Nintendo
Advertisement

Waluigi (JP) is a character in the Mario series. He first appeared in the 2000 video game Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. He is Luigi's rival in a similar way Wario is Mario's rival. He wears a similar outfit like them, except that his hat emblem is an inverted 'L'. He is also very lanky.

Waluigi has so far only appeared in Mario spinoff games. This leads to believe that his creation was solely on the purpose to give Wario a partner on spinoff games in the same way Mario and Luigi are a team in the main series. He also appears to ride on a motorcycle like Wario.

During the development of Mario Tennis, every Mario character had a doubles partner, except for Wario. So the development team had to come up with a new character, who would be an rival character to Luigi. The names for this new character were "Jeroji", "Jinani" and "Wa-igi" were considered, until it was ultimately decided that the name for this new character would be "Waluigi". The name "Waluigi" is a portmanteau of "Luigi" and the Japanese adjective warui (悪い, warui?) meaning "bad"; hence, "bad Luigi".

Personality and appearance

Waluigi has a very competitive aspect to him. As such, he has appeared in many Mario spin-off games. When Waluigi is competing he tends to be very un-sportsman like in his behavior. Simply put, Waluigi is a very poor sport. He often resorts to cheating to win. Waluigi has also been shown to be very arrogant. Whenever Waluigi scores, he shows off very much and acts like he's about to win. Conversely, if his opponent even makes a little progress, Waluigi will throw a tantrum. Waluigi is also very mischievous, and usually gets Wario and himself in trouble, like when he vandalized a picture of Luigi in Mario Power Tennis. Waluigi is especially well known for his rudeness, as seen in a variety of games.

Waluigi has a hat and gloves with a "Γ" symbol, which is similar to Wario's "W", which is also an upside-down "M". Unlike Luigi's green hat and shirt, Waluigi has a purple shirt and hat with dark grey overalls, while his Γ symbol is yellow. Along with his boomerang-like mustache, Waluigi 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. Artists have also considered to separate certain colors and pick which color looks mostly unalike or most apart from a color wheel. This seems to match Mario and Luigi considering the fact that colors red and green are considered the opposite just like Waluigi and Wario have outfits in the color of yellow and purple which are the opposite.

Mainline Mario series

Waluigi appears as an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume in Super Mario Maker. In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario can unlock and wear a Waluigi outfit via his Amiibo or collecting enough power moons. It is also the only reference of Waluigi in a mainline Mario game.

Mario Tennis series

WaluigiTennis64

Waluigi's classic appearance.

Waluigi is a big part of the Mario Tennis series, being the series in which the character debuted in.

Mario Tennis

In the opening of Mario Tennis, several characters play in a tennis tournament. Wario and Waluigi lurk on the sidelines of the court, and seem upset that they were not invited. The two interrupt the final match between Mario and Luigi, and Waluigi states that they want to play. Luigi declines and mocks Waluigi, which upsets Waluigi. Waluigi and Luigi prepare to fight as they walk up to each other. Mario tries to stop them, but Wario stands in his way. Suddenly, Bowser falls from the sky, knocking Wario and Waluigi onto the ground. Everyone prepares to fight him, but Bowser reveals that he just wants to play tennis. Mario allows Bowser, Wario, and Waluigi to play, and everyone cheers. However, the celebration is cut short when a Bob-omb explodes inside the stadium, presumably harming everyone. Waluigi is a Technique character in Mario Tennis, which means Waluigi has good control over the ball. Also, he has above-average reach. Waluigi lacks power and movement speed, however.

Mario Power Tennis

In Mario Power Tennis, Waluigi is a Defense character. In the intro movie in Mario Power Tennis, Wario and Waluigi face the Mario Bros. in the first round of a tennis tournament. Mario and Luigi defeat them.

Some time after the match, Wario and Waluigi head to Peach Dome, where they notice the tournament board which shows that they have been eliminated. They decide to vandalize the picture of the Mario Bros. on the board in revenge. However, a group of police sees them in the act and attempts to arrest them. Wario and Waluigi run from the police for a while before hiding in a side room, which turns out to be an entrance to Bowser's workout room. The three then form an alliance, and Bowser has Wario and Waluigi train there while the tournament continues.

They interrupt the final match of the tournament; the Mario Bros. against Yoshi and Donkey Kong, turning it into a rematch. They are booed, and decide to fire Bob-ombs at the Mario Bros.. Bowser helps them in a giant balloon full of Bob-ombs. However, the Bros. and the other characters hit the Bob-ombs back at Wario and Waluigi with their tennis rackets, blowing up parts of the Peach Dome. Bowser fires a Bullet Bill at Mario, but he deflects it with his tennis racket, sending it into Wario and Waluigi's Bob-omb launcher, which malfunctions and fires a Bob-omb at Bowser's balloon. Since the balloon was full of Bob-ombs, it crashes into the ground near Wario and Waluigi, causing a huge explosion. The three faint as a result.

He has great reach, but his movement and power are somewhat limited. Waluigi is one of the two Defense characters in the game, the other being Wiggler. Waluigi's Offensive Powershot is the Whirluigi, a backspin shot that gives returners a whirlwind affect, losing the returner's control. Waluigi's Defensive Powershot is the Swimming Return. Here, water appears in the court, and Waluigi swims to hit the ball.

Mario Tennis: Power Tour

Waluigi also appears in Mario Tennis: Power Tour, with the same traits as in Mario Power Tennis. This is the only Mario game thus far, where Waluigi appears as a playable character without Wario (although the latter can still be heard at the beginning of the game's intro shouting "Nintendo")

Mario Tennis Open

Waluigi returns as a playable character in Mario Tennis Open, as one of the game's two defense type characters. Waluigi is relatively unchanged, but his winning animation depicts him with flashing eyes, a reference to Waluigi's reaction to winning a point in the original Mario Tennis.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash

In Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, he is once again one of the two defense character in the game, the other being Dry Bowser.

Mario Tennis Aces

Waluigi returns as a playable character in Mario Tennis Aces, in which he is once again a defensive character and wears a new tennis outfit specifically made for him. Waluigi plays a rather major role in the game's Story Mode, where he and Wario steal Lucien, after hearing of the racket's legendary power. Wario and Waluigi decide to challenge the Mario Bros. to a tennis match. Mario and Luigi win the match, but a dark storm cloud appears, and Lucien possesses Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi. Waluigi later appears as a Story Mode opponent who challenges Mario and Toad to a tennis match. After the duo succeeds, Waluigi is transformed back into his standard form. Later on, Bowser combines himself with Lucien to create Bowcien. When Bowcien is finally defeated, Wario and Waluigi both express disappointment that they couldn't use Lucien to become "the best tennis players in the world". Daisy scolds the duo for stealing Lucien and causing this problem in the first place.

He also appeared as an unlockable playable character in the game's online tournament demo, unlocked after 100 points were accumulated.

Mario Party series

Waluigi has appeared in every Mario Party game after Mario Party 3, except for Mario Party Advance. Since all characters share the same gameplay in the early games, only games where he is a huge part of the story or where there is actual gameplay differences are listed here.

Mario Party 3

Mario Party 3 is the first game in the Mario Party series featuring Waluigi and it is also Waluigi's second appearance in a Mario game and in an N64 game. In this game, he and Daisy are playable only in Party Mode. He even serves as the main antagonist of the story. After clearing the penultimate board, Mario and his friends are ambushed by Bowser, who announces that the protagonists have to fight him for the Mischief Star Stamp. Tumble then realizes the Star Stamp is missing and Waluigi reveals that he has stolen it. Bowser attacks Waluigi for the stamp, but is defeated. Waluigi then challenges the other party members to a duel on his own board of explosive traps: Waluigi's Island. However, once Waluigi is defeated, he forfeits the Star Stamp.

Mario Party-e

Waluigi appears in a few minigames in Mario Party-e. In Waluigi's Reign, Waluigi drops hammers, coins, and Red Coins on Mario. In Time Bomb Ticks!, Waluigi hits buttons in order as quickly as possible to give Mario less time to stop the bomb. Waluigi also appears in two cards, Waluigi and Super Waluigi. They are both duel cards, which involves dueling a player for coin cards and in-play cards, but Super Waluigi costs coin cards.

Mario Party 7

In Mario Party 7, Waluigi shares a character-specific orb with Wario: the Vacuum Orb. By using a roulette, Waluigi can steal other opponents' coins.

Mario Party 8

In Mario Party 8, Waluigi flaunts a rose for his winning animation. Waluigi's holding a rose is a recurring trait for him in various later appearances including Mario Golf: World Tour, Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Party Superstars, and even as art during Nintendo Minute's Nintendo Switch Lite Blue unboxing video.

Super Mario Party

In Super Mario Party, Waluigi's Dice Block has one -3 coins, one 1, one 3, two 5's, and one 7. His Dice Block is colored purple.

Super Mario Party Jamboree

He appears as a playable character in Super Mario Party Jamboree. It is the first game in which he is voiced by Kevin Afghani, following Charles Martinet stepping down from voicing Mario characters in 2023.

Game & Watch Gallery series

Game & Watch Gallery 4

In Game & Watch Gallery 4, he appears in Boxing and Rain Shower. In Boxing Waluigi appears as Luigi's final opponent, where he attacks by elbowing and kicking in contrast to Luigi's Punches. Waluigi is controlled by the second player in Link Cable multiplayer.

In Rain Shower he appears only in hard mode, where he moves the lines around putting the other characters in danger of Bowser's water balloons.

Mario Golf series

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Wario and Waluigi see the Mario Bros. golfing with Princess Peach and Princess Daisy. Jealous of their good golfing, they challenge Yoshi and a Koopa Troopa to a game of golf. However, Wario ends up flinging sand from a sand trap into Waluigi's face, and Waluigi cannot putt his ball into the hole, which causes their opponents to fall asleep. The duo then challenges Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

During this game, Wario hits his ball so hard that it flies into the forest across the hole. Wario and Waluigi celebrate until they hear a loud roar. The two look up and see Bowser in his Koopa Clown Car, and he has a black eye from Wario's golf ball. Bowser starts firing Bullet Bills at the two until they escape via a yellow Warp Pipe that is too small for the Koopa Clown Car to fit through. Wario and Waluigi come out the other side of the pipe and stop to catch their breath, but Bowser catches up to them and prepares to throw a Bob-omb at them.

Wario and Waluigi try to escape from Bowser by going through an enormous metal door. Meanwhile, Mario hits his ball with his golf club just as Waluigi is able to open the door. At that moment Mario's ball bounces off Wario and Waluigi, giving them black eyes too, and knocks the Bob-omb off Bowser's hand. The Bob-omb explodes on Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser.

Waluigi is a default playable character in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. His shot path is to the right while he can hit the maximum at 209 yards. He has slightly above average impact and spin with relatively average control. His shot height is medium.

Mario Golf: World Tour

Waluigi returns as a playable character in Mario Golf: World Tour, and now has his own purchasable ball and set of clubs that a Mii can equip and use. His costume is available when all the Star Coins for the Cheep Cheep Lagoon challenges are collected. In the Castle Club's Royal Room, he is seen spinning on one leg while holding up the other.

Mario Kart series

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Waluigi makes his first appearance in the Mario Kart series in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! as a playable character. In the game, he is available from the start, and is classified as a middleweight character. The Waluigi Racer is considered to be Waluigi's personal kart, and his default partner is Wario. Waluigi and Wario both share a special item, the Bob-omb. He also has his own course, Waluigi Stadium, which is the last course in the Flower Cup.

Mario Kart DS

Waluigi returns in Mario Kart DS. He is an unlockable playable character. Again, he is a middleweight racer. Waluigi has three karts, which are the Standard WL, the Zipper, and the Gold Mantis. He is unlocked if the player completes 100cc Lightning Cup. He also has his own course, Waluigi Pinball, which is the third track of the Flower Cup.

Mario Kart Arcade GP 2

Waluigi appears in Mario Kart Arcade GP 2. He is one of the playable all-around racers. Waluigi even has his own cup, the Waluigi Stage. There are only two races, Stadium Arena and Waluigi Stadium.

Mario Kart Wii

In Mario Kart Wii, Waluigi is a starting, playable character. While Waluigi typically is in the middleweight class, he is categorized as a large-sized character in this game. Waluigi is given an acceleration bonus that is tied with that of Toad. He also provides a drift bonus and a small off-road bonus. Waluigi Stadium from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! also returns as a retro course in the Banana Cup.

Mario Kart 7

Although Waluigi is not playable in Mario Kart 7 (though he was supposed to appear in the game as a playable character, but was scrapped, due to time constraints), but the Waluigi Pinball course from Mario Kart DS is back and the likeness of Waluigi can be found across it. This makes it the only post-Mario Kart Double Dash!! game where Waluigi does not physically appear and the first time a Waluigi course appears without Waluigi himself.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

Waluigi later appears in Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, this time as an unlockable character. Unlike the previous games, which have either made him a middleweight or a heavyweight racer, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX places Waluigi as a lightweight character.

Mario Kart 8/Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Waluigi returns in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a playable racer where he is available from the start. While classified as a heavyweight, Waluigi is actually one of the lighter heavyweights, sacrificing some speed and weight to boost acceleration, handling, and grip a little.

Mario Kart Tour

Waluigi reappears in Mario Kart Tour as a playable character. He is available as a Super character in said game. Waluigi's special item is the Double Bob-ombs. His self-titled course, Waluigi Pinball, returns from Mario Kart DS. The London Tour introduces a high-end tier bus driver variant of Waluigi, called Waluigi (Bus Driver), in which he wears a pair of plaid pants, a matching cap, a white dress shirt, and a striped necktie. Waluigi (Bus Driver)'s special item is the Triple Bananas. Waluigi also has a vampire-themed variant, simply named Waluigi (Vampire), whose special item is the Bob-omb Cannon.

Mario Baseball series

Mario Superstar Baseball

In Mario Superstar Baseball, Wario gets an invitation to Bowser's baseball tournament. With the help of his teammates, Waluigi and Donkey Kong, he advances to the finals, where he faces Mario's team. During the game, Waluigi attempts to slide into a home run, but slides too short and is tagged out. In the end, Wario's team loses the tournament. Waluigi later reappears in the last cutscene, on Bowser's team, along with Wario.

Gameplaywise, Waluigi is a Technique character. His pitching stat is outstanding, rivaled only by Bowser. As a result, Waluigi has a quick fastball. Waluigi has a Laser Beam that can help prevent characters running home, although it is slower than other Laser Beams, and a Super Jump that can help catch high balls. Waluigi's other stats are below average.

Waluigi's Power Shot is the Liar Ball. In Challenge Mode, it can be unlocked only by purchasing the Whiskered Eggplant. While pitching, Waluigi throws both a regular baseball and an eggplant to confuse the batter of their target; when batting, Waluigi hits both an eggplant and a baseball, confusing the fielders of which ball to catch.

Mario Super Sluggers

In Mario Super Sluggers. While Mario is hitting Bob-ombs shot from a pitching machine, Wario and Waluigi sneak up and load a Bullet Bill into it. Just as the Bullet Bill is about to hit Mario, Bowser jumps in front of Mario and whacks the Bullet Bill back to Wario and Waluigi, launching them high into the sky.

Waluigi has one of the highest pitching and fielding abilities, but he has one of the smallest hitboxes for his normal swings. He is left-handed for both batting and fielding, just like in the predecessor. However, unlike the predecessor, Waluigi's star pitches and star swings are not affiliated with eggplants. Waluigi's Star Pitch is once again the Liar Ball, which, instead of having the effect from the previous game, has him throwing a large baseball, which turns back to normal size upon reaching the batter; this can cause the batter to lose their timing with the swing. Waluigi's Star Swing is the Liar Swing, which makes the baseball travel in a zig-zag path through the air.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Waluigi plays the role of the main antagonist in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. During the game, he steals the Music Keys from Truffle Tower. Waluigi tries to use the keys to make himself the best dancer so he can "hypnotize the rhythmless masses" with his moves and "flood the world with chaos." Waluigi, however, gives three of the Music Keys to other "bosses", retaining only one. He attacks Mario and Toad with a barrage of Bob-ombs after the heroes travel to Truffle Tower to confront him, causing the heroes fly down a Warp Pipe. Eventually, after the two engage in a dance-off, Mario defeats Waluigi and recovers the first Music Key.

Mario Strikers series

Super Mario Strikers

Waluigi appears as a soccer captain in Super Mario Strikers. He is a captain of the offensive variety, which means his Super Strike gauge is easier to land on the light green area of the gauge while more difficult to land on the dark green area of the gauge. Waluigi's purple attire has a number 0 on it and his Super Strike is known as the Drop Rocket.

Mario Strikers Charged

In Mario Strikers Charged, Waluigi is instead a defensive captain, sharing this trait with Princess Daisy. Due to this, Waluigi has great movement speed and a long tackle, however, is poor at shooting and passing. His Super Ability, Wall-Luigi!, has him create purple vines to block his opponents. His running speed also increases, and also uses these kind of vines in his Mega Strike as a whip to hit the ball with. Much like the original, he wears a purple uniform with a 0 on it and now has a Bluegrass theme. In the game's Striker Challenges mode, Waluigi plays against Luigi in the Storm Cup, and must defeat him by three or more goals in order to advance through the tourney.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3

Waluigi also appears as a playable, starting character in Mario Hoops 3-on-3. He is classified as technical. Waluigi's Special Shot is the Twist Dunk which can be done if the player taps the letter "W" twice. Waluigi dribbles the ball in a W shape, and then shoots the ball at the basket with a cyclone flying behind it, and swims through the air to dunk it through the net.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

In Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, A Rabbid known as Bwaluigi wearing Waluigi's costume is a mid-boss of the last world alongside Bwario and the Lava Queen. Bwaluigi is a deformed version of Waluigi and appears as a tall but buff Rabbid while Bwario is tiny but slim.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. Melee

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Waluigi only appears as a Trophy.

Trophy Description

Waluigi Trophy Melee

Waluigi's Trophy in Melee.

  • "This tall, thin, evil-looking guy seems to be Luigi's rival. He works hard at his mischief: Waluigi reportedly spent a lot of time training for his debut in Mario Tennis by honing his ability to antagonize the Mario brothers. While it's general knowledge that he's the same age as Luigi, his relationship to Wario is unclear."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Waluigi appears both as an Assist Trophy and as a regular Trophy. As an Assist Trophy, Waluigi is based on his Mario Tennis appearances and will try to smash the enemies of the player who summoned him with his tennis racket or stomp them into the ground with his foot. In addition, Waluigi's colors also appear as an alternate costume for Luigi.

Trophy Description

File:Waluigi- Brawl Trophy.png

Waluigi's Trophy in Brawl.

  • "A twig-thin man who sees himself as Luigi's ultimate rival. He spent a long time working silently in the shadow of the Mario Bros. before finally becoming strong enough to compete with them in Mario Tennis. Since then, he's had many brilliant game appearances. While the nature of his relationship to Wario is a mystery, the pair have hatched some devious schemes together."

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

WaluigiTrophyWiiU

Waluigi's Trophy in the Wii U version.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Waluigi comes back as both a Trophy and an Assist Trophy. As an Assist Trophy, he retain most of his characteristics from "Brawl" but he can now be attacked and even defeated by the playable characters. Waluigi's colors also appear as an alternate costume for Luigi and his colors also appear as an alternate costume for Mario too.

Trophy Description

  • NA: "A crooked mustache and a long, red nose— Waluigi has "villain" written all over him. He considers himself Luigi's rival. He's cunning and quick. When summoned into battle, he'll rush the nearest fighters and stomp them into the ground—then thwack them with his foot or tennis racket!"
  • EU: "Long, red nose? Handlebar moustache? Bendy body? Yep, this lanky schemer is Luigi's rival, Waluigi. In this game, he'll dash over to the nearest fighter and stomp on them to bury them in the ground. Then he'll finish them off with a big kick or a whack with his tennis racket. Ouch!"

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Waluigi appears as a spirit and as an Assist Trophy.

Super Mario series

Super Mario Maker

Waluigi appears as a Costume for Mario in Super Mario Maker.

Super Mario Odyssey

While Waluigi doesn't appear in Super Mario Odyssey, his costume is only for Mario when the player scans an Amiibo figure.

List of Games

Nintendo 64

Game Boy Color

  • Mario Tennis (only appearance on a Game Boy Color game) (2000)

Nintendo GameCube

Arcade

Game Boy Advance

Nintendo DS

Wii

Nintendo 3DS

Wii U

Nintendo Switch

In pop culture

Despite always being a spin-off character, Waluigi has gained a pretty big fandom since its creation and is the source of many memes thanks to his overall weirdness and him being often described as a flamboyant self loathing loser who only yearn to be in the spotlight but is unable to succeed no matter how hard he tries. This is even backed up by Charles Martinet, his voice actor, who said that "You know, a big self-pity thing, it's the cornerstone of his character".

Following his announce as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a lot of people on the internet started to manifest their disappointment at the abscence of a playable Waluigi. This outcry spawned a lot of agitation around the character after E3 2018, which culminated in Reggie Fils-Aimé, the former president of Nintendo of America, to publically announce that Nintendo and Masahiro Sakurai will be aware of the support for Waluigi in the future.

Gallery

See Waluigi/gallery

Trivia

  • Like how Luigi was rumored to appear in Super Mario 64, similar rumors of Waluigi were made in Super Mario 64 DS.
  • Waluigi is so far the only human Mario character to not have an infant counterpart.
  • Despite being Wario's partner, he has never appeared in any Wario games, save for his cameo as a crude sketch in WarioWare Gold.
  • Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color marks Waluigi's only appearance on a Game Boy Color game.
  • Mario Tennis Power Tour marks the only time where Waluigi is seen without Wario.
  • Although Waluigi is not playable in Mario Kart 7 (though he was supposed to appear in the game as a playable character, but was scrapped, due to time constraints) but his track, Waluigi Pinball from Mario Kart DS appears as one of the retro tracks, which makes it the only post-Mario Kart Double Dash!! game where Waluigi does not physically appear.
  • During the development of Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, before the name "Waluigi" is ultimately decided, several names were brainstormed such as "Jeroji", "Jinani" and "Wa-igi".
  • The music of Waluigi Pinball from Mario Kart DS is considered to be Waluigi's theme.
  • In Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars, Waluigi's dance moves look similar to the late Michael Jackson's moonwalk.
  • Waluigi's name is a combination of Luigi's name and the Japanese word, "Waru" meaning bad.
Advertisement