On one hand, Virtual Boy Wario Land is the 2D Mario game of my dreams.
On the other hand, Virtual Boy Wario Land is an undercooked, underdeveloped game that doesn't always stick the landing.
The game has some of the best pixel art I've seen in a 2D platformer and one of my favorite Kazumi Totaka soundtracks rendered on a very interesting sound chip.
On the other hand, by virtue of being a Virtual Boy game, the graphics are in monochrome, and the stereoscopic aspect of the game is hard to emulate today, making for some less-than-precise platforming every now and then.
This is probably as close to a Metroidvania as I can realistically see Mario going, and I'd love to see this idea expanded on further with more levels and expanded interconnectivity like found in the traditional 2D Mario games.
But as it is, Virtual Boy Wario Land's level progression is linear, which means that in order to backtrack to collect missed treasures, the player would have to play all the levels in reverse until they reach the level they want to go treasure hunting in... and then play through all the levels all over again.
Virtual Boy Wario Land's powerup tier system is interesting once you can understand it, and the ultimate tier powerup, once obtained, is extremely satisfying to use.
On the other hand, a single hit takes Wario from any form all the way back to his small form, just like in Super Mario Bros., and will force the player to build up his power again from scratch.
The fact that Wario always has a maximum of only two hits especially makes what bosses Virtual Boy Wario Land have extremely unsatisfying, especially the final boss whom I cheesed by taking advantage of the fact that it does an extremely predictable and counterable attack immediately after getting hit.
As it is, I'd still call it better than the other Wario Land games, and better than a decent handful of mainline 2D Mario games. The movement is good, the level designs are varied with lots of unique mechanics, the level themes are surprisingly unique, and I genuinely think this game offers some of the most interesting platforming and exploration of both the Mario and Wario series.
But it's like the Virtual Boy. A very interesting idea that could have had some potential was not given enough time and resources, and ended up being simultaneously too safe and too bleeding-edge.
And we know how everyone remembers the Virtual Boy.
On the other hand, Virtual Boy Wario Land is an undercooked, underdeveloped game that doesn't always stick the landing.
The game has some of the best pixel art I've seen in a 2D platformer and one of my favorite Kazumi Totaka soundtracks rendered on a very interesting sound chip.
On the other hand, by virtue of being a Virtual Boy game, the graphics are in monochrome, and the stereoscopic aspect of the game is hard to emulate today, making for some less-than-precise platforming every now and then.
This is probably as close to a Metroidvania as I can realistically see Mario going, and I'd love to see this idea expanded on further with more levels and expanded interconnectivity like found in the traditional 2D Mario games.
But as it is, Virtual Boy Wario Land's level progression is linear, which means that in order to backtrack to collect missed treasures, the player would have to play all the levels in reverse until they reach the level they want to go treasure hunting in... and then play through all the levels all over again.
Virtual Boy Wario Land's powerup tier system is interesting once you can understand it, and the ultimate tier powerup, once obtained, is extremely satisfying to use.
On the other hand, a single hit takes Wario from any form all the way back to his small form, just like in Super Mario Bros., and will force the player to build up his power again from scratch.
The fact that Wario always has a maximum of only two hits especially makes what bosses Virtual Boy Wario Land have extremely unsatisfying, especially the final boss whom I cheesed by taking advantage of the fact that it does an extremely predictable and counterable attack immediately after getting hit.
As it is, I'd still call it better than the other Wario Land games, and better than a decent handful of mainline 2D Mario games. The movement is good, the level designs are varied with lots of unique mechanics, the level themes are surprisingly unique, and I genuinely think this game offers some of the most interesting platforming and exploration of both the Mario and Wario series.
But it's like the Virtual Boy. A very interesting idea that could have had some potential was not given enough time and resources, and ended up being simultaneously too safe and too bleeding-edge.
And we know how everyone remembers the Virtual Boy.