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User:KGRAMR/VBWL

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Virtual Boy Wario Land
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D1
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Hiroji Kiyotake
Hirofumi Matsuoka
Producer(s)Gunpei Yokoi
Programmer(s)Satoshi Matsumura
Composer(s)Kazumi Totaka
SeriesWario
Platform(s)Virtual Boy
Release
  • NA: November 1995
  • JP: December 1, 1995
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Virtual Boy Wario Land[a]

Gameplay edit

Virtual Boy Wario Land

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Development and release edit

Virtual Boy Wario Land was developed by a large number of Nintendo R&D1 staff involved.[7][8] It was co-directed by Hiroji Kiyotake and Hirofumi Matsuoka, who had previously served as director and artist on Mario Paint, and produced by Gunpei Yokoi.[9][10][11] Satoshi Matsumura acted as one of the game's co-programmers, while the music and sound effects were composed by Kazumi Totaka, which was ultimately his final project with R&D1.[9][12][13] Totaka includes a song called "Totaka's Song", which he hides in most of the video games he composes.[14] Like all other Virtual Boy titles, the game uses a red-and-black color scheme and uses parallax, an optical trick used to simulate 3D.[15]

The game was first shown at E3 1995 under the name Wario Cruise[b], intended for release on September 21, 1995 in Japan and October 1995 in North America.[16][17][18][19] It also made another appearance at Shoshinkai 1995 under its final title, Virtual Boy Wario Land.[20][21][22] The North American release was titled Wario's Treasure Hunt, but the name was changed shortly before launch.[23] Nintendo first published the game in North America in November 1995, followed by Japan on December 1, 1995.[24][25]

Reception edit

Virtual Boy Wario Land garnered mostly positive reception from critics upon release, with most criticism directed at the Virtual Boy hardware itself.[24][26][31] Nintendo Power felt that the game made excellent use of the Virtual Boy hardware with some of the 3D graphics and gameplay elements.[29] Los Angeles Times' Aaron Curtis found the game to be enjoyable but disliked the Virtual Boy's visual style, while Rocky Mountain News' Joel Easley said its use of 3D demonstrated the possibilities of the Virtual Boy.[32][33] GamePro considered it the best Virtual Boy game, celebrating the quality of the characters and sound effects.[34]

Dave Upchurch and Simon Clays of Nintendo Magazine System (Official Nintendo Magazine) praised the game's crisp visuals, audio department, and gameplay, but felt that the 3D effect was merely cosmetic and criticized its short length.[1] Next Generation remarked that while it appealed to more "hardcore" Mario fans, it was not very advanced compared to older Mario titles and they felt the 3D mechanic did not add much to the game.[28] Game Zero Magazine's Bryan Carter gave high remarks to the game's 3D graphics, soundscapes, controls, and longevity.[30] N64 Magazine's Jason Moore wrote that "The VB was the most ignored and slated of all Nintendo consoles, yet Wario Land is a typical slice of Nintendo excellence and should have sold the machine by the million".[27]

Retrospective coverage edit

Retrospective commentary for Virtual Boy Wario Land has been more favorable, being celebrated as one of the best Virtual Boy games.[35][36][37][38][39] Agustin Olvera and Stephen Smith of Kombo felt that its cavernous setting helped the Virtual Boy emphasize subtle visual details, while Play's Dave Halverson returned to play the game often and praised it for not getting tiresome to replay.[40][41] AllGame's Scott Alan Marriott found the game fun, highlighting Wario's controls and diverse moveset, as well as the detailed graphics and bosses, but noted its short duration.[2] Nintendo Life's Dave Frear lauded the game's use of the 3D effect in the visual design and replayability, but lamented the lack of additional levels.[3] Retro Gamer opined that the background gimmick helped enhance an otherwise "traditional" platformer, while the Australian video game talk show Good Game felt that more could have been done with its visuals.[15][42]

Writing for 1Up.com and Nintendo World Report, Neal Ronaghan enjoyed the background gimmick but felt that it did not work as well as it could in exploring the concept.[4][43] GamesRadar called Virtual Boy Wario Land a "legitimately awesome" platformer despite its lacking "3D" gimmick, while Kotaku's Ben Bertoli felt that it was unappreciated at release due to its platform.[44][45] Polygon's Kyle Hilliard stated that, despite being less popular than all other Wario titles, it is the best Wario game. He discussed how, even though it was his first time playing it, he felt nostalgic due to its use of familiar elements from the first Wario Land entry. He also praised the game's 3D effects, particularly the boss battles.[46] Several outlets hoped to see it re-released on other Nintendo platforms, specifically the Nintendo 3DS, including IGN, Destructoid, and Retronauts.[8][47][48]

Legacy edit

Virtual Boy Wario Land served as inspiration for multiple games from several developers due to its background gimmick, including Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) by Retro Studios, Mutant Mudds (2012) by Renegade Kid, and Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (2024) by WayForward.[49][50][51] In 2016, Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham revealed that he proposed a color remake of the game for Nintendo 3DS to Nintendo, but Watsham never received a response, reportedly due to Nintendo not wanting to revisit the Virtual Boy.[52][53]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Known in Japan as Virtual Boy Wario Land: The Secret Treasure of Awazon (Japanese: バーチャルボーイワリオランド アワゾンの秘宝, Hepburn: Bācharu Bōi Wario Rando: Awazon no Hihō)
  2. ^ ワリオクルーズ (Wario Kurūzu)
  3. ^ Nintendo Power provided scores of 4.4 for graphics and sound, 3.8 for play control, 4.4 for challenge, and 4.3 for theme and fun.[29]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Upchurch, Dave; Clays, Simon (March 1996). "Review: Virtual Boy Wario Land". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 42. EMAP. pp. 40–43.
  2. ^ a b Marriott, Scott Alan (2007). "Virtual Boy Wario Land - Review". AllGame. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  3. ^ a b Frear, Dave (May 5, 2009). "Virtual Boy Wario Land Review: The Virtual Boy's best game?". Nintendo Life. Nlife Ltd. Archived from the original on 2011-12-17. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  4. ^ a b Ronaghan, Neal (August 13, 2015). "Virtual Boy Wario Land Review Mini". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on 2015-08-16. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  5. ^ Virtual Boy Wario Land (Instruction Booklet) (North American ed.). Nintendo. 1995.
  6. ^ Yann (Spring 2003). "Test: Virtual Boy Wario Land". Alternative Pocket (in French). No. 2. Abbadie Fabrice. (Transcription by Pockett Videogames [fr]). Archived 2011-03-01 at the Wayback Machine).
  7. ^ a b Parish, Jeremy (September 29, 2021). "Virtual Boy Wario Land: Red-blooded WAAAAH-man". Virtual Boy Works. Limited Run Games. pp. 112–119. ISBN 9781955183000. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  8. ^ a b Parish, Jeremy (February 27, 2019). "Virtual Boy Works finally reaches the only game anyone cares about". Retronauts. Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  9. ^ a b Nintendo R&D1 (November 1995). Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy). Nintendo. Level/area: Staff.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (Ending screens without all 10 treasures by VGMuseum [The Video Games Museum]. Archived 2018-06-21 at the Wayback Machine)
  10. ^ Kohler, Chris (May 10, 2017). "Nintendo's Line Of Wario Platformers Ended Far Too Long Ago". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  11. ^ Mirachian, Darron (September 30, 2021). "Three decades of Wario all started with a name". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  12. ^ Greening, Chris (January 20, 2013). "Kazumi Totaka Profile". Video Game Music Online. Archived from the original on 2014-08-27. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  13. ^ Collins, Roy (April 12, 2024). "Super Metroid: Where Are They Now?". Shinesparkers. Archived from the original on 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  14. ^ Orland, Kyle (December 14, 2006). "Totaka's song: The search is on". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  15. ^ a b "Backwards Compatible: The Virtual Boy". Good Game. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  16. ^ "E-3 The Biggest And Best Electronic Entertainment Show Ever! — '95 Next Generation Software Listing". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 7. DieHard Gamers Club. July 1995. p. 41.
  17. ^ Ray (July 1995). "Special - E 3 Electronic Entertainment Expo: E3 Alle Hände voll zum Spielen — Nintendo: Das Warten geht weiter". Play Time [de] (in German). No. 49. Computec. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  18. ^ Sauer, Dirk (July 1995). "E3: Virtual Boy". Video Games [de] (in German). No. 44. Magna Media. p. 30.
  19. ^ "Virtual Boy Game Flash: ワリオクルーズ". Dengeki Super Famicom (in Japanese). Vol. 3, no. 14. MediaWorks. September 8, 1995. p. 144. Archived from the original on 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  20. ^ Famitsu (November 1995). "ファミコンスペースワールド'95 オフィシャルソフトカタログ". 第7回初心会ソフト展示会 ファミコンスペースワールド'95 オフィシャルガイドブック (in Japanese). ASCII Corporation. pp. 19–32.
  21. ^ "ファミコンスペースワールド'95: バーチャルボーイ". The Super Famicom [ja] (in Japanese). Vol. 6, no. 23. SoftBank Creative. December 22, 1995. p. 46. Archived from the original on 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  22. ^ "Nintendo News Network: Wario in Deep!". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 41. EMAP. February 1996. p. 7.
  23. ^ Johnston, Chris (November 1995). "Electronics Boutique - Explore 32 pages jam-packed with the hottest software & video games in the universe!: Nintendo апd Williams". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 76. Sendai Publishing. p. 182.
  24. ^ a b c "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: バーチャルボーイワリオランドアワゾンの秘宝". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 364. ASCII Corporation. December 8, 1995. p. 32. Archived from the original on 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  25. ^ "Virtual Boy Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-07-19. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  26. ^ a b "Virtual Boy Reviews: Wario Land". Game Informer. No. 34. Sunrine Publications. February 1996.
  27. ^ a b Moore, Jason (August 1997). "Planet 64 News - Retroworld: Wario Land (Virtual Boy)". N64 Magazine. No. 5. Future Publishing. p. 17.
  28. ^ a b "Finals - Virtual Boy: Wario Land". Next Generation. No. 19. Imagine Media. July 1996. p. 83.
  29. ^ a b "Now Playing: Wario Land (Virtual Boy); Head to Head". Nintendo Power. No. 79. Nintendo of America. December 1995. pp. 106–107.
  30. ^ a b Carter, Bryan (1996). "The Final Word game review - Virtual Boy: Wario Land -- Nintendo". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. Archived from the original on 2001-01-23. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  31. ^ "世界の絶滅動物シリーズ バーチャルボーイ 全ソフト一覧 (96年8月現在)". バーチャルボーイ追悼記念ガイドブック (in Japanese) (改訂第ニ版 ed.). Toyo Baphomet Council. January 31, 1998. pp. 3–7. Archived from the original on 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  32. ^ Curtis, Aaron (February 8, 1996). "Valley Weekend: Wario Good for a Hoot and a Headache — The Virtual Boy adventure has some fun features, but the 3-D, red and black display can be a pain". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles: Times Mirror Company. Archived from the original on 2024-05-01. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  33. ^ Easley, Joel (March 1, 1996). "Book A Trip To 'Wario Land'". Rocky Mountain News. Denver: E. W. Scripps Company.
  34. ^ "ProReview - Portable Systems: Wario Land (Virtual Boy)". GamePro. No. 80. IDG. March 1996. p. 68.
  35. ^ Kolan, Patrick (January 14, 2008). "IGN Retro: Virtual Boy's Best Games". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  36. ^ Reparaz, Mikel (February 23, 2008). "The 10 worst consoles ever". GamesRadar. Future US. pp. 1–6. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  37. ^ "Best of the Best - Best Virtual Boy Game: Virtual Boy Wario Land". Nintendo Power. No. 231. Future US. August 2008. p. 72.
  38. ^ Parish, Jeremy (May 19, 2009). "Retronauts — 8-Bit Cafe: Born on Game Boy". 1Up.com. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  39. ^ Handley, Zoey (January 12, 2023). "10 best Virtual Boy games of all time, ranked". Destructoid. Gamurs Group. Archived from the original on 2023-01-14. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  40. ^ Olvera, Agustin; Smith, Stephen (February 15, 2005). "The Chronicles of Wario: A Retrospect". Kombo. Advanced Media, Inc. Retrieved 2024-05-01. (Transcription by GameZone. Archived 2013-02-11 at the Wayback Machine).
  41. ^ Halverson, Dave (May 2005). "Rewind: Wario Land — Big Red (Virtual Boy)". Play. No. 41. Fusion Publishing. p. 74.
  42. ^ McFerran, Damien (May 21, 2009). "Retroispection: Virtual Boy". Retro Gamer. No. 258. Imagine Publishing. pp. 56–61.
  43. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (September 21, 2010). "A Virtual Boy Retrospective: Giving due credit to Nintendo's least-loved system, its games, and how the 3DS owes more to it than you think". 1Up.com. IGN Entertainment. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  44. ^ Reparaz, Mikel (March 22, 2011). "The 5 best Virtual Boy games". GamesRadar. Future US. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  45. ^ Bertoli, Ben (February 25, 2015). "The Most Unappreciated Platformers of the '90s". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  46. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (September 30, 2021). "Virtual Boy Wario Land is a painful, nostalgic experience". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  47. ^ Harris, Craig (July 15, 2010). "Legacy Games for Nintendo 3DS". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2010-07-18. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  48. ^ Holmes, Jonathan (January 18, 2011). "Some games that deserve a 3DS revival". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  49. ^ Claiborn, Samuel (March 3, 2011). "GDC: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Donkey Kong Country Returns and Retro Studios". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  50. ^ Dillard, Corbie (January 6, 2012). "Interview: Mutant Mudds Reader Questions". Nintendo Life. Nlife Ltd. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  51. ^ Thorpe, Nick (April 11, 2024). "Inside the Game Boy Advance: The Mini Making of Shantae Advance". Retro Gamer. No. 258. Future Publishing. pp. 26–27.
  52. ^ Peer Schneider; Jose Otero; Brain Altano (April 2, 2016). "Mutant Mudds' Developer Made a Wario Demo - NVC". Ninendo Voice Chat (YouTube). United States: IGN. Event occurs at 10m39s. Archived from the original on 2020-11-22. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  53. ^ "GoNintendo Thought: Nintendo, it's time to give Virtual Boy Wario Land a second chance". GoNintendo. July 8, 2020. Archived from the original on 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-03.

External links edit


[[Category:1995 video games]] [[Category:Nintendo games]] [[Category:Nintendo Research & Development 1 games]] [[Category:Single-player video games]] [[Category:Video games developed in Japan]] [[Category:Video games scored by Kazumi Totaka]] [[Category:Virtual Boy games]] [[Category:Wario Land]]

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