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Wario
Mario series character
File:Wario.jpg
Wario, in his most common appearance
First gameSuper Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (1992)
Created byHiroji Kiyotake

Wario (ワリオ) is a Nintendo video game character. He first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as a self-aggrandizing and narcissistic opposite of Mario and the final boss. Besides the Mario series, Wario has featured in his own series entitled WarioWare, Inc.

The character's original role in the Mario series was that of antagonist; he later became an anti-hero of his own series. He is greedy and manipulative and will do anything to gain wealth whether it be good or bad. Wario has a bellicose cackle and an intense jealousy of Mario which fuels his fierce competitiveness.[1] Even though his misadventures always circulate around him gaining as much treasure and wealth as possible, the ultimate outcome is often beneficial to both him and other individuals. In Wario Land 3 he, after some treasure hunting, defeated an evil spirit (Rudy the Clown) and broke a curse on an entire populace. In Wario Land 4 he defeated another evil spirit (the Golden Diva) and pilfered its treasure, which also broke a curse on a princess (although he has never really intended to help anybody but himself).

Wario has been incorporated into virtually every Mario game since Mario Tennis in some form, and has even led to the creation of his own brother Waluigi. Wario has become a more eccentric and comical version of Mario, with different abilities and adventures oriented around the acquisition of wealth as opposed to Mario's altruistic heroics. Template:Spoiler

Appearances

Main article: List of Wario games

Although originally a minor character in the Mario series, Wario has since appeared in over two dozen Mario games and has been present in some games not featuring Mario. The character has recurred in Mario sports and party games, and is the protagonist of the WarioWare game series, a collection of puzzle games that have been released on the Game Boy, Gamecube and Nintendo DS.

Appearances as an antagonist

Wario first appeared in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the final boss. In the game, he invaded Mario Land, Mario's personal island, and took over Mario's castle while Mario rescued Princess Daisy from the alien creature Tatanga (as depicted in Super Mario Land). In Mario and Wario, released only in Japan, Wario flies around in a plane during boss battles and before each level, dropping buckets or other items that prevent the player from controlling the character when hit. In a commercial for Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Wario attempts to hypnotize the viewers into serving him, showing his original role as a dedicated Mario antagonist.[2]

In Wario's Woods, Wario attacks the Mushroom Kingdom, forcing Toad, Wanda, and Birdo to brave a dangerous forest. In the SNES version, Toad defeats many bosses before facing Wario; the NES version features Wario as the only villain. While Wario now has slanted eyes and thick eyebrows, he is depicted in this game with round eyes and thin eyebrows. Wario also stars in a puzzle game for the Game Boy titled Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!, released at around the same time as Wario's Woods. Despite Wario's top billing, the game is essentially a Bomberman game with Wario as a guest star. When Wario is being played, all of the opponents are Bombermen, and when Bomberman is played, all of the opponents are Wario.[3] Wario was set to feature in the Virtual Boy video game titled Virtual Boy Mario Land, which had Mario trapped in Wario's world, but this was canceled after the system's failure.[4]

Wario co-stars with Mario in Dr. Mario 64. In this game, Wario unsuccessfully attempts to steal the bottle of Megavitamins from Dr. Mario to become a doctor himself. After Mad Scienstein, a minion of Rudy the Clown from Wario Land 3, steals the Megavitamins, Mario and Wario chase him to retrieve them; Players can control either character. If Dr. Mario defeats Rudy without being defeated, he faces Vampire Wario; if Wario defeats Rudy without being defeated, he faces Metal Mario, showing their continued rivalry.

Appearances as protagonist

File:Ss wl4 pre.gif
Screenshot from Wario Land 4, with Wario exploring in traditional side-scrolling adventure like Mario

After appearing as a villain several times, Wario went on to star in his own series of Game Boy platformers. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is Wario's first appearance as a protagonist, 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 Peach and that Mario is looking for it. Wario decides to take this statue 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, allowing Wario to travel into the background at some points in the levels.

Wario Land II continues the rivalry with Captain Syrup and a new band of bad guys: the Black Sugar Gang. This time, they 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. For example, he can be 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 II also featured secret exits in levels, which could result in the player fighting a different final boss and experiencing a different ending. There are 5 "final" boss battles and one more battle before the true ending.

In Wario Land 3, Wario becomes trapped in a music-box world. He has to help a mysterious figure regain control of this world by defeating a hoarde of monsters, only agreeing to do so after hearing that he will get to keep all of the treasure acquired throughout his quest. This game introduces a new villain, Rudy the Clown. Unlike past games, Wario is not set on a linear path. He also has lost all his powers, and must find them as he progresses.

Wario Land 4's adventure begins when Wario reads in the newspaper about a great treasure inside of a Golden Pyramid in the jungle and drives off in his Wario Car to find it. He must retrieve twelve treasures, guarded by four huge monsters, to unlock the final level. Wario is no longer invincible, and this is the first game in the Wario Land series to feature a health meter.

Wario World for the Nintendo GameCube is a departure from typical Wario platform games. It was developed by Treasure, and focuses more on fighting enemies than solving puzzles with various powerups or status effects (both of which are missing from this game). Wario gets his hands on a mystical Black Jewel, which eventually destroys his castle and turns all of his treasure into monsters. Throughout the game, Wario will encounter Sprites trapped in small boxes. Once Wario defeats the Black Jewel, the Spritelings will reward him by creating a new domain for him. Depending on how many Spritelings and treasures and how much money Wario collects, he will get one of two replacement domains—a shack (if he does not get enough Spritelings, treasures, and money) or a castle (after getting all collectibles and enough money). The game got a good deal of negative press, mostly attributed to the ease and length of the game.[5] As in Wario Land 4, Wario has a health meter.

Wario is also a playable character in Super Mario 64 DS, but he must be unlocked using Luigi to defeat Chief Chilly. He has abilities that Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi do not, such as being incredibly strong, and being able to turn into metal form with a power flower.

Kaitou Wario Seven (literally translated as Mysterious Thief Wario Seven) is an upcoming Nintendo DS game. Little is known as of now, but a handful of conclusions can be drawn from the screenshots shown at the Tokyo Game Show 2005. The health meter remains; the top screen is for the map and information while the bottom screen is used for gameplay; he will not be wearing his W cap at times; and status effects will be returning (one form known to be in the game is the snowball).

Warioware series

File:Wario WWare.gif
Wario as he appears in the WarioWare, Inc. series, which is thought to parody various Nintendo products such as Pokémon

In the WarioWare, Inc. series, Wario starts a video game corporation with his friends. 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 WarioWare title, 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. This game series has become very popular among long-time Wario fans.

These microgames parody the the history of Nintendo's products and video game design conventions.[6] 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. In each game, Wario 'presents' a series of microgames unique to him (as do the other characters). To allude to Wario's apparent vanity, each game features Wario's likeness in some way - although precisely how much they flatter Wario varies considerably. Although Wario is often depicted pitted against Mario (with a very favourable outcome for him should the player succeed), he has also (for example) been shown in a Victorian one-piece bathing suit, among other such humiliating outfits and circumstances.

Wario also stars in the bonus game Dr. Wario (featured in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$). The gameplay remains the same as in Dr. Mario, but Wario is now the doctor, fighting against different variants of the original viruses. He sports a lab coat like Dr. Mario, but his facial features are also different.

Other game appearances

File:WarioStarfi.jpg
Puffy Wario assists Stafy in a cameo appearance in Legend of Stafy 3

In the Mario Kart series, Wario's first appearance was in Mario Kart 64. He has since appeared in all Mario Kart sequels. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, he is paired up with Waluigi and his unique kart is the Wario Car. In all of these games, Wario is among the lightest of the heavyweights; he features great ramming power, but bad acceleration and off-road handling. Wario concedes that his raw power is second only to Donkey Kong and the King of all Koopas himself, Bowser.

Wario also appears in Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64. In the Game Boy Color version, whilst in a locker room, it is possible to find a fake moustache and a yellow cap in Wario's locker. Unlike the other Mario sports titles, Wario's character plays without any unusual quirks (such as the Boo's floating ability). Wario has remained unaltered through the Mario Golf sequels.

Wario has appeared in almost every Mario sports game since Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color). In the Game Boy Color version, Wario is a secret unlockable character, only playable 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 was featured in Mario Power Tennis, the GameCube sequel. Mario Tennis: Power Tour, the GBA version, was the first Mario sports game since Mario's Tennis to not feature Wario. In these games, Wario is also a very powerful but slow character. Once again, Wario's power is second only to DK and Bowser.

In Legend of Stafy 3, Stafy, the sky star, encounters Wario in World 8 of the game. Throughout this world, Wario works with Stafy 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 Stafy get from one place to another in the levels.

Mario Superstar Baseball also features Wario as a playable character. Each character in the game features a special characteristic and physical attributes. He is also a team captain in the GameCube title Super Mario Strikers. Although they are not 'sports' titles, the Mario Party titles also feature Nintendo's all-star Mario roster. Wario has featured as a playable character in every game in the series since its inception on the Nintendo 64. Wario is set to appear in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii in 2007[7]. Wario appears in the trailer in his WarioWare-style biker outfit. It is unknown how he will fight, but near the end of the trailer released during E3 2006, one of the moves he showcased was a gas attack, followed by a mushroom cloud, a move tentatively being called the Wario Waft. In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario has an alternate costume featuring Wario's color scheme. There is also an unlockable Wario trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Wario also makes several minor appearances. He did not make an appearance in the story mode of New Super Mario Bros., only appearing in the mini-games. He will, however, make a playable appearance in the upcoming Yoshi's Island 2 for the Nintendo DS. This will mark the first appearance of Wario as a baby, along with fellow villain-turned-hero Donkey Kong. Baby Wario's special ability is to attract coins to Yoshi, showing that he's just as greedy as his elder counterpart. The Game & Watch Gallery series have Wario replacing Mr. Game & Watch for several of the modern games. In Game & Watch Gallery 2, he appears in the modern versions of "Helmet" and "Ball". Game & Watch Gallery 3 features him in the modern version of "Mario Bros.", which also shows up in Game & Watch Gallery 4; this game additionally features Wario in the modern versions of "Rain Shower" and "Fire Attack". In Uniracers, one of the tracks is named 'Wario Paint', a mix of Mario Paint's title, and Wario. In Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, there's a WarioWare Inc. poster with Wario in it in Yoshi Theatre. Interestingly, Wario was also set to make an appearance in the Starbeans Cafe at one point in development, alongside Professor E. Gadd and various Nintendo-related non-Mario characters. In his scenario, Wario is offered some coffee, but does not like the taste.[8] He also appears in Pilotwings 64 in the Little States stage when the player shoots Mario's face on Mt. Rushmore and it turns into Wario's. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the GameCube, and Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix have also featured Wario in some form; in the former, there is W Badge that changes the colors of Mario's clothes into that of Wario (or Waluigi if he has the L Badge equipped as well), while in the latter, he is a boss character.

Wario in other media

The Super Mario Adventures graphic novel, collecting a series of comics originally serialized in Nintendo Power, features Wario in two of the stories. This comic was illustrated by Charlie Nozawa, written by Kentaro Takekuma, and localized into English by Leslie Swan. It features a variety of storylines, including a story of Wario's past and his relationship with Mario.[9]

Various Wario merchandise has been released, including plush dolls[10] and stickers.[11]

Wario also made two brief appearances in the third episode of Robot Chicken along with the Mario brothers, in the 3 Fast, 3 Furious segment. In one scene he was depicted as a racer in the race, but without any explanation he never races. In the other scene, he explains how a blue shell from the Mario Kart series works.

Characteristics

File:FireWarioshot.PNG
Wario set ablaze in Wario Land 3. Wario is known for his unique and humorous abilities

Wario possesses negative characteristics such as greed, laziness, ruthlessness, and gluttony.[12] The character is renowned for his greed and is thought to be a cruel and clever enemy of Mario who will do anything for wealth, especially as a means of upstaging Mario, of whom Wario is envious. According to a comic story published in Nintendo Power,[9] Wario hates Mario because he bullied him when they were both younger; Wario was stuck picking Piranha Plants that attacked him while Mario picked turnips (a possible nod to Super Mario Bros. 2), Wario ends up getting himself flattened by Thwomps when attempting to flatten coins with Mario, and whenever they played cowboys, Wario was almost always the rustler that Mario, as sheriff, had to arrest. In the one time Wario gets to be the sheriff, Mario made fun of him. For a while it seemed Wario had no friends except his brother but with the introduction of the Warioware games we have seen Wario does appear to have several friends in the WarioWare, Inc. series and a love interest named Mona.[13] Acording to Mario Party 6 he is secretly friends with Toadette. Wario resembles an exaggerated Mario; he is very fat and short with muscular arms and an oversized, jagged moustache. He has an Italian accent but it is unknown if he is related to Mario. He is known for his great strength which he uses to throw enemies far bigger than himself and to break brick walls. He also makes use of various hats, which give him special powers in the same manner as Mario's mushrooms and flower items, and garlic as powerups. Unlike Mario, Wario is virtually indestructible and cannot die in many games. As an extension of this, in the Wario Land series from Wario Land 2 onwards Wario may also take advantage of so-called 'Status Effects.' In being set on fire, electrocuted, frozen, stung by a bee or any number of other ailments, Wario may gain a unique ability - for example, when on fire, he may burn through certain blocks.

Despite Wario's overall negative personality and character, he has played the role of anti-hero almost all times in various Nintendo games. For instance, in Wario Land 3 he inadvertantly saves an entire people from Rudy the Clown, and in Wario Land 4 Wario saves Princess Shokora from the Golden Diva. He has been cast as a hero when fighting others who are more villanous, making his personal and moral flaws seem smaller, such as when he is victimized by the Black Jewel in Wario World, which is in fact a living creature that transforms his money into monsters and sends him to another dimension.[14] Wario also teams up with Mario in Super Mario 64 DS after Mario saves him from Bowser. Since his appearance in Mario Tennis, Wario has been paired with Waluigi, Wario's brother who is like the opposite of Mario's brother, Luigi.[15]

See also: WarioWare characters

Concept and creation

Wario was created by Hirofuymi Matsuoka, the creator of games such as Kid Icarus and Metroid.[16] The name "Wario" is a portmanteau of "Mario" and the Japanese adjective warui (悪い) meaning "bad"; hence, a "bad Mario".[17]

He is voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario, Luigi, and Waluigi.[18] Martinet always tries to bring a "sense of humanity" to his roles, even villanous characters like Wario.[19]

Wario is thought to resemble Foreman Spike, a villain in the NES game Wrecking Crew who tries to prevent Mario from destroying buildings. They sport similar facial features, but Spike's body features(his facial features remained the same) changed in Wrecking Crew '98 to resemble Wario less; however, some still believe that Wario was inspired by Spike.[20]

Notes

  1. ^ "Wario World". Nintendo. Nintendo.com. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-09-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Super Mario Land 2". Video Game Ads. Gamepressure.com. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-08-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Wario Blast". Nintendo Database. 2005-01-28. Retrieved August 21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ VB Mario Land "VB Mario Land". N-sider.com. 2006-01-01. Retrieved August 23. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Wario World Reviews for the GameCube". gametab.com. 2006-01-01. Retrieved August 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Gingold, Chaim (October 2005). "What WarioWare can teach us about Game Design". Game Studies, v.5 issue 1. Retrieved 2006-08-25. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Characters". Smash Brothers.com. Nintendo. 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2006-08-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ W., Dan (2005-11-15). "Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Lost text". The Mushroom Kingdom. Classic Gaming.com. Retrieved 2006-08-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b Takekuma, Kentaro and Nozawa, Charlie. "Mario VS Wario". Nintendo Power vol. 44. January 1993.
  10. ^ "Super Mario Bros. Plush Figure Set". GKworld.com. Retrieved August 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "MERCHANDISE MANIA - Mario stickers". Super Mario Brothers HQ. Retrieved August 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Wario Land 3". Nintendo of Europe. January 1st, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "WarioWare". Nintendo. January 1st, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (June 20, 2003). "Wario World review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-08-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Wario Power Tennis!". Nintendo Europe. February 14th, 2005. Retrieved 2006-08-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Calderon, Anthony (2005-11-19). "Hirofumi Matsuoka Leaves Nintendo Co., Ltd". N-Sider. Retrieved 2006-08-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Liedholm, Marcus & Mattias. "Facts & Fun - How did they get their names?". Nintendoland.com. Retrieved August 21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Martinet, Charles. "Charles Martinet-Voice Over". charlesmartinet.com. Retrieved August 21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Will Stevenson (2006-01-01). "Charles Martinet Down Under". N-Sider.com. Retrieved August 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Hitchhiker's Guide to Video Games (2005-10-02). "Theory Station". Retrieved August 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

References

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