Wario Land II

Infobox VG
title=Wario Land II


developer=Nintendo R&D1
publisher=Nintendo
designer=
engine=Modified "" engine
released=Game Boy
November 30, 1998
Game Boy Color
February 1, 1999
genre=Platform game
modes=Single-player
ratings=ESRB: E (Everyone)
platforms=Game Boy, Game Boy Color
media=8-megabit cartridge ("Game Boy version")
16-megabit cartridge ("Game Boy Color version")
requirements=
input=

"Wario Land II" is a video game released for the Game Boy in 1998. [ [http://www.gamespot.com/gbc/action/warioland2dx/ Wario Land II for GBC - Wario Land II Game Boy Color - Wario Land] ] It was the last first-party title made for the Game Boy and was later remade to take advantage of the Game Boy Color hardware. Both versions of the game can be enhanced in Super Game Boy with borders that switch according to game situations. Colors on the Super Game Boy are not interchangeable as your ability to change them is overruled by internal game commands,Fact|date=September 2007 while a Game Genie code was made to allow colors to be changed but causing borders to not appear. In the later color version, the save file must be deleted if a Color or Super save is in it before playing the other one. [ [http://www.gamespot.com/gbc/action/warioland2dx/review.html Gamespot: Wario Land II Review] ] In this game, Wario has to recover his treasure from Captain Syrup and her Black Sugar Gang (formerly the Brown Sugar Pirates).

Gameplay

"Wario Land II" starts from the end of "Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3". In this game, as in its sequel, "Wario Land 3", Wario is indestructible. This necessitated the introduction of challenging and inventive puzzle elements to the game's levels. Enemy attacks can be both a help and a hindrance; on the one hand, they may change Wario's status (so that he is on fire or frozen, for example) or even transform him to access new areas - on the other such changes may actually prevent progress and need to be avoided. In addition, some enemy attacks simply stun Wario and make him drop some of the coins he is carrying. Bosses defeat Wario by forcing him out of the boss 'arena'. This resets the boss, and the player must try again.

Coins are of vital importance for use in the game's two minigames - one, a memory game, unlocks the 'treasures' in each level, while the other is a guessing game that unlocks pieces of a treasure map. Both games require coins to play, and in both cases are easier the more coins the player has. In addition, these games must be completed in every level of the game to unlock a special, 'final' level ('The Really Final Chapter').

"Wario Land II" is not entirely linear in narrative, something that is unusual for a platform game. Reaching one of the game's end bosses will reveal a 'map' of the game after the first play-through, from which the levels with secret exits are revealed, and the player may choose which level they want to enter among the ones unlocked. All secret exits alter the storyline of the game (which is conveyed in cutscenes), and all but one alter the game's ending.

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, set off his giant alarm clock, and leave the faucet running, flooding much of his castle. After Wario wakes up and figures out what's going on, he gives chase across the surrounding lands.

The game is noteworthy for its branching paths. By finding hidden exits in some stages, the player can change the direction of the game's plot (loose as it is) and uncover different endings, as well as find more treasure. In fact, finding every single ending and the Really Final Chapter (unlocked by collecting all the picture panel tiles and all the treasures) is the only way to truly finish the game.

Reception

Upon release "Wario Land II" was widely praised for its inventive gameplay elements and for being a 'fresh spin' on the platforming genre, as well as having well-designed levels and being a fun experience.

References

External links

*moby game|id=/wario-land-ii|name="Wario Land 2"