Metroid Database.com

What's that you say? Samus was an only child? Technically, you are 100% correct, Rodney and Virginia did have only one child (that we know of), however Samus's other father had many children. No, I'm not talking about Yoshio Sakamoto (though he is also very involved with her brother), but Metroid character designer, Hiroji Kiyotake. On October 21, 1992, Kiyotake's team released a game which gave birth to his most famous creation all time. The game was Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and the character was none other than the one and only, Wario!

Since his humble beginnings as an antagonist harassing Mario, Wario has grown into becoming a staple for both the Mario universe, and Nintendo as a whole. Wario has since appeared karting with Mario, playing Golf, Tennis, Baseball, Soccer, and a host of other sports. On one occasion, he even assisted the Mario Bros on their quest to save Princess Peach from the dastardly Bowser.

Yet Wario is still more than a mere player in the Mario series, people all over the world have seen his obvious greatness, and Wario has gone on to lead not just one, but two spin offs! Wario has since lent his talents as the hero of both the Wario Land and the Wario Ware franchises. Not bad for someone who started his career as the final boss of an old GameBoy game.

So, let's all take a little time from our day and pay tribute to this gaming giant. Play a round of Wario Ware with your friends, defeat Captain Syrup and the Brown Sugar Pirates on Kitchen Island. Or perhaps take Wario for a spin on Mario Kart 7 and show the plumber who's boss. On the other hand, maybe you can play a friendly round of Super Smash Bros Brawl, and see which character is Kiyotake's greatest. Have fun, and like the big man would say, "Have a rotten day!"

--James Pierce