Retro Game: Wario Land 3

Overview

Wario Land 3 is the epic culmination of the series' unique puzzle-platforming design. After his plane crashes, Wario discovers a mysterious music box that sucks him into a magical world within. There, a hidden figure promises to return Wario to his own world and let him keep all the treasure he finds, but only if he can recover five magical music boxes. Starting completely powerless, Wario must explore a vast world, using his immortality to his advantage to unlock the secrets of the music box.

Background

Released in 2000 for the Game Boy Color, Wario Land 3 was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and is widely considered to be one of the finest titles ever released for the handheld system. It took the innovative "immortality and reaction" mechanics from Wario Land II and expanded upon them by building an entire Metroidvania-style progression system around them. The game was praised for its incredible depth, massive amount of content, and clever level design that required players to constantly revisit stages with new abilities.

Gameplay

Wario Land 3 perfects the series' signature gameplay loop. Wario is once again immortal; he cannot die, but enemy attacks will transform him into various states like Flat Wario, Zombie Wario, or Snowman Wario, which are necessary to solve puzzles. The major twist in this entry is that Wario begins the game with almost no abilities—he can't even perform his famous Body Slam. The core of the game revolves around exploring its 25 stages to find treasure chests. Each chest contains either a new permanent ability for Wario (like swimming or smashing blocks) or a key that opens a new level. This forces the player to constantly backtrack to previous stages, using their newly acquired powers to access previously unreachable areas and find more treasure. Adding another layer of depth is a day and night cycle, which alters level layouts, enemy placement, and opens up different paths depending on the time of day.