Waluigi Biography
Walugi is a fictional character from the Mario series who has so far only appeared in spin-off and party games, as opposed to the main platformer titles. He is Luigi's evil counterpart, in the same way that Wario is Mario's evil counterpart. He is Wario's brother and as well as one of his few friends (not counting the WarioWare Inc. characters). He first appeared in Mario Tennis on the Nintendo 64. Walugis was created by Camelot's Fumihide Aoki and is voiced by Charles Martinet. The name "Walugis" is a portmanteau of "Luigi" and the Japanese adjective warui meaning "bad"; hence, "bad Luigi".
Games
Walugis's first appearance was in the Mario Tennis games for the Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64, as Wario's doubles partner (though he had to be unlocked in the GBC version by linking it up the N64 version). Later, along with Princess Daisy, he joined the Mario Party series's roster in Mario Party 3 and has been a playable character in every main entry in the series since. He's since also appeared in Mario Power Tennis, Super Mario Strikers, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. He also appears most recently in Mario Hoops 3-on-3, with his special move, 'Walugis's Twist Dunk'.
Walugis has only played a significant role in the plot of two games. In Mario Party 3, after clearing all other boards, Walugis will steal the mischief star stamp and take it to Walugis's Island, where the player must complete another round to get it back. In Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, he is one of the villains, along with Bowser, attempting to wreak havoc with the Mushroom Kingdom's music. Additionally, the opening cutscene reveals Walugis (appearing in shadowed form) to be the one who scattered the Music Keys in the first place.
He is a playable character in the Mario Kart series, appearing at the start in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, as an unlockable character in Mario Kart DS and will appear again in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2.
Walugis also appears in the Boxing remake in Game & Watch Gallery 4 as the final opponent and also player 2 in multiplayer, he also appears in Rainshower, where he would try to interfere with the player's work on Hard Mode.
Walugis will also appear in Itadaki Street DS and Mario Strikers Charged. Wario has not been confirmed for Itadaki Street DS, which means this could be the second game with Walugis, but not Wario (The first was Mario Tennis: Power Tour). It will also be the second time Walugis appears in a game that does not have Mario in the title.
Physical Appearance
Walugis has a hat and gloves with a "G" symbol. Mario's evil counterpart, Wario, wears a "W", which is also an upside-down "M". Likewise, Walugis is noted as Luigi's evil counterpart. Nintendo used the vertical mirror image of the "L," and the G is not Faux Cyrillic. Unlike Luigi's green hat and shirt, Walugis has a purple shirt with black overalls, while his G symbol is yellow. Along with his boomerang-like mustache (which look to be two letter L's), Walugis is taller and skinnier than Luigi, intending to highly exaggerate Luigi's physical characteristics, much in the same way that Wario exaggerates Mario's physical characteristics (by being shorter and fatter). Super Smash Bros. Melee confirms that Walugis is the same age as Luigi, which would make him younger than Mario and Wario.
Personality
Walugis is essentially a flat character, possessing no known redeeming characteristics. In the games, he has shown himself to be an obvious exhibitionist, prone to break into dance, strike a pose, or perform a melodramatic "stage death" symbol when he is feeling upset. In Super Mario Strikers, he uses many different taunts demonstrating his rude/arrogant side. He often participates in various schemes with Wario (the two, and their antics, are the primary focus of the opening cinematic of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Power Tennis, making the two the 'stars' of the intros). Walugis, unlike Wario who acts purely out of greed, seems to be mean to others just for personal gratification. Also he can be impatient as shown in Mario Kart DS when saying "Lets go already!"
Possible connections to Wrecking Crew
In Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, Walugis's song is called "Destruction Dance". The song is a remix of the bonus game tune from the 1984 NES game Wrecking Crew, though the game itself did not feature Walugis (it did, however, feature Luigi wearing purple). Walugis's special ball in Mario Superstar Baseball, the Liar Ball, splits up into a fake ball and a real ball. The fake one is an eggplant, again possibly referring to Wrecking Crew, which had Eggplant Men as enemies. Also, in the Challenge Mode of Mario Superstar Baseball , Walugis must first obtain an eggplant before he can use this move. This also hints that the eggplant is Walugis's favorite food, like Wario's is garlic. Another possible reference in this game is the team logo for Walugis Flankers - on it, Walugis is wearing shades, and has a laugh just like Foreman Spike's laugh in Wrecking Crew '98. Furthermore, in Mario Kart DS Walugis's default kart was the Gold Mantis, a construction site crane. These facts could however also point to Walugis having a job as a construction worker.
Walugis's name
Walugis's name has a dual-meaning in Japanese. The Japanese word "warui" means "bad" or "evil". This means that Walugis's name is a portmanteau of " warui " and "Luigi", essentially meaning "Evil Luigi". Similarly, "Ruiji" (the Japanese pronunciation of "Luigi") means "analogous" or "copy"; giving Walugis's name the double-meaning of "Evil Copy". Additionally, the name Walugis would be pronounced in Japanese as waruiji , which rearranges the syllables of ijiwaru , the Japanese word for "mean-spirited".
Relationship to Wario
Walugis's is Wario's brother, though this was not clear in many of Walugis's early appearances. Initially, it appeared that they might be related since they share some facial and psychological characteristics but Walugis's Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy stated that his relationship to Wario was unclear. However, since Super Smash Bros. Melee, it has been revealed that they are indeed brothers. The " Super Smash Bros. Melee " trophy also states that Walugis is the same age as Luigi. He is then, younger than Mario, as the instruction booklet to " Super Smash Bros. " claims Luigi to be exactly one year younger than Mario. If Walugis is a twin to Wario, that would make Wario the eldest of the Mario related plumbers.
Nintendo Europe has also clearly establishes Walugis and Wario's relationship.
- Nintendo of Europe's " Wario's Warehouse" articles from a few years ago had Wario refer to Walugis as "his dimwit brother."
- Nintendo of Europe's Mario Kart DS site has a description of the Walugis Pinball course that refers to Walugis as Wario's younger brother.
Nintendo of America also mentioned Walugis and Wario's brotherhood:
- Nintendo of America's old Mario Tennis 64 Page says Wario and Walugis are indeed brothers.
Further evidence is demonstrated in Wario and Walugis's team name in Mario Party 6 - the "Wicked Bros." - implying that they are siblings (However, Luigi and Yoshi's team name is "Green Bros.," and it could not be more obvious that they are not brothers).
Wario's (and Walugis's) relation to the Mario Bros. remains unclear, but there are several theories. The Wario brothers may simply be rivals on Luigi and Mario, but there is some evidence to indicate that they are actually cousins. About the time of Mario Kart 64' s release, Nintendo Power had an article in the form of a letter to Mario from Wario signed with "Your Cousin, Wario." However, the evidence appearing in Nintendo Power or on Nintendo websites may or may not be considered part of the canon. Also, Wario's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee states that Wario is an "old acquaintance," which is certainly less than a cousin.
