Super Mario Bros. 2

Toad, known in Japan as Kinopio , is a fictional character belonging to an anthropomorphic mushroom-like species of the same name in the Mario... series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. A citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad is one of Princess Peach's most loyal attendants and is constantly working on her behalf. He is usually seen as a non-player character who provides assistance to Mario and his friends in most games, but there are times when Toad takes center stage and appears as the protagonist, as seen in Super Mario Bros. 2 and Wario's Woods. Starting with Super Mario Sunshine, a newly introduced character known as Toadsworth was introduced as Peach's steward, thus replacing Toad's original role as a helper for various Nintendo Gamecube Mario titles released . However, Toad later received various other roles that allowed him to take a more active role within the later Mario games.
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Princess Peach Toadstool is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. Originally created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Peach is the Princess of the... fictional Mushroom Kingdom, which is constantly under attack by Bowser, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the series and is the lead female. She is often portrayed as Mario's love interest and has appeared in all the Mario games to date; with the most notable being Super Princess Peach where she is the main protagonist. Princess Peach's initial appearance was drawn by Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto later asked Yōichi Kotabe to redraw Peach with his instructions. He had asked Kotabe to draw her eyes to be "a little cat-like" and that she should look "stubborn, but cute". With Kotabe's influence, Princess Peach changed considerably throughout her gaming system. Peach was not a playable character in New Super Mario Bros. Wii because it would require special programming on how the game handles her dress, however, she is the main protagonist in Super Princess Peach and is a playable player in most Mario spin-offs such as Mario Party, Mario Kart and also sports games.
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Luigi is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto,... Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series, frequently as a sidekick to his brother and the deuteragonist of the series. Luigi first appeared in the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. as the character controlled by the second player, and retained this role in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and other titles. The first game where he was available as a primary character was Super Mario Bros. 2. In more recent appearances, Luigi's role became increasingly restricted to spinoffs such as the Mario Party and Mario Kart series, though he has been featured in a starring role on two occasions: first in the 1991 educational game Mario is Missing, later in Luigi's Mansion for the Nintendo GameCube in 2001 and in Luigi's Mansion 2 for the 3DS. In both of these games, he is called upon to act as the hero because Mario, the usual hero within the franchise, is in need of rescue.
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Koji Kondo is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who has been employed at Nintendo since 1984. He is best known for scoring numerous titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series. Koji Kondo was born in Osaka, Japan, on August 13, 1960. He began taking lessons in the electronic organ from the age of five. He improved his skills in the instrument in a cover band that played jazz and rock music. Kondo studied at the Art... Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, but was never classically-trained or particularly dedicated to music. However, he gained some experience in composing and arranging pieces, using both the piano and a computer to assist him. During his senior year, Nintendo sent a recruitment message to his university stating that they were interested in hiring people dedicated to composition and sound programming. An LCD and arcade gamer, Kondo successfully applied for the job in 1984 without requiring any demo tapes. Kondo was the first person hired by Nintendo for the purpose of creating compositions, and was to play an integral role in making the company's games and music recognizable worldwide.
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