text: wario wario ( , wario , [ w ͍ ] ) ( english / / ) is a character in nintendo 's mario series who was originally designed as an antagonist to mario . he first appeared in the 1992 game boy title super mario land 2 : 6 golden coins as the main antagonist and final boss . his name is a portmanteau of mario 's name and the japanese word ( ) , meaning " bad " . wario was first designed by hiroji kiyotake , and is voiced by charles martinet , who also voices many other characters in the series . since his debut , wario has become the protagonist and antihero of the wario land and warioware series , spanning handheld and console markets . in addition to appearances in spin - offs in the mario series , he appears in cameos for kirby super star ultra , densetsu no stafy 3 and pilotwings 64 . he has also been featured in other media such as the super mario adventures graphic novel . the character has received a largely positive critical reception and has emerged as a well - established mascot for nintendo . concept and creation a possible inspiration for wario first appeared in the 1985 game wrecking crew in the character of spike , a construction foreman . although he bears a slight resemblance to spike , wario did not debut until 1992 . the first named appearance of the character occurred in the game super mario land 2 : 6 golden coins . he was designed by game artist hiroji kiyotake . wario 's design arose from super mario land 's design team 's distaste of making a game based around someone else 's character . the creation of wario allowed them a character of their own to " symbolize their situation " . wario is portrayed as a caricature of mario ; he has huge , muscular arms , short stubby legs , a large , , zig - zagging moustache , and a bellicose cackle . he also wears a plumber outfit with a yellow and purple color scheme . the name " wario " is a portmanteau of " mario " with the japanese adjective ( ) meaning " bad " ; hence , a " bad mario " ( further symbolized by the " w " on his hat , an upside down " m " ) . official nintendo lore states that wario was a childhood rival to mario and luigi who became jealous of their success . voice actor charles martinet , who has voiced mario since 1995 , is also the voice for wario . during the audition for the part , martinet was told to speak in a mean and gruff - sounding tone . he described voicing wario as a looser task than voicing mario , since mario 's speaking manner and personality are more free - flowing , rising from the ground and floating into the air , while one of wario 's cornerstones is jealousy . starting with wario land : super mario land 3 , wario experiences rejuvenating effects from garlic in a similar manner as mario is powered up by mushrooms . wario often uses bombs , as seen in wario land : super mario land 3 , wario blast and mario kart : double dash ! ! . the warioware series prominently uses bombs as a visual motif to represent the time limit . in video games in which wario makes a cameo appearance , he is often portrayed as a villain . however , the development team for wario land : shake it ! stated that he was not really a villain , and they did not consider him one during development . they focused on his behavior , which alternates between good and evil . ebisu , a producer of the shake dimension , considered wario to be a reckless character , who uses his strength to overwhelm others . tadanori , the design director of the shake dimension , described wario as manly , and said he was " so uncool that he ends up being extremely cool " . because of this , he wanted wario to act macho rather than silly and requested that the art designers emphasize his masculinity . wario was chosen as the star of the warioware series because the developers felt he was the best character for the franchise because he often acted stupid . appearances wario land series wario made his first appearance as a villain in the 1992 game boy video game super mario land 2 : 6 golden coins , in which he captured mario 's castle . he also served as a villain in the 1993 japan - only puzzle game mario & wario , in which he drops a bucket on the head of mario , princess peach , or yoshi . this was followed by the first game in the wario land series , wario land : super mario land 3 ( 1994 ) , a platform game which marked wario 's first appearance as a protagonist and introduced his first villains , captain syrup and her brown sugar pirates . his next adventure , 1995 's virtual boy wario land , plays similarly and incorporates the ability to move in and out of the background . a sequel for the game boy title , wario land ii , was released in 1998 ; it featured captain syrup 's return as the antagonist . this game also introduces wario 's invulnerability , allowing him to be burnt or flattened without sustaining damage . in 2000 wario land 3 was released to the game boy color as another sequel ; it used the same mechanics and concepts of its predecessor . the following year , the sequel wario land 4 debuted on the game boy advance , incorporating wario 's ability to become burnt or flattened and reintroducing the ability to become damaged from standard attacks . in 2003 , wario world , the first console wario platforming title , was released for the nintendo gamecube ; it featured three - dimensional graphics and gameplay and did not incorporate any major elements from previous platforming titles . wario : master of disguise was released for the nintendo ds in 2007 . the game introduced touch screen control of wario and incorporated puzzles into the gameplay . the series ' most recent release , wario land : shake it ! , was released for the wii in 2008 and reintroduced captain syrup . the game uses a hand - drawn animation style , and wario 's design required more than 2 , 000 frames of animation . warioware series in 2003 , the wario franchise introduced a new series of games , the first of which was warioware , inc . : mega microgames ! for the game boy advance . the game 's premise involved wario 's decision to open a game development company to make money , creating short " microgames " instead of full - fledged games . the title 's gameplay focused on playing a collection of microgames in quick succession . mega microgames ! was later remade as warioware , inc . : mega party games ! for the gamecube ; it featured the same microgames but lacked a story mode and focused more on multi - player . in 2004 , two sequels were released for the game . the first was the game boy advance title warioware : twisted ! , which used the cartridge 's tilt sensor to allows microgames to be controlled by tilting the handheld left and right . the second was the nintendo ds release warioware : touched ! , which incorporates the ds 's touch screen and microphone in its gameplay . one of the wii 's launch games in 2006 was warioware : smooth moves , which used the wii remote 's motion sensing technologies in a variety of ways . the nintendo ds and nintendo dsi have offered two new releases , 2008 's warioware : snapped ! , which can be downloaded with the dsiware service and uses the dsi 's built - in front camera in its gameplay , and the 2009 nintendo ds game warioware d.i.y. , which allows players to create microgames . game & wario for the nintendo wii u was released on june 23 , 2013 . although it does not use the warioware name , it incorporates gameplay and characters from the warioware series . the game also pays tribute to the original game & watch games . other appearances in 1994 's wario 's woods , wario appears as the main antagonist who wants to take over the forest and is defeated by toad . that same year , wario was also in the video game wario blast : featuring bomberman ! , a remake of a bomberman title for the game boy which incorporated wario as a playable character . wario has been a playable character in the mario kart series starting with mario kart 64 , he has appeared in thirty mario sports games , including the mario tennis , mario golf , mario baseball , mario strikers , and mario & sonic series . wario has also appeared in all installments of the mario party series except mario party advance . wario is a playable character in two platformers for the nintendo ds , the remake super mario 64 ds ( 2004 ) and yoshi 's island ds ( 2006 ) as an infant version of himself , as well as the 2001 puzzle game dr. mario 64 . sporting both his traditional attire from the wario land series and mario series , and the biker outfit from the warioware series , wario also appears as a playable fighter in super smash bros. brawl as well as its 2014 follow - up , super smash bros. for nintendo 3ds and wii u. wario 's cameos include aiding protagonist stafy in the video game densetsu no stafy 3 and being present in the scenery of pilotwings 64 . wario appears in super mario maker as a mystery mushroom costume , once again sporting his biker attire from the warioware games . the super mario adventures graphic novel , which is a collection of comics originally serialized in the video gaming magazine nintendo power , features wario in two of the stories . one of the stories focuses on wario 's past , explaining his rivalry with mario . promotion and reception since his appearance in wario land : super mario land 3 , wario has become a well - established mascot for nintendo , and he has received a largely positive reception . nintendo power described wario as a " pretty uncool dude " which they " cannot help but like . " they also listed his mustache as one of the best in nintendo games . computer and video games found the levity of wario 's games " liberating " compared to big nintendo franchises such as mario and the legend of zelda . they also mention that , regarding the character , they " empathise more with the hopelessly materialistic wario than goody brown - shoes mario . deep down , we 'd all rather chase pounds over princesses . " ign editor travis fahs comments that while wario is not the most likeable character , his strong confidence overshadows his flaws and makes him entertaining . the website later ranked wario 31st in a list of the " top 100 videogame villains " . in the book a parent 's guide to nintendo games : a comprehensive look at the systems and the games , craig wessel described wario as a " sinister twist " on mario . in icons of horror and the supernatural : an encyclopedia of our worst nightmares , volume 1 , s. t. joshi cites waluigi and wario as examples of alter egos , and how popular it is to feature such character archetypes .