Waluigi

Waluigi is a character often depicted as Luigi's rival and Wario's partner, and was deliberately created to be a selectable character in various multiplayer Mario games. He has appeared in several titles, although none of them are main Mario series adventures. Most of the games he has appeared in are spin-off titles, such as the Mario sports games. His first appearance was in Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64 as Wario's doubles partner. Later, along with Princess Daisy, he joined the Mario Party series roster in Mario Party 3 and has been a playable character in every main entry in the series since.

Waluigi is the brains compared to Wario, and he is more hygienic, though that still doesn't say much. He was originally personified as a dark, sinister character in Mario Tennis, and a fight almost ensued with him and Luigi after Luigi refused to play a tennis match with him. His back was somewhat hunched, and the only sounds Waluigi would make were horrid moans and evil laughter. Also, when he would win, Waluigi would have purple, glowing eyes. More recently, though, he has been portrayed as a form of comic relief, making smart-aleck comments.

Games
After his debut in Mario Tennis, Waluigi instantly rose up to the ranks of other Mario superstars, appearing in almost every Mario sports game or party.

In Mario Party 3, Waluigi commited his first actual evil deed when he stole the Mischief Star Stamp and challenged you to a duel for it, on his board full of explosive traps: Waluigi Island.

Super Smash Bros. Melee features an unlockable Waluigi trophy, which tells us that he had antagonized the Mario Bros. even before Mario Tennis and confirms his age to be that of Luigi's.

In Game & Watch Gallery 4, a remake of a classic Game & Watch game, Boxing, featured Waluigi as the final opponent that Luigi fought. Waluigi also appeared in the modern version of Rainshower, where he would try to mess up your work on hard mode.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, there are two badges that Mario can wear to change his appearance. The L Emblem allows Mario to wear Luigi's clothes, and the W Emblem allows him to put on Wario's outfit When both badges are worn at once, Mario wears Waluigi's purple undershirt and black overalls, although his hat still hat an M on it.

The opening intro movie to Mario Power Tennis features Waluigi, Wario, and Bowser forming an evil alliance to destroy the Mario Bros. with Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills. Although the incident has not been mentioned since, it proves that Waluigi can still perform the same evil deeds as the rest of the bad boys. Also, in the movie, Waluigi and Wario vandalize a Mario Bros. poster and are almost arrested by the police.

Waluigi plays his first major role in a game plot in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, where he attempts world domination. He tries to steal the musical keys to train himself to be a better dancer, so that he can hypnotize the world with his fancy footsteps. However, he loses all but one of them. Two of the keys were found by Bowser and Wario. The three then teamed up to wreak havoc on the Mushroom Kingdom's music. Waluigi also attacked Mario, Luigi, and Toad with a barrage of Bob-ombs.

Waluigi has been playable in Mario Tennis, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Super Mario Strikers, as well as every Mario Party game since 3. He is also a playable character in the Mario Kart Series, appearing at the start in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and as an unlockable character in Mario Kart DS. He will be playable in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Strikers Charged.

Waluigi has yet to star in his own game, although Waluigi fan-games have been made. It is unknown if he will appear in upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but rumors are floating around that he will be playable.

With the inclusion of Baby Wario in Yoshi's Island 2, there is a possibility a baby version of Waluigi may appear.

Appearance
Waluigi has a hat and gloves with a Î“ symbol. Mario's evil counterpart, Wario, wears a "W", which is also an upside-down "M". Likewise, Waluigi is noted as Luigi's evil counterpart, and this is most likely the reason that he wears a "Î“". Nintendo used the vertical mirror image of the "L".

He is the extreme form of his rival, Luigi. While Luigi is tall and skinny, Waluigi is extremely tall and very skinny.

Many biographies describing him in the Mario sports games mention his odd facial appearances, including his pointy nose, sharp jaw, flat feet.

Name
Waluigi's name has a dual-meaning in Japanese. The Japanese word "warui" (æ‚ªã„, "warui"?) means "bad" or "evil" ("Warui" is also a condescending way of apologizing, as opposed to "gomennasai", or "sumimasen" which are more polite). This means that Waluigi's name is a portmanteau of "warui" and "Luigi" and essentially means "Evil Luigi". Many believe his name to be a cheap offshoot of Wario's name rather than being derived from Luigi's name.

Additionally, the name Waluigi would be pronounced in Japanese as waruiji, which rearranges the syllables of ijiwaru, the Japanese word for "mean-spirited".

Note that in Japanese, the same sound is used for L and R.

Criticism
Waluigi is disliked by many Nintendo fans due to the lack of originality behind his creation and his clunky name. He is also disliked because of his role in the Mario universe as a "filler" character â€“ that is, a character who serves as a partner to a previously established character or as an extra player in games like the Mario Party or Mario Kart series.

Relationship to Wario
Waluigi's relationship to Wario is unclear. It appears that they might be related since they share some facial and mental characteristics, but Waluigi's Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy says that it is indeed unclear if they are brothers or not. It can be inferred that they are at least good friends.

However, according to Nintendo of Europe, Waluigi and Wario are brothers. Nintendo of Europe's "Wario's Warehouse" articles from a few years ago had Wario referred to Waluigi as "his dimwit brother." Nintendo of Europe's Mario Kart DS site has a description of the Waluigi Pinball course that refers to Waluigi as Wario's younger brother.

Nintendo of America also mentioned Waluigi and Wario's brotherhood. Nintendo of America's old Mario Tennis  Page says Wario and Waluigi are indeed brothers. Also, Wario and Waluigi's team name in Mario Party 5 - the "Wicked Bros." - also implies that they are brothers, however, putting Luigi and Yoshi on a team makes the team name the "Green Bros."

Although, Nintendo adopted the use of the name "Mario" as a double for the characters' last name from the movies to make sense for why Luigi is a "Mario Brother." It is unclear if the same can be said for Wario & Waluigi, meaning they could also bear the Mario last name or even be "Wario Bros." or maybe even something else. The term "Wicked Bros." shouldn't be taken seriously at this time as their official last name, but more so as their personalities.

Note that although Waluigi has good relations with Wario in the Mario franchise, he has yet to appear in any Wario game.

Wrecking Crew Connections
Waluigi seems to have connections to the Wrecking Crew games. In Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, Waluigi song was called Destruction Dance, a remix of the theme song for the NES version of Wrecking Crew. Waluigi's Liar Ball in Mario Superstar Baseball contained an eggplant in it. This is another reference because Wrecking Crew featured Eggplant Men as enemies. Also, in challenge mode of the game, Waluigi had to obtain the Whiskered Eggplant, his favorite food, before he could use the move. One of the names for Waluigi's team was the Waluigi's Flankers, and its logo featured Waluigi wearing shades. In Mario Kart DS, one of Waluigi's karts in the Gold Mantis, a construction crane. Waluigi also has a similar laugh to Foreman Spike, and their noses look the same, as well.

Because of these connections, some fans speculate that Waluigi and Foreman Spike are the same person, but this is unconfirmed by Nintendo.

Trivia

 * According to the official Mario Power Tennis website, Waluigi lives at Waluigi, 26 Grimace Lane, Mushroom Kingdom, IMG EEK.

Mario Superstar Baseball Bio
"Luigi's eccentric rival. Waluigi is a hardworking player who has been training night and day to gain enough power to best Luigi. The eggplant that his Liar Ball delivers is said to have the power to make those who touch it lose their lunches."