With Charles Martinet retiring from voicing Mario, Luigi, and several other Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants in August, many were wondering who would take over the mantle. When Super Mario Bros. Wonder was released in October, it was confirmed that Kevin Afghani had taken over the role of the Mario Brothers. However, many were wondering if Afghani would also voice all of the other characters Martinet used to provide for Nintendo, most notably Wario. With WarioWare: Move It!, it seems that question has finally been answered, and it’s almost exactly what you’d expect.
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As first noted by Eurogamer, Afghani is listed as the principal performer (and sushi-lover) in the credits for WarioWare. The credits don’t outright say that Afghani is playing Wario, but as the first listed voice actor, it seems pretty clear that he’s providing the voice of Mario’s childhood rival. It only makes considering that Martinet also used to voice all of the characters in the past. Nintendo likely wants someone who can provide that same level of consistency over the next several games in the Mario universe.
What is WarioWare: Move It!
WarioWare: Move It! is the latest game in the long-running party game franchise. It’s also the first direct sequel in the franchise, following up WarioWare: Smooth Moves, a 2006 Wii game. Players will get to dive into more than 200 different microgames during their playthrough. Like the Wii game, Move It! puts a heavy focus on motion controls, using the Switch Joy-Con controllers to complete each game. Move It! also features cooperative local two-player games and a four-player mode.
With the holidays fast approaching, now is a perfect time to release a new WarioWare game. It’ll make for great holiday entertainment that’s as competitive as it is goofy. On top of that, most reviews mention how inventive Nintendo has gotten with some of the microgames, making it a great way to show off exactly what the Switch is capable of.
What is Charles Martinet Doing Now?
Martinet might be retired from voicing Mario characters, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely out of the game. Alongside the announcement that he was stepping back from his previous role, Nintendo announced that Martinet would become Nintendo’s “Mario Ambassador.” Essentially, this means Martinet will continue to travel the world, interacting with fans and promoting Mario and all of his friends.
If you check his Twitter page, you can see that he’s kept busy since stepping down with all kinds of convention appearances. He also may continue to do non-Nintendo voice work sparingly. Remember, he voiced Magenta in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero in 2022. It definitely wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue to expand his range in the future, though there aren’t any current known plans just yet.
