There Are 100s of Nintendo Characters — We'll Be Impressed If You Can Name 40!

When he was first created, designers wanted to model Bowser after a big, bruising ox. Further down the production line, designers determined Bowser looked more like a turtle than a bovine. Oh well.

The title character from the "Mega Man" series, Mega Man himself is actually a young boy-robot hybrid. He's tasked with fighting the mad scientist Dr. Wily and his robot army. It's robot-on-robot violence!

You'd probably fail at fending off bad guys, too, if you were a "Toad" who was roughly three feet tall. Nevertheless, Toad makes a serious effort to help both Princess Peach and the Mario Bros. along the way.

Drop the beat, DJ Octavio! This octopus-turned-DJ is featured in the video game "Splatoon." Other than his recognizable DJ table, Octavio boasts a gold helmet and a glowing green scar.

Jigglypuff, from the "Pokémon" series, has a way with others - a sleepy way. Her song causes anyone who hears it to fall asleep, a fact that irritates Jigglypuff because she thinks she has bored everyone.

Pikachu may enjoy a good degree of success in the United States (hello, Pokémon!), but nothing like what he experiences in Japan. There, Pikachu has Mickey-Mouse-level celebrity status.

Inkling Girls and Boys, understandably, live in Inkopolis. These characters can be controlled by human players and repeatedly come back to life after being "splatted." That "no bones" thing probably helps.

Princess Zelda earned her name in honor of F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda. But, that's not the end of the inspiration. It's said that late funnyman Robin Williams named his daughter after the video game character.

Formerly known as Princess Toadstool, we think "Princess Peach" has a much nicer ring to it. She rules the Mushroom Kingdom and, apparently, video games, with the most appearances by a female in gaming history.

Gamers who played the role of Samus in "Metroid" were led to believe, throughout the game, that the character was a man. After all, aren't most video game characters male? At the end, gamers find out that Samus is actually a woman. Gotcha!

If you thought "Kirby" just fit this plump little ball of bubblegum-pink fun, guess again. His name is derived from John Kirby, an attorney who represented Nintendo in a large, potentially damaging case.

Isabelle is a yellow Shih Tzu dog breed in the Nintendo series "Animal Crossing." When designers first created her, they dubbed her "Secretary," later giving her an actual name, Isabelle.

Known simply as "Duck Hunt Dog," there was nothing worse than being laughed at by a pooch for failing to make some achievement in the addictive "Duck Hunt" game. The first "Duck Hunt" was released in 1984.

King Dedede has announced himself as king, but it's a title he actually stole from Dreamland's rightful rulers, the Cappy Clan. Dedede is a bit childish, playing pranks on his subjects and even stealing their food. Rude.

Little Mac is a character - a boxer, in fact - from the "Punch-Out!!" game, which first debuted in 1987. Despite his small stature, Little Mac had a goal to become a heavyweight champion. It never hurts to dream.

He's a "Kong" - that's from the "King Kong" family line, don't you know - but he's not very bright. Designers of the "Donkey Kong" video game hunted for a first name for the gorilla that spoke to him being not very smart.

In the years since Mario was first introduced, he has played a number of roles in a variety of video game titles including plumber, carpenter, doctor and archaeologist. To date, everyone's favorite Italian video game character has shown up in more than 200 games.

Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has said in prior interviews that the main character in "The Legend of Zelda," Link, was inspired by none other than Peter Pan. Just check out that green outfit!

There's been much debate about who's faster in the video game world, Sonic or Captain Falcon. Alas, since they come from different companies (Nintendo vs. Sega), we'll likely never know.

Mr. Game & Watch is a pretty bland, two-dimensional character who was the main character of the "Game & Watch" series. Mr. Game & Watch was never even named until "Super Smash Bros. Melee."

He answers to "Yoshi," but his full name is T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas. (That's too much to put on a business card, huh?) Yoshi is Mario's dinosaur pal in the beloved "Mario" franchise.

One good turn deserves another, we suppose. After Lady Palutena helps free Pit from the Underworld, he's tasked with the job of defeating a game villain, Medusa. Pit is given a bow and arrow to assist with the job.

Shulk ... sounds sort of like Hulk, doesn't it? A main character in "Xenoblade Chronicles," Shulk is orphaned as a child and later comes to possess the sword only a few can wield. Now that sounds like Thor!

Petey Piranha makes good use of his, ahem, natural abilities, using his vines to wrap up his enemies. Petey debuted in the Nintendo game "Super Mario Sunshine," but don't get it twisted: He's a bad dude.

Like all good video game villains, Ridley has done some pretty despicable things. He regularly clashes with "Metroid's" protagonist, Samus, typically coming up on the short end of the stick.

It isn't revealed until well into the "Zelda" series, but Midna is the true princess of the Twilight Realm. She and Link join forces during the game to battle villains that neither can handle alone.

Olimar, or Captain Olimar since he was guiding a vessel that crashed on a mysterious planet, found Pikmin (also the title of the game) growing out of the ground. The Pikmin were animals who came to Olimar's aid.

Fox McCloud of "Star Fox 64" fame became a fox when designers were reminded of a nearby Shinto shrine and its fox statues on display. Elements of the game were said to be reminiscent of the shrine's arches.

Mario's leading lady was none other than a female named Pauline (not Princess Peach, as many people believe) in the "Donkey Kong" franchise. Pauline is kidnapped by the gorilla, and Mario must win her back.

Palutena in "Kid Icarus" is goodness and light, perched on the opposite side of the villain, Medusa. Also known as "Lady Palutena," this ruler of Angel Land first appeared on-screen in December 1986.

"Navi" seems appropriate given what we know about navigational systems in today's modern vehicles. Navi helped Link as he navigated the world in the "Zelda" series of video games.

Tetra, a pirate girl from "The Legend of Zelda," is a mystery. She is, at once, both seemingly ruthless and surprisingly kind. Tetra appears in several "Zelda" titles in addition to several "Super Smash Bros." games.

Since Maxwell is a drawing, his expression never changes, so don't go challenging him to a game of poker. "Scribblenauts" was a puzzle-type game released for the Nintendo DS in 2009.

Tom Nook plays a vital role in "Animal Crossing," operating the town's shop where players can find their first jobs upon starting the game. Don't get mad when Tom lays you off later on, though!

Hey, don't judge him for his three belly buttons! Kraid, a monster from the "Metroid" franchise, not only has three belly buttons, but also three red eyes, both of which accompany his green body.

Krystal joined the Star Fox crew after McCloud saved the planet, Sauria. (Isn't that how we all fall in love?) She has telepathic abilities and is the main character McCloud's love interest.

Glass Joe was a French boxer in "Punch-Out!!", an opponent for characters like Little Mac. Some people voiced criticism over stereotypes of the French people portrayed in Glass Joe's character.

Ninten from "EarthBound Beginnings" used everyday objects as weapons, which makes sense since he's just a boy from a small town called Podunk. "EarthBound Beginnings" was first released in 1989.

The title character from the video game "Tin Star," Tin Star is the robot sheriff of Ol' West. Tin Star was published for the Super NES system in late 1994. Tin Star has a horse named Aluminum because of course, he does.