4.5/5 ★ – LTVGJoe's review of Wario Land 3.

Since his introduction in 1992’s Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins–which also made it’s way to the service with this update–Wario has been a fan favorite, and playing through Wario Land 3 for the first time in about 20 years, I’m reminded of just how much I love the character myself (When he isn’t cheating in Super Mario Party, that is). While the Mario Land games traditionally rely on the standard system of lives used in the first Wario Land game, Wario Land 3 follows in the footsteps of the previous title and abandons this in favour of making Wario invincible, and instead adopting an almost MetroidVania-esque progression system. Each level has 4 exits, each linked to a different coloured key, players are tasked with finding each key in the world and unlocking the chests that block the exits one by one, each time receiving an item in return. These items can range from things that bring changes to the overworld or layout of a specific level, to powerups, or just items of treasure that Wario obviously wants to take with him because let’s face it, he’s Wario. Many levels also make use of the game’s day/night cycle, with different paths being available at night time, and different enemies waiting to halt your progress depending on if you enter the level during the day or night. This progression system lends itself fantastically to the game’s interesting level designs, and the absence of limited lives means you never find yourself avoiding certain paths or backtracking to earn more lives to make your way through a particularly difficult level, instead the only thing at risk is your progression, as the enemies you encounter serve only to hamper your ability to continue along your way. As you progress through the game and unlock more abilities and powerups, you’ll find yourself revisiting previous levels, and I was taken aback by just how deep some of these levels go–depth over breadth was definitely the design ethos here–as many levels eventually become like puzzle boxes, with the player peeling away the layers every time they revisit in search of another chest. As is to be expected from any title that arrives as late in a console’s life-cycle as this–Wario Land 3 released just a year ahead of the Game Boy Advance–the graphics here are among the best the console has to offer. The character sprites are detailed and interesting, and the environments are rich and colorful with many levels looking wildly different if entered at night. The character designs in particular stand out in this entry, with the lack of a life system meaning that rather than killing him, each enemy has a unique physical effect on Wario. From temporarily making him fatter than a house, trapping him in a bubble, inflating his face with a mosquito bite, or turning him into an accordion as he springs his way around the levels, the slapstick potential in this title is fantastic and will have you grinning from ear to ear even when you know you should be annoyed at all the progress you lost by being knocked off that ledge. Wario Land 3 screenshot showing Wario who is fat and sweating after eating a donut This slapstick sprite work goes hand-in-hand with whimsical, cartoony sound effects, and creates an experience you’ll find yourself wanting to come back to time and time again. The overall soundtrack isn’t much to write home about sadly, which is certainly a let down with how strong almost every other area of the game is, but that being said there are still one or two tunes that are catchy enough that I still find myself humming them as I wander around the house. I have a lot of fond memories of Wario Land 3 having played it constantly on release back in the early 00’s, and replaying it now I’m reminded just why I loved it so much. The interesting character designs, rich and colorful environments, and surprisingly deep progression make for a fantastic few evenings of play, and with each level having 4 exits to find and 8 golden coins to collect, there’s plenty to enjoy for all the completionists out there too.