Nintendo devs at Camelot, makers of Mario sports games and Golden Sun, once pitched a Waluigi Peach concept after the anti-hero’s triumphant debut in the Mario Tennis sports game, but Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto instantly forbade it (thanks, Nintendo Life). The revelation came in an interview on Nintendo Dream Web, which Twitter user gosokkyo translated.
Fans reacted so positively to Waluigi’s first appearance, that the Camelot team almost immediately began working on a concept for “WaluPeach,” who would be a “fallen angel” take on the Mushroom Kingdom princess. The pitch never stood a chance, though. When the team presented it to Miyamoto, he turned the idea down before even looking at the designs.
“I know it’s gonna be just like Doronjo, so don’t bother,” he reportedly said.
buoyed by the OK & the knowledge that Nintendo was open to good ideas, they tried to pitch "Walupeach" for their next game, but apparently Miyamoto vetoed it before they could even show him their design, on the lines that "I know it's gonna be just like Doronjo, so don't bother"
— GSK | https://cohost.org/gosokkyu (@gosokkyu) January 17, 2023
Doronjo is a villainess from the popular 1970s heist anime Yatterman, who regularly appeared in a fancy mask and someone revealing leotard. Doronjo’s general attitude certainly seems fitting for a Waluigi type, so perhaps Miyamoto wasn’t far off the mark.
Either way, we have Princess Daisy as a Peach counterpart now, though she’s hardly the villain type. Fans created their own anti-Peach with Bowsette when Nintendo added the Super Crown in New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe in 2018. The item transforms Toadette into Peach, so fans decided to create an item that transformed Peach into Bowser, because of course they did.
Whether any of these unorthodox characters get a nod in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie seems unlikely, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
