Summary
- Charles Martinet shares his favorite Super Mario games like Super Mario Galaxy, 64, and Odyssey.
- Martinet appreciates his role as Luigi in Luigi's Mansion, stating it "touches his heart."
- Martinet's lighthearted performance as Mario has cemented his place in gaming history.
Charles Martinet, the former voice of Mario, recently shared some of his favorite Super Mario games. While Mario had previously been voiced by other actors in cartoons, Charles Martinet would be the first to give a voice to Nintendo’s most iconic mascot in games through the 1992 PC title Mario Teaches Typing. From there, he would make the jump into the mainline Super Mario games, starting with the seminal Super Mario 64 and continuing until he retired from the role last August.
Kevin Afghani would take over the role of Mario (as well as other classic Super Mario characters Charlies Martinet voiced like Luigi and Wario) starting with last year’s Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but this wouldn’t be the last Nintendo fans saw of the plumber’s classic voice. When it was announced that he would be stepping down from his role as Mario, Nintendo revealed that Martinet was now an ambassador for the Big N, appearing at special events and interacting with the many fans who grew up listening to his performances in Mario games over the past 32 years.
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As part of his new job as a Nintendo ambassador, Charles Martinet recently sat down for a Q&A session with fans at Nintendo Live 2024 in Sydney, Australia. When asked about his all-time favorite Super Mario games, Martinet replied that he will always have a place in his heart for the 3D entries he performed in due to liking sandbox games before describing Super Mario Galaxy as being "unbelievable" and listing other beloved entries like Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Odyssey.
Charles Martinet Lists Galaxy, 64, and Odyssey as his Favorite Super Mario Games
Martinet also acknowledged his second-most-famous Super Mario role by stating that Luigi's Mansion, the 2001 Nintendo GameCube launch title that tasked Mario’s more fearful brother with capturing ghosts inside the titular haunted mansion, “just touches my heart.” The rest of the Nintendo Live 2024 Q&A session saw Martinet revealing his favorite lines as Mario, sharing advice to anyone looking to get into voice acting, and telling his experiences while visiting Australia for the show – all while showcasing the friendly personality that translated into his performance as Mario and several other Nintendo characters.
Part of what helped make Mario such an iconic video game character over the past few decades is Charles Martinet’s lighthearted and whimsical vocal performance, which he continues to share with fans around the world even after passing Mario’s signature red hat to a new generation. Every fan has their favorite Super Mario title, and it is always interesting to hear the actor who has embodied the franchise like few others weigh in on the series that cemented his place in gaming history.
Super Mario is one of the biggest names in gaming. The first game in the franchise was 1985's Super Mario Bros., a game that is credited with helping the gaming industry recover from its two-year crash that began in 1983.
The Super Mario series still has an important place in gaming today, largely thanks to Nintendo's ability to continuously innovate the platform games.