Wario Land 2 (Game Boy Color)
Game by Nintendo
Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley
Save: Battery 1 Slot
Released: 1998/1999
Works with: All Game Boy devices except for the Game Boy Micro.
ESRB Rated: K-A (Kids to Adults)
Quick Opinion: Own....

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Opening Snide Remarks: After finally getting his own castle in Super Mario
Land 3: Wario Land, our porky protagonist settles his brains down for a bit
of a nap. Then minions of Captain Syrup sneak into his castle to exact their
revenge!

Oh! This game has a new twist! Wario can not die! No Game Overs! Wow! This
game could be a cake walk!

Let us see if the cake slices that way.

(Editor's Note: There are two versions of Wario Land 2 available in the
United States, one is strictly Game Boy and one is a dual mode Game Boy
Color game. If you put the game into a Game Boy Color, it will delete over
the Game Boy save and vice versa. This review is done with two Game Paks.
The Game Boy original version and the Game Boy Color Dual Mode version. We
use all original equipment in our reviews. Which can be a pain because
sometimes we have to remove and replace batteries in some of these older
Game Paks.)

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Gameplay Description: The "gimmick" of the game is that Wario is pretty
malleable. He can be hit with things that make him stagger around drunk, he
can be flattened, inflate with a bee sting, set on fire, and so forth. He
HAS to use these ailments to his advantage. A good example of this is that a
level might have a block that can only be burned, Wario needs to find some
enemy or obstacle that will set him on fire. Or Wario needs to float down
and into a small area and must find something to flatten him like a leaf.
The transformations are coupled with a branching game path that has five
different endings and almost fifty stages.

Each stage has Wario travel from Point A to Point B (or a hidden Point C)
collecting coins, beating enemies, and getting past the physical puzzles
of each stage. You can also find a hidden treasure chest where you play
a matching mini-game to get that treasure. When you beat a level, you get
a chance to guess a number and earn a piece of a treasure map. The levels
are full to the brim with breakable walls and somewhat tougher enemies.

Wario flies backwards by quite a bit when he is hit, which leads to some
frustration with boss fights where messing up boots you out of the boss
room. In that case, the boss has to be damaged all over again. There is
no game over, you just keep trying a concept until you get it right. Is
this fun? Sometimes this is fun, but for less adept players this could
prove fairly frustrating. I really like the unique concept and the pretty
interesting transformations. The good thing is that -once you beat it the
first time- you can choose a level from a branching tree to help you find
the areas, treasures, and endings you missed.

Wario also has a few moves to take out enemies with, such as his running
body slam and the ability to pick up enemies and throw them really hard
at things. Pressing UP on the Directional Pad as you jump also lets Wario
jump higher. Wario can also do a ground pound move by pressing down when
he jumps. In some levels you need to manipulate switches and other items
to proceed. Over all, there is a lot more variety in the stages.

The levels tend to be a little sadistic and reflect the slightly "off"
sense of humor that Wario brings to the table. It isn't always just
"find the goal" either. There are levels where the point is to find some
item and break it. The different paths also make the story kind of
wonderfully entertaining too. The difficulty has been ratcheted up to
make up for Wario's new found immortality and that may throw a few people
off. However, I do appreciate the challenge of the game a lot more than
Wario Land 1, which was a touch too easy for my liking.

Liked: The interesting new twist on classic exploration style game play
leads to this being more of an action puzzle game than a standard action
platforming game. Overall, the amount of endings, treasures to find, and
things to do are impressive.

Hated: The "keep trying until you get it right" gameplay may be frustrating
to some people. Some of the bosses and levels are especially tedious.

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Graphics Description: The game looks reasonable on the Game Boy and Wario
appears to have a bit of a gray border to help differentiate him from the
very busy backgrounds. The various forms Wario takes are distinct and
interesting looking. Wario certainly looks a lot more detailed and the
outlines on the enemies also help to keep items from being lost in a
monochrome mess of a world. The game also features a Super Game Boy Color
Pallet and specialized borders. The color choices tend to work well with
the environment Wario is in and the borders around the enemies help with
older Game Boy models. The border is kind of cool too.

I dislike the new "look" for Wario in this game as compared to his look
in the previous game, but that is more of an aesthetic disagreement. They
do use his new look to make him look more expressive. This kind of gives
him a bit of a "Muppet" feel when he is facing the camera. Captain Syrup
looks like she should.

The Game Boy Color enhancements range from excellent in some of the cut
scenes to minimal in others. For a Game Boy COLOR game, there are quite
a few areas that are not very colorful. But the ones that are fall some
where between what the original Super Nintendo and Original Nintendo could
output in terms of graphical prowess. Wario is pretty monochromatic and
the enemies are too. However, the addition of color means that the bosses
change colors to denote how close you are to beating them. Which is a
useful feature. All of Wario's forms are interesting and represented well.

Liked: The bosses are creative looking and the graphics -while busy- are
not difficult to see on older Game Boy units. The Game Boy Color pallet is
pretty good although it tends to be very monochromatic in some areas. There
are some excellent looking levels.

Hated: I do not like the way Wario looks in this title. I prefer the older
look for him. Some levels are certainly not a showcase of what the Game Boy
Color can do graphics wise.

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Sound/Music Description: The music contains a lot of lackluster remixes of
the music from the previous Wario Land game with a few new compositions.
There really is nothing that stands out in the game, in fact, I feel like
the music in Wario Land 2 is pretty unremarkable. The sound effects are fine
and convey the action well. There really is nothing that stands out like the
music in Super Mario Land or the original Wario Land. There is what I would
refer to as a "Dynamic Sound Environment" in the game, where the music
changes to reflect Wario's forms or how close he is to the exit of the stage.

While the music is pleasant and the sound effects work in the context they
are used, Wario Land 2 is very average in the music and sound department.

Liked: The "Dynamic Sound Environment" idea is interesting and good. The
sound effects are fine, there really is nothing that becomes annoying or
irritating. The compositions are good and long enough to avoid becoming
overly repetitive.

Hated: There is nothing that really stands out or is memorable in the
soundtrack of this game. In a way, I feel a little sad about this.

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Play Control/Game Design: The level design is divided into "rooms" in
which there is always some sort of mechanic or hidden objects to find before
moving onto the next "room." The play control is responsive, the abilities
for the different Wario forms makes sense and the game is both challenging
and innovative. I feel that the idea of a "platformer" where you can not die
is very unique and I am glad to see that it allows the creators to explore
different kinds of gameplay. That said, the bosses, while some may be a
little frustrating, are a bit too simple. Once you figure out their set
patterns, beating them becomes a fairly simple affair.

The levels are varied and every technique and form is used to great effect
and full potential. There is a lot of great game design at work in this game
and it shows that they put a lot of effort into the concept.

The only game design choice that bothers me is the use of "mini games" to
get to a treasure or map piece. These come off as clunky and really break up
the flow of the game. A better choice would have been to bring back finding
a key and carrying it to a treasure door like you can do in the original
Wario Land. I also miss the ability to produce a 10 Coin and use it as a
weapon. This seems like a bit of an oversight. Also, the amount of knock
back when you take a hit is ridiculous and adds to the frustration factor
that the game is saddled with. The Map Mini Game has to do with guessing a
random number and is just stupid. I would rather have had a mini game where
I throw bombs at cute creatures or even the Golf game they introduced in
Wario Land 3. The "picture lock" matching puzzle for the treasures is just
too easy and just feels out of place as well.

Liked: A lot of great levels, the powers are all utilized well in the game,
and the over all challenge is very fun.

Hated: The mini-games to get treasures and map pieces are stupid and very
awkward. Bosses have extremely simple patterns, once you figure out their
movement.

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Improve: Better boss patterns, better music composition, better mini games,
and the graphics could be better optimized for the Game Boy Color.

RIYL: Wario and platform games where you have to figure out "puzzles" to
beat a level.

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Final Words: Wario Land 2 succeeds as an experiment in new game play styles
and is certainly worth checking out. I had a lot of fun with the game, even
though some aspects of it bothered me a bit. Those flaws aside, it is a good
game and worth your time to play.

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Score
Gameplay: ****
Graphics: ***
Sound/Music: ***
Play Control/Game Design: ****
Value: ****

Star Total: 54%

Personal Opinion Merit: 18%

Final Score: 72%

Letter Grade: B

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