: Super Mario Bros. 3

This costume gave Mario a more sinister edge, with him stealing the powers of one of his most annoying enemies to use against them. Also hard to find, Hammer Mario could fling his unlimited supply of hammers as well as his enemies, plus it gave him a handy shell to hide in. Later games had spiritual successors to this costume, but the Hammer Bros. Suit has yet to truly return.

Cape Mario

First seen: Super Mario World

Nintendo pushed all of Marios animal wardrobe to the back of the closet for Super Mario World. Almost all the old power-ups took a break to make room for Yoshi, and Marios flying ability was now tied to a simple yellow cape. The look certainly made Mario look more Super, but it was a little too simple for the then-new 16-bit console. Outside of Marios reflect move in Smash Bros., the cape has made few recent appearance, which is odd given how many retro powers appeared in recent Mario titles.

Rabbit Mario

First seen: Super Mario Land 2

Super Mario Land was one of the few traditional Mario games headed by someone other than Shigeru Miyamoto, and that situation lead to some odd, one off outfits. The most prominently featured was Rabbit Mario. The bunny ears affixed to his head slowed descent on jumps just like the raccoon tail, but without the added benefit of flight. Because, as we all know, rabbits cant fly, unlike raccoons.

Space Mario

First seen: Super Mario Land 2

Super Mario Galaxy seems to suggest that Mario can easily breathe in space, but Super Mario Land 2 makes that look like a recent development. In SML2s few outer space stages, Mario dons a traditional space suit that would likely meet NASA regulations. Perhaps back then Mario could breathe in space, he was just being overly cautious.

Fire Feather

First seen: Super Mario Land 2

Fire power-ups in Super Mario Land 2 gave the developers a real challenge. Without any colors beyond spinach green available for the Game Boy, how could the game tell players about the fire ability without red and white coloring? Thats where Mario gaudy feather comes in. It works great as a visual indicator of the power-up, but once Game Boys color pallette died out, so did this outfit.

Wing Mario

First seen: Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 brought Mario (and the platforming genre) into three dimensions, but in the switch over he lost much of his flare for fashion. The full bodied outfits and matching power-ups were replaced by timed abilities like the understated wing cap. Even if the flight was incredibly freeing, later entries ditched the cap when Mario took to the air.

Metal Mario

First seen: Super Mario 64.

CGI graphics were still pretty novel in 1996, so Marios new invincibility power-up bit the style of Terminator 2s T-1000, making his body a metallic, reflective surface. It made Mario temporarily safe from harm, but it also slowed him down considerably. Though Mario has dropped that power-up, Metal Mario has been spun off into his own character, one that frequently appears in Smash Bros. and sports games.

F.L.U.D.D. with short sleeves

First seen: Super Mario Sunshine

Look, let's not insult the guy, but Mario just looks weird in short sleeves. He may be on vacation, but it feels odd to see that much bare skin on the guy, particularly when a talking water tank is on his back. Despite Marios attempts to accessorize with F.L.U.D.D., the item has only made a return appearances as a special attack in recent Smash Bros. games.