Wario's Woods

"Wario's Woods"

Hello everyone. I am going to be going over all the Wario games ever released. The Wario series has always left me amused and/or amazed, and I wish to share my personal thoughts on each of the games (there are many), in hopes of pursuading some of you to try some of this dimented Mario look-alike, and his many evil quests for more gold to fill his castle.

Maybe I should explain the character Wario a bit, before going into my review. Wario has always been considered a bully to the other Nintendo characters, wether it be Mario and his gang, a crew of greedy pirates, and even Bomberman. Wario has always been that dimented ''evil'' (I would hardly call him evil, he is just, a bit... disturbed...), man with that sinister look, the muscles, and enough bullying to actually kill somebody. He has always wanted more money, and is probably the greediest character, next to Captain Syrup which I will get into later on, ever. Now that you know Wario, let's get on with ''Wario's Woods,'' probably the greatest Tetris clone around.

I will rate each game element out of 10.

1. Story 8/10

Guess who Wario decides to mess with now. Simple, little Toad of the Mushroom Kingdom! Wario decides to throw evil monsters into a once happy forest, and Toad decides it's his turn to save the day!

2. Graphics 8/10

The graphics were a very great feature in this game. The different opponents, Toad, and the backrounds were clear, and probably the best you can get out of SNES. Wario is perfect here! His disturbed insane self with his sinister face makes the graphics 10/10 for sure! However, the monsters Wario sends down are very poorly done. They are a solid color, and most look like a Rabite from Legend of Mana. If you don't know what a Rabite is, it's a cute little bunny that can bite. They either look like Rabites, or those cute little enemies from the Kirby games. They are pretty basic and plain as well.

3. Sound/Music 10/10

The music was another perfect feature in this game. The songs were all different, and arranged correctly in the game, and the sounds were superb. Wario's Woods was one of the few SNES games featuring real human voices! Toad sounds like Toad, and the enemies sound... goofy... Fortunately, Wario doesn't speak. I would hate to hear his voice depicted by a game featuring Toad as a playable character. It would sound all silly.

4. Gameplay 10/10

The game is hard, and very addictive. You play as Toad, and you must rid the forest of monsters Wario is throwing. There are various modes, including a 2 Player mode, (unfortunately no coop mode, but oh well), Time mode, and then some other little sotry modes and round modes. You go through levels, and as enmies come down, you must match two enemies of the same color with at least one bomb, and it will destroy them. Once you defeat them all, you go to the next round. Pretty simple you say? Nope, not at all. You have various moves and abilties. These include: picking things up, dropping them, and kicking one to a row. These can be very affected. Toad is also able to walk on the walls as well.

In a round mode, you go up against different computer characters with unique personalities and they get harder. You have to rid all the monsters on your side before they do, and you must do this three times to beat them. Then you go to the next opponent. Round Mode is very challenging, and can leave you playing for hours trying to beat the computers. I still haven't deafeated them all.

In story mode, it is simple. Destroy all the monsters. Depending on the time you accomplished this is how many coins you will get. If you take too long, Wario will show up and start bombing the hell out of you with monsters, and ramming the side of the arena, making it more compact as a block slightly slides out of place at the top. Then it goes back to the normal, happy playing with Birdo, another odd creature, sitting there rooting for you.

Yes, this game is weird, but it is extremely addictive, and fun.

5. Replayability/Overall 9/10

DO NOT get this game if you have school in the morning! DO NOT get this game if you need to get up early! It is for sure you may be up all night playing this game, it is that addictive. I recommend you get a rom of this, or rent it or something, because I know just about any puzzle fan would enjoy this game. I am unsure if you can just buy it, SNES games can be hard to come around, but if you ever see it, just try it out.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/02, Updated 11/08/02