2001. It’s the year of George W. Bush, the first iPod, the launch of Wikipedia and... the launch year of Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance! I vividly remember picking mine up, and that see-through purple portable powerhouse became a trusted companion for years to come.

The game I picked up along with it was Wario Land 4. Where Mario had to do with reissues of his older adventures from the NES and SNES era, our anti-hero got a full-blown new adventure for the Game Boy Advance.

Wario Land 4 box art

The game released here in Europe on the 16th of November in 2001. Now, almost 17 years after it launched, I decided to play through it again. The reason is that a couple of users on our forum started the N-Europe Video Game Club; a great initiative where a retro game is selected once a month and played through. Wario Land 4 was the first pick and I was eager to experience it again after all those years. Since I was not the only one playing this you may find some experiences of our forum users in this Throwback as well!

Booting up the game for the first time was a treat. Coming from the Game Boy Color, seeing those better-than-SNES graphics and colours on a handheld felt amazing. The intro of Wario Land 4 to me was like watching a cartoon. Nowadays it looks a little bit more dated, especially when you take intros and cutscenes from games like Professor Layton into account. Still, it does set the mood of the game.

In the intro, we see Wario learning about a newly discovered temple, assumably chock-full of treasure. This is enough to make him jump in his trusted Cadillac and drive into the jungle to see this with his own greedy eyes.

The game then starts inside the pyramid with an introduction level. It is meant to introduce you to Wario’s arsenal of moves. These are rather limited. He can jump, dash, pick up and throw items and use his rear to crack rocks.

"Wahaaaa!"

The real fun starts when four corners of the pyramid open up after you complete the first level and it’s boss. You are free to choose the order in which you tackle these Passages. Each one contains four levels and a boss. Getting to that boss is no walk in the park though. In order to open up the next level in each Passage, you need to find a ghost/key hybrid creature called the Keyzer. If you miss it you will need to replay the level or the door remains shut. In each level four pieces of a jewel can be found as well. Collecting all sixteen pieces (making four jewels) opens up the door to the boss. Again, missing one piece means you need to replay the level.

Rushing through the levels therefore is a bad idea, as you may miss just one of these essential items. Taking it slow can be the right tactic. It would be a shame if you would HAVE to rush though, wouldn’t it? Well, enter Wario Land 4’s vortex! When you start a level the vortex from which you enter closes, but you do want to get out at one point. You can re-open the vortex by jumping on a switch somewhere in the level. However, a countdown starts meaning you have to hurry back to the beginning of the level before it’s game over. Flipping the switch also changes the path back you can take by placing blocks. Sometimes the way back is quite similar to the way you came; sometimes it feels like you are playing a whole different level.

Luckily on Normal mode the clock is quite generous, meaning you will still have time to look around in the pretty and colourful levels. If you play the game in Hard or Super Hard mode however, the time limit is less generous. The game’s soundtrack is very pleasing as well. As forum user Glen-i puts it:

“The soundtrack is so insanely chill for the most part, which isn't much like the Game Boy Wario Lands at all.“

If you have played any of the later Wario games (like for example the WarioWare series), you know that there is a lot of quirkiness going on. This already started in the Wario Land series for the Game Boy (Color). Wario Land 4 adds fuel to that fire. As forum user Jonnas states:

“The first 3 games already had a "gross" and bizarre aesthetic, and this game turns that philosophy up to eleven[...].”

Take power-ups for example. In the first Wario Land game everything was business as usual. Picking up items strengthened Wario, by equipping him with jet-powered or flame-spitting hats. But from Wario Land II onwards, you don’t get powered up. Want to reach a high place? Get stung by a bee and float up! Need to burn a block down? Let an enemy set you on fire. This other-way-around approach is also found in Wario Land 4, and is a great way of breaking from the traditional platformers and fitting with Wario’s role as an anti-hero.

That looks... rather uncomfortable!

In bonus areas you often have to toss a wrinkly archeologist around (who apparently is called Mad Scientein, who knew?). The Sound Room is another good example, where you can find a rather interesting looking real-life Wario, and listen to classic hit CDs such as The Fly. The weirdness just goes on.

Fast-forward to 2018. Is Wario Land 4 still playable and enjoyable? I would say yes it is. The 32 bits graphics have aged reasonably. The bigger enemies like the bosses are a pixelated mess, but this adds to the charm. It fits the current retro graphics trend perfectly. As our forum user Hero-of-Time said:

"I love how big the sprites are, especially the bosses. I suppose it makes sense given the screen size of the GBA."

Gameplay is solid as well, and the different mechanisms like the time-limit and the different approach to power-ups give it a soul of it’s own. It feels good to play with grumpy Wario.

Big, pixelated bosses await you at the end of each Passage

Feel the need to play it? It may be a tad tricky to get your hands on a (legal) copy. Basically, there are three ways of playing it: Through the WiiU Virtual Console, through the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program, or getting the good ol’ cartridge of course. If you find a way to play it you won't be disappointed. But hey, don't take my word alone on it. Let's finish off this TBT with some more quotes from our forum.

"Really enjoyed it. Wario has this weird kind of charm that never fails to amuse me. It's also a very impressive game from a technical standpoint. Graphics are amazing for a GBA game.Level design is spot on[...]"

- drahkon

"You gotta give this game respect for doing its own thing, especially when you consider it was one of the first games on the GBA. It's a heck of a gem that any Nintendo fan should try out."

- Jonnas

If you are interested in joining in on the collective retro gaming goodness, don't hesitate to check out this thread on the forum and weigh in. The more the merrier!