Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (known in Japan as Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land, スーパーマリオランド3 ワリオランド), is a game released for the Game Boy in 1994. It is set apart from the first two Super Mario Land games in that it does not star Mario but instead features Wario, launching him into his own Wario Land series against his own nemesis, Captain Syrup (who turns out to be female in a twist at the end). Mario does make a cameo at the end of this game by stealing a statue of Princess Toadstool from Wario.

Plot
Desiring to replace or restore the castle he lost to Mario in Super Mario Land 2, Wario sets out to steal a golden statue of Princess Toadstool from the Brown Sugar Pirates and Captain Syrup, which he then intends to ransom for the money to buy his own castle. Along the way he collects or steals any other coins and treasures he finds or knocks out of enemies. The game is spent navigating a number of levels to reclaim his lost treasures, and has a significant level of re-playability due to the branched path many of the levels take. In the end, Captain Syrup is revealed to be female (a fact kept hidden in the instuction manual and given credence by Wario's expression of shock at the reveal) while Wario ultimately gets anything from a birdhouse to an actual planet for himself based on the amount of treasure collected.

Gameplay
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is a 2D platforming game. It is divided into seven worlds, which each are divided into multiple courses. Once the player completes a course, the next course will become available, and so on. Wario Land II, the game allows players to revisit levels that have already been completed.

It has several mechanics that are similar to the Super Mario games such as the transformation system. Wario can also touch enemies as long as they don't have any hazards equipped, so he can stun or defeat them by performing a body slam, ground pound, touching soft-spots, or tossing at others.

Wario starts out on Rice Beach, a small area of Kitchen Island. On the map screen, the player will notice that Kitchen Island is shaped like a skull, and a skull theme is present throughout the game. The save points are skulls, as are the level exits, secret doors, etc.

Transformations
One of the main features in Wario Land is the various transformations that Wario can go through by collecting Pots. These special powers can at times help Wario overcome obstacles and defeat tough enemies; However, if Wario takes damage when in any of the first three transformations, he will transform into Small Wario, who dies instantly upon taking damage.

Worlds

 * Rice Beach
 * Mt. Teapot
 * Sherbet Land
 * Stove Canyon
 * SS Tea Cup
 * Parsely Woods
 * Syrup Castle

Bosses
Each world has a boss that Wario must defeat at the end. Here is a listing of the bosses in order, and which world they correspond to.

Enemies

 * Wanderin' Goom
 * Pirate Goom
 * Dropper
 * Pinwheel
 * Helmut
 * Pouncer
 * Penkoon
 * Dangerous Duck
 * Bucket Head
 * Floater
 * Pecan
 * Watch
 * Goboten
 * Gaugau
 * Konotako
 * White Puff
 * Guragura
 * Yadorā
 * Yarikuri Obake
 * Pikkarikun
 * Debidebi
 * Fireballs
 * Ukiwani
 * Boulder
 * Bē
 * Chicken Duck
 * Paidan
 * Spiked Ball
 * Muncher
 * Togemaru
 * Harisu
 * Chikuri
 * Maizō
 * Yaburiki
 * Bōtsu

Reviews
Although it didn't sell as well as its Mario Land predecessors, the game received mostly favorable reviews. The game placed 71st in the 100th issue of Nintendo Power's "100 best Nintendo games of all time" in 1997.

Sequels
The game spawned five sequels, Virtual Boy Wario Land, Wario Land II, Wario Land 3, Wario Land 4 and Wario Land: Shake It!. The Wario Land series also received Wario World and Wario: Master of Disguise which were similar games. A spin-off series was also made, the popular WarioWare series of games.

References in Later Games

 * WarioWare: Smooth Moves: A microgame called Wario Land is one of 9-Volt and 18-Volt's microgames.
 * Mario Kart 7: Part of the music that plays on Wario Shipyard is a remix of the music of the first stage of Rice Beach.

Trivia

 * The game was tentatively titled Super Mario Land 3: Kairiki Wario (スーパーマリオランド3 怪力ワリオ). Kairiki Wario roughly means "Super Strength Wario." The name was used on a Japanese promotional flyer from 1993. The logo depicted on the flyer differs drastically from any of the Wario Land logos.
 * This game borrows some sound effects used in Metroid II: Return of Samus, another Nintendo game, also for the Game Boy. One example is when a boss is hit; the noise is the same one made when a Metroid gets hit. Another borrowed sound effect is when the player pauses the game.