"Why doesn't Wario become Nintendo's new mascot?"

*Note: This review is almost an exact copy of my Wario Land II review for Gameboy Color, because they are the exact same besides their color.

Wario Land II is probably my favorite game for the Gameboy. Everything about the game just makes me want to play it over and over again. It’s so addicting. I honestly didn’t think too much of the game when I first got it… I was just looking for a new Gameboy game. But after playing this game and understanding it more, I got hooked. I’m very happy that I did get it…

The graphics are wonderful for Gameboy. There aren’t any tiny little sprites with little detail as seen in many GB games; instead Wario and all the enemies are large and excellently drawn, and dripping with detail. I was shocked to see these kinds of graphics for an 8-bit portable system, as they look almost 16-bit. Not to mention the different graphical changes when Wario changes his form. Overall, the graphics are excellent and had some very good effort put into them.

Nice sound, put into good places. The music was nice and perky, and fit in pretty good to the level. The theme song for the final level (the secret one) was my personal favorite, as I loved listening to it.

The story is pretty lame, but of course it’s just there to provide a reason for your doing, just like most non-role-playing game with a story. Wario is sleeping soundly there in his castle, when Captain Syrup’s gang comes along and steals all his treasure! No! He must get every single one of them back! You must go through all the levels collecting the treasure in each level, and defeat Captain Syrup once and for all! (And Captain Syrup is a girl, in case you want to picture that. =P)

The gameplay is what made this game shine. (Well isn’t that a surprise.) There are tons of levels packed into the game, with three objectives in each one: find the treasure, finish the level, and get the map piece after beating it. You really do not have to get every map piece or treasure your first time through a level, but after you finished one ending you get a level map and you have to go back to all the levels and get each one. Speaking of which, this game has five different endings, determined by which way you beat a level. For instance, if you take a separate path in the first level, you take a whole different path of levels to lead to an early ending. You can get a level map to navigate through every single level, collecting all the stuff you need to get and defeating the last boss 5 times in 5 different ways.

Now, there is a concept that made this game unique to the first Wario Land: Wario is immortal. Yes, that’s right. He can’t die in any way at all. Now, I’m pretty sure that right now you’re thinking, ”He can’t die?! How easy can that game possible be! It won’t provide a challenge at all!” That is far from the truth. There are heaps of puzzles to figure out and tough enemies to get by. Just because you can’t die doesn’t mean you can last forever with an enemy. Almost all the bosses in this game have some trap whereas you do something wrong, you’ll get thrown back to a earlier part of the level and will have to start all over again with the boss. So don’t expect it to be easy. And Wario is also very susceptible to transformations. He’ll get affected badly by some attacks, which range from being a zombie to being flat. These sometimes help out with beating the level, (Some are essential to beating the level) while others slow down your progress greatly or push it way back. So please don’t go off thinking this game is easy just because you can’t die, because it’s vice versa.

One thing… that game really isn’t over when you think it is. If you complete all your goals, you even get rewarded with an ultra hard level and a Flagman D.D. mini-game! Isn’t that nice?!

So to wrap it up…
Wario Land II is definitely a game that you want if you have a Gameboy. I don’t care what you want to do to obtain it, but I guarantee that you will be pleased with the game. Take mine and many other’s words: This game is awesome. Get it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/23/01, Updated 05/25/01