Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto once vetoed a developer’s idea to introduce an evil Wario version of Princess Peach.
The concept for a Wario-style Peach was originally discussed 15 years ago by Shugo Takahashi, co-founder of Mario Tennis and Mario Golf studio Camelot in an old interview with Nintendo Dream.
This interview resurfaced last night via Twitter, as translated by user gosokkyu, which has brought Takahashi’s long-lost comments to light.
Camelot’s pitch to create an evil Peach came about after the studio’s success in originating Waluigi, the evil version of Luigi who originally had his debut in Mario Tennis for the N64.
Encouraged by the fact Nintendo allowed Camelot to create Waluigi, Takahashi next pitched “Walupeach” for the studio’s next project – only for Miyamoto to refuse the idea before seeing Camelot’s design.
Reportedly, Miyamoto said he didn’t need to see Walupeach’s design as it would be “just like Doronjo, so don’t bother”, referencing a character from the Yatterman anime series, who you can see an illustration of here.
Takahashi lamented that his design actually did not look like that, but was “datenshi-style” – suggestive of a fallen angel or demon.
And alas, that was that.
Could we still see a Walupeach? It seems unlikely. In a 2020 interview, Nintendo producer Kensuke Tanabe discussed how the company had more recently changed its stance on the creation of new Mario universe characters, making fresh Mushroom Kingdom faces nigh-on impossible.
Not that this has stopped fans. Remember Bowsette?