Genre: Platformer
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: Nintendo
Released On: June 23, 2003
# of Players: 1 Player
Memory: 3 Blocks
ERSB: Everyone
Supports: GCN/GBA Link (with Wario Ware), Progressive Scan, DDPL-III
MSRP: $49.99
Also On: None
Website: Wario-World.com
Better Than: Luigi’s Mansion
Hey Mario you have competition in the GameCube platformer realm. Well ok I’m just kidding but Treasure’s Wario World is good. Not excellent but good. His story goes like this. Deep within Wario’s castle lies a treasure room filled with the spoils he has plundered during his many adventures. A mysterious black jewel, ensconced among the treasures, has a strange power to transform gems into monsters. While Wario rests in his castle upstairs the jewel begins to morph his treasure trove into a host of monsters, turning the basement of Wario’s beloved castle into a bizarre parallel universe. Awakening the next morning to monsters instead of treasure, Wario must step into that alternate world to win the treasure back.
Graphics
Treasure has done a great job in bringing Wario to the big screen. The visual presentation is exactly what you’ll expect from a Wario game if you’re a fan of the Gameboy games. Stages are well done with vibrant colors all around. Most textures are impressive but at times they got all N64 on me. The most impressive stage by far is the Haunted House/Castle. There are moments when I really felt like I was there. All around its pretty average stuff nothing bad but nothing to have a party about.
Audio
The music is just what you’ll expect from an evil Mario game. It has more gritty sound but still has the bouncy, catchy, whistle along, tunes we know and love from Nintendo. The best and most hilarious thing is when Wario sings "nah nah nah nah nah," during a certain tune. The effects of bashing & smashing are on point. Wario’s voice work is pretty nice when he spits out one-liners. My favorite being “have a rotten day.” Again same as the graphics the sound has nothing to complain about and nothing to jump for joy over.
Gameplay
Wario’s moves are over the top, and fun to pull off. Wario has jumping, butt-stomping, and punching, you can also execute Wario’s famous shoulder charge. Plain enemies die with one smack, but larger ones fall over and get dizzy for a few seconds. When this happens, you can use them as a springboard to jump higher, or you can pick them up. Once you lift an enemy over your head, you can do a WWE type slam move, which is a charged throw that can take out other enemies. Or you can pull off a spin attack by swirling the control stick around, causing you to do a giant swing with the enemy, knocking over other enemies in your path.
"Once you lift an enemy over your head, you can do a WWE type slam move,"
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But the best of Wario’s monster-bustin’ moves is a big spinning pile driver that drives enemies into the ground headfirst (Street Fighter Zaingeif style), causing a burst that eliminates surrounding enemies. The game is all about collecting coins, but it also counts things like the height of your last pile driver (you’ll be rewarded if you execute pile drivers while jumping from greater and greater heights) and the number of enemies you’ve eliminated. At the end of a level, these numbers are turned into extra coins. Each of the enemy creatures encountered walked along with a comical, exaggerated strut. Monsters spawn in groups of four to six in the levels, and if you didn’t eliminate any enemies, it was possible to have an entourage of about a dozen enemies onscreen at once, although the game’s otherwise modest frame rate took a steep dive when this happened.
The sizable worlds seen in Wario World are easily explored, thanks to Wario’s great mobility. Wario can latch onto circular objects overhead, such as fruit or statue fixtures, then smoothly crawl around the object, even hanging upside down if necessary. Wario often has to leap from object to object and occasionally from unconventional angles to reach hidden areas. And much like in his recent handheld adventures, Wario travels through surreal warp portals screaming at the top of his lungs. And trust me the Haunted House is the best stage. Oh and the camera is always rock solid.
Lasting Appeal
Simply put it has none. Unless you really enjoy the game enough to play through again. And I doubt you will. The first time through is fun enough but it ain’t no Jak & Daxter.
Conclusion
Wario World can be best described as a poor man’s Mario. Ok maybe not since Mario & Wario titles are completely different from each other. Even if a plumber makes less money than a full time crook. It’s easy to see Wario World has a much smaller budget than Super Mario Sunshine. But I can tell you this Wario World is much better than Luigi’s Mansion. If you’re a big Wario supporter like I am (still grumpy over him not being in Smash Bros. Melee) buy Wario World now. But if you like the platformer genre and need something to play for the weekend rent it. Anyone else I suggest should just stay away from Wario World.
The Good
+ Enjoyable ways to trash enemies.
+ Wario’s funny sounding one-liners.
+ Good level design. The Bad
- Wario’s voice can get annoying.
- Nothing stands out above other platformers.
- The ending is very disappointing.
The Stupid
? No cool unlockables.
