Weekend Wink: Craig And Luigi

Welcome to the Weekend Wink, where the memes that got big over the weekend are explored and explained, quick as a wink. With Always Has Been now officially in decline, the position of "top meme" was up for grabs. Over the weekend, there were a few memes that had a good performance, but Craig the Brute and Luigi Is Real were definitely the main stars. Let's dig into more about what these two memes are, and why they became so prominent.

Luigi is Real

First up is Luigi is Real 2401. This meme has been around the block for quite some time, as it is a common urban legend associated with others under My Uncle Works at Nintendo. The legend theorized that it was possible to unlock Luigi in Super Mario 64 through various means, such as collecting every coin or inputting a complex button sequence in the courtyard with the Boos. For two decades, it was memed that there were ways to unlock Luigi, with official responses always being that he doesn't exist in the game.

However, everything changed once the Nintendo Gigaleak happened. Files that were previously unheard of were posted online, and inside them was code for Super Mario 64, which features in-game Luigi textures. For many, this was vindication, but for others, a prophecy that had finally been fulfilled. Luigi is Real 2401 was finally proven correct, as code proving Luigi's existence was found exactly 24 years and one month after the original release of the game.

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Because of this, Luigi immediately skyrocketed in meme popularity overnight, with many people making memes about how long they'd been waiting for his reveal after all this time. While there is still more info to go through, Luigi is expected to continue to be a dominant force for the next week due to this decades-old hype train finally paying off.

Craig the Halo Infinite Brute

Unlike Luigi, Craig is a brand new face in gaming, but his impact has already been felt. Also unlike Luigi, Craig's name isn't one that was given to him by his original creators. Instead, it's the name given to him by the Halo Infinite community at large. He came onto the scene late last week, fresh out of the new Halo gameplay demo, and the community quickly latched onto him.

Craig showed up at a very opportunistic time, as it had started to look like we would have a meme dry spell going into August. This meant that meme creators were chomping at the bit for some new content, and his stoic expression perfectly fit the bill. It also helped that he came from a known franchise that hasn't had any momentum in a while, meaning the community can use him as a symbol of expression to put their excitement and hype into.

Craig's image wasn't merely as a vehicle for hype, however, as some fans used him as a way to talk about their lackadaisical reaction to the new gameplay demo. Memes involving Craig were used to show displeasure in some of the newer additions to the core gameplay of Halo Infinite, such as the grappling hook and sprint being added to the game once again. Whether used for positive or negative reactions, Craig still helped drum up more interest in the title, helping increase visibility.

Not just content with being used to contrast against other things within Halo, Craig quickly found himself being used in various other formats, such as Everywhere I Go I see His Face. Craig mutating into other formats is one of the crucial steps required for a meme to reach peak spread, and it will be interesting to see how many different formats he makes his way into, as well as just how long this momentum can last.

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