Wario (SSBB)

Wario in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Wario
Other playable appearances	in SSB4 in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Wario-Man
Tier	B (10)

“	The self-appointed archrival of Mario. His unique actions lend him a character all his own.	”
—Brawl manual description

Unveiled at E3 2006, Wario (ワリオ, Wario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices Mario and Luigi.

Wario currently ranks 10th on the tier list (the second highest ranked sub-series Mario character and the second highest ranked heavyweight). Wario has unique attributes as a fighter, as he has a small frame, high weight, and great air speed, which allows him to survive longer periods of time but not be as vulnerable to combos as other heavyweights and move through the air and approach effectively. His very fast air speed and strong aerial attacks give him a great air game. Additionally, he has a great recovery when all recovery options are present (his Wario Bike provides great vertical distance when hopped off of and a fully-charged Wario Waft is one of the farthest-reaching vertical recoveries), effective approach options using his air speed and DACUS, and effective finishers, such as forward smash, up aerial, and his notorious half-charged Wario Waft. However, Wario suffers from major grab release problems; his air release sends him upward vertically unlike any other character, therefore leaving him vulnerable to almost any aerial attack with 20 or less frames of startup lag, as well as ground attacks with significant reach. Almost every character can grab-release-combo Wario into a string of aerial attacks, or even a KO (King Dedede is particularly notable in this aspect). Wario's attacks also have mediocre range; his range makes him especially vulnerable to characters with good range such as Marth and Meta Knight. Additionally, Wario's recovery is among the worst in the game if multiple elements are absent from it, most notably his Wario Bike, as his Corkscrew provides very little vertical distance and can't sweetspot the edge (which is also the case with his midair jump). Regardless, Wario has very good matchups against most of the cast, possessing only four disadvantageous matchups and three counters, and has achieved strong tournament results. Wario's ranking in all regions is superb, and is considered to be high tier.

Attributes

Wario, as seen in the first trailer for Brawl at E3 2006.

Wario is a unique, unorthodox addition to the Smash Bros. series. While he is a heavy character, he has by far the best aerial mobility in the game, with the third-fastest air speed and almost triple the aerial acceleration and over double the air friction of any other character. Combined with his solid aerial attacks and air dodge, his ability to change aerial direction and speed almost instantly gives him a great camping game despite his lack of a reliable projectile, even to the point of being able to time out certain characters should he gain a lead. Wario's amazing aerial maneuverability also makes him a great punisher, being able to swoop in, bait an attack, back away, and move back in to punish with one of his many fast aerials. He also has one of the best recoveries in the game when all options are available, combining his mobility with the Wario Bike and Wario Waft for a bevy of possibilities. Finally, Wario's aerial mobility also shines in approaching, able to fly all over the place while his small size (unusual for a heavy character) makes him difficult to hit.

Wario has a good grab game, able to chain throw several characters with his down throw into KO percent, while his forward throw does 13% damage and can act as a KO move once the opponent gets into the 160% range. Chomp also acts as a grab and can be used to beat sidesteps and eat certain projectiles and items. The Wario Bike has many uses, including approaching, camping, blocking projectiles, and usage as an edge-guarding projectile; once broken Wario can use the tires as throwing items to further enhance his keep-away game. As expected for a heavy character, Wario's KO moves are brutal, with his forward smash KO'ing in the 70%s and a perfectly-timed Wario Waft KO'ing as low as 50% with minimal startup lag. He also boasts one of the best DACUSes in the game, allowing him to cover great distances with most of his body covered in hitboxes and following-up attacks such as a Chomp at low damage. Wario can even juggle with his up aerial, or simply save the 17%-damage move as another KO option.

Wario does have his weaknesses. While his KO moves are powerful, he doesn't have a lot of them, so he must be careful about using them simply to deal damage should they turn out to be too stale when needed. The Wario Bike is generally useful in all situations, but he cannot use it if it's elsewhere on the stage or has just been broken. Without his bike, Wario's poor range becomes more apparent, and his recovery is downgraded from "varied" to "lackluster" - indeed, without either the Wario Bike or Wario Waft, Wario's recovery is rather poor, with the Corkscrew having bad range and being unable to grab the edge during its ascent. Wario also has significant problems with being grab released: his high air friction robs him of horizontal momentum when air released, leaving him in a prime spot to be clobbered or infinitely regrabbed. A Wario player has to stay very deceptive and slippery to avoid getting nailed by his poor range and getting grabbed by those who have a grab release option on him.

Moveset

For a visual representation of Wario's attack hitboxes, see this page.
For a more detailed information regarding Wario's moveset and attack hitboxes, see this page.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			6% (fist), 5% (body)	Left hook, then right hook. Decent knockback. Slow for a jab, but still good. Has decent range and a slight disjoint. 1st jab can even set up a forward smash. Wario walks forward slightly when this move is used consecutively. The move is similar to his punches in his boss stage in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$.
			6%
Forward tilt	↗		14% (arm), 11% (body)	Wario swings his right fist in a circle then thrusts it forward. Has slight start-up but little ending lag with great range, including a slight disjoint. Oddly, his voice plays at an earlier time when angled up. May be based on an attack from Wario's look-alike Booster in Super Mario RPG. When angled up, it can KO at 118% from the center of Final Destination.
	→		13% (arm), 11% (body)
	↘		12% (arm), 11% (body)
Up tilt			10% (clean), 6% (late)	Wario raises both hands above his head, raising the roof. Decent vertical launcher and can KO at 164%.
Down tilt			8%	Wario stabs his index finger at the ground in front of him. Quite quick compared to his other moves, but has ending lag.
Dash attack			7% (clean), 5% (late)	Wario trips and falls flat on his face, sliding a small bit. Hits longer than one might expect it to, lasting through the time Wario lies on the ground. Might be based on the Sliding Catch, a move in Mario Superstar Baseball, a game that Wario was in.
Forward smash			19%	Wario performs his trademark Shoulder Bash, from the Wario Land games and Wario World. Poor range, but above-average strength and extremely fast for a forward smash. The tackle itself gives Wario armor. KOs at 105% when uncharged and 65% when fully charged.
Up smash			1% (hits 1-5), 10% (hit 6)	Head grows as Wario spins, hitting multiple times with the head. Poor range, but deals decent damage and knockback, and KOs at 137% when uncharged; 93% when fully charged. Best used for DACUS.
Down smash			13% (clean), 10% (mid), 5% (late)	Wario spins on the ground, bashing foes with his head. First hit has good knockback, with subsequent hits have gradually weaker strength and knockback. First hit KOs at 144% when uncharged and 99% when fully charged.
Neutral aerial			9% (clean), 4% (late)	Accompanied by a gradually lowering sound of falling, Wario extends his hands and fingers, then spins in place. A quick move to use in the air. Great for spacing and hard to punish. Also great when short hopping with it out of shield. Both hits can connect at very low percentages. KOs at 173% from the center of Final Destination.
Forward aerial			7% (clean), 5% (late)	Sticks his foot a short distance forward. Very little range and damage, but fast and lasts a long time. Best used for "Wall of Pain"-style attacking. Useful for momentum cancelling and edgeguarding.
Back aerial			10%	Thrusts his head backwards, hitting foes with it. Similar to his forward aerial only stronger with more endlag and much more landing lag. KOs at 164% from the center of Final Destination.
Up aerial			17%	Wario claps above his head with both his hands and feet. Very quick start-up, high knockback, can KO easily with low delay. The hitbox covers his whole body, even where he doesn't clap and has a slight horizontal disjoint. This is a great move to use on floaty characters with poor aerial defense. One of the best up aerials in the game and KOs at 120%.
Down aerial			2% (hits 1-6), 4% (hit 7)	Wario turns upside down and spins, drilling with his head. Has decent knockback, and is very effective if used after a short-hop without fast-falling. One of his main damage rackers due how long it lasts and how good it is for shield-stabbing. Can easily combine with other moves like his forward smash, up aerial, or Chomp if the very last hit does not connect.
Grab			—
Pummel			2%	Pokes his opponent in the torso. A fairly quick pummel.
Forward throw			12%	Wario spins the foe around and throws him/her forward. Identical to Mario and Luigi's back throw, except the spun opponent doesn't hurt other foes. Based on the Wild Swing-Ding seen in Wario World.
Back throw			2% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	Wario throws opponent behind him and hip thrusts them while posing.
Up throw			4% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	Wario throws opponent into the air and jumps up, headbutting them.
Down throw			4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Wario puts the opponent down and sits on them, who is then knocked behind Wario. might be based on Wario’s Ground Pound from Wario Land and Wario World. Can chain grab certain characters against walls.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Wario gets up and pokes both forwards and backwards.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Wario spins around with his fist extended.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Wario thrusts his fists in front of him, then kicks his legs behind him.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8% (upper body), 6% (lower body)	Crawls up the ledge and flips onto his back, attacking with his fists.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			10%	Crawls up the ledge and slides his finger across the ground. Similar to his down tilt.
Neutral special		Chomp	2% (bite), 5% (throw)	Wario opens his mouth and bites forward. Holding the special button will make Wario keep his mouth open for longer time period. It can also be used to consume items, but eating explosives will cause them to blow up inside of Wario, damaging himself and nearby foes.
Side special		Wario Bike	0-10% (ride),	Wario gets on his bike and drives around. Damage dealt depends on how fast he's moving. However, the bike can be destroyed, allowing the parts to be thrown like items. At maximum speed, it can KO at 172%.
Up special		Corkscrew	5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-11), 4% (hit 12)	Wario leaps into the air while spinning, hitting enemies multiple times. The move can be aimed by quickly pushing the control stick in a direction before Wario jumps. When all hits connect, it can KO at 147%.
Down special		Wario Waft	0% (no charge), 8-10% (slightly charged), 21% (mostly charged), 40% (fully charged clean), 20% (fully charged late)	Wario unleashes a gigantic fart on his foes. The move charges by not using it over time, taking approximately 1 minute and 50 second to be fully charged. Can be used to either attack foes or aid Wario in his recovery.
Final Smash		Wario-Man	Varies	Wario eats a clove of garlic and transforms into Wario-Man. While he's transformed, Wario-Man is completely invincible, and has drastically amplified strength and agility. Distinct from other transformation final smashes is that his all his moves have significantly less endlag and that all his aerials (excluding his down aerial) grant him a small boost in the air. In addition, all of his specials are boosted to the extreme, most notably his Wario Bike and Wario Waft.

On-screen appearance

• Crashes in sideways on his bike while laughing, jumps off and his bike explodes while he dusts himself off.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Belly-laughs so hard that his jaw unhinges, so he has to manually put it back with his hands. If he is holding the back tire of his bike, it looks as if he is biting it.
• Side taunt: Accompanied by a "wiggly" sound similar to the one heard while using Corkscrew. Wario wiggles his butt at the screen with his hands extended in each direction and he teasingly snickers. Wario seems to float as the bottoms of his shoes are touching each other. His shortest taunt.
• Down taunt: Wario faces the screen, holds up three fingers with his left hand that seem to form a "W" for Wario and then does the same with his right hand after putting away his left hand. Then, he holds them both out at the same time. Wario utters "Wah!" three times for each time he holds up a hand, the third "Wah!" having the most enthusiasm.
• Bike taunt: Wario faces to his right and does his signature "W" sign at the screen with both hands and then picks his nose with his left hand. Another trick considered a taunt is when Wario does a wheelie by gently holding up on the control stick, where he stands on the back of his seat and flaps his right hand based on how fast he is going up and down.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt	Bike taunt

Idle pose

• Crosses his arms, fists clenched.
• Scratches his buttocks.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer	File:Wario Cheer NTSC Brawl.ogg	File:Wario Cheer JP Brawl.ogg
Description	Wa-ri-o! Cha-Cha-Cha!	Wa-ri-o!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Wii Remote selection sound

• Wario does his signature belly laugh, also heard when initiating his upward directional taunt.

Wario's selection sound

Victory poses

Once a track original to Brawl, this flourish has been incorporated into several Wario games since Brawl's release.

• Up: He does a donut on his bike, makes a "W" sign with his hand, saying "Yes!", then pulls on his mustache and makes the "W" sign again, process repeats.
• Left: Pats his belly, releasing a fart that after smelling, results in an "Oooh..." from Wario.
• Right: He laughs gloatingly and then falls over, rolling on his back.

Up	Left	Right

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Wario has strong matchups all around. He is countered by three characters, soft countered by one, has 8 even matchups, soft counters 14 characters, counters 8, and hard counters 2. Wario's superb air game and air speed allow him to have amazing mobility (especially for his weight class). and his aerials are all either fast, powerful, or both. His air game allows him to counter characters like Zero Suit Samus, Lucario, and Toon Link, beating all of them in the air. However, characters with disjointed hitboxes, such as Marth and Meta Knight in particular outrange him on all fronts and can space him out for the entire game. King Dedede also shrugs off his relatively weak aerials (except for Uair) and can chaingrab him forever. Peach also can float past Wario's aerials. Overall, Wario has good matchups and is a threat to many characters.

Notable players

See also: Category:Wario professionals (SSBB)

•  Abadango
•  Ally
•  Atomsk
•  Bassem
•  DMG
•  False
•  Fiction
•  Glutonny
•  Kamemushi
•  LOE1
•  Malcolm
•  Seibrik
•  Sky
•  TheReflexWonder
•  Waymas
•  Yukhoe

Tier placement and history

Wario was initially ranked at 8th place in the high tier on the first Brawl tier list. However, as the metagame developed, Fiction, TheReflexWonder, and other dedicated Wario mains began achieving dominance at nationals, such as FAST 1 and GENESIS; these players demonstrated the usefulness of his great aerial mobility and powerful KO options, and as a result, Wario quickly shot up the tier list, reaching as high as 3rd in June 2009. Although he was considered one of the best characters in the game at this point, his position at the top of the tier list did not last for long. Meta Knight's continuing prominence in competitive highlighted Wario's trouble versus the character due to his lack of disjointed reach, and many Wario mains, such as Fiction, became inactive in the scene or dropped Wario for other characters. Wario has since dropped down to 10th place in the high tier.

While Wario is considered a borderline viable character today in singles, he remains an extremely powerful threat in doubles play. He is considered one of the best doubles characters in the game, because his aerial mobility serves as a powerful disruption tool, allowing him to easily maneuever among a field of four players. He also possesses two of the most reliable combo and KO setups in his down throw and forward throw, and his half-charged Wario Waft has become notorious for swinging the momentum of a match with an extremely early kill. Wario remained one of the most popular doubles picks throughout Brawl's competitive lifetime, and many players, most notably Ally, brought out a pocket Wario in doubles to great success. False and Nakat's double Wario team in particular was feared as one of the strongest doubles teams in the United States in 2013 and 2014, with victories over ADHD and Nairo and a second place finish at SKTAR 2.

Role in The Subspace Emissary

Wario in SSE

Wario is the tertiary antagonist in The Subspace Emissary. After Kirby does battle with Petey Piranha to free the princesses, one of the cages in which Petey holds Zelda and Peach will break, depending on which cage the player damaged more while battling Petey. The Princess who the player saves will escape with the player; the other will be injured and trapped beneath their wrecked cage. Wario drops heavily into the stadium with a Dark Cannon. Blasting the princess, Wario traps her in the form of a trophy and takes off with the trophy on his shoulder. He is revealed to be a member of the Subspace Army.

Wario then hunts down Lucas in an abandoned zoo, dispatching Porky to corner him and weakening him. Porky is defeated by Lucas with the help of Ness, but Wario appears and captures Ness, who is hit defending Lucas.

Upon finding the trophy of Luigi, Wario lets his guard down and picks up the trophy. Wario is ambushed by Waddle Dees and then loses his trophies to King Dedede, who steals his Cargo. Wario tracks Lucas and his partner, the Pokémon Trainer, down and fights them. Wario is defeated and left behind. When Galleom's Subspace Bomb detonates, the area of Subspace expands and absorbs Wario's trophy. After being revived by Kirby, Wario confronts King Dedede later on the steps to the Great Maze seeking revenge on Dedede for stealing his Cargo. However, he is stunned to see Luigi and Ness beside him. King Dedede, Luigi and Ness point to the Great Maze to show it to Wario, who thinks that they are pointing to his nose (Wario was standing between King Dedede and the Great Maze). Thus Wario starts to pick his nose. Realizing that he can't fight all of them, he instead drives his bike to the top and aids the heroes in their battle against Tabuu.

Although he works for the Subspace Army, he had no specific allegiance to Master Hand, only following his orders because he enjoyed doing so.

Playable appearances

Wario makes numerous appearances in Subspace Emissary such as Midair Stadium, The Ruined Zoo & The Path to the Ruins. There is a short cutscene with Luigi, King Dedede & Wario after the player completes The Battlefield Fortress. After he is defeated in The Ruins, his trophy is shown being sucked up into a Subspace Portal after Galleom's 2nd defeat in The Ruined Hall, and is never seen again until he is rescued by Kirby in Subspace (Part II), when he attacks King Dedede.

• The Great Maze (if rescued in Subspace (Part II))

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• Event 4: Cleaning House in Skyworld: Pit must destroy all of the breakable terrain on Skyworld while avoiding Wario, who will try and interfere Pit's efforts of doing so.
• Event 13: Dragoon Strike: Kirby must collect all three Dragoon and KO three Warios with the completed Dragoon. KOing them by any other means causes them to respawn.
• Event 19: Wario Bros.: Wario must defeat Mario and Luigi on Mario Bros.
• Event 20: All-Star Battle x1: Wario is one of the eight opponents fought in this event along with Meta Knight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Olimar, Lucas, Diddy Kong, and the Pokémon Trainer.

Co-op Events

• Co-Op Event 8: All MINE!: Wario and Bowser must work together and collect 2,000 coins while fighting against Mario and Luigi on Skyworld.
• Co-Op Event 20: The Final Battle for Two: Both players select a character and must defeat Bowser, Wario, King Dedede, Wolf, Meta Knight, and Ganondorf on Final Destination.
• Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle: Both players select a character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trophies

Wario's main and Final Smash trophies can be obtained by clearing Classic Mode and All-Star mode respectively with Wario.

Trophy descriptions

Wario

Mario's self-styled rival. He loves money and gross humor. He often sets out in search of hidden treasure. His bold moves come from his superhuman strength and are completely different from Mario's moves. Aside from adventuring, he's also the chairman of game maker WarioWare, Inc. Its franchise game is WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$.

: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

: WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$

Wario-Man

Wario's Final Smash. He chomps on his favorite food, garlic, and transforms into Wario-Man! His mobility goes way up. His attack power doesn't change much, but he scampers like a cockroach, using moves like crazy! He can jump over buildings and use midair attacks to fly. Oh, and he doesn't flinch from attacks. Think twice about bringing out his motorcycle at this time...

: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• 

  Classic Mode

• 

  Wario-Man

Alternate costumes

Trivia

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the only game where Wario is a starter character.
• Wario's crawling animation and victory theme come from Wario Land: Shake It, which actually came out after Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Wario's choppy animations are likely a reference to the WarioWare games, which also has a choppy animation style in most of its cutscenes.
• Due to his dodgy walking animation, if Wario is walking backwards on conveyor belts in custom stages, he cannot step onto another conveyor belt.
• Despite Wario Land being an action-based game series, most of Wario's moves are unique to Brawl rather than originating from any of his games. It's theorized that Wario is based on his appearance in the WarioWare games, rather than Wario Land.
  • This is also evident due to Wario dawning the outfit he always wears in the WarioWare games as his primary look, while his appearance from Wario Land, as well as the Mario games, is an alternate.
• Wario never blinks. The only times his eyes are closed are when he is asleep, stunned, or being hit. Wario also never closes his mouth.
• Wario is the only playable villain not seen to be revived in The Subspace Emissary; while his trophy is collected by the player, there is no revival cutscene.
• Biker Wario's buttons show a W, under which is "Made In". This is a reference to the Japanese name for the WarioWare series, "Made in Wario". Also on the back of his WarioWare outfit, it reads "Hurry Up!", both a reference to WarioWare microgames lasting only few seconds, and to the command he shouts to the player in later Wario Land games after reaching the end of the level, which triggers a countdown timer as the player races back to the start.
• Wario is the only character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl to have two sets of costumes, resulting in a total of 12 costumes - at least double any other character.
  • He is also the first character in the series to pose differently in his artwork when wearing an alternate costume that changes his outfit, preceding Cloud and Bayonetta in Smash 4 and the Inkling in Ultimate.
• Wario has the most taunts of any character, having a total of five as opposed to three (if one counts the wheelie animation).
• Oddly, Wario is silent whenever he performs his first jump, but grunts when he jumps as Wario-Man.
• Interestingly, size changing items affect Wario's damage multiplier differently than with most other fighters. For an example, acquiring a Super Mushroom causes Wario's direct attacks to deal around 1.8x their normal damage, instead of the usual 1.56x. He shares this trait with Wario-Man, Samus, Fox, Falco, Wolf, Captain Falcon, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Lucario, and Snake.
• Wario was originally planned to be playable in Melee. However, he was not added in order to avoid adding to many characters from the Mario universe. Sakurai also stated that he could've used the development time used for Marth, Roy, and Mewtwo to add Wario instead, but chose not to.

External links

• Wario's page at Smash Bros. Dojo!!.
• Subspace Emissary Screenshots
• Wario Character Guide on SmashBoards