How Old is 9-Volt? An In-Depth Look at the WarioWare Gamer Kid‘s Age
As an avid WarioWare fan, one of my favorite characters is 9-Volt, the energetic gamer kid who stars in many retro-style microgames. But how old is 9-Volt actually intended to be in the WarioWare universe? Let‘s take a deep dive into this question!
The Clear Answer: 9 Years Old
Every one of 9-Volt‘s official character profiles state that he is 9 years old, plain and simple. This includes his descriptions in WarioWare Twisted!, WarioWare: Touched!, WarioWare Gold, and even Japanese variants of the games. So while some characters have murky, undefined ages, 9-Volt‘s age is clear cut – he‘s canonically represented as a 9 year old elementary schooler.
Some key evidence backing up his age:
- He lives at home with his mom 5-Volt
- He attends Diamond City Elementary
- His best friend is the slightly older 18-Volt
- The number themes in Volt ages match up with how old they are
So within the wacky world of WarioWare, we can take 9-Volt‘s age as gospel truth direct from the developers!
Comparisons with Other Kid Characters
How does 9-Volt stack up against the other children of WarioWare when it comes to age? Let‘s see how the official profiles compare:
| Character | Official Age | Other Details |
|---|---|---|
| 9-Volt | 9 years old | Elementary schooler who loves Nintendo games |
| 18-Volt | Slightly older kid, 9-Volt‘s friend | No exact age given |
| Ana | 5 years old | Youngest of the Diamond Dojo students |
| Young Cricket | 10 years old | Ace spaceranger cadet, cool under pressure |
So we can see that 9-Volt fits right in the middle age-wise compared to the other major kid characters. He‘s younger than 18-Volt but older than petite ninja Ana.
Interestingly, there is no true "tween" or young teen representative – all are either under 10 or adults. I‘d love to see a 12-13 year old added to the games someday to bridge that gap!
Examining Fan Theories on Ages
While most ages seem clear, some fans have alternative theories about how old certain characters are intended to be. For example, some speculate that:
- Mona could secretly be under 18 based on her character shift
- Jimmy T‘s age is ambiguous enough he could potentially still be a minor
- Ashley‘s age may have been subject to retconning across game entries
So while the kids have defined, consistent ages locked in, for some of the adult characters the ages seem more flexible. But for 9-Volt, his youthful energy, love of retro gaming, and enrollment at Diamond City Elementary all point to him being represented as smack dab 9 years old through and through.
How This Age Impacts 9-Volt‘s Game Design
As a young kid himself, 9-Volt specializes in hosting and starring in classic microgames inspired by old-school Nintendo titles. This allows the developers to craft love letters and parodies to their favorite retro games of the past.
Some examples of 9-Volt‘s best nostalgic microgames include:
- Title Theme – Plays through classic Nintendo title music
- Twisted Adventure – Zelda style top-down adventure
- Dr. Wario – Wacky take on Dr. Mario virus blasting
- Sheriff – Wild West shoot ‘em up similar to old light gun games
The microgames definitely cater to 9-Volt‘s interest as an enthusiastic young gamer. We even see him in his bedroom gaming away in various story cutscenes!
What‘s Behind 9-Volt‘s Name Origins?
As we‘ve analyzed, 9-Volt and his mother 5-Volt clearly have numbered voltage names that correlate with their ages in-universe. This naming convention extends to 9-Volt‘s friend 18-Volt as well.
But what inspired the developers to adopt this voltage name direction? A few potential theories behind the origins:
- Electrical current flows measured in Volts reflect the "power" of the characters
- May tie into Nintendo‘s history beginning as a playing card company named for luck and fortune
- Links to the shifting identities of WarioWare characters between jobs
- The wacky humor of the series leads itself to strange naming juxtapositions
Regardless of the exact inspiration, the Volt naming reinforces both the electrical technology theme of some microgames as well as the ages associated with each character.
And we‘ll leave theorizing about a hypothetical 12-Volt to the fan fiction realm for now!
The Future: How Might 9-Volt Age Up over Time?
If the WarioWare developers eventually decide to push the timeline forward, they‘d have an interesting opportunity to show some of the kid characters like 9-Volt aging up into teenagers and young adults.
We already get a glimpse of 18-Volt as an older kid. But it would be fascinating to see a modern teenager‘s perspective from 9-Volt 10 years or so after his debut. How might advancing technology, newer generations of games, and shifting social dynamics impact 9-Volt as he matures?
There are so many directions they could take it. He could stay passionately retro, become a competitive esports star, develop an interest in game development, or even age into more administrative roles around the Wario company.
It would also be fun to see storylines exploring 9-Volt‘s friendship with 18-Volt change over time. Will they stay super close years later? Could tensions ever arise? Would new friendships and relationships develop for the boys?
Lots of fun scenarios to speculate on as 9-Volt theoretically grows up! For now though, frozen in time as a perennial 9 year old, we can enjoy his childlike enthusiasm and gaming nostalgia in the current WarioWare games.
So in closing, while select character ages seem mutable in the WarioWare universe, 9-Volt has one of the most clearly defined, static ages out there. Until developers say otherwise, he remains a 9 year old gamer kid rivaling the ages of other famous Nintendo children like Young Link or Baby Mario.
Let me know what other WarioWare character profiles you‘d be interested in me breaking down in future articles! And as always, game on!
