Virtual Boy Wario Land

Virtual Boy Wario Land, known in Japan as Virtual Boy Wario Land: Awazon no Hihō (バーチャルボーイワリオランド アワゾンの秘宝, lit. "Virtual Boy Wario Land: Secret Treasure of the Awazon" and originally titled Wario's Treasure Hunt and Wario Cruise, as seen on its serial number, is a video game released by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy in 1995 and is the second installment in the Wario Land series, and the follow-up to Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

Story
The game begins with Wario landing his Bulldog airplane in the middle of the Awazon River's basin for some relaxation time. The vacation comes to an end however when he spots three Mask-Guys heading behind one of the Awazon's waterfalls carrying treasure. In claiming the treasure for himself, Wario follows the trio into their secret cavern, but is soon surprised by a trap door which plunges him into the underground chasms below. Now caught in a deep underground labyrinth, Wario swears to seek out his revenge and claim the treasure from the Mask-Guys.

Gameplay
Upon falling down the precipice within the earth, Wario is forced to find his way through fourteen underground levels in order to make his way out. An Elevator is found at the end of each level, allowing Wario to climb higher the more he progresses in the game. A Key is hidden somewhere in each level, in which collection is vital as it unlocks the Elevator. Four of the fourteen levels are boss stages, the other ten are platform levels which Wario must navigate. Three "medium" bosses are found at the fourth, eight and twelfth levels. The final, "big" boss is found on the fourteenth level. A Guard must be defeated before each boss in order to gain access to that boss. The power and difficulty of the Guard increases with each boss stage. Bosses will sustain multiple hits before being defeated, and each of them have a large variety of attacks. Defeating a medium boss will reward Wario with a larger, more decorated Key.

Wario's health system comes in three stages. He starts off in his ordinary form. Garlic Bottles and Viking Helmets are found throughout ? Blocks, which will transform Wario into Bull Wario. If Wario takes damage at any time by touching harmful enemies, spikes, lava, etc., he will be reduced to Small Wario. Collecting a Garlic Bottle as Small Wario will restore him to normal form. Taking damage as Small Wario will result in a loss of a life, sending Wario back to the beginning of the level. Reaching zero on the twenty minute time limit will also cause Wario to lose a life. Wario begins with three lives. More can be earned by either collecting one hundred Hearts or a Diamond. If Wario loses all his lives, he will get a Game Over. Wario loses all Hearts and Coins in a Game Over, but a collected Key will be retained. A collected Awazon Treasure will be lost (if any, and the deduction begin from the last level and works backwards). Wario also gets sent back to the file select screen, and can have the option of replaying the level or continue from a different save. Wario has three additional forms which can't be reached through the Garlic Bottle powerup. They are Eagle Wario, Sea Dragon Wario and King Dragon Wario. Eagle Wario is reached by collecting an Eagle Statue, which can be found in ? Blocks. A Dragon Claw can either transform Wario into Sea Dragon or King Dragon form, depending on the circumstances. If a Dragon Claw is collected in any form but Eagle, Wario will transform into Sea Dragon. However if Eagle form is present when a Dragon Claw is collected, he will transform into King Dragon Wario. It can also work the other way, where if an Eagle Statue is collected while in Sea Dragon form, King Dragon form will be reached. This is considered the most powerful form, as it is more difficult to obtain and Wario's abilities are stronger.

Many Coins and Hearts are scattered throughout the ten main levels. There are two types of Coins; one with a rhombus on it and other with a crown. The more common rhombus Coin is worth a single Coin towards the score, and the rarer crown Coin is worth twenty. All coins collected in a level are put towards a grand total, which is counted up after entering the Elevator in the room before the next level. There are two types of Hearts; one small and one significantly larger. The larger, "Big Heart" is worth ten small Hearts. Coins and Hearts can spent on playing mini-games between levels. The lost Awazon Treasures seen in the opening cut-scene can each be found in a well-hidden room within the ten non-boss levels. Collecting the Treasures is optional, but not obtaining all of them will affect the game's ending. Many different types of Blocks are found in the game. ? Blocks hold objects or items which can be collected or used by Wario. A ? Block cannot be struck twice. Upon releasing the item, the Block itself will darken and become inanimate, with no further effects. A more common type of Block looks like a square stone which can either be broken or cracked. Normal Wario can crack Blocks by hitting them from below. Hitting again will break them. Small Wario can only break already cracked Blocks, while Bull Wario can break them in one hit, cracked or not. A much larger version of these blocks (four times larger), can only be broken by Bull Wario. Other methods of releasing an item or breaking a block can be performed through a Barge or Ground Pound. Hidden Blocks can't be seen unless they are struck from below, which they will then release the object or item and become visible. Bonfire Blocks are the same size and shape as other blocks, but they have a flame symbol. These kinds of blocks can only be broken by the flames of Sea Dragon or King Dragon Wario. There are also areas of walls or flooring within levels which at first do not appear as breakable blocks. They are able to be broken in the same way as the aforementioned, and they usually lead to a hidden area.

Jump Boards are able to sling Wario to the background of the level and vice versa. This is used when there is a separate area which is in the background that contains Blocks, Coins, etc. A Jump Board in the background will send Wario back to the foreground. Similar objects appear in the eleventh stage, where many of the platforms involuntarily send Wario into the background. Warp Pipes also appear in the game. When Wario enters one, he will be sent to a different area. Warp pipes can be found either horizontal or vertical, though vertical is slightly more common. Seen in the sixth level of the game is a unique Plunger. There are two of these plungers, each with half a Phanto mask shown on the front. Hitting both plungers will cause the water pressure to destroy a wall, which will then reveal a Jump Board that Wario is able to access. In the eleventh level, there are Electric Fans placed throughout areas. These fans will periodically turn on and off. While the fans are rotating, they will send Wario flying in the direction of the wind.

Many different types of enemies are seen throughout the game, many being unique to a certain level. Simply jumping on an enemy will not defeat it in most cases, it will usually stun them. Ground Pounding near an enemy may also stun it. When stunned, an enemy will become harmless and can be picked up and thrown. If a thrown enemy clashes with another enemy before bouncing twice, they will both be defeated. Usually, Wario would need to Barge, Ground Pound or Body Slam a weak spot of an individual enemy to defeat it. A stunned enemy can also be thrown into a Coin Cloud to redeem Coins. A creature called Melon Welt is seen blocking paths in the ninth level. Melons dropped by Honey-Bees can be placed on a Watermelon Switch, which will send it flying upwards into the background, possibly hitting the button which will explode the Melon Welt, thus clearing the way.

The level theme and terrain varies from level to level. Most of the terrain Wario will encounter is made up of solid flooring, mainly rock. Some levels are part or entirely made up of water, where Wario is able to swim in. Water currents are difficult to swim against. The sixth level shows the only appearance of an in-level waterfall, where Wario is able to slowly, but surely climb. Shallow bodies of lava are seen throughout the game. If Wario is to fall into lava, he will be reduced to Small Wario (unless he was already in this form, which will cause him to lose a life instead). The eleventh level contains areas where there are flames along the ground and sometimes on the ceiling. Wario is able to avoid these by moving over platforms. Conveyor belt flooring is seen in the ninth level, which will move Wario in a certain direction while he is unmoving.

Staff
The staff team involved in the development of Virtual Boy Wario Land was smaller in comparison to other Wario games in the series. Hiroji Kiyotake co-directed the game, while Kazumi Totaka developed the music and sound effects. If the player waits at the end screen for 1 minute and 15 seconds after beating the game, Totaka's Song will play.

Trivia

 * A Sticker of Small Wario under the more recent name of Tiny Wario appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which makes Virtual Boy Wario Land the only Wario Land game that is also mentioned by name outside of the Chronicle in Brawl.
 * This is Wario's last game before the death of his creator, Gunpei Yokoi, in a traffic accident.