Smash Advent Calendar - Day 23 - Wario

Day 23 is Wario time! This monstrous bad guy was first seen in Super Mario Land 2 on the Game Boy and has appeared frequently ever since. He's starred in his own platformers, golfed with monkeys and turtles and even starred in a bizzaro mini-game bonanza. He's one of the most popular characters of Nintendo's recent history so his appearance in Brawl was long-awaited.

Wario is a strange character. His movement is jittery, similar to Game & Watch - it purposely lacks animation for effect. This is admittedly amusing to watch and suits Wario's creepy and wonderfully weird style... But I think it should be changed. It makes the character feels really clunky and isn't aesthetically pleasing, even if done so on purpose. I think a plodding run would suit Wario just as well and be smooth in animation as well.

One thing in design I do admire are Wario's attacks. All of them, in fact. Having jittery attacks gets Wario's awkward design across well without having to see it constantly as in his running animations. Many attacks are also plain stupid, such as his Back+A aerial which sees him sort of... flump. These little attacks really demonstrate who Wario is and why you should love him.

Warioman is my favourite final smash, hands down.

All of Wario's special moves are great and again, paint a perfect picture of him. His Neutral+B is a useful grapple involving taking a bite of the enemy, which shows off his gluttony well. His Side+B takes influence from Wario Ware and sees him charge across the stage on his motorcycle, which he can then pick up and throw around, adding a small interesting gimmick to the character. His Up+B is a unique move but taken with a pinch of inspiration from Wario Land games with the result being a satisfying looking move with a subtle nod to hardcore fans. His Down+B... Well, it's a fart. Not much more to be said there other than suiting Wario to a tee.

When it comes to gameplay, Wario is a great fighter with a solid standing on the tier list, having few bad matchups. His power and speed are balanced well, with faster speed than the average heavyweight with a slightly lower attack power. Moves like the Side+B give Wario solid approach options and exceptional recovery which is well balanced with a terrible recovery upon the bike's loss. Wario also possesses a great air speed, meaning Wario has a surprisingly agile aerial game, ripe for juggling.

All in all, Wario is a great character that in my opinion needs very little change, other than some minor visual tweaks. He's fun to play, a great competitive character and just oozes personality, so I hope to see him return in Smash 4., riding his motorcyle to victory as he always triumphantly does.

What do you think of Wario? Should he return? Does he creep you out? Leave a comment below or head to the facebook page here.