Jump to content

Virtual Boy Wario Land

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Wario Land (Virtual Boy))

Virtual Boy Wario Land
North American cover art
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Hiroji Kiyotake
Hirofumi Matsuoka
Producer(s)Gunpei Yokoi
Programmer(s)Satoshi Matsumura
Composer(s)Kazumi Totaka
SeriesWario
Platform(s)Virtual Boy
Release
  • NA: November 1995
  • JP: December 1, 1995
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Virtual Boy Wario Land[a] is a 1995 platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy. It stars Wario, who finds himself deep underground after stumbling upon a treasure-filled cave and must find his way back to the surface. Throughout the journey, the player explores and searches for items and power-ups while fighting enemies and defeating bosses. Wario has the ability to jump between the background and foreground at certain points, making use of Virtual Boy's stereoscopic 3D effect.

Virtual Boy Wario Land was developed by a large portion of Nintendo R&D1 staff involved. It was co-directed by Hiroji Kiyotake and Hirofumi Matsuoka and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. The music was composed by Kazumi Totaka, being his final project with R&D1. The game received generally favorable reception, particularly among retrospective commentators, receiving praise for its gameplay and utilization of 3D depth, but criticism focused on its short length. It is considered one of the best Virtual Boy games and its background gimmick served as inspiration for multiple titles, including Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) and Mutant Mudds (2012).

Gameplay

[edit]
Wario running atop a jump pad on the first floor, with enemies in the foreground while coins and blocks can be seen in the background
See also: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 § Gameplay

Following the gameplay of Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Virtual Boy Wario Land is a side-scrolling platform game starring Wario.[1][2][3] The premise follows Wario on vacation in the Awazon river basin, relaxing at the Aldegara waterfall. After being woken up by a beaver, Wario notices strange creatures entering behind the waterfall and decides to follow them. Wario stumbles upon a cave full of treasure and attempts to claim it as his own, however, he collapses deep underground and must find his way back to the surface.[1][4][5]

The player controls Wario across 14 floors consisting of non-linear levels.[3][5][6] The goal of each level is to collect treasures and find a key to unlock an elevator to the next floor.[2][3][7] Wario can jump or run into enemies to knock them down.[4][5][7] Stunned enemies can be picked up and thrown at other enemies or clouds that give coins.[4][5][7] Wario can also perform a shoulder charge or body slam to attack enemies and break blocks.[2][4][7] There are three power-ups Wario can equip, including a bull hat that increases his strength, an eagle hat that allows him to fly and attack in the air, and a fire-breathing dragon hat.[1][2][6] Wario can combine the eagle and dragon hats into the "King Dragon" hat, granting him all three skills.[1][2][5]

Wario has the ability to leap between the background and foreground using jump pads.[1][2][4] In most levels, the player needs to navigate between the two planes to explore and search for items, or avoid enemies and obstacles that move between the planes.[3][6][7] If Wario takes damage, he will shrink, losing his power until he picks up a clove of garlic or a hat.[1][4][6] If Wario is hit while small, he loses a life and all the coins he had collected in that level.[1][2][5] Every three floors, Wario must fight bosses that make use of the Virtual Boy's stereoscopic 3D effect.[1][2][3] Between floors there are mini-games where Wario can gamble the loot he has collected so far.[1][2][5] Each level in the game contains one of ten artifacts hidden inside secret chambers and the ending depends on whether Wario found them all and the coins he collected.[1][3][7]

Development and release

[edit]

Virtual Boy Wario Land was developed by a large number of Nintendo R&D1 staff involved.[5][8] It was co-directed by Hiroji Kiyotake and Hirofumi Matsuoka, who had previously served as director and artist on Mario Paint, and produced by Gunpei Yokoi.[9][10][11] Satoshi Matsumura acted as one of the game's co-programmers, while the music and sound effects were composed by Kazumi Totaka, which was his final project with R&D1.[9][12][13] Totaka included a song called "Totaka's Song", an easter egg that he hides in most of the video games he composes.[14][15] Like all other Virtual Boy titles, the game employs a red-and-black color scheme and uses parallax, an optical trick used to simulate 3D.[16]

The game was first shown at E3 1995 under the name Wario Cruise,[b] intended for release on September 21, 1995, in Japan and October 1995 in North America.[17][18][19][20] It also made another appearance at Shoshinkai 1995 under its final title, Virtual Boy Wario Land.[21][22][23] The North American release was titled Wario's Treasure Hunt, but the name was changed shortly before launch.[24] Nintendo first published the game in North America in November 1995, followed by Japan on December 1, 1995.[25][26]

Reception

[edit]

Virtual Boy Wario Land garnered mostly positive reception from critics upon release, with most criticism directed at the Virtual Boy hardware itself.[25][27][31] Nintendo Power felt that the game made excellent use of the Virtual Boy hardware with some of the 3D graphics and gameplay elements.[32] Los Angeles Times' Aaron Curtis found the game to be enjoyable but disliked the Virtual Boy's visual style, while Rocky Mountain News' Joel Easley said its use of 3D demonstrated the possibilities of the Virtual Boy.[33][34] GamePro considered it the best Virtual Boy game, celebrating the quality of the characters and sound effects.[35]

Dave Upchurch and Simon Clays of Nintendo Magazine System (Official Nintendo Magazine) praised the game's crisp visuals, audio department, and gameplay, but felt that the 3D effect was merely cosmetic and criticized its short length.[1] Next Generation remarked that while it appealed to more "hardcore" Mario fans, it was not very advanced compared to older Mario titles and they felt the 3D mechanic did not add much to the game.[29] Game Zero Magazine's Bryan Carter gave high remarks to the game's 3D graphics, soundscapes, controls, and longevity.[30] N64 Magazine's Jason Moore wrote that "The VB was the most ignored and slated of all Nintendo consoles, yet Wario Land is a typical slice of Nintendo excellence and should have sold the machine by the million".[28]

Retrospective coverage

[edit]

Retrospective commentary for Virtual Boy Wario Land has been more favorable, being celebrated as one of the best Virtual Boy games.[36][37][38][39][40] Agustin Olvera and Stephen Smith of Kombo felt that its cavernous setting helped the Virtual Boy emphasize subtle visual details, while Play's Dave Halverson returned to the game often and praised it for not getting tiresome to replay.[41][42] AllGame's Scott Alan Marriott found the game fun, highlighting Wario's controls and diverse moveset, as well as the detailed graphics and bosses, but noted its short duration.[7] Nintendo Life's Dave Frear lauded the game's use of the 3D effect in the visual design and replayability, but lamented the lack of additional levels.[2] Retro Gamer opined that the background gimmick helped enhance an otherwise "traditional" platformer, while the Australian video game talk show Good Game felt that more could have been done with its visuals.[16][43]

Writing for 1Up.com and Nintendo World Report, Neal Ronaghan enjoyed the background gimmick but felt that it did not work as well as it could in exploring the concept.[3][44] GamesRadar called Virtual Boy Wario Land a "legitimately awesome" platformer despite its lacking "3D" gimmick, while Kotaku's Ben Bertoli felt that it was unappreciated at release due to its platform.[45][46] Polygon's Kyle Hilliard stated that, despite being less popular than all other Wario titles, it was the best Wario game. He discussed how, even though it was his first time playing it, he felt nostalgic due to its use of familiar elements from the first Wario Land entry. He also praised the game's 3D effects, particularly the boss battles.[47] Several outlets hoped to see it re-released on other Nintendo platforms, specifically the Nintendo 3DS, including IGN, Destructoid, and Retronauts.[8][48][49]

Legacy

[edit]

Virtual Boy Wario Land served as inspiration for multiple games from several developers due to its background gimmick, including Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) by Retro Studios, Mutant Mudds (2012) by Renegade Kid, and Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (2025) by WayForward.[50][51][52] In 2016, Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham revealed that he proposed a color remake of the game for Nintendo 3DS to Nintendo but never received a response, reportedly due to Nintendo not wanting to revisit the Virtual Boy.[53][54]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Known in Japan as Virtual Boy Wario Land: The Secret Treasure of Awazon (Japanese: バーチャルボーイワリオランド アワゾンの秘宝, Hepburn: Bācharu Bōi Wario Rando: Awazon no Hihō)
  2. ^ ワリオクルーズ (Wario Kurūzu)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Upchurch, Dave; Clays, Simon (March 1996). "Review: Virtual Boy Wario Land". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 42. EMAP. pp. 40–43.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Frear, Dave (May 5, 2009). "Virtual Boy Wario Land Review: The Virtual Boy's best game?". Nintendo Life. Nlife Ltd. Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Ronaghan, Neal (August 13, 2015). "Virtual Boy Wario Land Review Mini". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Virtual Boy Wario Land (Instruction Booklet) (North American ed.). Nintendo. 1995.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Parish, Jeremy (September 29, 2021). "Virtual Boy Wario Land: Red-blooded WAAAAH-man". Virtual Boy Works. Limited Run Games. pp. 112–119. ISBN 9781955183000. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Yann (Spring 2003). "Test: Virtual Boy Wario Land". Alternative Pocket (in French). No. 2. Abbadie Fabrice. (Transcription by Pockett Videogames [fr]. Archived 2011-03-01 at the Wayback Machine).
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Marriott, Scott Alan (2007). "Virtual Boy Wario Land - Review". AllGame. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on February 16, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Parish, Jeremy (February 27, 2019). "Virtual Boy Works finally reaches the only game anyone cares about". Retronauts. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Nintendo R&D1 (November 1995). Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy). Nintendo. Level/area: Staff.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (Ending screens without all 10 treasures by VGMuseum [The Video Games Museum]. Archived 2018-06-21 at the Wayback Machine)
  10. ^ Kohler, Chris (May 10, 2017). "Nintendo's Line Of Wario Platformers Ended Far Too Long Ago". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  11. ^ Mirachian, Darron (September 30, 2021). "Three decades of Wario all started with a name". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  12. ^ Greening, Chris (January 20, 2013). "Kazumi Totaka Profile". Video Game Music Online. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Collins, Roy (April 12, 2024). "Super Metroid: Where Are They Now?". Shinesparkers. Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Orland, Kyle (December 14, 2006). "Totaka's song: The search is on". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Creswell, Jacob (August 18, 2021). "The History of Nintendo's Most Iconic Musical Easter Egg". Comic Book Resources. Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Backwards Compatible: The Virtual Boy". Good Game. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  17. ^ "E-3 The Biggest And Best Electronic Entertainment Show Ever! — '95 Next Generation Software Listing". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 7. DieHard Gamers Club. July 1995. p. 41.
  18. ^ Ray (July 1995). "Special - E 3 Electronic Entertainment Expo: E3 Alle Hände voll zum Spielen — Nintendo: Das Warten geht weiter". Play Time [de] (in German). No. 49. Computec. p. 11. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Sauer, Dirk (July 1995). "E3: Virtual Boy". Video Games [de] (in German). No. 44. Magna Media. p. 30.
  20. ^ "Virtual Boy Game Flash: ワリオクルーズ". Dengeki Super Famicom (in Japanese). Vol. 3, no. 14. MediaWorks. September 8, 1995. p. 144. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Famitsu (November 1995). "ファミコンスペースワールド'95 オフィシャルソフトカタログ". 第7回初心会ソフト展示会 ファミコンスペースワールド'95 オフィシャルガイドブック (in Japanese). ASCII Corporation. pp. 19–32.
  22. ^ "ファミコンスペースワールド'95: バーチャルボーイ". The Super Famicom [ja] (in Japanese). Vol. 6, no. 23. SoftBank Creative. December 22, 1995. p. 46. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  23. ^ "Nintendo News Network: Wario in Deep!". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 41. EMAP. February 1996. p. 7.
  24. ^ Johnston, Chris (November 1995). "Electronics Boutique - Explore 32 pages jam-packed with the hottest software & video games in the universe!: Nintendo апd Williams". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 76. Sendai Publishing. p. 182.
  25. ^ a b "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: バーチャルボーイワリオランドアワゾンの秘宝". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 364. ASCII Corporation. December 8, 1995. p. 32. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  26. ^ "Virtual Boy Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2004. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  27. ^ a b McNamara, Andy; Anderson, Paul; Reiner, Andrew; Petzoldt, Rick (February 1996). "Virtual Boy Reviews: Wario Land". Game Informer. No. 34. Sunrine Publications. p. 29.
  28. ^ a b Moore, Jason (August 1997). "Planet 64 News - Retroworld: Wario Land (Virtual Boy)". N64 Magazine. No. 5. Future Publishing. p. 17.
  29. ^ a b "Finals - Virtual Boy: Wario Land". Next Generation. No. 19. Imagine Media. July 1996. p. 83.
  30. ^ a b Carter, Bryan (1996). "The Final Word game review - Virtual Boy: Wario Land -- Nintendo". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. Archived from the original on January 23, 2001. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  31. ^ "世界の絶滅動物シリーズ バーチャルボーイ 全ソフト一覧 (96年8月現在)". バーチャルボーイ追悼記念ガイドブック (in Japanese) (改訂第ニ版 ed.). Toyo Baphomet Council. January 31, 1998. pp. 3–7. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  32. ^ "Now Playing: Wario Land (Virtual Boy); Head to Head". Nintendo Power. No. 79. Nintendo of America. December 1995. pp. 106–107.
  33. ^ Curtis, Aaron (February 8, 1996). "Valley Weekend: Wario Good for a Hoot and a Headache — The Virtual Boy adventure has some fun features, but the 3-D, red and black display can be a pain". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Times Mirror Company. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  34. ^ Easley, Joel (March 1, 1996). "Book A Trip To 'Wario Land'". Rocky Mountain News. Denver: E. W. Scripps Company.
  35. ^ "ProReview - Portable Systems: Wario Land (Virtual Boy)". GamePro. No. 80. IDG. March 1996. p. 68.
  36. ^ Kolan, Patrick (January 14, 2008). "IGN Retro: Virtual Boy's Best Games". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  37. ^ Reparaz, Mikel (February 23, 2008). "The 10 worst consoles ever". GamesRadar. Future US. pp. 1–6. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  38. ^ "Best of the Best - Best Virtual Boy Game: Virtual Boy Wario Land". Nintendo Power. No. 231. Future US. August 2008. p. 72.
  39. ^ Parish, Jeremy (May 19, 2009). "Retronauts — 8-Bit Cafe: Born on Game Boy". 1Up.com. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  40. ^ Handley, Zoey (January 12, 2023). "10 best Virtual Boy games of all time, ranked". Destructoid. Gamurs Group. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  41. ^ Olvera, Agustin; Smith, Stephen (February 15, 2005). "The Chronicles of Wario: A Retrospect". Kombo. Advanced Media, Inc. Retrieved May 1, 2024. (Transcription by GameZone. Archived 2013-02-11 at the Wayback Machine).
  42. ^ Halverson, Dave (May 2005). "Rewind: Wario Land — Big Red (Virtual Boy)". Play. No. 41. Fusion Publishing. p. 74.
  43. ^ McFerran, Damien (May 21, 2009). "Retroispection: Virtual Boy". Retro Gamer. No. 258. Imagine Publishing. pp. 56–61.
  44. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (September 21, 2010). "A Virtual Boy Retrospective: Giving due credit to Nintendo's least-loved system, its games, and how the 3DS owes more to it than you think". 1Up.com. IGN Entertainment. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  45. ^ Reparaz, Mikel (March 22, 2011). "The 5 best Virtual Boy games". GamesRadar. Future US. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  46. ^ Bertoli, Ben (February 25, 2015). "The Most Unappreciated Platformers of the '90s". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  47. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (September 30, 2021). "Virtual Boy Wario Land is a painful, nostalgic experience". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  48. ^ Harris, Craig (July 15, 2010). "Legacy Games for Nintendo 3DS". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  49. ^ Holmes, Jonathan (January 18, 2011). "Some games that deserve a 3DS revival". Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  50. ^ Claiborn, Samuel (March 3, 2011). "GDC: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Donkey Kong Country Returns and Retro Studios". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  51. ^ Dillard, Corbie (January 6, 2012). "Interview: Mutant Mudds Reader Questions". Nintendo Life. Nlife Ltd. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  52. ^ Thorpe, Nick (April 11, 2024). "Inside the Game Boy Advance: The Mini Making of Shantae Advance". Retro Gamer. No. 258. Future Publishing. pp. 26–27.
  53. ^ Peer Schneider; Jose Otero; Brian Altano (April 2, 2016). "Mutant Mudds' Developer Made a Wario Demo - NVC". Ninendo Voice Chat (YouTube). United States: IGN. Event occurs at 10m39s. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  54. ^ "GoNintendo Thought: Nintendo, it's time to give Virtual Boy Wario Land a second chance". GoNintendo. July 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virtual_Boy_Wario_Land&oldid=1247743281"