Plumbing the Depths Trivia Quiz

Bowser is a spiny shelled menace and the main antagonist in the "Super Mario" franchise. He is a Koopa, a race of large and powerful creatures that bear some of the traits of the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, the ox, Ankylosaurian dinosaurs and dragons. Of the Koopas, Bowser is the most prominent and yes, with his dragon heritage, he can breathe fire.

He has a large army of minions, he is Mario's biggest pain, a man whom he strongly desires to defeat, he is constantly kidnapping the Princess Peach, and his goal is to take over the Mushroom Kingdom.

(Photograph) A petrol "bowser".

The Princess Peach, who first appears in "Super Mario Brothers" (1985), not only rules the Mushroom Kingdom, she is the love interest of Mario. The pair have known each other since childhood (revealed in "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time" - 2005). We also find out here that Mario escorted her to their Graduation Ball.

You will regularly find her dressed in pink, which is ideal, as it suits her gentle and kind nature. Her constant threat, however, is the King Koopa, Bowser, who kidnaps her on a regular basis and threatens to overrun her Kingdom.

(Footnote) Whilst Peach did first appear in "Super Mario Brothers" in 1985, she was known as, the rather unflattering, Princess Toadstool. Her name was changed to Princess Peach for "Super Mario 64" in 1996.

Mario, the mustachioed Italian plumber (which is why the title of this quiz drew me here) and the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. Originally introduced as Jumpman in "Donkey Kong" (1981) he has become the main protagonist and the flagship of the franchise. The man is not your ordinary plumber... he also rules Mario Land, has been known to be a doctor of medicine ("Dr. Mario" - 1990), has been an archeologist ("Mario's Picross" - 1995), a baker ("Yoshi's Cookie" - 1992) and even a boxing bout referee ("Mike Tyson's Punch Out" - 1987). However, he spends a lot of his time rescuing the Princess Peach from the clutches of wicked Bowser.

For many years Mario did not have a surname. That changed in 2015. His creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, figured he'd celebrate Mario's 30th anniversary by adding that feature... and his surname is Mario, which makes Mario... Mario Mario and his brother Luigi Mario.

Though he had made prior appearances, Cappy is most notable in "Super Mario Odyssey" (2017) where he acts as Mario's most trusted ally and grants his friend powers as they venture forth to rescue, both, his little sister Tiara and the Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser.

He's described as a Bonneter (bonnet - hat, very clever) from the Cap Kingdom, and he appears as a ghostly top hat. He is white in colour and that was a deliberate feature. He will regularly change into different styles of hat and his designers felt that white was the colour that could best adapt to these changes. There's an interesting feature about his eyes as well... when they smile, they resemble a large version of the letter "M", the same initial as Mario's.

Porter looks very professional, all decked out in his blue porter's uniform, with its shiny gold buttons and gold badge. His job is to welcome visitors and guide them onto the train and he first appeared in "Animal Crossing: Animal Forest" (2001). He's extremely nice and very polite and, despite only being able to say "Eek", he has been described by a number of villagers in "Animal Crossing: Wild World" (2005) as the "coolest" monkey. He has a striking resemblance to Champ the Conductor and there is some conjecture that the two may be brothers.

Despite having similar jobs, Porter should not be confused with the "Porter" that appears in "Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door" (2004). The latter is a Mushroom Kingdom toad, who works for the Excess Express, checking traveler's tickets and letting them onboard the train.

(Photograph) The picture is that of a glass of porter, a dark beer.

This is Toad, and it is difficult to tell whether the Toad that appears in every game is the same "Toad" or whether he is one of many "Toads" because they are generically alike. Toad is a mushroom shaped humanoid character whose head bears a cap-shape with red spots on it. The cap, we are informed, is not separate from the head but is a part of the head. The other striking features of Toad are that he doesn't appear to have a nose, nor does he have any legs... his feet are attached to his torso.

Toad, and his mates, were introduced in 1985 as a part of "Super Mario Bros.". Known, at that point, as "Mushroom People", they were tasked with the protection of their ruler, the Princess Peach. They are extremely loyal and have proven to be some of Mario's greatest allies.

(Picture) Homonyms abound, it shows a car being "towed".

Princess Daisy first appeared in "Super Mario Land" (1989) where she was kidnapped by an alien named Tatanga, whose big idea was to marry her and make her his Queen. She is eventually rescued by the ever reliable Mario, however, Tatanga did manage to escape. (He reappears as a boss in "Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins" - 1992)

Despite being a princess and wearing dresses Daisy tends to behave more like a tomboy and, as a rule, does not need to be rescued too often. She would continue to make only cameo appearances for the Nintendo franchise and was finally released as a playable character in "Mario Tennis" (2000). Her growing popularity, especially in the "Mario Kart" series, which began in 1992, saw her make her fighting debut as an Echo Fighter for Princess Peach in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" (2018).

Rambi's name is a combination of two words. The first is "Ram", which suits him to a tee as he has the power and the force to tear down walls as well as charge through enemies, and "Bambi" because he's also a little childlike.

As you may have guessed from the photograph, Rambi is a rhinoceros, and he appears regularly as a "buddy animal" to the Kongs in the "Donkey Kong" series of games. In fact, behind Sqwarks the Parrot, he's made the second most appearances as a buddy animal in the set. Big and powerful, he has the ability to tear through walls that will open up bonus levels for you, though, as mighty as he is, he is vulnerable to fire. He makes his first appearance in "Donkey Kong Country" (1994).

One of Nintendo's most recognizable characters, Link is the main protagonist in the "Legend of Zelda" series which was launched in 1992. Despite looking similar, wearing floppy hats and capes, there are many iterations of Link throughout the series and each one has their own backstory. That said, it is not uncommon for a particular Link to show up in another version of "The Legend of Zelda". For example, the Link who appears in "A Link to the Past" (1992) will also appear in "Link's Awakening" (1993)... but he is not the Link that shows up in "Ocarina of Time" (1998).

Link will appear as a normal citizen of Hyrule in these adventures but it is the events of the game that will lead him to seek out the Triforce of Courage and become the hero that the Kingdom needs. He is usually left-handed but he's not much of a talker. Along the way you may hear the occasional grunt, here and there, and it is only in "The Wind Waker" (2003) that he actually says anything... and then it is simply "Come on".

(Photograph) Shows a couple of "links" in a chain.

Donkey Kong, also known as D.K, was introduced as a villain in the eponymous arcade game from 1981. He is a large and powerful ape who sports a red tie that's inscribed with his initials. He is one of the three characters that were initially introduced by Shigeru Miyamoto, along with Mario and Pauline. Miyamoto's idea was to create a love triangle that featured Pauline and her affections being sought by the good guy (Mario) and the bad dude (DK). This was in line with the trio that first inspired their creation; Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oyl, the comic characters created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929.

Now to confuse you a little. There are three characters in the Nintendo universe that bear the name Donkey Kong. There are two from the original arcade game, as described above. These two were then renamed as Cranky Kong, who was paraded as DK's father, and Donkey Kong Jr. The DK that we have come to know and love, first appeared in "Donkey Kong Country" (1994) where he is charged with the recovery of the Banana Hoard, after it had been stolen on his watch by the Kremling Krew army.

But wait... there is another twist to the Donkey Kong lineage. The more recent releases; "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" (2008), "Donkey Kong Country Returns" (2010) and "Tropical Freeze" (2014) have commenced to call Cranky Kong DK's grandfather and Donkey Kong Jr. is now DK's father... I think I need another banana.