Wario World Review by James Baird
Gamecube Reviews
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Wario World Review

Information
Developer: Treasure Games
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ERSB: E
Content Descriptors: Cartoon Violence
Genre: 3D Platformer

Fun - 8/10: Wario World, though short, is a pretty fun game that includes very zany and challenging platform elements and a unique fighting system. Wario must first knock out an enemy, and he can then destroy them by either throwing them, spinning them or piledriving them into the ground. The fighting involves very little variety, yet I never once found bashing my enemies to be the least bit tedious.

Story - 6/10: The story in Wario World is very simple, and Wario is the only character in the game with any personality. Wario, the greedy adventurer he is, has stolen a giant Black Jewel from the Greenhorn Ruins. Little does he know, The jewel is actually an evil entity than turns treasure into monsters. Long ago, little implike creatures called Spritelings sealed away the Black Jewel and were imprisoned after it escaped. Now Wario must free them and retake his castle and treasures from the Black Jewel.

Wario defeating his foes


Graphics - 9/10:
The games graphics, though nothing particularly special, get the job done and feature some very nice textures. The stages range from a quiet forest to a haunted house to a circus to a desert ruin. The lighting effects are also good, and a good example of this is when a spotlight follows Wario through the circus level and his shadow is cast on the wall. Wario, his enemies, and the very peculiar bosses look great and move fluidly.

Music and Sound - 8/10:
Though the music is pretty well done and suits Wario well, the voice acting, done by Charles Martinet as usual, is pretty reptitive and gets annoying after a while. Other than that however, the background music, ambient sound of birds chirping or a running stream, and crashes and bashes of Wario brawl with countless multitudes of enemies are done well.

Replay Value - 6/10: Wario World is extremely short, and I don't recommend it for anything more than a rental, unless you really like Wario. Smaller kids will probably get more of a kick out of this game, but it still presents some rather challenging platforming puzzles. The "sub-levels" take a nod from Super Mario Sunshine and can take quite a few attempts to complete.

There are treasures and golden statue pieces to collect and Spritelings to free, so completionists will spend a little more time with this game. Collecting all the treasures in a level unlocks a minigame in Wario Ware: Mega Microgame$ for GBA, rebuilding a golden statue adds to Wario life energy, and at the end of the game, Wario gets a new castle, which is better or worse depending on how many Spritelings you free, similar to the new mansions in Luigi's mansion.
Wario sat with a pile of treasure
Overall - 7.5/10: In conclusion, Wario World is a so-so 3D take on the Wario Land series that has lots of stuff to collect, but this can't make up for the games horrendous length. Better luck next time, Treasure.

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