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Wario Land 4 Review - GBA

You either love him or you hate him. Wario is no stranger to the Game Boy systems and has been seen in many games. He has appeared in many handheld games such as Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Wario Land, Wario Land 2, Wario Land 3 and Wario Ware Mini Game Inc. In the Wario Land series we find our evil yellow friend finding treasure whilst fighting a whole host of bad guys. While his abilities have changed from game to game, every Wario Land game have all had one thing in common: Excellence in the field of platform games. Now we have the latest in the Wario Land series Wario Land 4, and one thing's for sure, next time Nintendo have to come up with a more original title!

Wario Land 4 is set in the present world where we find our hero reading the newspaper. He reads an article about an ancient pyramid in the jungle that has recently been discovered. It is said that there are many treasures inside the pyramid and there is also a legend behind the pyramid. In typical Wario Land style, we find Wario drive to the pyramid in his purple car in the hopes of finding some booty.

Gameplay

As soon as you start playing Wario Land 4 you'll find yourself inside the pyramid where you have to complete a passage way entitled 'Entry Passage'. This passageway has one level and one boss and is very easy to complete. It is made clear that this is a training level due to the moving pictures on the wall that show you how to perform the basic moves that Wario has on offer. After completing the Entry Passage you'll soon discover four new passageways which have different colour codes including the Sapphire Passage (blue), the Topaz Passage (yellow), the Ruby Passage (red) and finally the Emerald Passage (green). Each passage is available after the training level so you have a choice of which one you want to go to first. However, each passageway will only have one level available to begin with and will require you to meet a certain amount of objectives before you can access a new level. In all, each normal passageway will have four levels to complete, and one boss to beat.

Each level is based on two objectives and one secondary objective. The objectives of each level are to find the four jewel pieces which will unlock the door that leads you to the boss. Besides this you also must find this white key creature (a floating fish-like creature that has a key for a nose, hence the name) which will unlock a new level in the passageway for you. The second objective you have is to find a music CD which can be played in the music room once found. While it may sound easy, there is a bit of a catch. To leave a level with anything you've found you must find ... (continued next page)