I have played through this to 100% completion a few times in my life.

I suspect R&D1 decided to switch to Wario for their Mario Land Series in order to slow things down and better design for the smaller resolution of the Game Boy screen. Mario, being a fast paced sprinting, jumping machine just didn't work as well on the Dot Matrix screen because if you are going fast, then you have less time to react to obstacles coming at you - and that is difficult to design around with the GBs resolution. A larger than life, slow to move character on the other hand... well, that would suit the DMG Game Boys limitations quite well.

Wario is large, full of character and his animations are packed with fun detail, a series staple going forward and something only possible to pull off when you slow the platformer movement right down, else you would get frustrated trying to react to obstacles coming at you too quickly.

Although there are only 40 courses in the game, by modern standards perhaps on the small side, the level design is top quality and as tight as you would expect from top tier Nintendo platformers. I enjoy the relatively small amount of content on offer as this means we only get the best ideas. There are also loads of secrets to find in hidden exits and treasures so replay value is great.

Power-ups serve the game play well and when combined with remembering points of interest that lead to hidden treasures locked behind a power-ups special ability, a nice memory game amongst the platforming can be enjoyed.

I think removing an already collected Treasure at random when you game over, only to have to go back and redo that content to get it back is perhaps a bad idea. These days, I think Nintendo would have taken away some of Warios coins instead. There are some cheap enemies in here as well. The fire balls don't have a telegraph and can deliver some particularly frustrating deaths, for example. On the whole though, the enemy design is fantastic and counters Wario's charge attack and Power-up abilities well. The bosses are unique with the final Boss fight being genuinely fantastic.

All in all, Wario Land makes for a nearly perfect platformer experience on the Game Boy and doesn't seem to get as much love as I personally think it deserves.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is a spinoff starting SML2's villain Wario who's essentially hijacked the Super Mario Land series from this point on, and boy does he deserve to.

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Wario Land is a fun collectathon that has Wario traverse through 7 different Areas on an island to search for a magic lamp in order to summon a Genie so he can wish himself a castle bigger than that of Mario.
Wario goes around collecting different treasures throughout the different levels hidden in specific ones, as well as taking on enemies like a Spiked Koopa, a Ghost, and other wacky enemies. Whether or not you playing as Wario have collected alot of coins and have gotten all treasures will vary but you have a confrontation with CAPTAIN SYRUP (pirate counterpart or long lost sister of Pauline [never confirmed but they look similar]) who summons the Genie to essentially kick Wario's butt, after Wario successfully defeats the Genie, her lair is destroyed with her blowing it up herself revealing a Giant Peach Statue, which Mario shows up at the end of the game to... surprisingly enough, thank Wario for defeating Captain Syrup and essentially steals the statue with Wario shrugging in confusion.
Wario then takes the genie lamp and asks the genie, who is now friendly to Wario, for a nice house as the Genie only grants 1 wish. After asking for a nice house, the genie tells Wario he'll need Wario to pay up, and depending on how many coins you collected, and if you got the treasure, will essentially result in Wario being Wario PLANET RULER, or Wario the Bird House owner.

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The game is fun and unique, Wario retains the "bounce on enemies" head ability Mario and Luigi tend to have however he mixes it up by have a should thrust that allows him to stun and defeat enemies. This game also features unique abilities specific only to Wario:

- Bull Pot - turns Wario into Bull Wario allowing him to hit enemies from below because of his spiked Helmet and gives Wario a butt ground pound ability.

- Jet Pot - Gives Wario a Jet cap that allows him to thrust forward both on ground in and in the air temporarily while doing a arm thrust.

- Dragon Pot - Gives Wario a Dragon Cap that breathes fire, however takes away the arm thrust ability. (Does look too phallic shaped though)

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The game features levels with hidden exits that require you sometimes to complete the area via defeating the bosses and returning to them at a different time, post boss defeat.
After you beat every level you have a deciding option of either to play a Heart Minigame for more lives, or a minigame featuring Coins where you test your luck to see if you can get more coins, maximum 3 chances for maximum payout, that is if you get the money bags, if you get hit with the anvil, you lose half of the money you have. 3 chances that allow you to double up every time, that later feeds into your total number of coins, so test your luck wisely.
Also throughout specific levels there are hidden treasures that will benefit you toward what ending you plan on getting.

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The game features a total of 6 endings depending on if you have collected all 15 treasures, and cleared all stages:

300 - 10,071 coins - Birdhouse -Wario the Bird House Owner - Genie creates a Birdhouse for Wario to live in, Wario's logo falls off causing Wario to Cry

10,072 - 40,007 coins - Tree Stump - Wariolax Speaks for the Trees - Genie creates a Tree Stump for Wario to live in, Wario's logo falls off causing Wario to be Sad and disappointed.

40,008 - 70,007 coins - Cabin/House - Wario the Middle Class Worker - Genie creates a Cabin/House for Wario, Wario's Logo stays on and Wario is contempt and happy.

70,008 - 90,007 coins - Japanese Fortress/Castle - Wario the Warrior - Genie creates a Japanese Fortress for Wario, Wario's logo stays on and Wario is more than happy.

90,008 - 99,999 Coins (without Treasures) - King Wario, Rule of Wario Castle - Genie Creates a Castle bigger than Castle Mario for Wario, Wario is ecstatic and happy that he has his own castle.

99,999 Coins (all Treasures collected) - WARIO PLANET RULER - Genie uses all the money a treasures Wario collected to create something to suit Wario's greed and Ego, the GENIE CREATES AN ENTIRE PLANET FOR WARIO FOR HIM TO LIFE ON, WARIO EGO KNOWS NO BOUNDS AND IS HAPPY TO OWN SOMETHING BEYOND THAT OF WHAT MARIO EVER COULD (well until Super Mario Galaxy 2 with Planet Mario) SO HAPPY HE BOUNCES AROUND THANKING THE PLAYER FOR A PERFECT END!

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Overall this game is an amazing addition to the Super Mario Land Series and if anything was a great risk take from Nintendo of giving a spinoff... to a villain no less. It's fantastic that Nintendo took this chance, you can see they were still worried about it flopping since they still have the subtitle "SUPER MARIO LAND 3" but that risked work and it gave us a great first game in a great franchise.

There is a DX color remix of this game, however unlike with my other reviews for Super Mario Land DX and Super Mario Land 2 DX where they fundamentally change things to fit more in line with the Mario NES games, the DX version of Wario Land is fundamentally the same, so really it's preference as they're both the same game, just the original is in black and white, and the DX is in color.

However overall WARIO LAND: SUPER MARIO LAND 3 is a great game, it has issues with getting too repetitive but the music is great, the gameplay is fun, and it's a great first game in the WARIO FRANCHISE, highly recommend this along with SUPER MARIO LAND 1 and 2.

Thanks for reading! :)

Who the fuck wanted a Wario game back in 1994? That's my immediate question. Granted, this choice would eventually pay off as Wario became a beloved character in our dollar sign-shaped hearts, alongside some great games coming out in his future (Wario Land 4, Wario World, the WarioWare series...). So my point isn't to disparage Wario's popularity. I'm just incredulous that back when Wario wasn't the known figure he is now, this dev team was given permission to make a Mario game in which Mario is barely existent, in his place being this newcoming greedy goblin creature, and it WORKED. It got him several sequels and two seperate franchises, it worked like a fucking charm, and though I'm happy it happened, it boggles the mind how it did.

With all that said, I feel like the first Wario Land is... an acquired taste. The music, being just one example of that. The controls, being a bigger one. You kinda move into this game expecting Wario to have the same amount of fluidity as Mario Land 2 did, and that's just simply not the case. This is a heavier, stiffer character, and it took me at least half the game to adjust to it. Once you figure out that holding up makes you jump further though, you start abusing that as your main form of movement, and I think that's when things really start clicking.

I still like the nostalgicness of the world map found here, and I appreciate that secret exits may directly alter the world map itself, which in turn may also alter the levels found inside them. I believe the later Wario Lands would make even further extensive use of this idea, while here, it's a neat prototype for what could be done later.

The name of the game is collecting as many coins as you can. It's a similar principle to Luigi's Mansion, the more coins you amass, the better a house you get for your ending. Alternatively, you can spend these coins to earn 1-ups, activate checkpoints, or gamble all those shits away on a double-or-nothing minigame, and let the world watch your face droop in real-time as you once again lose every coin you've amassed over the course of a stage.

That last option isn't exactly fun when it happens, and that minigame is the only real way to get some of those better endings. But, seeing as the endings serve about 5 seconds worth of difference between each one, I think it'd be in your best interest to just completely ignore this aspect of the game, and use the coins on 1-ups instead. The whole gambling thing is stressful, punishing, and completely based on luck. It's not worth the hassle, certainly not worth a waste of your hard-earned coins. Unless you save state your way through it, you dirty scamp you.

Anyway, while I consider this as a good handheld title for its time, is Mario Land 3 worth your time now? Once. Just once. It doesn't feel right to play, but is possible to adjust yourself to, and what you get with that is some pretty alright level design, and a respectable amount of variety that'll carry you through. If you don't care about chronology however, most people will tell you to start with Wario Land 4, and they'd be right. The first Wario Land here, still has some kinks it needs to desperately iron out.

I have beaten this game several times before but recently revisited this cartridge on my Analogue Pocket. I had forgotten how awesome this game was and the amount of polish that went into making it. It’s a leap above Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins in terms of graphics, music, and controls. Hunting down treasures and defeating a whole new set of baddies is a great time. There are a few spots in the later levels that could be considered “cheap” but overall these 40 levels pack a punch and should not be missed!

Fun new twist on the Super Mario formula allowing you to play as Wario with completely new abilities, new game mechanics (replaying levels, hearts, coins, & lives), and different endings! The game can be difficult at times however, with some obscure ways of defeating bosses and convoluted indicators for defeating enemies.

I probably found 2/3 of the treasures without help, but once I stumbled upon the possibility of different endings I resorted to guides for finding the remaining treasures. Wish I did not need to though because some are hard to find or complicated to get to. Ended up getting the castle ending!

It's fine, there's things to like about it but I don't think it's for me. It's kinda just a slower and more frustrating take on 2D Mario. This also might be an unfair comparison since there's a huge leap in hardware between the two, but going from Wario Land 4 to this felt super jarring, Wario is so slow here. His fat German ass won't H-H-H-HURRY THE FUCK UP! His jump also feels too floaty and a tad inconsistent at times. I've tended to notice that this is an issue I have with a lot of 8-bit games I've played as of late, and I'm not sure if it's an input delay issue from playing the games through emulators on displays they weren't meant for, or if I'm just bad. Maybe it's a mix of both.
I didn't get all the treasures, and because you lose all of your coins upon death (which is the most demoralizing shit in the world btw), in combination with me having the worst gambling luck imaginable, I got a shitty ending. Maybe I'll replay the game some day and get everything but I don't feel super motivated to do that right now. I'm gonna try and get a Virtual Boy emulator working so I can play the Virtual Boy game but if that doesn't work out then I'll just move on to Wario Land 2.