Wario Land: Shake It!

"Wario Returns to Form"

Wario Land: Shake It! is a Wii game that attempts to recapture the charm of 2-D gaming. While it does do so wonderfully, this game has quite a few flaws that unfortunately prevent it from living up to its potential.

The first thing that you'll notice upon starting this game are the graphics. There are very few games like it. The game gives the impression that you are controlling a cartoon. All hand-drawn, the game manages to emote a charming, cartoon-ish feel. The entire surroundings are quite varied and have a ton of detail. While the graphics do tend to lose their lustre the more you play and the more you become accustomed to them, they are still outstanding. The graphical style also suits the vibe of the game well. This is truly one of the best looking Wii games out there.

Unfortunately, this isn't one of the best-sounding Wii games available. It's not so much that the music in this game is all that bad. It is simply a matter of a bunch of little things snowballing into a poor mess. To start, some of the music is reused in multiple levels which definitely irks me. The music that is used is also not overly memorable or catchy, and can even be quite annoying at times. My biggest complaint though is that the music in the game does not coincide with the theme of the level very often. I believe the music in a game should emphasize the feeling of a level, yet this game fails in that respect. The escape music that plays during the second part of a stage is usually well done, but too often the musical piece exudes a sense of calmness when these sections of the game are supposed to be nerve-wracking and tense.

The story of Wario Land: Shake It! was not given much attention. I can forgive the uninspired storyline because the Wario Land series was never very concerned with plot, but the game only contains two cutscenes which make up the entirety of the story. They are beautifully drawn, somewhat humorous cartoon animations, but it's hard to not feel disappointed that more were not included.

Now let's get on with the best part of this game and really the most important part: the gameplay. The game consists of essentially platforming and puzzle-solving sections. The basic goal of each stage is to reach the end of the level, free a captured Merfle (bird-like creatures that you are rescuing) and then quickly race back to the start before the time limit that appears reaches zero. Rarely will you have any problems in completing the level. The difficulty, the main bulk, and really the best aspect of this game comes in the form of the hidden treasures scattered in each level and the bevy of missions available. In each level, there are three treasures. To get them, you must first find them and then (usually) complete some clever and enjoyable puzzle. As the game progresses, it can become quite a task to not only figure out how to solve the puzzle, but also to find the treasure chest in the first place. There is a bit of an over-reliance on completing puzzles using one certain game mechanic (the “dasherator” or whatever it's called). While I have no problems with this mechanic, it would have been appreciated if they had varied the puzzle-solving methods a bit more than they did. The missions mainly require an intimate knowledge of the level in order to complete, and for completists like me, this is a welcome addition (especially considering there are roughly 200 of them!). The missions are quite enjoyable and some are really challenging. Even though they rehash the same missions over and over, it isn't that noticeable for some reason.

There are some stages that stray from the norm and force you to traverse an underwater tunnel in a submarine. I don't care for these levels and never replay them, not so much because the controls are bad, but because it simply isn't as enjoyable. It would have been better if these levels had been left out of the final product. While I don't like them, I guess they do increase the variety of the game - so that's a plus.

There are not that many bosses in the game, and once you get used to their patterns, they are pitifully easy. The boss battles are still somehow a blast to play and, thankfully, they are very different from one another (considering the variation in normal enemies in the game is minimal).

The controls in this game work perfectly in every instance. The motion controls do not feel unnatural or tacked on, and they are quite responsive (although one move which requires you to shake the Wii remote once doesn't register as often as it should).

The only extras in this game are some humorous, two-line descriptions of the treasures you've collected, the soundtracks for each level in which you've completed all of the missions, and the opening and ending cutscenes. In a game like this, it would have been better if they had included more because it is not all that long of a game and there is no multiplayer mode.

While the music and story leave much to be desired, the most important aspect of a game, the gameplay, is excellently done and beautifully presented. Wario Land: Shake It! Is definitely on the easy side, yet the enjoyment factor is always present. It is a great addition for anyone searching for a puzzle or platforming game.

Overall, I would give Wario Land: Shake It! a 7/10.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/08

Game Release: Wario Land: Shake It! (US, 09/22/08)