Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy) review "Wario hit the gaming scene at the end of Super Mario Land 2, but he hit with popularity. Now Nintendo wanted to cash in on this new character, so out comes Wario Land, a game where you play as Wario instead of Mario. Little twist now, isn't it? You take a badguy to take on the badguys. Where are the heroes? Oh wait, they are letting Wario do their work. However Wario can jump on creatures like Mario, but why not bodyslam them for more fun. But he can't spit fire, so he is not at all like Mario r..."

Wario hit the gaming scene at the end of Super Mario Land 2, but he hit with popularity. Now Nintendo wanted to cash in on this new character, so out comes Wario Land, a game where you play as Wario instead of Mario. Little twist now, isn't it? You take a badguy to take on the badguys. Where are the heroes? Oh wait, they are letting Wario do their work. However Wario can jump on creatures like Mario, but why not bodyslam them for more fun. But he can't spit fire, so he is not at all like Mario really...

STORY (8/10): Princess Peaches statue has been stolen, and well Wario wants to find it so he can sell it for huge money from Mario. Sure, Wario is taking out robbers, but he is doing so so he can steal the artifacts lieing around so he can get a castle. Now depending on how many artifacts and how much money you have at the end, you can earn all the way up to a Planet or what not. However you may get stuck with the treehouse to. Remember, money is everything.

GRAPHICS (14/15): Wario looks splendid. He look bigger, and more plumper than his counterpart Mario, and while being a fairly big onscreen character, it doesn't distract you from the backgrounds. The scenery is nice, and the enemies all look good. However Wario just doesn't seem to be on the same footing with the screen, as he seems a little above it all.

SOUND (8/10): This was near the end of the original Gameboys lifespan, and well they had figured out how to get as much possible out of their game, and one space is in sound. WarioLand has a nice sound that gives the game it's edge. It is kinda gloomy in some areas, or upbeat in others.

GAMEPLAY (43/50): First the good things about Wario is that it resembles Super Mario World in the fact that there are different ruotes possible, and many stages scattered throughout various worlds. These worlds basically have a theme, like you will climb through pirate masts in the ship level, or avoid volcanic waste in the volcano level. However if you listen to the lands names, they are all named after food products. Kinda strange if you ask me, no wonder Wario is fat:-) Now Wario, like Mario, has his own special powers. When in regular form he can bodyslam people, and small form he can only jump on them. When he has the bullhorns on he can float across the tops of walls, and bodyslam the ground. These powers make the game easier, and will be essential to reaching the second ending. Now besides just beating the levels you have to collect artifacts, and you have to carry around a key to do this. So to get the artifact you find a key, pick it up, and then find a keyhole and take your artifact. Also coins are not used in the same way as Mario, as the coins are all saved and put towards you total. In the end this and the artifacts will be the deciding factor in your new home. So watching your sorroundings is very important. This game can be repitive, but not very for it is a very good game, and it is fun for a long time also.

REPLAYABILITY (9/10): You will have to work your way through many levels, and search them thoroughly to find keys to get all the artifacts. Plus in some ruote there are multiple ways out, and these could be used to get to whole new worlds even. Plus everyone who gets that crappy treehouse will be angered enough to work their way through it again.

DIFFICULTY (5/5): It sways a little bit to the easy side, but that just adds in to the lack of tenseness. You will not be stuck in one certain level, however you may have to try each level more than once also. The bosses are all easily beatable, and mostly pushovers. Even the genie is a cinch once you get used to it.

OVERALL (87/100): This game is a sleeper hit in my mind, for really who was Wario. He had one minute on screen time in Super Mario Land 2, and that was it. However they gave him his own game, and Nintendo made it as good as the game he first appeared in. Wario is now a household name in the nintendo industry, but if this game was a flop I do not believe we would be seeing him anymore. However this game is anything but a flop, and definitely worth the purchase, even now.

Community review by ratking (July 18, 2002) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.