This game is the perfect example of my problem with videogame AAA blockbusters, specially with open worlds. It wants to have it all and leave an impression at every moment yet everything in it feels empty and soulless. I’ve spent 28 hours of my life doing the 4 or 5 same tasks over a surely beautiful and huge, but also generic, uninteresting and repetitive island encountering the same 3 enemies at every turn and mindlessly dispatching them using the same sequence of buttons.

The medieval Japanese aesthetic is on point though. Photo mode is the actual gameplay.

I get why many people love this game and there are some good things to say, but it just doesn’t manage to scratch my brain in any way and why do I play videogames if not for that.

Edit to mention: the progression system is pointless because all the skill trees do the same very thing and the game economy has you mashing R2 to gather all kinds of resource without ever thinking what to do with them because each one can be used to upgrade only one kind of equipment.

I started this game thinking it was going to be Overrated Pink Super Meat Boy and while I didn't love it at first, the amazing FEEL of the controls and the clever level design which just kept on giving made me play it to the end, B-sides and all. Then they went and delivered another game's worth of postgame content for mentally sick people which I could never dream of clearing. I managed to beat roughly 1/3rd of it being completely sure I was just about to finish it, only to discover in a youtube playthrough that I couldn't be more mistaken. Nonetheless, watching the yourtube run was such a pleasing experience. I had a great time.

I first played this game when I was 7, then played again to completion at 17, and I’ve just finished my third run at 27… hope I’m alive and well for my fourth!

This game is incredibly frustrating and I love it so much for it. The twist in design where nothing kills you but instead annoys you to death baffled me when I first laid my hands on it as a child, and still does. Upon hit, very enemy gives Wario an unavoidable transformation that can be infuriating or used to his advantage. The design plays around this, laying in every level 4 treasures behind smart puzzles and challenges which the player must keep coming back for, using every resource as he gets power ups and unlocks secret paths.

On top of that, the charm and colorful vibe impregnated in every level and enemy, tied to Wario’s classical “comical mischief” personality and characterization makes me enjoy going through every level.

Even if the segmentation may be a bit overkill, the thrill of checking with excitement every new treasure to see if its a power up or some new path inside a previous level keeps me hooked every time I play it.