Wiggler

"Waaaa! You've flooded my house! Wh-Why?? Look at this mess! What am I going to do now? The ceiling's ruined, the floor is soaked...what to do, what to do? Huff...huff...it makes me so...MAD!!! Everything's been going wrong since I got this Star...It's so shiny, but it makes me feel...strange..."

- Wiggler

Wigglers are a species resembling large real-world caterpillars. They first appeared in Super Mario World, where they have a yellow coloration when calm, but turn red and run about quickly if jumped on. Wigglers in all their types are easily identifiable by the characteristic flower or other plant growing from their head.

In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, a species known as Flutters made an appearance, which confirmed that Wigglers are indeed caterpillars.

''Super Mario World
Wigglers make their first appearance in Mario games in the Forest of Illusion of Super Mario World. When jumped on, Wigglers turn red as they get angry and start moving faster, aggressively chasing Mario or Luigi. Wigglers cannot be defeated with standard Jumps. However, they can be beaten using a Star or a thrown object (such as a Shell, a Goomba or a Grab Block); they can also be eaten by Yoshis.

Wigglers are also used in a glitch that allows the player to obtain 9,999,990 points very quickly.

''Super Mario 64
In Super Mario 64, a Wiggler appears as a boss in Tiny-Huge Island. To reach Wiggler, Mario must go into Tiny Island and ground pound the pool above its house at the very top of the Island, then go into Huge Island and fit through a small gap that could not be reached in Tiny Island. Inside, the Wiggler is angry Mario has flooded his house. After two stomps on his head, the Wiggler becomes angry and storms around; after one more, the Wiggler then shrinks and leaves a Power Star. In Super Mario 64 DS, this battle returned the same, although one effect was added: The Wiggler turned into his red "angry" form before his final hit in Super Mario 64 DS. Super Mario 64 DS also included a mini-game known as Which Wiggler? which prominently featured Wigglers.

''Super Mario Sunshine
A Wiggler is a boss in Super Mario Sunshine game in Episode 3 of Gelato Beach, after being knocked off his resting spot on a tower in Episode 2. He attacks by stomping angrily all over the level. To defeat him, Mario must spray a small Dune Bud growing in the sand. When he sprays it enough, it explodes, flipping the Wiggler over if it is close. Mario must than Ground Pound on the designated part of his soft underbelly. When he is hit twice, he gets the ability to climb the hill. After being defeated, he turns into sand and dissolves.

It is interesting to note that, as indicated by its Japanese name, this Wiggler is actually an individual, being known as Boss Hana-chan (ボスハナチャン), Hana-chan being the Japanese name of Wiggler. He is also unique for being green instead of yellow, as well as not turning red when angry. Firing water at this Wiggler makes him fire steam from his nose.

''New Super Mario Bros.
Wigglers return in the side-scroller New Super Mario Bros., where they can be found in 4-4 and World 7-3. The only way to defeat them is to use a Shell, a Mega Mushroom, or a Star, although a ground pound is able to flip them over and stun them. A sub-species known as Squigglers is also introduced in this game. Furthermore, World 7-3 is notable for taking place on a giant Wiggler with twenty-nine body segments, including its head. The Which Wiggler? minigame from Super Mario 64 DS also reappears.

''Super Mario Galaxy
Wigglers reappear in Super Mario Galaxy. If the player ground pounds near or spins one, it would be flipped over. Once it flips itself back over after a short while, or it gets jumped on, it turns red, a vein will bulge from its head and start chasing Mario. However, unlike the other games, the effect is temporary, and after a few seconds, the Wiggler cools back down. A stomp when flipped or a normal ground pound on it defeats it.

''New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Wigglers also appear in the sequel to New Super Mario Bros. just as they did in the first game. They can be defeated while Mario is under the effects of a Star or by using a Shell. They only appear in World 5-2. The game also introduces a bigger variety known as Mega Wigglers; these are very useful for crossing over the poisonous water.

Unlike in Super Mario World, Wigglers can't be eaten by Yoshi in this game. However, the same can't be said for the Mega Wigglers; they can be eaten by Yoshi.

''Super Mario Galaxy 2
Wigglers appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2. They act and can be defeated in the same way as in the prequel, but some of them start out angry.

Super Mario World television series
Wigglers, though referred to as "Caterpillars", appeared throughout several episodes of the Super Mario World animated series; oddly, in the Super Mario World cartoon, Wigglers were portrayed as being constantly angry and possessing large fangs.

A Caterpillar first appeared in "Ghosts 'R' Us" where Yoshi, while traveling with Oogtar the Caveboy through the Enchanted Forest, is attacked by a hungry Caterpillar. After running from this Caterpillar, Yoshi manages to defeat by, after gaining a pair of Magic Wings, slurping it up.

Caterpillars were featured prominently in the episode "Party Line", which had a swarm of Caterpillars attacking Dome City while all the cave people were busy gossiping away on their new telephones. Chasing Mario and Luigi up a large tree, this swarm of Caterpillars begins trying to reach them and devour them. A Caterpillar, managing to bite Mario's leg, sends him rocketing through the air, hitting a ? Block, which releases a Starman that Luigi grabs. With his new strength, Luigi tosses all the ferocious Caterpillars into the tree, which he uses as a catapult to launch the Caterpillars into space and onto a meteor, which they devour. This group of Wigglers is seen near the end of "Party Line", where they look on as the T-Rex, who had been tossed into space by a Starman powered Mario, soars by.

"Mama Luigi" sees another appearance of them. A Caterpillar goes after the Baby Yoshi, who has run away again. It walks in a more understandable pattern, sneaking up on it. When Luigi stomps it, and it gets up, it shows its fangs, and several more come. Luigi then utters the line that has become one of the most well-known out of the cartoon series: "MARIO! WHEREVER YOU ARE! HEEEEELP!!!" Yoshi quickly gets hungry, and to Luigi's surprise, devours the caterpillars.

In "Born to Ride", after Yoshi leaves the Dome Castle and just before he meets the DinoRiders, he spots a Caterpillar and swallows it.

''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Wigglers appear as a common enemy in the Forest Maze in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. They crawl in and out of tree stumps during this area. Jumping on them in the overworld releases Coins and causes them to move faster, often releasing a Frog Coin if stomped enough times in a row. Additionally, some Wigglers can be found sleeping in the Forest Maze's caves; jumping (outside of battle) on some of these undefeatable Wigglers angers them, making them launch Mario up out of the caves. Finally, Wigglers are notable for having have six feet rather than eight in Super Mario RPG, while their artwork for that game depicts them with the traditional number of eight; even more confusingly, Dr. Topper asks a "How many feet do Wigglers have?" question in Bowser's Keep that includes answers such as "six" and "eight", and the correct one is the non-traditional six.

Super Mario Bros. film
Wigglers are referenced in the Super Mario Bros. motion picture, which features a taxi cab company known as "Wiggler".

''Yoshi's Island
The sub-species of Wigglers, Flutters, make their first appearance here.

''Yoshi's Story
A Wiggler that is very different from the normal Wiggler (being a furry, green Wiggler) known as the Fuzzy Wiggler appears in Yoshi's Story. The Fuzzy Wiggler turns blue when stomped on, and once it is defeated by stomping on all of its segments it drops a Melon.

Mario Party series
Either a Wiggler or a Wiggler Fly appears in the Western Land board in Mario Party 2. Her name is Hootenanny, the same name as the event she triggers. It is unknown whether she is a Wiggler or a Wiggler Fly, as only her head appears. In Mario Party 3, in the mini-game Picture Imperfect, Wiggler's face was one of the 3 main faces the players had to put together. In Mario Party 5, Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7 a Wiggler had its own orb, the orb will take you where the Star is. In the mini-game Cardiators from Mario Party 8, Wiggler appears as a card enemy and does 8 damage.

''Mario Party DS
A Wiggler (named Wiggler) makes an appearance in Mario Party DS, all as a trophy, a character in Story Mode, and owns her own board, entitled Wiggler's Garden. In Story Mode, a Piranha Plant began terrorizing its garden. Wiggler then asked the tiny heroes to defeat the Piranha Plant. After defeating it, Wiggler rewards the heroes with the first Sky Crystal, and the heroes continue their quest for the rest for Bowser's Castle.

''Game & Watch Gallery 4
A Wiggler is the first creature Luigi faces in the modern mode of Boxing.

''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
A green bus that closely resembles the Wiggler from Super Mario Sunshine, known as the Wiggler Bus, appears as a moving obstacle on the Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City racing tracks. Crashing into it will send the racer tumbling, making them lose all items that they had, along with the rear character dragging behind for a little while. In both tracks, there's sometimes more than one Wiggler Bus driving around.

''Mario Kart DS
A Wiggler appears as a boss in the unlockable seventh mission set. Players must race him on Mushroom Bridge, and each lap he gets faster. The first lap he is regular, the second lap he has steam rising from his head, and the third and final lap he is angry and red. He takes the shortcut on the last lap.

''Mario Kart Wii
Two giant Wigglers appear briefly as stage hazards in Maple Treeway. They casually walk around on one of the treetops, and don't seem to go out of their way to stop racers, yet running into them brings racers to an immediate halt. However, in a tournament held in September of 2010, a Wiggler appears in Wario's Gold Mine, where the racer must attempt to avoid hitting him as they race around the course. On the last lap, the Wiggler gets mad and turns red, chasing the racer around the course at twice his normal speed.

''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
A Wiggler appears as a boss in Chucklehuck Woods in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Players fight him during the quest for the Chuckola Fruits. At first, the Mario Bros. see the Wiggler trying to enter a small hole in the wall, and then they help him get through by jumping on it. After the Wiggler enters the hole, Mini-Mario tries to enter the hole but runs away after seeing the enraged Wiggler. This Wiggler's natural form seemed to be his enraged, red one, while his typically normal yellow one was used as a weak and sickly state. To beat him, all segments must be attacked, and then the Mario Bros. have one hit onto his head. After that, he gets mad again. After he is defeated, he runs away crying.

Unlike the other bosses in the game, the Mario Bros. aren't automatically healed after this battle.

''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
A "Swiggler" appears as the first boss, a Shroob (alien) variant of the Wiggler. The Swiggler regularly drinks glasses of green goo that contain Vim (energy) drained from the Mushroom Kingdom's Toad population. The Swiggler attacks by extending tubes from its hind-gut which plug into Shroob saucers flying overhead, which use the Swiggler's supply of Vim to shoot beams of energy at Mario, Luigi, and their baby counterparts.

''Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
A giant Wiggler appears as the boss of Dimble Woods. Bowser first meets him after he pulls up the Giga-Carrot, which was blocking the Wiggler's burrow. This infuriates the Wiggler, who demands that Bowser eat the carrot. As soon as Bowser finishes the carrot, the Wiggler yells at Bowser for destroying generations of hard work and care by eating the carrot (despite the fact that he told Bowser to do so in the first place). He then attacks the Koopa King.

In battle, Wiggler is able to use an array of different moves this time. The most noticeable attack is seen when Wiggler stands up straight and his front pair of feet morph into hands, reminiscent of his appearance in Mario Power Tennis (below). He then gets a watering can and waters the ground, making a giant Turnip grow there. Two Leaf Guys then pull up the Turnip and hover above the battle on the top screen, waiting to drop it on Bowser as an attack; Bowser is able to inhale the Leaf Guys and the Turnip will drop.

Wiggler's other attacks include ramming and a body slam, where he rises up and attempts to fall on Bowser. Bowser can block this attack by punching the Wiggler's segments, causing him to back up and lower to the point where Bowser is eventually able to punch his head. If Bowser lets the Wiggler fall, he can defend with his shell and Wiggler will rebound. Like the Wiggler in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Wiggler is mad and red by default. Bowser must attack all of his segments before he will be vulnerable to attacks.

Later in the game, The Wiggler appears to block the Bros. route. He tells them that after all that has happened to the wood, he is not letting anyone pass without authorisation. When he notices that the Bros. are collecting Attack Pieces, he tells them to 'take responsibility' and collect six. Once they manage to do this, he lets them pass.

The first sage and guardian of the first Star Cure, Durmite, resembles a cross between a green Birdo and a Wiggler.

Paper Mario 3DS
A Wiggler is seen along with Mario in the upcoming game Paper Mario 3DS. This marks the first time of Wigglers appearing in the Paper Mario series.

''Mario Power Tennis
A Wiggler is an unlockable character in this game. He is a defensive type, like Waluigi. For his power shot, he turns red with anger and whacks the ball with brute strength. His defense power shot allows him to morph into a Wiggler Fly and fly. With his temporary wings, he flies to get the ball. It is interesting to note that, unlike in his other appearances, Wiggler's body is curved upwards and has two gloved hands, as he needs to be able to hold a tennis racket. This makes him more so resemble a Wiggler Fly.

''Super Princess Peach
In Super Princess Peach, there's a Wiggler as a boss of World 4, Fury Volcano. It would attack by getting angry and running fast on the platform, sending rocks down. Some rocks contain crystals. To defeat it, Peach had to use Rage to push a spring underneath the platform down. It would flip it over and show a weak spot, which Peach would have to jump on.

''Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Wiggler appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a sticker and trophy, but doesn't actually appear in the game.

''Mario Super Sluggers
Wiggler appears as a playable character in Mario Super Sluggers. In Challenge Mode, he acts as a roller coaster in Yoshi Park, but has lost his temper and speedily races on the track. Mario must change the direction of the rails in order to steer Wiggler off the track and calm him down. Afterward, he joins Mario's baseball team.

Wiggler shares good chemistry with Blooper, King Boo, and Petey Piranha, possibly because they all appear as bosses in Super Mario Sunshine. Wiggler is a team player for Yoshi's team, the Yoshi Eggs. Wiggler is shown to be pretty strong in this game, not only with an above average batting and running rating, but also with his close plays, in which he turns red if successful and smashes into the baseman. Of course, his pitching and fielding skills are rather weak.

Notable Wigglers

 * Wiggler – Super Mario Sunshine
 * Hootenanny – Mario Party 2
 * Swiggler – Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
 * Wiggler Family – Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Sub-Species

 * Flutter – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Fuzzy Wiggler – Yoshi's Story
 * Squiggler – New Super Mario Bros.
 * Mega Wiggler – New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Trivia

 * In Mario Power Tennis, Wiggler is shown with hands for the first time. This was seen again in Mario Super Sluggers resulting in Wiggler's overall participation for those games. Later, in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, the Wiggler boss could change his front two feet into hands to use a watering can for one of his attacks, possibly implying that Wigglers can switch their front two feet between feet and hands whenever they want.
 * When players ground pound Wiggler's body in Super Mario Sunshine, the boss music speeds up once per hit. This doesn't happen with any other boss in the game.
 * In the first Super Mario Galaxy, if one flips a Wiggler over and stomps one of the body segments, only that body segment will flatten and it will explode into Star Bits. However, in Super Mario Galaxy 2, if one does the same thing, the whole Wiggler gets flattened rather than just one body segment.