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 doesn't star Mario, and instead features Wario, launching him into his own Wario Land series. Mario does make a cameo at the end of this first Wario Land title, stealing the statue Wario worked so hard to collect. However, Wario does get his own house or castle (and at the highest amount, a whole planet) as a reward for saving Kitchen Island.

Plot
Desiring a castle of his own, Wario sets out to find a lost golden statue of Princess Toadstool that he intends to ransom to her for the money to buy his own castle. Along the way he gladly collects any other gold coins and treasures he finds. The game is spent navigating a number of levels to reclaim his lost treasures, and has a significant level of replayability due to the branched path many of the levels take.

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. Unlike its sequel, Wario Land II, the game allows players to revisit levels that have already been completed.

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 eating items. 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
 * Paidan
 * 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 six 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 Other Games
A microgame called Wario Land is one of 9-Volt and 18-Volt's games in WarioWare: Smooth Moves. In it, the player has Wario hold a Pirate Goom and throw it at blocks, Togemaru, Pirate Gooms, Droppers and Debidebi.

When Wario defeats an enemy by throwing, a coin pops out. In the original game, coins only appear out of enemies when Wario shoulder bashes into them.

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 includes when a boss is hit, which is the same sound effect of when a Metroid gets hit. Another borrowed sound effect is when the player pauses the game.