"Wario Land II"

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 Land II,'' my personal favorite Wario game... maybe even platformer!

I will rate the basic game elements out of 10.

1. Story 10/10

The story is actual multiple stories! Depending on which route you take through the game brings up different stories and endings. The main story is that ol' Captain Syrup and her henchmen sneak into Wario's pad and rob him of all his gold, and trash the place up. Wario is pissed off, and decides he needs to get rid of Syrup once and for all. There are about 5 other stories, but there is no need to tell them here. They will just confuse you. The other stories are unlocked, and this feature is probably the greatest feature in Wario Land II.

2. Graphics 9/10

The graphics were 100% awesome! All of the gfx were pure, and colored. I could tell my character was Wario, unlike the first in the series. The enemies were new, with a few old faces, but the majority was a bunch of new surprises. However I had to give graphics a 9/10 because of just 1 enemy. The spearguys were very poorly done. Half the time you encounter the spearguys, old enemies from the first game, but this time they carry a little spike, and wear a bandana, and they just don't look too good. I wish they kept the spear in their hands, but oh well. Why do I sweat the small stuff? Because throughout the whole game, whenever I ran into a spearguy, I got distracted by how mistakingly they were created. But besides the spearguys, all the other enemies and especially bosses looked great! Except for the wasp. He looked like a vulture, but that was okay, because it was funny... Okay, moving right along...

3. Sound 5/10

The sound could have been improved. The first Wario Land's music was excellent, and the sound was superb. My question is: where did it all go? The music wasn't too good, and, sadly, it was annoying. I rarely say this for games, but it was one of the few games in which I truely think that. The sound effects were extremely annoying as well. Whenever you get hurt, you fly back a few steps, your hat jets off, and it does an annoying ''Wahoo-wahoo'' sound. This can be extremely annoying after a while. The sounds and music are probably so bad because they are so repetitive, and boring at the same time. Music might be playing, then it pauses, and you hear a ''ka-boom'' for no reason, then it resumes the same boring chant. This is very annoying, and I expected more out of a Wario game, music-wise. Read my Wario Land I review, reviewing the music.

4. Gameplay 10/10

You play as Wario! He has his basic ramming, pushing, shoving, throwing, and stomping, and even more! This time Wario can be effected by an enemy, and this can be a good thing. For example, there is a platform to the right, but you can't make it jumping. Have a stomping enemy stomp you, and flatten you out. Use this flattened ability to glide to the platform. Another example is some strong blocks are under you and you can't break them. Have the cook enemy feed you cake, and then you become fat Wario. You can easily break through this block. There are downsides to these abilties too, if you don't want them. You have to find a way to get back to normal, which may just be by time. For example, if you are Fire Wario, or Drunk Wario, jump into some water and you will go back to normal. If you are Zombie Wario, go into the sunlight of a window to change back.

Not only are the abilities cool, but Wario is practically invincible! That's right, he can't die! However, that doesn't mean it is still easy. You still have to find ways through places, and ways to kill a boss. Bosses can be major pains in the neck because instead of killing you, they throw you out of the room, back a few rooms, and you have to get back to them. It is amazing a game in which you are invincible, and yet you still may have trouble beating a boss.

5. Replayability/Overall 10/10

This game is so fun you can play it forever! Not only that, but there are so many bonus levels and a whole mess of treasure to find until you are 100% done. When you think you unlocked all the levels, beat them, and got all the treasure, you still have to get all the pieces of a map by playing mini-games, and unlocking a really final mode! Overall this game will have you playing for months. There are so many extras, you won't put this game down any time soon, that's for sure! Not only that, but it is so fun, with all those different endings, watching Captain Syrup defeated once again, you will want to play it for years to come. This game beat Wario Land I by a longshot. However, if you get annoyed by sound and music easily, I don't know if you'd want this game. I recommend buying it to anybody otherwise. It's that good.

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