But with Mario, it was just a breakthrough in terms of sound. You know, it wasn't really until Metal Gear Solid in 1988, that a video game would have a full audio production with a full cast of voices talking to each other, having monologues and dialogues. Back then, there weren't that many video games that had voices. I don't think that that there's a voice that's more recognizable. Siegel: Has there ever been a character or a voice that's been more important to video game culture, you think? That that's more instantly recognizable? It was just natural and it just fit perfectly. And it was incredible to see just how perfect it was, you know? As soon as I heard it, I'll just say, yeah, that's exactly how I figured Mario would sound. My first exposure to Charles Martinet's voice was Super Mario 64. Park: Having played Mario throughout all my life, I'm 42 years old. And that was when you hear traditional "wahoo" and "yahoos." But everyone's first real introduction to Mario is in 1986 for Super Mario 64, and that was the launch game for Nintendo's third console, the Nintendo 64. Park: Martinet's first voice as Mario was for the Super Mario Brothers pinball arcade game, and he also did the voice for Mario in Mario Teaches Typing. And that's why no matter what happens in the Mario game - and there's so many random things always happening in a Mario game - Martinet's voice was always there to kind center everything together, pull everything together. And that's what Martinet's voices would help guide you through. Park: So it's very, it's a very strange question to kind of literally explain what Mario is, because so much of it is about magic and wonder and mystery and just not questioning the kind of kookiness that you might see and just rolling along with the punches. And it's it's very, very strange that the hero's journey of a video game is encapsulated by just a rotund plumber from New York who is really good at eating mushrooms and eating various vegetables to gain different powers. Mario is basically kind of a hero in the classic sense of Don Quixote - except he's actually a hero and there actually is a princess to rescue - where it's just a classic boy rescues princess story. Park: And he decided to kind of really lean into, like, the stereotypical Italian voice, give it a real cartoony flavor. And Charles thought, "Hey, why don't I give it a shot?" And he eventually got a heads up that a company was auditioning for an Italian plumber from Brooklyn. But then he eventually kind of fell into studying theater and he went to schools, various schools around Europe. He started out studying international law decades ago, right. Park: Charles Martinet is a very interesting character. I chatted with Washington Post gaming reporter Gene Park about Martinet's legacy. This week, Nintendo announced that Martinet is retiring. But Mario and Martinet paved the way for an industry that is now larger than Hollywood and the music industry combined. When he took the job, it was just a funny voice for a funny little game. Charles Martinet has voiced the character for the past three decades. You might know him as Mario, but that voice, it belongs to a real person. Siegel: And that right there is one of the most iconic voices in video game history. Jeremy Siege: You're listening to Morning Edition.
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