N +

The plot is simple: Wario steals stuff. He even stole a whole castle once. So he steals this black diamond--but it turns out to be some evil demon monster with tentacles. It destroys his castle and turns all his loot into monsters! It's payback time! Then these jerk elf things yap on about how you set the monster free and they've been trying to seal it for hundreds of years. Whatever, I don't care. My treasure's gone and I want it back. It's time to kick ass and eat garlic. And it looks like Wario's out of garlic.

Wario power-throws, shoulder-rams, corkscrew jumps, and pile-drives his way through 4 worlds to get his loot back. Each world has two levels and three bosses. Now, if I wanted to, I could blaze through the game within 5 to 6 hours. Maybe less. But that's like beating New Super Mario Bros. without collecting any of the hidden star coins--beating The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess without looking for the heart pieces--paying off your loan to Tom Nook without decorating your house--beating a Metroid game without getting all of the powerups--no, wait--that's actually kind of badass. But hopefully you get my point: Wario World is much better if you try to free all 5 Spritelings, nab all 8 golden statue parts, collect all 8 treasures, and find all 8 red gems per level. That's 232 things you have to collect. Some of them will be waiting for you. Some require some hidden switches. Others require some EXCELLENTLY designed Super-Mario-Sunshine-esque challenge stages. On top of that you have to keep an eye out for the coin count because that helps determine what kind of ending Wario will receive (plus you need to have lots of loot handy to continue and buy garlic). It took me about 12 hours to 100% this game. I'd say that's a pretty big hunk of game considering the fact that it's a 3D platformer--in fact, it's a little longer than what Metroid Prime 3: Corruption took me (my second playthrough at 100%)!

Important note: I am a Treasure fanatic. You know... Ikaruga? Gunstar Heroes? Bleach: Blade of Fate? Bangai-O? Well, Treasure and Nintendo partnered up to make Sin & Punishment and Wario World. I can tell you with confidence that Treasure's expertise is in 2D games, but they did a good job with this game. Wario animates very well as he pummels his enemies with a fluid framerate, tons of particle effects, and huge explosions. I never get tired of watching Wario clear out a room with a pile-driver. The graphics won't make you drop your jaw, but you will be pleasantly surprised at some neat lighting effects. It's fun to see how the levels are designed. The last level, in particular, wraps around the top of a pyramid and has some cleverly hidden switches. The challenge levels give you more camera freedom (you'll need it). So yeah, the graphics are okay. The music is pretty good, too; it gets the job done. However, the pause screen is pretty funny/annoying. It displays your inventory with Wario singing in a mocking tone, "Nyah nyah nyanyah nyah!" After a minute or two, you might want to rethink pausing again in fear of Wario's screeching taunts. However, if you let it play long enough, Wario goes "...hm... I-I'm Sorry" and stops. Is it an Easter Egg or is it a clever ruse to have everyone who reads this sit in front of a pause screen for 15 minutes.

THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW.

So let's wrap this baby up: Wario World is a 3D platforming game. You beat up lots of baddies, you solve puzzles, you find lots of hidden crap. It's not a genre defining experience, but Wario was never meant to shake your perception of gaming-as-you-know-it. He's a greedy little bastard who just wants some serious coin. For what it was, Wario World surpassed my expectations. If you're looking for something to tickle that platforming fancy--this might do the trick. I believe this game is worth a try for anyone--definately worth a rental. If you're short on cash: Rent Wario World, BUY OKAMI. Now that Wario World is complete, I'm aching for something else to tide me over until Wario Land: Shake It! comes out. Hopefully I'll find a copy of Wario Land 4 or Wario: Master of Disguise before I runs someone down with a motorcycle, fart on them, and yell "HAVE A ROTTEN DAY!"

N+ Summary

Game: Wario World
Developed by: Treasure
Published by: Nintendo
Genre: Action-Adventure
Players: 1
Release Date: June 20, 2003 (EU), June 23, 2003 (US), May 27, 2004 (JP)
Rating: Everyone

N+ Points

N+ Progressive Scan, baby! 480p for the win!
N+ Lots of stuff to collect. Completionists: Go crazy.
N+ Why have I never gotten tired of Wild Swing Dings or Pile Drivers yet?
N+ I actually held my breath during some platforming sequences.
N+ Best instruction booklet ever.

N- Points

N- Relatively short.
N- After getting 100% there's not much left (besides speed-runs).
N- Leap-of-Faith platforming shows up a few times
N- Falling off the map results in a mini-game worse than death
N- Where's Captain Syrup?

JudgmeN+: 7.9

MK's Tilt: 8.7
(screens shamelessly stolen from Google image search. Nyah-hah-hah! I'MA NUMBAR ONE!)