Everyone knows Mario. He's Nintendo's mascot character and one of the most recognizable faces in the world. And I hope that every gamer knows that Mario has a brother, Luigi, who despite not being the center of attention all the time, helps Mario out a lot throughout his journeys.

So, why has Luigi been ignored by Nintendo? Since his creation in 1983, Luigi has played the part of the sidekick younger brother of Mario. In 2001, Nintendo decided to give Luigi his own game, Luigi's Mansion, which filled the gap left by Mario during the Gamecube's launch period. The game was mediocre at best, and received mixed reviews from the press.

Now, with Wii, Nintendo is back on top, and they've given Mario a stellar new adventure on the new platform in the form of an amazing game called Super Mario Galaxy. But, what about Luigi? Will he be ignored yet again, cast aside to lurk in Mario's overpowering shadow? My answer: No.

By now we all know that if you collect all 120 stars in Galaxy, you can play through the entire game as Luigi. That's all fine and good, but when will we see Luigi's game? And I'm not talking the sequel to Luigi's Mansion, oh no. It seems like an obvious choice. A game like Luigi's Mansion perfectly fit's the Wii Remote's intuitive control scheme. However, I'm talking the big time. Luigi deserves his own game, along the same lines of Super Mario Galaxy. So, will he get it? My answer: Yes.

If the perfect Luigi game were to be made, it would have to be just as good as Super Mario Galaxy. Graphics wise. Story wise. Gameplay wise. Music wise. Control wise. Everything has to be on par with Galaxy. I don't think it would be in Nintendo's best interest to make Luigi's Wii game a sequel to Mansion. Yes, a remake of Luigi's Mansion with Wii controls would be cool. But Mario's brother deserves so much more than that! So much more!

You might be asking myself, what got me interested in the Luigi Wii game. I was actually reading Luigi's biography on Wikipedia last night, and it got me thinking about how much I want a good Luigi game for Wii. I love Luigi! He's cool, green, smart, and he has this great personality. And that last point, personality, is one of the most important things because it distinguishes Luigi as an individual, and not just a clone of his older brother.

Lately, we've seen Luigi take on a more commanding and brave role. In Galaxy, Luigi decides to help Mario by collecting a total of 4 power stars for him, which shows that Luigi is braver than he has been portrayed in previous games.

In this feature, I've been reffering to the characters of Mario and Luigi as if they are real people. And that's one of the things that is so special about the Mario franchise. When you're playing a Mario game, you actually connect with the characters. Suddenly, Mario isn't just a game character. He's you. You are Mario. And suddenly, Peach isn't a 3D model anymore, she's a real person that you have to save. So, why is Nintendo treating Luigi as just a video game character? He hasn't gotten a fair chance.

Many gamers are worried about Wii and the coming year. With most of Nintendo's franchises already released for Wii (Mario, Metroid, Zelda), what does the Big N have left? I believe that the answer to that question is a tall man with a mustache wearing green overalls. Luigi. Please Nintendo, give our favourite video game brother his own game. And make it a good one.