Just as
Nintendo's
Luigi spent years living in
his brother's shadow before becoming a popular video gaming icon,
Wario's own brother Waluigi also is overpowered by his sibling. Just as
Toadette was created to fill a void in
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Waluigi was designed to be
Wario's team partner in the
Nintendo 64 video game
Mario Tennis. Created by
Camelot Systems for
Nintendo, Waluigi is a grotesque exaggeration of
the taller Mario Brother. He dresses in black and purple to
Luigi's green and blue, has a craggly mustache, and wears his own mocking trademark cap with an upside-down "L" on the front. His voice (like that of
Mario,
Luigi, and
Wario) is portrayed by
Charles Martinet.
While Wario was initially designed to be a one-trick cliche character, Nintendo eventually gave him his own distinct personality. Waluigi is yet to be so lucky. Wario's existance seems to make some kind of twisted sense, at least; his clothes are a comical opposite of Mario's (right down to the "W" on his cap, a flip of Mario's famous "M"), his size and stature are a riff on the famous plumber, and his greedy attitude is a mirror image of Mario's beliefs. Waluigi, on the other hand, is a riff on a character who does not have many riffable characteristics. Sure, the physical warping is there - Luigi is tall and thin, so Waluigi is much taller and much thinner - but how does one invert or exaggerate Luigi's reluctant heroism? Nintendo and Camelot haven't seemed to have figured this out yet. In each of Waluigi's appearances he shares his brother's habits of greed and cheating, making him another riff on Mario, not Luigi. If one where to exaggerate Luigi's reluctance, then logic would suggest that Waluigi should be a complete coward or a reluctant villain.
The Wario Brothers are Camelot's favorite Nintendo characters, and therefore in each Nintendo Sports title they create with the Mushroom Kingdom cast Wario and Waluigi are usually given special attention. In both Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Power Tennis the duo star in an opening introductory mini-movie that opens the game, for example. Waluigi is a playable character in both of these games, plus he's one of the selectable characters in Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and Mario Party 3 though Mario Party 6.
References:
http://gc.advancedmn.com
http://www.gamefaqs.com
http://www.classicgaming.com/tmk/
Did I miss a major appearance? Let me know.