r/SuperMarioGalaxy

I’ve played through the game quite a few times since my childhood and after playing it on the Switch 2 and doing a 100% file last year, I realized that I beat the game with 50 deaths. It was so fun to play a childhood game in such high quality and in handheld mode.

So I wanted to challenge myself to get a deathless file and honestly it was not easy but it’s done!

I will admit that I failed the perfect run final star about 5 times but I just closed the software so it didn’t count. Technically it’s still a deathless file, not deathless run but still a personal accomplishment!

The word "Oma" appears once in the story of the first Galaxy.

What connects Rosalina and Waluigi is their height; with Pauline, it is dancing and the color red—since Waluigi likes red roses. As for Wario, the connection lies in the "little brother" dynamic (even though Wario is short). Regarding the connection between Pauline and Rosalina in the story—specifically in Galaxy 2 or a potential Switch 2 version or update—the word "Lady" appears frequently; Pauline was known as "Lady" (a damsel figure) in the original Donkey Kong Game Boy game.

The large shadow is the father with the tree, and the small one is Rosalina; the picture with the snow shows Rosalina as a child and her little brother—the woman who looks like Rosalina is her mother, and Rosalina is the child.

Wario

Official Nintendo website: Nintendo describes Wario as Mario's self-proclaimed archrival, wearing purple overalls, a yellow cap, and a zigzag mustache.

Nintendo Character Guide (1993): An official character guide from back then states that Wario was once Mario's childhood friend, who became jealous of Mario's talent.

Not cousins: The rumor that Mario and Wario were cousins came from unofficial sources – according to the MarioWiki, no official source ever stated that.

Debut: 1992 as the main antagonist of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins; his name combines "Mario" with the Japanese word "warui" (悪い), meaning "bad."

Waluigi

First appearance: He was created in 2000 by Camelot for Mario Tennis as Wario's tennis partner and Luigi's rival – with no backstory given.

Official Japanese Nintendo website: Waluigi's official bio on the Japanese Nintendo Kids website merely states that Wario and Waluigi "seem not to be brothers" – deliberately leaving the question open.

Voice actor Charles Martinet (2008): When asked whether Wario and Waluigi are brothers, he said he didn't know, but that they were "two nice, evil guys who found each other."

Important: Contradictions in secondary sources

Some semi-official materials contradict each other:

The Nintendo of Europe column "Wario's Warehouse" (2000s) twice calls Waluigi Wario's "brother" – though this is considered of questionable canonicity.

The manual for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games describes the two as cousins.

Early Nintendo of Europe material also portrayed them as brothers, before Nintendo deliberately left the relationship ambiguous.

Bottom line: Nintendo itself has never definitively answered the question of any family relation – the only solid official statement is that they "seem not to be brothers" and are connected to Mario/Luigi purely through rivalry.

The small shadow by the tree is Rosalina, and the large shadow shows her father.

Two people can be seen in the lovely picture: one is Rosalina as a child, the other is her little brother; the adult woman is her mother.

What connects Waluigi, Wario, and Pauline to Rosalina?

In Waluigi’s case, it’s loneliness; with Wario, it might stem from the line about the "little brother" (since Wario is short).

In Mario Galaxy, Rosalina’s story constantly references "the Lady"—and Pauline is, after all, the original "Lady."

Here is an overview of the official information!

It is really interesting that Nintendo has never clearly stated whether Wario and Waluigi are related to Mario and Luigi.

Officially, Wario is described as Mario’s childhood friend and self-proclaimed arch-rival, while Waluigi was introduced in 2000 as Luigi’s rival—completely without a backstory.

Even the official Japanese Nintendo website merely states that the two "do not appear to be brothers"; the question is thus deliberately left open.

Personally, however, I have my own theories: I believe Wario is Rosalina’s brother, Waluigi is the father, and Pauline is the mother.

I know none of this is official, but it’s fun to think about!

Nintendo is likely being vague on purpose so fans can speculate.

Thanks for sharing!

I even have an idea about who the grandmother might be: Princess Shroob.

Oh, and speaking of the grandmother... Pauline disappeared for a long time after the Donkey Kong game for the Game Boy (1994), but there is a character in Wario Land who strangely looks just like Pauline: Captain Syrup (from 1994).

Exactly—what I mean is that the two are actually the same character.

This means Wario and Waluigi fit into the picture as well.

Pauline returned in 2006 and later again in Odyssey (2017), whereas Captain Syrup did not reappear after Wario Land 3 (2000).

I 100%ed everything

Found this while digging through my Switch's gallery

Of course, you could also suggest Wario, but I personally don’t really see that working, especially with Pauline as the mother. Luigi is also possible in theory, but I’m not convinced.

In the picture, Rosalina’s father is mostly shown as a shadow, so we can’t identify him for sure. But to me, the figure looks tall and slender rather than short or broad. That’s why Waluigi fits the silhouette better in my opinion.

You could argue for Luigi too, but I still think Waluigi matches the body shape more closely.

Also, Rosalina wasn’t always the powerful cosmic figure we know from the games. Her Storybook shows her first as an ordinary young girl who later travels into space and becomes the adoptive “mother” of the Lumas. Nintendo does not officially call her a goddess, though, so I would avoid saying that she “became a goddess.”