The most inexplicable of things can come from humble beginnings. For the characters of the Super Mario games, this couldn’t be more true for Waluigi. Originally created only to be Wario’s partner, the lanky purple troublemaker has taken on a life of his own among fans. Waluigi has become one of the Internet’s favorite characters, being the subject of numerous memes and fan creations, which is more than anyone expected. Maybe it was his underdog nature, his goofy personality, or his silent-movie villain looks. Something about Waluigi caught on with people and he’s more popular now than he’s ever been.
But despite the character’s growing fanbase, Nintendo still seems to have no respect for the guy. The company treats Waluigi’s every appearance with a passive-aggressive hatred like he’s a family member they want nothing to do with. That attitude would explain why they keep slyly insulting the character in the games and ancillary materials. To Nintendo, Waluigi seems to exist only to act as a purple punching bag. They don’t care how popular he’s become. Heck, they seem to be outright trolling Waluigi’s fans with some of the things they’ve done to him.
Much like Waluigi’s popularity, one must ask what about the violet-clad villain inspires such intense feelings. What exactly about Waluigi makes Nintendo treat him so badly? Sadly, it is beyond us to find the answer. I can only present the evidence in the case. Here are 25 Ridiculous Things About Waluigi (That Show Nintendo Has Lost It).
25 His Name Literally Means “Bad Luigi”
A character’s name will tell you a lot about them. This is true for Waluigi, in the most on the nose way possible. Because you see Waluigi is a combination of the Japanese word " “warui” meaning “bad” and “Ruiji” which is how Luigi is spelled in Japanese. So his name literally translates to “Bad Luigi.”
You can’t say it’s not accurate.
His name’s Japanese spelling, “Waruiji” is also an anagram for the word “Ijiwaru” which has several definitions like “Mean-spirited” or “cruel.” A neat hidden reference to Waluigi’s cheating, troublemaking ways.
24 He Was The Main Villain Once, In A Dancing Game
Waluigi has appeared in over 40 games and has been well-established as an antagonist in the Mario Universe. Despite this, he’s still made no appearances outside of multiplayer party games and has been the main villain of only one game.
That game? Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix.
He put the story in motion by stealing magical music keys to make himself the world’s best dancer. By doing so, he’ll sow chaos by hypnotizing the masses with his rhythm. But even this wouldn’t last as Bowser swooped in later in the game to usurp Waluigi’s position as final boss.
23 His Greatest Honor Is A Conference Room
Nintendo shows Waluigi so little love. He’s got no games to himself, He’s got no friends besides Wario, and he can’t get into Smash Bros. The poor guy just can’t seem to catch a break. But while Nintendo as a whole gives him no respect, Nintendo has given him at least one honor. At their headquarters in Oregon, many of the rooms are named after classic Nintendo characters. The Mario room, the Luigi room, etc. Well, it was the least they could do to announce one of their conference rooms after him. Room 2011, the Waluigi room.
22 Twitter Used Him As A Symbol Of Evil Online
Waluigi may be a bad guy, but his evil is limited to cheating and pranks. He doesn’t seem the type to be spreading hate speech online. Twitter appears to disagree. In 2018, when rolling out new protections against bad behavior online, Twitter showed an example of an account that could be reported with Waluigi’s picture. It was an odd choice as Waluigi has never done anything like tweet out negative speech online. Nintendo, for there part, took no action. Maybe they know something about Waluigi we don’t?
21 He’s The Cheapest Spot In Nintendo Monopoly
The disrespect shown to Waluigi knows no limit. Even in licensed products outside of video games, he’s denigrated. Take Nintendo Monopoly for example. Anyone who’s played the classic board game knows that you buy spaces on the board and charge other players who land on them. Well in Nintendo Monopoly, Waluigi takes the spot of Mediterranean Avenue. At only $60, it’s the cheapest space to buy and the least profitable. Must be how Nintendo feels about Waluigi.
20 The Smash Bros. Developers Keep Trolling His Fans
Fans have been waiting for Waluigi to be added to the fighting roster of Super Smash Bros. for a while. With almost every other Mario character in it, it seemed logical. The Smash Bros. developers, however, seem to disagree. Waluigi has only been added to the games as an assist trophy, a non-playable character that can deal damage and be KO’d. So you can’t play as Waluigi, but you can beat him up. Lead Developer Masahiro Sakurai even trolled fans with a tweet of Waluigi, saying, “even trying your best doesn’t guarantee you’ll make it into the battle” Ouch.
19 He’s Not Even Wario’s Brother
Given that he was created to both a foil to Luigi and the partner of Wario, it’s not an unreasonable assumption to think Waluigi would be Wario’s brother. Mario and Luigi are brothers, Wario is Mario’s evil opposite, so it just makes sense right?
Well no, because Waluigi isn’t related to Wario at all.
Though some early games state that they are brothers, as of 2012 they share no blood relation according to official Nintendo sources. Waluigi’s voice actor Charles Martinet (who also voices Wario — and Mario, go figure) says he thinks of them as “two nice, evil guys who found each other.”
18 Super Mario Odyssey Has A Hidden Diss At Him
Just because Waluigi has yet to make an appearance in a main series Mario game doesn’t he hasn’t been referenced in them. Or insulted as the case may be. In Super Mario Odyssey, players can unlock alternate outfits for Mario based on other characters.
One is the Waluigi suit.
The description is savage though. The upside-down L hat is said to be “barely used” and the purple and black overalls “make you want to lurk in the shadows, waiting for a turn in the spotlight.” That’s just mean Nintendo.
17 He Has A Crush On Princess Daisy
Another character introduced in Mario Tennis alongside Waluigi was Princess Daisy. Nintendo paired her off with Luigi almost instantly, but there have been hints that Waluigi might have a crush on her too. It was stated in the official guide for Mario Party 4 that he had feelings for her that she did not return and their team-up name in Mario Party 5 is “Awkward Date.” It isn’t mutual though as Daisy can’t stand him, finding Waluigi tacky and gross. Whether it was to steal her from Luigi or if his feelings were genuine, looks like Waluigi will be forever heartbroken.
16 His Upside-down L Has A Secret Meaning
There’s been some confusion about what the symbol on Waluigi’s hat means. Most just assume it’s an upside-down letter L. Wario’s hat has a W on it, which could be an upside-down M for Mario, so an upside-down L for Luigi would make sense for Waluigi’s evil twin nature.
But some fans have a different theory.
They believe the symbol is the Greek letter Gamma. If true, it would be fitting for Waluigi. In Greek, gamma represents uncertainty and the potential for chaos. That fits right in with Waluigi’s troublemaking ways.
15 He Might Be A Waterbender (Yes, Like In Avatar)
It hasn’t really been remarked upon in the games themselves, but Waluigi has been shown to have a strange affinity for water. Maybe it’s just because his long legs make him a great swimmer, but like Mario with fireballs, Waluigi can call upon the power of water. In both Mario Power Tennis and Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Waluigi has the ability to summon a wave of water and swim toward the ball to steal it. He can also make tornadoes in other games, so for all we know he might be the Avatar. With no backstory, anything’s possible.
14 There Was Almost A “Wapeach” And “Wadaisy”
Wario and Waluigi are not the best-looking dudes in gaming and their luck with the ladies reflects that. Though their abrasive personalities probably don’t help. But once upon a time, they might have had better luck. There were almost evil twin versions of Princess Peach and Daisy too. Designer Fumihide Aoki had the idea while they were creating Waluigi for Mario Tennis. He thought it might be interesting to see what evil twin versions of the two princesses might be like. Shigeru Miyamoto vetoed the idea though, not wanting to imagine what the two’s girlfriends might be like.
13 Nintendo Didn’t Create Him
Maybe the reason Nintendo tends to treat Waluigi like a red-headed stepchild is because they only had limited involvement in his creation. Mario Tennis, where Waluigi made his debut, wasn’t developed in-house at Nintendo but licensed out to Camelot Software. It was Camelot designer Fumihide Aoki who took the lead on Waluigi’s creation. Though Shigeru Miyamoto contributed to the character, he’s still the only Mario character Nintendo didn’t have a direct hand in creating. Maybe they feel stuck with him now and that’s why they give Waluigi no respect.
12 Luigi Isn’t Even Afraid Of Him
Despite his rivalry with Luigi forming a key part of Waluigi’s own characterization, it’s a pretty one-sided rivalry. Luigi isn’t even intimidated by Waluigi at all. When the green plumber first encountered Waluigi in Mario Tennis, Luigi stated that he wasn’t afraid of him. Which is really saying something when cowardice is a well-known trait of Luigi’s. Honestly, the worst thing Waluigi has ever done to Luigi was in Mario Party 3. In the map Waluigi’s Island, players can see Luigi’s house crushed under a big hammer with Waluigi’s upside-down L symbol. Not that scary to a dude with a haunted mansion.
11 His Voice Is Based On Self-Pity
Charles Martinet is the voice actor for many characters in the Mario series. He voices Mario, Luigi, Wario, and of course Waluigi. But where Martinet says jealousy is at the root of his performance of Wario, the emotion he based Waluigi around is self-pity. The character’s famous “Waah” sound is born from his frustration. Martinet has also said that Waluigi feels the need to cheat if he wants to win and that if a game was made around the character, it should be based around cheating. Given that Waluigi mostly appears in sports games, that kind of makes perfect sense.
10 He Was Only Created To Fill A Roster Spot
Some characters have elaborate and complex origin stories. Great thought and time were put into their creation to make a classic icon. Waluigi is not one of those characters. The story behind his creation is totally utilitarian. Wario needed a doubles partner in Mario Tennis so they made Waluigi. The issue was there were few very human characters to pair with Wario. The idea came from designer Fumihide Aoki to give Luigi a Wario-like rival and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto consulted on the character’s design. Waluigi has since basically only been used as Wario’s partner in multiplayer games.
9 He Has Salvador Dali’s Mustache
One of the most consistent aspects of Waluigi’s character is his desire to make trouble and sow chaos for other characters. Maybe it’s born out of his self-pity, but Waluigi just loves to ruin other people’s good times. It’s appropriate then that he shares a style of facial hair with one of history’s great surrealists, Salvador Dali. Famous for his melting clocks and long-legged elephants, Dali also trolled and provoked the artistic establishment of his time with outrageous displays. He might have been much more successful than Waluigi, but they share the same spirit.
8 Wario Puts Him On A Rack To Make Him Taller
Much like Wario is meant to be a funhouse mirror of Mario, Waluigi is meant to be the same to Luigi with his exaggerated height and lanky frame. But clearly, Wario is more committed to this, as he’ll casually put Waluigi through physical torment to increase his height. According to the Wario’s Warehouse, a page on the Nintendo of Europe website, Wario will put Waluigi on a rack to stretch him out and make him taller. We can actually see this in Mario Power Tennis, where Bowser does much the same to him. Poor guy’s back must hurt constantly.
7 He Has No Friends Besides Wario
Maybe it’s just by virtue of only appearing in spin-off multiplayer games, but Waluigi hasn’t been shown to have any friends besides Wario. Even the other villains don’t like him. Bowser hates him, seeing Wario and Waluigi as gunning for his position as Mario’s arch-nemesis. The Koopa King even remarks upon Waluigi’s bad reputation in the game Fortune Street. In the same game, Waluigi shows confusion at people being nice to him, thinking they’re trying to trick him. Kind of makes you wonder how he keeps getting invited to all those kart races and tennis tournaments if nobody likes him.
6 He’s Never Been In A Wario Game
In a certain sense, it’s understandable why Waluigi hasn’t been in a main series Mario game. His partner in crime Wario has only been in a few himself. But Wario has his own game series and Waluigi hasn’t been in any of those either.
None of the Wario games even acknowledge Waluigi’s existence.
Sure, Luigi isn’t involved in every Mario game either but he will at least show up and wish his brother luck. Not so with Waluigi. Maybe Wario’s just too greedy to share the spotlight.
