Princess Daisy

She debuted in the 1989 Game Boy launch game Super Mario Land as the ruler of Sarasaland where she was given the role of damsel in distress for Mario to rescue. The game was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto's mentor Gunpei Yokoi, who wanted to recreate the gameplay of the 1985 video game Super Mario Bros. for the Game Boy, only set in a separate world from the Mushroom Kingdom.

Princess Daisy
Mario character
Princess Daisy, in Super Mario Party
First appearance	Super Mario Land (1989)
Portrayed by	Samantha Mathis (film)
Voiced by	Deanna Mustard (2003–2022) Giselle Fernandez (2023–present) Others Melissa Beckford (Super Mario Compact Disco) Kate Fleming (Mario Tennis) Jen Taylor (2000–2003) Noriko Hidaka (Japanese DVD dub of Super Mario Bros film) Maya Okamoto (Japanese Nippon TV dub of Super Mario Bros Film)
In-universe information
Origin	Sarasaland

Daisy has been presented as Luigi's love interest, similarly to Princess Peach being the love interest of Mario. Their relationship featured in the plot of the 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros., in which Luigi saves Daisy from King Koopa.

She appears in Mario Tennis and has been a staple playable character in Mario spin-off games, including Mario Party and Mario Kart. She also appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Daisy has been primarily voiced by American voice actress Deanna Mustard from 2003 to 2022, who was succeeded by Giselle Fernandez starting with Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Princess Daisy was created as a damsel in distress for Mario to rescue in Super Mario Land. It was produced as a launch title for the Game Boy handheld game console by Gunpei Yokoi in partnership with Satoru Okada without the input of Shigeru Miyamoto. With the aim to create a scaled-down game based on the gameplay of the 1985 Super Mario Bros., it moved away from the usual setting of the Mushroom Kingdom. The development team created Sarasaland, named after a type of floral design, and made Daisy to match that concept. Daisy was added to Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64 due to the developer Camelot Software Planning wanting someone whose body shape was appropriate for real-life sports. Daisy's appearance in Super Mario Bros. Wonder came about due to the game's director, Shiro Mouri, noticing that his two daughters often fought over who got to play as Princess Peach, so he wanted to resolve that and also please Mario fans. In various Mario games, she has been voiced by a variety of different individuals, including Deanna Mustard from 2003 to 2022 and Giselle Fernandez in Wonder.

In video games

 

First appearing in 1989's Super Mario Land, Daisy is the princess of Sarasaland, a world outside of the series' usual setting of the Mushroom Kingdom, and is rescued by Mario from the alien Tatanga. In 1991, she had a smaller appearance in NES Open Tournament Golf as Luigi's caddie. In 2000, Daisy appeared as a playable character in Mario Tennis. Since then, Daisy is regularly a playable character in Mario sports games, usually wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts in the colors of her princess gown.

In 2001, she was introduced as a playable character in the Mario Party series beginning with Mario Party 3. She is also playable in most Mario Kart games since appearing in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Other playable appearances have included Super Mario Run, Fortune Street, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. She was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character, after previously appearing as a trophy. Her gameplay in Ultimate is largely identical to that of Princess Peach.

On January 16, 2016, a Daisy costume and Sarasaland-inspired level were added to Super Mario Maker. In 2016, she also cameos in the Battle Card mode in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, as her first appearance in a Mario RPG. Daisy was included as a skin in the Minecraft: Wii U Edition Super Mario Mash-Up Pack, released in May 2016. Daisy's Amiibo figurine for the Super Mario franchise was released on November 4, 2016, to coincide with the release of Mario Party: Star Rush. Meanwhile, her Amiibo figurine related to the Super Smash Bros. franchise was released on February 13, 2019. Daisy was added to Dr. Mario World in a post-launch update in 2019. In 2022, she was also added as a post-launch downloadable character to Mario Strikers: Battle League.

In other media

Daisy is one of the main characters of 1993's Super Mario Bros. film, loosely based on the games, portrayed by Samantha Mathis. She is a student of archaeology at New York University with whom Luigi falls in love. Daisy is kidnapped by two henchmen of President Koopa, the dictator of Dinohattan, who wants to merge his world and the human world, necessitating Mario and Luigi to save her. Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood's immersive Super Nintendo World areas include interactive "Power-Up Bands" featuring a design based on her dress.

Destructoid noted the similarities of Daisy's dress to Peach's but opined that Daisy's worked better and said that "her choice of a brave yellow and orange combo dress is as flattering as it is retro". Jenni Lada writing for Siliconera commented that Mario Tennis Aces successfully gave Daisy a distinctive personality, stating that while Peach was reserved and stylish, Daisy was more energetic. She felt that Daisy's characterisation was an improvement on Peach due to being more athletic and emotional. Syfy considered Daisy's introduction in the Super Smash Bros. series to be disappointing due to being a near copy of Peach, describing it as a "blatant lack of originality".

Henry Gilbert of GamesRadar+ wrote that Daisy's relationship to Luigi had largely been unclear, with exception to her role as his love interest in the Super Mario Bros. film. He said that Nintendo had finally confirmed Daisy's romantic relationship with Luigi by including a golden statue of the couple in Mario Kart Wii. Den of Geek points out that with no rescue narrative between Daisy and Luigi as the basis for romance, she chooses him based on his merits instead of gratitude.

Daisy's inclusion as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was highly anticipated by CJ Andriessen of Destructoid, who described her as the "best princess" and considered her to be one of the most requested characters for the Smash roster. When the base roster for Mario Strikers: Battle League was revealed, several fans expressed disappointment and anger that Daisy was excluded. Neal Ronaghan of Nintendo World Report also reacted negatively to her exclusion, describing her as "a character who has been generally beloved in the Strikers series". VentureBeat considered starting a Change.org petition for her to be included, commenting that she had stood out in Super Mario Strikers for her "sassy attitude" and celebration pose that involves turning her back to the camera. Ari Notis of Kotaku echoed fan excitement when she was added to the game in a DLC update and thought that her exclusion had been indicative of a wider problem with the game's limited content. Daisy gained attention for her Hyper Strike in Mario Strikers: Battle League, particularly from Jim Norman of Nintendo Life who described the move as a "butter" and felt it was a callback to her "smokin' victory poses" in Mario Strikers Charged. Hope Bellingham writing for GamesRadar+ expressed excitement that Daisy was finally getting recognition from Nintendo by making her a playable character in Super Mario Bros. Wonder and noted that although it was not technically the first time she had been playable, it was a "momentous occasion" for fans.