Looking Back is a series where we take a glance at a particular game of yesteryear, whether it be influential, under appreciated, or just simply worth remembering.
Nintendo has always been known for creating the most innovative platformers. From the groundwork they laid out in Super Mario Bros, they’ve taken us on unbelievable trips through Zebes, Dreamland, and Donkey Kong Country. They’ve innovated the genre time and time again. Even today, with the release of New Super Mario Bros Wii, they’ve managed to reinvent the platformer by adding support for four players. But in 1998, Nintendo released a game that completely turned the traditional sidescroller on its head. And even more amazingly, they did it on an aging, handheld system. Wario Land 2 was released on the Game Boy originally, but a new version was released to take advantage of the new Game Boy Color mere months later.
At first glance, the biggest innovation of Wario Land 2 appears to be the fact that you cannot die. Wario can be squashed flat, lit on fire, turned into a ball, a vampire, or even a drunk, but he cannot be killed. In fact, each injury he incurs reveals a new ability, leading to new paths and levels to explore.
You may be thinking, so if you’re immortal, where’s the challenge? While the game isn’t OVERLY challenging, it does provide a nice difficulty curve over its numerous levels to explore. While he may not be able to die, Wario can be prevented from getting where he needs to go by an unwanted shape-shift brought on by a wily enemy. Similarly, boss battles can be extremely tough since you must start the fight over from scratch if Wario is tossed out of the arena.
The real challenge, however, comes from finding all of the hidden secrets every stage has to offer. Every level has a treasure to discover and a map piece to obtain; not to mention hidden exits that lead to brand new stages and worlds. This brings us to another of the game’s impressive innovations – Wario Land 2 features multiple endings, each with its own final boss, depending on how you play through the story. Although many Mario games feature overworld maps that allow you to take branching paths, they always lead to the same place. Not so in Wario Land 2, where finishing a level with certain secret requirements can send you to a completely new world and a brand new boss. With half a dozen endings to obtain and oodles of treasure to find, Wario Land 2 is able to keep you playing long after your initial playthrough.
Of course, Wario Land 2′s final innovation comes in the form of the plot. Although this isn’t the first title where you play as Wario, at the time it still wasn’t often that you found yourself playing as the bad guy in a Nintendo game. Of course, Wario isn’t really EVIL, just greedy. And his foe, Captain Syrup, is arguably more-so. Depending on how you play, things may not turn out well for Wario, either. It may take a few tries to get all of your ill-gotten treasure back from the saucy pirate.
Wario Land 2 is still one of my favorite games. I went from playing left-to-right platformers like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic to this, and frankly, it blew my mind. Luckily, the game still holds up amazingly well today, and I still like it more than any of the Wario Land games to come out since (although 3 was almost just as good). If you’re a fan of Nintendo platformers and you’ve never played it, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
