Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (CIB – Game Boy)

Wario, Mario’s greedy rival from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, is more determined than ever to get a castle after being booted out of Mario’s. He has heard that the pirates of Kitchen Island have a golden Statue of Princess Toadstool that’s worth a king’s ransom! Wario figures that if he swipes the Princess’ statue for himself, as well as all the other loot the pirates have hoarded, he’ll have more than enough cash for a castle that’s even bigger and better than Mario’s!

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is different from previous games in the series in that you control the brutish and greedy Wario. Even when small, Wario can break most bricks with a punch, and some enemies are so weak to him that they’ll just be pushed aside! Wario has a body slam attack that he can use to destroy enemies, and he can also pick them up and throw them at his foes. If that wasn’t enough, there are three different power ups that Wario can find. The Bull Hat lets him plough through bricks in a single hit, ram his horns into the ceiling to hold onto it, and butt stomp to stun all enemies. The Jet Hat allows him to fly horizontally for a short period of time, and increases his jump height and speed. Finally, the Dragon Hat allows him to breathe a long stream of fire for a short period of time.

To suit Wario’s greedy nature, the game revolves around money. Throughout the stages, you can earn coins by grabbing them floating in the air, punching them out of bricks, or by body slamming into foes and then collecting the coins they drop. You can also find hidden treasures buried deep within some levels by finding a key and then throwing it at the skull door to unlock it. Once Wario reaches the end of a level, he usually needs to pay a toll to get the end-of-level door to open. Pressing Up on the Control Pad and B pulls out a coin worth 10 coins, which you must throw at the door. Once the door opens, you can exit and the level is complete. Before you finish each level, you can choose to play a mini-game that doubles or halves the amount of coins you have, with a 50/50 chance. You get three tries, and can choose to leave whenever you wish…so don’t get too greedy!