Wario (SSBB)

Wario (, Wario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Unveiled at E3 2006, Wario represents his own series instead of the universe, similarly to. Wario is voiced by Charles Martinet, who voices him in the Mario and Wario series, and also voices and.

Wario ranks 10th on the tier list. Wario has unique attributes as a fighter, as he has a relatively short 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, incredible air acceleration, and strong aerial attacks give him a great air game and grant him arguably the best air camping in the 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 ( 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 and. 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 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 short frame (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.

Notable players

 * See also: Category:Wario players (SSBB)


 * - Was considered to be the best Wario player in Japan.
 * - The top Wario player in Europe.
 * - A top Wario player in the United States.
 * - Considered to be the best Wario player in Mexico.
 * - The top Wario player in Europe.
 * - A top Wario player in the United States.
 * - Considered to be the best Wario player in Mexico.
 * - The top Wario player in Europe.
 * - A top Wario player in the United States.
 * - Considered to be the best Wario player in Mexico.
 * - A top Wario player in the United States.
 * - Considered to be the best Wario player in Mexico.
 * - A top Wario player in the United States.
 * - Considered to be the best Wario player in Mexico.
 * - Considered to be the best Wario player in Mexico.

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,, , 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. '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 currently seen as a borderline top tier or a high tier in singles, he still 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, brought out a pocket Wario in doubles to great success. and '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 and  and a second place finish at SKTAR 2.

Role in The Subspace Emissary
Wario is the tertiary antagonist in The Subspace Emissary. After does battle with Petey Piranha to free the princesses, one of the cages in which Petey holds  and  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 in an abandoned zoo, dispatching Porky to corner and weaken him. Porky is defeated by Lucas with the help of, but Wario appears. He fires his Dark Cannon at Ness, who dodges all the shots. Annoyed, Wario decides to fire at Lucas instead, but Ness takes the hit to defend him.

Upon finding the trophy of, Wario lets his guard down and picks up the trophy. Wario is ambushed by Waddle Dees and then loses his trophies to, who steals his Cargo. Wario tracks Lucas and his partner, the, 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 way earlier. 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 making him start 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, only following his orders because he enjoyed doing so.

Non-playable appearances

 * Midair Stadium
 * The Ruined Zoo
 * The Path to the Ruins
 * The Battlefield Fortress
 * The Ruins
 * The Ruined Hall
 * Subspace II

Playable appearances

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

In Classic Mode, Wario can appear as an opponent in Stage 10 on WarioWare, Inc. Wario can also appear as an opponent in Stage 11, but only if he hasn't appeared in Stage 10.

All-Star Mode
In All-Star Mode, Wario is fought in Stage 17 on WarioWare, Inc.

Solo Events

 * Event 4: Cleaning House in Skyworld: 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: 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 and  on Mario Bros.
 * Event 20: All-Star Battle x1: Wario is one of the eight opponents fought in this event along with, Pit, , , , , and the.

Co-Op Events

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

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

Trivia

 * Brawl is the only game where Wario is a starter character.
 * Due to his dodgy walking animation, if Wario is walking backwards on conveyor belts in custom stages, he cannot step onto another conveyor belt.
 * Wario never blinks. The only times his eyes are closed are when he is asleep, stunned, or being hit.
 * 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 and the words "Made In" under it. This is a reference to the Japanese name for the WarioWare series, "Made in Wario". Also on the back of his biker outfit, it reads "Hurry Up!", both a reference to WarioWare microgames lasting only a few seconds and to the voice clip he shouts in Wario Land 4 and WarioWare: Touched!
 * 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.
 * Despite this, Brawl is the only game where Wario's overalls costume has a different render pose than the biker outfit.
 * Wario has the most taunts of any character, having a total of four as opposed to three (or five, if one counts the wheelie animation).