Everything you need to know about Wario

Wario is often said to be an enigma. Who says that? That is not one of the questions we are here to answer.

It’s Wario Month here at Wariogon, and there are some burning questions about Wario. While he is arguably the loudest and proudest of the Mushroom Kingdom citizens in general dress, there are some common misconceptions about him.

Let’s dive into the things you need to know before our month celebrating the gold and garlic-loving prince of video games (and farts).

Where did Wario come from?

Wario’s first appearance was Super Mario Earth 2: 6 gold coins on Game Boy. He served as the main antagonist of the game, and was supposedly born out of the frustration of a Nintendo team about making a game based on the protagonist of a different team.

Thus was born Wario, conceived by creator Hiroji Kiyotake as “the Bluto of Mario’s Popeye.” Wario went on to take over the Land series, naming it Wario Land. In particular, Wario joined the growing roster of the Mushroom Kingdom to play golf, go-kart, and party with Mario and his friends. He eventually opened up WarioWare to make his own video games, and even starred in his own 3D rig on the Nintendo GameCube. Wario World, but we don’t talk about it.

Are Wario and Mario related?

Growing up, I remember hearing rumors on the playground about Wario. (Clearly, I went through a lot during second grade.) The most popular was that Wario and Mario were cousins. But that is not the case. Wario and Mario were actually childhood rivals, and the two share no blood relationship.

Are Wario and Waluigi related?

So Mario and Wario are not cousins, but surely Waluigi is Wario’s brother? No, thanks to God.

Wario was the original “Wa” inhabitant of the Mushroom Kingdom, appearing as a Mario villain in 1992. Waluigi, on the other hand, is an absolute creep who only exists so Wario can have a duo partner in tennis. None of that is a joke.

A Nintendo Power problem – cataloged last year on Twitter – revealed that Waluigi is just a goober that Wario hired. Waluigi is not even his real name. Wario apparently searched a group of internet actors and hired Jimmy Poppadopolos to act as his duo partner and be a contrast to Luigi. Since then, Waluigi has legally changed its name. Seriously.

Is Wario a bad boy?

This question has a fairly complex answer. Wario is not the main villain of the series, certainly. But even Bowser, who surpasses Wario in sheer villainy, is more of an antagonist than a villain. Bowser is a good dad who even occasionally plays a more comedic role for story-based Mario titles like the Mario & Luigi or Paper Mario games. In many cases, Bowser is more of an enemy than an antagonist. And with how much Bowser, Wario, Mario, and the rest of the gang hang out while playing sports and driving, I’m not sure you can call Bowser a bad guy.

With Wario clearly on a lower level of “bad boy” than Bowser, I think it’s safe to demote him from villain to idiot.

Does Wario have IBS?

You would think so, but I guess not.

You’ll find surprisingly little if you type “Wario” and “IBS” (irritable bowel syndrome) into Google, so I’ll just say this from the heart: Wario’s farts are armed and on demand. In fact, it’s more cruel if you don’t have IBS and instead have simply cultivated your body to be an unnatural fart machine. A gas weapon of destruction, so to speak.

Is Wario Italian?

Another question that is surprisingly complex to answer.

Wario is Italian now, but he wasn’t always Italian. Wario’s original voice actor was German translator Thomas Spindler, and your line that sounds like “oh, I got lost!” is actually “So ein Mist!” which in German means “oh shit!” Branded for Wario. Spindler said that Wario was always seen as German.

However, outside of his Mario Strikers loaded theme song – which has a German folk song vibe – Wario is largely seen as Italian. The change seems to have happened as soon as Charles Martinet, Mario’s voice actor, took on the role. The Wario we hear today speaks louder than any of Martinet’s other characters and with an even stronger Italian accent than Mario.

Wario fucks?

Maybe?

in a 2000 Nintendo Power problem, the magazine asked producer Hiroyuki Takahashi if Wario had his own partner in the same way that Mario and Luigi have Peach and Daisy. Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, told the producer that he didn’t want to see the girlfriends that Wario and Waluigi would find for themselves.

However, the same Nintendo Power blog that casts Waluigi as Jimmy Poppadopolos also suggests that Wario and Waluigi may have had a budding romance. The article says that as of Mario Kart Double Dash the two have been “physically separated”, which is perhaps the worst imaginable way to put it.

So if Wario fucks, he’ll probably fuck Waluigi. Do with that information what you want.

Is Wario … a libertarian?

If you Google Wario, as I often do, you’ve probably come across this autocomplete, asking if Wario considers himself a member of the Libertarian political party.

Actually, this is not an honest question, but a old school twitter meme since 2011.

But serving these frequently asked questions: No, Wario is not a libertarian. Wario clearly does not believe in or understand the government, otherwise he would have been running for office right now.