Wario Land: Shake It!

Wario Land: Shake It!
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	Good-Feel
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Wii, Wii U
Release date	Original release: July 24, 2008 July 24, 2008 July 24, 2008 September 22, 2008 September 22, 2008 September 25, 2008 September 26, 2008 April 14, 2011 Wii U (digital download): April 7, 2016 April 8, 2016 August 24, 2016 November 17, 2016
Genre	2D Platformer
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - Seven years and older CERO: - All ages ACB: - Parental Guidance USK: - Six years and older
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media	Wii: Optical disc Wii U: Digital download
Input	Wii: Wii Remote

Wario Land: Shake It! (known as Wario Land: The Shake Dimension in European languages) is a platformer game developed by Good-Feel for the Wii. It is the sixth installment in the Wario Land series, the eighth platformer starring Wario overall, the first game in the Wario Land series to be released since Wario Land 4 in 2001, and the only Wario Land game released on a home console. The game also features the return of Captain Syrup, who hosts the Pirate Shop. The game is drawn in the style of anime, as the animations for the cutscenes and gameplay were done by Japanese animation studio Production I.G.

The game was rereleased for the Wii U's Nintendo eShop service in Europe on April 7, 2016, Australia on April 8, 2016, Japan on August 24, 2016, and North America on November 17, 2016.

Story

Prologue

Captain Syrup infiltrates the museum.

The Shake King conquers the Shake Dimension.

One night, the pirate Captain Syrup sneaks into a museum looking for treasure to steal, when an item known as the Ancient Globe catches her interest. Upon inspecting it, she sees there is another world within the globe called the Shake Dimension. As Captain Syrup watches, dark clouds cover the Shake Dimension as the peace is shattered by the marauding pirate known as the Shake King. The Shake King steals a legendary treasure known as the Bottomless Coin Sack, which can create infinite gold coins by shaking it, and shares its contents with his minions. He also kidnaps and imprisons all but one of the peaceful Merfle tribe, along with their beloved ruler, Merelda. While the Shake King gloats, the one Merfle who managed to escape imprisonment vows to find someone from the outside world who can help his people and escapes. After seeing the events unfold, Captain Syrup decides that defeating the Shake King, rescuing Queen Merelda and her Merfle followers, and taking the Bottomless Coin Sack as a reward for her "heroism" may all prove too difficult for her to accomplish alone, so she steals the Ancient Globe from the museum, planning to give it to someone she hopes would help her with these three tasks.

Wario prepares to punch the harmless Merfle.

Wario, about to set off to Shake Dimension.

At home in his garage, Wario is seen fast asleep in his car. He is then awakened from his slumber by the delivery of a very large gift, which, once unwrapped, reveals the Ancient Globe and a note from Captain Syrup explaining that there is treasure within the Globe. Misinterpreting the note, Wario gets a hammer to smash the globe open. Then suddenly, smoke bursts from the top, causing Wario to miss and smack his head. The smoke forms a large telescope, which Merfle uses to reach Wario's world. Merfle then greets Wario, causing him to hit his head on the telescope when trying to look up. In a fit of anger, Wario grabs Merfle and was going to punch him in the face until Merfle begins pleading for Wario's help. Merfle explains to Wario about how the Shake King appeared, captured, and imprisoned his people and stole the legendary treasure. At first, Wario showed very little interest in the story or the Merfle's plight, even picking his nose as it is being told, but then his interest was peaked at the mention of treasure. He then grabs the Merfle for more information and Merfle explains the properties of the Bottomless Coin Sack to Wario. Having been tempted, Wario then demands to know how to get into the Shake Dimension, and Merfle answers that the telescope acts as a portal into it, but warns him that if he doesn't rescue the other Merfles he would be stranded in the Shake Dimension. Tempted by the promise of wealth, Wario decides that this quest will be worth his time, which gladdens Merfle. Merfle then travels through the telescope back into the Shake Dimension, and Wario prepares to follow him.

Ending

After surviving all of the Shake King's traps and minions, Wario is able to battle the Shake King himself. It is a hard and long battle, since the Shake King also has some of Wario's moves; however, Wario is able to beat him, resulting in the Shake Dimension being saved at last from the Shake King's evil grip.

When Queen Merelda thanks Wario for saving her kingdom, Wario tosses her aside and takes the Bottomless Coin Sack. When returning to his world for the final time, he shakes the bag to collect all the coins he always wanted. However, the celebration doesn't last long. Catching Wario off guard, Captain Syrup takes the Bottomless Coin Sack and all the coins Wario shook out from it and makes a quick getaway. Wario is completely humiliated that he was double-crossed from the start, angrily chasing Merfle around his garage.

Gameplay

Wario shakes a money bag.

Like all other Wario Land games, Wario Land: Shake It! is a 2D platformer. Players must hold the Wii Remote sideways to play this game. is used for Jumping, while the is used to perform a Dash Attack. is used for ducking, and entering a Warp Pipe. When using in midair, Wario performs a Ground Pound. However, there are also some changes according to the environment. When pressing on a hillside, Wario will slide down on his belly. Throwing an enemy or object is done by pressing , but the player must hold the button and tilt the Wii Remote in the desired direction, and then release to make Wario throw in that direction.

Wario performs an Earthshake Punch.

There are also new features in gameplay, mostly implementing the motion-sensing abilities of the Wii Remote. Executing an Earthshake Punch uses the motion sensitivity. By shaking the Wii Remote when the Shake Meter at the top of the screen is full, Wario performs a powerful punch on the ground, causing an earthquake. It is needed to move objects in some levels, opening new paths, and it also stuns enemies. However, when used, the Shake Meter gets empty. The player can't use another Earthshake Punch when the Shake Meter is empty, so they must wait until the Shake Meter is full, which only takes a few seconds. Another frequently implemented action in the game is shaking an enemy or a Coin Bag. When Wario picks up an enemy or a Coin Bag, the player can shake the Wii Remote to let Wario shake it. Shaking a Bandinero may reveal a clove of Garlic, while a Coin Bag will lose all the Coins it contains.

When in contact with a bar, Wario can hang from the bar and then perform a Bar Spin by shaking the Wii Remote. Upon pressing the , Wario spins high into the air, and can also reach grab another bar if he comes into contact with one. Wario can also use Unibuckets to travel on cords - yet another action that uses motion sensitivity. When the player presses , Wario jumps into the Unibucket, and pressing will let Wario to pop out of the vehicle. Tilting the Wii Remote sideways moves it, with the angle of the remote affecting the speed at which the Unibucket moves. Pressing lets it jump. If a Unibucket lands on any surface that is not a Unibucket cord, it breaks instantly.

A flying counterpart to the Unibucket is the Rocket Bucket. By pressing , Wario will jump in. When in this vehicle, two rockets and a dome appears. Pressing accelerates it, and tilting the Wii Remote is used for steering. Colliding with spikes will break it. However, it can land on any piece of non-spiky ground. The game also introduces and underwater device; Wario's Subwarine. In underwater levels (of which there are 3), Wario must use this vehicle to proceed through the level. Tilting the Wii Remote will steer the Subwarine, and will move it back and forth. Pressing the makes the Subwarine shoot a torpedo in a straight line.

Wario swings on a pole.

Wario will find metal boxes throughout almost every level, with a screen and a red entrance atop it. These machines are named Max Fastosity Dasherators; they let Wario run very fast when entered. Wario can still jump while dashing. Pressing the opposite direction of the direction Wario is running causes him to skid to a halt and quickly turn to that direction. Moving is automatic and Wario can also run over water. Another thing that Wario can do is break blocks and defeat enemies in this state. Wario will cease dashing if he collides with any solid object or wall.

Blast-O-Cannons are cannons where Wario can jump in, by pressing . The player can then tilt the Wii Remote to choose a direction. Pressing will let the cannon prepare to shoot, and releasing will let the cannon shoot. When touching another Blast-O-Cannon after being blasted from another one, Wario will automatically enter it. Wario can't enter a Blast-O-Cannon on a wall in a normal way. He should use another Blast-O-Cannon to enter a Blast-O-Cannon on a wall. Some Blast-O-Cannons move automatically.

The main goal of a level is to guide Wario to the cage where a Merfle has been caught. Such cages are called Merfle Barrels. Near to it is a checkpoint block. If Wario picks up the cage, an intruder alert is triggered. Then the player must shake the Wii Remote to break open the cage to free the Merfle. A timer then appears, and a different, faster song plays. With the Merfle holding an arrow that shows the direction to go, Wario must go back the beginning of the level before the timer reaches zero. Blue shake blocks also will appear, while red shake blocks disappear, which changes some paths and opens new places, often allowing different treasures to be found. If the countdown reaches fifteen seconds, another tune will be played, and the Merfle is panicking. If the timer runs out, the Shake King's shadow appears, takes Wario, shakes him, so Wario loses all his collected money, and the King then throws him back to the start. If the player used a checkpoint block, the Shake King will throw him to the checkpoint instead.

The old transformations that were in previous Wario Land games were reduced to three. These were Flaming Wario, Snowman Wario, and Frozen Wario. They were not changed in this game. Wario can turn into Flaming Wario by touching a flame, and Wario runs with his bottom on fire until he becomes engulfed in fire that can burn Bonfire Blocks. Wario can turn into Snowman Wario if he touches a falling pile of snow. He turns into a snowball when standing on a slope, and can break Snowman Blocks. Turning into Frozen Wario is still a hazard. There is a new transformation called Mini Wario (which has the same goal as Tiny Wario, but is much different in appearance). This transformation can be used by entering a shrinkbarrel and will allow Wario to fit through small openings.

Also, Wario will come across Bomb Blocks, which have a certain number on them. Touching one in any way causes it to count down to zero and explode. Certainty Switches are block switches that turn Uncertain Blocks touchable and untouchable, depending on the color of the switch and the corresponding blocks.

Areas and levels

The map of every area and level.

There are five continents with five levels each; four normal levels and one boss level. Additionally, secret levels can be unlocked by finding a Secret Map in certain levels. After beating a boss, Wario must return to Captain Syrup to buy a map of the next continent. Depending on the amount of money the player has, they can go in any order they choose.

• The Sweet Stuff
  • Tutorial: Aboard the Sweet Stuff
  • Shop: Pirate Shop
• Area 1: Ratl Ruins
  • Level 1: Stonecarving City
  • Level 2: Whoopsy Desert
  • Secret Level 1: Disturbing Tomb
  • Level 3: Foulwater Falls
  • Secret Level 2: Gurgle Gulch
  • Level 4: Run-Down Pyramid
  • Boss Level: Rollanratl Battle
    • Boss: Rollanratl
• Area 2: Wiggly Wilds
  • Level 1: Just Plains
  • Level 2: Wavy Waters
  • Level 3: Mt. Lava Lava
  • Secret Level 1: Sneak Peak
  • Secret Level 2: Lowdown Depths
  • Level 4: Savannah Valley
  • Boss Level: Hot Roderick Race
    • Boss: Hot Roderick
• Area 3: Rocking Range
  • Level 1: Wreck Train
  • Level 2: Stonetooth Cave
  • Level 3: Its-all Mine
  • Level 4: Glittertown
  • Secret Level 1: Neon City
  • Secret Level 2: Derailed Express
  • Boss Level: Chortlebot Challenge
    • Boss: Chortlebot
• Area 4: Jiggle Jungle
  • Level 1: Ropey Jungle
  • Level 2: Windbreak Bay
  • Level 3: Airytale Castle
  • Secret Level 1: Launchpad Labyrinth
  • Level 4: Soggybog River
  • Secret Level 2: Riverbloat Rapids
  • Secret Level 3: Prism Prison
  • Boss Level: Bloomsday Blowout
    • Boss: Bloomsday
• Area 5: Quiver Cliffs
  • Level 1: Mount Bighill
  • Level 2: Creep Blue Sea
  • Level 3: Slipshod Slopes
  • Secret Level 1: Bamboozle Village
  • Secret Level 2: Freezing Fields
  • Level 4: Bad Manor
  • Secret Level 3: Boogie Mansion
  • Boss Level: Large Fry Cook-Off
    • Boss: Large Fry
• Shakedown Schooner
  • Boss Level: VS the Shake King
    • Boss: Shake King

Enemies

Image	Name	Description	First appearance	Last appearance
	Bandinero	The most common enemy. They walk back and forth on platforms, but are sometimes found stationary, jumping on the spot, or sleeping. It is completely harmless to Wario and can be defeated with any attack.	Aboard the Sweet Stuff (red) Stonecarving City (yellow) Aboard the Sweet Stuff (white) Aboard the Sweet Stuff (gold)	Large Fry Cook-Off (red) Large Fry Cook-Off (yellow) Bamboozle Village (white) Bamboozle Village (gold)
	Floating Bandinero	An inflated Bandinero that floats in the air in a straight line. If bumped into or jumped onto, it becomes a regular blue Bandinero. Most are harmless, but some regularly produce electricity that harms Wario. A Floating Bandinero can be defeated by any attack, but are immune to physical attacks while electrified.	Aboard the Sweet Stuff (blue) Savannah Valley (gold)	Bad Manor (blue) Freezing Fields (gold)
	Pitchfork	A variant of Bandinero with a fork on its head. They usually stick to ceilings and drop when Wario walks underneath them, but some are grounded and attempt to headbutt him. When thrown at walls, the fork will stick to it, so their bodies can be used as platforms.	Foulwater Falls (blue) Savannah Valley (purple) Mt. Lava Lava (gold)	Boogie Mansion (blue) Derailed Express (purple) Its-all Mine (gold)
	Buccanero	An enemy that wields a sword and attempts to attack Wario on sight. Buccaneros can be defeated with any attack.	Aboard the Sweet Stuff	Large Fry Cook-Off
	Boomdinero	Bandineros wearing suits of armor. Their helmets can fire spiky balls in a similar manner to the Shortfuse, but they explode after a few seconds. Their heavy armor protects them from most attacks, but they can be stunned with an Earthshake Punch. Shaking them will remove their armor, and revert them back into standard Bandineros.	Sneak Peak (silver) Sneak Peak (red)	Bamboozle Village (silver) Boogie Mansion (red)
	Bumbleprod	Semi-common enemies adorned with spikes, making contact dangerous. Once flipped over with an Earthshake Punch, they can be safely Ground Pounded - but not picked up.	Disturbing Tomb (normal) Gurgle Gulch (gold)	Boogie Mansion (normal) Gurgle Gulch (gold)
	Flipsting	A shelled scorpion with a long tail tipped with a stinger. If Wario gets too close, it thrusts the stinger towards him. The stinger aims both forward and upward, meaning they can't be attacked from the front or top. An Earthshake Punch will topple the enemy, making it safe to hold. A red variant clings to ceilings.	Disturbing Tomb (yellow) Disturbing Tomb (red)	Bloomsday Blowout (yellow) Disturbing Tomb (red)
	Shortfuse	A small barrel-like enemy that shoots spiky balls in Wario's direction. Although the projectiles are harmful, the enemy itself is safe to touch from any side and can be defeated with any attack.	Disturbing Tomb (normal) Glittertown (gold)	Large Fry Cook-Off (normal) Glittertown (gold)
	Scarracuda	A fish enemy that is encountered at the surface of the water. Red Scarracudas only patrol the area of water from side to side, while green ones also jump out to bite Wario. There are also black Scarracudas which live inside lava, but otherwise act the same as their green relatives. Green and black Scarracudas can be defeated by Dash Attacking them while they are in the air.	Foulwater Falls (green) Gurgle Gulch (red) Mt. Lava Lava (black)	Soggybog River (green) Bad Manor (red) Mt. Lava Lava (black)
	Mummer	Mummy enemies that pace back and forth on a platform. They are initially immune to Wario's attacks thanks to their bandages. However, if Wario performs an Earthshake Punch nearby, the bandages will temporarily fall down and make it vulnerable to any attack.	Disturbing Tomb (normal) Disturbing Tomb (gold)	Boogie Mansion (normal) Disturbing Tomb (gold)
	Turkeyjerk	Bird enemies that dive-bomb Wario when approached. They are vulnerable to all attacks, but can avoid the Earthshake Punch by flying. Some are stationary while some patrol an area.	Disturbing Tomb (green) Soggybog River (brown)	Riverbloat Rapids (green) Prism Prison (brown)
	Volcannon	Living volcanoes that periodically spew fire from their top. They are immune to the Earthshake Punch, but can be defeated with Dash Attacks and Ground Pounds.	Mt. Lava Lava	Sneak Peak
	Jellopus	Jellyfish enemies that only appear in the Subwarine levels. Groups will typically fill a given area to barricade the path, but can be defeated with torpedoes. The purple variety attack by shooting electric bolts.	Wavy Waters (blue) Wavy Waters (yellow) Wavy Waters (purple)	Creep Blue Sea (blue) Creep Blue Sea (yellow) Creep Blue Sea (purple)
	Plunger	Another enemy only found in Subwarine levels, they have a variety of movement patterns to impede Wario's progress, some of which hide from the ground and emerge when Wario approaches to ambush him. They can be shot down with a single torpedo.	Wavy Waters (orange) Wavy Waters (purple) Wavy Waters (green) Windbreak Bay (blue)	Creep Blue Sea (orange) Creep Blue Sea (purple) Creep Blue Sea (green) Creep Blue Sea (blue)
	Tub-sub	Barrel-like submarines that fire torpedoes at the Subwarine. They are more durable than other enemies, requiring three hits, but drop more gold upon defeat.	Wavy Waters (brown) Wavy Waters (gray)	Creep Blue Sea (brown) Creep Blue Sea (gray)
	Nosedozer	Semi-common enemies that are similar to Bandineros, but the drill on their face can harm Wario. Jumping on them flips them onto their backs, making the drill point upwards, causing damage if jumped on again.	Gurgle Gulch	Large Fry Cook-Off
	Spinbat	Bats that hang from ceilings and drop when Wario passes by, getting stuck in the ground upon landing, making them vulnerable. They can be defeated by any attack. If left alone, they fly back to their roost.	Savannah Valley	Boogie Mansion
	Venus Guytrap	Large sundew enemies that will try to eat Wario, much like the Venus flytrap-based enemy, the Piranha Plant. Their broad petals act as platforms, but if Wario stands on them for too long, they bite down and cause damage until the player shakes the Wii Remote to escape.	Ropey Jungle (yellow) Ropey Jungle (purple)	Riverbloat Rapids (yellow) Bloomsday Blowout (purple)
	Pengoon	Penguins that hide in burrows and emerge to throw chunks of ice. Pink ones throw three at a time.	Slipshod Slopes (blue) Slipshod Slopes (pink)	Freezing Fields (blue) Freezing Fields (pink)
	Recapitator	Armored skeletons that throw their heads like boomerangs, like the previous Wario Land games' Zombie. They can be dismantled with a Dash Attack, but eventually rebuild themselves, just as Dry Bones do. Their spiky heads protect them from jumps, but leave the body exposed when thrown.	Boogie Mansion (normal) Boogie Mansion (gold)	Large Fry Cook-Off (normal) Boogie Mansion (gold)
	Peek-a-boom	Ninja enemies that throw bombs to attack. They also use smokescreens to disappear, reappearing elsewhere. The bombs they throw can be picked up and thrown back at them.	Prism Prison	Boogie Mansion
	Crackpot	Rare, octopus-like enemies that hide in jars and shoot spiky balls. Shaking them makes them fire their balls ahead of Wario, which works as a makeshift weapon.	Gurgle Gulch (red) Gurgle Gulch (purple)	Sneak Peak (red) Gurgle Gulch (purple)
	Treasure Chomp	Mimic chests that replace the normal chests in Boogie Mansion. Attempting to open one as though it were a standard chest will cause Wario to be eaten by it, taking damage. Only feeding it a bomb will defeat it and release its treasure.	Boogie Mansion
	Flimflam	Living flames that turn Wario into Flaming Wario, allowing him to break Bonfire Blocks. There also exists an ice variant, turning him into Frozen Wario.	Stonetooth Cave (orange) Slipshod Slopes (blue)	Bad Manor (orange) Freezing Fields (blue)
	Grunchin	Spiky bomb creatures that primarily appear in Subwarine levels as an obstacle, but occasionally appear in platforming levels.	Wavy Waters (red) Wavy Waters (purple)	Creep Blue Sea (red) Creep Blue Sea (purple)
	Boulder	Rocks that roll down a slope.	Mt. Lava Lava (small) Mt. Lava Lava (medium) Sneak Peak (big)	Sneak Peak (small) Sneak Peak (medium) Sneak Peak (big)
	Burner	Constant streams of fire.	Wreck Train	Derailed Express
	Skewer	Large spiked pillars that damage the Subwarine if he touches them.	Windbreak Bay	Creep Blue Sea
	Current	Currents that push the player. Some appearing in non-underwater levels like Soggybog River and Riverbloat Rapids.	Windbreak Bay	Creep Blue Sea
	Spike Bar	Rotating bar of spikes that activate when Wario rides the Rocket Bucket.	Airytale Castle	Prism Prison
	Icicle	Frozen rain drops that fall when Wario performs an Earthquake Punch.	Slipshod Slopes	Freezing Fields

Missions

Main article: List of Wario Land: Shake It! missions

There are three or more missions in every level. Secret levels usually have more missions than normal levels. Some missions appear very often, such as finishing a stage before the clock reaches a certain time, finishing a stage without taking damage, or collecting a certain amount of coins. If all of the missions in the stage are completed, the player will earn the stage's music in "Media Room" (specifically the music heard before freeing the Merfle in normal stages, the music heard after freeing the Merfle in secret stages, and the music heard during the battle in boss stages).

Treasures

Main article: List of treasures in Wario Land: Shake It!

Every stage in the game, apart from boss stages, contains 3 treasures. They are always contained within treasure chests. Each treasure chest looks identical, with the only variation existing in underwater levels; where they are much smaller, and are blue rather than red. To obtain a treasure, Wario must simply attack the treasure chest and it will open. In order to 100% complete the game, the player must collect all 99 treasures as well as completing every stage's Missions. If the player collects every treasure, Wario's garage will be decorated with gold.

The only time when a different method is required to obtain treasures is in the Boogie Mansion stage, where all three treasure chests are mimics, looking like normal chests until Wario comes into contact with them. If this happens, the chest's eyes appear and it opens up, swallowing Wario in a similar way that Venus Guy-Traps can. To obtain the treasures from these living chests, Wario must throw a bomb into them, causing them to eat it and explode open.

Development

The creation of Wario Land: Shake It! began when Nintendo producer Takahiro Harada was inspired to do a new Wario Land sequel after playing Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki, a Konami platformer released on the Nintendo DS. Having enjoyed the Goemon game greatly, he contacted its producer, Etsunobu Ebisu who had subsequently left Konami to make his own video game development company, Good-Feel. While Ebisu initially envisioned a Wild Western-style shooter for the game, Harada convinced him that sticking to what they know with a platformer would be better. Picturing Wario as a reckless yet manly brute who relies on his strength to smash though obstacles and knock things down, they eventually came up with the idea of using the Wii's motion controls for shaking things around, with other uses of tilting and aiming to compensate for the lack of buttons on the Wii Remote.

Wario's walking animation in Wario Land: Shake It!

After some discussion, Harada and Ebisu decided to make Wario Land: Shake It! "the ultimate 2D game" by having everything hand-drawn, from the characters to the backgrounds. Knowing the massive amount of work this would entail, they considered simply using 3D polygons, but decided to take advantage of the fact that technology had finally advanced enough to support such a lofty undertaking (for example, according to program director Koichi Yagi, "the scenery alone would have filled up the Nintendo GameCube"). A single action taken by a character amounted to about 30 animation frames, resulting in 6000 enemy patterns, with 2000 more for Wario alone, in order to animate the roughly 200 actions he can perform. The backgrounds were non-repeating and hand-drawn, and just as any change to a character's design required all the frames to be adjusted, "even a small change [to the background] meant everything had to be changed", according to design director Tadanori Tsukawaki. The end result was worth the "hard labor", however, as even in the early builds that only had basic line drawings, Tsukawaki could tell that the game "has impact". Knowing that they would benefit from the involvement of more experienced anime companies, Good-Feel brought in Production I.G to help with character animation and the opening and ending cutscenes, while Kusanagi assisted with the background art.

Critical reception

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo Wii	Ellie Gibson, Eurogamer	7/10	Does Nintendo still care about hardcore gamers? This title could be used as evidence for the defence; it's a 2D platformer, with hard bits and boss battles and rewards for extra effort. But, as the prosecution might point out, even here there are indications of an attempt to appeal to a wider market. The result is a game which is good, but not great, and certainly not up to the standard of Nintendo's best 2D platformers. They don't make 'em like they used to, that's for sure. Still - at least they make 'em.
Nintendo Wii	Jonathan Holmes, Destructoid	7.5/10	I can wholeheartedly recommend the full-price purchase of Wario Land: Shake It to only three groups of people: kids between 5-10 years old, die-hard fans of hand-drawn animation, and people who love "easy but smart" 2D platformers. The game is top-notch in terms of its look, its controls, and its level design. Then why is it that I kept wanting to stop playing it in favor of another go at Tornado Man's Time Attack challenge in Mega Man 9? It's because by comparison, Mega Man 9 is like a brush with death, an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride on a brand new roller coaster, whereas Wario Land : Shake It is more like a leisurely, risk-free hop in the tea cups. If the game had Wario start out with half the amount of special moves, wasn't so resistant to letting you die, and had some of that trademark Wario weirdness, then I'd be more apt to recommend it to everybody. It's a shame, because I really want Wario Land: Shake It to succeed, if not just to send the message to developers that home-console, hand-drawn 2D action/platformers didn't have to die along with the Sega Saturn. Guess I'll just have to hope for Muramasa to turn out good enough make that point.
Nintendo Wii	Andrew Webster, GameSpot	7.5/10	Wario Land: Shake Dimension is a fun action romp (dare we say with an occasional puzzle?) with a decided nod to the past glory of the genre. However, its short, easy-to-finish story mode and occasionally lackluster control system hamper what is an otherwise solid platformer.
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
Metacritic		78
GameRankings		77.80%

Promotion

The YouTube advertisement

There was a promotional sweepstakes which began on August 13, 2008. To enter, contestants sent a postcard containing their full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address to the Nintendo Power sweepstakes address. The grand prize was given to one person and consisted of a Wii and a copy of Wario Land: Shake It! The second prize was given to ten people and consisted of just the game. The sweepstakes ended on November 1, 2008.

In collaboration with Six Flags, ten of their theme park locations were "taken over" in September. As a part of this event, demos of the game were available at the parks' Wii Experience areas. On September 27, 2008, competitions were held concurrently at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags St. Louis. Competitors were tasked to play through a level of the game as quickly as possible. The player with the best overall time from both parks won a trip to New York and the Nintendo World store. In addition, a person from each park with the best time won a "Bottomless Coin Sack" which contained a Wii and a copy of the game, a Nintendo DS system, a gift certificate for Six Flags merchandise, and "fun premium items".

On September 19, 2008, a video showcasing footage of the game was uploaded to YouTube. During the video, whenever a large shaking motion occurred in the footage, the webpage shook as well. As the video progressed, more of the webpage's elements were dislodged and fell down. Once an element fell out of place, it could be dragged around using the cursor.

Staff

Main article: List of Wario Land: Shake It! staff

Madoka Yamauchi is credited as the director as well as one of the game's planners. The assistant director, Nobuo Matsumiya, had previously worked on several Super Mario franchise games such as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe and Yoshi's Island DS. The backgrounds were illustrated by KUSANAGI, Inc. while the characters' animations and opening and ending sequences were created by Production I.G.

Pre-release and unused content

Main article: List of Wario Land: Shake It! pre-release and unused content

A cut track was found in pre-release versions of the game for a level known as "Plumber's Cave," the main melody being based on the Underground Theme from the mainstream Super Mario titles. It was featured on the game site as a soundtrack sample before release. For one reason or another, it was completely removed from the game. The accompanying "hurry up" theme was left in the game and used in Foulwater Falls.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Wario Land: Shake It!.

• 

  Wario

• 

  Queen Merelda

• 

  Captain Syrup

• 

  Merfle

• 

  Red Bandinero

• 

  Shake King

References in later games

• Super Smash Bros. series: Wario's victory jingle is an excerpt of Stonecarving City's music. The original music for Stonecarving City, under the name "Ruins (Wario Land: Shake It!)", is present in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• Mario Party 10: The treasure chests on Wario's board in amiibo Party look similar to the ones from this game and a Coin Bag also appears. The board's music is a rearrangement of Stonecarving City's music.
• Yoshi's Woolly World: Several sound effects are reused. These include the pipe entering and boss damaging sound effects.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ワリオランドシェイク Wario Rando Sheiku	Wario Land Shake
Chinese	壞莉歐樂園SHAKE Huàilìōu Lèyuán Shake	Wario Wonderland Shake
German	Wario Land: The Shake Dimension
Korean	와리오랜드 셰이킹 walio laendeu syeiking	Wario Land Shaking

Trivia

• Wario Land: Shake It! was referenced on the 2009 Valentine's Day episode of Saturday Night Live in a sketch titled "Wii Guys." The sketch parodied the game's signature element of gameplay—shaking enemies and Money Bags by shaking the Wii Remote. The skit incorrectly states that the game has a 2-player mode. The parody can be viewed at NBC.com.
• Several sound effects in this game are reused in Kirby's Epic Yarn and Yoshi's Woolly World.

External links

• Official Japanese Wario Land Shake website
• Pre-Launch American Wario Land: Shake It! website
• Official American Wario Land: Shake It! website
• Official Australian Wario Land: The Shake Dimension webpage
• Official European Wario Land: The Shake Dimension website