There are countless times when Nintendo’s Super Mario titles have proven to be respectable, unforgettable video games.
And then there are times when they’re downright ridiculous and silly, as is the case with their unquestionably weirdest character, Waluigi.
Ever since the lanky caricature’s debut 17 years ago, in Mario Tennis of all titles, Waluigi has been one of the most fascinating characters in the Nintendo universe. Waluigi might never have been given his own game to fully show off his weirdness, but the fact that he’s been restricted to casual side appearances makes him all the more interesting. Gamers might not understand who this bizarre character is in the same way that they understand Mario, Luigi, or even Wario, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a thorn in their sides all the same. Sometimes it’s important to just pay tribute to some of the weirder things that Nintendo has done, and so, Here Are 16 Times Waluigi Was Just The Worst.
16. He Makes Miyamoto Unhappy
A cardinal rule for any Nintendo character should be don't make Shigeru Miyamoto unhappy. Waluigi is not only the black sheep (in purple overalls) of the Mushroom Kingdom, but he’s allegedly also disliked by many within Nintendo’s walls, too.
Waluigi’s creation curiously revolves around Wario needing a doubles partner in the N64’s Mario Tennis. Designer Fumihide Aoki thought this could also be a prime opportunity to give Luigi a rival, and thus Waluigi was born. Through the years Waluigi has become a staple of many Mario multiplayer titles and party games, but he’s never been put in the spotlight. Even a game like Wario World, that seems tailor-made for a Waluigi appearance, is missing the lanky mischief maker. Due to Waluigi’s unconventional genesis and Miyamoto’s minimal involvement in the character, it seems like the Nintendo designer has been in no rush to celebrate this misfit. Fanmade games have starred Waluigi, but until Miyamoto has a change of heart on the character, don't expect to see a Game+ mode in Super Mario Odyssey where Waluigi is a playable character.
15. Torture Racks are Responsible for his Extreme Height
One of the weirder sources of Nintendo information is the “Wario’s Warehouse” section of Nintendo of Europe’s website. These articles populated NOE’s site in the early 2000s with their main goal being to provide cheats and hints on Nintendo titles (who are better cheaters than Wario and Waluigi, after all?). In spite of their practical function, “Wario’s Warehouse” became better known for the weird cavalcade of facts that it gave out about Waluigi and Wario’s lives. These “Wario’s Warehouse” articles truly cover the map with these two Nintendo oddballs (for instance, Wario had a pet hamster named Fluffy that died back in ’86). Plus, they’re told from Wario’s twisted first-person perspective. One of the most bizarre revelations from the Warehouse is the detail that Wario routinely puts Waluigi up on a torture rack and stretches him out in order to make him taller. This behavior seems pretty emblematic of their messed-up relationship. There are some images so disturbing that even a Starman can’t fully wash them away.
14. The Mass Destruction He Causes in Toadstoal Tour’s Intro
One of the Gamecube’s flashiest intro cinematics is for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, with a lot of it having to do with the hijinks caused by Waluigi and Wario. The two wild cards are already making a mess of the pristine golf course and putting the sport to shame before they launch an errant golf ball into the horizon. The careless shot ends up striking Bowser in the face (talk about a hole in one!), leaving him with a gross looking shiner. In his rage, Bowser begins mowing down the golf course, trying to catch Waluigi and Wario. Bowser is launching a barrage of Bullet Bills through all of this, which are doing horrible things to that lush green (not to mention Luigi’s short game). All of this ends up culminating with Bowser ready to end Wario and Waluigi with a Bob-omb, when a golf ball from Mario does some impressive ricocheting that causes the explosive to go off prematurely. Gamers are now ready to begin playing golf, but they’ve already viewed as much wanton destruction as in some Call of Duty introductions.
13. Whenever He Pops Up in Smash Bros. to Whack Gamers
Waluigi has yet to appear as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series (in spite of the overwhelming amount of online petitions and support for the character). Still, the character invades the series from time to time in the form of assist trophies and even alternate costumes for Luigi (and Mario). While gamers wait for the character to inevitably join the fray in the next Smash Bros. release, Waluigi is still capable of fully frustrating people in the meantime. Waluigi has dropped into the fight as an assist trophy in both Smash Bros. Brawl and the latest Smash entry in the series. Waluigi’s assist trophy pays respect to his Mario Tennis roots, with the character flailing about and whacking gamers with his mighty racket. The guy is no Giga Bowser, but he does act as the perfect nuisance to throw someone’s flawless game. Hearing “It’s Waluigi Time!” shouldn’t send players into a panic attack, but that racket’s got reach.
12. His Taunts in Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged
The Mario Strikers series of soccer games never seemed to catch on with audiences. They’re far from the best sports titles that Nintendo has turned out, but there’s a definite charm and voice to them. The Mario Strikers games might do some creative things with soccer, but that doesn’t give them the excuse to let Waluigi run amok and traumatize gamers in the process. First off, Waluigi’s taunts are pro wrestling moves and this is a soccer game. The moves from the character just come off as confusing and like they’re intentionally trying to break gamers’ minds. Does the character think he’s in another game entirely? His irritating attitude continues with his super ability, which is titled “Wall-Luigi!” After a terrible pun like that, it shouldn’t be hard to turn on the guy. The move also blocks and aggravates players as a bunch of purple vines get in the way. Waluigi’s presence on the soccer field is a thoroughly frustrating one.
11. His Existence Curbed the Creation of a “Wa-Peach” and “Wa-Daisy”
Waluigi got the short end of the stick ever since he hit the scene due to many gamers assuming that his name happens to be a lazy mash-up of Wario and Luigi. It might look that way in English, but the name’s origins actually come from a portmanteau of the Japanese words “warui” (bad or evil) and “Ruiji” (Luigi). The product here literally translates to “bad Luigi.” Taking all of this one step further, the character’s name also is an anagram of the Japanese word “ijiwaru” which means cruel or ill-tempered. While this experimentation was going on with Waluigi during the development of Mario Tennis, designers naturally got curious about trying this idea with other characters. This led to alternate “bad” versions of Peach (“Warupichi”) and Daisy being considered. With Waluigi making the cut, these other characters were ultimately deemed unnecessary. Meaning that if Waluigi didn’t end up being approved then maybe one of these bonkers characters could have happened instead. They’re at least better ideas than recent characters like Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach. There’s at least some degree of characterization to have fun with in an evil version of the princesses.
10. His General Mischief in the Mario Tennis World
Mario sports games on the Gamecube have built a nice little reputation for themselves by featuring impressive, sprawling opening cinematic cut scenes. They act as fun ways for getting people excited about diving into this Mario-ized version of sports. Toadstool Tour’s demolition course of an opening cinematic has been detailed, but Waluigi’s foray into tennis also features his fair share of mischief. N64’s Mario Tennis sees Waluigi maliciously mocking Mario and Luigi in the middle of their game, but he ramps up his recklessness in Mario Power Tennis. In the Gamecube title Waluigi vandalizes a picture of Mario and Luigi. He then proceeds to further compromise the court by destroying Peach Dome with an avalanche of Bob-ombs along with Wario and Bowser’s help. With Waluigi being responsible for such damage and poor sportsmanship here, it’s surprising that he’s even allowed to take part in the tournament. Perhaps it has something to do with the character’s bittersweet arc in the game, which just sees him wanting to be as popular as the Mario Brothers. Aww.
9. He’s the Most Worthless Spot in Nintendo Monopoly
Hasbro’s Monopoly has experienced a nice little renaissance over recent years where basically any popular property seems to now be viable territory for their own Monopoly board. A Nintendo version of the popular board game is actually a decent idea, with the game doing a fairly good job at distilling Nintendo’s many properties down into a real estate-based board game. Nintendo Monopoly pulls from Nintendo franchises like Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi’s Island, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Star Fox, and even more recent series like Animal Crossing and Pikmin. This version of Monopoly turns Nintendo’s popular characters into the properties. Yet, in spite of the many series that see representation here, the figure seen as the bottom of the heap is none other than Waluigi. Waluigi is the least profitable and most useless piece of property in Nintendo Monopoly. The “property” will cost players a mere 60 dollars, by the way. The ultimate insult is obviously equating someone to garbage Monopoly real estate. The cost of Waluigi here is essentially that of a Switch game.
8. His Insistence on Making Luigi’s Life a Living Hell
Look, it’s not easy being Wee-Gee. Sure, the greener of the two Mario Brothers might have even been given his own year by Nintendo to make an impression on gamers, but he’s still largely an underappreciated gaming icon. Constantly being in Mario’s shadow is already a tough gig for Luigi, but on top of that he’s also got the calculated efforts of Waluigi to worry about. Granted, Mario has Wario to contend with, but Nintendo has classified Waluigi as the “brains” of their operation and he’s the one with the Luigi grudge. Waluigi will often single out Luigi specifically, with his constant aim being to knock him down a peg and reign supreme. In Mario sports titles, challenges will frequently see Luigi needing to go one-on-one with his evil counterpart, with a number of gauntlets going down through the years. It’s safe to say that Luigi would have a lot less confrontation and obstacles to work through if someone like Waluigi wasn’t around setting their sights on him. It’s almost a little surprising that Waluigi hasn’t popped up in a Luigi’s Mansion sequel, as he’s arguably a bigger rival to Luigi than Bowser!
7. He’s Able to Defy Gravity
Forget about tanooki suits, metal caps, or ice flowers, Waluigi’s got the best special ability and it’s also 100% natural. Waluigi’s pun-tastic “Wall-Luigi!” attack from the Strikers titles is plenty weird, but the bulk of Waluigi’s other appearances give him an even more bizarre skill. Waluigi has the ability to conjure water from out of nowhere and then swim through it in the air, often aiding him in sports like basketball or tennis. It’s an extremely strange sight to behold, but also one that has nothing to do with the character in any respect. It’s just madness. Waluigi even dips into the swimming-in-air well for his taunts too, just showboating his ability to break the laws of science. Even swimming through the air without conjuring water is a skill that no other character is able to pull off. When Mario can fly, he still needs the aid of a power-up like a wing cap or raccoon tail. Waluigi doesn’t need to stoop to such tricks.
6. In Super Mario-Kun, Waluigi Nearly Poisons Mario and Company to Death
There’s a very delightful gag manga available in Japan titled Super Mario-Kun. The manga depicts the adventures of Mario and friends, with many of the issues from the series actually pulling from Mario games for inspiration. The series does a great job at not only nailing a sense of humor that meshes with the Mario universe, but also pulling off the strange idea of doing “novelizations” of video games. Volume 28 of Super Mario-Kun does an arc devoted to Mario Party 3, a title that Waluigi plays a rather large role in (as large a role as one can have in a multiplayer party game). Mario Party 3 mixes up the typical Mario Party formula a little bit by introducing the Millennium Star, a relic that Waluigi is particularly interested in. Super Mario-Kun sees Waluigi’s obsession going as far as him posing as the Millennium Star in order to scam Mario and his friends out of their precious stamps and items. If the identity fraud and thievery weren’t enough, Waluigi also bombards the group with poisonous mushrooms, presumably hoping to kill them with their venom. Great party guest that Waluigi.
5. He’s the Ultimate Antagonist in Game & Watch Gallery 4
Nintendo’s Game & Watch titles are a great investment for those that have never made the leap into them before. They also reward and respect that thumb-crippling old school style of video gaming that is all that some people need. Game & Watch Gallery 4 for the Game Boy Advance is by far the best deal of the titles, with the game offering up some great retro content. The title features both classical and “modern” versions of many old video games, and it’s in the modern versions of a handful of games where Waluigi makes his dastardly appearance. Waluigi acts as a considerable challenge as the final opponent for Luigi in the “Boxing” minigame, as well as being the mastermind behind “Rain Shower’s” hard mode where everyone (Wario included) is put in danger. Maybe Waluigi was trying to prove what a great villain he can be, vying for his own GBA title where he ruins classic video games.
4. In Mario Party 7 His Vacuum Orb Will Ruin Your Game
One of the innovations that the bloated Mario Party series added in its seventh iteration was the addition of character-specific items for certain people. One of these items is the Vacuum Orb, which only Waluigi and Wario are able to use in the game. The item is a tremendous nuisance as it steals coins from players, with the amount being determined by roulette in the end.
The Vacuum Orb might not have drastic significance in the Mario universe, but interestingly the events that led to its creation could be rather layered. The logo and colors of the Vacuum Orb are the same as Mario’s FLUDD system from Super Mario Sunshine. The Gamecube was having a whole lot of fun with many inventions throughout the Mario universe being created by Professor E. Gadd. That being said, it seems unlikely that E. Gadd would create such a villainous piece of technology. Therefore, it seems safe to assume that Waluigi and Wario must have tortured or blackmailed the poor guy in some way in order to get this orb made. Hope the pain and suffering of an old man makes the extra coins worthwhile.
3. His Liar Ball in Mario Superstar Baseball
Mario Superstar Baseball has a lot of fun figuring out character-specific special abilities and pitches for its large roster of characters. Some of these custom abilities are brilliant ideas, with others being completely forgettable. One to never waste an opportunity to stand out, Waluigi’s revisions to baseball definitely qualify in the more memorable category. Why? Because Waluigi just pitches an eggplant at players along with the baseball, hopefully confusing the pitcher in the process. If that isn’t bizarrely creative, then what is? Calling it a Liar Ball is also a stroke of genius because it also retains the element of surprise on just how strange this is. Calling it “Eggplant Pitch” would totally tip off gamers, whereas the mystery here increases the impact of its weirdness. On top of his vegetable-based antics on the baseball diamond, in Super Mario Sluggers he also dangerously loads a pitching machine with a Bullet Bill instead of a Bob-omb. The results, needless to say, are pretty explosive.
2. He Steals the Mischief Star Stamp in Mario Party 3
Nothing is worse than having a bumping Mario Party in progress when all of a sudden a Mischief Star Stamp gets stolen. This is exactly what happens in Mario Party 3, with Waluigi being the one responsible for pulling off this heist. Mario Party games typically position Bowser to be the ultimate bad guy so it’s a little refreshing to see this N64 title remembering that Waluigi exists and actually doing something with him. Waluigi certainly doesn’t waste his time as head party guest and owner of the Mischief Star Stamp. After swiftly bullying Bowser into submission, Waluigi forces Mario and crew to ship off to an explosive-filled island that almost seems like certain death for the characters. Waluigi’s Island is a special unlockable board and it’s definitely one of the more groan-inducing ones in the game. Waluigi forces gamers to play through it, almost like punishment for not properly inviting him to their party. Waluigi is never given such responsibilities again in a Mario Party title, so clearly Bowser had a little talk with him about knowing his place.
1. In Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix He Wants to Take Over the World with His Dancing
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix doesn’t get enough credit, and we mean that sincerely. Most DDR titles simply throw track selections at gamers, but Mario Mix actually gives the rhythm gaming a story to lean on for support. Mario Mix’s story is surprisingly Waluigi’s biggest showcase to date, with the character setting the whole story in motion. Waluigi acts as the game’s main antagonist by stealing the precious Music Keys of Truffle Tower. Waluigi plans to use these keys to be the best dancer in the world so he can “hypnotize the rhythm-less masses” with his dance skills. His ultimate goal here is to “flood the world with chaos.” So there’s the high stakes story, but boy is it weird. Weirdness aside, simply getting to groove to classic Mario tracks in Dance Dance Revolution is far more fun than it deserves to be. Waluigi should have just realized that dancing can reflect harmony and fun, not totalitarian oppression.
Are there other times where Waluigi has been an even larger nuisance? Is his name a trigger that causes you to shut off a certain title whenever you hear it mentioned? Sound off in the comments below, but be careful because that sick guy gets off on insults! It’s Waluigi time!