Grab a Super Mushroom and keep one eye out for blue shells. These 120 Super Mario trivia questions cover more than four decades of platforming, power-ups, kart races, castles, galaxies, kingdoms, and one extremely persistent princess-rescuing plumber.
We start with the basics, then work toward questions that will test people who have been stomping Goombas since the NES days.
Why Super Mario Makes Great Trivia
Mario has jumped across arcade machines, home consoles, handhelds, sports games, party games, racing series, movies, and generations of Nintendo hardware. That makes Mario trivia much broader than memorizing which castle contains which princess.
For more gaming questions, try our video game trivia, Minecraft trivia, or Fortnite trivia. The historical timeline here is aligned with Nintendo's official Mario history.
Mario Origins & Nintendo History
Q: In what arcade game did Mario first appear?
A: Donkey Kong, released in 1981.
Q: What name was Mario commonly known by in Donkey Kong?
A: Jumpman.
Q: Who created Mario?
A: Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Q: What occupation is Mario most famously associated with?
A: Plumber.
Q: In what 1983 arcade game did Luigi first appear?
A: Mario Bros.
Q: In what year did the original Super Mario Bros. debut in Japan?
A: 1985.
Q: Which Nintendo home console made Super Mario Bros. a defining game in North America?
A: The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES.
Q: What scrolling platform-game style became strongly associated with Super Mario Bros.?
A: Side-scrolling platforming.
Q: What 1996 game brought the main Mario platforming series into full 3D?
A: Super Mario 64.
Q: Which console launched in North America alongside Super Mario 64 in 1996?
A: Nintendo 64.
Q: What 2002 GameCube adventure gave Mario a water-spraying backpack?
A: Super Mario Sunshine.
Q: What 2007 Wii game sent Mario traveling among tiny planets and galaxies?
A: Super Mario Galaxy.
Q: What 2017 Nintendo Switch adventure introduced Cappy?
A: Super Mario Odyssey.
Q: What 2023 side-scroller introduced Wonder Flowers?
A: Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Q: What simple tool did Nintendo use while designing the original Super Mario Bros. levels?
A: Graph paper was used to sketch level layouts.
Mario, Luigi, Peach & Friends
Q: Who is Mario's younger brother?
A: Luigi.
Q: What color is Luigi most strongly associated with?
A: Green.
Q: Who rules the Mushroom Kingdom?
A: Princess Peach.
Q: What was Princess Peach often called in early English-language games?
A: Princess Toadstool.
Q: Who is the main dinosaur companion frequently ridden by Mario?
A: Yoshi.
Q: In what game did Yoshi make his major debut?
A: Super Mario World.
Q: What species are the small mushroom-headed residents of the Mushroom Kingdom?
A: Toads.
Q: Which yellow-and-purple character is often portrayed as Mario's greedy rival?
A: Wario.
Q: Who is Luigi's lanky purple-clad rival?
A: Waluigi.
Q: Which princess rules Sarasaland?
A: Princess Daisy.
Q: Which character wears a crown, pink dress, and usually blonde hair?
A: Princess Peach.
Q: Which character is famous for being taller and often more nervous than Mario?
A: Luigi.
Q: Which character lays eggs after swallowing enemies in many games?
A: Yoshi.
Q: Which recurring helper is often simply called Toad?
A: A member of the mushroom-like Toad species who serves Peach and assists Mario.
Q: What family relationship connects Mario and Luigi?
A: They are brothers.
Bowser, Goombas & Mushroom Kingdom Enemies
Q: Who is Mario's main recurring enemy?
A: Bowser.
Q: What reptilian army does Bowser rule?
A: The Koopa Troop.
Q: What common brown enemy is usually defeated by one stomp?
A: A Goomba.
Q: What turtle-like enemy can retreat into its shell?
A: A Koopa Troopa.
Q: What ghost enemy often stops moving when Mario looks directly at it?
A: Boo.
Q: What plant enemy commonly pops out of pipes?
A: A Piranha Plant.
Q: What masked enemy is especially associated with Super Mario Bros. 2?
A: Shy Guy.
Q: What cloud-riding enemy throws Spiny eggs?
A: Lakitu.
Q: What spiked-shelled creature hatches from many of Lakitu's thrown eggs?
A: A Spiny.
Q: What walking bomb enemy has a wind-up key in many designs?
A: Bob-omb.
Q: What giant bullet-shaped enemy often flies horizontally across levels?
A: Bullet Bill.
Q: What skeletal Koopa enemy can reassemble after collapsing?
A: Dry Bones.
Q: What hammer-throwing Koopa enemy is called Hammer Bro?
A: A helmeted Koopa warrior that attacks by tossing hammers.
Q: What is the name of Bowser's son?
A: Bowser Jr.
Q: What group of seven recurring Koopa bosses includes Ludwig, Wendy, and Iggy?
A: The Koopalings.
Power-Ups, Blocks & Items
Q: What does a Super Mushroom usually do to small Mario?
A: It transforms him into Super Mario, making him larger and able to take an extra hit.
Q: What power-up lets Mario throw fireballs?
A: The Fire Flower.
Q: What item usually grants temporary invincibility?
A: The Super Star, often called a Starman.
Q: What green collectible commonly grants an extra life?
A: A 1-Up Mushroom.
Q: What block marked with a question mark often contains coins or power-ups?
A: A Question Block.
Q: What power-up gives Mario a raccoon tail in Super Mario Bros. 3?
A: The Super Leaf.
Q: What full-body suit in Super Mario Bros. 3 lets Mario resemble a tanuki?
A: The Tanooki Suit.
Q: What cape power-up defines one of Mario's Super Mario World forms?
A: The Cape Feather.
Q: What flower in Super Mario Galaxy lets Mario throw fireballs for a limited time?
A: The Fire Flower.
Q: What Super Mario Galaxy power-up turns Mario into a bee?
A: The Bee Mushroom.
Q: What Super Mario 3D World item turns characters into cats?
A: The Super Bell.
Q: What cap-shaped companion lets Mario capture certain enemies in Super Mario Odyssey?
A: Cappy.
Q: What giant mushroom makes Mario enormous in several games?
A: The Mega Mushroom.
Q: What icy counterpart to the Fire Flower lets Mario throw freezing projectiles in some games?
A: The Ice Flower.
Q: What Wonder item triggers dramatic level transformations in Super Mario Bros. Wonder?
A: A Wonder Flower.
Classic 2D Mario Adventures
Q: How many main worlds are in the original Super Mario Bros.?
A: Eight worlds.
Q: How many stages are normally found in each world of the original Super Mario Bros.?
A: Four stages.
Q: What famous message does Toad give after many castle rescues in the original game?
A: The princess is in another castle.
Q: Which Super Mario Bros. 2 character can hover briefly using her dress?
A: Princess Peach.
Q: Which Super Mario Bros. 2 character can jump especially high?
A: Luigi.
Q: Which Super Mario Bros. 2 character is especially strong at picking up objects?
A: Toad.
Q: What major overworld feature helped Super Mario Bros. 3 feel less linear?
A: A world map where players select stages and paths.
Q: What famous airship levels appear throughout Super Mario Bros. 3?
A: Bowser's military-style airships, often ending in boss battles.
Q: What Nintendo console was Super Mario World originally built for?
A: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Q: What new companion was one of Super Mario World's biggest additions?
A: Yoshi.
Q: What alternate exits in Super Mario World can open new routes on the map?
A: Secret exits, often reached with keys.
Q: What handheld game introduced Princess Daisy?
A: Super Mario Land.
Q: What handheld sequel introduced Wario as an antagonist?
A: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.
Q: What 2006 Nintendo DS title revived the side-scrolling style with modern graphics?
A: New Super Mario Bros.
Q: What Wii installment brought four-player simultaneous platforming to the New Super Mario Bros. series?
A: New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
3D Mario Worlds
Q: What castle acts as the central hub in Super Mario 64?
A: Princess Peach's Castle.
Q: What collectible opens new areas and boss encounters in Super Mario 64?
A: Power Stars.
Q: How does Mario enter many courses in Super Mario 64?
A: By jumping into magical paintings.
Q: What is the name of Mario's talking water pack in Super Mario Sunshine?
A: F.L.U.D.D.
Q: On what tropical island does Super Mario Sunshine take place?
A: Isle Delfino.
Q: What graffiti-like substance is Mario blamed for spreading in Super Mario Sunshine?
A: Goop, created as part of Shadow Mario's scheme.
Q: Who is revealed to be Shadow Mario?
A: Bowser Jr.
Q: What observatory acts as a hub in the first Super Mario Galaxy?
A: The Comet Observatory.
Q: Who is the guardian of the Comet Observatory?
A: Rosalina.
Q: What star-shaped creatures accompany Rosalina?
A: Lumas.
Q: What game first introduced Rosalina?
A: Super Mario Galaxy.
Q: What city in Super Mario Odyssey is famous for its skyscrapers and jazz-inspired festival?
A: New Donk City.
Q: Who is the mayor of New Donk City?
A: Pauline.
Q: What vehicle serves as Mario's traveling home base in Super Mario Odyssey?
A: The Odyssey airship.
Q: What major collectibles power the Odyssey?
A: Power Moons.
Mario Kart, Parties & Sports
Q: What racing series puts Mario characters in karts?
A: Mario Kart.
Q: What was the first game in the Mario Kart series?
A: Super Mario Kart.
Q: On what console did Super Mario Kart debut?
A: Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Q: What notorious Mario Kart item homes in on the racer in first place?
A: The Spiny Shell, commonly called the blue shell.
Q: What banana-shaped item can make a kart spin out?
A: A Banana Peel.
Q: What item can protect a racer or be fired as a projectile?
A: A Koopa shell.
Q: What track appears in many forms as Mario Kart's famously colorful final challenge?
A: Rainbow Road.
Q: What party series combines boards, dice-like movement, stars, and minigames?
A: Mario Party.
Q: What sport is central to the Mario Tennis series?
A: Tennis.
Q: What sport is central to Mario Golf?
A: Golf.
Q: What team sport appears in Mario Strikers?
A: Soccer, presented in an exaggerated arcade style.
Q: What multiplayer sports compilation prominently features Olympic competition with Mario and another gaming mascot?
A: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
Q: Which Sega character shares the title with Mario in the Olympic crossover series?
A: Sonic the Hedgehog.
Q: What fighting-game series includes Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and many other Nintendo characters?
A: Super Smash Bros.
Q: Why is Mario suited to so many spin-off genres?
A: Nintendo treats the characters as a flexible cast that can support racing, sports, parties, puzzles, fighting, and other styles.
Hard Super Mario Challenge
Q: What was Mario's profession in the original Donkey Kong setting?
A: He was originally portrayed more as a carpenter before the plumber identity became established.
Q: Which character was Mario trying to rescue in the original Donkey Kong arcade game?
A: Pauline.
Q: Which game first paired Mario and Luigi as sewer-working brothers battling creatures from below?
A: Mario Bros.
Q: Which came first, Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda?
A: Super Mario Bros. arrived in 1985, while the first Zelda released in Japan in 1986.
Q: Which came first, Super Mario 64 or Mario Kart 64?
A: Super Mario 64.
Q: Which 3D Mario game is set primarily on Isle Delfino?
A: Super Mario Sunshine.
Q: Which 3D Mario game is built around gravity and tiny planets?
A: Super Mario Galaxy.
Q: Which 3D Mario game is built around capturing enemies with a living cap?
A: Super Mario Odyssey.
Q: What is the name of Cappy's home region?
A: The Cap Kingdom.
Q: What kingdom contains New Donk City?
A: The Metro Kingdom.
Q: What major Mario game lets players design and share their own side-scrolling courses?
A: Super Mario Maker.
Q: What sequel expanded the course-building concept on Nintendo Switch?
A: Super Mario Maker 2.
Q: What transformation lets Mario climb walls using catlike claws?
A: Cat Mario, gained from the Super Bell.
Q: What long-running design philosophy helps make Mario games easy to recognize across decades?
A: Clear movement, readable obstacles, playful discovery, and mechanics that are taught through level design.
Q: What makes Super Mario unusually fertile trivia territory?
A: One character connects arcade history, platformers, 3D design, racing, sports, parties, movies, hardware generations, and dozens of iconic enemies and power-ups.
How Did You Score?
If you knew F.L.U.D.D., Pauline, the Cap Kingdom, Hammer Bros., and which game introduced Rosalina without needing a warp pipe to escape, your Mario knowledge is in excellent shape.
For another gaming round, try our 225 video game questions or see whether Minecraft and Fortnite are more your speed.
Ellie Ewert is the founder and author of RandomTrivia.co, blending her passion for research with years of experience in content creation to deliver accurate, engaging, and well-sourced trivia. Dedicated to providing readers with trustworthy and entertaining facts, she applies meticulous fact-checking and SEO expertise to ensure every article meets the highest standards. Read more about our high standards in our Editorial Guidelines.