Wario Land 3

"Wario's second immortal outing proves to be even better than his first"

A game in which the main character cannot die had me a little doubtful at first, but after playing Wario Land 2 I was a believer. Now in his second game utilizing the same formula, I expected great things from the greedy, twisted version of Mario. And I was not disappointed in the least. In fact, this game surpassed all of my expectations and then some.

Flying over a forest, Wario's plane crash lands next to a cave. In a bit of an exploring mood, he goes to investigate, hoping to gain some treasure out of it. Wario discovers an odd music box of sorts, and while he's tinkering around with it, some magical force sucks him into this strange new world. Here the anti-hero meets a Temple Spirit who has been imprisoned, with his power totally sealed off. He begs of Wario to assist him, but we all know Mr. Greedy isn't exactly the altruistic type. Knowing the element he is dealing with, the Temple Spirit mentions that Wario can keep any treasure he finds. Score!

So begins the story of Wario Land 3 and it really doesn't develop too much from there. Gone is Captain Syrup and her gang, although some of the enemies are reminiscent of her crew. This is probably for the best, though, because after two games of the same villain, it was beginning to grow a little stale. The game developers even managed to add in a little twist to the story, but it's nothing any gamer should be surprised about. When it all comes down to it, this story is the same as every other Wario game: functional.

Wario games have all been about gameplay and this installment even improves upon its predecessors' formula. The main man is still immortal, he can still be hurt, and he can still undergo status effect changes. A big difference here is that Wario starts off grossly underpowered from where he was at the start of Wario Land 2. The only move he retains in the beginning is a weak arm-dash move. So where are his other powers? Locked away within this strange, new land as treasures, of course.

In addition to recovering his lost powers (head smash, butt stomp, swimming proficiency, enemy throwing, etc.), let's not forget Wario's main objective: collecting more treasure! This is achieved by finding a different colored key in each level (silver, green, red, or blue) and then locating the same colored treasure chest. Each correct combination not only nets you more treasure, but also unlocks more areas of the music box world (for instance, an ax will chop down trees, a crank will make a bridge crossable, etc.). There are a total of 100 treasures, although not all of them are necessary to complete the game.

All of Wario's old status effects are here as well, although some have been changed slightly (dizzy works the same as intoxication, although you can't shoot burp balls at enemies anymore). Also, a few new ones have been added, such as Bouncy Wario and Invisible Wario. And just like in Wario Land 2, a number of blocks can only be broken and puzzles solved while in various status effect modes.

Difficulty has been increased here, as not only does Wario have to pull off more precise moves, but the game is no longer linear. With each new treasure Wario collects, more stages open up to him. Some places the game points you to are quite blatant, while others take a fair bit of deduction and memory. If all else fails you can always go back to the Temple Spirit for hints on which stage and treasure need to be tackled next. Bosses are no longer delegated to the end of a particular stage sequence either, as some appear even on the first treasure chest of stages. These fights are about on par with the difficulty of Wario Land 2's boss battles, the only difference being there are more of them in this game. Creativity still shines through, as not every fight follows the generic platformer formula. Expect new challenges as well as old friends returning (if you remember the Ball Bunny from Wario Land 2 then you're in for a treat).

The visuals from this game are vastly improved off its previous incarnations. Wario is definitely fat, and you can see that in this game, especially when he jumps around and climbs ladders (his big butt jiggles in a strangely hypnotic way). Not to mention Wario's and his enemies' expressions are quite detailed and you will always get a laugh from watching the main man act dizzy, burn up into flames, or just crack a greedy smile.

Sounds are similar to other Wario games, but they come out a lot clearer here. Whether it be stage music, enemies' cries, or sound effects from Wario in his status modes, I never found myself wondering what was going on. The Game Boy Color has superior hardware to the original Game Boy and it really shows here. Nintendo was not afraid to actually put effort into this game and for that I am thankful.

Even after the final boss is vanquished and you figure out the real story behind the ending, the game isn't exactly over. There are 8 music box coins scattered about in each stage in addition to the four treasures. Only by clearing all of these will a picture form and a "Perfect" rank be attained. There are not many mini-games (in fact, there's only one), but it's still interesting. It's called "Wario Golf" and it costs coins to play (you don't lose money like you did in Wario Land 2 when hit, so you never need to scrounge for cash). A win will move a block out of the way, giving you more access to parts of the stage. Although you might not feel an overwhelming desire to play this game a number of times down the road, you will want to finish everything and attain the ultimate ranking at the end, meaning it will definitely take some time.

Everything that Wario Land 2 did, this game does better. I really love the purple suspender-wearing miser and apparently so does Nintendo as they treated him just right in this game. After putting down this game with many hours invested into it, I can say without a doubt that cheating death has never been so much fun. Give it a go and I'm sure you'll agree.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/04