REVIEW: Wario Land 3 2000 Game Boy Color
	By: Nintendo Type: Platformer Players: 1 Difficulty: Hard

How very typical of Wario, to come barging in seemingly out of nowhere with a game so massive it leaves one out of breath. It needs a plot, of course, and this one involves Wario beings sucked into a bizarre world inside a music box, where he reluctantly agrees to locate five magical music boxes for "a mysterious hidden figure" (so, since when is it a good idea to trust people you can't see?). And of course nab as many riches as he can on the way.
 
At first, Wario is pretty weedy. He has very few moves at his disposition, he can't destroy most of the blocks in his way, he can't even swim properly. This leads to some pretty annoying "why the hell can't I get to that bit?" situations. No matter what you try, it's impossible to explore the levels as fully as you'd want to, but your patience will be rewarded.
 
 
 
For most of the treasures that you collect will boost Wario's abilities a little, allowing for stronger butt-slams or dashes, which opens up the path to many new areas in previously visited areas. Either that, or the treasures will slightly alter the conditions of a certain level, thus creating more new opportunities for exploration. The whole thing is very Metroid-style, and it ends up working very well. As you progress through the levels, collecting treasures, the game gradually unfolds itself before you.
 
The gameplay engine is basically the same as in Wario Land 2, with some added enhancements (such as te Metroid-esque collecting mentioned above). Of course, there's the problem that some players won't be comfortable with a platofrm game where you can't die. There are enemies, yes, but getting hit causes Wario to bob backwards with an irritating "ewww-ew" noise, and nothing else. He doesn't lose money or get injured. However, the developers have gotten the hang of this method since Wario Land 2, and it works quite well here. There are far less terribly annoying bits in this game and the overall run of things is much smoother. True, it's an unconvential approach that takes some getting used to, but give it a chance and you'll find it's quite allright in the end.

 
(left) Interior decorating by a truly sick person - (right) Slippy Toad's grandma makes a cameo appearance...

One noteworthy feature is that Wario has quite a lot of transformations to undergo in this game. They're usually the result of getting hit by an enemy, and will either be a hindrance or a help in making your way through the levels. Some will allow you to reach previosly sealed-off areas, while others will annoyingly slow you down. Some of the more exotic shape-shifting that Wario indulges in involves transforming into a vampire, a ball of yarn or a rolling snowball.
 
But what really stands out in this game is how huge the whle thing is. There are 25 levels, each with 4 hidden treasures to collect. And these levels give you quite a lot of very taxing puzzles to wrestle around with. Just beating the game is one thing (though that's quite tough as well), but collecting all the 100 treasures will take you a long while. And then it's still not over, as there are also eight music coins to collect in each level, a golf sub-game to challenge, and a time attack mode to keep you busy. There is loads and loads to see and do, and most of it packs a very satisfying challenge. Hats of to the clever, and sometimes marvellously eeevil level designs and puzzles. It's very impressive to see how much Ninty has managed to stuff into one Game Boy cart.
 
The chunky and colourful graphics look very good most of the time and form the multi-colored icing on the cake. This game packs more challenge and substance than most recent N64 titles. If you're looking for something to kill time during this summer's car travel or beach-bound tanning sessions, Wario's your man. - Toasty 92%  

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