How Old Is the Cast of the 'Mario' Games?

Nintendo has been holding a celebration of the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., commemorating the franchise's long reign on all of its consoles. The first Super Mario Bros. game was released in 1985, only four years after Mario first appeared in one of the company's video games.

Since then, there have been numerous installments to the franchise spanning across generations of consoles, from the original Game Boy and Nintendo 64 to the more recent Nintendo Switch.

But how old are the characters of the game really? Despite the franchise's age, the characters never seem to age, leaving them just as young as they were when they first appeared.

How old are Mario and Luigi? Or what about Princess Peach or Princess Daisy?

Princess Peach has long been one of the most-notable heroines in video game history and currently has the most appearances in video games of any female character, appearing in more than 60 titles (though she's a playable character in only around 40 of those games).

When she first appeared in Super Mario Bros. in 1985, she was only 15, though now her character is estimated to be around 25. 

Despite Princess Peach's long career in the Nintendo franchise, she's only been the main protagonist in one game. The frequent damsel in distress flips the tables in Super Princess Peach, released for the Nintendo DS in 2005, where she has to save Mario, Luigi, and the Toads from Bowser using her new friend Perry (the umbrella) and her emotions.

Princess Peach's cousin, Princess Daisy, is the tomboy counterpart of the Mario princesses. As the princess of Sarasaland, she wasn't introduced to the franchise until Super Mario Land in 1989 for the Game Boy. She's estimated to be around the same age as Princess Peach, though her age is never explicitly stated. It's estimated she's somewhere between 19 and in her early 20s.

Daisy has often been seen as a love interest for Luigi, appearing alongside the sidekick in games. 

Last but not least, we have the Mario brothers. The plumbing duo is at the center of almost every game in the Mario franchise. While Luigi is often relegated to the player-two position, the pair are actually fraternal twin brothers.

Luigi wasn't introduced to the franchise until Mario games became two-player, with his first appearance being in the 1983 Game & Watch title Mario Bros. Players couldn't pick Luigi as their primary character until Super Mario Bros. 2, which was released in 1988.

He was initially created as a palette swap of Mario, with the only difference between the two characters in the older games being the colors of their uniforms.

Despite the franchise being almost 40, Mario and Luigi are rumored to be somewhere in their mid-20s, usually around 24 or 25.

This places them at a not-insignificant age gap above their in-game love interests, though not as old as some of the other characters in the franchise.