REVIEW
Wario Land: Shake It!
By Shaun Hatton - October 28th, 2008
It’s undoubtedly a good time to be a fan of old-school side-scrolling platforming games. Capcom recently released Bionic Commando Rearmed and Mega Man 9, Sony released Little Big Planet today, and Nintendo released Wario Land: Shake It! last month.
The first time I got my hands on this game was in August at a Nintendo holiday preview event. They had a few journalists visit a fancy hotel room and we were all shown their big holiday releases one at a time. Matt Ryan, Senior Supervisor of Communications & Advertising for Nintendo of Canada, remarked that I had a huge smile on my face as I shook the controller madly to get Wario to do the same to a bag of coins.
It was then that I realized just how awesome Wario Land: Shake It! was going to be. The same thing happened at Nintendo’s booth at PAX. Though I had already played it, I couldn’t get enough of Wario. How had this truly disgusting character become so compelling?
Nintendo’s creative teams are among the masters of side-scrolling fun. While last year’s Wario: Master of Disguise on the Nintendo DS was an absolute mess (and handled by another outside developer), the big N has effectively made amends with Shake It! (developed by Good-Feel). In it, Wario is recruited to save a missing princess but is instead more interested in the accumulation of wealth via all the coins and treasure found throughout the various levels.
From the get-go, Wario Land: Shake It! feels like a platformer should. The extra Wii Remote actions are just icing on the cake. The game’s played with the controller held sideways like a classic game pad. Shaking it down once firmly makes Wario slam his fist into the ground, shaking the world around him. Violently rapidly shaking the Wii Remote when Wario is holding something (usually a bag of coins or an enemy) will make Wario shake the thing he’s holding, often causing other items to come flying out of it. These items are typically coins or pieces of garlic that restore health points. Additional Wii gestures include tilting the controller to aim projectiles and enemies.
All of these gestures are required at different moments for some light puzzle solving and, of course, enemy battling. There are many areas that are only accessible by using Wario’s shake maneuvers while others require precise timing of jumps after being launched out of a contraption. In each stage there are three different hidden (and sometimes not-so-hidden) treasures to find that serve somewhat of a side quest. Since I’m a sucker for collecting everything in Mario games, I have played through levels multiple times just to find everything, and there are still some treasures I can’t seem to reach.
Wario Land: Shake It! is both refreshing and familiar. As you’d expect from a Wario title, there’s also plenty of humour to be enjoyed (even in the instruction manual, so be sure to read it if you pick up the game)!
Subscribe to this page's RSS feed to be notified when someone chimes in.
6 responses so far:I’ve read so many reviews that slam this game that I wonder if people just have it in for Nintendo titles.
I have friends that have come close to drugging my food and tying me to a chair to force me to play this game, as I have not had the time to try it yet.
That’s how awesome it is.
Your friends sound a little creepy.
i LOVED the look and feel of that game
like… I loved it so much I might marry it. The painterly style and the exquisitely crafted graphics blend seamlessly with the controls and action…shaking those coin bags is just so satisfying. Can’t wait to get time to finish this. I’ve always found Wario to be a little clunky control wise but this is a marked improvement, you can bring a bit more finesse to the gameplay, and frankly the graphics are the most fun I’ve ever seen in a sidescroller…
Nick, I couldn’t agree more. The graphics really make it look and feel like you’re playing a cartoon. I used to really dislike Wario but now I can’t get enough of him.
And you said I was creepy.
Nonsense. I said your friends were.