Rosalina (Mario)

Rosalina
Mario character
Rosalina, as she appears in Super Mario Galaxy (2007).
First appearance	Super Mario Galaxy
Created by	Shigeru Miyamoto
Voiced by	Mercedes Rose (2007-2010) Kerri Kane (2011)
In-universe information
Nickname	Rosetta (Japan) Princess Rosalina Estela (Spain) Harmonie (France) Rosalinda (Russia)
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Family	Lumas

Rosalina (known as Rosetta (ロゼッタ, Rozetta) in Japan, also sometimes known as Princess Rosalina) is a fictional character in the Mario franchise developed by Nintendo. She has appeared in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 as an ally to Mario who is non-playable. In the Mario Kart series, she has appeared in the last two games, namely Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 as an unlockable character. She remains the only major main female character in the Mario series apart from Princess Peach and Princess Daisy, although the latter has only appeared once in a mainstream Mario series game, Super Mario Land. Her latest appearance is in Mario Kart 7. In the mainstream games, she is a powerful figure as it is her role to watch over the Lumas in the Comet Observatory. In both Super Mario Galaxy games and Mario Kart Wii, Rosalina's voice talent was provided by Mercedes Rose. Then in Mario Kart 7, Kerri Kane provided the character's voice.

Character development

Concept character artwork for Rosalina (left) compared to the final artwork (right)

In an interview, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that he had planned the usual kidnapping of Princess Peach, but also "had another cast of characters, a princess from outer space and her family of talking stars, who had a deeper, sadder story that was revealed through elegant picture-book scenes throughout the game." This storybook was known in-game as Rosalina's Storybook, which told Rosalina's backstory and was written by Yoshiaki Koizumi late at night so that no-one will find out about it, saying that "for a long time, it really felt like telling a story in a Mario game was something that wasn't allowed" in an interview. During an interview with Koizumi on the development of Super Mario Galaxy, he explained that Rosalina was originally meant to be related with Peach.

Characteristics

Rosalina has a very tall frame in comparison to other female characters within the series, being about as tall as Waluigi. As a result, she is classified as a large-class character in Mario Kart Wii. Rosalina's skin is very fair, being a pallor white, and her facial features are similar to Princess Peach's, but sharper. Her eyes are similar to Peach's as well, but are more almond-shaped and have a deep, brown shade to her lashes rather than black. Like other main human characters, Rosalina has blue eyes, though hers have a noticeably cyan hue.

Rosalina's hair is depicted as a platinum-blonde, a much lighter blond than Peach's golden-blond. Rosalina's hair style is very similar to Peach's, as it consists of two separate flips on the sides in the same shape. Unlike Peach's hair however, Rosalina's includes one large bang (which covers her right eye completely), two long, shaped ear-tails, and two rows of flips at her shoulder. Continuing from her shoulder is a large single flip down her back. Rosalina currently appears in a turquoise evening gown; her pendant and tiara are silver star shaped accessories. Her earrings are also star shaped, but yellow in color. In Mario Kart Wii, like all other female characters, she has a special jumpsuit if riding on a bike.

Rosalina is generally wise, kind, thoughtful and mother-like. She has an intimate knowledge of the universe and cares deeply for the Lumas. Rosalina is on good terms with Mario and Luigi; towards the end of Super Mario Galaxy, she aids them in defeating Bowser and saving Princess Peach.

Appearances

Main series

In Super Mario Galaxy, Rosalina is a major non-player character who resides in the Comet Observatory, the game's hub world. She is the adoptive mother of the Lumas, a fictional species in the game, and also watcher of the cosmos. In the beginning of the game, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach by removing her castle from the ground with Peach still inside, and also attacks the Comet Observatory and steals its main source of fuel: Power Stars. Rosalina asks Mario to retrieve the lost Power Stars; in return she promises to help him save Princess Peach. Once Mario retrieves enough Power Stars, Rosalina is able to turn her Comet Observatory into a comet and drive Mario to the center of the universe, where Bowser keeps the kidnapped Princess Peach. After Bowser is defeated by Mario, Bowser's galaxy at the centre of the universe turns into a supermassive black hole, devouring Princess Peach's castle and Rosalina's Comet Observatory. All of Rosalina's Lumas throw themselves into the black hole in order to stop it. After this, Rosalina appears to Mario, explaining to him about the cycle of life and the death and rebirth of stars; it is implicit in her explanation that the universe and all the Lumas are to be reborn. Afterwards, Rosalina is gone and Mario, as well as Bowser and Peach, wake up back in the Mushroom Kingdom again. Once 120 Power Stars in the game are collected, Rosalina delivers a thank you message to the player, promising to watch over them.

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, throughout the game, a shadowy form named the "Cosmic Witch" or "Cosmic Spirit", strongly resembling Rosalina, appears to help in levels where the player has died multiple times. Rosalina herself appears after Mario defeats Bowser and rescues Princess Peach in the final cutscene before the credits play. Rosalina also appears late in the game as well (by collecting 120 Power Stars), telling Luma the story of the "Green Stars", which opens the Green Star missions (additional option missions in the game). Finally, after the game is beaten with 242 Power Stars, she appears on the game's hub and thanks Mario.

Other games

Rosalina appears in Mario Kart Wii as a playable character, however is the hardest to unlock unless the player has a Super Mario Galaxy save file (if the player does have a save file, she is automatically unlocked after fifty races). She is ranked large-class, with excellent top speed compensating poor acceleration and off-roading and her signature vehicle is the Dragonetti (kart; known as the Honeycoupe in North America) and the Twinkle Star (bike; known as the Shooting Star in North America). Additionally, a yellow Luma orbits around her vehicle when racing. Rosalina is playable in Mario Kart 7, where she is an unlockable medium-large "Cruiser"-type character. She also had her own course in the game, named Rosalina's Ice World. Joystiq said that it was nice to see that another "Nintendo character join the obscenely large roster of folks showing their faces in the game."

Reception

Rosalina has received positive reviews. Rosalina was number thirty-seven on IGN's list of Top 100 Nintendo Characters. Destructoid reviewed Rosalina very positively, saying that she is a "celestial stunner", summing up that "Rosalina embodies style perfection" and thus is "out of this world", giving her an "A+" on their Gamer's Red Carpet. Kotaku called her an "attractive Peach replacement" in their Super Mario Galaxy impressions. Joystiq claimed that Super Mario Galaxy was the first Mario game to have an engaging story, and cited Rosalina as an example, saying that "although this narrative thread (Rosalina's Storybook) starts life as the kind of standard fare you'd expect from a Mario title, Rosalina's tale quickly becomes tragic". GameSetWatch stated how Super Mario Galaxy's most surprising moment did not involve new gaming mechanics, a plot twist, but rather the character Rosalina and her storybook, stating "The biggest shocker was a simple storybook tale told by a princess named Rosalina."

Gamasutra said that Super Mario Galaxy, at its core, is a game about Rosalina, and that the storybook "anchors an emotional heart of the game world". Continuing, they said that "Super Mario Galaxy is a brilliant game, for reasons already covered in various reviews. Yet despite the largely positive coverage, I was disappointed that the gaming press so overwhelmingly ignored (or in one case, dismissed) Rosalina’s storybook", and compared it to The Little Prince and My Neighbour Totoro. BuzzFeed placed Rosalina ninth in their ten best Nintendo female characters, and comparing her to Peach; wrote "Unlike Princess Peach who's always busy getting kidnapped by a giant turtle, Super Mario Galaxy's Rosalina is both the guardian of the adorable star-shaped Lumas and an immortal sorceress. You may have already noticed this, but she can propel a freaking spaceship with that magic force field of hers."

SloganYams placed Rosalina on their character wishlist for Super Smash Bros. U, saying "Rosalina, on the other hand, is a genuinely great character who is more than just the filler tennis partner for Princess Peach. Rosalina would represent a more modern character and would be assured to not be a clone or slightly modified version of Peach", and that "Rosalina is a defined enough character, but with enough blank slate in her powers as to bring a lot of creativity out of her moveset", summing her up as a "great addition." Rosalina is 3rd on ScrewAttack's top female characters list, putting her ahead of Peach and Daisy. They said that Rosalina is "so awesome", and that "If you don't believe me on how awesome she is, just know that in Super Mario Galaxy she steered her crazy awesome star ship into Bowser's fleet of airships and destroyed them all. Now if that's the definition of awesome, I don't know what is." They also said that she is "very smart" and "strong" on the outside, and yet sorrowful on the inside.

They also listed her 7th on their top 10 Mario characters, this time explaining due to the fact that she is interesting, claiming "What's interesting about rosalina is that she grows from a little girl, to a caring and loving mother to the lumas, to basically a powerful and maybe immortal being." SiliconEra cited Rosalina's Story as "bittersweet", and "The game could just as easily been a simple "save the princess" story and still have been a great game, but I think the engaging story takes Super Mario Galaxy to an artistic level other Mario titles haven't approached." 1UP.com labelled Rosalina as a "celestial hottie", and one of the better Mario Kart Wii characters in an otherwise disappointing roster. Complex listed Rosalina as one of the "40 Hot But Forgotten Female Video Game Characters". Official Nintendo Magazine listed Rosalina as the 6th best Nintendo Lady, saying that "she obviously made a big impression on you because after one appearance (not counting Mario Kart) she has made the top ten."