Luigi

"I'm Luigi, number 1!"

- Luigi, Mario Kart 64.

Luigi is one of the main characters in the Mario series. He is the younger and taller brother of Mario.

Originally, he was a green palette swap of Mario, used to designate a second player. Over time, he developed his own distinct features and personality. In games such as Super Mario Bros. 2 or Super Smash Bros., Luigi is often categorized as being faster or jumping higher. However, those games give him less traction and strength. Other games give him the exact same abilities as Mario.

Luigi has been given a distinct role in the series and has starred in his own video game, called Luigi's Mansion. He is a staple of the Mario universe, being included in every Mario sports game, and was even given his own rival, Waluigi, to compare to Mario's Wario. It has also been hinted that Luigi has romantic connections with Daisy, princess of Sarasaland, giving Luigi an equivalent to Peach.

Appearance
Luigi is slightly taller and thinner than Mario. His normal outfit consists of blue overalls, a green long-sleeved shirt, brown shoes and a green cap with an "L" symbol. His mustache is also slightly different and his voice pitch is higher than Mario.

Personality
In earlier games, Luigi was portrayed as living in his brother's shadow and did not receive the recognition Mario did. With the release of Luigi's Mansion, however, Luigi received his own spotlight, which shed more light on his personality: his fear of ghosts and general apprehension of the dark. In the Mario & Luigi series, Luigi is used more as a comic relief character, often being forgotten and left behind, or has little impression on other characters. He is also portrayed as being unlucky and accident-prone in most of his official artwork.

Origin
Luigi was first introduced in Mario Bros., a game that was not originally intended to be 2-player until Miyamoto saw Joust. He was very impressed with the concept, and wanted to introduce a second player to the gameplay, Mario's brother. His name is rumored to have come from a pizza parlor nearby the then-new Redmond, Washington headquarters of Nintendo of America called "Mario and Luigi's."

Abilities
Luigi's abilites are usually identical to Mario. In some games he has better jumping and speed, but less traction, strength, and slower acceleration. In the Luigi's Mansion series, Luigi gets a Poltergust device, which is a superpowered vaccuum cleaner designed to trap ghosts and spirits.

Trivia

 * Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is the first game in which Luigi had distinctive traits from Mario, as the game gives him a high jumping ability. Super Mario Bros. 2 is the first game where Luigi is tall and thin, giving him a distinct appearance.
 * In New Super Mario Bros., players can play as Luigi in the single player game by holding the L + R buttons when selecting a save file.
 * In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Luigi was portrayed by Danny Wells.