Line #28 VideoGame/Wario


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wario_clear_logo.png]]
2	->''"Wario is a prick. He's like a Spanish Conquistador but with jumping and fun hats instead of smallpox."''
3	-->-- ''WebVideo/Civvie11''
4
5	The ''Wario'' series is an SpinOff series of the greater ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' franchise starring Wario, a bigger, fatter doppelganger of Mario with a ravenous appetite for money and treasure.
6
7	He first appeared in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins'' as the BigBad of the game, where he stole Mario's castle (don't ask why Mario has a castle) and hid away the Six Golden Coins needed to reach him. He appeared again in ''VideoGame/WariosWoods'', in his last true appearance as a major villain, having taken over the Peaceful Woods; this time, Mario and Luigi are nowhere to be found, so Toad has to take the fight to him instead.
8
9	Wario eventually came into his own as the star of his own platformer series, ''VideoGame/WarioLand''. While the first game and Platform/VirtualBoy installment played essentially like Mario games with a few tweaks, the series eventually diverged into a PuzzlePlatformer series with a heavy emphasis on exploration. Tying in with Wario's greed, a large focus of the games is getting a better ending by collecting as many coins as possible.
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11	2003 saw the beginning of the other major branch of the franchise: the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series. In this series, Wario, still greedy as ever, decides to form his own video game company specializing in seconds-long minigames called "microgames." In addition to Wario, the series stars a wacky cast of characters who function as Wario's employees, such as {{disco dan}}cer Jimmy T., MadScientist Dr. Crygor, and in-universe Creator/{{Nintendo}} enthusiast 9-Volt.
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13	Despite being the first character-based sub-series of ''Mario'' (predating ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'', ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'', and ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion''), the ''Wario'' franchise is notable for lacking the coherence of its sisters, as the platformer and ''[=WarioWare=]'' branches of the franchise rarely ever reference one another and never share any characters. Even the ''Wario Land'' games tend to not share characters between installments, with the only recurring character besides Wario himself being his [[TheRival arch-rival]] Captain Syrup. The ''Wario'' franchise also has virtually no presence within the extended ''Mario'' universe[[note]]The only time ''Wario'' characters have appeared in the extended ''Mario'' universe was ''[[VideoGame/DrMario Dr. Mario 64]]''[[/note]] unlike its sister franchises. Wario himself is a staple character of the various ''Mario'' sports and party spinoffs, but none of the characters from either ''Wario Land'' or ''[=WarioWare=]'' appear alongside him. In the spinoffs, Wario usually gets an AmbiguouslyRelated companion named Waluigi, a taller and leaner counterpart to Luigi, but Waluigi himself didn't appear within the core ''Wario'' series in any capacity until ''[=WarioWare=] Gold'', where he appeared as a cameo.
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15	In spite of the above, Wario himself is a regular of the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, having been playable since ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'' and representing his own franchise. However, the ''Smash'' series tends to favor representing ''[=WarioWare=]'' over any other branches of the ''Wario'' series.
16
17	!!Games in the series:
18
19	[[index]]
20	* ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series
21	** ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3'' (1994; Platform/GameBoy)
22	** ''VideoGame/VirtualBoyWarioLand'' (1995; Platform/VirtualBoy)
23	** ''VideoGame/WarioLandII'' (1998; Platform/GameBoy; a 1999 release was issued for the Platform/GameBoyColor)
24	** ''VideoGame/WarioLand3'' (2000; Platform/GameBoyColor)
25	** ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'' (2001; Platform/GameBoyAdvance)
26	** ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'' (2008, Platform/{{Wii}})
27	* ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series
28	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareIncMegaMicrogames'' (2003; Platform/GameBoyAdvance)
29	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareIncMegaPartyGames'' (2003; Platform/NintendoGameCube)
30	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareTwisted'' (2004; Platform/GameBoyAdvance)
31	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareTouched'' (2004; Platform/NintendoDS)
32	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareSmoothMoves'' (2006, Platform/{{Wii}})[[/index]]
33	** ''[=WarioWare=]: Snapped!'' (2008, Platform/DSiWare)
34	** ''[=WarioWare=]: D.I.Y.'' (2009; Platform/NintendoDS)
35	** ''[=WarioWare=]: D.I.Y. Showcase'' (2009; Platform/WiiWare)[[index]]
36	** ''VideoGame/GameAndWario'' (2013; Platform/WiiU)
37	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareGold'' (2018; Platform/Nintendo3DS)
38	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareGetItTogether'' (2021; Platform/NintendoSwitch)
39	** ''VideoGame/WarioWareMoveIt'' (2023; Platform/NintendoSwitch)
40	* [[index]]Other ''Wario'' games
41	** ''VideoGame/MarioAndWario'' (1993, Platform/{{S\|uperNintendoEntertainmentSystem}}NES)
42	** ''VideoGame/WariosWoods'' (1994, Platform/{{N\|intendoEntertainmentSystem}}ES[=/=]Platform/{{S\|uperNintendoEntertainmentSystem}}NES)
43	** ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'' (2003, Platform/NintendoGameCube)
44	** ''VideoGame/WarioMasterOfDisguise'' (2007, Platform/NintendoDS)[[/index]]
45
46	!!Tropes in the ''Wario'' franchise:
47	* {{Acrofatic}}: For a fat guy, Wario is quite good at running, jumping, and beating the crap out of things. It really peaks in ''Wario World'', where he can pull off front flips and perform fancy [[WrestlerInAllOfUs wrestling moves]] on monsters much larger than he is.
48	* AntiHero: Probably the closest way to a hero you can describe Wario. He's pretty much only motivated by {{greed}}, which sometimes gets him on the side of good by chance.
49	* DenserAndWackier: As a whole, the Wario series is far wackier than the already surreal Mario series, famously featuring Wario getting into compromising situations ultimately to his own benefit. ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'' and ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'' in particular turn toward cartoonish horror with their bosses.
50	* EvilVersusEvil: Wario cares about nothing other than making himself filthy rich while he goes up against adversaries that are just as bad or worse than him.
51	* FoeTossingCharge: Wario's signature move, where he charges shoulder-first to plow through enemies. It's so iconic that it has appeared in the otherwise unconnected platformers ''Wario World'' and ''Master of Disguise'' and makes sporadic appearances in the ''[=WarioWare=]'' series.
52	* {{Greed}}: Whether a macho treasure hunter or a lazy video game tycoon, nothing stops Wario on his quest to get filthy rich.
53	* GrievousHarmWithABody: Second to his [[FoeTossingCharge shoulder-first tackle]], Wario's most common method of combat is to pick up stunned enemies and throw them at other enemies.
54	* MonsterOfTheWeek: In contrast to other sub-series in the ''Mario'' franchise, all of which have clear [[ArchEnemy archenemies]] (Bowser for the mainline ''Mario'' games, Kamek for ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'', K. Rool for ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'', and King Boo for ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion''), Wario's platformers have him go up against a new antagonist in nearly every installment. The closest thing Wario has to an ArchEnemy would be [[PirateGirl Captain Syrup]], who only appeared as an antagonist in the original ''Wario Land'' and ''Wario Land II'' and as an uneasy ally in ''Shake It!''.
55	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: A recurring theme in these games is that anything Wario does is in the name of either getting rich or defending his riches. Anything heroic he does on the way, is either unintentional or done specifically because Wario knows he will be rewarded for it.

Context VideoGame / Wario