Trapped inside a magical music box, the invincible Wario is on a dangerous quest to help a mysterious figure recover its lost powers! Smash, bash and crash your way through more than two dozen gigantic levels in search of hidden keys, valuable treasures and mystical music boxes. Test your wits on puzzle after intricate puzzle and flex your muscles in action-packed boss fights! Be wary of Wanderin' Gooms, Hammer-bots, Mad Scienstein and more as you plunge into one of the largest, most dazzling adventures ever to hit Game Boy Color!
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I'm not into platformers and this one was especially boring
Wario is trapped within a music box and needs to escape.
The game begins with a linear progression, however as you clear stages, you notice blocked off paths and multiple keys/chests in each level.
Each level has four different goals (treasure chests), normally you may be able to clear the initial goal, however many require you return to collect the Red, Green and Blue treasure chests to progress. Many of the treasures collected open paths in other levels, or give Wario power-ups. With five music box treasures being necessary to complete the game.
The game is generous in communicating the changes, and there is a figure who does share hints towards progression.
Also, Wario does not die. There are a bunch of powers or hinderances enemies can inflict upon Wario. For example, Fire Wario runs incredibly fast and is needed to light torches in a short span of time or to break down a fire wall. However this can also be an enemy encounter you need to avoid in order to progress. Knowing what powers to use is key to the puzzle platformer design of Wario Land 3.
This is where I get a little philosophical, but I consider Wario Land 3 to be like Banjo-Kazooie or Super Mario 64 dressed up in a Super Metroid skin with a Super Mario World styled over world.
I think it is the apex of 8-bit design and deserves a perfect score - bar some boss encounters. I managed to get 70 out of 100 treasures overall!
The game begins with a linear progression, however as you clear stages, you notice blocked off paths and multiple keys/chests in each level.
Each level has four different goals (treasure chests), normally you may be able to clear the initial goal, however many require you return to collect the Red, Green and Blue treasure chests to progress. Many of the treasures collected open paths in other levels, or give Wario power-ups. With five music box treasures being necessary to complete the game.
The game is generous in communicating the changes, and there is a figure who does share hints towards progression.
Also, Wario does not die. There are a bunch of powers or hinderances enemies can inflict upon Wario. For example, Fire Wario runs incredibly fast and is needed to light torches in a short span of time or to break down a fire wall. However this can also be an enemy encounter you need to avoid in order to progress. Knowing what powers to use is key to the puzzle platformer design of Wario Land 3.
This is where I get a little philosophical, but I consider Wario Land 3 to be like Banjo-Kazooie or Super Mario 64 dressed up in a Super Metroid skin with a Super Mario World styled over world.
I think it is the apex of 8-bit design and deserves a perfect score - bar some boss encounters. I managed to get 70 out of 100 treasures overall!
For a GBC title, Wario Land 3 is incredibly ambitious, polished & just dang well executed on most fronts. The exploration, puzzle & treasure-hunting aspects have been cranked up to 11 and the world unfolds into an almost Metroidvania where more areas unlock based on special loot you find. There's some annoying bits, like some boss fights, but overall WL3 is a handheld Nintendo gem.
Gotta say, I'm actually quite surprised with this entry of the series, both in gameplay and length. A Metroidvania-esque game is not what I was getting myself into with this, but boy was I pleasantly surprised. Well designed levels, a nice gameplay loop, and overall a really fun and ongoing game. Some enemy placements/dangers were a bit unfair & game can sometimes become a slog with trying to get back or to certain areas without hitting something. That, and while the hints for the game can be helpful, some are fairly cryptic, and going out of order is possible & can lead to all sorts of complications on where to go and such.
Overall, A really solid Wario Land game, probably one of my favs next to WL4 & World.
Overall, A really solid Wario Land game, probably one of my favs next to WL4 & World.
The rest of the Wario land games are varying levels of good to great, but this is a completely different stratosphere. One of the best Metroidvanias I've ever played; its staggeringly creative and when you finally get the way the stages flow you'll be addicted to progress. Probably the best Game Boy game I've ever played that isn't Link's Awakening, although this one also makes you collect musical objects to escape a facsimile world.
Isn't it weird how Wario became the face of experimental platforming in the Mario franchise? Really he's just evil Mario, yet he undeniably struck a chord so hard with some people that the indie hit Pizza Tower would eventually come to be.
There's something about this game's sense of progression that's so quaint and approachable yet respectably intricate. Any side scroller on an 8-bit handheld had to ultimately have smaller levels due to the small screen size. If you wanted big character models that was the necessary sacrifice. Wario Land 3 manages to do a great job at finding a middle ground. The camera movement, Wario's move speed and the overall level size is more than enough for you to always wonder "what's over there?" while still keeping your eyes on the goal.
What I love about Wario Land 3 that's different to other Metroidvanias is how much it highlights the acquisition of power ups. Every power up feel like natural improvements, like you're reacquiring the moves that you once should have had. At the same time it's not preventing you from having fun early on. While it may be somewhat disappointing to some people that ultimately the way forward is linear, it means level design is always balanced around what your moveset is at that point. Thus, you'll never feel that the game is either too easy or too hard due to the state of your moveset.
One of the big points of criticism here is something I actually never got. You get hit, you don't take damage and you'll never die. Instead the game's built around the idea of being "sent back," as in a puzzle or platforming segment to reach a treasure key or chest may have a hazard or jump that if met with will require you to repeat it again. I think this actually helps the game in multiple ways, some of which aren't immediately obvious.
This is what defines Wario Land 3's atmosphere. Have you ever died in a dream? Some may have "felt" that experience but unless you actually did (in which case you can't answer this rhetorical question anyway) you'll always wake up after it. This game takes place in what's essentially a dream world, and while the aesthetic isn't nearly as striking as a game that intentionally plays into it like Ico or Klonoa do it still remains one all the same. Being able to enter a level, deciding which treasure chest to go for, how many M Coins you want, or not even knowing if there's anything to get here leaves you with one resounding feeling - You can take it at any pace you like. You have the ability to just enjoy the music, the serene atmosphere of a night time stage's pleasant colour palette or the golf minigames if you're feeling burnt out by a difficult platforming section that keeps punishing you. The lack of dying doesn't hurt the game, if anything it's a memorable part of Wario's identity.
Is Wario Land 3 hard? Honestly I don't know, I played this game as a child so many times it's all hardwired in my brain now. But every time I play it I still have a lot of fun. Wario's just too much fun to control and it's why I've always been a little bitter on the Warioware games. I just want more of these, dammit. Forget 5, make Wario Land 10. I'll play 6 more of these for god's sake.
There's something about this game's sense of progression that's so quaint and approachable yet respectably intricate. Any side scroller on an 8-bit handheld had to ultimately have smaller levels due to the small screen size. If you wanted big character models that was the necessary sacrifice. Wario Land 3 manages to do a great job at finding a middle ground. The camera movement, Wario's move speed and the overall level size is more than enough for you to always wonder "what's over there?" while still keeping your eyes on the goal.
What I love about Wario Land 3 that's different to other Metroidvanias is how much it highlights the acquisition of power ups. Every power up feel like natural improvements, like you're reacquiring the moves that you once should have had. At the same time it's not preventing you from having fun early on. While it may be somewhat disappointing to some people that ultimately the way forward is linear, it means level design is always balanced around what your moveset is at that point. Thus, you'll never feel that the game is either too easy or too hard due to the state of your moveset.
One of the big points of criticism here is something I actually never got. You get hit, you don't take damage and you'll never die. Instead the game's built around the idea of being "sent back," as in a puzzle or platforming segment to reach a treasure key or chest may have a hazard or jump that if met with will require you to repeat it again. I think this actually helps the game in multiple ways, some of which aren't immediately obvious.
This is what defines Wario Land 3's atmosphere. Have you ever died in a dream? Some may have "felt" that experience but unless you actually did (in which case you can't answer this rhetorical question anyway) you'll always wake up after it. This game takes place in what's essentially a dream world, and while the aesthetic isn't nearly as striking as a game that intentionally plays into it like Ico or Klonoa do it still remains one all the same. Being able to enter a level, deciding which treasure chest to go for, how many M Coins you want, or not even knowing if there's anything to get here leaves you with one resounding feeling - You can take it at any pace you like. You have the ability to just enjoy the music, the serene atmosphere of a night time stage's pleasant colour palette or the golf minigames if you're feeling burnt out by a difficult platforming section that keeps punishing you. The lack of dying doesn't hurt the game, if anything it's a memorable part of Wario's identity.
Is Wario Land 3 hard? Honestly I don't know, I played this game as a child so many times it's all hardwired in my brain now. But every time I play it I still have a lot of fun. Wario's just too much fun to control and it's why I've always been a little bitter on the Warioware games. I just want more of these, dammit. Forget 5, make Wario Land 10. I'll play 6 more of these for god's sake.