After a couple years of absence,WarioWareis finally returning to Nintendo’s lineup.WarioWare: Get It Together!was announced at E3 2021, marking the beloved minigame anthology series' revival on the Switch.WarioWareis very different from Nintendo’s other products, but that just means it’ll stand out among Switch games. It’s good to see Wario get to stand in the spotlight again. Mario’s off-and-on rival used to be a major player in a lot of Nintendo games, but he fell out of focus as Nintendoshifted theSuper MarioIPback into being more Mario-centric, introducing new worlds and characters through Mario’s perspective.
Still, previous games starring Wario did a lot for Nintendo. In fact, he had his own platformer series, which was a worthy alternative to Mario’s own games. During the age of the Game Boy and the Game Boy Advance,Wario Landreigned supreme and gathered quite a few fans. Wario proved to be a great character to star in some wacky and experimental platformer games that broke conventions and offered types of challengesSuper Mariogames didn’t aim to provide.Wario Landis a unique franchise that’s been on hiatus for much longer thanWarioWare; Nintendo ought to bring back this Wario franchise too.
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What Makes Wario Land Special?
There’s quite a fewthings that setWario LandapartfromSuper Mariogames and most other platformers in general. For example, one standard trope of platformers is that the player will take damage if they touch enemies, making players manage their life as they traverse levels.Wario Landbroke that convention starting inWario Land 2by making Wario functionally invincible. He has no life total to keep track of, and as a general rule, getting a Game Over is next to impossible. Nintendo madeWario Landchallenging by means of puzzles and impassable obstacles rather than putting Wario in danger.
Wario’s invincibility led to a few other great game mechanics. For instance,the environment impacts Warioin lots of other unique ways. InWario Land,if an enemy’s attack or an environmental hazard catches Wario on fire, then he can actually might use it to his advantage, burning up an obstacle while he runs around to put the fire out. Another unique example comes fromWario Land’s zombie enemies. When they attack Wario, he’ll be turned into a zombie, which slows him down but allows him to drop through certain platforms until he touches light and reverts to his normal form. It’s a compelling take on damage and environmental puzzles that makes players think differently about the enemies around them.
Wario Landalso puts an emphasis on Wario’s brawn, which is different from Mario’s platforming talents.Super Mariogames constantly innovate how Mario jumps around and navigates his environment,something thatSuper Mario Odysseyshowcasedparticularly well.Wario Land,meanwhile, focused largely on his signature shoulder-bash attack and throwing enemies around to complete objectives.Wario Land 3even featured items that Wario could find to empower his abilities and teach him new attacks, adding skill progression thatSuper Mariodoesn’t use.
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Room for More Wario Land
Wario Landreally seems like the franchise that Nintendo ought to be setting up for a big comeback right now rather thanWarioWare.The lastWario Landgame that Nintendo made wasWario Land: Shake It!, a 2008 title thatmade use of the Wii’s motion controlsso Wario could shake enemies around, using them as weapons or literally shaking them down for coins. Although Nintendo putWario Land: Shake It!on the Wii U’s virtual console in 2016, that’s not the same as releasing a newWario Landgame for the Wii U.
In contrast,WarioWareactually got a new game relatively recently.WarioWare Goldtook the franchise to the Nintendo 3DS in 2018 after being announced earlier that year, not unlikeWarioWare: Get It Together!getting announced shortly before release this year. Nintendo might be returning toWarioWareso quickly to make up forWarioWareGold’s middling sales, which admittedly didn’t live up to its favorable reviews. The Nintendo Switch continues to sell extremely well, so maybe Nintendo likesWarioWare’s odds at bouncing backon the Switch.
Even so, that doesn’t address the question of whereWario Landhas gone. It’s a unique series that introduced a lot of clever ideas to the genre. What’s more, it made good use of Wario as a character, establishing him as an anti-heroic and greedy troublemaker who’ll do the right thing for the wrong reasons. A newWario Landgame has plenty of potential. Nintendo could make a two-playerWario Landgame for the Nintendo Switch whereWaluigi can get in on the actionand help Wario in his schemes. It’d be great to see Waluigi play an important role in something other than a party game, so why not have him support the return ofWario Land.
Nintendo Should Keep Reviving Ideas
If there’s anything that gives hope for aWario Landrevival, it’s that Nintendo keeps bringing back IPs and characters.WarioWareisn’t the only unexpected addition to the Switch’s library.Metroid Dread’s reveal rocked E3 2021, confirming Nintendo’s return to the 2D platforming franchise where Samus Aran’s adventures began. A few other old Nintendo characters are seeing some more acknowledgement recently too. For instance, Pauline came back inSuper Mario Odyssey,and her latest appearance inMario Golf: Super Rushsuggests she’s here to stay. Similarly,Donkey Kong Country’s beloved antagonist King K. Rool got invited toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateagainst all odds. Nintendo seems to be feeling nostalgic.
Maybe it could be thinking about trying its hand atWario Landagain. It’d be great to see the kind of production quality brought toSuper Mario Odysseyin a fellow platformer, namely a newWario Landtitle. Nintendo could overhaul the powerup mechanics, introducing totally new enemies thatinfluence Wario in unique ways. It could also uniteWarioWareandWario Landby making Wario’s wide supporting cast of wackyWarioWarecharacters into important NPCs in a newWario Landtitle. HopefullyWarioWare’s new game suggests that Nintendo is thinking about Wario’s potential more broadly.
WarioWare: Get It Together!releases for Nintendo Switch on September 10.
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