Being one of, if not the most prominent video game franchise of all time, Nintendo's Mario
is filled with a diverse cast of characters.
Some more popular than others, many of different species, and of course, quite the collection
of endearing female characters, NPCs and playables alike!
While Mario may be the head honcho, his supporting cast of awesome ladies shouldn't be forgotten
or underestimated!
So today, we're counting down our picks for the top 10 mario girls.
Meaning any female characters that have appeared in the franchise over the last several decades.
10 Pauline Starting off our list is the OG Mario girl,
Pauline.
Some of you might be scratching your heads, wondering, hey, wait a sec.
Pauline?
Whose that?
Well, let's jump back to 1981 and the very first Donkey Kong game.
Remember that damsel in distress?
The woman that Jumpman, later known as Mario, had to save?
At that time, she was simply referred to as Lady in Japan.
When the game was distributed in North America, she was give the name Pauline, named after
the wife if Nintendo of America's warehouse manage, Don James.
Since then, she got a makeover to help distinguish her from another iconic Mario damsel, and
Pauline has reappeared in the Mario franchise many a time, primarily in spin off games or
cross over games with DK, and most recently, in 2017's Mario Odyssey, where she's the
major of New Donk City.
Gotta give it to Nintendo - they're never the type to forget their roots!
9 Harriet Speaking of Mario Odyssey, Harriet is a fairly
new character who made her debut in the game last year.
And she's a boss you have to take on during the missions Inverted Pyramid Showdown and
Big Broodal Battle.
Harriet is from the Dark Side, a secret kingdom located on the Moon in the game.
She's often described as the kind of character you really don't want to get angry, as she
has an arsenal of homemade bombs she'll toss at you that pack quite the punch.
She's quite devious, and lives life on the dangerous side, keeping many explosives and
bombs on her person at all times.
8 Vivian Speaking of villains, Vivian is a character
who was once an antagonist of Mario's, but then decided to switch over to the side of
good.
Probably for the best.
First appearing in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, she was a member of the Shadow
Sirens, a group of sisters that came to the Mushroom World in an attempt to free their
mistress, the Shadow Queen.
She eventually joins Mario's party after having enough of her sister's abuse, learning
to shed her inferiority complex and gain some confidence and self respect.
Vivian has had a bit of a low profile since Thousand Year Door, only appearing in one
other Mario game - Super Paper Mario - with a small cameo.
7 Wendy O Koopa Wendy is the princess of the Koopas, and the
only female Koopaling.
She's a singer, has a quick temper, and is a little sensitive when it comes to wealth
- she set false coins to trick Mario once upon a time.
A lady of luxury, she first appeared in Super Mario Bros 3 back in 1988, and many consider
her to be the first true villainess in a Mario game.
6 Dixie Kong Jumping over to another Nintendo franchise
here, Dixie Kong is a character who has had plenty of cross over appearances in Mario
Games.
Or rather, three specifically - Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, and Mario Super
sluggers.
Dixie is likely the most beloved female character from the Donkey Kong series; she's energetic,
adventurous and oh so adorable.
She's also the third character to appear in the DK franchise after DK himself and her
boyfriend Diddy, making her one of the more recognizable female editions in Nintendo's
cast of characters.
And hey, who doesn't love a good cross over cameo?
5 Toadette Toadette is one of the more minor supporting
characters that has managed to gain a big following.
A parallel to her boyfriend Toad, Toadette is known for being sweet, optimistic, and
at times, ever so slightly immature.
But she's also got a lot of guts, and is a force to be reckoned with!
She's appeared in 13 games to date.
I guess being adorable sure has its perks.
4 Birdo Birdo is a character with quite the interesting
history.
Birdo is largely considered to be the first trans character in video games.
How so?
Well, in her first appearance in Super Mario Bros 2, the English manual for the game stated
that Birdo - known as Ostro at the time - is a boy who, I quote, "thinks he is a girl"
and would rather be referred to as Birdetta.
Later releases of the game removed mention of the Birdetta bit.
Various game theorists and developers over the years have noted the importance of Birdo,
and have questioned whether or not the character underwent gender reassignment surgery.
Reception of the character has always been mixed because of this, with some critics calling
Birdo one of "gamins most repelling anti-babes" to others noting that Birdo is "just one
of a long line of Japanese video game characters forced to hide their true sexual identity."
All that aside, Birdo's gender doesn't change the way that a lot of players feel
about the character; many still adore the cute pink dinosaur, and ship Birdo and Yoshi
as a romantic item.
3 Princess Daisy Princess Daisy is the princess for those who
don't like archetypical princesses.
She's a tom boy, a tough cookie, and has a thing for flowers.
Like, really adores them, and doesn't just think they're pretty accessories.
Daisy first appeared in Super Mario Land in 1989, and was the princess Mario had to save.
She's established more of a personality since then, being the ruler of Sarasaland
who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom, and even became a love interest for Mario's brother,
Luigi.
2 Rosalina A big fan favourite, Rosalina is sometimes
liked more than our number one spot - who, by this point, is probably pretty obvious,
but we'll get there in a minute.
Rosalina, on the other hand, is appealing for being quite the independent and powerful
individual; she's a sorceress, wields a ton of power, and her duties are to watch
over and guard the Mushroom World, protect the pumas and guard the universe.
Yeah, that's no simple task.
But Rosalina is definitely up to it!
She first debuted in Super Mario Galaxy, and since then has become a reoccurring character
due to popularity, although mainly pops up in spin off games as opposed to main titles.
And, to top it all off, many a fan find her outfit variations to be the sexiest of the
franchise.
1 Princess Peach How could we not put Princess Peach in our
number one spot?
While she may not be the OG Mario girl, Peach has become synonymous with franchise, and
is likely one of the first characters you think of when it comes to iconic women in
video games.
She's appeared in more games than any other female character in video game history.
First appearing in 1985's Super Mario Bros, Peach has come a long way from simply being
a damsel in distress, having more agency and even becoming a playable character in main
titles in the series.
A mix of intelligence, stubbornness, selflessness, graciousness and a bit of posh princess attitude,
it's not difficult to see why Peach has resonated with fans for so long.
There we have it friends!
Which of these characters is your favourite?
Is there a Mario girl we didn't include on our list that you think should've made
one of our spots?
Let us know in those comments below!
And as always, if you dug this video, please show us some love by hitting those like and
subscribe buttons, and hey, why not share this video with a friend?
If you want more gaming vids, we've got a whole top 109 mario playlist flashing on
your screen right now if you'd like to dive in.
In the meantime, thanks for watching!
I've been Kelly Paoli and this has been top 10 gaming, catch you all in the next one!
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