Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Original System: Game Boy Advance
System Played On: Wii U (Virtual Console)
Rating: 5 stars
On March 3, 2025, I defeated the Golden Diva, and earned the best ending on normal, thus finishing Wario Land 4 for the Game Boy Advance (via the Wii U Virtual Console)! In my playthrough, I collected 8 of 16 music tracks (that's half of them!), and I earned $130,270. And I did it all in 10 1/2 gameplay hours over the span of 17 days.
Wario Land 4 clearly has a primarily, secondary and tertiary gameplay loop built into each level. Let's break that down.
The primary gameplay loop is to find the switch in each level, which reopens the portal, allowing Wario to exit. Upon hitting said switch, a timer triggers, and Wario must race back to the portal at the beginning of the level. Yes, Wario Land 4 reintroduces the level timer, and they do so perfectly. The timer does not go off until the switch to trigger the exit becomes activated. Therefore, the game safely assumes that the gamer has explored everything, and he or she only desires to exit the level. Prior to hitting the switch, the player has no time limit, meaning the player can patiently explore the level. Only until the gamer wants to exit that the timer appears. Again, it's that perfect balance of exploring to find collectables and testing the player to see how well he or she knows the level. Yes, sometimes Wario Land 4 change up the level on the return, and yes, the game sometimes places collectables along the return road, but the timer accounts for that, adding more time. Still, even so, a seasoned veteran of video gamers could beat the clock in its own race with time to spare.
The secondary gameplay loop is finding Keyser. See, activating the switch and returning to the portal merely helps Wario escape the level with treasures intact. To actually advance to the next level, the gamer needs to discover Keyser in the level and collect Keyser before exiting the level. Most often, Keyser appears before switch in the level, but sometimes Keyser can show up after the switch activates. Again, the timer accounts for this, giving more time to find a hidden key. To me, this secondary gameplay loop is redundant. Getting out of the level feels like it should come with automatic advancement in the game. Nothing felt more disappointing than making it back to the exit portal, only to then witness the door not opening because the door. Keyser should have come automatically with activating the swtich, or at least come close nearby in every level.
The tertiary gameplay loop is finding the 4 pieces of a jewel. Once all 4 pieces come together, they form a jewel. 4 jewels unlock the door to that boss. Finding these jewels take a little bit more exploration, at least departing from the main path. At first, I thought I would have to a walkthrough for the missing jewel pieces. Upon a second playthrough of the levels, though, I easily saw the spaces I missed within the level, which made me in turn easily find the missing jewel pieces. I guess this is natural progression of how to maneuver Wario and how to navigate the level.
The bosses are really the lowest and weakest point of Wario Land 4. Most of the bosses have hard to see weak points. When the gamer can find these weak points, the bosses have small hit boxes, making it hard to give and receive blows. On top of that, these bosses are damage sponges. I would have to say that, on average, a boss takes about 12 hits before defeating that boss. Did I also mention that these too are timed? I imagine the high hit count intended to combat the minigame rewards. See, Wario Land 4 has 3 minigames installed in it. These minigames could be the predecessors to WarioWare's microgames. Every time that the gamer reaches a milestone in the minigame, the game rewards that players with a token, which can be spent in the item store. While all items have funky names, they also all deal damage to the boss before Wario can engage in battle. Depending on the boss, some items do more damage, and some do less. I tried doing it item free, but I got too irritated at small hitboxes and damage sponging. Therefore, I grinded in the minigames to save up to enough tokens to buy an item at the item shop for Aerodent and Golden Diva. Since Golden Diva is the final boss, even the best item will only deliver half the damage. For the other bosses, however, the right item will deal all but 1 life in the health bar. It feels like cheating, but it also feels like you have no other choice when it feels like the bosses have an unfair advantage.
[SPOILER ALERT!] The end game is a well-done end game. It may be only 1 level before the final boss, but it's a good example of what an end level should look like. The level tests you on everything the gamer has learned to this point, for the player will need to know it to advance in this level and onward to the next level. On top of that, the developers put the switch for the time right below the portal, forcing the players to fall on it and trigger it immediately. Therefore, on top of the gamers proving they know everything about traversing levels, the gamers also have to prove they can do it with time constraints. The final boss follows the same pattern, as each one of the phases reflects back to a previous boss. Think of it as a boss gauntlet, just summed up in a single final boss. [/END SPOILERS]
While Wario Land 4 looks and feels more like Wario Land 1 and 2 than Wario Land 3, this observation should not be mistaken for a setback. On the contrary, Nintendo figured out a way to utilize the full potential of the Game Boy Advance hardware at launch to deliver a unique gameplay experience. Wario Land 4 reintroduces the timer, as well as adds a life bar, but it does so in a way that still encourages exploration. The addition of the life bar also does a better job of encouraging not taking a hit, for it could lead to a loss of company power. Wario finally has his iconic color palette of canary yellow and light purple, unlike the black and white on the Game Boy Color. The soundtrack, as well as the unlockable soundtracks, match the goofiness of Wario. The theming of the levels does not default to the typical themes found in the Super Mario series (grass land, desert land, water land, ice land, sky land, volcano land, etc.), minus emerald passage. As I play more games in the Wario Land series, and as I hear what other people have to say about these games, I would say these games grow on me with every passing game, instead of distract me. Wario Land 4 is a masterclass of how to do game development correctly, especially in the game mechanics department, as evident in the clear primary, secondary and tertiary gameplay loop naturally built into the game. The delayed and trigger timer allow the gamer the opportunity to explore the level, yet at the same time, it tests the player to see if they know how to traverse the level well. With proper exploration of the level, the game will easily find the switch, Keyser and the jewel pieces, and the player will never have to consult outside help, like a walkthrough. With this masterclass of game design, no wonder so many clones have popped up, like Pizza Tower! Therefore, for all these reasons, I give Wario Land 4 a ranking of 5 stars. Wario Land 4 is very good game, not just for the Wario Land series or a Wario game in general, but for all video games in general. If you can, I would 100% fully complete the game with the best ending on all difficulties.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, Wario Land 4 for will be the height of the Wario Land series. Every other game from here out will focus too much on the gimmick of its console and forgot this masterclass on game design. From here out on out, it will be a competition to just not end up on the bottom.
Running Ranking
1. Wario Land 4
2. Wario Land 3
3. Wario Land 2
4. Wario Land 1
No comments:
Post a Comment