Wario Land 3

"Mario, you've met your match."

Ah, Wario Land 3....even compared to my modern Game Boy Advance and GameCube games, compared to almost every game I own, and even compared to Wario Land 4, it's sequel, this game is better in (almost) every way.

Move out of the way Mario.

Graphics:

Wait a minute, this is for the GBC?

The graphics are absolutely stunning for a GBC game, sporting details and colors that push the GBC beyond the limits of it's hardware. From the brilliant animations to creative enemies to the huge objects, the different forms, and the amazing backgrounds, this game is a must for all you strange people who prefer graphics over gameplay and don't have anything but a GBC. Not to say there is no gameplay (Heaven forbid!), but I'm not at that point yet.

There's a lot of detail to be found here. The stone eyes in the third level follow Wario as he moves nearby him and the gate underneath them shuts tight if he gets too close. Looking closely at Wario's hand reveals the trademark W on his glove. The different forms look absolutely brilliant and the variety of tiles, animations, and enemies keep things from getting boring.

But you haven't seen anything until you've seen the final boss, who is literally the biggest boss of any hand-held game ever made and gives a new meaning to the word "pseudo 3D".

Overall, the graphics are absolutely FLAWLESS and for the GBC..no, for any system, jaw-dropping. 10/10

Sound:

...Hey, no game's perfect.

Some of the tunes can be pretty catchy, but most of them are repetitive and annoying and will likely make you smash your GBC's speaker with a hammer.

Same goes for the sounds. The music boxes sound great, but most, if not all of the other sounds are annoying and repetitive and will likely make you smash your GBC's speaker with a hammer.

Even at GBC standards, the music and sounds are just average at best. 4/10

Gameplay:

The game shines so much in this area it's enough to make you go BLIND.

Your basic objective in each level is to use your items and abilities that you pick up from treasure chests in other levels to collect colored keys and use them to open colored treasure chests that contain items and abilities that allow you to unlock new levels and find more treasures in older levels (4 keys per level, 4 treasure chests, 4 items). There are tons of treasures in this game, and the game itself is not easy.

Not even close.

The game's levels and all 4 missions per level range from easy as cake to hair-rippingly frustrating. Wario is invincible in this game, but his enemies can cause things to happen tp him that will hinder your progress and sometimes roll/knock/etc you back to the beginning of the level.

But, besides being annoying and hindering your progress, there are some enemies that, when they come into contact with Wario, will make him change into something else, from being fatter than usual (which allows him to crush blocks he couldn't otherwise crush), to turning him into a vampire (which allows him to kill everything he touches or turn into a bat which allows him to fly up to otherwise inaccessible areas), to making him invisible (guess). These can be blessings or curses, as they could be given to you to allow you to solve a puzzle, or they could be there to hinder your progress severely.

There is also a day/night feature that changes from...you guessed it...day to night every time you finish/exit a level. Some levels are easier during the night and some during the day, some missions are required to be done at a certain time, etc.

The level design is absolutely amazing too, but I'll let you see that for yourself.

Overall, Wario Land 3's gameplay is 100% flawless, a true diamond in the rough (Wait, that pun was for Aladdin..d'oh!) compared to most modern games, which are graphics over gameplay. Wario Land 4 has both. 1390859048544 (just kidding, 11)/10

Story

This game's somewhat interesting story at the beginning hides a mind-boggling plot twist within it's depths that I won't tell you about for spoiler reasons.

The plot, minus the twist, is this:

Wario is flying his plane when all of a sudden, the engine goes out and he crash lands in the woods. Spending the rest of the afternoon wandering through the trees and underbrush, he stumbles upon a cave. In it, he finds a beautiful music box that doesn't play any songs no matter how much he winds it up. Just as he is about to give up, there is a flash and Wario disappears. Awaking to very different surroundings, Wario finds himself INSIDE the music box. A mysterious figure informs Wario that he (the figure, not Wario) once ruled the land inside the music box, until an evil being sealed his power inside 5 magic music boxes (Magic music boxes within magic music boxes? O_o)

Naturally, Wario wasn't too interested in this story, but the figure promised that if he found the music boxes and broke the seal, any treasure he found along the way would be his to keep and he's be sent back to his own world.

And that's the basic story, minus the plot twist. It's still an interesting, if somewhat cliche story alone, but the plot twist at the end leaves you feeling satisfied after you beat the game. 8/10

Controls:

Responsive, easy to master, and even comes with an in-game tutorial that you can play at any time you want, but don't have to. Right and left is to walk, move through water, or if pressing B at the same time, jump off ladders. Up is to enter doorways or to grab ladders or fences while jumping. Down is to crouch, roll down hills, plus A to do a crouching jump, plus B to slide down ladders. Up or down also allows you to enter pipes or climb up or down ladders, and pressing any direction allows you to move along fences, make selections and move on the map screen. Start and select are to enter the save screen or view the map window, A button is to jump, do a rolling jump, jump and step on enemies, jump when holding something, confirm decisions, and scroll through text windows. B is to attack, plus A to do a jumping attack, plus down to do a crouching slide, or let go when holding something or cancel selections.

Easy to learn, responsive, and a whole lot of actions on two buttons. Flawless. 10/10.

Note:I do not do replay value because I believe a game can last as long as you want it too, but as for length, this game will last you many many months, with it's mini-games and amount of huge levels.

And, for those of you too lazy to read everything else, here is a summary:

Graphics (10/10):Wait a minute, this is for the GBC?
Sound (4/10):Hey, no game's perfect.
Gameplay (11(1039848)/10):The game shines so much in this area it's enough to make you go BLIND.
Story (8/10):Somewhat cliche at the beginning, but the ending is satisfying.
Controls (10/10):Easy to learn, responsive, and flawless.

Pros and Cons:
+++++++++ An unholy amount of excellent gameplay.
+++++ Stunning Graphics.
+++ Perfect Controls.
+ A somewhat interesting story with a satisfying ending.
--- Music and sounds that are annoying and average at best.

FINAL VERDICT:
8.6/10

Buy or Rent:
If you don't buy this game, you will regret it forever. I mean it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/04