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Wario (ワリオ Wario) is the main protagonist of his own series and a recurring character in the Mario series. He is portrayed as an anti-hero and the evil and greedy version of his arch-rival Mario. He was first debuted in the 1992 game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and later the main protagonist of its sequel, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

Wario appears in almost every spin-off Mario game as a playable character, such as the Mario Kart series, Mario Party games, and sport games.

Creation and Development[edit | edit source]

The idea to introduce Wario as a new character originated during development of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. The staff team aimed for a "change of pace", and to not be bound by the ideas which were continuously used in Mario games leading up to that time; they desired to provide Mario with a new objective. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins official Shogakukan game guide, staff interview on pages 106-111 (translation provided by "Shmuplations", accessed September 10, 2016) Rather than having Mario fight for the benefit of someone else (such as Princess Daisy in Super Mario Land 2's precursor, and Princess Peach throughout other games), the staff wanted Mario to fight to win back something of his own. It was initially director Hiroji Kiyotake's idea to introduce Wario as a new character that fits this change in objective, although several rejected characters were presented earlier which no one took a liking to. Before any actual character development, Wario's name was the first thing that was decided on, being derived from the Japanese word "warui" (悪い), meaning "bad". Wario's physical design and personality was based on the idea that a protagonist should have an arch-rival and nemesis. Kiyotake stated that Wario's relationship to Mario was inspired by the American comic book characters Popeye and Bluto. Bluto is physically well-built, motivated by self-interests, and more cunning than his counterpart, Popeye.

Kiyotake subsequently discussed his idea with his assistant character designer and co-director Takehiko Hosokawa, with whom Kiyotake normally sought approval from before presenting an idea to the rest of the game's staff. To Kiyotake's surprise, the idea to flip the "M" seen on Mario's Cap to create a "W" received extremely enthusiastic support by the rest of the staff. Wario went on to become the game's main antagonist by taking over Mario's castle, which met the staff team's initial vision of diverting from the conventional objectives established by previous Mario games.

Background[edit | edit source]

Wario's first chronological appearance was in Yoshi's Island DS. He along with numerous other infants had been abducted by the evil Kamek's Toadie army in order to find the legendary Star Children that were spoken of in legend to be the only thing standing in the way of the Koopa Troop's attempt at world domination. But Baby Wario did not remain with the Toadies for long, due to his terrible tantrums, so when the Toadies finally became fed up with the baby they abandoned him in an undersea cave in World 3-5.

Not long after a Yoshi, which had been separated from the Stork and the other babies, ended up finding the lost Baby Wario and together they managed to escape the enemy filled area and they continued to aid each other throughout the rest of World 3. After going through five levels, Wario saw a line of Bandits, each carrying a coin. As he was a very greedy baby, Wario jumped on the only Bandit with no coin, in the back of the line, hoping to snag some riches.

Baby Wario along with the rest of the Yoshi’s worked together to defeat Bowser at the end of the game. At the end of the game Wario got Bowser's treasure, but Baby Bowser plopped in, and again, they started to argue. It is unknown if Wario ever returned to his parents or not.

In the Super Mario series[edit | edit source]

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins[edit | edit source]

Wario's first overall appearance is in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, which released in 1992 for the Game Boy. Wario is the main antagonist and final boss of the game — driven by long-lasting envy, he takes over Mario Land and his castle while the plumber is battling his way through Sarasaland to rescue Princess Daisy from the alien overlord Tatanga. Using a rarely-seen arcane ability, Wario hypnotizes most of Mario Land's inhabitants and forces them on the same line, commanding them to stop Mario's attempts at retaking his castle and the surrounding land. Lastly, in order to ensure that Mario can't enter his castle, Wario scatters its keys — the eponymous six Golden Coins — across Mario Land. He finishes his plan by rechristening the castle as the Wario Castle.

The final battle with Wario comprises three phase. In the first phase, Wario dashes across the room and stomps upon the floor, which causes the crystal balls moving across the ceiling above to fall down. During the second phase, Wario uses a Carrot and transforms into Bunny Wario. In this form, Wario jumps up and flutters across the screen before finally slamming down onto the ground, again causing lights to fall from above. Finally, in the last phase of the battle, Wario uses a Fire Flower and turns into Fire Wario. Now, Wario leaps across the screen and shoots fireballs after he lands.

When Wario is defeated, he shrinks down to become Small Wario punts a shoe at Mario before running off the castle's balcony, crying. With Wario gone, the spell is lifted, and Mario's castle returns to normal.

Super Mario 64 DS[edit | edit source]

Wario is an unlockable playable character and one of the main protagonists in Super Mario 64 DS. This is his only playable appearance in the Super Mario series as of currently. He and Luigi come to "crash the party" after Mario is invited to see Princess Peach; Wario's motive is heavily hinted to be robbing Peach's treasure, noted by both the Toads and the SM64DS website.

Mario, Luigi and Wario are captured by Bowser's minions immediately after entering Peach's Castle, and promptlu locked behind doors that can only be opened with special keys. Wario is the final character to be unlocked, with his portrait stowed in the mirror room on the second floor of the castle. It is located in the other side of the mirror; in order to get there, the player must use Luigi's invisibility power. Once there, Luigi must get through a small icy stage and battle Chief Chilly in order to obtain the key to Wario's door.

Wario is the strongest of the four characters, but he is also the slowest at both running and swimming and has the lowest jump. He can smash Black Bricks, pick up and throw signs, he moves faster when carrying things he picks up (Which he carries on his back) and his attacks cause more damage to enemies. Wario's Power Flower ability is Metal Wario, which replaces Metal Mario from the original game. In the VS. Mode, Wario's attacks stun opponents, enabling Wario to lift his victims, spin, and throw them.

Wario also makes an appearances in two of his minigames: Coincentration and Intense Coincentration.

Personality[edit | edit source]

Wario typically has a natural greed for money, which also balances it out for his competitive side when it comes to having a competition with Mario, Wario also has quite the temper, when he usually gets Into a typical rival competition, or if he loses or tries to best Mario.

Wario, as he appears in WarioWare: D.I.Y..

In Wario games, he is generally lazy, ruthless, and greedy. He is foul and smelly, as he eats a lot of garlic, his favorite food. When there is an opportunity to obtain treasure, or vast amount of fortune, he usually is determined to get it. Despite all of this, Wario plays the role of an anti-hero, or neutral character, with the exception of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which he fights along side Bowser and Ganondorf, only to aid the player later on. He has been cast as a hero when fighting others who are more villainous, which have made his personal and moral flaws seem smaller. He is only interested in saving the day when it means fortune for him or a way home.

His fierce competitiveness is fueled by the jealousy towards Mario. In later years after their initial encounter the tension between has weakened, but it still remains. Wario has allied with Mario to defeat greater threats in Super Mario 64 DS. According to the comic Super Mario Adventures, Wario has hated Mario since they were both young, Mario bullied Wario with dirty pranks, such as making Wario pick up Piranha plants while, on his side, picking up turnips. According to Nintendo Mario and Wario have known each other before Wario stole his castle, though if the comic is correct or not is still open for debate. At times, Wario may resort to criminal violence to have his vengeance; Such as bombing Peach Dome, unleashing chaos and destruction. Sometimes, Wario gains a begrudging respect to Mario and his desire to beat him rather than kill him. However in Mario Super Sluggers, he and Waluigi actually do. He appears to have a crush on Peach and declares to win her heart and wishes that she will be like him, much to Mario's annoyance.

Friends[edit | edit source]

Wario has almost never been seen with friends in the Marioverse, only seen with Waluigi (Luigi’s doppelganger) and, in Mario Superstar Baseball, Boo. But in the WarioWare series, Wario is seen with quite a lot of friends all of which work for him at his video game company, such as Jimmy T., Mona and Dr. Crygor to name a few of the extensive part. Mario Party 6 also implies that Wario is secretly friends with Toadette.

Physical Appearance[edit | edit source]

Wario in his Classic Plumber outfit.

Wario in his WarioWare outfit.

Wario is shorter, fatter, and yet, stronger than Mario. He has a large jagged mustache, a bellicose cackle, and has a stronger Italian accent than Mario. While Wario is bigger, a lot of it is often implied to be fat.

Wario wears 2 outfits:

  • His first (and original) outfit in the Mario series and the Wario Land series is a plumbers outfit similar to Mario, Luigi and Waluigi's, but with a yellow undershirt with the sleeves cut to the elbow (which was not shown in the Mario spin-off games until the GameCube) and purple overalls with silver buttons. However, in his early appearances, including his debut in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and until Wario Land II, he originally wore a yellow long-sleeved undershirt and fuchsia overalls. He wears green elf-like shoes, a yellow hat with a white brim (with the W symbol, Mario's symbol flipped upside down, on top which unlike Mario, Luigi and Waluigi comes out of the half-circle) and white gloves with the W symbol on them.
  • With his second outfit, Wario wears in the WarioWare series and Super Smash Bros. Brawl and it's two sequels, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (although you may choose). He wears pink pants suspended with a belt, a dark blue shirt, a light blue ripped jacket (saying 'Hurry Up!' if looked at him in Smash Bros games) yellow fingerless gloves with the W symbol, a yellow helmet (with the W symbol) with goggles, and purplish-blue elf-like shoes.

Other Info[edit | edit source]

Vehicles[edit | edit source]

Wario, so far has three known vehicles, The Wario Car: a purple car that resembles a Cadillac, The Wario Bike: a yellow motorbike that resembles a Harley Davidson, and a large yellow truck we can deduce is primarily used to haul treasure (Seen only at the ending of Wario Land 4). The Wario Car received a different paint job in Mario Kart DS called Brute, it has been Wario’s primary vehicle in the Mario Kart series since Mario Kart: Double Dash. The Wario Bike was introduced in the WarioWare series. The bike is Wario’s primary transport in WarioWare: Touched. Along with the WarioWare appearances, the bike also appears in SSBB, SSB4 and Mario Kart Wii (although when other characters use the bike it gets a different paint job). The Wario Bike is yellow and has flames on the side only in SSBB. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wario had a hover car with a W and his moustache design on it. This was the car he kept those who he turned into trophies when he was taking them to Subspace during the Supspace Emissary. This car was taken by King Dedede and was never seen again.

Abilities[edit | edit source]

Just like Mario, Wario has his own special abilities.

  • Dash Attack - This is Wario's signature move in his platforming appearances. Wario does a shoulder barge while running, upon contact, most enemies die, however, enemies with weapons in front of them, or larger enemies don’t go down as easily, this attack can also be used to break blocks.This has been first seen in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and has since been used in many other Wario Land titles.
  • Ground Pound - Wario jumps up into the air and lands heavily on his buttocks, causing enemies, or certain objects to die/break, it can also be used in some games to stun all enemies on screen.
  • Super Dash Attack - Wario charges with his head out in front of him, causing enemies and certain objects to die/break, without Wario stopping.

Smash Bros. Series[edit | edit source]

  • Wario Waft - When the move hasn’t been held in, Wario does a small fart. When the move has been held in for a lengthy time, Wario unleashes a huge fart which launches him into the air. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as the attack is charging, his belly noticeably bulges the longer it's held in. This was removed in the next Smash Bros. game.
  • One of Wario's custom alternatives for the Wario Waft is the Rose Waft. This releases pink gas that puts life-sapping flowers on the victims' heads.
  • Chomp - Wario opens his mouth wide enough to bite an opponent. This move will inflict a large amount of damage, because of his garlic eating habits. He is also able to consume items and obstacles on the stage. Depending on the item, he will either heal or take damage from what he eats. Customizations allow Wario to use a Vacuum Breath or breathe fumes.
  • Corkscrew - Wario jumps and spins rapidly. The rapid spinning is the cause of most of the damage.
  • Jumping Ability - Despite his fat stature, Wario is shown to jump incredible heights just like his presumed cousins (Mario and Luigi), an example of this is in Super Smash Bros Brawl. On one of the cutscenes Wario kidnapped Princess Peach or Zelda, then jumped to Meta Knight's Halberd (which was in the sky) with one leap. His jumping ability might rival Mario's.
  • Wario Bike - Wario pulls out his bike from WarioWare and drives it around. It can be used for recovery as well as spacing Wario from his foes.

Master of Disguise[edit | edit source]

These are Wario's Disguises.

  • Thief Wario - Wario can run and jump higher. Also has the shoulder barge attack, this is the standard Wario
  • Cosmic Wario - Wario is equipped with a space suit and a laser gun, by touching the screen Wario fires in that direction.
  • Arty Wario - Wario dresses up like an artist and can draw objects, if the player draws a square Wario will create a block where the player drew the square was. He can also draw a door which will take him to the beginning of the level, and, once his Arty Wario disguise is upgraded, he can draw hearts that refill his energy meter. If the players draws anything else a living poo will fall and run off screen. Wario cannot move in this state.
  • Genius Wario - Can see things invisible to the naked eye, wields a bunching glove box for defence against enemies.
  • Sparky Wario - Wario can create electricity and light up dark places. Can shoot electricity after certain events. This is activated by clicking the screen and Wario cannot move while sending out electricity.
  • Captain Wario - Wario is allowed to swim in water (underneath the surface). Wario turns into a submarine which can shoot torpedoes after certain events.
  • Dragon Wario - Wario turns into a dragon, which can breath fire.
  • Wicked Wario - Wario can fly with this ability (by blowing into the DS mic).

Others[edit | edit source]

  • Fat Wario - Wario eats a food item thrown at him by a certain enemy, he becomes even fatter, slowing him down, but giving him the power to kill enemies by just walking into them, and breaking strong objects.
  • Puffy Wario - Wario gets stung by a bee, which causes his face to swell up like a balloon and allow him float around the level (similar to Balloon Mario from Super Mario World).
  • Flat Wario - Wario becomes smashed, allowing him to go through tight spaces and lightly float down to lower parts of the level.
  • Bouncy Wario - Wario becomes a spring, allowing him to jump very high.
  • Zombie Wario - When Wario gets hit by sludge or an un-dead enemy, he becomes a zombie. He is invincible to enemies and can fall through one-way floors.
  • Snowman Wario - Wario becomes a giant snowball. He is unable to climb up floors easily and can roll very quickly down slopes.
  • Bubble Wario - When underwater, when Wario touches a bubble, he becomes trapped in it and floats to the surface.
  • Flaming Wario - When touched by fire, Wario catches on fire and runs around the course (similar to Mario running around with his overalls on fire from Super Mario 64) until being literally burned to ashes and then he goes back to normal.
  • Frozen Wario - When Wario becomes frozen, he slides backwards until he hits a wall.
  • Wario Man - When Wario eats bad garlic, he turns into Wario-Man. Wario-man’s moves are powered up versions of Wario’s normal moves. In WarioWare: Twisted!, Wario-Man can fly and has super strength although in WarioWare Touched!, he tries to stop a train and gets smacked out of the way. This is probably because of a sickness he tried to cure earlier in the game. In the Super Smash Bros. series, this becomes his Final Smash. In Brawl & Smash 4, this attack is a controllable transformation where Wario's speed and damage are heavily amplified, he is nigh-invincible and his Corkscrew electrocutes enemies. After a while, this wears off. In Ultimate, like all other transformation smashes, Wario-Man is no longer controllable and performs automated attacks.

Appearances[edit | edit source]

Wario Land Series[edit | edit source]

WarioWare series[edit | edit source]

Super Smash Bros. Series[edit | edit source]

Others[edit | edit source]

Cameo Appearances[edit | edit source]

Pilotwings 64 - In the Little States stage, shoot Mario's face on Mt. Rushmore and it turns into Wario's.

Super Smash Bros./Super Smash Bros. Melee - One of Mario’s costumes is purple overalls and yellow shirt, alluding to Wario's clothes. It is possible to win a Wario Trophy.

Game & Watch Gallery 2 - In the Modern version of Helmet, Wario can be played if the game is chosen to be continued after Mario has three misses.

Game & Watch Gallery 4 - Wario replaces Mr. Game & Watch for several of the Modern games.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - The W Emblem Badge changes Mario's clothes to the colours of Wario's clothes.

Cheers[edit | edit source]

The following is how the audience cheer on Wario in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS,

"Wario, Cha Cha Cha, Wario, Cha Cha Cha"

This one is what the audience sing when Wario gets his special ability, Gas Mask in Mario Strikers Charged Football

"Wario-ari-ario, Wario, Wario, Wario-ari-ario, Wario, Wario."

Solid Snake Codec Conversation[edit | edit source]

The following is the conversation of Snake and the Colonel talking about Wario in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Snake: This guy gives me the creeps.

Wario: WAA? Go kill yourself!

Snake: *strange choking noises*

Wario: That's just a fraction of my power!

Colonel: Snake? SNAKEEEEEEEEE!!!

Snake: I love Wario. I love garlic. We are Wario.

Colonel: Snake, snap out of it!


Memorable Quotes[edit | edit source]

"Obey Wario! Destroy Mario!" Wario's line from the American commercial for Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins which went on to become a famous internet meme.

"Wait, till they get a load of me!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Wario's line from the virtual boy commercial for Wario Land.

"D'oh, I missed!" Quote from when Wario loses a minigame or such in Mario Party 1.

"This stinks!" Wario usually says this when you fail a microgame in WarioWare Smooth Moves in Wario's mix.

"Wario is great!" Wario says this when you slam a basketball in Mario Hoops 3 on 3/Mario Slam Basketball.

"Ah! I give up!" Wario when he's losing in Mario Strikers Charged Football.

"I hate you, you stupid!" Another one of Wario's comments when he's losing in Mario Strikers Charged Football.

"Wario ha ha ha! Oh yeah, Wario's No.1!" Wario when he wins a cup in Mario Strikers Charged Football.

"Wario-Man!" Wario when using a ground-pound in Wario-Land: The Shake Dimension. Ironically, it has nothing to do with Wario-Man

"Let's'a win!" When picking Wario in Mario Kart Wii.

"Itsa me Wario!" When picking Wario in Mario Kart WIi

"Yes, Yes, Wario game!" Wario when placing in 1st in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

"Ah, I'll get you next time!" Wario when placing 2nd or 3rd in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

"Ah, I let you win!" Wario when placing 4th in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

"All right, I score ya!" Wario when scoring a goal in Mario Strikers Charged Football.

"I'm bad, I'm bad, haha!" Another one of Wario's comments when scoring in Mario Strikers Charged Football.

"It's'a me, Wario! Hahaha!" Wario introducing himself.

"Hot hot hot!" Wario when burning himself in Wario Land Shake It!

"Stouter than an Iron burrito, Studlier than a snow tire, Faster than a galloping mule he is, er.. I am Waaaario-Man!" Wario introducing himself as Wario-Man

"Juicy." Wario when using his special ability, Gas Mask in Mario Strikers Charged Football.

"Mmm, spicy." Another comment when Wario uses Gas Mask.

"Butt Smash!" Wario when using his fake in Mario Strikers Charged Football.

"Waluigi! Don't go! WAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Wario cries as Waluigi is getting bought by Microsoft.

Other Media[edit | edit source]

  • The Super Mario Adventures graphic novel features Wario in two of the stories.
  • Various Wario merchandise has been released, including plush dolls, t-shirts and stickers.
  • The South Park episode “Imaginationland Episode III” Wario is seen as one of many evil characters battling the good characters.
  • Wario appears in MAD on Cartoon Network, such as episodes like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Icarus / The Adjustment Burro" and "Dark Knight at the Museum / Lemming Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Video Game Deaths".
  • Wario as a look-alike character with Waluigi and SuperMarioGlitchy4 in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Plumbers Academy".
  • This page on Wario was featured on the May 8, 2021 "Saturday Night Live" episode, where an ad for Governor Andrew Cuomo featured a court session in Musroom Kingdom. This page was used by Wario's lawyer to help prove Wario has been painted by the public as a villian.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Artwork[edit | edit source]

Game Installments[edit | edit source]

Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]

Screenshots[edit | edit source]

External Links[edit | edit source]

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