10 Obscure Mario Characters Who Should Come Back

You know that one kid everyone loved back when you were in grade school who just sort of dropped off the map after graduation? Wouldn't you like to catch up and see what they've been up to all this time? Sorry, that metaphor got a little too real. This is about Mario characters.

When a series has been going on for as long as the Super Mario games, you're bound to lose a few digital friends along the way. Throughout the years, many characters have been featured and then quietly left behind, and there are more than a few of them we'd absolutely love to see again.

10 Mouser

Mouser first appeared as a boss in Super Mario Bros. 2, chucking bombs at you and sporting unfairly cool sunglasses while doing it. You defeat him by chucking those bombs back, though you sadly never get the sunglasses.

Despite appearing as a prominent villain in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (which made him Swiss in an oddly inspired choice), Mouser never truly returned to the series beyond some comics and a few paltry cameos in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. If the Shy Guys can maintain a presence, why not bring him back to join his fellow Subcon residents?

9 Captain Syrup

As Wario's treasure-stealing rival, you'd think Captain Syrup would enjoy more appearances to at least serve as his foil. She's a pirate captain whose devious personality and stylish appearance wouldn't feel out of place in a Shantae game.

Aside from regular appearances in the Wario Land games over the years, she hasn't seen much love from Nintendo, just a few cameos and comic appearances here and there. Hey, Wario seems busy with his WarioWare series, so why not let Captain Syrup take over the treasure-hunting platformer business?

8 Swanky Kong

You've got to respect someone who can successfully host a game show on an island of pirates, as Swanky Kong runs a trivia minigame in Donkey Kong Country 2 where you can earn extra lives. Somebody like that should have the most ironclad job security in a series that includes Mario Party.

So why haven't we seen more of him besides a brief cameo in The Super Mario Bros. Movie that inspired some pointed fingers? He'd be at home in the Mario series' wacky outings; the Paper Mario series loves its trivia games, so how about a residency if the success of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door inspires some new sequels?

7 Wanda

For Western players, this is about as obscure as you can get; Wanda's first and last game appearance was the Japan-only Mario & Wario for the Super Famicom, where she guided Mario, Peach, or Yoshi (blinded by a bucket over their heads) around. Apparently, moving a bucket was too complicated for her landscape-altering magic.

Mario games could easily make use of Wanda if she came back, especially as one of the "guide" characters you get in the Paper Mario games. Plus, she was designed by Pokemon legend Ken Sugimori. She's practically royalty.

6 Fawful

Fawful almost has too much of a cult following to be obscure, but Nintendo hasn't seen fit to bring him back in a good long while, so it counts. He rose from the secondary antagonist in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga to the main villain in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, and then just sort of went away.

It's Fawful's speech patterns that make him a legend. Quotes like "I have fury!" and "This battle shall be the delicious mustard on that bread! The mustard of your doom!" are just a taste of the sweet linguistic chaos he could wreak if he finally got another crack at villainy.

5 Kylie Koopa

Every hero needs a journalist buddy, and Kylie Koopa has the right stuff. Seen only in two of the Mario & Luigi RPGs, she's always on the move looking for her next story, but she always has time to help Mario and Luigi, assuming she's not busy. She's got bills to pay, after all.

Kylie's journalistic instincts keep her to the action whenever she shows up in a game. So if Nintendo wanted to bring her back, she could be a cool ubiquitous character who just so happens to show up in every series from Paper Mario to WarioWare to document history.

4 Johnson

There's something special about a good running gag, and Johnson brings the magic as Paper Mario's resident joke character. You'll hear random minions shouting his name when something goes wrong, even if you rarely actually see him because everybody knows that guy in life.

But joke-wise, bringing Johnson back more frequently could be tricky. He's meant to be a good bit every once in a while, and that sort of thing can be overdone. So why not have him appear just occasionally in other Mario series? Maybe a flower from Super Mario Bros. Wonder lamenting Johnson's ineptitude when a Wonder Flower invites havoc?

3 Tatanga

Admittedly, there was never much to Tatanga's character in the Mario Land games aside from being an alien who kidnapped Princess Daisy. Luckily, she moved on and became the Mario series' resident chaos gremlin, and good for her.

But now that Daisy has long since come into her own, it's prime time for Tatanga to make a return. Not as a kidnapper again, though, h just needs to be there in some capacity for Daisy to finally beat the snot out of him, verbally or physically. Dealer's choice.

2 Big Massif And Lil' Massif

They're big guys who say "beef" a lot; it's a simple premise that deserves to bring happiness to more people. The bodybuilding Massif brothers teach Mario and Luigi some new moves, and you'd be a quick learner too if these two chunks were your instructors.

They embody the wholesome masculinity vibe that everybody can be beefy if they want it, which is the kind of motivation we need to see more. They'd make great tutorial characters for Mario Party, because every minigame would be improved with just a little beef.

1 Mimi

Even horrific shapeshifting spider monsters deserve a second chance, and that's what Super Paper Mario co-villain Mimi learned when she redeemed herself in the game's final hours. No redeeming that terrifying head-turn thing she does, though.

So despite being the subject of a boss fight that surely made a few therapists' day, Mimi found her way back to reason in the end and even had plans for the future regarding her stable of cute boys. Hey, redemption looks different for everyone. Besides, who wouldn't want a "cutie-pie stable" spinoff? Don't answer that.