Wario

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Wario, in his most common form

Wario (ワリオ in Japanese) is a fictional Nintendo video-game character who was created as an antagonist to Mario and has since become the protagonist of his own games. He first appears in the 1992 video game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main villain and final boss. He is voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices the Mario, Luigi, and Waluigi characters.

The name "Wario" can be taken to be a blending of Mario's name with the Japanese adjective warui (悪い) meaning "bad"; hence, a "bad Mario".^[1] In the United States, the name is often seen as a play on the word "war" and on the fact that the letter W resembles an upside-down M. As Wario is Mario's evil counterpart, his actions are often the opposites of Mario's, just as the first letters in their names appear to be opposites.

Appearance

Though Wario could pass for Mario's evil twin, the two are not believed to be relatives. His original design is similar to Mario's, albeit more sinister-looking. Wario is an overweight Italian caricature, with a bulbous nose, an angular moustache, and noticeable arm muscles. He is typically clad in a yellow hat with a W on it and purple overalls over a yellow shirt, a re-colored version of Mario's outfit. Wario is very similar stylistically to cartoon villains such as Snidely Whiplash, who are in turn based on silent-movie villain archetypes. For example, his eyes typically retain an angry look and his ears are pointy; his moustache is also a trademark villain feature, as pointed out by Alfred Hitchcock, among others ("In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog..." - Wikiquote). His maniacal laugh is similarly often identified with villains.

In the WarioWare, Inc. series, Wario is usually dressed up in motorcycling gear, wearing a yellow-and-red helmet emblazoned with the letter W, aviator goggles, yellow fingerless gloves also emblazoned with a W, a light-blue vest over a dark-blue shirt, and pink pants. This design is unique to the WarioWare, Inc. games. However, this is not the only form he takes in the WarioWare series. In one microgame, he takes the role of a pinball machine, shooting globs of mucus from his nose, another portrays him as a stick figure, and another showcases his striped bathing suit. His regular costume appears in some minigames, as well.

Wario's absurd appearance is oft lampooned by the game designers. In Super Mario 64 DS, Wario is frequently mocked; for example, Toad refers to him as "horrible", but then changes his wording to "horribly healthy". For some reason, Wario is inordinately fond of garlic, and many games depict his breath as foul-smelling due to this.

Personality

In direct contrast to Mario, who is heroic and kind, Wario is greedy, lazy, ill-mannered, and manipulative. He is hugely jealous of Mario's fame, and has frequently tried to steal enough wealth to make himself as beloved as Mario. While he has been rich at times (to the point of owning his own giant castle full of golden coins, more than once), something, usually one of his get-rich-quick schemes, always seems to go wrong. According to a comic story published in Nintendo Power, the reason Wario acts the way he does is because Mario bullied him when they were both young. Wario especially hated playing cowboys, because he was almost always the rustler that the sheriff, played by Mario, had to arrest.

Wario started out as more of an evil character. In a commercial for Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Wario attempts to hypnotize the viewers into serving him (this commercial is one of the few instances where Wario is not voiced by Charles Martinet). He continues on with his evil streak in Wario's Woods and Mario and Wario, while also playing the anti-hero role in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. Later games feature him almost exclusively in the anti-hero role, and he seems to have retired as Mario's enemy.

Powers

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Wario set ablaze in Wario Land 3

Throughout the Wario Land series, Wario enjoys the use of power-ups such as hats. The earliest power-ups are Dragon Wario, Bull Wario and Jet Wario. The Dragon Hat continuously shoots flames. Bull Horns give Wario the ability to ram enemies, and the Jet Hat allows Wario to fly forward for a short amount of time. These also appear in Wario Land, along with new powers, such as Eagle Wario and King Dragon Wario.

Later games replace the hat powers with status effects instead; Wario Land II introduces such power-ups as Puffy Wario (which allows Wario to fly into the air slowly until he popped), Spring Wario (which turns Wario into a spring and allows him to bounce until he hits something), and Burning Wario (where he is set on fire, ending up engulfed in flames, which allows him to light torches and destroy fire blocks). Wario World is the first platforming game of the series that does not feature the hat powers or status effects, rather gaining physical moves, such as the Corkscrew Cork, the Piledriver and the Wild Swing-Ding. He also has an ability called Hyper Suction, which allows him to inhale various objects such as coins and garlic.

A common power-up in the Wario games is garlic, which is his answer to Mario's Super Mushrooms. It restores Wario's health in several video games, such as Wario World, and when Wario eats garlic in Wario Land 3, he gains more power for certain attacks. Garlic is also what transforms Wario into Wario-Man in WarioWare: Touched!; he finds some bad garlic in his refrigerator, and eats it anyway. An explosion inside of Wario is apparently the antidote.

In Super Mario 64 DS, Wario can turn into Metal Wario by picking up a "Power Flower" from a red "?" block. Metal Wario is slower, heavier, and sinks in water, although in this form, he is invulnerable to damage. In the original game, Super Mario 64, this power was once accessible by Mario, and appeared in green boxes in the form of a cap.

Roles

Villain

Wario began as the antagonist in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. In this game, he takes advantage of their similarity of appearance to take Mario's place as leader while Mario is out rescuing Princess Daisy from the alien creature Tatanga (as depicted in Super Mario Land). Wario steals the six Golden Coins from Mario's castle and gives them to six of his allies to ensure that Mario will be unable to enter the castle (how Mario came to be in the possession of a castle is never explained). However, Mario returns from Sarasa Land, defeats the bosses, and brings the six Golden Coins back to the castle. Mario traverses the altered castle, and, at the end, faces Wario. Wario attackes in three phases, each based on the power-ups of Super Mario Land 2: in the first, he is normal, the second finds him flying with bunny ears, and in the third he shoots fireballs at Mario. Wario has never since used these power-ups.

In the Japanese-only release Mario and Wario, Wario flies around in a plane during boss battles and before each level. In the beginning of the level, Wario drops a bucket or another similar item onto the head of Mario, Princess Peach, or Yoshi (depending on which character the player chooses), thus preventing the player from controlling the character. A fairy named Wanda has to guide the victims to Luigi, who can then pick the bucket off. In the boss battle, Wanda fights a plane-piloting Wario.

Wario also appears in Wario's Woods, where he takes over the Mushroom Kingdom, leaving Toad, Wanda and Birdo to brave a dangerous forest. This game first appeared on the SNES, but later appeared on the NES (the system's last game, and the only NES game with an ESRB rating). In the SNES version, Toad has to defeat many bosses before he can face Wario, but in the NES version, there are no villains other than Wario. Wario's eyes are here different from his current appearance: while he now has slanted eyes and thick eyebrows, the game gives him round eyes and thin eyebrows.

Starring roles

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Screenshot from Wario Land 4

Despite having appeared as a villain several times, Wario replaces Mario as the protagonist of Nintendo's Game Boy platformers. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is Wario's first appearance as a heroic figure, and the beginning of his rivalry with Captain Syrup and the Brown Sugar Pirates. In Wario Land, Wario discovers that the Brown Sugar Pirates have stolen a statue of Princess Toadstool, and that Mario is looking for it. Wario decides to take this statue from the Brown Sugar Pirate before Mario can get to it.

Wario Land for the Virtual Boy is similar to the portable Wario games in its gameplay and design. The story involves Wario having to fight his way out of a giant cave housing several strange worlds, all the while looting the treasure. This game features Virtual Boy-style pseudo-3D gameplay, where Wario can travel into the background at some points in the levels.

Wario Land II continues the rivalry with Captain Syrup and the Brown Sugar Pirates. This time, the Brown Sugar Pirates have looted Wario's castle, and Wario has to chase them to their home on Kitchen Isle to right the terrible wrong. After defeating Captain Syrup and the Giant Spear King, Wario recovers his treasure and returns home. Unlike the first two games, Wario receives abilities through status effects, such as being set on fire by a candle, allowing him to burn up certain blocks and enemies. This game removes the life-meter concept, and Wario only loses coins if damaged.

Wario Land 3 does not pit Wario against Captain Syrup and the Brown Sugar Pirates. Instead, Wario gets trapped in a music-box world. He has to help a mysterious figure regain control over the world from the monsters, only agreeing to do so after hearing that he will get to keep all of the treasure acquired throughout his quest. This game is the first to use the villain Rudy the Clown. Unlike past games, Wario is not on a set linear path, and has to acquire all of his powers as he goes along.

Wario Land 4, the latest game to use the Wario Land label, also does not feature Captain Syrup. Wario reads in the newspaper about a great treasure inside of the Golden Pyramid in the jungle, and drives off in his Wariomobile to find it. There are twelve treasures, guarded by four monsters, that are used to unlock the final level. This is the first of the Wario Land series to feature health points since Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

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Wario as he appears in the WarioWare, Inc. series

The WarioWare, Inc. series does not have a very detailed plotline; essentially, Wario starts a video game factory with his friends. When Wario first creates the company in the game WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$, inspired by Ken the Reporter's report about the success of the new "killer app" video game Pyoro, he hires some of his friends to help him make his games. In each game, he cons his friends into making more games for his latest scheme, while trying to cheat them out of the proceeds. In the plot, each game is a product being sold by WarioWare, Incorporated. These games are called microgames, and last between three and seven seconds.

These games parody the release of the Game Boy Advance, the success of Pokémon, and the release of the Nintendo DS. In each, Wario hears about the success of a new game or system (Pyoro's cover is strikingly similar to those of most Pokémon games), and decides to cash in by convincing his friends to make a bunch of games for his latest project. In true Wario fashion, he ends up filthy rich at the end by cheating his friends, but a twist of fate deprives him of his ill-gotten cash.

Wario appears in Dr. Mario 64 as the co-star to Dr. Mario. In this game, Wario attempts to steal the bottle of Megavitamins from Mario in order to become a doctor himself, but fails. Wario eventually gets involved with Mad Scienstein (a minion of Rudy from Wario Land 3), who steals the Megavitamins. Mario and Wario chase him together in order to retrieve them. Wario is a different selectable character. If Dr. Mario defeats Rudy the Clown without being defeated, he faces Vampire Wario, and if Wario defeats Rudy the Clown without being defeated, he faces Metal Mario.

Guest appearances

Wario stars in a Game Boy puzzle game titled Wario Blast! Featuring Bomberman, which was released at around the same time as Wario's Woods. This game pits him against Bomberman, as the title suggests. It is essentially a Bomberman game with Wario as a guest star, despite Wario's top billing. When Wario is being played, all of the opponents are Bombermen, and when Bomberman is played, all of the opponents are Wario. ^[2].

Wario has entered the stable of characters who star in Nintendo's various Mario spinoff games, starting in Mario Kart 64 in February 1997, and later appearing in Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Party, and other Mario sports titles. In most of these games, Wario is a heavyweight character, meaning that he is not generally very agile or maneuverable, but does hit hard.

Wario's first appearance in the Mario Kart series is in Mario Kart 64. Along with Donkey Kong and King Bowser, Wario is a heavyweight, who has lower speed, but very good acceleration. He also appears in the Game Boy Advance sequel Mario Kart Super Circuit. His latest appearance in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! partners him with Waluigi in a kart designed after his sports car the Wariomobile. Wario and Waluigi, along with King Boo and Petey Piranha (who have access to all powers), are the only characters able to use Bob-ombs as power-ups. Wario will later appear in the Nintendo DS sequel Mario Kart DS, and the arcade game Mario Kart: Arcade GP, both of which lack Waluigi as a partner.

Wario has appeared in every Mario sports game since Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color and the Nintendo 64. In the Game Boy Color version, Wario is not immediately playable, and can only be played as after beating the game with one of the original characters. In the Nintendo 64 version, however, he is playable from the outset, and the original characters must be unlocked. He later appears in Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube, in which he has two "Power Shots"; the first, his "Defensive Shot", extends his tennis racket to the ball, no matter how far away it was, and the second, his "Offensive Shot" is a machine that hits him on the head, electrifying him and then causing him to hit a powerful shot, knocking the opponent back. Wario will soon feature in Mario Tennis: Power Tour, featuring the same abilities as in Mario Power Tennis.

Wario also appears in Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64. Unlike the other Mario sports titles, Wario's character plays without any unusual quirks (such as the Boo's floating ability). With the release of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Golf: Advance Tour, the games remain similar, although much more characters and modes are included. Mario Superstar Baseball also features Wario as a playable character. Each character in the game features a special characteristic and physical attributes. It is not yet known if Wario is playable in the upcoming soccer title, Super Mario Strikers.

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Puffy Wario helping Starfi get higher

In Legend of Starfi 3, Starfi encounters Wario in World 8 of the game. Throughout this world, Wario works with Starfi to beat the levels, and gives the player four different treasures: a Wario cap, a Wario nose/moustache, a copy of WarioWare, Inc. with a GBA, and a pile of gold. In these three levels, he takes the form of Puffy Wario, Fire Wario and Bubble Wario, and these powers help Starfi get from one place to another in the levels.

In the minigame Dr. Wario (featured in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$), which plays exactly the same as Dr. Mario, Wario is now the doctor, fighting against different variants of the original viruses. He sports a lab coat like Dr. Mario, and his facial features are slightly different.

Wario in other media

In Japan, Wario has gained popularity due to the selling of his likeness in the form of dolls and other Wario merchandise. Wario has not had as much exposure in the US, and other than dolls and figurines, he has not had as much commercial success as Mario or Luigi. In Japan, he had a set of keychains featuring him and other members of the WarioWare, Inc. games, and in America, he was included as one of a set of Mario Kart figurines.

A graphic novel involving Wario is Super Mario Adventures'. Only three people are involved: it is illustrated by Charlie Nozawa, and written by Kentaro Takekuma. It took a while before it made it out of Japan, but thanks to Leslie Swan, it was picked up and serialized in Nintendo Power. It features a variety of storylines, including a story of Wario's past and his relationship with Mario. Wario often felt that he was bullied by Mario as a child, when they were friends. He has his allies from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and has his revenge.^[3]

In the Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode "Plummer's [sic] Academy", Mario and Luigi are shown at the episode's namesake (a plumbing college) with two other plumbers dressed in yellow and blue, which have been suggested by fans to be Wario and Waluigi. While the two other plumbers do bear some minor resemblance to Wario and Waluigi, with one of the plumbers lanky and the other overweight, it is most likely a coincidence, as the facial features are different, and the Super Show ran from 1989–1990, while Wario did not appear until the release of Super Mario Land 2 in 1992. Additionally, Waluigi was created by Camelot Software Planning, a company which did not have a relationship with Nintendo during the show's run.

In the Summer of 2005 Nintendo Power released a poll where fans voted for which Nintendo character they most wanted to see in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo Revolution. Wario was among the top picks.

Spike

Foreman Spike is the villain in an NES game called Wrecking Crew. He works against Mario in order to prevent him from destroying the buildings (along with his Eggplant Men). Many believe that Wario and Spike are one and the same, both sporting similar facial features. However, in Wrecking Crew '98, Spike's facial features have changed, and he no longer resembles Wario's. While it does not appear that they are the same person, some still believe that Wario was inspired by Spike's physical features.^[4]

Cameo appearances

• Pilotwings 64 - N64, 1996 - In the Little States stage, shoot Mario's face on Mt. Rushmore and it turns into Wario's.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee - GCN, 2001 - One of Mario's costumes has the colors of Wario's clothing, and it is possible to win a Wario trophy.
• Game & Watch Gallery 4 - GBA, 2002 - Wario replaces Mr. Game & Watch for several of the Modern games
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - GCN, 2004 - The W Emblem Badge changes Mario's clothes to the colors of Wario's clothes.
• Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix - GCN, 2005 - Presumed; has been spotted in screenshots

See also

• List of Wario games
• Waluigi
• WarioWare characters

References

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External links

• Official site
• WarioWare, Inc. home page