We were apparently robbed of a Peach rival - or, more specifically, "Walpeach" - in Mario Power Tennis, but at least Waluigi creator Fumihide Aoki has given us a delightful glimpse at the character that might've been.
Aoki, who goes by yuzumpo on Instagram, shared some character design sketches, followed by a few 3D renderings, on Friday. Clad in purple like Wario and Waluigi, her outfit certainly has a little more edge than Princess Peach's usual fashion, complete with some buckled boots and spiked bracelet.
Aoki revealed a few more interesting tidbits about her development in the replies of the Instagram posts, too, saying that Walpeach was initially pitched for Mario Tennis 64, but was rejected before they could even nail down a design. To that end, an old Nintendo Power interview from 2000 surfaced a few years ago in which Camelot's Hiroyuki Takahashi revealed that Shigeru Miyamoto "didn't even want to see their (Wario and Waluigi's) girlfriends."
Aoki would go on to pitch Walpeach's design for 2004's Mario Power Tennis on the GameCube, where it was unfortunately rejected again.
Her personality, Aoki said, would largely follow the same "pattern" as Wario and Waluigi, seeing Peach as her rival. "Her personality is scary when she gets angry. etc," he added.
As far as other "Warui" character ideas, Aoki also said he once had "an idea for Yoshi to be a dragon with horns and wings as a combination of Walpeach," but that obviously never came to fruition. Still, I would like to see it.
Walpeach may never be able to go toe-to-toe with her counterpart in a game, but at least Aoki's given us a glimpse - and no doubt inspiration for some fanart.
Thumbnail credit: yuzumpo on Instagram
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
