Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4[lower-alpha 1] is a 2001 platformer video game developed by Nintendo and released for the Game Boy Advance. Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from the Golden Diva.
Wario Land 4 | |
---|---|
![]() North American box art | |
Developer(s) | Nintendo R&D1 |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Director(s) | Hirofumi Matsuoka |
Producer(s) | Takehiro Izushi |
Designer(s) | Hiroji Kiyotake Tomoyoshi Yamane Takehiko Hosokawa Masani Ueda Isao Hirano Shinya Sano Ryuichi Nakada Ko Takeuchi Takayasu Morisawa |
Programmer(s) | Katsuya Yamano Yoshinori Katsuki Nobuhiro Ozaki Kota Fukui Goro Abe |
Artist(s) | Yasuo Inoue Sachiko Nakamichi |
Composer(s) | Ryoji Yoshitomi |
Series | Wario |
Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
Release | Game Boy Advance[1] |
Genre(s) | Platforming |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Plot
Wario is reading the newspaper when he notices an article about a mysterious pyramid found deep in the jungle. The legend related to the pyramid is that of Princess Shokora, ruler of the pyramid, who was cursed by the money-crazed Golden Diva.
Without wasting time and forgetting to take his mid-morning nap, Wario jumps into his Wario Car and drives to the pyramid. As he enters it, he finds a black cat and chases it. Doing so, he falls down a precipice and is stuck inside the pyramid.
After fighting his way through the entry passage and an early boss battle against Spoiled Rotten, Wario discovers four new passages. After completing these passages, Wario gains access to the innermost part of the pyramid, which ends up being the stronghold of Golden Diva. Wario meets the cat again, who turns out to be Princess Shokora herself.
Wario defeats Golden Diva and exits the pyramid with all his treasure. What form Shokora returns to depends on the number of treasure chests Wario had acquired from the other bosses prior as well as how quickly the Golden Diva is defeated (this can range from a brattish child, a female version of Wario, a Peach-like princess and ultimately, a superheroine-like princess). Shokora gives Wario a kiss on the cheek and ascends to the afterlife as Wario watches. After she leaves, Wario grabs his loot and celebrates by going to an all-you-can eat steak buffet.
Gameplay
![](../I/m/Wario_Land_4_-_Gameplay.png)
The gameplay of Wario Land 4 (which is generally similar to that of Wario Land II and Wario Land 3) allows for some open-endedness as well as some order of difficulty. After an Entry Passage that serves as a tutorial for the game, there are four main passages: the Emerald, Topaz, Ruby, and Sapphire Passages, in order of difficulty. The Emerald Passage is themed around nature. The Topaz Passage is themed around toys, games, and other "playtime" ideas. The Ruby Passage is themed around mechanics and technology. The Sapphire Passage is themed around horror and danger, prominently involving ghosts and the like. After these four main passages is the "Final" Golden Pyramid, which serves as a recap of these four themes and houses the Golden Passage level and the final boss.
Unlike previous entries, Wario now has a health meter that depletes when he takes damage. If Wario loses all health, he is kicked out of the stage, losing any items he had collected, and must start over.
Re-releases
The game is included in the list of Game Boy Advance games that are available for download by Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors since December 16, 2011.[3]
The game has been released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on April 30, 2014, in North America on May 8, 2014 and in Europe and Australia on June 5, 2014.
Reception
Reception | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
In the United States, Wario Land 4 sold 720,000 copies and earned $20 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 33rd highest-selling game launched for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country.[10]
The game received critical acclaim. IGN gave Wario Land 4 a 9 out of 10, or "Outstanding", citing its well thought out level design and replayability.[7] GamePro stated "Boasting fantastic graphics and awesome transparency effects for water and fog, Wario Land 4 pushes the GBA to its visual limits". GameSpot commented "The gameplay is tight and varied, the graphics are detailed and bright, and the sound is second to none".[11] GameSpy called the game: "An incredibly entertaining, diverse, and humorous addition to the Mario/Wario legacy. It's challenging and creative, but not as outright frustrating as 'Wario Land 3.'"[12] Game Informer noted "It's nothing new to the Wario Land enthusiast, but it's enjoyable nonetheless". Nintendo Power stated "It's polished variety paired with a mishmash of moves, which makes Wario Land 4 fun through and through".
Notes
References
- "Wario Land 4 (3DS Virtual Console / Game Boy Advance)". NintendoLife. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- "GBA Top 10 Games - 2001". GameShark. No. Holiday. December 2001. p. 70.
- Anoop Gantayat (14 December 2011). "Game Boy Advance 3DS Ambassador Program Begins on Friday". Andriasang.
- "Wario Land 4 reviews". GameRankings.
- "Wario Land 4 for Game Boy Advance reviews". Metacritic.
- ゲームボーイアドバンス - ワリオランドアドバンス ~ヨーキのお宝~. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.115. 30 June 2006.
- Harris, Craig (November 20, 2004). "Wario Land 4 Review". ign.com. Retrieved 2006-06-05.
- Laurie Blake (December 28, 2011). "A treasure". NintendoLife.
- "Wario Land 4 review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved December 4, 2001.
- Keiser, Joe (August 2, 2006). "The Century's Top 50 Handheld Games". Next Generation. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-02-05. Retrieved 2012-01-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-12-06. Retrieved 2012-01-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)