Accidentally skipping this game and playing half of Wario Land 2 first was probably the biggest reason its not half a star higher at least. Not to say its a bad game, its not great but at the very least it introduces aspects we would later see in the follow up, while polishing a lot of rough edges about Wario Land 1's design. Technically, the game looks fantastic in part because of Virtual Boy's decision to go widescreen. All the sprite art looks excellent even today and the game feels way less claustrophobic compared to Wario Land 1, even though the sprite is proportionally the same size vertically.
It also introduces the more puzzle box concept the series is actually known for, every level requires you to go off the (typically) left-to-right straight forward path that the exit is located on to find the key to open the way out. Unfortunately the level design is uninspired and half baked compared to its sequel, jumping between the front and back layers is very gimmicky and is never used to accomplish anything that the already present doors can't, though it is generally nicer to be able to see multiple rooms at the same time. And the secret hunting generally boils down to hitting conspicuous blocks and exhausting every door and jump, and very little actual puzzling.
Clocking in at around 2 hours, and with unpolished level design it was feels rushed out the door to cut their losses seeing as the writing was on the wall for the virtual boy's fate. The game's status as the missing link between Wario Land 1 and 2 (which otherwise feels like a strange massive leap in design) makes it an important formative moment in the series nonetheless and worth a play if you're a big Wario Land fan.
It also introduces the more puzzle box concept the series is actually known for, every level requires you to go off the (typically) left-to-right straight forward path that the exit is located on to find the key to open the way out. Unfortunately the level design is uninspired and half baked compared to its sequel, jumping between the front and back layers is very gimmicky and is never used to accomplish anything that the already present doors can't, though it is generally nicer to be able to see multiple rooms at the same time. And the secret hunting generally boils down to hitting conspicuous blocks and exhausting every door and jump, and very little actual puzzling.
Clocking in at around 2 hours, and with unpolished level design it was feels rushed out the door to cut their losses seeing as the writing was on the wall for the virtual boy's fate. The game's status as the missing link between Wario Land 1 and 2 (which otherwise feels like a strange massive leap in design) makes it an important formative moment in the series nonetheless and worth a play if you're a big Wario Land fan.