Wario Land II (1998)

This was one of my favorite game boy games as a kid. I'm glad to say it still holds up. I was actually able to 100% it for the first time, which was pretty cool. I appreciate that you're able to beat any level as soon as you have access to it, unlike in WL3 that requires a ton of revisiting maps. Love the variety of levels, enemies, Wario sprites, and transformations. The branching paths kind of blows my mind for a gameboy game from the 90s. My biggest complaints are the minigames for treasures and map pieces getting pretty repetitive, it doesn't look as good as WL3, the controls can feel a bit clunky particularly when needing to press Up + another Dpad direction, and some tedium introduced to counteract the fact that there's no fail condition. Wish there were more Wario Land games.

I played through Wario Land 2 as a kid after getting it as a gift for the holidays. I had actually asked for Super Mario Bros Deluxe, but my sweet Grandmother had gotten this one by accident. At first I was a bit crestfallen. Eventually though, I would make a complete and total 180.

I played piecemeal, so it took me a good long while to beat. Collecting as many coins as possible was a sufficient substitute for the omission of health/death (coins are lost upon taking damage). To my delight, after beating the game, there were hints of even more branching story paths! The thrill of finding all the secret exits (some took me a long time to figure out) and endings is one I will always fondly remember. Couple the robust amount of content with the colorful, whimsical world, populated by varying enemies, bosses and powerups, and you get a must-have classic for the GameBoy Color or the 3ds e-shop. A true must-play!

That title sounded better in my head...

I've always been a huge fan of the WarioWare series (WarioWare DIY being my favourite) but i never looked too much into the Wario Land series, aside from "Wario Land :The Shake Dimension" (wich was AMAZING btw).

This game's pretty good ! It has a lot of charm and it definitely makes me want to play more Wario Land games.

3.2 out of 5, would get my treasure stolen again.

(Ps: Cpt. syrup's silly little walk is the best thing about this game.)

I'm really surprised to be moving on from this game considering I really enjoyed its predecessor. But it's just not doing it for me.

First, the positives: There are lots of hidden exits to find. This one's in color (assuming you're playing on 3DS like I am, anyway).

But there are a lot of negatives. In spite of those hidden exits, the lack of an overworld map makes the game feel linear... I had no sense of what impact my choices were having. Movement feels quite a bit more labored in this entry, in particular changing direction (which is, astoundingly, no longer instantaneous).

But the main reason I'm abandoning this one about a third of the way through is that it's really boring. You can't die, so there isn't much challenge to the levels, except for enemies that will flatten or otherwise slow you down. That combination... the inability to fail and frequent slow-downs... makes this experience a real slog to get through.

If you're patient, you might enjoy this one. But it didn't hold my attention at all.

Yeah, Wario Land II isn't the most perfect game nor the most polished of the Wario Land series. The game has multiple endings wrapped in a collect-a-thon that gets topped off with one of the most agonizingly difficult stages in the series. The coin collecting fits Wario's M.O. but gets boring without anything other than gambling minigames to throw at that get a little more irritating rather than fun to repeat 50x over for each branching path.

Where's the glimmer? Apart from having branching paths to return to with five (six?) final showdowns, the game really puts forth what makes the later Wario Lands so special - the puzzle mechanics. Instead of getting hit and taking damage, Wario can transform into a variety of different, silly forms (Burning Wario! Flat Wario! Zombified Wario!) that instead of using against enemies, are used against the environment.

If the level design wasn't too boring and the objectives hidden behind a gauntlet of both gambling minigame and collect-a-thon, there might be a pure gem on our hands. Alas, Wario Land II has some potential to give to a superior sequel.

Platform:

Gameboy Color version.

Graphics/Sound:

The graphics are simple and have barely changed since Wario Land 1, except the coloring on GBC. The sound is always a bit abraisive on GBC imo but it fits the theme.

Gameplay:

The Wario Land series is one of the best platformer series I know, but that's largely thanks to the direction the series took with this game. I loved the first Wario Land game but it always felt like a Mario clone, having the same powerup mechanics. This game however introduces something completely new: Wario can not die from enemies, he only might be set back or they steal coins from them. But the best part is where enemies change Wario's status. For example some can stomp him so he becomes flat, making him unable to jump high, but intead he can pass narrow pits and low ceilings.

What is a bit disappointing at first is the absence of an overworld map to select the levels, but fortunately the game still keeps the numerous hidden paths and exits, the kind of non-linearity that made things like Super Mario World or Wario Land 1 great. So actually probably playing this several times the player will always end up seeing different levels, just because there is many paths to go, and thus different levels coming up.

Difficulty:

Due to the gameplay changes here compared to the Mario-like games, the difficulty here is much easier when it comes to action elements of the game. The player never has to fear losing lifes, let alone having to restart a level. The focus here lies more on exploration and puzzle solving. You progress by chosing the right path with the right status, and some monsters might set you back a bit but never very far. It's still poses a little challenge and the bosses are not too easy either.

If you dismissed the series because it seemed like Mario clones, this is the game you should play to know what makes this series so different and original. One of the best GBC titles for me, and the sequel is even better.