Nintendo Just Quietly Revealed a New Mario Character That Fans Have Wanted for Decades

September’s Nintendo Direct revealed quite a bit to the world; from highly anticipated games like Hades 2 and Pokémon Legends: Z-A to surprises like Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Pokémon Pokopia, 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for the company. The first twenty minutes or so of the Direct focused on Mario’s 40th anniversary on September 13 (the first Super Mario Bros. released in 1985), and in celebration, Nintendo announced a slew of Mario games, including Mario Tennis Fever.

While this is an exciting enough revelation for people who like Mario spinoffs, the game isn’t just tennis. Including new powerups, new game modes, and even an “Adventure” mode that takes players through a tennis-based story, Mario Tennis Fever has its own twist. Instead of playing as the grown-up versions of the Mario characters we know and love, you’ll be playing as Baby Mario, Baby Peach, and yes, Baby Waluigi.

Baby Waluigi Joins Long-Standing Fan Favorites

First introduced in Super Mario World: Yoshi’s Island, the Baby versions of Mario characters have been cropping up in Mario games for decades. The list of mainline characters includes those fans would expect–Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Bowser, and Yoshi–but despite the existence of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, we’ve never seen Baby iterations of their dastardly counterparts. That is, until now. In parallel to his adult-counterpart’s original introduction in Mario Tennis in 2000, Baby Waluigi is coming to Mario Tennis Fever.

Baby Wario and Baby Waluigi are new additions to the nursery in Mario Tennis Fever as two of available characters in the game’s Adventure mode. In this mode, play as any one of the Baby characters to re-learn tennis, then use your tennis skills to defeat various enemies and, ostensibly, save the world. Baby Waluigi is, like the other Baby characters, Waluigi but miniature. Missing his signature ‘stache but sporting those deep eye bags, this baby boy is ready to face anything Mario Tennis Fever might toss his way.

Read Next

I’m Underwhelmed by the Latest Nintendo Direct (And You Should Be, Too)

Year By Year, More and More Mario Stars Become Babies

From Baby Mario’s first appearance in 1995, the rest of the Mario cast has slowly been added to the Baby roster. Baby Bowser appeared in the same game as Baby Mario, while Baby Peach didn’t appear until 2005 in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time while Baby DK and Baby Wario both debuted in 2006 with Yoshi’s Island DS. Finally, Baby Daisy was introduced even later in 2008’s Mario Kart Wii, with Baby Rosalina rounding out the pack in 2014 in Mario Kart 8. Who should be considered among Mario‘s main cast is debatable, but no one would argue that Wario and Waluigi belong on that list.

Since 2014, additions to the Baby roster have slowed, and Baby Waluigi has been left behind. Fans have been anticipating his release for quite some time, and now, he’s been slyly added into Mario Tennis Fever to fully complete the set. His official debut hasn’t warranted any fanfare from Nintendo themselves, but many fans are thrilled to see their favorite purple menace finally join the ranks of Star Children next to Baby Wario. They might not be brothers, but they’re still a matching pair, and now Baby Wario will have his partner to commit Baby misdeeds alongside.

From Yoshi’s Island to Mario Kart, the Babies Are Iconic Mario Stars

While not every Mario fan likes the Babies, it’s undeniable that they’re a time-honored part of the franchise. They offer cuter, softer characters than their grown-up counterparts, and bring a different vibe to the games they’re in. In roster-based games like Mario Kart and Mario Super Sluggers, they add more options for players to pick from. If your older brother is already Mario, you can always be Baby Mario.

Baby Waluigi is the last of what most would consider the main cast of the Mario franchise to arrive in Baby form, but there are tons of other characters that could get this treatment. Secondary characters like Toad and Toadette could make super cute Baby characters, I personally would really enjoy seeing some enemies debut in Baby form. Baby Wiggler isn’t real, but he could be if Nintendo gets braver in the coming years. While the Baby characters haven’t had the cultural impact as their bigger counterparts, Mario and its roster of characters wouldn’t be the same without them.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!