Wario

Encyclopedia : W : WA : WAR : Wario

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is a fictional Nintendo video-game character with a Sicilian accent/dialect who was created as an antagonist to Mario and has since become the protagonist of his own games. He first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy game  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" is Mario's name blended with the Japanese adjective warui (悪い) meaning "bad"; hence, a "bad Mario". The W in his name is also M turned upside down. As Wario is Mario's evil counterpart, his personality, self-aggrandizing and narcissistic, are the inverse of Mario's, just as the first letter in Wario is the inverse of that in Mario. His physique resembles Mario's, but taken to the extreme: very fat and short, although his toned, muscular arms provide a bizarre contrast. Wario is of questionable intelligence, often becoming wealthy by hatching a nefarious scheme, only to lose it all. He also has a Sicilian accent/dialect. His personal car which he drives in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Wario Land 4 is the Wario Car, which resembles a single-seater purple 1960s Cadillac with his trademark moustache on the hood. A checkerboard-patterned version of this car called the Brute appears in Mario Kart DS.

Personality

In direct contrast to Mario, who is heroic and kind, Wario is greedy, lazy, ill-mannered, and manipulative. He will only agree to something if there is a reward involved. 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), usually his get-rich-quick schemes seem 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 would lose to Mario either way.

Wario started out as more of an evil character. In a commercial for ', Wario attempts to hypnotize the viewers into serving him. He continues on with his evil streak in Wario's Woods and Mario and Wario, while also playing an anti-hero role in '. Later games feature him almost exclusively in the anti-hero role, and he seems to have retired as Mario's enemy, even though he does say he is still his nemesis.

Powers

Wario's most defining asset is his phenomenal strength. He is strong enough to pick up enemies much larger than himself, pile drive them, and break through several layers of brick walls. Throughout the Wario Land series, Wario employs power-ups, such as hats. The earliest power-ups are the Dragon Helmet, Bull Helmet, and Jet Helmet. The Dragon Helmet shoots flames, the Bull Helmet increases Wario's strength and endows him with a ground pound maneuver and the ability to cling to ceilings, and the Jet Helmet allows Wario to fly forward for a short amount of time, jump higher, and run faster according to the manual. These also appear in Virtual Boy Wario Land, along with new power-ups, such as the Eagle Helmet and King Dragon Helmet.

Later games replace the helmet powers with status effects; Wario Land II introduces such forms as Puffy Wario (which allows Wario to fly into the air slowly until his bloated face pops), Spring Wario (which turns Wario into a spring and allows him to bounce until he hits something), and Burning Wario (Wario catches on fire, which allows him to light torches and destroy fire-sensitive blocks). Wario World is the first platforming game of the series that does not feature the helmet powers or status effects, rather gaining physical moves, such as the Corkscrew Conk, 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 in a "Kirby-esque" fashion.

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 : 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 heavier and sinks in water, although in this form, he is virtually invulnerable to damage. In the original game, Super Mario 64, this power is accessible by Mario, and appears in green blocks in the form of a cap.

Relationships

Ever since Mario Tennis, in Mario spinoffs, Wario has been paired with Waluigi. The two of them are greedy, sinister, and devious. Though it has never been stated by a official source, it would seem they are brothers, or at least very good friends. Oddly, he has never appeared in any Wario Ware game.

In the Wario Ware series, he has quite a few friends, one of which is a high school student named Mona. There has been some evidence of a romantic relationship between the two of them, making her one of the more popular Wario characters among fans.

Captain Syrup is Wario's first nemesis (not including Mario) and the only recuring Wario Land villain. For this reason, she is considered by fans as Wario's arch enemy, though she hasn't appeared for several years.

Game appearances

Villain

Wario was introduced as the ultimate foe in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. In this game, he invades Mario Land and takes over Mario's castle while Mario is out rescuing Princess Daisy from the alien creature Tatanga (as depicted in Super Mario Land). Wario steals the six magical Golden Coins which seal and unseal the door of 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, but it was probably as a reward for rescuing Princess Peach). However, Mario returns from Sarasaland, defeats the bosses, and brings the six Golden Coins back to the castle. After traversing the altered castle Mario faces Wario in a showdown. Wario attacks in three phases, using the power-ups of Super Mario Land 2. In the first round 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. But in the end, Mario defeats Wario, who shrinks and runs away as we see the flag change from W to M. (After this, Mario reverted to living in a house, in most of his other games such as his RPGs. It is likely he just treats the castle like a summer house.)

In Mario and Wario (released only in Japan), 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 next plays the antagonist in Wario's Woods. He attacks the Mushroom Kingdom, forcing Toad, Wanda, and Birdo to brave a dangerous forest. This game was released on both on the NES and the SNES on the same day. It is also the last game released for the NES in North America and the only one with an ESRB rating. In the SNES version, Toad has to defeat many bosses before he can face Wario; the NES version features Wario as the only villain. Wario's eyes here are different from his current appearance: while he now has slanted eyes and thick eyebrows, the game gives him round eyes and thin eyebrows.

Wario stars in a Game Boy puzzle game titled Wario Blast! Featuring Bomberman. This was released at around the same time as Wario's Woods. As the title suggets, this game pits him against Bomberman. 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..

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.

Handheld games

After appearing as a villain several times, Wario went on to star in his own series of Game Boy platformers. 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.

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).

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.

Console games

Wario appears in Dr. Mario 64, co-starring alongside 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 the Clown from Wario Land 3), who steals the Megavitamins. Mario and Wario chase him together in order to retrieve them. Players can choose which to control. If Dr. Mario defeats Rudy without being defeated, he faces Vampire Wario, and if Wario defeats Rudy without being defeated, he faces Metal Mario.

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. As in Wario Land 4, Wario has a health meter.

WarioWare, Inc.

In the WarioWare, Inc. series, Wario starts a video game factory with his friends. Wario first creates the company in the game , 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 games parody the release of the Game Boy Advance SP, 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 also stars in the bonus game Dr. Wario (featured in ). 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.

Mario sports games

In the Mario Kart series, Wario's first appearance was in Mario Kart 64. He has since appeared in all Mario Kart sequels. In , he is paired up with Waluigi and his unique kart is the Wario Car. In all of these games, Wario is among the lighter heavyweights; he features great ramming power, but bad acceleration and off-road handling.

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. , 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.

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.

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.

Super Smash Bros. series

Wario is set to appear in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii in 2007. Wario will appear wearing his Wario Ware-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, which may be his super move called the Wario Waft. It is unknown if Wario will showcase any of his other attacks from his various game appearances, or if he may wear his traditional outfit.

In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario has an alternate costume featuring Wario's color scheme. There is an unlockable Wario trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Cameo appearances

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.

In Uniracers, one of the tracks is named 'Wario Paint', a mix of Mario Paint's title, and Wario.

In , there's a Wario Ware 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. [link]

Wario in other media

In Japan, various Wario merchandise has been released, including dolls and collectible plastic figures which have met with a fair amount of success. However, Wario has not had as much exposure in the U.S., 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.

The Super Mario Adventures graphic novel, collecting a series of comics originally serialized in Nintendo Power, features Wario as a major character. 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. 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.

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 debut until 1992 with Super Mario Land 2. Additionally, Waluigi was created by Camelot Software Planning, a company that did not have a relationship with Nintendo during the show's run.

Wario's Warehouse

From 2001 to 2003, Nintendo of Europe ran a series of articles called "Wario's Warehouse". In these, Wario gave hints, tips and cheats for games, accompanied by a little story. Wario's Warehouse returned on the 11th of July 2006, with hints and cheats for New Super Mario Bros.

The articles have divulged a lot of interesting information about Wario:

• Wario's mother used to say "You can never have enough cash." Wario later wedged her inside her kitchen bin and pilfered all her money.
• Sends Waluigi on errands to steal new cheats/codes/hints straight from the Nintendo HQ.
• Apparently Wario and Waluigi do hang out with Mario and Luigi - Wario says "Waluigi almost blabbed the whole deal to Mario".
• Stashes the cheats in very odd places - Such as under a pile of his dirty socks.
• "I don't spend my whole life shaking my fist and cackling - that's Nintendo and their stinking propaganda for you."
• Apparently puts Waluigi on a rack to make him even taller.
• Has had to endure an infestation of hermit crabs, an infestation of sparrows (Who dropped into his tea out of exhaustion), an infestation of foxes (Solved by setting loose a grizzly bear), and an infestation of marmosets (Solved by Waluigi's singing). Waluigi also took something Wario said the wrong way once, and released 7000 hamsters into the Warehouse. Hamsters invaded again when Waluigi wrongly ordered 5 tons of sunflower seeds.
• A storm once swept through his Warehouse right after Waluigi repainted it, causing all files to be scattered around the streets.
• Had a 273-metre high stack of crates full of cheats he called "Big Mama", which was in the Guinness Book of Records under "Most Senseless Attempt to Defy Fundamental Laws of Gravity".
• Had a chicken coop empire (Wario's Wingery).
• Illegally held a monkey, who proceeded to attack the mailman and knock over all shelves.
• Is saving for a home cinema system.
• Had a hamster named Fluffy, who died in 1986.
• Plays MMORPGs.
• Likes rhubarb crumble.
• Has a policy not to give any help on his own games.
• Has a very persistent leaky roof.
• Mario frequently peeks around Wario's Warehouse - Once, Wario slammed open the door in Mario's chops and asked Mario when HE was getting a column.
• Apparently does NOT lead the life that some of his games make it look like - he says "While my persona in Wario World had a golden castle filled with treasure, the truth is sadly more humble".
• Keeps a matchbox with ants in the cupboard, waiting till one day they worship him as a god.
• Likes to stand still and calmly watch special "Waluigi moments" - moments when Waluigi does extremely stupid things.
• Once stole dungarees from Mario because his own had a big hole in them.
• Visits E3. Has to fly there with a first class seat - the others aren't big enough.
• Names Mario "Facial hair disaster Mario", and Donkey Kong "Donkey "Too-much-toothpaste" Kong".
• Prefers using a thermal printer for his computer, he wants "none of that laser rubbish".
• Once sent Waluigi out to buy 500,000 dancing Elvis car ornaments. He suspects that in 50 years, they'll make him a millionaire!
• Once wanted a week of peace and quiet. Waluigi bought two cheap travel tickets to a "desert island". It actually turned out to be the island in the middle of the boating lake. The "hotel" was a shed, and was overrun with ducks. He ate duck soup every day to get through the week.
• Hates "Mario's ugly touch screen background" in New Super Mario Bros.
• Ceaselessly tries to make Waluigi more intelligent - usually fails.
• Entered Waluigi in a beauty competition, which turned out to be a dog show.
• Has referred to Waluigi as his brother. Nevertheless, he still regularly beats him up for making stupid mistakes.

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 features have changed, and he resembles Wario a little less. He still has the nose and a Waluigi like moustache though. While it does not appear that they are the same person, some still believe that Wario was inspired by Spike's physical features. It is also possible that the later Spike's physical features were used in creating Waluigi.

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 (this is also true in the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, though it is not as detailed, such as the buttons being yellow rather than white), and it is possible to win a Wario trophy.
• Game & Watch Gallery 2 - GBC, 1998 - Wario replaces Mr. Game & Watch for several of the modern games. Appears in the modern versions of "Helmet" and "Ball".
• Game & Watch Gallery 3 - GBC, 1999 - Wario replaces Mr. Game & Watch for several of the modern games. Appears in the modern version of "Mario Bros."
• Game & Watch Gallery 4 - GBA, 2002 - Wario replaces Mr. Game & Watch for several of the modern games. Appears in the modern versions of "Rain Shower" and "Fire Attack".
• - GCN, 2004 - The W Emblem Badge changes Mario's clothes to the colors of Wario's clothes.
• - GCN, 2005 - boss of World Three

See also

• List of Wario games
• Waluigi
• WarioWare characters

References

External links

• [Wario World Official site]
• [WarioWare, Inc. home page]
• [The Mushroom Kingdom - Mario Series fan site]