Owl (species)

Owls are large helpful birds that appear in Wario Land II and Wario Land 3. They carry Wario around if he grabs their feet. The player can freely change the flight direction by pressing.

Wario Land II
Owls first appear in Wario Land II, where they appear in Get to Maze Woods, Through the thorny maze!!, Get to the Castle!!, Hold on to the owl, and Don't shock the owl!. Owls start out perching on the surface sleeping, which requires Wario to bump into them to get them to take flight. While in the air, Wario can grab its feet from underneath it, allowing him to fly in the air. The owl moves in the direction pressed on the, where they keep moving in that direction. If the owl moves in that direction and the same direction on the is pressed, the owl flies faster. When flying, Wario is only affected by obstacles, while the owl isn't, so it cannot get hurt by enemies nor does it bump its head on a ceiling. When Wario flies into a non-lethal surface, he will fly in the opposite direction, but if Wario gets hit by an dangerous obstacle or an enemy, the owl will escape while Wario falls. The owl can be released by pressing, causing Wario will be temporarily invincible after doing so. The owl will then return to the area where it was originally found, unless Wario releases the owl too near the original area, in which case Wario must either exit and enter the room, or to travel further back and return to get the owl to show up again.

Wario Land 3
Owls return in Wario Land 3, where they appear in The Steep Canyon, Castle of Illusions, and The Colossal Hole. They sport a number of differences from Wario Land II. In this game, owls are one of the two species that are affected by day or night (Spearheads being the other). During the day, owls perch on the surface to sleep, only waking up when Wario bumps into it; during the night, they will fly back and forth in the air by default. Owls fly faster compared to its predecessor, including when the same direction on the is pressed based where the owl travels. When Wario grabs an owl, a different music plays, much like what happens when one of Wario's reactions is triggered. After Wario releases the owl with, he will not become temporarily invincible until he hits the floor, meaning that he can get hurt as he falls this way. If he does, an owl escapes from Wario's hand as if he did not release it before. Even if Wario has an owl in his hand, a new one appears in the original location if Wario leaves the original location and returns there.

In the Action Help menu that can be selected when the game is paused, a tutorial of Wario grabbing an owl can be displayed if he is currently grabbing one, even if Wario releases an owl but have not touch the surface yet.