The Virtual Boy has gone down in history as Nintendo’s greatest flop. It was released in a time when Nintendo dominated both the handheld and home console markets, but this was something in between the two. The Virtual Boy was basically a headset that sat on a tripod making it neither handheld nor something stuck at home. The market was just as confused as I was resulting in poor sales worldwide. Only a handful of games were even released for it, and many critics are quick to dismiss the library. Lacking a Mario platformer, Zelda title, and most of their other big franchises Nintendo gave Wario the spotlight here by releasing the second title in the Wario sub-series exclusively for the hardware. Now, I was never a big fan of Wario Land on the Game Boy so I didn’t have high hopes for this title. It was surprising then that this follow up became not only my favorite title on the Virtual Boy, but also one of the most enjoyable platformers I’ve ever played.
The game stars the titular anti-hero, Mario’s infamous counterpart Wario, has retired from terrorizing the plumber’s world and is now traveling the world. He winds up on the amazon basin one day and after taking a nap by the river spots a group of natives carrying treasure by the trove into a cave. Greed gets the best of him and he follows them with the intent to steal it all. Unfortunately he falls into a hole and winds up at the bottom of a looming cavern. Wario must now escape this natural prison all the while collecting treasure, money, and battling those who are bent on protecting it. It’s a pretty standard set-up, but I am pleased they went a slightly different route with the scenario this time around. The cavern setting is unique to the series and is one of the smaller elements that help make this one stand out from the other Wario Land titles.
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| Wario can move between the foreground and background in many stages. |
Like the other Wario games (and other platformers of this time in general) you guide Wario through a series of two dimensional stages hopping on the heads of foes, collecting power-ups and coins, and more. It appears very simple and by the books on the surface, and for the most part it is. The biggest difference here is that you need to find a key to unlock the exit in each level, and though it’s never extensively hidden this aspect will make you go off the beaten path in some stages. On the surface Wario functions in a very similar fashion to Mario in this game. He collects power-ups (though in this case they come in the form of hats), jumps on the heads of most enemies, smashes blocked by jumping into them from below, and when hit transforms back into small Wario wherein more damage will cost you a life. This cavern even has water and Wario proves to be quite the swimmer in these aquatic stages. The basic mechanics are sound, but there are a few aspects that make Wario… well Wario. For starters by default he has a charge attack. By holding down the B button and either left or right Wario can dash into foes and blocks to damage them.
Normal Wario can use the barge attack and break blocks, but the power-ups give him a few new abilities. The first of these is Bull Wario which he becomes when he gets the horned hat. Unlike in the last game this doesn’t allow him to hang from the ceiling, but the dash attack is much stronger and faster, and he can do a butt stomp when landing from a jump. Next up we have the dragon cap. This replaces the barge attack with the ability to breathe fire which defeats enemies, destroys blocks, and burns up the otherwise invincible fire blocks which allows you to reach secret areas. Next we have the eagle cap which lets Wario fly for a brief period of time but only left/right. Lastly, you can combine the dragon and eagle caps and gain the abilities of both which isa new feature to the series and pretty neat if you ask me. There are a lot of secret areas (especially later in the game) that can only be accessed by having one of these caps, but these are generally just for gaining coins, treasure, or additional lives. Each level does however have a hidden artifact, and the number of these that you collect ultimately affects the ending you get after completing the story.
I wasn’t a big fan of Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, and so what sets this game apart from it you may ask? It’s simple. Virtual Boy Wario Land has what are easily the best level designs in the series. Despite being limited only to cavernous settings (which also contain a desert, and forest for some odd reason) the developers did a great job of keeping every stage fresh from one another, and the gameplay scenarios are actually pretty creative. What works exceptionally well in this game is the use of 3D space. Because the system allows you to view things in depth the developers made scenes of the game appear almost as if you’re looking into a diorama which is amazing. Enemies and other hazards move between the backgroud and foreground and the effect is quite convincing. Some stages even require you to move to and from the background in order to progress. This effect has been copied a few times since, but I imagine at the time it was mind blowing. The real highlight is the boss fights which are fun and offer great variety. They’re even fairly challenging by Nintendo standards. Virtual Boy Wario Land is a bit slower paced than your typical platform game but you can run by using the shoulder buttons. Despite this the pace is a bit slower than I was used to, but it didn’t take long at all to adjust to the flow.
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| The boss fights are inventive and well done. |
The Virtual Boy was a fledgling piece of hardware when this was released. Developers didn’t yet (nor did they ever) get a chance to really tap into the strength of the system. While Virtual Boy Wario Land is a clear step above Super Mario Land 3 on the Game Boy it doesn’t look like something that would be too taxing for, say, the Super Nintendo. The sprites and characters are very large here and have quite a bit of character and detail. I especially love the upgraded Wario model, and all of the new frames of animation added to him. The characters and enemies are just brimming with personality. The red and black color palette of the hardware actually fits the cavernous setting really well surprisingly. The soundtrack is a little weaker than what you would expect from a game of this era. It sounds a bit archaic with rudimentary bleeps and blips, but they come together in a pretty decent way and most of the soundtrack is well done and memorable. I especially like the title screen music main menu themes; they just fit Wario’s character so darn well.
It’s almost a crime that Virtual Boy Wario Land has been confined to the Virtual Boy hardware. This is one of the greatest side scrolling platform games ever released regardless of system. That’s saying a lot especially considering Nintendo’s pedigree. The level designs come together to make for a fun and ever changing experience with just enough new elements introduced to keep you on your toes. The 3D can largely be seen as a gimmick, but I loved it here more than in any other game I’ve played. It mixes in with the stages in such a fantastic way that without it some of the experience would be lost. Here’s to still hoping for a 3DS virtual console port of this amazing game.
