Please read the first part. It’s vital to understanding this post.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Who is Wario?
“Two Warios”
Smash 64 and Melee
Footnotes
————————-Part Two————————-
Wario and Butts: A Retrospective
The Cross Eyed Fighter
Moveset Breakdown
Wario Isn’t That Gross!
Conclusion
Footnotes
Wario and Butts, a Retrospective
Now, I’d like to cover a topic that’s very close to my heart– farts. Besides having a big butt (that even Sakurai couldn’t get over), Wario has a history of obsession with butts, farting, poo and overall toilet humor. The first Wario Land game doesn’t really feature any of this, but it all starts off in Wario Land 2. In the Wario Land 2 promotional page for abilities, Wario states: ““My cute butt is all burnt! It’s definitely not because my fart caught on fire, though”.” Side note, Wario’s very much drunk in the original Japanese game (it was changed to “Crazy Wario” in the West). Wario Land 3’s promotional page doesn’t have any references to butts, but Wario Land 4 really outdid itself.
In the Wario Land 4 promotion page, Wario discusses a lot of things including the size and color of his poop. Here is a quick translation:
Question: Wario, how big is your poop anyway?
Answer: Hey! Stop it with the dirty jokes! Is something I should say!! However…since it’s a good question I’m going to answer it! Last night, I put down 10 plates of liver sauteed with leek, 10 crapes, 10 plates of rice curry. My morning poop was very yellow, it was a good color and a big one too! It almost touched the seat of the toilet! I know! The smell is a mix of tsukemono (pickled vegetables), raw eggs, carassius sushi. Try smelling it!
The holy grail.
This isn’t the only reference to toilet humor either. In the second page of answers, Wario jokes about fart explosions (I’m not kidding!). In the third page of answers, Wario then discusses how to enjoy pooping (relax pooping time) and if Wario likes poop flavor curry, or curry flavored poop? (For the record he says he can’t decide). Furthermore, Wario Land 4 had golden poop stickers released it in Japan! (side note: Stickers were released with a lot of the Wario Land games. Wario Land 2 got beard stickers in Japan. Wario Land 3 also got stickers, but they were for dressing up Wario. Wario Land Shake It: also had stickers).
Furthermore, In Wario: Master of Disguise, if the player doesn’t draw the correct shape as Arty Wario, a small poop will fling across the screen potentially damaging enemies. In Wario Land: Shake It! Wario’s big butt is seen before Wario enters the telescope.
In general, Wario’s cartoon style humor did make it to the West. The introduction to Mario Tennis (GC), is essentially a love letter to classic cartoons. In the introduction of Wario World, Wario’s head becomes stuck in the ground, just like a cartoon character. Wario has always been extremely expressive with his animations, since the very beginning. In Wario Land, when a bucket falls on the Wario’s head, he is comically squished.
(Mario Tennis GameCube, focus on comical)
Wario’s over the top style is probably best represented by the way he talks about himself in Japanese. Unfortunately, there isn’t a good way to translate this but Wario calls himself “ore sama” [1] from Wario Land 2 onwards. Essentially this shows that he thinks very highly of himself, and believes he deserves all the respect…it’s very much an ‘over-confident’ kind of thing.
In addition, Wario has a history of breaking the fourth wall. He addresses the player a number of times in his various promotional websites, and the websites are ‘written’ by Wario. In the Gamecube description for Wario World, he even says, ‘I’m finally on the Gamecube! On the TV in front of you! Press Start now!’
Wario’s big butt and toilet humor has been a major part of Wario’s character since Wario Land 4, with some hints of it all the way back to Wario Land 2. As I mentioned previously, this kind of humor was not really highlighted in the United States in the promotional materials for Wario Land. However, this version of Wario would finally appear in the West in Super Smash Bros: Brawl.
The Cross-eyed Fighter
On May 10th, 2006 the world watched in awe as Brawl had received its first trailer. Within this trailer several newcomers were revealed, including Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Metaknight, Snake and Wario. True to the original joke aspect of Wario’s design, he crashes his bike and releases a giant fart explosion onto the other fighters. Many people were confused — this wasn’t Wario….or was it?
If you’ve reading the other parts of the article, you can understand where this Wario came from. In short, Wario, in Japan, has always been a comical-relief kind of bad guy instead of a big, pure evil kind of guy like Bowser or Ganondorf. Wario is a clumsy anti-hero. He’s primarily driven by his greed — not to be evil for sake of it. In addition, at the time of Brawl’s development, Wario had two series that looked like they were going to be successful. Which series would be represented? In the end — Sakurai took a, “Why not both?” approach and incorporated elements from both series, and attempted to stay true to Wario’s character.
(Sakurai making a game on WarioWare D.I.Y)
Sakurai decided to play up Wario’s ridiculousness. In an interview, Sakurai states that WarioWare served as the inspiration for the absurd moveset. Here’s a quote from an interview:
“A highlight of Wario is that he actually has a Famicon-like movement style. Given the silly nature of the WarioWare series, it felt appropriate to assign Wario to a comical role [in Brawl]. In the previous game, we had Mr. Game and Watch, who looked as if he moved frame by frame, so rather than make everything serious, I thought it would be good to have at least one character that ate other fighters and stuff. It’s important that every character has an individual trait that is unique to them.” (emphasis mine)
The unique trait bit is something that Sakurai has constantly referred to when talking about his criteria for selecting characters. You can see this, “Why not both!?” attitude with Wario’s alts. He has 12 alts in Brawl, the most out of any character! His WarioWare colors are simple recolorings as far as I’m aware, but his overalls have hidden references in them.
Red Overall/Hat Wario – From the package of the Famicon version of Super Mario Brothers.
Blue/Pink Overall Wario – From the package of the Famicon version of Mario Bros.
Green/Brown Overall Wario – A reverse of the coloring of Luigi on the Famicon version of Mario Bros.
White/Blue Overall Wario – From Wario Land 3.
The translations for Wario’s trophies, and Snake’s Codec about Wario are accurate to the original Japanese meaning. I’ve included both the Japanese and English transcript in the footnotes in case anyone want’s to compare them. [See below]
Now, I’d like to show you the inspiration for Wario’s moveset.
Moveset Breakdown
Wario’s moveset is largely based on the WarioWare series, the Wario World game for the GameCube, with some references to the Wario Land series thrown in. Note, I’m using this page as a source for some of the information I found, in addition to using my own knowledge and copies of games. Furthermore, I’ve used my copy of Wario World/ Wario Land to confirm the animations/ references, and then used multiple videos online to create gifs of the animations. I mainly used this video to create the Wario movement gifs from Smash, with the exception of the ones on my Vine account.
Some of these are not confirmed, or do not match up 100%. I believe the motif of Wario’s hands or head getting larger for attacks are all inspired by Wario World, as that’s Wario’s primary way of attacking in that game. This is also featured in Super Mario 64 DS, so it’s possible that ‘growing fists’ were also inspired by that game.
| Action: | Move name: | Note: | Inspiration: |
| Neutral | Double Punch | His hands get bigger similar to Wario World. | Wario World |
| F-Tilt | Power Punch | Most likely it’s based on Wario World. However, there is a possibility it’s based on Booster from Super Mario RPG. | Wario World or Super Mario RPG |
| U-Tilt | Palm Push | His hands get bigger similar to Wario World. | Wario World? |
| D-Tilt | Ground Stab | Stabs the ground with a big hand. | Might be inspired by the cursor in WarioWare |
| Dash Attack – | Dive | It looks very similar to Warios’ victory animation in Super Mario Strikers. | Super Mario Strikers? |
| Action: | Move name: | Note: | Inspiration: |
| Up-Smash | Head Swirl | Wario’s head gets bigger, just like in Wario World. | Wario World? |
| D-Smash | Body Cyclone | — | — |
| F-Smash | Shoulder Ram | Wario’s signature move from the Wario Land series. | Wario Land |
| Nair | Wonky Spin | — | — |
| Bair | Backwards Headbutt | — | — |
| Uair | Hand Clap | His hands get bigger similar to Wario World. | Wario World? |
| Dair | Body Drill | — | — |
| Pummel | Poke | — | — |
| F-Throw | Wild Sling-Ding | Wario swings an enemy around. Signature move of Wario World. | Wario World |
Wild Sling-Ding
| Action: | Move name: | Note: | Inspiration: |
| B-Throw | Butt Blast | — | — |
| U-Throw | Vertical Chuck | — | — |
| D-Throw | Gravity Pound | Might be inspired by the Ground Pounds from Wario World. | Wario World? |
| Neutral Special | Chomp | Most likely based on Wario World. His lower jaw unhinges, and is able to eat anything. This premise is used heavily in the Wario World game. | Wario World or WarioWare. |
| Side Special | Wario Bike | Wario’s Bike that appeared in the WarioWare series. | WarioWare |
| Up Special | Wario Corkscrew | Might be based on an animation from Wario World. | Wario World? |
| Down Special | Wario Waft | Difficult to tell exactly where it comes from. Has three possible sources. | WarioWare’s He Who Smelt it Dealt it, general toilet humor or possibly Mario Basketball 3 on 3. |
| Up Taunt | Laughs, and then shuts his mouth close | — | |
| Side Taunt | Shakes his butt | General toilet humor. | |
| Down Taunt | Does “Wa-Wa-Wario” with 3 fingers. | Wario Land 3 packaging. | |
| Bike Taunt | Holds three fingers out. | Wario Land 3 packaging. |
Quick! Clean it!
| Action: | Move name: | Note: | Inspiration: |
| Final Smash | Wario Man | Eating garlic to turn into Wario Man was something that was originally added into WarioWare: Touched! Wario-Man himself was originally featured in WarioWare Twisted. Garlic has had numerous appearances in the Wario games, with the first appearance in the original Wario Land. | WarioWare series/ Brawl |
| Jumping Animation | —- | This one is difficult to tell one way or the other. | Wario Land? |
| Mid-air Jump | — | The pose he has after the mid-air jump resembles the WarioWare Twisted pose found in the instruction manual. | WarioWare: Twisted instruction manual? |
| Crawl | — | Wario flings his arms around to crawl on the ground. | Wario Land 4 |
| Action: | Move name: | Note: | Inspiration: |
| Grab Animation | Wario holds his opponent with one hand, just like in the original Wario Land games. | Wario Land | |
| Rolling | — | Wario Land | |
| On a ledge | — | Holds onto the ledge with both hands. | Wario World |
| Hanging on a ledge | — | Almost exactly the same animation. | Wario World |
| Walk Animation | — | — | Famicon (Inspired by WarioWare) |
| Dash Animation | — | — | Famicon (Inspired by WarioWare) |
| Sleeping Animation | — | Sleeps in a way that resembles Wario Land 2. | Wario Land 2 |
| Victory Fanfare | — | Victory Fanfare – Stone Carving City from Wario Land: Shake It! | Wario Land: Shake It! |
Changes in Smash for 3DS/ Wii U:
*I used this video as a source
Wario’s Back and Forward throw were switched. The actual move is the same, so I didn’t include them in this list.
| Forward Smash | Name: | Notes: | Inspiration |
| Up-Smash | Wario no longer spins. | Wario World? | |
| Side Smash | Wario attacks with an oversized hand. | Wario World? | |
| Mid-air Jump | — | Wario now uses his feet to launch himself slightly higher. | |
| Run/Dash Animation | — | Might be a result of having more animation, but the run animation looks much closer to the Wario Land 4, or possibly Wario World. | Wario Land 4? Wario World? |
Wario Isn’t That Gross!
….Ok, maybe he is.
In the latest entry into the Smash series, featured Wario as an unlockable character. Interestingly, Gamer (his new stage on the Wii U) was going to be unlockable at one poin
t in development. There were a lot of changes made to Wario. For starters, Wario lost numerous alts. Most notably, he lost the white and blue overall alt which was likely inspired by Wario Land 3. Overall, he lost some references to Wario Land, but his walking and running animation might be closer to those games. (Note: his moveset changes are listed above.)
Wario was the subject to a lot of localization choices in the US and European release of the game. In general, sometimes Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe use the same translation. However, there are instances where they will independently translate text, or alter it to fit their region’s situation. Whatever the case, texts relating to Wario are very different from the original meaning. I’ve compiled every version of the text, and translated the literal Japanese. Most notable differences are in the Wario Trophy text and his Palutena’s Guidance. 
Palutena’s Guidance is essentially a different story, and the other characters are less ‘mean’ to Wario in the original Japanese version. Furthermore, Wario’s “gross” factor isn’t really discussed. The European text tends to be a bit closer to the Japanese meaning, but you can still see choices being made. I decided to include these in the article (and not as a footnote) as they are vital to understanding how Wario’s representation is different between the West and Japan. I know it’s a long read, but please stay with me.
.png)
Trophy Comparison:
*Japanese text is in the footnote due to the size of the table.
Most of these are from TCRF:
Wario (Wii U and 3DS):
| Literal Japanese | European | American |
| A villain that looks like if someone who hated Mario drew a vulgar picture [of Mario]. He only looks to make money. Thoroughly assertive and arrogant, he refers to himself as “ore-sama”[1]. Even though he insists he and Mario are childhood friends, it’s unknown if that’s actually true. In Smash Bros., he’s a hard-hitting heavyweight with surprising agility. If you don’t use the Wario Waft, it starts building up, becoming an explosive fart attack. | If someone who hated Mario tried to draw an ugly version of him, it’d probably end up looking just like Wario. The greedy villain claims they used to be childhood friends though… In this game, he’s a heavy fighter with heavy-hitting attacks. The longer you go without using his Wario Waft move, the more explosive it’ll be when you… “let it out”. | A living embodiment of gross, this villain hates Mario and loves money. He claims to have known Mario since childhood, but who can tell if that’s true? In Smash Bros., he’s a seriously agile heavyweight fighter. He can store up his trademark Wario Waft for explosive results. Did I mention he’s gross? |
e why both the European and the United States translation teams decided to drop this line. Furthermore, he doesn’t have that quirk in English at all, and is very cultural sensitive. Wario calling himself “ore sama” is something that appears in most of the Japanese commercials, and even the game description for Wario World in the Gamecube start menu.
Wario Alt (3DS):
| Literal Japanese | European | American |
| “Wario Chomp” is a special attack that allows Wario to bite opponents, projectiles and more. If you hold down the button, [Wario] will keep his mouth open, allowing him to chomp things easily. If you eat healing items, they will recover more percentage than they would by just picking them up. Wario’s side special is his “Wario Bike.” He can leap off and leave the bike behind while traveling horizontally.. Wario can also use his Up Special after jumping off, , helping his recovery. | With his Chomp special, Wario can wolf down almost anything! Hold the button, and he’ll keep his gob open too. Also, if you gobble up healing items, they’ll have more effect! When using his Wario Bike side special, you can jump off, pick it up and throw it. Most importantly, though, you can JUMP OFF. No need to ride off the stage. | With his Chomp special, Wario can wolf down almost anything! Hold the button, and he’ll keep his mouth open. Also, if you gobble up healing items, they’ll work better! When using his Wario Bike side special, you can jump off, pick it up, and throw it. If you take one thing away from this, it’s JUMP OFF. Don’t ride off the stage. |
Wario ALT (Wii U):
| Literal Japanese | European | American |
| (Same as above) | (Same as above) | With his Chomp special, Wario can wolf down almost anything! If you use this to gobble up healing items, they’ll work better! When using his Wario Bike side special, you can jump off, pick it up, and throw it. But please, for the love of all things garlicky, JUMP OFF BEFORE YOU RIDE OFF THE STAGE. |
Wario-Man (Wii U):
| Literal Japanese | European | American |
| For his Final Smash, Wario chomps down on some garlic and transforms into the self-appointed “ally of justice” Wario-Man. In the original game, he isn’t much stronger after transforming, but [in Smash,] [Wario-Man’s] movement becomes very fast, and his ability to launch [opponents] greatly increases. He can also float around in the air. If you continually throw out attacks, you can move around in midair. | Just a little nibble of garlic, and the humble Everyman Wario transforms into the hero of justice, Wario-Man! He’s…still not really all that strong, but he does get quite a bit faster, and he can launch foes further too. And of course, like any good hero, he has the ability to fly…by spamming attacks in mid-air. That’s how they all do it…right? | With just a little nibble of garlic, humble everyman Wario transforms into the hero of justice, Wario-Man! He’s…still not really all that strong but he does get quite a bit faster, and he can launch foes farther too. And like any good hero, he has the ability to fly…by spamming attacks in midair. Just like they all do it, right? |
Wario Bike (Wii U):
| Literal Japanese | European | American |
| One of the machines in Wario’s possession, this monster bike was made by genius scientist Dr. Crygor. The bike was tailor-made for Wario’s body, with a total length of 2.7m, wide handles on the side, and raised pedals for his short legs. It appears when Wario uses his side special. Once he gets off the bike, fighters can throw it as a weapon. Wario can even eat it! | A motorbike made for Wario by genius scientist Dr. Crygor. At 2.7m in length, with wide handles and raised pedals, it’s perfect for Wario! The bike will appear when you use Wario’s side special move, but you’d better know how to do it properly or you might end up flipping over, and that would just be embarrassing… | A ridiculously powerful motorcycle designed for Wario by Dr. Crygor, this mean machine sports wide handles and raised pedals to accommodate Wario’s unique dimensions. Summoned into battle as his side special attack, even Wario can have trouble keeping this thing upright at times |
Boxing Ring Title:
| Japanese | Literal Japanese | English | |
| Wario | 圧巻の悪漢 [2] | The highlight rascal or The masterpiece villain [2] | Scoundrel with a Fart of Gold |
[2] Wario’s Japanese boxing ring title is a pun. The two words are homophones so, there’s not really a good way to translated it into English. In a previous article, I stated that “Money-grubbing Menace” would have been my preferred way to localize this title (Using an alliteration instead of a homophone). 圧巻 could be translated as “masterpiece” or “the best part” 悪漢 could also be translated as “villain”, “scoundrel”, “crook” or “ruffian”.
Palutena’s Guidance:
| Character | Japanese | Literal Japanese | English |
| Pit | あれは、ワリオですね。 | Hey, that’s Wario. | Um, Wario kind of smells. |
| Palutena | 最後の切りふだで、ワリオマンに変身することもあるようです。 | For his Final Smash, it seems he can transform into Wario-Man. | That’s to be expected. For his Final Smash, he munches Nasty Garlic and transforms into his super-antihero alter ego… |
| Palutena | マンドラゴラは持ってないようですけど．．…。 | Although it seems he doesn’t have a Mandragora…. | Wario-Man! |
| Pit | マンドラゴラ？ | A Mandragora? | Uh…Wario-Man |
| Palutena | 地面からひっこ抜くと悲鳴を上げるのだとか。 | A plant that shrieks when pulled from the earth. | Yes |
| Palutena | 風邪をひいたワリオが、ニンニクと間違えてこれを食べたことで、ワリオマンになったそうです。 | I heard that when Wario caught a cold, he mistook one for some garlic, accidentally ate it, and became Wario-Man. | Legend has it that Wario once caught a cold, accidentally ate a piece of Nasty Garlic and turned into Wario-Man. |
| Pit | あれ？ワリオって、ニンニクを食べてワリオマンに変身していますよね？ | Huh? Doesn’t Wario turn into Wario-Man by eating garlic? | Huh. So Nasty Garlic is the key to Wario’s power. Great. |
| Character | Japanese | Literal Japanese | English |
| Virdi | マンドラゴラによって変身能力がついたということかもしれんのう。 | Maybe the Mandragora is what gave him the power to transform? | He’s a real charmer, that one. |
| Palutena | どちらにせよ、人型のものを かみ砕くところはあんまり見たくないものですよね。 |
Either way, I’d prefer not to watch him when he chomps down on other humans.. | Speaking of which…Eating seems to make Wario very gassy. |
| Pit | ボクもときどきかみ砕かれそうになりますけどね。 | And sometimes I’m the one getting chomped… | UGH! TMI! |
| Palutena | アイテムを食べると、おなかにガスがたまるようです。 | When Wario eats an item, he stores gas in his stomach. | I’m only telling you this for your own good. He’s a ticking time bomb. |
| Palutena | 突然の放屁には、気をつけましょうね。 | Be careful of his sudden farts. | Watch out for his sudden farts. And all farts in general. They’re gross AND dangerous. |
| Pit | 放屁って言う放つ女神さまってなかなかステキですね。 | A goddess who talks about farting is pretty amazing. | …This job is really the worst sometimes |
Conclusion
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the way that Wario is represented in Smash. I feel that Masahiro Sakurai tried to represent who the character actually is. I do wish there was more Wario Land references (I’m a huge fan of Wario Land 1 
and 3)– in particular songs from the series (maybe a stage too?) and the return of his shoulder bash would make him perfect.
However, Wario has never been just an evil, powerful villain and his quirky nature in Smash represents this. Wario at his core is crude, and over the top. It relates back to his original design — be everything that Mario isn’t. I’m not a fan of the localization changes that NoA and NoE have made with Wario, but I understand that their original “version” of the character (“Two Warios”) is non-existent in Smash and therefore they are trying to work with what they have. It’s truly unfortunate that Wario has this gap in his representation as people might not be aware of the true man behind the waft.
I hope these articles have opened your eyes and have provided you with an understanding of the design choices that went into Wario. Like I mentioned in the introduction, I’d greatly appreciate comments, suggestions, requests or additional questions. You may comment below or contact me via Twitter.
If you would like to help out, please consider donating to my patreon. All the funds will go back into making Source Gaming the best place for Smash information on the web. I spent over 30 hours researching, writing and organizing this post for the community. Thank you for being a fan of Source Gaming!
Footnotes
Sakurai Brawl Character Information:
ワリオの見どころは、敢えてファミコンっぽくした動きですね。『メイドインワリオ』もありますし、コミカルな役回りをやらせるならワリオが相応しいですから。前作にはMr.ゲーム＆ウォッチみたいにコマ送りで動くキャラクターもいましたが、何でもマジメにするのではなく、１人くらいは人を食ったキャラクターがいてもいいかなと思ったので。１人のキャラクターは、基本的に他にはない特徴を持っていることが重要です。
A highlight of Wario is that he actually has a Famicon-like movement style. Given the silly nature of the WarioWare series, it felt appropriate to assign Wario to a comical role [in Brawl]. In the previous game, we had Mr. Game and Watch, who looked as if he moved frame by frame, so rather than make everything serious, I thought it would be good to have at least one character that ate other fighters and stuff. It’s important that every character has an individual trait that is unique to them.
「メイドインワリオ」はアイテムがあると熱いですよね。止まるふりして3、2、1で近い人に投げる(笑)
WarioWare [the stage] is a very chaotic stage with items on. When the stage stops and counts down 3, 2, 1 [you can] throw an item at a nearby fighter (laughs).
Brawl Interview:
-ワリオの動きなんかも？
– What’s with Wario’s movement?
桜井：やりましたねぇ（笑）
Sakurai: Ya like that? (laughs)
ー(笑）。あの動きはおもしろいですよね。めちゃくちゃといいますか。
-(laughs) I really enjoy that movement. You can call it absurd.
桜井：「メイドインワリオ」自体がむちゃくちゃなゲームじゃないですか(笑）。そういったものを体現するときに、よりおもしろくする方法を考えた結果だと思ってください。オーバーオールを着たワリオがパワフルな技を繰り出すというよりも、ファミコン風にベコベコ動いて、等速直線移動的なジュンプをしたほうが、ほかのキャラクターとの差別化にもなりますし、おもしろいですよね。
Sakurai: Isn’t ”WarioWare” in and of itself an absurd game? (laughs). When you’re trying to personify something like that, think of [Wario] as the result of trying to make something more fun. Instead of going with the Wario who wears overalls and throws out powerful moves, I thought having him move in his Famicon-like way, jumping at a constant velocity would differentiate him more from other characters, and be fun.
＾動かすだけで楽しい、ワリオの妙な動きの数々 . ３Dでモデリングされているのに、まるで２Dのドットキャラのようにカクカク動く！！とくにダッシュ姿は必見です。
^[His] movement alone is enjoyable; Wario has numerous strange movements. Even though he’s a full 3D model, he moves exactly how an 8-bit character would move! In particular, his dash is a must-see.
Brawl Trophy Text:
| Japanese: | English: |
| 自称、マリオのライバル。下品なことと金目のものを好み、隠されたお宝をゲットするために冒険に旅立つことも多い。自慢の怪力を活かしたマリオとはまったく異なる豪快なアクションが持ち味。冒険に出かける傍ら、ゲーム会社ワリオカンパニーの代表取締役社長も務める。代表作は『メイド イン ワリオ』 | Wario: Mario’s self-styled rival. He loves money and gross humor. He often sets out in search of hidden treasure. His bold moves come from his superhuman strength and are completely different from Mario’s moves. Aside from adventuring, he’s also the chairman of game maker WarioWare, Inc. Its franchise game is WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania. |
| おもむろに大好物のニンニクをかじってワリオマンに変身! 運動性能が飛躍的に増す。攻撃力はあまり変わらないが、ゴキブリのように駆け抜け、あらゆるワザは猛ラッシュ! ジャンプ力はビルをも越えて、空中攻撃で空をも飛ぶのだ。しかもダメージでひるまない。しかし、バイクに乗るのはカマンしたほうがいいかも。 | Wario-Man: Wario’s Final Smash. He chomes on his favorite food, garlic, and transforms into Wario-Man! His mobility goes way up. His attack power doesn’t change much, but he scampers like a cockroach, using moves like crazy! He can jump over buildings and use midair attacks to fly. Oh, and he doesn’t flinch from attacks. Think twice about bringing out his motocycle at this time… |
Snake’s Codec in Brawl:
| Character: | Japanese: | English: |
| Snake: | なにやら品のない男がいるな。 | This guy kind of gives me the creeps. |
| Colonel: | スネーク。あれはワリオだ。 | That’s Wario, Snake. |
| Colonel: | マリオのライバルとして登場したワリオは、「メイドインワリオ」などで有名だな。 | Wario first appeared as Mario’s rival, but he really made his name in the WarioWare games. |
| Colonel: | ワリオの「かみつき」には気をつけるんだ。ただダメージを受けるだけでは済まないぞ。 | Watch out for Wario’s bite. It’s not just damage you take from it. |
| Snake: | 何があるというんだ？大佐。 | What do you mean Colonel? |
| Colonel: | ワリオの好物はニンニクだ。朝にも晩にもしこたま食っているらしい。 | Wario loves garlic. He eats whole cloves of it day and night. |
| Colonel: | そんな状態で口の中に放り込まれてみろ。体についた匂いは当分取れないぞ。 | So try not to get caught in his mouth. Once that smell gets on you, it’ll stick to you for quite a while. |
| Snake: | 。。。。あまり考えたくないな。 | …That’s a scary thought. |
| Colonel: | されに、こういうのも何だが、放屁で攻撃し、放屁で空をも飛ぶらしい | He also attacks by farting. He can fart to fly around, too. |
| Snake: | 放屁でだと！？なにかの冗談だろう！？ | By farting?! Are you kidding me?! |
| Colonel: | 残念ながら、本当だ。腹の膨らみに気をつけたまえ。 | Sadly, no. I am not kidding. if his belly starts to bulge, watch out. |
Smash for 3DS/ Wii U Japanese Trophy Text:
| Name | Japanese: | Literal Japanese: |
| Wario (3DS): | マリオが嫌いで 下品を絵に描いたような悪役。 金もうけの話には目がない。自己主張が激しく ごう慢な性格で自分をオレ様と呼ぶ。本人は、 マリオと幼なじみと言っているが、真偽は不明。 『スマブラ』ではワザの威力が高い重量級だが、 意外と 機敏。「ワリオっぺ」は使わないでいると どんどん威力、爆発力が高まるオナラ攻撃だ。 |
A villain that looks like if someone who hated Mario drew a vulgar picture [of Mario]. He only looks to make money. Thoroughly assertive and arrogant, he refers to himself as “ore-sama”[1]. Even though he insists he and Mario are childhood friends, it’s unknown if that’s actually true. In Smash Bros., he’s a hard-hitting heavyweight with surprising agility. If you don’t use the Wario Waft, it starts building up, becoming an explosive fart attack. |
| Wario (ALT) (3DS) | 「ワリオかみつき」は、相手や飛び道具などに かぶりつく必殺ワザ。ボタンを押し続けると、 口が開いたままになり、かぶりつきやすくなる。 回復系のアイテムは、拾うよりも食べたほうが 回復量が増える。横必殺ワザ「ワリオバイク」は、 横移動中にバイクを乗り捨ててジャンプできる。 さらに上必殺ワザも出せるため、復帰に使える。 | “Wario Chomp” is a special attack that allows Wario to bite opponents, projectiles and more. If you hold down the button, [Wario] will keep his mouth open, allowing him to chomp things easily. If you eat healing items, they will recover more percentage than they would by just picking them up. Wario’s side special is his “Wario Bike.” He can leap off and leave the bike behind while traveling horizontally.. Wario can also use his Up Special after jumping off, , helping his recovery. |
| Wario (ALT) (Wii U) | (Same as above) | (Same as above) |
| Wario Man (Wii U) |
にんにくにかぶりつき、自称「正議の味方」のワリオマンに変身するきりふだ。原作では変身後もたいして強くないが、動きが 素早くなり。ふっとばし力も大幅アップ。そして、極めつきは空中浮遊。空中攻撃を連続で繰り出せば、空を飛びながら動き回ることもできるのだ。 |
For his Final Smash, Wario chomps down on some garlic and transforms into the self-appointed “ally of justice” Wario-Man. In the original game, he isn’t much stronger after transforming, but [in Smash,] [Wario-Man’s] movement becomes very fast, and his ability to launch [opponents] greatly increases. He can also float around in the air. If you continually throw out attacks, you can move around in midair. |
| Wario Bike: | ワリオ所有のマシンのひとつで、天才科学者の Dr.クライゴアが作り上げたモンスターバイク。 全長が２.７mあり、横に広がるワイドハンドル、 短足でも届くアッパーコントロールペダルなど、 ワリオの体形に合わせた特注品。横必殺ワザを 使うと登場する。降りた後のバイクは、投げて武器にしたり、ワリオなら食べたりも可能だ。 | One of the machines in Wario’s possession, this monster bike was made by genius scientist Dr. Crygor. The bike was tailor-made for Wario’s body, with a total length of 2.7m, wide handles on the side, and raised pedals for his short legs. It appears when Wario uses his side special. Once he gets off the bike, fighters can throw it as a weapon. Wario can even eat it! |
See you soon!
PushDustIn loves Wario, and thinks you should too. Follow him on Twitter to stay updated with Source Gaming’s news and posts!
- Smash Ultimate Development Timeline - May 16, 2020
- Straight from the Source: Koji Igarashi on Castlevania in Smash, Bloodstained - October 16, 2018
- Sakurai Discusses Isabelle, Echoes, and Newcomers - September 26, 2018
Great article, this is a subject that needed clarification since so many fans feel dissapointed with the character.
Pointing out some things, Wario Man was actually present in WarioWare Touched (late 2004), where you had to feed him garlic so he would transform. Another possible source for his expanding fists would be Super Mario 64 DS, since he attacks by punching with expanding punches.
Clarified the point about WarioWare. Was trying to say that eating garlic to turn into Wario-Man was invented not Wario-Man himself!
Will update the information to include Smash 64 DS too!
Thanks!
Great article! However, I don’t think you really need to find a explanation or overthink on the subject of growing body parts, this always was present in Smash for perhaps a more clear presentation of the move. Almost all Mario characters have “growing body parts” in their attacks since Smash 64, as well as other characters that doesn’t really do that in their original games (Ness, Donkey Kong, Diddy, Yoshi, Jigglypuff, Olimar, Pac-Man…)
Thanks a lot for the article, PushDustIn. I’m a huge fan of Wario in both Smash and WarioWare; I wouldn’t object to some more Wario Land moves (though in the end, I think emphasizing WarioWare a little more was the way to go), but he’s so wonderfully demented as it is – even with his animations being smoother now, it’s fun just to see the way he moves.
Wario is easily my favorite character in all of Nintendo. I wanted to write an article worthy of Wario! I think Wario Land 3 is simply amazing, so I’m sad to see its representation via alt go away. But yeah, Wario always makes me smile. Whether it’s eating whole fighters or his dash animation, he’s a fun character to fight or play as!
I was genuinely impressed by this article as well as Part 1. I’ve always been an advocate for Wario’s depiction in Smash. I think it represents the character well, not just WarioWare or Wario Land. This probably stems from where I was first introduced to Wario. I may be a big Nintendo fan, but I’m admittedly on the younger side. I was introduced to Wario in Super Mario 64 DS, where none of NoA’s marketing of Wario as a villainous scoundrel existed. I saw him him as a bumbling, heavy anti-hero and that’s what I continued to see in Brawl and Wario Land: Shake It!
However, I will say that I believe some of Wario’s moves are somewhat based off of Mario’s, particularly his aerial attacks and smash attacks. For example, Mario’s up smash has him performing a neck-breaking head snap, and Wario performs the same attack in SSB4. However, it is much more exaggerated and has a unique Wario World flare to it (having his head grow huge for maybe two frames). This exaggeration fits into Wario’s character as Mario’s rival (i.e. trying to do everything Mario does, but “better”) as well as the ridiculous physical comedy that has been with Wario since his conception.
I don’t know if you agree, but I thought it was noteworthy.
Keep up the good work! I hope articles arise in the future that detail how a character was interpreted in Smash. I find stuff like that really interesting. Cheers!
Oh, wait! Sorry, there was one more thing I wanted to share.
Wario’s victory theme was an original piece that debuted in Brawl, before Wario Land: Shake It! was released.
Wario’s victory theme was incorporated into Stonecarving City’s level music, not the other way around.
Brawl and Shake It were in development at the same time, actually. So it’s hard to say which came first. I’d bet it’s probably a Roy/Yoshi’s Woolly World situation though.
I really enjoyed this article, I think it really explains a lot of the confusion that goes on with Wario’s moveset. I’d really like to see you cover Luigi and his “Smash personality” next. IIRC, Luigi’s trademark cowardice wasn’t present until Luigi’s Mansion, and Luigi certainly has a more zany and comical moveset than Mario (Green Missile, all of his taunts, Negative Zone) that seemingly came out of nowhere. Still, great job, and I wish you luck in future projects!
Thanks!
Luigi would be someone interesting to research! He might be next (after I finish some other projects).
…And this is where I start disliking Smash’s take on adaptating the characters personality, the Mario Brothers seems a little distressed and out-of-character.. (I actually had written a long tought about it but my internet crashed and I lost it.. e__e)
I came across this old interview on Twitter, and Sakurai briefly discusses Wario in the 3rd and 4th columns.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJ35SVgUEAUOjKH.jpg:large
I don’t know Japanese so I have no idea what he’s saying, but there might be something pertinent there.
Already translated and in the article! Ctrl+F “Brawl Interview”.
I’m not actually a massive fan of Wario, but I found this post really interesting! Personally, I’d love to see more like this, especially for characters like Pac-Man, Sonic, etc. or even more on the design philosophy of Mega Man!
Thanks for this! I’ve always been down with Wario’s character in Smash, having acknowledged he’s always been zany and madcap on some level… but I didn’t know how deep the rabbit hole really went (in regards to how he’s portrayed in Japan). It’s all a great read.
I do mourn the loss of his shoulder bash.
His down throw animation in Smash resembles the stance he took when he flattened some critters that escaped his boombox from the end cutscene of the very first set of Wario stages in WarioWare Inc
Wario has always attacked with his butt in some fashion. Even in Mario Land 2, the very first thing he did? He butt stomped the floor to stun you (and then have an overhead light crash onto you). I’d have loved to see his down throw animation resemble that one juuuuust a little more, with the same sound effect upon collision, just to say that Smash really had him in his original appearance in full somewhere.
I always found it great how Mario attacks in this skilled, fluid, sincere way and Wario half the time doesn’t look like he knows what he’s doing as he clumsily hurls himself at enemies in Smash. I’m beginning to be of the thought his up+b is supposed to be a parody of Mario’s down+B – turn the motions upside down, and what do you get?
That’s about it from me. Thanks again for all your excellent research and work here.
Boy, a lot of my grievances about his portrayal turned out to be the fault of localization. Learn something new every day.
“I’m not a fan of the localization changes that NoA and NoE have made with Wario, but I understand that their original “version” of the character is non-existent in Smash and therefore they are trying to work with what they have.”
Hm.. I can truly see what you mean, but I don’t see it the same way. Regardless of what the localized commercials wanted people to believe, Wario fans/people who played his games know that Wario has never been more evil than he is goofy and weird, and I do believe Brawl is the game where Wario has been “the most evil”, he was the villain before, but he was never depicted as much as sinister he is in the Sub-space Emissary (hunting people to collect them as trophies, laughing at Ness face while there’s lightnings in the sky…), and he also has a maniacal laugh as one of his win animations. I think the negative reaction is more directed to his Game & Watch motions and lack of familiar moves linked to him, he hasn’t directed used with prominence Wario Waft or Chomp before in his games, and I believe his and Charizard’s up special are the most uncreative moves in the game, but well, you’ve already discussed about it all. xD
This arguement you’ve pitched is very vague and fabricated in places. Particularly the supposed references in Wario’s Smash moves and costumes (“black and white for Wario Land 3”).
You cannot associate dirty promotional material and stickers etc. with what Nintendo R&D1 presented in their actual games. Where is the strong emphasis on Wario’s grotesque habits in his actual games? For example, Wario Land 4 contains none of the toilet humour the manual jokes about. Quite the opposite, as Wario is portrayed extremely masculine.
You failed to acknowledge the interview for Wario Land: Shake Dimension. It compliments my point perfectly, and it involves a veteran figurehead from Nintendo R&D1, who in fact was directly responsible for Shake Dimension being made.
There is a definite divide in Wario’s representation, based on the given designers. Marketing and promotional material does not speak for what you see in the actual games.
By the way, the American commercial for Wario Land 3 does not depict him as a one-dimensional villain.
Wario is portrayed as a clumsy anti-hero. I don’t think we were ever really suppose to take him serious, especially since he was designed with cross eyes. He’s super strong, and that’s a part of his characteristic but to say it’s his defining trait is missing a big part of the character. He was never driven by his strength or to show off how strong he was. He was always driven by blind greed. I think the “clumsy anti-hero” is the best description of Wario. Especially when you consider Wario Land 2-4 “reaction” system, and the story of Wario Land 1.
I know that they wanted to highlight Wario’s strength in Shake It!, and in Wario World but like you said, this is also a divide in designers in Nintendo too. But still in those games, he’s driven by selfish desires. In Shake It! he only chooses to help out when he finds out he can potentially make money (and he’s picking his nose while listening to the Merfle).
This quote further proves my point:
Yoshi Sakamoto: To add on that, we got the idea of using Wario and the other characters because we couldn’t think of anyone else who would be best for the role. Wario is always doing stupid things and is really idiotic, so we thought him and the rest of the characters would be best for the game.
*http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/features/ncl_nintendo_wwiv_apr06_p2.asp*
Yeah, well didn’t Sakamoto also say, regarding Samus Aran in Metroid Prime series, that he rejected a bounty-hunting side-mission/mini-game Retro Studios had because he didn’t like the idea that Samus would hunt down creatures for money, despite that being what a bounty hunter is? And didn’t he also say, regarding her in Metroid: Other M, that he didn’t really like the more “strong” Samus people liked and wanted to emphasis Samus’s weaknesses in that game because he found that “more attractive” about Samus?
I’m almost certain I’m paraphrasing a lot of that, but you get the idea of what I’m getting at, right? Not that Wario isn’t a good fit for WarioWare, heck given that the game emphasizes his greed and comedic personality (which I honestly felt was always there with the character, even living in America), but I don’t think he’s the best person to go to when talking about what makes certain characters great or what they are.
good articles. One thing though is that the chomp is based off the micro game hot dog hog from Wario ware 1 and his custom special inhaling chomp is based off the hyper suction move:
http://www.ssbwiki.com/Chomp
We saw Wario’s goofy side plenty of times in the west, not only in the Wario games(Land, Ware, World), themselves but in the commercials, like the Commercial for Wario Land 3 which you didn’t cover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcL0yVCyMnw
As for Palette swaps, all of them but the Black and white colorscheme were not based off Wario games. We could’ve had stuff like Vampire Wario colorschemes
Honestly, I always thought the goofy, crude, and ridiculousness of Wario’s character shown in Smash Bros. was always part of his character. I don’t remember his earlier American commercials all that well (save for the first one), but I DO remember the manuals for Wario Land 4 and various other Wario games, and they were definitely pretty ridiculous and had some toilet humor in it. Besides, when you look at Wario, and how absolutely ridiculous he looks (basically an exaggerated Mario who’s already cartoony to begin with), I don’t think emphasizing the comedy aspect of his should come as much of a surprise.
That being said, when I DID see Wario in Brawl for the first time, I was disappointed by the fact that they overemphasized the WarioWare games and barely touched the Wario Land games. Now I like both series, but Wario Land was how Wario got his start, and I DO like it a bit more than WarioWare, since I felt like that showed off how strong he is and how he can be good in a fight, like say, in Smash Bros. I don’t mind that Wario’s a bit of a crazy fighter, I just wished certain parts of Wario’s history wasn’t ignored.
Also, I find it interesting that you said he’s driven by greed and not evil for evil’s sake, when that’s pretty much the only motivation he has for what he does in the Subspace Emissary.