Desert Ruins

Desert Ruins is a structure found in Wario Land 3 of the Wario Land series. It serves as the first of six levels found at the west side of the Music Box World. Wario, in search of the five Music Boxes, cannot reach this place from the very beginning, because a gate is blocking the hill passage on the north side. However, after finding the two parts of the Keystone in The Peaceful Village and The Vast Plain, the door disappears, opening the path to the Desert Ruins in the process.

The Desert Ruins are a big structure located in the center of a nameless desert. It appears to be the remains of an ancient civilization. The exterior of the level is mainly composed of two big pools of quicksand, and an underground tunnel that lies beneath them. The level of quicksand changes depending on the time of the day. At night, the level is almost free of quicksand, with the only exception being a small underground puddle. During daytime, the pools are filled with quicksand to the brim, and sometimes hands made of sand try to grab Wario and pull him down when he is standing on a platform above the pools. The background of the level shows the silouettes of tall buildings. Two of these buildings flank the level. It appears that the buildings were erected in dedication to the sun and the moon respectively. Images of the celestial bodies are a common sight in both temples. Both buildings have huge entrance doors which only open during a specific time of the day; the western temple opens at night and the eastern temple opens at day. The entrance doors can be broken, though, once Wario ate the Garlic of the Tower of Revival, making both buildings accessible at any time. A balloon-like being called Yellowbelly resides in the moon temple as well.

Grey Chest: The Ancient Document (top)
The first half of the Ancient Document is located in the sun temple in the Grey Treasure Chest. Wario has to access the level during daytime in order to pass the gate at the east side of the level. Inside the building, Wario has to make his way through a bunch of Spearheads in order to grab the Grey key, and then travel to the temple's basement where the Treasure Chest is located.

The top of the Ancient Document is the first half of an item that unfolds its power once it is complete.

Red Chest: The Ancient Document (bottom)
The second half of the Ancient Document can also be found at the Desert Ruins, but this part is located in the moon temple on the other side of the level. Wario has to come here at night, so the entrance door is not closed. Since the treasure is hidden inside the Red Chest, Wario first needs to obtain the Red Key which is guarded by Doughnuteers. He then has to make his way up to the Treasure Chest while avoiding Para-Gooms and Silkies. This enables Wario to complete the Ancient Document.

The Ancient Document is an old, yellowed slip of paper. It has words written on it, which apparently form a magical charm which gives its user some sort of controll over the wind. After Wario has found both pieces, he puts them together and uses the charm written on it in order to calm down a cyclone on the west side of the Music Box World. With the storm having vanished, the treasure hunter is free to explore a new level: The Volcano's Base.

Green Chest: The Pink Crayon
The treasure of the Green Treasure Chest is located in the moon temple again. Wario aquires the means to reach it after he found the Spiked Helmet from The Frigid Sea. This opens a new path in the moon temple, where Wario can use his new item to reach the top floor of the building. There he finds another golf course, as well as a passage to the Green Key. After completing the golf course, he can travel to the Green Treasure Chest and claim the treasure.

Once the Pink Crayon has been collected, it flies to a hill on the north side of the Music Box World. A building resembling a tower can be found there, complete with a door and a sign that reads "GAME". The scene is initially monochrome, but gains another color for each Crayon Wario manages to find. There are seven Crayons in total hidden throughout the game, and once Wario finds all of them, he will be able to play the golf minigame there at every time the player desires. The Pink Crayon colors the bricks on the building itself.

Blue Chest: The Sun Emblem Fragment (right)
The Sun Emblem Fragment can once again be found in the moon temple, guarded by a being called Yellow Belly. Wario needs the Red Overalls from the Castle of Illusions before he can smash through the block that covers the passage to the boss' chamber, though. In the basement of the moon temple, Wario finds a swarm of Kobats which transform him into Vampire Wario. Using this form and avoiding the rays of light entering the room through numerous windows, Wario can collect the Blue Key and reach the door to Yellowbelly's chamber (provided he can find a hidden switch first). Yellowbelly will then engage Wario in battle.

The floating boss opens the battle by swooping down at Wario, trying to stab him with one of his two pointy weapons. If Wario gets stung, this will cause him to transform into Puffy Wario and float out of the battle. If this happens, the battle has to be restarted. Wario's only chance of damaging Yellowbelly is to land a well aimed Ground Pound onto the enemy's head. This will cause Yellowbelly to drop an air pump which Wario can use to inflate the enemy. Yellowbelly then repeats his earlier tactic, though his speed increases with each successful hit. After Wario manages to inflate him three times, Yellowbelly explodes and opens the way to the Blue Treasure Chest.

The Sun Emblem, which is formed from this fragment and the one from Sea Turtle Rocks, affects the east part of the Music Box World. When Wario first arrives there, the land is trapped in an eternal night. This also means that the Owls in that area never rest. When Wario restores the Sun Emblem, the night on the east side of the world will come to an end. This allows Wario to make use of the Owls and he can visit the levels on the east side at both day- and nighttime.

Reaction Abilities in this Level

 * Ball o' String Wario
 * Bouncy Wario
 * Fat Wario
 * Puffy Wario
 * Vampire Wario