Wario’s platforming roots

In 2006, Wario made his Wii debut with WarioWare: Smooth Moves. With it, Wario proved that he knows how to throw a party like no other. Over the last few years, Wario has seemed to put his platforming desires to rest and focus on his company, WarioWare Inc. Though I personally love Wario’s new party games, I sometimes wish that he’d return to his platforming roots; you know, the good old times.

In late May 2008, Nintendo dated Wario Land: Shake it! Though details were scarce at the time, many people speculated that Wario would take another stab at the party genre, this time with the Wii Balance board, hence the ‘Shake’ in the title. Soon after it was revealed that Wario would not be returning to his company for another party game but instead, he would be jumping, stomping, and shaking enemies like it was 1993. Welcome to classic Wario platforming!

What happened this time?

On display at the museum is an Ancient Globe. Inside it is another world known as Yuretopia; a very peaceful and tranquil world. One day though, that peace is obliterated when the marauding pirate Shay King arrives and wreaks havoc on the peaceful world. After shay imprisons Queen Melfull, the ruler of Yuretopia, and all her loyal Melfull subjects, the faith of this world becomes very foggy indeed.

As if that wasn’t enough trouble for Yuretopia, Shay King claims the legendary treasure ‘Deldel Purse’. Whenever the Deldel Purse is shaken, it distributes large quantities of coins. It seems like nothing can stop Shay King and his reign of terror, but that’s when Wario, everyone’s (second) favorite garlic eating hero, comes in.

Another pirate named Captain Maple Syrup has been observing Yuretopia from the outside world. When she sees the beautiful Deldel Purse, her greed overcomes her. She must have that purse at all costs. Showing no intentions to steal it herself, she steals the Ancient Globe and sends it to Wario. One can easily predict what happens next; she gets Wario to steal the Deldel Purse for her. Bracing himself for whatever might occur, Wario gets ready to invade the kingdom when Queen Melfull manages to escape in order to recruit people to help her. She promises Wario that if he can restore peace to the kingdom, his name will be plastered everywhere throughout the land. With his confidence high and his expectations higher, Wario sets off to the treasure-filled land.

A dash of Wiimote

In Wario Land: Shake it!, your goal is to use Wario’s moves to rampage through hordes of enemies, obstacles and, of course, get to the end of each stage. Like past Wario Land games, Wario Land: Shake it! is played entirely in 2D. In total, there are twenty 2D stages for Wario to rampage through including jungles, deserts, caves and even an ice world.

Instead of the standard Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo, Wario Land: Shake it! is played by holding the Wii Remote horizontally. This definitely comes in handy when you are controlling a vehicle: steering is done in a similar fashion to Mario Kart by tilting the Wii Remote. If you pick up an enemy, you can shake it to gain coins. In addition to shaking enemies, players can also jump on enemies to defeat them.

Shake It in September

Though it’s nice to see Wario going back to his 2D platforming roots, it will feel quite strange play the game on the Wii. Most retail Wii games are 3D and the only way to find an abundance of 2D games is by browsing through Nintendo’s Virtual Console and WiiWare offerings. In that light, Wario Land: Shake it! might have been more appropriate as a WiiWare release.

Japanese gamers will be happy to hear that Wario Land: Shake it! is set to launch in the Land of the Rising Sun on July 24th. North American and European Wario fans will have to wait until the end of September to fill Wario’s shoes again, but I’m certain that it will be worth the wait.