Birdo

Birdo in Mario Party 8. A pink anthropomorphic dinosaur-like creature with a large mouth, who wears a pink bow and a diamond ring.
Series	Mario
First game	Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987)

Birdo, known in Japan as Catherine (キャサリン, Kyasarin^?), is a fictional character of indeterminate gender in the Mario series of video games, who first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. The character reappeared in the game's Western conversion Super Mario Bros. 2, and has since become a recurring character in the Mario series, appearing in several sports games in the series as a playable character. Birdo and fellow Mario series character, Yoshi, have had a love interest since the video game Mario Tennis.

Ever since the North American release of Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo's gender has been at issue. The manual asserts that "he" is a crossdressing male who would rather be called "Birdetta". Later versions of Super Mario Bros. 2 make no mention in either the manual or the video game itself. Later works from Nintendo have changed the gender back and forth, including Birdo as a love interest for Yoshi. The gender confusion is given specific mention in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Captain Rainbow, the latter involving a plot that requires players to prove Birdo is a female. Birdo is one of the earliest examples of a transvestite character in video games, and has received both positive and negative reception, due in part to appearance and gender confusion.

[edit] Concept and creation

Birdo is a pink, anthropomorphic dinosaur who wears a red bow on her head, and has a round mouth that can fire eggs as projectiles.^{[citation needed]} This specific Birdo however wears a large diamond ring on the finger.^{[citation needed]} Birdo's species' colour can range from orange, to brown, and to red amongst others.^{[citation needed]} Birdo was originally a mini-boss in the Family Computer Disk System video game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic before it was converted to the Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros. 2 for North American audiences.^{[citation needed]} In early art of Birdo, the charater had an orange tone.^{[citation needed]} Birdo's name was mistakenly switched with another Super Mario Bros. 2 enemy, Ostro, both in the manual and in the end credits.^[1] The mistake persisted in the version of Super Mario Bros. 2 included in the Super Mario All-Stars compilation, but was corrected in the Game Boy Advance re-release titled Super Mario Advance.^{[citation needed][citation needed]}

Since the character's North American introduction, Birdo's gender has been an issue of discussion and speculation. The Japanese manual states the character's name is "Catherine", but it would rather be known as "Cassie."^{[citation needed]} However, in the first edition manual for the North American release of Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo is referred to as male that believes he is female, and would rather be called "Birdetta".^[2] In later printings, the second sentence was omitted, and no mention of Birdo being male was included in most later games featuring the character.^[3] In the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Birdo, called Catherine, is described similarly to the original manual, though wanting to be called "Cathy".^{[citation needed]} In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it is said that Birdo is of "indeterminate gender" in its trophy.^{[citation needed]} Birdo appears in the Wii Japan-only video game Captain Rainbow, which delves into Birdo's gender.^[4] Birdo is often lauded as the first transgendered video game character.^[3][5] The character was given a voice actor in Super Mario Advance, a remake of Super Mario Bros. 2.^[6] The Spanish language website for Mario Smash Football, while describing Birdo, suggests that the character's gender is indeterminate.^[7] The European website for Mario Strikers Charged Football refers to Birdo as a male character.^[8]

[edit] Appearances

Birdo first appeared in the Family Computer Disk System video game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and its Western Nintendo Entertainment System conversion Super Mario Bros. 2 as a mini-boss who appears in each world of both versions, usually guarding the end of a stage and firing eggs at the player character. The Super Mario Advance remake of Super Mario Bros. 2 features a large robotic version of Birdo called "Robirdo".^[9] Since the character's appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo has made several cameo appearances, including an early one teaching the character the rules of the video game Wario's Woods. Birdo has become a common staple in sports and racing games in the series, as well as appearing in the Mario Party series. Birdo would also make appearances in multiple Mario role-playing games and most recently in the Wii video game Captain Rainbow.

[edit] In other media

Birdo was featured in the episode "The Bird! The Bird!" of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! kidnapping Toad due to nearsightedness, believing Toad to be an offspring.^{[citation needed]} Birdo appeared in both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the form of collectible items. In Melee, Birdo was visually two dimensional.^{[citation needed]} Birdo's name was in the first track in band HORSE the Band's first track of "The Mechanical Hand".^[10]

[edit] Reception

Birdo has received mixed reception over her lifetime. Much of the negative reception is due both to the character's appearance and gender confusion. The character was ranked number one on the top seven "That's a Dude?!" video game characters list on Games Radar, which states that the revelation is just as shocking now as it was when "he" first appeared in the Mario series.^[11] Birdo ranked second on the most disturbing video game bosses list, commenting that the character resembles a toy that a mother would place in a child's crib, yet would readily remove when she discovered its gender.^[12] Birdo was ranked the sixth worst character in the Mario series by GameDaily, owing to the ability to shoot eggs, which they describe as disgusting.^[13] Birdo was ranked the ninth ugliest female video game character by ScrewAttack, who described "her" as resembling a "retarded anteater".^[14] Birdo was listed amongst the "freaks" section on Games Radar's list of gaming's most "anti-babes", describing "her burst fire hose"-like mouth as terrifying.^[15]

However, Birdo has received a fair amount of positive reception. The character has received praise from transsexuals due to being a transvestite, including video game designer Jennifer Reitz. It is speculated by editor Chris Kohler that the gender issue was retconned to make "her" female, while Reitz suggests that "she" received a sex change operation.^[5][16] Birdo tied for eighth place on the top 10 best female video game characters by members of the Official Nintendo Magazine's forum, which the ONM staff considered whether "she" could be included due to her gender confusion.^[17] IGN editor John Tanaka found Birdo to be one of the more enjoyable guest characters in Captain Rainbow, associating his enjoyment with developer Skip's plot, which involves crossdressing and toilet humour.^[4] IGN editor Lucas Thomas called Birdo "nearly as recognized" as the character's common partner Yoshi in Mario spin-offs such as the Mario Kart and Mario sports games featuring the character.^[18] Birdo was included in a set of chess pieces themed in the Mario series.^[19] Birdo was also featured as a "Furuta Super Mario" figurine.^[20]

[edit] References