Ahead of the newest installment in the Mario Strikers series, one Nintendo developer has revealed the origins behind one of the franchise's most inappropriate celebrations. That celebration is that of Waluigi, the evil version of Mario's beloved brother Luigi, and it apparently has a completely different meaning than most players would assume.
Mario Strikers is one of the installments in the Mario sports games that includes titles like Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. Players can join a team of five players and compete head-to-head in a soccer match, playing as one of the famous Mario characters. The series began with the original Nintendo Game Cube version and later spawned a single sequel. Thought to be in the past, at Nintendo Direct it was revealed that Mario Strikers: Battle League will be the next installment in the series, set to be released in June 2022. As anticipation for a new Mario soccer installment grows, players are already envisioning which character they will opt to play as. Some may well be interested in the evil Waluigi as their character due to an oddly inappropriate celebration that some developers recently addressed.
In an interview on the YouTube channel GameXplain, Mike Inglehart, the director of the original Mario Strikers game, discussed the development of that game. There were many interesting tidbits that Inglehart dropped, including that Mario Strikers was originally supposed to be a platform game. But the silliest detail was Inglehart's revelation as to the origin of Waluigi's celebration. When scoring, Waluigi thrusts his pelvis and makes a chop with both hands. However, according to Inglehart, despite Waluigi's hands making a "V" shape, it's actually meant to form a "W" for his name. Despite this, Inglehart did show some incredulity that the celebration was allowed to remain in Mario Strikers and it's sequel Mario Strikers Charged.
Though many players may not buy Inglehart's explanation for this celebration, it is an interesting tidbit that gives insight into how the original Mario Strikers was created. Certainly, fans of Waluigi will be tickled to know how exactly he got his iconic celebration. And for those players who are parents with younger children, Inglehart's explanation at least gives a good explanation for an otherwise inappropriate gesture.
Even though Mario Strikers has hardly been one of the biggest in the Mario sports franchise, fans are already excited for the upcoming release of Mario Strikers: Battle League. Whether fans want to play as Waluigi, Luigi, Mario, or another famous character, they should be ready to bust out the moves when they score.
Mario Strikers: Battle League will be released for Nintendo Switch on June 10, 2022.
Source: GameXplain/YouTube