Wario Land II

"Wario's back and better than ever!"

The first time Mario encountered Wario, he was a very overweight evil man. Wario was first controlled in his own game entitles Wario Land and now he's back. This time you can't die! That's right, there isn't a way to die in the game, seems easy right? WRONG! It can actually get pretty challenging. Instead of dying, you lose coins for every time you get hit and those coins are all added up at the very end are used for attempting to uncover the main secret and getting the treasure to the level.

That's right, you're invincible, you can't die!

Luckily for us, you don't have to beat every level, since there are many levels that have two endings that will send you to a different direction and give you a different boss and ending. But if you manage to get all the levels completed then you are treated to a special game that has nothing to do with Wario and can actually be a challenge. Now enough of that let's get to the game.

Wario has a limited set of moves, which range from a jump to a shoulder thrust but he can get a lot of extra power-ups that will allow him to complete the level. These range from turning into a spring to jump higher, being stung to float over previously inaccessible areas, becoming fat to float, or being on fire to burn certain things down. Of course there's some other things that can happen to you that will enhance or mess up gameplay at different points. You can also pick up enemies for a few different reasons like throwing them at each other or breaking certain walls down. A usual level would have you running around, collecting coins, looking for secret walls to knock down, collecting the treasure, using a special ability and finally end it with the end door or fighting a boss.

It may not look like much of a platform but it's addicting as hell. You will continue to play and play – it's guaranteed. You will rarely ever come to a level that's designed the same so just about every level feels fresh and new. Some may have similar ideas but they're not designed anyway the same as another.

Boss fights are magnificent, they get you involved and make you use all of your abilities to the limit. One of my faves has you beat him up and he gets squashed into a ball where you must then pick him up and throw him into a basketball hoop. Others use the pick-up command and have you throw it on or at something to complete the task. It gets you thinking about what needs to be done.

You won't replay it to much once the game is over, if you get all the treasures and complete the map there really isn't much point except replaying levels which gets old after awhile. The tunes aren't classic like Mario tunes nor do they get stuck in your head. In fact they can be annoying at times except for a few that are pretty sweet. Visuals themselves can be impressive at times, especially the facial expressions but the level design is pretty boring a good percentage of the time.

Buy
It's a GBC game so you really aren't going to see it anywhere except in a used game store, they should have a few copies and they shouldn't be to expensive. I strongly urge you to get this game if you see it, it'll be great fun for a long time and is one of the premier golden gems of the Game Boy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/06