Fumihide Aoki, creator of Waluigi, recently revealed sketches and 3D assets of a scrapped rival for Peach called Walpeach on Instagram. Read on to learn more about Walpeach and Aoki's attempts at making her a part of the franchise.
Waluigi Creator Reveals Scrapped Rival for Peach
Mario fans are spoiled for choice this year with the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Super Mario RPG, but they've also been robbed. As revealed by Fumihide Aoki, creator of Waluigi, there exists a Wario-esque counterpart for Princess Peach.
Aoki, who goes by yuzumpo on Instagram, recently posted sketches and 3D models of this character, sparking a massive reaction from the Mario fandom. "Walpeach" - a name the character soon became known by - sported an edgier look in direct contrast to Princess Peach's cutesy getup. She also has a head covering, a sleeveless dress, platform shoes, and a spiky bracelet similar to Bowser's. Of course, despite being a reverse Peach of sorts, she still has a crown befitting royalty.
The Development and Abandonment of Walpeach
But why only reveal the character now? Why didn't we get Walpeach at all? Aoki elaborated in the post's comments about the development and subsequent scrapping of Walpeach. The character was first pitched for Mario Tennis 64, but was unceremoniously scrapped before they could even get a solid design down.
Fans of the series would know that Mario Tennis 64 was Waluigi's debut. This meant that Walpeach would have shown up as his girlfriend or partner. Relating to that tidbit, Camelot's Hiroyuki Takahashi revealed in an old Nintendo Power interview that the franchise's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, "didn't even want to see their (Wario and Waluigi's) girlfriends."
This isn't the extent of Aoki's attempts at making Walpeach a canon character in the Mario-verse, however, as she was pitched again for 2004's Mario Power Tennis on the GameCube. Despite the repeated attempts, she was rejected a second time.
Aoki had more ideas for "Warui" characters, including one for Yoshi. According to Aoki he once had "an idea for Yoshi to be a dragon with horns and wings as a combination of Walpeach." This didn't come to pass, but the glimpse at what could have been was enough to spark speculation and fanart among fans.
Fans Fell In Love With Walpeach in Record Time
Fanart of Walpeach began to circulate the internet within the day as Mario fans swarmed to Aoki's post for inspiration. This is somewhat similar to the frenzy that followed the fanmade "Bowsette" character in 2018, albeit in a more respectful way.
Walpeach may never see the light of day, but who knows? Maybe Nintendo will listen to the fans and give their favorite mushroom princess her counterpart.
