Wario Land II

Wario Land II[lower-alpha 1] is a platform game released for the Game Boy in 1998.[1] It was later re-released and optimised for the Game Boy Color hardware. In the game, Wario has to recover his treasure from Captain Syrup. The Game Boy Color version was released for Virtual Console in 2012.[2][3]

Wario Land II
North American cover art for the Game Boy Color edition
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Takehiko Hosokawa
Producer(s)Takehiro Izushi
Designer(s)Masani Ueda
Programmer(s)Masaru Yamanaka
Katsuya Yamano
Nobuhiro Ozaki
Artist(s)Hiroji Kiyotake
Composer(s)Kozue Ishikawa
SeriesWario
Platform(s)Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 3DS
ReleaseGame Boy
  • NA: March 9, 1998
  • EU: March 26, 1998
  • JP: Cancelled
Game Boy Color
  • JP: October 21, 1998
  • NA: February 10, 1999
  • EU: February 25, 1999
Genre(s)Platforming
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Wario dashes through a thin wall to find a secret room full of coins.

Unlike in most video games of the time, the game's challenge comes mostly through impeding player progress by implementing physical obstacles, puzzle-solving, paths blocked by coin or treasure locks, or forcing Wario back to previously-visited areas. By finding hidden exits in some stages, the player can change the direction of the game's plot and uncover different endings, as well as find more treasure. In addition to the Really Final Chapter, five other endings can be unlocked by collecting all the treasures. An enemy-themed Simon Says minigame based on the Game & Watch game Flagman can be unlocked by collecting all the picture tiles. Wario does not have any life points and cannot die; some enemy attacks simply knock him backward and cause him to drop some coins. He can take advantage of certain enemy attacks however to undergo transformations which allow him to reach areas that he cannot normally get to. For example, exposure to fire makes Wario run around and later become entirely engulfed by flames, which allows him to defeat enemies on contact.[4] In contrast to its predecessor, the game does not have a time limit, which allows the player to explore the areas in unlimited time, a feature which is incorporated in subsequent installments.

Plot

The game features the return of Wario's nemesis, Captain Syrup. Early one morning, she and a few of her soldiers, the Pirate Gooms (Spearmen, which are holdovers from Wario Land; several different levels deal with defeating a giant Spearman), sneak into Wario's castle and cause havoc. They steal his precious treasure and his beloved pet hen (called Hen), set off his giant alarm clock, and leave the tap running, flooding much of his castle. After Wario wakes up and figures out what's going on, he gives chase across the surrounding lands.[5]

Reception

Wario Land II received critical acclaim. The Game Boy Color version received an aggregate score of 88.04% at GameRankings based on 14 reviews.[6] IGN gave the game 9 out of 10, insisting that "It's the perfect game to accompany you on a long road trip because of its lastability and replayability."[7] Nintendo Life awarded the Virtual Console re-release 9 out of 10, arguing that "Big fans of the first game might lament Wario Land II's sudden significant change in gameplay, but if you give it a try, you'll find that it's actually quite good." [8]

Notes
  1. Known in Japan as Wario Land 2: The Stolen Treasure (Japanese: ワリオランド2 盗まれた財宝, Hepburn: Wario Rando Tsū: Nusumareta Zaihō)
gollark: At least it'll be out or circulation.
gollark: accidentally killed an AP egg I meant to reabandon.
gollark: Or just, you know, AR specifically its page?
gollark: Yes.
gollark: I saw loads. Are they really THAT rare?

References
  1. Wario Land II for GBC - Wario Land II Game Boy Color - Wario Land
  2. "Nintendo Virtual Console eShop: Wario Land II". nintendo.co.uk. Nintendo of Europe. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  4. "How to Play". Wario Land II (Electronic manual). Nintendo. c. 2012. p. 11, sec. Hot Wario.
  5. "Wario Land II". Giant Bomb. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  6. "Wario Land II". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  7. Matias, Alec (February 15, 2000). "Wario Land 2". IGN. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  8. van Duyn, Marcel (July 20, 2012). "Wario Land II Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
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