Sprite

Sprite
Sprite from Wario's Woods (SNES)
First appearance	Mario & Wario (1993, Wanda) Wario's Woods (Famicom/NES) (1994, generic)
Latest appearance	NES Remix Pack (2014)
Comparable Sprixie
Notable members Alice Chiyōrō-sama Wanda Wanda's friends

Sprites (also lowercase) are a species of faries hailing from the in Peaceful Woods and Toad's main allies in the Wario's Woods games. In the sprites, they look like a classic pixie with a magic wand, transparent bug wings, and a pompom floppy hat.

History

Wario's Woods

They are gentle forest creatures who lived comfortably in the Peaceful Woods, but become in danger of losing their home when Wario takes it over, renaming it "Wario's Woods" and populating it with monsters. During gameplay, a Sprite plays a key role by helping Toad clear out monsters by providing him with bombs. However, if the player does not keep the gauge full, she will be replaced with a Black Bat, which is also symbolized when Wario replaces Birdo on the sidelines. The Black Bat will simply shower down more monsters while Wario attempts to knock the Thwomp down, but the Sprite returns once the gauge refills, making Wario leave and Birdo come back. Two of them are also seen in the VS Mode and act identically, except Birdo and Wario do not appear. Presumably, their lives return to normal after the events of the game.

Manga adpations

The fairy species of Wanda from Mario & Wario, shares the same generic name in Japanese, although she hails from a different forest and is said to be more elusive. She is also referred to as a "sprite" in English pre-release materials. This connection is also evident in the manga adpations, in which Wanda takes the role of the Sprite in the Mario & Wario stories.

Super Mario Kodansha manga

Toad meets the Sprite in Super Mario 4-koma Daikōshin

Sprites appear in the Super Mario Kodansha manga. Only Wanda and the leaders have a wand, and each Sprite sports a different design in clothing and headwear.

While Wanda is the only Sprite in Mario & Wario, in the manga adpation, more Sprites are met, including two leaders: Chiyōrō-sama, the elder from Yōsei no Mori, and Alice, the queen of Fairy Land, in which more Sprites live.

In the Super Mario: Wario no Mori volume, more Sprites appear beside Wanda and the returning Chiyōrō-sama, are also minor Sprites, two of which are the unnamed Wanda's friends. They are all part of a physical fairy album. During the event of the story, Wanda's page is ripped out of it, causing her to be spared when Fauster casts a petrifying curse on the Sprites. The Sprites' souls end up being collected inside a Diamond which Fauster uses to fuel Drago. Later, Wario rewrites Wanda's name inside the album to petrify her, and then Princess Peach adds hers too, so that they can use their collective magic to Mario to help him beat Debiruīji. Once Fauster is defeated, the Sprites are released from the Diamond.

In Super Mario 4-koma Daikōshin, in Uribō's chapter, the Sprite and Wanda are no longer the same entity. While Mario and friends are having their Mario & Wario adventure, Toad is rescuing Peaceful Woods alone. He immediately meets the Sprite and gets scared when she starts throwing bombs at him, until she explains she will pass these bombs (who will not hurt him) against the monsters. A group of Sprites also appear in one panel, fawning over Toad who have built up some muscles from throwing bombs. In this chapter, Sprites are wandless and hatless feminine pixies, quite similar to Tinker Bell, but with wavy long hair.

Super Mario-kun

Wanda and her Sprite friends in Super Mario-kun

In Super Mario-kun too, Wanda replaces the Sprite in the Wario's Woods storyline (volumes 11 through 13). Unlike in the Super Mario Kodansha manga, Wanda is the sole fairy species to appear in the Mario & Wario storyline, but more Sprites appear in the Wario's Woods, including the elder Chiyōrō-sama. The Sprites scatter when Wario attacks. Only Chiyōrō-sama and Wanda remain, and when the elder is transformed into a talking watering can by Wario, Wanda sets out to seek help. After enlisting Mario and his friends, they and Wanda begin the effort to reclaim the Peaceful Woods. Near the end, the Sprites return, helping the heroes escape Kyūkyoku gattai zen shū Wario-gao's trap, while Chiyōrō-sama offers his (limited) help against Drago and Wariki, returning to normal when Wario is defeated.

With the exception of Chiyōrō-sama, the Sprites are typical female pixies adorned with ribbons, while just a few exhibit masculine facial features. Only Wanda is seen with a wand.

Gallery

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  Wario's Woods (Famicom/NES)

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  Wario's Woods (Famicom/NES)

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  Wario's Woods (SNES)

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  Mario & Wario

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  Super Mario: Wario no Mori

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  Super Mario 4-koma Daikōshin

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	妖精ようせい Yōsei	Fairy/Sprite/Pixie; shared with Sprixie or Spriteling
Italian	Spiritello	Little spirit
	Folletto	Pixie; shared with Spriteling	Original releases
	Sprite	-	Club Nintendo