Wario Land 4

Wario Land 4, known in Japan as Wario Land Advance: Yōki no Otakara (meaning Wario Land Advance: The Treasure of the Golden Diva), is a Game Boy Advance platform game released in 2001. It is the fifth game in the Wario Land series, which is a spin-off of the Super Mario Land series. In the game, Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva. It features 2-D graphics with linear transformations (similar to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island).

Story
Wario is reading the newspaper when he notices an article about a mysterious pyramid found deep in the jungle. The legend related to the pyramid is that of Princess Shokora, ruler of the pyramid, who was cursed by the money-crazed Golden Diva. Shokora was captured and became a prisoner of the Golden Diva.

Without wasting time, Wario jumps into his Wario Car (as shown in the opening animation) and speeds toward the Golden Pyramid, with the intention of stealing treasure from the pyramid, not rescuing the Princess. As he enters it, he finds a black cat and chases it. Doing so, he falls down a precipice and is stuck inside the pyramid. The only way out is to one of Shokora's peices of jewellery from each passage in the pyramid in order to gain access to the innermost part of the pyramid, which ends up being the stronghold of Golden Diva.

Wario defeats Golden Diva and exits the pyramid with all the treasure and Shokora, who gives Wario a kiss on the cheek, ending the game.

The Passages
The game begins in the Entry Passage (a Minor Passage), which includes one level and a boss. The remainder of the game consists of four Main Passages, each with a different theme and boss. These four passages only become available after completing the Entry Passage, and can be completed in any order. Each of the four passages is further divided into four levels. When each boss of the five passages have been cleared (four main and one entry), an inner pyramid (The Golden Pyramid, which is a Minor Passage) is revealed on the main map. This includes one last level and the final boss.

Wario is given a health meter, which contains a total of eight hearts. Wario can gain a heart by collecting health that are scattered randomly throughout a level. Wario can lose a heart by touching a threatening part of an enemy (eg. horns, teeth), or by touching spikes.

Jewel Pieces
Each of the eighteen levels has four Jewel Pieces that need to be collected, bringing the total to 16 Pieces or four complete Jewel per Main Passage. The player must collect all 16 Jewel Pieces to gain access to the boss of that passage.

Keyzers
The player must also collect a Keyzer to unlock the next level. Without the Keyzer, the 4 Jewels in that level can still be collected, but the next level will remain locked. Once all four Jewels have been completed, Wario can fight the boss of that area. When the first five bosses have been cleared, an inner pyramid (The Golden Pyramid) is revealed on the main map. This includes one last level and the final boss.

Frog Switch
When Wario enters a level, he enters through a Portal, which closes behind him. The only way to open it again is to find the Frog Switch that is somewhere in the level to open it once again to return to the map screen. A time limit is given to return to the portal. The player should focus on finding the four Jewel Pieces and the Keyzer before hitting the Frog Switch. However, there are some areas that can only be accessed by hitting the switch. This is done by the Frog Switch Blocks. The Frog Block can be seen solid or transparent. When the Frog Switch is hit, all transparent Blocks will become solid, while all the solid Blocks will become transparent.

This opens up new areas that can only be accessed when the Frog Switch is hit, so there may be some other Jewel Pieces or maybe even the Keyzer to find in that new area, but the player is limited by time, and once you are out of time, the player's score will start to decrease. Once the score reaches zero, Wario is sent back to the passage, and must start the level again.

Puzzle Rooms
There are two Puzzle Rooms in each level (excluding Entry Passage and Golden Passage). Each one is found in a Purple Pipe, and each contain either a Giant Diamond worth 1000pts., or a bunch of coins that are worth 1000 points when combined. Wario must solve some kind of puzzle to get to these points, usually using Dr. Arewo Stein as an object to throw. Completing these rooms is optional, and is not needed to complete the game, but rather if the player wants a few extra points. Likewise, the player will never see a Jewel Piece or a Keyzer is a Puzzle Room.

Sound Room
There is also an optional bonus challenge to complete. In every level except for the Entry Passage and the Golden Pyramid, there is a hidden CD that can be collected and played in the Sound Room, each containing a different sound. There is a total of 16 CDs to collect. A Karaoke can also be unlocked, a full song that can be played in the Sound Room. It can be unlocked by getting 10,000pts. or more in each of the eighteen levels.

Game Modes
Upon creating a file, the game will ask what game mode the player perfers to play as. The game modes are as follows:
 * Normal
 * Hard
 * Super Hard (unlockable, by completing Hard mode)

The game mode affects the location of the Jewel Pieces, and the time given to get back to the Portal after the player hits the Frog Switch.

Mini-Game Shop
Before the boss, there is a Mini-Game Shop where Wario can play one of three mini-games. If Wario gets a certain amount of points in each of the mini-games, then he can earn Frog Medals, which he can then spend at the item shop for items to assist him to defeat the boss of that passage. Each mini-game costs 5000 points to play (not including the Entry Passage, which is discounted to 2000.) Points are earned during normal gameplay.

There are three minigames included:
 * The Wario Hop
 * Wario's Homerun Derby
 * Wario's Roulette

Item Shop
The Item Shop in Wario Land 4 is a place where Wario can spend his Frog Medals in exchange for items to assist him in defeating the boss of that passage by doing pre-damage at the battles start. The shop keeper; Mr. Game and Watch, makes his first ever appearance. However, this early version of Mr. Game & Watch has eyes. They were removed for his next appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

The more effective the item has on damaging a boss, the more Frog Medals it is likely to cost. The price of the items also varies on the game mode. Eg. An item in "Hard" mode would be more expensive than the same item in "Normal" mode.

All items are as follows... (All prices are as they appear in "normal" mode).


 * Apple Bomb (2 medals)
 * Blast Cannon (2 medals)
 * Vizorman (4 medals)
 * Bugle (6 medals)
 * Black Dog (10 medals)
 * Large Lips (10 medals)
 * Big Fist (10 medals)
 * Black Dragon (10 medals)
 * Smile (Free- Joke item)

Controls

 * Opens pause menu/confirm.
 * Jump/swim/confirm.
 * Hold to body slam (attack), throw (hold to build power).
 * Left/right to move. Up to look up.
 * + : Throw upwards.
 * Ground pound (break blocks below you or defeat enemies, ends when player releases the d-pad), roll on 45 degree slope, super ground pound (break stronger blocks, hold d-pad down for more than a second while falling. Does not end when the player releases the d-pad.)
 * + : Crawl.
 * /: Body slam with more power/run fast.

Passages
The Passages are as follows:

Entry Passage
This passage only has one level: The Hall of Hieroglyphs, which, true to its name, uses hieroglyphics on the walls to teach Wario his basic moves. The boss of this passage is Spoiled Rotten.

Emerald Passage
This Passage is nature-themed. The four levels are:

The boss is Cractus, a possessed pot-plant with a huge head that can skewer Wario with its claws and drool a poisonous liquid on him, turning Wario into Zombie Wario.
 * Palm Tree Paradise
 * Wildflower Fields
 * Mystic Lake
 * Monsoon Jungle

Ruby Passage
This Passage is mechanical-themed. The four levels are:


 * The Curious Factory
 * The Toxic Landfill
 * 40 Below Fridge
 * Pinball Zone

The boss is Cuckoo Condor. He is what appears to be a giant cuckoo clock. He can grab Wario and shoot gears and electricity at him. After he takes enough damage, the cuckoo clock falls apart, revealing a giant bird, presumably a condor, underneath. In this form, Cuckoo Condor can lay eggs that hatch into self-destructing chicks to damage Wario.

Topaz Passage
This Passage is toy-themed. The four levels are:


 * Toy Block Tower
 * The Big Board
 * Doodle Woods
 * Domino Row

The boss is Aerodent, a rat that hides in a giant inflatable teddy bear. He throws down needles, which can be used to deflate the teddy bear, making Aerodent an easier target. Later in the fight, Aerodent will drop flames, which do not harm Wario, but instead turns him into Flaming Wario. Fiery Wario will run around the screen for a while, wasting valuable time.

Sapphire Passage
This passage is horror-themed. The four levels are:


 * Crescent Moon Village
 * Arabian Night
 * Fiery Cavern
 * Hotel Horror

The boss is Catbat. He is essentially a big cat with a statue of a bat on his head, which is his weak spot. He creates waves which must be jumped over, and can also spit out orange and purple spiked balls, which either damage Wario or turn him into Puffy Wario, respectively. The latter's purpose is to waste time.

Golden Pyramid
The final area in the game. It only has one level, the Golden Passage. Its boss is the Golden Diva, the last boss of the game.

Enemies
During his adventure, Wario encounters more than three dozen types of enemies. While a dozen of them is found in the levels of different passages, most enemy types are normally only found in a certain passage. They usually go in line with the passage's theme.

Golden Pyramid Enemies
The last part of the game doesn't introduce new enemies, aside from the final boss, the Golden Diva, and the creatures created by her. However, some enemies that are otherwise exclusive to the Sapphire Passage reappear in the last level before the boss, the Golden Passage, including Skeleton Birds, Men'ono and Miniculas.

Reception
The game received generally positive reviews. IGN gave Wario Land a 9 out of 10, or "Outstanding", citing its well thought out level design and replayability. It was not given a full 10 because the game does not necessarily push the performance power of the Game Boy Advance.

Links

 * Official European website
 * Official American website
 * Official Japanese website