Summary
- Charles Martinet has been the iconic voice of Super Mario for almost thirty years, bringing his delightful and energetic performance to the beloved character.
- Some notable highlights of Martinet's portrayal of Mario include his appearances in "Mario's Game Gallery," "Super Mario Sunshine," and "Super Mario Galaxy," where he injects humor and charm into the games.
- Martinet's talent shines in games like "Mario Power Tennis," where he is able to speak in full sentences, and in the "Mario & Luigi" RPG series, where he creates memorable moments of comedic babbling.
For almost thirty years, Charles Martinet has been lending his dulcet tones to everyone's favourite Italian plumber, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Super Mario. And not just the big M himself, of course – several other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom bear Charles' voice, from Luigi and Wario to the pompous Toadsworth.
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Fans were devastated to hear of the announcement of Martinet's retirement in 2023, bringing the curtain down on what's easily one of the most iconic vocal performances in the gaming medium. Whenever you hear that 'wahoo', you're home; and so we're spotlighting Charles' best turns in the Marioverse. Let's-a go!
10 Mario's Game Gallery
Sure, it's unlikely to top anybody's lists of 'best Mario games' – but this little-known PC title from the mid-nineties deserves at least a small nod for being the first official appearance of Charles' Mario. He's inescapable; from the very moment you boot up the game, he's narrating the various developer logos and instructing you how to move the mouse and click. You know what? It's adorable.
Mario's Game Gallery is a very rudimentary package of five classic tabletop games, including Yahtzee and backgammon. The real treasure, however, is Go Fish. In this one, you'll be staring down the ever-smiling plumber and attempting to guess how many Goombas or Yoshis are in his hand. Somehow, Martinet's tweeness elevates the whole thing.
9 ♍ Super Mario Sunshine
Sunshine is by far the most divisive of Mario's 3D outings. On the one hand, you've got a fantastic moveset and gorgeous tropical aesthetic (168澳洲幸运5开奖网:with a soundtrack to match), but it's marred by some of the most baffling design choices Nintendo ever made. One of these was the decision to plump for full voice acting – a well they've yet to return to since, and with good reason. Nothing deflates that final boss tension like Bowser sounding like a 50-year-old insurance salesman.
Charles Martinet nonetheless brings his A-game to his roles. Aside from the renewed humour he lends to Mario ("I'm-a dead," he casually announces upon drowning), we get the debut of his captivatingly awful British accent for Peach's ever-flustered retainer Toadsworth. He even squeezes in a further cameo as the Pianta prosecutor who gets the book thrown at Mario. Charming.
8 Mario Power Tennis ♐ 🌄
Ordinarily, Mario Power Tennis would not be notable. It's just another in 168澳洲幸运5开🍸奖网:a l🧔ong, long line of Mario sports spinoffs which, while superficially amusing, never really set the scene ablaze. But when it comes to Charles Martinet, Power Tennis is, funnily enough, one of the best showcases of his talent. The reason being? He's able to speak in full sentences.
It's surreal. During the intro cutscenes and trophy win animations, the assorted Mario characters interact in ways we've not really seen since. They rip on each other, crack jokes, share compliments – Wario even gets a phone call from his mum at one point, which opens a whole can of worms. Particular props go to Luigi's win ceremony, where Mario congratulates his brother while surreptitiously stomping on his foot.
7 Supไer Mario Galaxy
There's little more that needs to be said about the Galaxy duology. Simply put, it's one of the finest platforming experiences you'll ever have, oozing with charm and originality; and that's buoyed in a big way by another energetic performance from Martinet. From the very opening scene, Mario's wahoo-ing as he's never wahoo'd before, in crisp HD audio.
Charles injects the Mario brothers with new vim and vigour for this interstellar adventure, and all his voiceclips are instantly iconic. Use a Launch Star? "YAAHOOHOOHOOO!" Fall into lava? "AAAHOOOHOOOACKACKACK!" And let's not forget his goosebump-inducing ending line that teased the sequel: "Welcome, new galaxy!" Pure magic.
6 Mario & Luigi Series 🐠
A casualty of the closure of developer Alphadream, it's a true shame that we'll never get another entry in the Mario & Luigi RPG series. Paper Mario excepted, it was the only genuine role-playing corner of the Mario universe, and one which reliably delivered irresistible, endearing adventures. Whether inside Bowser's gut or fighting off alien invasions, it was one of a kind.
Martinet's performance for these titles, then, was suitably off-the-wall. Rather than speak in his typical semi-broken English, he instead opts for vaguely Italian-sounding gibberish. Watching the brothers babble incoherently at each other for minutes on end, only for an NPC to accurately decipher what they were on about, never got old. "Amamanantototozaybarro", indeed.
5 🐎 The Super Mario Bros. Moౠvie
The internet collectively imploded when Universal announced the voice cast for 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Chris Pratt as Mario? Jack Black as Bowser? Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong? You're having a laugh. In the end, however, the actors delivered more than acceptable turns.
Charles Martinet has numerous cameos in the film, and it's only fitting that these be included in our list. He's first heard as Giuseppe, the diminutive fellow who congratulates the brothers on their new TV commercial in the bar. He also turns up in a fairly large capacity as Mario and Luigi's dad, and as a Toad salesman hawking shoddy retro goods. The man has range!
4 Luigi's Mansion
Nintendo took a huge gamble by launching their shiny new GameCube not with a Mario title, but with one starring his underdog brother, Luigi. While the green guy's star shines far brighter these days, in the early 2000s he was a harder sell in the lead role, and so Luigi's Mansion had to pull its weight big time. Thankfully, it did so – and arguably kicked off many gamers' affection for the character.
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Martinet absolutely sells the abject terror Luigi feels as he's tasked by the kooky E. Gadd with ridding a haunted mansion of its ghostly residents. Whether it's the way he hums and whistles along with the background music; grunts with effort as he shakes down all the furniture for gold coins; or screeches "✨MAAAARIOOOO!" at the top of his lungs when low on health, it's a career highlight for Charles.
3 Wa🔥rioWare Gold
Most fans are aware that Martinet voices Mario and Luigi, but many react with surprise when they discover he brings Wario to life, too. It's understandable; the gruff, flatulent egotist is a million miles away from the saccharine falsetto of the Mario twins. All the same, Charles has helped mould Wario into a likeable antihero, and he got a real chance to show off his chops in WarioWare Gold.
Much like Power Tennis, this entry in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the popular 'microgame' series had the characters speaking full sentences, but went a step further: Wario narrates the entire thing. Beginning to end, Martinet's voice will be blasting from your 3DS speakers – making for probably the biggest paycheck he's ever seen from this series. It ably demonstrates his capability as a voice actor, and is raucously funny.
2 Luigi's Mansion 3
Returning to the spooky world of Luigi's Mansion, we couldn't go without mentioning the threequel. Here Martinet takes everything that he perfected in the first two Mansion installments and nails it to a science. He has a real handle on Luigi's character by now – no longer cowardly, but brave in the face of his fears and with an undying loyalty to his family and friends.
That understanding shines through in Luigi's voice, which is now more quietly, tremulously nervous than the bawling and screaming he was doing in the first game. Adding further charm is that Mario actually tags along for a decent chunk of the third act, allowing for more brotherly repartee between the two – and what might be one of the only instances of Mario expressing genuine distress when he sees King Boo's kidnapped Peach. "Luigi, please! Help her!" he manages to articulate.
1 Super M🌄ario 64
Mario's Game Gallery may have been the first 'official' role for Martinet – but come on. Super Mario 64 was his real beginning, and the one which made him a household name. You know these voice clips; everyone knows these voice clips. "It's-a me, Mario!" is the first thing you hear on bootup, six syllables which entered pop culture history.
Martinet yelps, hollers and whoops with the best of them, and as you chuck the plumber around Peach's castle for the first time, it is enthralling. All the yahoos and wahoos started here, and are in fine fettle. This is without even mentioning the times you put the controller down and Mario nods off, dreaming of "ah, spaghetti... ah, ravioli..." Stereotypical? Yes. Iconic? Double yes.