GENRE
	Platformer
	DEVELOPER
	Nintendo
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONNECTIVITY
	No
	BUY NOW AT

When Wario first reared his ugly head as the villain of Super Mario Land 2, it was clear that he was destined for greater things -- a villain who could use Mario's abilities against him was a cool idea. Who would have guessed that he'd become Nintendo's biggest anti-hero? For that matter, who would have thought that he'd get a Game Boy game that's better than any of Mario's?

visuals

This is a pure black & white Game Boy game; there's not even any options for Super Game Boy coloration. Still, these are some of the best graphics from the era; it holds up reasonably well on the notoriously blurry original Game Boy, and it really shines when you stick it in a system with a sharper screen. Animation isn't the best, but all of the sprites are big and full of that quirky Wario-esque charm that resurfaces throughout the series. Not a bad showing.

audio

Sound effects are reminiscent of the Mario games, but the musical scores that accompany the levels are slightly twisted to appropriately reflect Wario's more devious personality.

gameplay

At first glance, Wario Land seems to be just a twisted parody of the Mario series. Wario runs and jumps and stomps and collects silly power-ups just like the plumber in red. However, the differences in the mechanics set Wario apart and make it feel like a different experience. Wario is an offensive creature; when he touches an enemy, they take the hit, unless they have a spiked surface. Most hits like this just stun an enemy, allowing Wario to pick them up and throw them; to knock an enemy out, you have to use his trademark dash attack by hitting B. His three powered-up forms -- Bull Wario, Jet Wario, and Dragon Wario -- are completely unique from any of Mario's previous powered-up forms, giving Wario a fairly balanced set of moves that all have their particular advantages.

The opening levels are rather deceptive, making the game seem more like a simplified brawler than a platformer, but as you progress through the game, you'll come across some of the best 2-D platforming tricks to grace any system. One stage has you alternating between racing away from a spiked block and riding on its head past spikes and lava. Another stage is set on an automatically-scrolling train where you must ride little carts through gauntlets of floating islands. Still another stage has you racing through an underground cavern as a flow of deadly lava steadily pursues you. This is to say nothing of the bosses, which have a cleverness and diversity that hadn't been seen in a Mario game since Super Mario Brothers 2. These world guardians are brutal and merciless, and half the challenge is just figuring out what you need to do to hit them. But one of the coolest things about this game is that some stages change depending on events that happen later in the game. A giant lid slams down on Mt. Teapot, turning a light, open stage into a gloomy cavern. Rice Beach gets flooded, and a lake gets drained. These events not only keep you on your toes, but they open up new secret areas to explore.

Of course, the biggest difference between Wario Land and any Mario game is that this is a treasure hunt. See, Wario's not on this quest for the love of the princess; he's in it for the cash. Every coin you find along the way goes into a fund set up for the noble purpose of buying Wario a castle that'll put Mario to shame. (You've gotta love it.) This not only gives the typical coin-collecting a whole new purpose, but it makes for some deliciously crafty tests of your greed. For example, it costs 10 coins to light the mid-level marker, where you'll continue the stage if you die. Do you take the risk and leave it unlit for the sake of those ten precious coins? And at the end of every level is a tempting mini-game. Wario is presented with two buckets. If he picks the right one, the coins he earned in that stage are doubled. If he picks the wrong one, the coins he picked are cut in half. Do you feel lucky? Of course, who could forget the fifteen hidden treasures that lie tucked away in certain areas of the game? Each one is worth thousands of coins at the end of the game, so it's well worth the effort to search them out. Many of them are cleverly hidden -- one in particular is almost unfair -- and trying to get them all will add a lot of enjoyment to the game.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

Wario Land still has what it takes to stack up against the platformers of today. A classic through and through, this is just one of those games that no Game Boy should be without.

8.0/10