Wario Land 3 Game by Nintendo Reviewed by The Avardancer (Philip Wesley) Size: 32 megabits Save: battery Released: 2000 Works with: Game Boy Color ONLY **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: There's a little truthism that I think every company should follow. "Do something new once, and it's innovative. Do it twice and it's deriative." Wario Land 3 is another "No-Die" game. To be honest... I had my doubts. Oh, yes.. I did. Oh, what is with the Super Mario Land series? It goes: "Super Mario Land". "Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins", "Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3", and then Wario Land 2, and now Wario Land 3.. right? So, technically.. this is Super Mario Land 5. Who do I hurt for this? Okay, so there IS a Super Mario Land 4; but it's a fan-made pirate game and it sucks. Anyways, I got this game and beat it the next day; but that is only because I'm a gameplaying force of nature. ;P Anyways, on to the review! **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: There are 25 levels, each level has four treasures, as well as 8 coins. Collect treasures to mess up the landscape and gain new powers to collect more treasures. Collect 8 coins in a level to get a marker point on a picture that eventually opens up one more golf course. Yippee. Oh, you want to know the story? Okay. Here's the story. This is a story of a guy that's crazy. He wants to collect treasure by the TON! He's really fat, and he can't die. And likes to fly planes all alone! And in this story, his plane went kinda crazy! And smoked up and fell down in a twirl! It crashed hard into the jungle. And it made him want to hurl. Then he woke up and he wasn't feeling mellow! Found a music box and he had a hunch. He got sucked into an adventure. And he didn't even get to stop for lunch. Okay.. you can sing that to the "Brady Bunch" theme song.. if you like. Okay, first off.. if you imported this game, there's no difference between this game and the import version. If you have the import version.. don't bother buying the US version; because it is the exact same coding. The game has an option to choose between English and Japanese at the very start of it. Makes, me wonder why it took so long to come out here. It was already localized in Japan for the USA. Sigh. Anyways, a "hidden figure".. who is obviously the bad guy.. asks Wario to find five Music Boxes and free him. Wario has never seen Mystery Science Theatre 3000, so he doesn't know that the sentient being asking for help, while being completely hidden from view is ALWAYS the bad guy in stories like this. Just so you know.. that thing is a huge scary clown guy and an easy; but damn cool boss. The bosses in this game are very cool. And they all require a strategy to beat. Yeah! What makes Wario Land 3 unique is the whole "no-die" concept.. oh, wait.. that made Wario Land 2 unique. It just makes Wario Land 3 kind of a clone. Lucky for Wario, his new game is full of stuff to collect, and fun things to do. Lots of stuff to do. From the new "golf" mini-game; which is okay. To the whole "Find a Key, and find a chest" gameplay. Much better than simple "Find the exit" gameplay. The treasures where optional in Wario Land, and Wario Land 2; but you HAVE to find them in Wario Land 3. You don't need all 100 treasures to beat it the first time; but if you want to see the ending again, fight that last boss again, or beat the game again.. you need all 100 of the little suckers. Wario has new transformations, and new enemies. No Black Sugar Pirates in here. :( I like Captain Syrup... and I miss her. She's one of my favorite villians. The game has areas that are meant to frustrate the Hell out of you. No really; but it is fun. Not innovative; but well-designed and fun. It should last you a while too. The levels are typical fare, from a tribute to those damn disappearing platforms, to a fire level, to a water level, to a "haunted" level or three. You use all of Wario's skills. Did I mention that you need to FIND his skills to use them? You have to finish a TON of levels before you learn to swim. Thanks a million Nintendo. Anyways, it's all very nice and twisted, you get flattened, burned, electricuted, etc. to achieve your goals. Is it fun? Yes. Is it original, anymore? No. I hope they don't do a Wario Land 4. No.. it's time to bring Mario back for Super Nario Land 6 and take the whole "no-die" bit to a different console. Liked: It's fun and there's a lot to do. The gameplay is great! And when you beat it.. you can play any of the levels in "Time Attack" mode.. well.. once you have all 100 treasures. Hated: The Gameplay isn't different from Wario Land 2. What I liked about the Super Mario Land series; was that while the first one was classic Super Mario Bros. style action, the second was radically different with better graphics, new characters, a completely different feel to it. Then Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 was drastically different and a lot of fun. Then Wario Land 2 came along with the whole "no-die" bit and I was like: "YEAH!". But.. this game is just Wario Land 2.. the expansion pack. Sigh. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: Do you think it looks like Wario Land 2? Shut your mouth fool. You can't even compare. The colors are vibrant and gorgeous. The game looks like I expect a COLOR ONLY platform game to look. I mean, games like Rayman are gorgeous! I expect this game to look just as good. And it does. Oh, yes.. it does. Wario has TONS of new "Warioesque" animations and there is a GREAT attention to detail. Leave Wario standing still for too long and he falls asleep. You can see him snoring with his slack-jawed, drooling, nose-bubble blowing bad self. Ha ha ha. Or check out that look he gets when he throws an enemy! HA! Get him on a ladder, then let him stay still for a while.. he scratches his butt. That's funny. He's just this gross fat guy.. the complete opposite of Mario. Ha Ha Ha. When he's "Fat Wario".. his belly wiggles as he walks. The enemies are brilliant too. I like that look on the spider's face when you stomp it. Or the Teddy Bears. Lots of special effects. From your normal color shifting, to color transparency, and even some mock sprite scaling. Wario and enemies move very well. The last boss is pretty cool looking. All the bosses are cool; and just as weird as Wario. Nice job! EVERYTHING looks better than it did in Wario Land 2. Of course. Liked: Everything. Hated: Nothing. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: Some excellent music in here. That whole "sound enviroment" deal from Wario Land 2 is NOT in Wario Land 3. :( But, the music is cool. After all, Wario IS stuck in a Music Box. The sounds are a mix of stock sounds and a tiny bit of new sounds. Okay. It's not annoying. It is pretty nice though. Liked: My Shock N' Rock makes the music nice and loud; because it's good music and SHOULD be played loud. Hated: Nothing, really. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Wario's powers have been tweaked a bit to make them better and while the game engine is unchanged; the game is great fun. This is the pinnacle of the Wario Land series. Let it rest here. Because, the game engine can only get WORSE from here on out. I found parts of Wario Land 3 to be a bit tedious and frustrating; but it's fun and I like that. Good game; just don't do it again. Liked: This is the Wario Land 2 formula pushed to it's potential. Hated: It's not innovative anymore.. I hope they scrap the engine and do something new for the next game. **************************************************************************** Improve: Umm.. give Mario a new game on Game Boy... okay? Let Wario have a break.. although.. if the series is getting predictable.. I'm betting Captain Syrup is stealing all of Wario's treasure as we speak. ;P Oh, one thing bugs the Hell out of me.. your maximum for the coins is 999. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I spent a month maxing out the coins in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, and I was working on Wario Land 2. I LIKE maxing out the coins. It's something that I enjoy doing. I maxed out the score in Kirby's Dream Land 2. When ever I kill an enemy.. I get an extra life. I like to MAX out things in a video game.. and the low coin max bugs me. CHANGE THAT. RIYL: Wario Land 2, platform games, puzzles. **************************************************************************** Final Words: A great game that belongs in everyone's game library; but I sincerely hope it's the last of Wario's "No-Die" adventures; because the game engine is getting rusty. I wish the game didn't have the whole "been there and beat that" feel that it has in many places. Oh, well. Cool game though. Go buy it. Unless you hated Wario Land 2... than don't touch it. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: ***** Graphics: ***** Sound/Music: ***** Play Control/Game Design: ***** Personal Opinion: ***** Total: 24 3/4 out of 25 Final Score: 100% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: Nope. Wario don't want you to cheat. ;P