Wario

Article by: Paul Watkins (watkinzez)
Pictured from: Mario Kart 64
Created by: Nintendo
First appearance: 1992

Bio

Wario is in every way the opposite of Mario, right down to the logo on his hat — a flipped 'M'. First introduced in Super Mario Land 2 as the game's villain, his jealousy for Mario's fame led him to steal the six Golden Coins from his castle. Though eventually defeated, Wario's intriguing character led him to become the protagonist of the Super Mario Land series from then on, becoming the Wario Land games. His devious nature and greed for wealth gave the titles a unique flavour.

Wario is invincible in several Land games, instead losing coins that he has collected. The amount of currency gained determines the size and grandeur of his castle at the end of the game, in an ultimate bid to make Mario jealous. The brute force that Wario possesses directs his games as more action-centered than other Nintendo platformers. As the series went on, the advent of powers allowed Wario to overcome various obstacles: setting himself alight to break through walls, or inflating his body to float up towers. Renowned developer Treasure delivered Wario World, Wario's first solo 3D outing, on the GameCube. The company's action-based history shifted the series' perspective to greater emphasis on fighting, with a more linear structure.

The recent WarioWare series has shown a more humourous aspect to Wario's character, concurrently introducing some of the more unusual games. In an attempt to get rich Wario decides to run a video game company, each title only being a few seconds in length. The quick succession of these games comprises a session of WarioWare and in many ways demonstrates Wario's madcap nature.

Many of Wario's appearances have been in various Mario franchises, such as the Mario Party and Mario Tennis series. The above picture of Wario depicts his appearance in the racing game Mario Kart 64.

Quote

"I'm-a gonna win!"

Selected game appearances

Game Boy

• Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992)
• Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1993)
• Wario Land II (1998)

Game Boy Color

• Wario Land 3 (2000)

Game Boy Advance

• Wario Land 4 (2001)
• WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (2003)
• WarioWare: Twisted! (2004)

Nintendo 64

• Mario Kart 64 (1996)
• Mario Party (1998)
• Mario Golf (1999)
• Mario Tennis (2000)

GameCube

• Wario World (2003)
• WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! (2003)
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003)

Nintendo DS

• WarioWare: Touched! (2004)

References

• Wikipedia - "Wario"
• Gamehiker Pedia: Wario