is a character in

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

's ''Mario'' franchise that was designed as an

archnemesis In literature, an archenemy, (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) or nemesis is the main enemy of the protagonist — or sometimes, one of the other main characters — appearing as the most prominent and most-known enemy of the hero. Etymology ...

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

. Wario first appeared as the main antagonist and final

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

in the 1992

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

game '' Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins''. His name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the name Mario and the Japanese word ''warui'' ( 悪い), meaning "bad". He is usually portrayed as a selfish and greedy treasure hunter who, in karmic

irony Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

, routinely loses his spoils by adventure’s end. Since his debut, he has appeared in the majority of ''Mario'' video games.

Hiroji Kiyotake , born December 21, 1960, in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan) is a game designer for Nintendo and has been a part of the history of Nintendo since 1983. Education Kiyotake graduated from Kyoto Seika University with a BA of Visual Design and was part ...

designed Wario, and

Charles Martinet Charles Andre Martinet (born September 17, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for voicing Mario in the ''Super Mario'' franchise, portraying him from 1991 to 2023. He also voiced other characters in the series such as Luigi, Wario, W ...

voiced the character from 1993 to 2023. Wario is also the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

and

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

of the ''Wario Land''

platformer A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

series and the ''

WarioWare is a video game series, a spin-off of the ''Mario'' franchise. It comprises various video games created by Nintendo, starring the character Wario. The series began with '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', the first game to feature Wario as a p ...

party game Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillia ...

series. He makes regular appearances as a

playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

in ''Mario'' spin-offs and other video game series, including ''

Mario Sports There have been numerous sports games featuring ''Mario'' characters, based, among others, on tennis, golf, baseball, soccer, and various sports featured in the Olympic Games. The ''Mario Kart'' and ''F1'' series are not included in this list. ...

'' games, ''

Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games based on the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up item (game terminology), items. It features Characters in ...

'', ''

Mario Party is a series of party video games created by Hudson Soft and owned by Nintendo. It features List of Mario franchise characters, characters from the Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise in which up to four local players or Artificial inte ...

'', in which he is typically paired with the character

Waluigi is a character in the Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. He plays the role of Luigi's arch-rival and accompanies Wario in spin-off (media), spin-offs from the Super Mario (series), main ''Mario'' series, often for the sake of causing mis ...

to form a

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act, often highlighting differences in their characters' ...

that rivals the partnership of Mario and his brother,

Luigi Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...

. Wario has also been featured in several entries of the fighting game series ''

Super Smash Bros. is a series of platform fighting video games published by Nintendo. Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is a crossover featuring many characters from other video game series created by Nintendo and other develope ...

''.

Concept and creation

The character Foreman Spike, a possible inspiration for Wario, first appeared in the 1985 game '' Wrecking Crew''. Spike is a

construction foreman A construction foreman is the worker or skilled tradesperson who is in charge of a construction crew. This role is generally assumed by a senior worker who is seasoned and competent in their field, but also capable of project leadership (oversigh ...

who bears a slight resemblance to Wario. Game artist Hiroji Kiyotake designed Foreman Spike, whom Kiyotake imagined as "the

Bluto Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed ''Popeye''). Bluto made his fi ...

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar. Wario's first named appearance occurred in the 1992 game '' Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins''. Wario's design arose from ''

Super Mario Land is a 1989 platform game developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, Nintendo R&D1, the same team that designed the Game Boy. It was published by Nintendo as Game Boy#Launch titles, one of the first four games released for the console. I ...

''s design team's distaste for making a game based around someone else's character. The creation of Wario allowed them their own character to "symbolize their situation". Wario is portrayed as a caricature of Mario: he has a large head and chin; huge muscular arms; a wide, short, slightly obese body; short legs; a large, pointier, zig-zagging mustache; and a bellicose cackle. He wears a plumber outfit with a yellow-and-purple color scheme, which is a short-sleeved yellow shirt, purple overalls, and a blue "W" on his hat. He also wears green shoes and white gloves with blue "W" symbols. In his early appearances, Wario wears a yellow, long-sleeved shirt and fuchsia overalls. The name "Wario" is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "Mario" and the Japanese adjective , meaning "bad", hence "bad Mario", which is also symbolized by the "W" on his hat (an upside-down "M"). Wario was planned to be a temporary name, but it proved popular with the staff.

was created to be the tennis partner of Wario in ''

Mario Tennis ''Mario Tennis'' is a 2000 sports video game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 (N64). Following '' Mario's Tennis'', it is the second game in the ''Mario Tennis'' series. The game is known for ...

'' and early material from

Nintendo of Europe is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company to p ...

portrayed them as brothers, but their relationship has since been ambiguous. When asked whether Wario was a brother to Waluigi in 2008, voice actor Charles Martinet stated that while he did not know, he felt that they were just "two nice, evil guys who found each other". Nintendo originally considered making Wario a German character before he developed into an Italian like Mario. Wario was intended to be German at one point; German translator Thomas Spindler gave him German lines when he was brought on to voice Wario. This part of Wario was eventually dropped; Martinet's Wario voice did not have any German influence. During his audition for the part, Martinet was told to speak in a mean-and gruff-sounding tone; he said voicing Wario is a looser task than voicing Mario, whose speaking manner and personality are freer-flowing, rising from the ground and floating into the air, while jealousy is one of Wario's characteristics. Wario is often portrayed as a villain in video games in which he makes a cameo appearance. The development team for '' Wario Land: Shake It!'' stated he was not really a villain, and they did not consider him one during development. They focused on his behavior, which alternates between good and evil. Etsunobu Ebisu and Takahiro Harada, producers of ''Shake It!'', considered Wario to be a reckless character who uses his strength to overwhelm others. Tadanori Tsukawaki, ''Shake It!'' design director, described Wario as manly and said he was "so uncool that he ends up being extremely cool." Because of this, Tsukawaki wanted Wario to act

macho Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1940s and 1950s and its use more wi ...

rather than silly and asked the art designers to emphasize his masculinity. During an interview with Kikizo, video game designer

Yoshio Sakamoto (born July 23, 1959) is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. He has worked at Nintendo since 1982. He has directed several games in the ''Metroid'' series. He is one of the most prominent members of Nintendo's former Resear ...

, who was a member of R&D1 since its early days, stated the project centered around Wario because the team "couldn't think of anyone else best for the role", and he was then described as "unintelligent" and "always idiotic", which is the reason he was chosen as the star of the ''WarioWare'' series. According to an early 1990s Nintendo guide, Wario was Mario's childhood friend, which ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'' later contested in a parody article. Afterward, it was stated that they were not related to each other and were considered childhood rivals. In his earliest appearances in ''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' and ''

Wario's Woods ''Wario's Woods'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released in Japan and North America in 1994 and Europe in 1995 for both the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A spin-off ...

'', Wario displays considerable magical power, using spells on the population of islands to turn them into his minions, create duplicates, and grow very large. These traits were discontinued starting with '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', in which he is rejuvenated by garlic in a similar manner to Mario being powered by mushrooms. In the ''WarioWare'' series, he became as a smelly slob, while in '' Mario Strikers: Battle League'', his super shot special involves smashing his butt into the ball, followed by him devouring a giant clove of garlic. In '' WarioWare: Touched!'', consuming garlic transforms Wario into "Wario-Man", a superhero with powers relating to garlic-induced flatulence and bad breath. In other games, he uses farts as his special attack. Wario prominently uses bombs as tools and weapons in the ''WarioWare'' series as a visual motif to represent the time limit of a microgame.

Appearances

''Wario Land'' series

Wario first appeared as a villain in the 1992

video game ''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'', in which he captures Mario's castle. Tatanga, the villain of the first ''

'' game, is a henchman of Wario in the second, implying Wario is responsible for the events of both games. Wario also serves as a villain in the 1993 Japan-only puzzle game '' Mario & Wario'', in which Wario drops a bucket on the heads of Mario,

Princess Peach is a character in Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' game as Princess Toadstool. She is the Queen regnant, princess regnant and hea ...

, or

Yoshi Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in '' Super Mario World'' (1990) on the SNES as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Throughout the mainline '' Super Mario'' series, Yoshi typically serves ...

. This was followed by the first game in the ''Wario Land'' series, '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'' (1994), a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

that marks Wario's first appearance as a protagonist and introduced his first villains, Captain Syrup and her Brown Sugar Pirates. In his next appearance in ''

Virtual Boy Wario Land ''Virtual Boy Wario Land'' is a 1995 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy. It stars Wario, who finds himself deep underground after stumbling upon a treasure-filled cave and must find his way back to ...

'' (1995), Wario plays similarly and has the ability to move in and out of the background. A sequel to the Game Boy game '' Wario Land II'' (1998) features Captain Syrup's return as the antagonist. This game introduces Wario's invulnerability, allowing him to be burned or flattened without sustaining damage. In 2000, '' Wario Land 3'' was released for the

Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...

; it is another sequel that uses the same mechanics and concepts as its predecessor. The following year, the sequel ''

Wario Land 4 ''Wario Land 4'' is a 2001 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the fourth installment in the ''Wario Land'' subseries of the ''Wario'' series. It was released in Japan in August 2001 and November 2 ...

'' (2001) debuted on the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

and incorporates Wario's ability to become burned or flattened and reintroduces the ability to become damaged from standard attacks. In 2003, ''

Wario World ''Wario World'' is a 2003 platform game developed by Treasure and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The player controls Wario as he attempts to regain his treasure and castle from the evil sentient gem, Black Jewel. The gameplay sees Wario ...

'', the first console ''Wario'' platform game, was released for the

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

. It has three-dimensional graphics and gameplay and does not incorporate major elements from previous platform games. '' Wario: Master of Disguise'' (2007) for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

introduces touch-screen control of Wario and incorporates puzzles into the gameplay. The series' most recent release, ''Wario Land: Shake It!'' (2008) for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

, reintroduces Captain Syrup. The game uses a hand-drawn animation style; Wario's design required more than 2,000 frames of animation.

''WarioWare'' series

In 2003, the ''Wario'' franchise introduced a new series of games, the first of which was '' WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!'' for the Game Boy Advance. The game's premise involved Wario's decision to open a game development company to make money, creating short "microgames" instead of full-fledged games. The game's gameplay focused on playing a collection of microgames in quick succession. ''Mega Microgames!'' was later remade as '' WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Games!'' (2003) for the GameCube; it featured the same microgames but lacked a story mode and focused more on multi-player. In 2004, two sequels were released for the game. The first was the Game Boy Advance game '' WarioWare: Twisted!'', which used the cartridge's tilt sensor to allow microgames to be controlled by tilting the handheld left and right. The second was the Nintendo DS release ''WarioWare: Touched!'', which incorporates the DS's touch screen and microphone into its gameplay. One of the Wii's

launch game Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

s in 2006 was '' WarioWare: Smooth Moves'', which used the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...

's motion-sensing technologies in a variety of ways. The Nintendo DS and

Nintendo DSi The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival was ...

have offered two new releases: 2008's '' WarioWare: Snapped!'', which can be downloaded with the

DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 20 ...

service and uses the DSi's built-in front camera in its gameplay, and 2009's ''

WarioWare D.I.Y. ''WarioWare D.I.Y.'', known as ''WarioWare: Do It Yourself'' in the PAL region, is a minigame compilation and game creation system by Nintendo SPD and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the seventh title in ...

'', which allows players to create microgames. '' Game & Wario'' for the Nintendo

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

was released on June 23, 2013. Although it does not use the ''WarioWare'' name, it incorporates gameplay and characters from the ''WarioWare'' series. The game also pays tribute to the original ''

Game & Watch is a series of handheld electronic games developed by Nintendo. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, the first game, ''Ball'' was released in 1980 and the original production run of the devices continued until 1991. The name Game & Watch reflects thei ...

'' games. In 2018, the

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

game ''

WarioWare Gold ''WarioWare Gold'' is a minigame compilation developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS family of video game consoles. The ninth installment in the ''WarioWare'' series, it was released in PAL regions in Jul ...

'' was released, featuring 316 microgames and combining elements from ''Twisted'' and ''Touched''. He also appeared in the 2021

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

game '' WarioWare: Get It Together!'' and the 2023 Nintendo Switch game '' WarioWare: Move It!'', with 223 microgames.

Other media

The 1992 graphic novel ''

Super Mario Adventures ''Super Mario Adventures'' is an anthology of comics that ran in ''Nintendo Power'' throughout 1992, featuring the characters from Nintendo's ''Mario'' series and based loosely on ''Super Mario World''. In 1993, the series was also serialized in ...

'', which is a collection of comics originally serialized in the video-gaming magazine ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...

'', features Wario in two of the stories, one of which focuses on Wario's past and explains his rivalry with Mario. Wario appears in ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

''s " Imaginationland Episode III" (2007) as one of the characters from the "dark side" of Imaginationland. In 2010, Charles Martinet's Wario voice was used in an advertisement promoting ''WarioWare D.I.Y.'' for British supermarket chain

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

. In a May 2021 episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', host

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

starred as Wario in a sketch in which he was put on trial for murdering Mario in a kart race. In February 2024,

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...

portrayed Wario in an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', "Lisa Gets an F1". Wario has also received several of his own

Amiibo (, ; stylized as amiibo; plural: ''Amiibo'') is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Ni ...

, which can be used in a wide array of games, including his own.

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

stated his interest in a potential sequel to ''

The Super Mario Bros. Movie ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'' is a 2023 American animated adventure comedy film based on Nintendo's ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' video game franchise. Produced by Universal Pictures, Illumination (company), Illumination, and Nintendo, and d ...

'' in which

Pedro Pascal José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal (; born April 2, 1975) is a Chilean and American actor. After nearly two decades of taking small roles on stage and television, Pascal had his breakthrough role, breakout role as Oberyn Martell in the Game of Thr ...

, who played Mario in a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch, would voice Wario as the film's main villain.

Reception

Since his appearance in ''Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', Wario has received a largely positive reception and has become a well-established mascot for Nintendo. Several gaming publications described Wario as one of the best video game villains. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...

'' found the levity of Wario games "liberating" compared to big Nintendo franchises such as ''Mario'' and ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

''. The writer could "empathise more with the hopelessly materialistic Wario than goody brown-shoes Mario. Deep down, we'd all rather chase pounds over princesses." ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' editor Travis Fahs said that while Wario is not the most likeable character, his strong confidence overshadows his flaws and makes him entertaining. Audrey Drake of ''IGN'' said of Wario, " l this weird dude seems to care about is amassing as many material possessions and shiny things as possible", KhalidEternalNigh of ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

'' praised the character, describing him as "fat, lazy, greedy, and a cheater" and said: " spite all of this I can't help but love him. Wario is, in my humble opinion, the most perfect 'evil twin' in the history of video games. ..During Wario's career he has worn many hats – a game designer, a biker, a treasure hunter, and a hat that spits fire for some reason. Yet no matter what he does, no matter how mean he is, somehow Wario manages to charm his way into our hearts while picking our pockets." Ryan Gilliam of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' described Wario as the "ultimate Italian American" and said the character "captures so much more of the Italian personality that resonates with me." He also said, "Wario trumps Mario as my family mascot, born with a crucial, relatable need to be louder and larger than life." According to Mike Sholars of ''Kotaku'', "Wario Isn't Evil, He's Honest". Sholars concluded, "Wario was conceived out of a desire to put a twist on the familiar, but his creators tapped into a powerful, universal constant: The Unrepentant Asshole." Edwin Evans of ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'' praised Wario for being "repulsive" and "brilliant" and said, "In general, Wario isn't the star he used to be, .. t he remains a crucial component of the Nintendo pantheon, the counterbalancing touch of malevolence and cunning without which Mario's star wouldn't shine quite so brightly." William Hughes of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' described him as "Nintendo's stinky, cheating genius" and said the character "captures the split at the heart of Nintendo. ..All we know if that Wario would have loved the possibilities the smash hit console presents, and that the absence of a new ''WarioWare'' game on the handheld remains a real shame to the legacy of all the things—good, bad, flatulent, weird, and more—that he means to the company", while Cass Marshall of ''Polygon'' said he "was institutionalized as a teen, and Wario was my only friend", and that he "find Wario kind of soothing. He's just got a friendly face." In the book ''A Parent's Guide to Nintendo Games: A Comprehensive Look at the Systems and the Games'', Craig Wessel described Wario as a "sinister twist" on Mario. In ''Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares, Volume 1'', S. T. Joshi cites Waluigi and Wario as archetypal examples of alter egos. Wario was used by Todd Harper as an example of the cultural signifiers of fatness that were specifically being created as traits typical of fat characters in fighting games as a whole in a paper for the ''Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports''. They mentioned that Wario possesses a unique move in which he uses his teeth to efficiently chomp through anything, including other fighters, explosives, and even his own motorcycle. He was also being described as a "slob" archetype. Magazines have also praised Wario's outfit, particularly in '' Mario Golf: Super Rush''. In September 2021, Peter Nguyen, a professional stylist for "The Essential Man", commented on a Hiking Wario outfit in ''Mario Kart Tour'', calling it "stylish" and saying, "I think this is the most wearable and strongest appearance for Wario". He was also described as a "fashion icon". A screenshot of '' Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020'' showing Wario in swimwear appeared to depict him without

nipple The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in lactating females, breast milk, milk from the mammary gland leaves the body through the lactiferous ducts to Breastfeeding, nurse an infant. The milk can flow th ...

s, leading fans and video game website ''Polygon'' to speculate about his lack of anatomical features.

Concept and creation

Appearances

''Wario Land'' series

''WarioWare'' series

Other video games

Other media

Reception

Notes

References

Further reading