Wario first debuted as the villain in 1992's Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins, where he stole Marios castle while he was out. The big galoot was so loveable, that two years later, he git his own game! Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land was the first in a successful series that spanned several games and a decade or two. We'll talk about those games later, but today we'll focus on the very first.
Wario Land was a special kind of game. It wasn't about mega villains or princesses or saving a kingdom. It let is break into our wild sides, as THIS game was all about looting treasure. Not often that a game allows us to win by being greedy, but that is exactly what Wario Land did. It turned the table on us, telling us that in this game, the only objective was to become filthy stinkin' rich. Who needs things like love and admiration, amiright??? It was devilishly fun, and you just couldn't help but love the goofy Wario. So fun to spawn multiple sequels, in fact.
The controla and game aspect was pretty similar to the Mario format in that you got power ups from blocks, but in Warios case he got special hats that allowed him to perform special abilities, like ground pound or shoot flames. Enemies were in abundance, and, also sticking true to the Mario format, would shrink you in size if hit by them. In later games, Wario would become invincible, with enemies being only a minor nuisance. This game, while decidely somewhat primitive compared to its sequels, is loads of fun with original level design and a fun concept. Its also rather funny in that "Wario is an unfortunate sap" kind of way, but well worth a shot if these kind of games are your thing.
Grade: B+ (As in, "Bodacious. There, I said it.)
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