Genre: Action
Platform: Game Boy Color
Before I get into information on the game, I'd just like to explain a few things about the slightly new Review format. Difficulty is no longer graded 0-5 stars. Instead, Difficulty has 4 levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Insane. Now for the game...
Wario returns again to the Game Boy,
in full color! Like in Wario Land 2, Wario doesn't have that extra "lives"
thing that many previous games had.
There are no "bottomless pits", all such "pits" will merely carry you
back to the beginning of the area.
To make life slightly harder, Nintendo has also put in some puzzles for
Wario to solve.
Basically, the storyline is that Wario finds a cave with a music box, which he has the misfortune to get sucked into. A "Hidden Figure" tells Wario that he was once guardian of the world inside the Music Box and his power was sealed away in five music boxes by his enemies. He tells Wario that if Wario restores his power, he'll not only let Wario out of the music box, he'll let Wario keep all of the treasure he collects. Well, you know that the word "treasure" is the word Wario likes to hear most, and that sets him off on another adventure. But is this "figure" really who he says he is?
Oh, in this game sometimes it's night, sometimes it's day, and the way a level is arranged will sometimes depend on that. Eventually you'll get a tool that allows you to change that at will, but until then you'll have to live with it. Also, Wario starts out the game robbed of some of his basic abilities, which he'll eventually get back through Treasure Chests. There are four Treasure Checks in each level, each requiring a key. Some of the Treasure Chests will change things in some levels, which will allow you to access the other Treasure Chests in that level, some will OPEN new levels, and some will give you those abilities I mentioned, which are things like Stomping, Swimming, and allowing you to jump higher. I said it before and I'll say it again, 0-5 stars.
Graphics: *** 1/2
The graphics are definitely better than Wario Land 2, but I still wanted a little more than what it offered. Not that it really makes much of a difference, as you could see what was going on quite clearly.
Sound and Music: *** 1/2
You've probably heard me say this a zillion times before: some of the music was great, but a bunch of it I didn't like.
Difficulty: Medium
This game is not very difficult. Sometimes needing it to be day/night is annoying, but isn't too bad. Finding where things are and getting to them isn't too hard, but is sometimes difficult. If you're lost, you can always visit that "Hidden Figure", who will tell you where to go next.
Controls: **** 1/2
I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's tough to make a GBC game with tough controls. There are usually only two buttons that affect gameplay, and this game features that.
Levels: ***
I thought it was cool how whether it was day or night could affect some of the levels. Sadly, other than that there weren't too many differences in the structure from this and Wario Land 2.
Concept: ****
This game is pretty darn original. For
the first time, Wario begins without all of his powers. Plus, there are
all
sorts of cool things, including a golf
mini-game. Oh, and did I mention that the backstory is original? The gameplay
is the same, but that's not really part of the "concept". Oftentimes, changing
gameplay can reduce the quality of a game...
Story: ***
Wario is trapped in a music box and has to help a mysterious person recover his power. Neat, isn't it?
Bosses: ***
The bosses are pretty diverse, truth to tell. The last one is pretty hard (of course!) but what bugs me is that it takes a while to figure out how to beat them. It took me about a minute until I figured out how to hurt the final boss, who I won't tell much about, it'll be a total spoiler. For example, without help it might take someone a while to figure out how to beat the spider boss. Still, the bosses are quite diverse!
Replayability: ***
As it says in the Secrets part, there are some more things to do in the game, but you'll probably get bored after a while of trying to do them.
Secrets: ** 1/2
There are some secret levels, which you don't have to find to complete the game. There's also the secret of the extra golf mini-games, which require having all of the "crayons". Also, try getting all eight Music Coins in every level... quite a feat!
Gameplay: **** 1/2
They may have kept the original Wario gameplay, but that's sure a good thing! They've also revamped on it with all of the various transformations. Plus, the having-to-wait-to-gain-power-ups is a plus, in my opinion, because it makes it more interesting.
Fun Factor!: ****
You really can get a good amount of enjoyment from this game, though sometimes it's frustrating. Still, I really liked it.
OVERALL: ****
This is definitely a better game than Wario Land 4. It has the original Wario gameplay with all sorts of cool add-ons, including transformations similar to those in Wario Land 2! All Wario fans will love this games, and Mario fans will also likely enjoy this. Best of all, it doesn't have the "that was it?" feeling after you've beaten it.
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