Flat Wario

Flat Wario is one of Wario's many reactions in the Wario Land game series. This reaction is found in Wario Land II, Wario Land 3, or Wario Land 4, in which Wario is squashed flat, shortening his jump and reducing his movement speed. However, he is impervious to harm, can glide smoothly in the air to reach places previously unattainable, and slip through tiny passageways without falling through one-tile-wide gaps. In Wario Land 3, Flat Wario can jump higher if the user presses up on, even if the High Jump Boots have not yet been found. Flat Wario is the only non-normal form in Wario Land 3 to retain its high jump power from Wario Land II.

Certain machines and enemies will be able to cause Wario to be flat, as well as returning Wario back to normal. In Wario Land II, Wario can become flat by being squashed by a weight released by a D-Bat; he returns back to normal after being stretched up by a D-Bat that is not carrying anything. In Wario Land 3, Wario can become flat by being squashed by an Omodon released by an Omodonmeka or after a Count Richtertoffen lands on him; he returns back to normal after an Omodonmeka pulls Wario up to stretch him up. In Wario Land 4, Wario can be crushed by a piston in order to be flattened, and a Decompressor will unflatten him back into his normal self. In the aforementioned games, Wario can also return to normal from being flat after being exposed to water.

Flat Wario gets referenced in WarioWare: Touched! at the end of the game. At the end of Wario-Man's cutscene, the guru that Wario stole the DS from is mad from before, so he whacks him on the head with his cane. As a result, he turns into Flat Wario.

In Wario Land: Shake It!, Wario can be flattened by large objects (such as blocks) that fall on him. However, it possesses no actual importance to the gameplay.

A possible reference to this form of Wario can be found in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. If he gets a Double Bogey or worse, Wario holds a huge boulder over his head and tosses it into the air in rage. The boulder eventually comes down again and hits him in the head, flattening him in the process. He then proceeds to walk off to the right of the screen in a similar manner to Flat Wario.

Wario Land II

 * Instruction booklet, page 11: "Certain enemies can flatten me. I can't jump when I'm flat, but I can float! You'll have to find a way to get me back to my normal, beautiful self!"

Wario Land 4

 * Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program digital manual bio: "Press to move and  to jump. Flat Wario can enter tiny passageways."

Trivia

 * The Wario Land II manual incorrectly states that Wario is unable to jump as Flat Wario. This likely refers to the jump height being affected while flattened.
 * Though there are no reactions in Wario World, the boss DinoMighty as well as many other monsters and obstacles can smash Wario into the ground and flatten him but this otherwise serves so Wario takes damage and is no way useful.