For decades now, Wario and Waluigi have served as Nintendo’s “bad guy” versions of Mario and Luigi. Earlier this year, an old Nintendo Dream interview with Camelot’s Shugo Takahashi resurfaced online, in which the developer revealed that a concept for “Walupeach” was pitched to Nintendo. In that interview, Takahashi claimed that Shigeru Miyamoto turned down the pitch, as he worried the resulting character would be too close to the Yatterman character Doronjo. At the time, fans could only guess what Walupeach would have actually looked like, but original concept art was recently shared on Instagram by Fumihide Aoki, the creator of Waluigi.
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Waluigi first appeared in Mario Tennis for N64, and Walupeach was similarly planned for the sports spin-off series. According to Aoki, the character would have made her debut in Mario Power Tennis, which was released on GameCube in 2004. Aoki has apparently removed these images from Instagram since sharing them, but original concept art for the character can be found in the Tweet from No Context Super Mario embedded below.
Walupeach vs. Doronjo
From the images, it definitely seems like there are design similarities with Doronjo. Walupeach’s design is a bit more conservative, and she’s missing Doronjo’s iconic cape. However, the similarities are very noticeable, particularly in the boots and open shoulders. We don’t know if the character’s personality would have been similar to Doronjo, but it’s easy to see how she could have played a similar role in the Mario universe. Had she gotten a chance to appear, she might have taken away some of the spotlight from Wario, and that might have been a problem for Miyamoto and Nintendo.
While Nintendo clearly wasn’t fond of Walupeach, the internet has already taken a liking to her! Walupeach (or “Wapeach” as many have referred to her) has already inspired a whole bunch of fan art, and even unofficial merchandise like t-shirts. At this point, it’s been nearly two decades since Walupeach was first pitched, and it seems unlikely we’ll ever see her appear in an official capacity. Fans will just have to settle for these unofficial depictions unless something changes!
Wario and Waluigi
Wario first appeared in 1992, making his debut in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. He first appeared as an antagonist, but he became more of an anti-hero starting with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. Since then, Wario has become a favorite among Nintendo fans, frequently starring in his own games, while also appearing as a playable character in titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Waluigi would not appear until several years after Wario, starting with the original Mario Tennis in 2000. Waluigi has yet to get his own game, but he has become a recurring character, appearing in titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Party Superstars, and Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.
Are you disappointed Walupeach didn’t get approved by Nintendo? Do you think she would have been too close to Doronjo? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
