The real question:

well then after a strict evaluation and careful thought on the subject while eating this mornings doughnut. i'm going to stick to my gut and say Mario (although i i like link a too) would come out victorious. Mario has endured far more and has made this far with no weapons. plus that son of a bitch can jump miles at a time. he can jump half way up the side of a castle when he's there to fight a bowser clone...it was recently pointed out to me i made an error by saying bowser had 8 lives. Anyway my answer is Mario would win.