Wario Land 3

"A worthy successor to Wario Land II"

Being a huge fan of Wario, I hungrily picked up the much-anticipated (by me, anyway) sequel to Wario Land 3. I found a VERY enjoyable experience, so much so that I wrote a Walkthrough for it. If you're a fan of Wario, give the game a try.


Story 5/10

Alright, no Mario game is really known for its story, and Wario Land 3 is no exception. Here's the story, straight from my Walkthrough:

Alright, this isn't the ''official'' story, but it's pretty accurate.

''As Wario's flying around in his cool little biplane, his engine suddenly dies and he crashes to the ground. He looks around a bit, and discovers a cave. He enters the cave, finds a music box, and picks it up. All of a sudden, the music box flashes, rises from his hands and sucks him in!
After being asleep for a while, Wario wakes up and encounters a large face that begins to speak...

A Hidden Figure:
Are you aware, Wario? This world is in the music box you were peering into. I was the god that protected this world. But one day, a wicked being sealed away my power, and took control of this world. Wario, I want to find the 5 music boxes needed to break the hidden seal and recover my powers. If you find them, I'll send you back to your own world. Of course, all the treasure you find is yours to keep! Will you help me?

Wario gives a thumbs up, and sets out on his journey...''

See? Nothing too extraordinary. It is original, which wins it points, but it's really not that complex. And the ending...


Gameplay 10/10

Now THIS is where Wario Land 3 really excels! Featuring the same No-Death system of Wario Land II, Wario Land 3 is definitely a similar experience. However, a new Day and Night system has been added, with certain things available only during certain times. The game has great play control, and moving around is definitely easy (unless, of course, you've been transformed). The button layout is the same as Wario Land II, with the Control Pad for moving, A for Jumping, and B for Dashing. Start and Select are used to access the menu screen. New powers and abilities can be gotten along the way (for some reason, they took away powers like stomping and throwing, which must be gotten back through certain treasures). The No-Death system means getting hit by enemies will either just push you back (you don't lose coins anymore) or turn you into a new form, including most of the ones from Wario Land II plus new ones like Vampire Wario, Yarn Wario, or Snowman Wario.

The Treasure Map of Wario Land II has been replaced with a Super Mario World-like map. There are 25 stages in all, each with 4 different treasures to collect. The stages, as well as access to different treasures, are opened up by getting certain treasures (sometimes combining more than one treasure is needed to open up new stages, etc.). Of course, being a Wario Land game, the stages are often frustrating, and make you repeat areas again and again until you figure out how to pass them. If you've played Wario Land II, you'll have no problem finding hidden walls and platforms, but those new to the Wario games may have some trouble. The bosses also work like those ffrom II. In other words, beat them or start over. Like the ones from II, they're not necessarily hard, but it might take a while to figure out their patterns.

Other than the 100 treasures to collect, there are also 8 Music Coins in each stage to collect. There's a Golf Min-Game in certain stages, which also provides a nice distraction. There are also some secrets to be found when you collect everything...

Overall, Wario Land 3 is a game that requires patience, but is totally fun to play, and will keep you busy for a while.

Graphics 9/10

Really good graphics, in my opinion. The backgrounds and characters are nice and vibrant. They're very colorful, especially compared to the dull graphics of other Gameboy Color Games (Conkey comes to mind). Overall, the graphics remind me of an improved NES game, which is by no means a bad thing.
Where the graphics really shine is in the animation and effects. The animation is nice and smooth, and Wario's numerous transformations are fun to watch. Since there's a day and night system, each stage essentially has 2 color palettes, and it's nice to see the differences on the map screen. Also there are a lot of neat effects used, such as color-fading. Nothing really mind-blowing (like Donkey Kong Country), but they're more than sufficient.


Sound FX/Music 8/10

Nice and fitting music for the game and each stage. However, it's typical Gameboy fare, and really isn't anything too special. Sound effects are good too, but some seem recycled from Wario Land II.


Replay Value 5/10

Wario Land 3 takes a LONG time to beat completely. There are 100 treasures to collect (with only 50 needed to beat the game), plus a Golf Mini-Game, Music Coins, Time Attack, and plenty of stuff to do. However, after collecting everything, there isn't much left to do. Sure, the Golf game is a nice distraction, but it's a bit too frustrating to be REALLY fun. To be honest, I think Wario Land II had alot more secrets and alot more stuff to do even after you beat the game completely. Still, I could picture myself playing the game again and again in the future.


Buy/Rent?

If you're a Wario fan or just a fan of platform/action games, this is a DEFINITE buy. However, keep in mind that it takes alot of patience to play a game like this, so if you don't have patience, stay away.
On the subject of renting- this really isn't a game you can completely beat in a few days, so I wouldn't suggest renting unless you want to try before you buy.


Overall 9/10

By no means a perfect game, Wario Land 3 is still a GREAT game, worthy of the Wario name. I'd say it's just as good as Wario Land II, if not better. The graphics, sound, and gameplay are superb, and if you're looking for a great game to pick up this summer, Wario Land 3 is the perfect choice.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/20/00, Updated 08/05/01