Out of all the weird and outlandish, yet still lovable elements to have been introduced in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, the biggest and undeniably the best addition would be with the introduction of Wario. He may not have had that much of a role in the game, simply being put as the final boss, who just so happened to be a fatter and goofier Mario, but you could tell from the beginning not only from his design, but also from the commercial for the game, that he was sinister, greedy, and undeniably lovable. So, much like when Nintendo made Yoshi the star with his own game just two years prior, they were also ready to make Wario the star of his own games as well, so that they could expand the Mario universe and create many more memorable products as a result… while also raking in all that cash (they are allowed to, it’s Wario Time). So, they did this by making a direct follow-up to Mario Land 2 where the big man in yellow would steal the spotlight, and the game would ultimately be called Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

It was somewhat of a risky move to be sure, making the villain of your previous game the main character of this all new game, especially since it hadn’t been too long since Wario was even a character to begin with. However, thankfully, it worked out in its favor, since not only did it appropriately make BANK for a Game Boy title, but it would also lead to Wario’s own series of games that would continue onto this day… or at least, we would like to think that (just bring back Wario Land already, Nintendo. Pizza Tower was fun for a bit, but I need my garlic eater back in his proper place!). As for my personal experience with the Wario Land series, I myself hadn’t played too much of it back when I was a kid, with the exception of Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (I refuse to call it “Shake It!”), so it was only until a good couple of years ago that I decided to give the series a shot.

Thankfully, I was able to get into it pretty quickly, not just because I prefer villains over heroes, so I was able to relate to Wario much more than I ever could with Mario, but also because the series is genuinely fantastic, with each entry getting better and better as they keep releasing, and as for the game that started it all, it still manages to be a pretty great time upon revisiting it after quite a while. Yeah, it doesn’t come close to the quality of future titles, and for Wario’s first outing, it can feel a bit… lacking, but it still manages to be fun and satisfying, as well as simple enough for anyone to be able to pick up and enjoy.

The story is exactly what you would expect from a character like Wario, where after his defeat in the previous game, Wario sets off to Kitchen Island to steal the treasure from the Brown Sugar Pirates, along with a giant, golden statue to Peach, all to trade off for money so that he can buy a bigger and better castle to beat out Mario, which is the perfect premise for a game like this, and it gets you wanting to get into the game immediately. The graphics are Game Boy graphics, with the overall aesthetic looking pretty similar to Mario, but with a unique group of baddies, locations, and powerups to give the game its own identity, and it all looks really fun and inventive all the way through, the music is an interesting change from what you typically hear in a Mario title, but it manages to fit a Wario game pretty well, with there being quite a lot of banger tracks out of the bunch, ones that you will most likely bob your head to as you play, the control is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a game like this, so there isn’t much else to say on that, and the gameplay is also very similar to that of the previous entry, but with a few new additions to make the game stand out.

The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Wario, go through plenty of different lands and levels all throughout Kitchen Island, defeat many different innocent, yet damaging enough enemies while on your quest for the ultimate goal, gather plenty of different power-ups and hearts to help you out on your journey, take on easy, yet enjoyable boss fights against plenty of colorful characters, unlock secret levels along the way to find more stuff, and of course, gather EVERY SINGLE COIN IN SIGHT. For the most part, it is pretty standard stuff, especially for those who are familiar with Mario games, as this is more or less just a Mario game that Wario took over for himself. However, not only does the game still remain fun, but it also adds plenty of elements that would make it stand out on its own.

If you yourself have yet to play any Wario Land game yourself, when you go into this game, you may think you know what it will be all about, and when looking at it from a surface level, you would be somewhat correct. However, then you will soon learn really quickly that this is NOT a Mario game, but it is instead Wario’s game, BITCH, and as such, it plays much more in the style of Wario. Sure, he can jump on enemies and break blocks with his head, but he can also dash into enemies to completely knock them down and out, grab enemies to throw them all over the place, and he has his own assortment of power-ups, such as a helmet that makes him stronger and allows him to do a ground pound, a dragon hat that allows him to breathe fire onto enemies, even when he is underwater, and a jet hat, which he can use to fly all over the place for a limited amount of time. The fundamentals of a regular Mario game are all there, clear as day, but they have all been Wario-fied, to the point where it is now his game, but not too much so to the point where you can’t tell that it wasn’t a Mario game before. Oddly fitting, wouldn’t you say?

Not only that, but there are also plenty of new features that make the game what it truly is. Since Wario is the physical embodiment of greed, coins make the world go round for him, so naturally, the game makes you want to grab as many as possible, and unlike with regular Mario games, the coins actually serve a purpose here!... to an extent. For every level of the game, you will need to collect coins in order to activate these checkpoints that you can find, as well as with the end goal of the level, which makes it so that you NEED to spend your hard-earned money so that you can complete the stages. In addition, you also get the chance to play several minigames at the end of every level, ones that will allow you to get more lives, or even ones that will allow you to double the amount of coins you have, while also fueling your ever growing gambling addiction.

But that isn’t the extent to what Wario can obtain in this game, as you can also find plenty of treasures scattered throughout plenty of the levels, each one granting you more coins as well, and these treasures, while not necessarily too well-hidden, can be pretty tricky to get at times, which makes getting them all the more fun and satisfying. So, with all that being said, with so many different ways of getting coins and treasures in this game, what exactly do they do? Well… they determine the ending that you get when you beat the game. That’s it. That’s all coins do. Well, that kinda sucks, but hey, it does allow for quite a lot of replayability to the game, and the endings you get are somewhat funny, so that is neat enough. It also helps that, alongside the game itself being pretty fun, with plenty of different levels, challenges, and enemies to overcome, the secrets themselves can also be pretty satisfying to get once you figure things out.

So yeah, for the most part, the game is a great time, but once again, I wouldn’t consider it anything too great. You can really tell this is essentially a Mario game with Wario slapped onto it, which is fitting for his character, but not only does it come nowhere near the same quality as the later games in the series, but it could also be seen as pretty bland as a result. It is your typical Mario-esque platforming adventure, with nothing to really separate it from the rest other than a few collectibles and mini games to spice things up. None of it is bad, don’t get me wrong, but if you are going into this game hoping to get something at least a little bit different from your typical Mario game, then you will probably be disappointed by what you get. Then again, the game is called “Super Mario Land 3”, so you shouldn’t expect too much going into it, but still. Also, one last little complaint here: the final boss kinda sucks. Sure, it is creative, but constantly having to throw this genie’s lamp to create a cloud to stand on so that you can get a chance at hitting the genie himself… yeah, can we, like, not do that ever again? Cool, thanks.

Overall, despite not too much difference from this game compared to past Mario games, as well as the coins in the game not doing too much for you as a whole, for being the first game in what would become one of the best sub-series in the Mario franchise, the original Wario Land is still a great game to go back to to this day, one that offers plenty for you to have fun with and enjoy, but not too much to the point where you will feel like you wasted your time on it by the end of the day. I would recommend it for those who are fans of the Wario Land series, or for those who are fans of Mario in general, because this game will give you plenty of what you want from both categories, and will serve as a nice appetizer for what comes next. And what an appetizer it was, but you know what, I think I’m ready to see what the next game in this series is. So, what is it?.............. oh. sigh, alright, I’ll go get my sunglasses…

Game #488

O melhor: O level design com foco em exploração é muito bem executado
O pior: O jogo de modo geral é fácil demais
É complicado: Wario é tão azarado que achou o único gênio da lâmpada que cobra dinheiro para realizar seu desejo...

A sequência do ótimo Super Mario Land 2 traz como protagonista justamente o vilão do jogo anterior. Depois de Mario reivindicar seus direitos sobre o castelo em que morava, Wario vai ter que arranjar uma nova casa, e para isso ele precisa de dinheiro. Wario Land segue o estilo de plataforma clássico, mas aqui há um foco maior em exploração. É possível navegar livremente por cada canto da cada fase tentando localizar o máximo de moedas e tesouros, visando a maior pontuação para o melhor final possível após as 40 fases do jogo.

Wario Land conta com 3 tipos de power ups, e é bem interessante como cada um funciona melhor em determinados momentos do jogo. O "Jet Pot" em especial, que garante um dash aéreo, é excelente para navegar rapidamente pelo cenário e alcançar lugares secretos. O jogo visualmente segue a evolução de SML 2, com sprites bem maiores do que a maioria dos jogos de Game Boy, apesar que a falta de variedade dos inimigos e cenários é um pouco decepcionante, considerando o quão inventivo SML 2 é. O jogo também é muito fácil, o maior desafio talvez seja repetir as fases em busca de mais moedas para tentar o melhor final. No geral ele parece menos polido do que SML 2, mas é legal ver como a equipe responsável pelos jogos portáteis não se reservou a simplesmente copiar o que estava sendo feito no NES/SNES, e pra biblioteca de jogos do Game Boy ele não deixa de ser uma boa opção.

How's that for a title? Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 pulls the same trick Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island would the next year, presenting itself as a sequel to an already-popular Super Mario title to launch a new series based on a secondary character from its predecessor. If neither of these games ever got follow-ups, they'd likely be uncontroversially considered Super Mario games with one-off styles à la SMB2 US, but their function as debut titles in their own series marks the Super Mario in the title dishonest in retrospect. However, while the idea of Yoshi's Island as a sequel to Super Mario World doesn't make a lick of sense, Wario Land acts as a genuine sequel to Super Mario Land 2, forming a trilogy in what little narrative is there. It's not much, but even that slight narrative throughline goes a long way towards justifying my decision to replay the previous games before tackling this one.

So what is a Wario game, and how does it differ from a Mario game? Where Mario athletically builds momentum and bounces on his foes, Wario's approach is clumsy, as he bashes, grapples, and tumbles his way to victory. Movement is comparatively slugglish, which on paper sounds like a death knell for a platformer, but with the other elements of level-design and Wario's control being built around this it works incredibly well. The slow pace and clunkiness of Wario reflects the character's personality and physicality, as well as complementing a more thorough style of play, with increased emphasis on coin collecting and treasure hunting. The lumbering avarice of Wario is conveyed wonderfully here.

This game is great, yet it feels like the start of something special rather than the full package. While the screen-size limitation of the Gameboy is overcome through the slow-paced gameplay, the aesthetic and audio limitations hold Wario Land back, conveying a world with less colour and personality than the character at the centre, one who's journey is accompanied with a paltry selection of beep-boopin' tunes. It's a bit plain, but hopefully I'll find future titles build on this foundation to deliver the definitive Wario experience I now see the potential for.

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!

I've talked elsewhere about the joy of sequels that had barely anything to do with the game preceding it and how much I miss that approach. Nintendo in the middle 90s seemed to be huge fans of it given this and calling Yoshi's Island Super Mario World 2. What's funny is the derisive use of "divisive" to describe things like that, like it's verboten for games to change like people don't change, like cells don't divide and that's the main thing they do. Shit, we're living through the world where corporations outlive people, and it's a great picture about how lifespans should have deaths in them, so yeah let change emerge from stability cuz it's what's supposed to happen.

It's funny that they felt the need to put a number on this and insert it into the MARIO LAND continuity. A reminder that there was a time when that weird little pervert Wario couldn't sell a game on his own!

It is somewhat fitting, though, because this kind of feels like a weird romhack of 6 GOLDEN COINS. They took that game, made it even slower, made the characters even bigger, and made the gameplay more focused on physical combat and a bunch of powerups that kind of all do the same thing. I found it playable, but dull, clunky and way too long. They certainly succeeded in making Wario seem very distinct from Mario in how he plays, but for me, at least, not for the better.

It's fun to learn that the variable how-big-is-your-mansion endings from LUIGI'S MANSION are kind of a callback to this, of all things. Or do they do this thing in every Wario game?

In 1996, I was six years old and lived in Florida. Wario Land had been released two years prior-- though I loved Super Mario Land 2 and replayed it regularly on my og/fat Game Boy.. I had no idea this game existed. On a particular weekend, I stayed over at my great grandmother's apartment.

I played MANY games in front of them while they sat in a rocking chair. She always encouraged me and my interest in games. Her favorite thing was seeing Crash Bandicoot die in a myriad of ways-- took pure pleasure in it. A very kind and cool person.

My family has always been deeply religious, unfortunately it came with a severe demonizing of secular media. This was bad for me, to say the least. Despite this, my great grandma would do things like rent Splatterhouse 2 for me. We even had lookout schemes where I would quickly switch to a "friendly" game when she saw another family member arrive to pick me up, or etc.

On this aforementioned weekend in 1996, my great grandmother took me to a Sunday service at a very old-fashioned, musty, southern baptist church. She handed me 5$ and instructed me to tithe it when the donation plate was passed around. I did. After the service, she told me "I'm very proud of you"-- and then took me to Toys "R" Us to pick out a NEW game that I could OWN (rare for me). She was the one that pointed out Wario Land. I vividly remember falling in love with the color scheming on the front cover. I was blown away with this game.

The moral of the story is that money is my god now, and I am now a slime ball rat fuck.

Just kidding. Everything that Wario in is so good. They are often a beautiful design and mechanical antithesis to Nintendo games. I loved my Great Grandmother very much, she never judged me or the things that I liked superficially. Unfortunately I do not still have that copy of Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.. but her funeral service pamphlet has made its way into various video game collage designs that I've made for my creative outlets (bands, social media design, youtube, etc). Wario rules. Love you, Nanny.

https://imgur.com/UEz3Jbh

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!

Wario's first foray into his own adventure and it's a solid one at that. Wario Land plays like a slower paced but heavier Mario which is extremely satisfying due to his ability to shoulder bash + pick up and throw enemies. One of the things I like is that you need to use coins you collect to active checkpoints and end stage doors, which in turn makes levels more exploratory and less easy to cheese like a Mario game. I love the treasure collecting aspect of this game and the fact that you have multiple endings based on how much treasure you collect. The controls are a little unpolished but that's just gameboy jank for you. Excited to play the others in the series.

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.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 or just Wario Land, stars our thick yellow plumber, Wario. Unlike Mario, Wario cannot run in this game with the "B" button. Instead, he smashes through enemies and blocks with the appropriate power-up, scorches enemies with fire like a dragon, glide through the air, and butt stomps while pressing down on the D-pad. Wario can even grab enemies and throw them.

Wario's power-ups are neat (not so much the dragon one), but I do not like how slow he is. As Small Wario, you are going to wait a while; I think a snail is faster than him in his small form. I constantly find myself dashing to go faster. It is like the backwards dash in Symphony of the Night or side stepping in Ocarina of Time.

The rest of the game is good. My Mario muscle memory messed me at first when I did not get an extra life from getting 100 coins, but I got used to the heart system quickly. 100 hearts equals an extra life. The coins are needed to exit a stage and you are giving plenty of them throughout the levels. It is only 10 coins to exit the stage, so do not worry.

The bosses are standard. Not particularly easy or hard. That ghost boss did give me some trouble at first.

For Wario's first game as a playable character, Wario Land is a good first entry.

i really love this game. it just has a great sense of mystery in a lot of the levels with all the various secrets and hidden treasures and it features some of the best sound design in a platformer. some of those boss levels just feel really consequential - i always liked the last several castle levels especially. it's more conventionally designed in some ways than the Wario Lands that followed but i always felt like it had a better sense of atmosphere that reflected the character of Wario better and less of a loosey goosey sense of arbitrariness some of the later games could have at times.

playing every mainline wario game - 1
the list

wario is awesomesauce. being a classic gameboy game is rough but just as you get a little bit bored the game picks up the pace. i thought i would get bored and just rush it but i found myself getting out of my way to find the secrets and shit. i found every treasure and played every secret level (im not sure about this). im happy i did cuz the iceberg world was my favorite. the controls are really rough though. sprite work is nice (wario is ugly as fuck) but the lack of color makes me unhappy. i also got really mad that i couldnt get the wario planet, i was so close... a castle is cool too i guess.