GabeZ's Game Reviews : Random Retro Review: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

Wario Land Cover Art

Looks like it's time for another Random Retro Review. Yeah, I know its been two in a row, but this is an easy way to give more content to my review page as I try to use every free minute to make the reviews on the bigger titles. Nonetheless, this review will be packed full of great information because this in fact was one of my absolute favorite games on the original Game Boy.
To start, I will mention that I have literally played through this game dozens of times, so if it seems like I am being a little biased, it's because I am but I will definitely provide you with the negatives just to be as honest as possible. Well, let's start.

This game was a direct sequel to the amazing Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and also developed by Nintendo R&D1 (who have made classic like Metroid NES, Ice Climbers, and Kid Icarus). As a child, while everyone I knew overlooked this game for its predecessor, I actually like this game a lot more than the last. First off, this was the first (and to my knowledge) and only Mario game that has someone else besides Mario as the main protagonist (I don't count any of the spin off titles, and technically this game was part of the Super Mario Land trilogy). This was the game that paved the way to all the Wario spin off games, and although I really dislike all that follow this game, Wario Land is an amazing game. So, shall we begin?

Visuals

This game was amazing to look at. Wario is the perfect size. It may sound weird to say but Wario fit the screen so nice, unlike may other games where your player happens to be too big for the screen (such as in games like Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis or Metroid 2: Return of Samus) where you can't see enemies and you get hurt because the camera doesn't pan out enough to show enemies until it's too late. Or even as the original Super Mario Land where your sprite was too small and you couldn't appreciate the sprites. And not only that, Wario was actually great visually. Not to go off on a tangent, but at this time, Wario wasn't who he is now. He didn't have a motorcycle, he wasn't as taunting as he is now, and he wasn't obsessed with farts yet. At the time, he was only a stronger, rounder version of Mario who is crazy. And in his sprites, he is depicted amazing. I always loved how they actually gave him crooked wacky eyes, to show that he is insane but was meant to be silly. It is impressive to see how much effort they put into making Wario, and I can truly appreciate it and hope everyone else does too. As for the atmosphere, it is creepy to say the least, This game is a lot darker than the original Mario games. Although there are many similarities to Mario's games such as having a lot of weakling enemies, the enemies hold what appear to be spears and other spiked and sharp obstacles. The environment also has darker shades than in the rest of the Mario games and there are even skulls in a lot of places. This makes the game feel like it isn't meant for kids, but Wario's crazy eyes and demented smile just manage to lighten up the mood. And some how the graphic are actually a lot better then the following game: Wario Land II, which I will review one day.

Music

The music is actually very catchy. To give to the crazy atmosphere, the songs just seem to be off-key, but still some great 8 bit tracks. There are unique tracks for multiple area, and they are an absolute joy to listen to.

Here is the general song for the first few levels and even some down the road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylc8A3JYMic

Ahh, such a joy to listen to.

Gameplay

Wario about to throw a
Wanderin' Goom at a Pirate Goom

This game had so many great things about the gameplay. Just like Mario games, it is a side scrolling platformer. Luckily, Wario plays differently from Mario by having more abilities. Wario, can walk, jump, but then had things like his infamous body slam (although I always saw it as more of a ramming movement, but according to every official site I found, it is called a body slam). Wario can bump into enemies, making them fall over, and then Wario can pick them up and throw them, either upward or forward, This opens so many possibilities, which Wario Land took full advantage of. Not only can he pick up and throw enemies, he can even pick up and throw a coin worth 10 coins. This is used for killing enemies, using checkpoints and opening doors. This is where the game had its goods and bads. Wario jumps surprisingly high for a fatter version of Mario, and is very float (which is why I assume Wario is a floaty character in Super Smash Bros Brawl). He jumps and falls extremely slow which can sometimes help you but will usually hurt you. Next is a huge let down for me was that Wario can not run. This makes the game extremely slow paced sometimes. Along with the slow jumps, you can expect not to be speed running this game.

Jet Wario using a coin to activate a checkpoint

Next come the power-ups. Just like Mario who used his famous Mushroom and Fire Flower, Wario has pots (which look like hats to me but once again the internet disproved me). And luckily this time around, there are multiple pots. First there is the Bull pot which makes you Bull Wario. This gives Wario horns and a few more abilities. As Bull Wario, you can body slam into bricks, breaking them in one hit. He can also ground pound like Mario in many other titles, but unlike Mario's, Wario's cause a mini earthquake that make enemies fall over and can smash them if you pound on them. And finally, if you hold up while you jump under a platform, your horns will allow you to hold on for an unlimited amount of time, which is very helpful when you have enemies walking below you. Next is the Jet pot, which makes you Jet Wario. As Jet Wario, your body slam becomes an air body slam that travels a lot farther than it normally does. If you use it in the air, you can glide very far distances. And the last benefit is that it makes you jump higher. And finally is the Dragon pot that makes you, if you can't guess yet, Dragon Wario. This replaces your body slam with the ability to shoot fire from your hat, If you get hurt in any of these forms, you become Small Wario, which is a shorter Wario who can only walk, jump, and throw enemies. There will occastionally be Garlic pots that will turn you into regular Wario. If you grab any of the other pots as Small Wario, you will get the power-up from the pot as well.

Jet Wario finding a treasure
in the skeleton door

Now I bet that was a lot of information to take in, but I'm almost done with this part. Finally is the actual levels. Like Super Mario Bros 3, you have an overworld map that lets you choose the levels you wanna play, and even lets you play previous levels, giving plenty of replay value. Next is in the levels themselve, you will find 3 items (excluding the power-ups). These consist of coins, hearts, and keys. The coins work just as they do in other Mario's games except that after you finish a level, the coins are put into a big counter that will keep track of the
m for the rest of the game. As for hearts, if you collect 10 hearts, you get an extra life. And finally are the keys, in which you need to find, and then pick and throw at skeleton doors. In each of the doors, you will find a treasure which are collectibles. After each level, you can see the numbers coins you collected and the treasures you have found. This gives even more replay value to find all the treasure.

Dragon Wario throwing a
bomb in the minigame

After you finish each level, you are allowed to play one of two minigames of your choice. The first is simply a form of gamblimg. You have an option of two buckets. One will double the coins that you acquire in the level, and the other will half it. The other minigame allows you to throw bombs at enemies, if you bomb them all, you get an extra few lives. If you get less, you get hearts.

Story

Wario scaling Mt. Teapot

Next is the story. This story is the sequel of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. If you are unaware, in SML2, Wario stole Mario's castle (Apparently Mario can afford a castle on a plumbers salary). After being defeated by Mario, Wario wants to get a castle that is better than Mario's. Then he hears about a stolen statue of Princess Toadstool that Mario is looking for. He decides to search for it and try to get a ransom from Princess Toadstool herself for it. But the Brown Sugar pirates turn out to have it, but Wario rushes in to steal it from the leader of the Brown Sugar pirates known as Captain Syrup who is hiding in Kitchen Island. Simple enough story, right?

Overview

This game is honestly one of the best Game Boy games I have ever played. It looks great, sounds awesome and has an amazing amount of replay value for a GB game. Although it may have the problem of floaty controls, it isn't too bad to deal with. Another problem is that the game is generally pretty easy. There is no real challenge to beat any of the levels, but if you are just looking for a pleasant experience, you have found the right game. Sure it's not a conventional Mario game, but its definitely in no way a bad game. I have played this plenty of times and was actually excited to replay this for my review and serious recommend this to any fans of platformers, Mario, or anyone looking for a great GB game..