Wario Land 4
Encyclopedia
Wario Land 4, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance
system in 2001. In this game, Wario
has to gather four treasure
s to unlock a pyramid
and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva. It features 2-D graphics with linear transformations (similar to Yoshi's Island).
Without wasting time, Wario jumps into his Wario Car (as shown in the opening animation) and speeds toward the pyramid. As he enters it, he finds a black cat and chases it. Doing so, he falls down a precipice and is stuck inside the pyramid.
After fighting his way through the entry passage and an early boss battle against Spoiled Rotten, Wario discovers four new passages. After completing these passages, Wario gains access to the innermost part of the pyramid, which ends up being the stronghold of Golden Diva. Wario meets the cat again, who turns out to be Princess Shokora.
Wario defeats Golden Diva and exits the pyramid with all his treasure and Shokora, who gives Wario a kiss on the cheek and disappears of which the appearance differs depending on the amount of treasure that has been retrieved. Wario leaves the pyramid triumphantly. If the player beats every level with 10,000 coins, and has all treasure chests after beating the diva, they will unlock a special ending which involves Wario with even more money.
and 3
) allows for some open-endedness as well as some order of difficulty. There are four main passages in addition to the Entry Passage and "Final" Golden Pyramid: the Emerald, Topaz, Ruby, and Sapphire Passages, in order of difficulty. The Emerald Passage is themed around nature
. The Ruby Passage is themed around mechanics
and technology
. The Topaz Passage is themed around toy
s, game
s, and other "playtime" ideas. The Sapphire Passage is themed around horror
and danger, prominently involving ghost
s and the like.
There are four levels in a passage. To progress to the next level in a passage, a player has to find the Keyzer in the previous level (a Keyzer is a floating key-nosed creature that promptly disappears after the player uses it). After the four levels comes a Mini-game Shop and the Boss
Room. To enter the Boss Room, the player must find the four pieces of the passage's namesake gem in each level (a total of four gems and 16 pieces). Also, a player can find a CD in each level, which unlocks music
in the CD Room.
Upon entering a level, one has unlimited time to find treasure, beat up enemies, and such. Enemies, when defeated, give coin
s and health orbs. After collecting a full bar of health orbs, the player receives one extra heart (out of 8). However, the player can't return to the pyramid (and thus have all of their treasure saved) until they open the portal again via a Frog Switch. Upon hitting the switch, a time limit (which varies depending on the game's difficulty setting and level itself) is placed, and many blocks in the level appear or disappear. For some levels, this results in a rush back to the portal the same way the player came. In others, totally new areas are exposed. If Wario fails to reach the portal within the time limit, he begins to lose coins. Once all of his coins are gone, he is kicked out of the level (as if he had lost all of his health) and is left with no treasure.
At the end of each passage, Wario encounters a boss room. He must destroy a boss within a set time limit to win the treasure within the boss rooms (if Wario takes too long but manages to win before the limit is up, some treasure may be withheld). Before each battle, Wario will enter a hall way consisting of two doors. One is a shop which uses mini-game coins as currency; in it, Wario can buy various power-ups and weapons that deal damage to the boss right before the battle.
gave Wario Land a 9 out of 10, or "Outstanding", citing its well thought out level design and replayability, though the game does not significantly push the performance power of the Game Boy Advance.
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
system in 2001. In this game, Wario
Wario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario series. The character was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
has to gather four treasure
Treasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
s to unlock a pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva. It features 2-D graphics with linear transformations (similar to Yoshi's Island).
Plot
The manual describes how Wario is reading the newspaper when he notices an article about a mysterious pyramid found deep in the jungle. The legend related to the pyramid is that of Princess Shokora, ruler of the pyramid, who was cursed by the money-crazed Golden Diva.Without wasting time, Wario jumps into his Wario Car (as shown in the opening animation) and speeds toward the pyramid. As he enters it, he finds a black cat and chases it. Doing so, he falls down a precipice and is stuck inside the pyramid.
After fighting his way through the entry passage and an early boss battle against Spoiled Rotten, Wario discovers four new passages. After completing these passages, Wario gains access to the innermost part of the pyramid, which ends up being the stronghold of Golden Diva. Wario meets the cat again, who turns out to be Princess Shokora.
Wario defeats Golden Diva and exits the pyramid with all his treasure and Shokora, who gives Wario a kiss on the cheek and disappears of which the appearance differs depending on the amount of treasure that has been retrieved. Wario leaves the pyramid triumphantly. If the player beats every level with 10,000 coins, and has all treasure chests after beating the diva, they will unlock a special ending which involves Wario with even more money.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Wario Land 4 (which is generally similar to that of Wario Lands 2Wario Land II
Wario Land II, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy in 1998. It was the last first-party title made for the Game Boy and was later remade to take advantage of the Game Boy Color hardware...
and 3
Wario Land 3
Wario Land 3 garnered tremendous critical acclaim upon release. GameSpot granted the game a score of 9.8/10 and stated, "As far as platformers go, Wario Land 3 is a game that fires on all cylinders." IGN gave it an outstanding rating of 9.0/10...
) allows for some open-endedness as well as some order of difficulty. There are four main passages in addition to the Entry Passage and "Final" Golden Pyramid: the Emerald, Topaz, Ruby, and Sapphire Passages, in order of difficulty. The Emerald Passage is themed around nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
. The Ruby Passage is themed around mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. The Topaz Passage is themed around toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s, game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s, and other "playtime" ideas. The Sapphire Passage is themed around horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and danger, prominently involving ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s and the like.
There are four levels in a passage. To progress to the next level in a passage, a player has to find the Keyzer in the previous level (a Keyzer is a floating key-nosed creature that promptly disappears after the player uses it). After the four levels comes a Mini-game Shop and the Boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
Room. To enter the Boss Room, the player must find the four pieces of the passage's namesake gem in each level (a total of four gems and 16 pieces). Also, a player can find a CD in each level, which unlocks music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
in the CD Room.
Upon entering a level, one has unlimited time to find treasure, beat up enemies, and such. Enemies, when defeated, give coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s and health orbs. After collecting a full bar of health orbs, the player receives one extra heart (out of 8). However, the player can't return to the pyramid (and thus have all of their treasure saved) until they open the portal again via a Frog Switch. Upon hitting the switch, a time limit (which varies depending on the game's difficulty setting and level itself) is placed, and many blocks in the level appear or disappear. For some levels, this results in a rush back to the portal the same way the player came. In others, totally new areas are exposed. If Wario fails to reach the portal within the time limit, he begins to lose coins. Once all of his coins are gone, he is kicked out of the level (as if he had lost all of his health) and is left with no treasure.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave Wario Land a 9 out of 10, or "Outstanding", citing its well thought out level design and replayability, though the game does not significantly push the performance power of the Game Boy Advance.