The extremely recognizable purple antagonist, Waluigi, is a weirdly trendy Nintendo character. For months or years at a time he will fade into the background of the Super Mario lore, and then suddenly some event will have countless Nintendo fans (or gamers in general) talking about the lanky goofball. This most recent Waluigi fad centered on people wanting to see the mischievous miscreant elevated from an assist trophy to a full-on playable character in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. While there’s still a chance that the purple menace might become playable, the odds, as always, aren’t in his favor.
A consequence of this recent movement is a massive increase in articles, videos, and fan art centering on Waluigi. Fans around the world have decided that if Nintendo won’t give the antagonist the credit he’s due, then they will. This is totally understandable, as the core of Waluigi’s character is basically just everything that makes Wario great, pushed to an even more absurd extreme. He’s even zanier, cruder, and unpredictable than the original ‘Wa’ nemesis, and it’s hard not to love him for those qualities.
If anything, Waluigi’s newfound popularity has made countless people realize how great this secondary character is. While Mario is a childhood cornerstone to earlier generations, Waluigi possesses his own unique charms. There are plenty of things that the taller, thinly mustachioed man can do that that the face of Nintendo cannot. These are 25 things that Waluigi can do that Mario simply can’t, and can probably never hope to do.
He Can Reach The Top Shelf
Even if it’s often to his benefit in his many adventures, Mario is pretty shrimpy. While his exact height seems to fluctuate between games and official guides, Mario is usually several times smaller than the baddies he needs to beat.
Waluigi, on the other hand, is one of the tallest human characters in the series. He towers over most other citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom, and seems like he’d be able to get through his everyday life a lot more easily than the vertically challenged Mario. Especially if Waluigi stopped slouching all the time. Imagine a Waluigi that is even taller!
Be Friends With Someone Other Than His Brother
Although it’s implied that Wario and Waluigi are brothers, like how Mario and Luigi are brothers, the relationship between the two antagonists is actually pretty ambiguous. Some materials list them as brothers, while others describe them solely as friends. The latter seems a bit more likely as the two don’t look all that similar and, if that is the case, that means that Waluigi is able to hang out with someone besides his brother, unlike Mario. Hopefully, Mario isn’t too jealous of Waluigi’s ability to be friends with non-relatives. In fact, we are sure that Waluigi has a lot of friends behind the scenes.
Casually Be Multicultural
Mario is a character that’s recognized around the world, and in Super Mario Odyssey he can wear articles of clothing tied to some of these cultures. Waluigi, however, has always subtly contained markings from different cultures. The upside down ‘L’ on his hat is also the symbol for the Greek letter ‘G.’ Although the origins of Mario and those close to him keep jumping from Brooklyn, to Italy, to the Mushroom Kingdom; Waluigi will always have this small detail associated with him.
Be Affordable
Waluigi and Mario were both included in the official Nintendo version of the Monopoly board game. In this game, Waluigi is associated with the first, and least expensive, tile in the game while Mario is found on the final and most expensive space. Ever a man of the people, Waluigi is affordable and in many ways, the character introduces the investors playing the game into the world of finance. Waluigi offers those playing the first opportunity to move beyond their humble financial beginnings, while Mario only caters to the wealthy.
Maintain His Maturity
Unlike Mario, Luigi, and Wario; Waluigi does not have an infant counterpart. Waluigi only appears as an adult in his official game appearances, while the toddler versions of the other three characters appear in the Yoshi’s Island series and Mario Kart games. Perhaps, Waluigi never was an infant and instead appeared in the Mushroom Kingdom as a divine, and fully grown man. Or maybe Nintendo just doesn’t have much interest in giving Waluigi a backstory; both possibilities seem equally likely. Still, we prefer to believe that it's due to the fact that Waluigi is just so powerful that he can't be transformed into an infant.
Troll Nintendo Fans Again And Again
Waluigi is either himself a troll, or a means for Nintendo to inadvertently troll their audience. For a stretch, fans thought Waluigi would appear in Super Mario Bros. U when Nintendo said there’d be a purple character in the game, but that turned out to be Nabbit. Then, purple and yellow chairs appeared in the background of a Smash Bros focused Nintendo Direct, only for the character to go unmentioned. With Nintendo pulling the character away from gamers time and time again, it’s no wonder that Waluigi is a fan favorite character.
Rock A Rose On The Tennis Court
Waluigi appears in Mario Tennis Aces and makes a powerful case for his inclusion in more Super Mario titles. In this game, when he performs a special move, Waluigi clutches a rose between his teeth, strikes a fierce pose, and then fires off an almost-impossible-to-return ball. With this special shot, Waluigi is as powerful as he is majestic and we would all be so lucky if such a ionate man appeared in more games. But alas, the emotion behind this move is sadness, for Waluigi knows he’ll never get his due in the franchise.
Endure Rejection
Waluigi is clearly romantically interested in Princess Daisy. In this way, he and Mario are rather similar, as Mario time and time again demonstrates his affection for Princess Peach by saving her from peril. While both end up being rejected, Waluigi is able to get on with his life while Mario is still rescuing Peach whenever she’s in trouble. Maybe it’s just because Waluigi and Daisy rarely appear in a game together, but the implication is that while Waluigi still has a crush on Daisy, it’s not an all-consuming part of his life like Mario’s love for Peach.
Represent A Series He’s Never Stared In
In some ancillary materials and even a few crossover games, Waluigi is often listed as a character from the WarioWare series. However, the lanky goofster has never appeared in any of the WarioWare games. Waluigi only ever appears in games with an ensemble cast, and the WarioWare titles exclusively focus on Wario and the characters introduced in that franchise. Waluigi, ever a good sport, is more than likely happy to promote the games starring his dear friend Wario, even if he never appears in them.
Carry Himself Like A Heavyweight
Waluigi is thin and gangly to an almost concerning degree. Even with his considerable height, it’s unlikely that he weighs all that much. However, the Mario Kart games frequently classify Waluigi as a heavyweight character. Now it’s possible that Waluigi could just be incredibly dense, but it’s far more likely that Waluigi’s sheer confidence makes him a sizable contender in these games. Then again, the developers could have just wanted a more even spread of different classes of characters.
