Wario (franchise)
| Wario | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First installment | Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994) |
| Latest installment | WarioWare: Move It! (2023) |
| Number of installments | 24 |
| Series | Wario Land,WarioWare |
TheWario franchise is a spin-off of theSuper Mario franchise that featuresWario as the main character. It is the first franchise created byNintendo to feature a villain/anti-hero as the main protagonist. The franchise was created by game designersHiroji Kiyotake andTakehiko Hosokawa forNintendo R&D 1, which primarily handled its games and later turned these duties over to its successor,Nintendo SPD Group No. 1. SomeWario games have been developed by other companies, includingSuzak,Good-Feel, andIntelligent Systems.
TheWario franchise branches into two main series, theWario Land series and theWarioWare series.Wario Land games areplatform games that involve the greedy and selfish protagonist looking for treasure and other ways of accumulating wealth. Its first game,Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, was the first game to feature Wario as a playable character, and is the sequel to the game in which Wario first appeared,Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. TheWarioWare games consist ofmicrogames, very shortminigames played in quick succession, which are made by Wario and his friends, motivated by his wish of making money; they work in the fictional companyWarioWare, Inc., based inDiamond City. These microgames often make use of the technological innovations of the system the game is released for. Beyond these two main series, theWario franchise has various installments in other genres.
Main character overview
- Main article:Wario
The titular Wario was created as an archrival for Nintendo's mascotMario. He first appeared in the 1992Game Boy titleSuper Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, where he was the main antagonist and final boss. His name is aportmanteau of Mario's name and the Japanese wordwarui (
Wario is portrayed as a corrupt, hot-tempered, and exaggerated version of Mario, inverse to him in both appearance and personality. Whereas Mario is selfless in his acts and always adventures for the good of others, this is not the case with Wario. His primary trait is his greed, and he always adventures for personal, material gain; even when he does acts that would be considered "heroic," he only does them with the promise of treasure. Though he does have some of Mario's moves, such as defeating certain enemies with a single jump, Wario more often defeats enemies with his superhuman strength: barging them out of the way with his trademarkbody slam, stunning them with powerful ground-shaking butt stomps, and in one of his games, attacking with wrestling moves. Other powers of his include making use of various transformations to navigate certain obstacles, and his proficiency with bombs.
Creation and development
Wario was created as part of a decision to introduce a new character as the main villain ofSuper Mario Land 2 to meet a vision from the staff where the game was to divert from the conventional objectives of theSuper Mario series; Mario in that game was to fight to win back something of his own, instead of fighting for the benefit of others, such asPrincess Peach and the citizens of herMushroom Kingdom. He was not the first character the staff came up with, however; several other characters had earlier been created and rejected. Kiyotake based Wario's relationship with Mario on the American comic strip and cartoon characterBluto, archnemesis ofPopeye the Sailor, who compared to him is physically larger, more cunning, and motivated by self-interests.[1] The finalized version of Wario's design was drawn by theSuper Mario franchise's foremost hand-drawn artist,Yoichi Kotabe, taking inspiration from not only Bluto but also another villain character, the circus ownerStromboli fromWalt Disney'sPinocchio.[2]
Main series
| Series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Artwork | Summary | List of games |
| Wario Land | ||
 | TheWario Land series of platformers started in early 1994 with the Game Boy gameWario Land: Super Mario Land 3, a sequel to Wario's debut game,Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.Wario Land has its titular main character grubbing for money and hunting for treasure in attempts to increase his wealth; in the process, he confronts various antagonists, including the pirateCaptain Syrup and herBlack Sugar Gang, a gruesome creature calledDemon Head, a clown namedRudy, theGolden Diva, and theShake King. The series features drastic changes from theSuper Mario Land games it is derived from, both stylistically and story-wise.Wario Land: Shake It!, in particular, is notable for incorporating anime-style introduction and ending cutscenes. | |
| WarioWare | ||
 | WarioWare, namedMade in Wario in Japan, was established in 2003 withWarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! forGame Boy Advance. It was initially developed by Nintendo R&D1; following the first two installments, the series was co-developed by Intelligent Systems. This series' hallmark is itsmicrogames, which are short, simple games (usually three to five seconds in length) played in quick succession. The idea for the series came fromMario Artist: Polygon Studio for theNintendo 64DD and its "Sound Bomber" mode. The series features a story set inDiamond City, with Wario, motivated by his wish of making money, founding the companyWarioWare, Inc. to create the microgames. He hires his various friends as game developers: disco dancerJimmy T, part-time-working high school studentMona, young video game fanatic9-Volt, taxi cabbiesDribble & Spitz, kindergartener ninja twinsKat & Ana, mad scientistDr. Crygor, and intelligent alienOrbulon. In later installments, more characters are added to this roster, including 9-Volt's music-loving best friend18-Volt and strict but caring mother5-Volt, the stoic young witchAshley and her skittish familiarRed, karaoke robotMike, martial artistYoung Cricket and his wise senseiMaster Mantis, aspiring inventor and singerPenny, and boisterous self-proclaimed heroLulu. At least one entry of theWarioWare series has been released for every Nintendo system from thesixth generation onwards, with several of its installments making heavy use of the unique technological capabilities of the console for which the game is released. For example,WarioWare: Twisted! centers around the usage of tilt controls, whileWarioWare: Touched! focuses on theNintendo DS's touchscreen. | |
Other games
| Title | |
|---|---|
| Cover, original release and system | Synopsis |
| Mario & Wario | |
  August 27, 1993[?]Super Famicom | Mario & Wario is a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer game designed bySatoshi Tajiri and developed byGame Freak for theSuper Famicom console. Released in August 1993, it is one of the fewSuper Mario games to utilize theSuper Famicom Mouse accessory. The gameplay focuses on guiding Mario, who has various objects on his head placed by Wario, through a series of levels consisting of various obstacles and traps. Because Mario has been rendered sightless and is constantly in danger of walking into hazards, the player controls the fairyWanda, who can protect Mario by changing the environment around him as he moves towards the levels' end. The game was initially planned to be localized for the North American market (as shown by it being previewed in the September 1993 issue ofNintendo Power and a Canadian ad for aKellogg's contest,[3] whichfeatured a tentative box art), but this localization ended up being canceled. |
| Wario's Woods (NES) | |
 February 19, 1994[?]NES | Wario's Woods is a puzzle game released in 1994. The NES version was the last officially licensed game released for the console in North America and was the only game in its library to have an official rating by theESRB.Wario's Woods is a falling blockpuzzle game where the objective is to clear the playing field of monsters by using bombs, arranging them into rows of matching colors. Unlike in many puzzle games that have the player directly manipulating the game pieces, the player controlsToad, who moves around the playing field and arranges them after they have fallen. |
| Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman! | |
 August 10, 1994[?]Game Boy | Hudson Soft created the gameWario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!, a crossover between Wario's franchise and that of Hudson's flagship characterBomberman. The original release of the game wasBomberman GB, but for the Western release, Wario was added to the game. In the game, Wario has decided to loot Bomberman's world for his gain, and Bomberman must confront Wario in various battles to save his world from complete decimation. The player can play as either character; however, this does not significantly change the gameplay in any way. |
| Wario's Woods (SNES) | |
.png)  December 10, 1994[?]SNES | A second version ofWario's Woods was made for the SNES. The original cartridge version was released in the West only; the game only appeared in Japan on Nintendo'sSatellaview service. Compared to its NES counterpart, it features multiple settings for levels to take place in, and more significantly, a variant of the "VS Mode" where the player plays against the computer, following Toad as he engages in one-on-one matches against Wario's many minions, followed by a decisive final duel with Wario himself. |
| Wario World | |
  June 20, 2003[?]Nintendo GameCube | Wario World is a spin-off of theWario Land series developed byTreasure, released for theNintendo GameCube in 2003 and 2004. It is the only 3Dplatformer in theWario franchise. In the game, Wario is elated at his newly-constructedcastle filled with treasures, only for one of his stolen treasures, the evilblack jewel, to transform the castle into a series ofworlds. With the help of theSpritelings he rescues along the way, Wario must traverse each world and defeat the black jewel in order to reclaim his castle and treasures. |
| Wario: Master of Disguise | |
 January 18, 2007[?]Nintendo DS | Wario: Master of Disguise, developed bySUZAK Inc. for the Nintendo DS, has Wario advance through levels by taking advantage of seven alternate "forms" (other than his normal "Thief" form). One day, while switching through television channels, Wario's attention is caught byThe Silver Zephyr, a show about a thief who can wield various disguises. He quickly creates a helmet that teleports him into the show's world, and stealsGoodstyle, the disguise-changing wand of its star, who is really the powerlessCount Cannoli. Wario also tracks down an ancient tablet called theWishstone, confronts another thief calledCarpaccio, and in the end, encounters and destroys the demonTerrormisu, who is sealed inside the Wishstone. After his final victory, Wario wishes for all of Count Cannoli's money and treasures; though this request is granted, the money is not teleported out of the TV world, infuriating Wario. |
Appearances in other series
Wario is a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, his default outfit being his motorcyclist attire from theWarioWare series; after obtaining aSmash Ball, he can also transform intoWario-Man, his superhero alter-ego seen in a few of that series' entries. Hismotorbike is used by him in one of his special attacks. A stage namedWarioWare, Inc., based on the "Variety Tower" location inMega Microgame$!, has several different microgames running in the background, which set tasks that upon their completion award the player with invincibility, growth, and other power-ups. Wario returns inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS /Wii U andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, where he is now an unlockable character, instead of one playable from the start. The laterSuper Smash Bros. games have also featuredWarioWare characters ashelpers, trophies, and stickers.
Wario makes a guest appearance in the eighth level ofDensetsu no Starfy 3, whereStarfy must induce his various transformations fromWario Land 4 to progress throughout the stage.
TheWarioWare series has strong ties to theRhythm Heaven series (developed by the same team). Initially limited to quick references such as featuring theAlien Bunnies cameo in a few stages, the series 3DS installmentRhythm Heaven Megamix features two unlockable challenge sets starring the cast of theWarioWare series. In turn,Game & Wario andWarioWare Gold feature multiple cameos byRhythm Heaven characters, with the latter game also includingan extra calling back to the events ofRhythm Heaven Megamix.
TheWarioWare series has also occasionally crossed over with theDaigasso! Band Brothers series: all three installments featureAshley's Theme either built-in or as an official downloadable track and Nintendo would publish ashort strip on its Japanese kids' website, dealing withBarbara's attempt to profit fromAshley's singing talents. In October and November 2018, the company ran a cross-promotional contest betweenWarioWare Gold andBand Brothers P asking contestants to rearrange a selection of songs from theWarioWare series inBand Brothers P's music editor, with the winning entries being judged by theWarioWare team and made officially downloadable inBand Brothers P.[4]
Other media
Anime
A highly obscure 1993 educational VHS release, theMario Kirby Meisaku Video (meisaku meaningmasterpiece), featured a story loosely based onMario vs. Wario (with the second half of the tape starring fellow Nintendo iconKirby) told via still imagery and narration accompanied by text that was intended to teach Japanese childrenkanji, Chinese characters which are commonly used in Japanese writing.
Literature
Wario has been featured in severalSuper Mario-related mangas withKodansha'sSuper Mario manga andSuper Mario-kun featuring loose adaptations of the firstWario Land andWario's Woods. In addition,Super Mario-Kun's author would write a short-lived spin-off titledOre Dayo! Wario Dayo!!, whose four issues successively adapted the plot ofWario World,Wario: Master of Disguise andWario Land: Shake It!.
Nintendo Power published a ten-page story based onSuper Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins titledMario vs. Wario (unrelated to the game of the same name), which was featured in the January 1993 issue. The story was later reprinted as bonus content for the graphic novel format release ofSuper Mario Adventures.Mario vs. Wario: The Birthday Bash, a secondMario vs. Wario comic, was published a year later, in the January 1994 issue.
Achoose-your-own-adventure book based onWario Land 4 was released byScholastic in 2002 as the last installment of its short-livedGame Boy Advance series.
SeveralWario mangas have been published as part of various Japanese video game magazines; the longest-running of these,GO Ketsu Wario, was published in Dengeki Nintendo DS from 2007 to 2011 and was a gag strip initially featuring the cast ofWario: Master of Disguise before being retooled to focus onWario Land: Shake It!. A one-off manga based onWarioWare: Touched! simply titledMade in Wario was published as an extra in the March 2005 issue ofComic Bom Bom. Another short gag-striped based onTouched!,Waiwai! Wario, was published in the February 2006 issue ofFamitsu DS+Wii and dealt withMona's attempt to get Wario to keep his promise to take her to her concert. Wario also guest stars inWario to Saikyō Tag da Fii!, a chapter of the manga adaptation ofThe Legendary Starfy based on his appearance inDensetsu no Starfy 3.
References
- ^Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins official Shogakukan game guide.Shmuplations. Page 106-111. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^William Andureau (December 6, 2018).Les confidences du dessinateur historique des personnages Nintendo.Le Monde (French). Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^Mario & Wario.SNES Centra. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^October 31, 2018.バーバラ様とワリオ社長からトリック・オア・トリート？ 『バンブラP』と『メイド イン ワリオ ゴージャス』とのコラボイベントを問答無用で決定！？.Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved June 3, 2024.
