Wario World

Wario World
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: Nintendo
Original System: GameCube
System Played On: GameCube
Rating: 2 1/2 stars 

On April 1 (no joke), I defeated the Black Jewel, thus finishing Wario World on the Nintendo GameCube! In my playthrough, I collected 51 of 64 treasures, all 40 spritelings, and 7 1/2 of 8 hearts. And I did it all in 11 9/10 gameplay hours over a span of 29 days (a little under a month), averaging 24 3/5 minutes per gameplay session.

I mention the average gameplay session time length because the first thing that stuck out to me was how long it took me to beat a level. Before I talk in depth about that, let me mention that there is only technically 4 worlds with 3 levels, 2 of those levels are 3D platforming collectathons and 1 level is solely a boss battle. 12 levels does not seem like a lot, but considering each level takes 25 minutes (rounded up), now it seems like a lot. Boss battle levels take 25 minutes because the boss has a much health as you, so it's an equal matchup right from the start. 3D platforming collectathon levels take 25 minutes because the levels are massive in size, and they have a lot to do. So what's all there to do in a level?

First, there is treasure collecting. Each 3D platforming collectathon level has 8 treasures in it. In order to collect said treasure, the gamer must press the color button, and then find the corresponding color platform. Collecting all treasures in a platform unlock a microgame from the first WarioWare game, as long as the player has a Game Boy Advance and the link cable. Gamers missing 1 or the other will find this reward useless, and even if the player has both, he or she might just have that WarioWare game, rending the reward even more useless. I at least appreciated that some of the treasures were Nintendo's past and present systems.

Second, there is spriteling collection. Each 3D platforming collectathon level has 5 spritelings, locked away by the Black Jewel for imprisoning the Black Jewel in the first place. At first, this spritelings seem to merely serve the purpose of tutorials and hints, however, they actually impact the ending of the game. The more spritelings Wario saves, the fancier the castle at the end of the credits. Collect all 40 spritelings, and Wario has more treasures than he started. Looking up a solution for another problem, I noticed I already had 36 of 40 spritelings. Therefore, I took the time to find the last four before taking on the end boss. I'm not sure if the ending was worth it, though.

Third, there is red crystal collection. Red crystals unlock the 3D platforming collectathon's boss battle. Each 3D platforming collectathon level has 8 red crystals. Earlier levels on require 3 red crystals, but later levels will require 6. These red crystals are behind trap doors. Sometimes, a simple ground pound/hip drop will break open the trap door, while at other times, only a Piledriver will open the trap door. The trap doors requiring a simple ground pound/hip drop leads to levels similar to Toad's Treasure Tracker. Use the C-stick to navigate through the puzzle to reach the red crystal. The trap doors needing the piledriver lead to levels that remind me of the Super Mario Sunshine levels without FLUUD. Except this time the Wario Land episodes are more doable. Both levels were a nice changeup from the regular gameplay of scouring the level to look for treasures.

Fourth, there is gold statue parts. Each 3D platforming collectathon level has 8 gold statue pieces. Collecting all 8 will earn Wario a half heart, with the hearts maxing out at 8. This power up probably has the most in-game use, as the bosses will level up as the game advances. I got 7 1/2 hearts because I came up short 3 pieces in the last level, which had already given much such a headache just trying to find the end boss. If any gamer chooses just to collection 1 collectable, that gamer better make sure he or she has hearts as the collectable.

Fifth, there are coins to collect, but just like with Treasures, they seem to have little or no value to the after credits scene. The only thing the coins do is allow for extra continues, which also ramps up, maxing out at 500 coins. I ran out of coins nears the final boss battles, so I could not continue. Speaking of coins, Wario does not have the same immortality or transformations as prior games, so if a player falls off a ledge, that player needs to find the box with the hidden spring to launch back into the level. Also, poisonous water exists all around the underworld, which sucks out the hard-earning coins. No joke, on one occasion, I lost 1000+ coins in that underworld. This was more boring and tedious than creative and innovative.  I wish it was axed.

[SPOILER ALERT!] After clearing all 12 levels, the big treasure chest north of the island pops open, revealing Black Jewel. The Black Jewel has 8 lives, rewarding the gamers who took the time to increase their hearts to 8, making it an even fight. Those gamers who did not end are going to find themselves going for an almost perfect run. Here in North America, the Black Jewel only has 1 cycle. The attacks may increase in speed with every passing cycle, but besides that, once the pattern is down, it's smooth sailing to the finish. Japan, on the other end, got more a true boss fight, with the Black Jewel taking center stage in the fight, fighting head on. Man, I wish we got the Japan version [/END SPOILERS!]

In conclusion, I have mixed feelings about Wario World. When on the handheld systems, the Wario Land games naturally progressed from copying Super Mario to becoming its own thing. Besides making the move to 3D, Wario World doesn't seem to go beyond that. No Metroidvania-like traveling. No power-ups besides garlic to give an extra power to Wario. No cutscenes at the beginning or end (instead, the game provides static text and flashes of images). Furthermore, the controls feel off, which makes me doubt if the developers had any experience with platforming games, especially 3D platforming games. The poor lighting made it hard to see ladders. Therefore, with all that in mind, I give Wario World a ranking of 2 1/2 stars. It's somewhere between a bad game and an average game. I would play this game until you get sick and tired of finicky 3D platforming and tedious collecting, and then watch a Let's Play of the rest.

Hey, at least it can't get any worse than this, right? Right?! RIGHT!?! It's going to get worse, isn't it? 

Running Ranking
1. Wario Land 4
2. Wario Land 3
3. Wario Land 2
4. Wario Land 1
5. Wario World