Wario Land (series)

Wario Land
Current logo used since Wario Land 4
First installment	Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994)
Latest installment	Wario Land: Shake It! (2008)
Number of installments	7 (5 main, one on the Virtual Boy, one spin-off)
Franchise	Wario
Key staff	Hiroji Kiyotake, Takehiko Hosokawa, Hirofumi Matsuoka

“Wario was foiled in his attempt to take over Mario's castle in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Now he stars in an adventure of his very own. Will Nintendo ever let Wario be the keeper of his own castle?”

—Nintendo Power Issue #58, March 1994

The Wario Land series is a series of games featuring Wario as the playable protagonist, taking place after the events of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. There is a total of six games in the series; however, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate additionally considers Wario: Master of Disguise to be part of the series.

List of games in the series

Main games

The following games are part of the Wario Land series:

Title
Cover, original release and system	Synopsis
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
January 21, 1994 Game Boy	In the game Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Wario finds himself on Kitchen Island, looking for a statue of Princess Peach. He finds out Captain Syrup and her pirates stole the statue and goes out to defeat her and take the statue. After beating the game, Mario steals the statue. The game was later released for Nintendo 3DS through Virtual Console, initially in 2011.
Virtual Boy Wario Land
November 20, 1995 Virtual Boy	In Virtual Boy Wario Land, Wario finds himself in the middle of the Awazon river basin. He spots three Mask-Guys carrying treasure, and follows them behind a waterfall, into a secret cavern. Wario is surprised by a trap door which sends him into an underground labyrinth. The game revolves around Wario seeking revenge and the treasure.
Wario Land II
March 1, 1998 Game Boy October 21, 1998 Game Boy Color	Wario Land II continues the battle between Wario and Captain Syrup; in this installment, the Black Sugar Gang flood Wario Castle and steal his treasure. Wario chases after them to get his treasure back, and during the mission, also has to rescue his pet hen. The game was later released for Nintendo 3DS through Virtual Console, initially in 2012.
Wario Land 3
March 21, 2000 Game Boy Color	In Wario Land 3, Wario visits a cave and discovers a music box. Upon winding it, Wario gets teleported to a different world. Here, he meets an oracle who informs him that he has to save the world from hoards of monsters. After defeating these monsters, the oracle reveals himself to be Rudy. Wario defeats Rudy and all the monsters return to being citizens, who thank Wario for saving them. Wario is teleported back to the normal world. The game was later released for Nintendo 3DS through Virtual Console, initially in 2013. It is also included in Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online, released in 2023.
Wario Land 4
August 21, 2001 Game Boy Advance	In Wario Land 4, the story begins with Wario driving his car in the desert looking for a legendary treasure he read about in a newspaper. Deep within a jungle, Wario discovers the Golden Pyramid, where he encounters a black cat who leads him inside the pyramid. Throughout the game, Wario faces five bosses who guard the evil ruler of the pyramid, the Golden Diva. After defeating the Golden Diva, Wario learns that the cat, which led him inside the pyramid was in fact Princess Shokora, who was cursed by the Golden Diva. Princess Shokora, now with the Golden Diva defeated, turns back into her human self and thanks Wario. The game was later released for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U through Virtual Console, though the former release is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program.
Wario Land: Shake It!
July 24, 2008 Wii	The latest Wario Land game, Wario Land: Shake It! is a 2D scroller, featuring interesting game mechanics, which involve using the Wii Remote to perform a variety of actions. The game sees the return of Captain Syrup, who tricks Wario into saving the Shake Dimension from the sinister Shake King, and retrieving the Bottomless Coin Sack, which Syrup desires for herself. The game was later released for the Wii U Nintendo eShop in 2016.

Spin-off games

The following game is inspired by the Wario Land series, but is not part of it.

Title
Cover, original release and system	Synopsis
Wario World
June 20, 2003 Nintendo GameCube	Wario's 3D adventure is Wario World, developed by Treasure for the Nintendo GameCube. Wario is having a relaxing time at his castle, when an evil gem, called the "Black Jewel," suddenly awakens, destroys his castle, and turns all of his treasures into monsters. Wario travels through four strange worlds to defeat all of the enemies, claim back his treasures, and destroy the Black Jewel to regain control of his castle. In the process, he must also rescue the Spritelings, the creatures that had sealed the Black Jewel away in the past; during the ending, they rebuild the castle, with the quality thereof depending on how many Wario rescued during his adventure.

Other related games

Title
Cover, original release, and system	Plot synopsis
Wario: Master of Disguise
January 18, 2007 Nintendo DS	Wario: Master of Disguise, developed by SUZAK Inc. for the Nintendo DS, is another platformer starring Wario, in which he advances through levels by taking advantage of eight forms that he is able to switch between with the help of a disguise-changing wand, Goodstyle, which he steals from its previous owner, the master thief Count Cannoli. While never stated to be part of the Wario Land series, Count Cannoli's spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is listed as originating from the Wario Land series. Additionally, the game's director, Yukata Hirata, has stated in an interview that the game's structure was based on that seen in previously released Wario Land games.

Gameplay

“Everyone wants a piece of Wario. It seems that someone is always out to steal his treasure or just ruin his day. The temperamental hero is terrorized, transformed, and taken to the cleaners. Will he fight back or howl like a kicked dog?”

—Nintendo Power Issue #106, March 1998

The gameplay of the Wario Land series can be split in three groups.

The gameplay of the first two Wario Land games, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and Virtual Boy Wario Land, bear more similarities to Super Mario Bros. than do subsequent Wario Land games. These Wario Land games have floating blocks much like ? Blocks that contain coins, helmets, or hearts (collecting 100 coins grants Wario a 1-Up). Helmets give Wario new abilities, such as the ability to fly or pound the ground. If Wario touches an enemy, he will take damage, lose his helmets, or shrink down in size. All levels have a Time Limit.

In Wario Land II and Wario Land 3, floating blocks are gone, as are level time limits. Wario has no hit points and cannot die, but touching an enemy stuns Wario, knocking him backward. Some enemies don't stun Wario but transform him in one of several ways, these transformations replacing the helmets of the first two games; for example, if he is crushed by something heavy, he will be flattened. Wario's transformations can help him complete the level. Puffy Wario, for example, can float through the air, allowing Wario to access areas that he is unable to reach.

In Wario Land 4 and Wario Land: Shake It!, Wario now has hit points and can die. If Wario takes damage, he will lose a heart. If Wario takes damage when he has only one heart left, he is kicked out of the level and he loses everything that he collects in the level up to that point. However, Wario can't get a Game Over. Wario's transformations are still in the games, but are less prominent. Levels are still without time limits, though one commences after hitting a switch (in Wario Land 4) or shaking a Merfle Barrel (in Wario Land: Shake It!). If Wario returns to the start of the level in time, the level is cleared. In Wario Land 4, if the timer reaches zero, Wario loses the coins he has collected until none remain. When Wario has no coins left, he is sent back to the Golden Pyramid. In Wario Land: Shake It! if the timer reaches zero, Wario loses all of his coins and collected items. However, if Wario has reached a checkpoint block, he is sent back to it.

Gallery

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  Logo used for Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and Virtual Boy Wario Land

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  Logo used for Wario Land II and Wario Land 3