Wario Land 3: Nintendo Perfected 

Wario Land 3.... Wario's greatest achievement?

We really do need more “Wariovania” games ngl

If you think about it, the game has a similar plot to another Game Boy game: Protagonist is trapped in a strange unfamiliar world. A certain amount of musical items need to be obtained to awaken a powerful deity and leave the world.

I just realized that while Pizza tower‘s gameplay is more focused around WL4, it graphically resembles 3 a lot more. Peppino‘s color scheme is even the same as WL3 Wario‘s.

Whoa, you're making my phone feel like a Game Boy with that aspect ratio, neat

Yaknow, making Wario such a unit and so much bigger physically than Mario does so much for the character animation. Wario has so much more life in his movement here than Mario has in any 2D outing really. Making him so big and therefore giving more screen space for animation is genius.

This aspect ratio choice is inspired, and you know how much I love examining design lineages and the unsung influences on mechanics. Great work as always 💜

This turned out to be a VERY timely video.

And now we get to play it on the Switch.

WL3 is so dope, and it’s so under appreciated. I want more games like it.

You hit the RU-vid algorithm good timing jackpot with this one.

I played this game so often when I was younger. My pea-sized brain loved loved trying to figure out the puzzles and the backtracking I had to do. Quite possibly my favorite GBC game! Glad you're covering this game!!!

I'd love to see a Wario World 2 with Waluigi being playable.

Playing this on Nintendo Switch at the moment! It's the only Wario Land game I didn't play as a child, but wow it's already my favorite. Great video!!

Despite my RU-vid account being named after Wario Land 4, the third game is actually my favorite in the series. I spent so my hours playing and replaying the game as a kid, and it was always so much fun. Thank you for the great video essay.

We need more Wariovanias!

I absolutely adored this game as a kid. It was so satisfying to get an item that changed the overworld. And the twist at the end was mind blowing! To be betrayed after weeks/months of effort!

This game will always have a special place in my heart, I got to play it when I was very young and despite not knowing English at the time, I managed to complete it. Many good memories about finding new treasures, getting really hyped and show the cinematics to my sisters.

After the comment i made in your Antonblast video, i was expecting this gem of a game to be covered sooner or later! Thank you!!

As someone who was never great at Super Mario Land as a child, I appreciate that you basically only showed parts from the first 3 levels which were the only ones I could consistantly beat as a child.

Came back here after seeing that Wario land 3 was included in today's Nintendo direct

Another small thing that I absolutely adored about this game that you didn't mention: You could repeat _every_ boss as often as you'd like. So many games with a greater world that keeps evolving tend to respawn regular enemies, but rarely the boss at the end of the level or dungeon. I'd replay some levels just to beat the boss again - which would be even more fun once you unlocked Time Attack and would get the more rewarding "exit theme" when managing to be faster than last time. The only thing I'd have loved to get there as well would have been a special Time Attack for Rudy, which happened to be one of my favorite bosses as well. Never got tired of that trippy temple floor moving along with Rudy's attacks.

I can't believe you predicted the Nintendo Direct!

I played this game TO DEATH as a kid, glad it's getting the love it deserves!! The soundtrack goes pretty hard too

God damn you even took it a step further to format the video in a Gameboy-esque resolution scale. Also Pizza Tower review when?

23:06 an unexpected, but welcome, Rain World appearance

Holy shit, a good Wario Land Video. Underrated.

setting the video to the aspect ratio of the gameboy is such a bold move and i love it

This is honestly hilarious, given that I recently watched a video by a RU-vid Channel called "AutomaticPause" where he did a retrospective of the entire Wario Land series. While by the end he basically said Wario Land: Shake It! was his least favorite/worst for... reasons, it definitely sounded like he felt that Wario Land 3 was the worst game design-wise, and got so annoyed with it that he couldn't bring himself to finish it. Speaking for myself, though, I have a soft spot for Wario Land 3, it being the first Wario Land game I ever played and renting it a lot when I was younger. It helps that I also really liked Dr. Mario 64, which used characters from Wario Land 3. It's been a while since I played Wario Land 3, not sure how I'd feel if I played it now, though odds are I'd probably be won over if only because of nostalgia. ...Also, Pizza Tower is out, everyone go get it. I know the game owes more to Wario Land 4 than Wario Land 3, but it's an awesome game regardless and deserves all the success it's undoubtedly going to get.

New Hot Cyder, exactly just what i needed today. Yes!

This game is crazy genius and it astonishes me that it can create wild goose chases so effortlessly. The backtracking was something I expected to hate but the small subtle shifts in levels due to your meddling makes it rewarding to explore!

I’m hoping for a review/analysis of Pizza Tower from you eventually. Until then, I’ll just hope for new indie games that take Inspiron Wario Land 3’s design, exploration on a level-by-level basis, with the same feeling of getting more abilities and getting stronger that a typical Metroidvania does.

The passing of Gunpei Yokoi and Hiroshi Yamauchi along with the dissolving of R&D1 is really what led to the dormancy we see with Kid Icarus, Metroid and Wario Land Metroid escaped the void because its been on console and it's nostalgia is stronger, there other teams would step in and work on them Meanwhile Wario paved the way for handheld and yet the community scoffs at it if it isn't Pokemon or Mario RPG

Couldn't agree with this title or this video more. You've done it again my friend, knocked another one out of the park

I guess we need to wait for a vertical screen to become a Nintendo gimmick so that we can get a WALUIGI LAND

Those transformations look great! Wish I got to experience more of the handhelds when I was younger. This video also just made me wonder why Nintendo hasn't used Wario for over the top cartoons.

Really need to play the Wario games. The point about WL3 being like SM64 stands out to me because in an era where indie metroidvanias are ubiquitous and we see indies also making their own collectathon style games (a la SM64, BK), it seems reasonable that we'd see something like WL3 that translates the later into 2D with similar metroidvania sensibilitiesthough ofc this has yet to happen.

Hah, I love what you did to video resolution, nice 👍

Finally, somebody giving WL3 the attention it deserves; that game's such a masterpiece

Great video! Correction though - Hirokazu Tanaka composed Super Mario Land 1's OST, not Super Mario Land 2's. That honor goes to Kazumi Totaka who, as you said, did experiment with the same melody being repurposed for different contexts (sort of like Koji Kondo with Super Mario World).

Immaculate timing!

Having recently replayed this game on Nintendo Switch, I can only marvel at child me who had all the time and patience in the world to complete this game. The rewind function on the Switch does an incredible job easing the punishing controls, platforming, and one hit kill bosses that demand perfection to not get reset. Yes, Wario is invincible, but that just means every hit wastes your time more than your lives, until you just do it perfect.

I've always heard good praise for this game and since it's available now on the normal NSO I'll finally give it a try

This video hits the nail on the head on why I love Wario Land 3 so much Though I think the name "Wario-likes" is much better since it doesn't really have to do anything with Castlevania as the name impies

I played this when i was 5 years old when the game released. I was too young to understand the full concept of the game, i thought i just had to go into a level and find all the chests. I didn't realize that that point was to return later when you had the appropriate abilities. So that ultimately led to confusion as to why i couldn't progress. I didn't get very far. However, the game is still very nostalgic for me and it's awesome.

The most underrated games to me are actually platformers that are all about exploration, secrets and stuff but that can also be completed by anybody. DKC 2 is the best game in that regard, anybody can complete it any % but to get 102 % legit (without checking up guides) is definitely the most rewarding experience ever. Unlike DKC 1 where you jump down random hole and find secret there are hints all over the place and the game has its own logic. Truly fantastic. The two other games are Yoshi Island and Wario Land 2. Yoshi Island has secret stages that you can only reach when you have 100 % everywhere. Wario Land 2 has so many different scenarios and side stories it is unbelievable. So many secrets, in fact you cannot die at all, the whole game is about exploration solely. Never played the third game now I want to try it

I finally played Warioland 3 this weekend. I didn't realize it had a search action format, so I was surprised at how underwhelming Wario's moveset was. I'd run into obstacles and think, "ok, what transformation do I need to get past this?" Eventually, when I stopped trying to find more than one chest in each level I began to enjoy it more, and when I finally unlocked the ground pound, I actually smiled! After that, I started to feel the rush of each new power up boosting Wario's ability to quickly smash through barriers and opening new areas. While I prefer Warioland 2's charming solutions to find it's branching paths, and 4's fluid motion and vibes, I really did like Warioland 3 in the end.

This is one of my fondest childhood games, and it's aged so well too

I really you dig your history on Wario Land. It was very informative. Your history on how the Wario Land series came to be sheds light on why the Wario Land series has had such a rough break lately. The 3/DS and Switch hardware can make an authentic EPD Mario game experience portable with no compromises on screen size or power (as we've seen with Mario U Deluxe and Mario Maker 2), so the restrictions that bred Wario Land in the first place no longer exist.

You know, you might be the right guy for a video covering how most games/genres evolved to everything they could be YEARS ago, and no game has really revolutionized the industry in decades.

I'm more of a Wario Land 2 guy myself, but this convinced me to give Wario Land 3 another crack

Throughout my early years, my parents swore up and down that they'd never buy a video game console because they did not want to police my time on it. On my 8th or 9th birthday, they surprised me during my birthday dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory with a trans-blue Gameboy Color and Wario Land 3. I don't remember exactly how I responded but I was incredulous and at the very least my eyes probably wigged out and pointed in opposite directions as a result of me losing my juvenile mind. I played this game obsessively. I loved it then, I love it now, and I think it was formative in my preference for experimentation and exploration not just in games but in most every aspect of my life. Thanks for this nice overview, really takes me back and opened a little window of realization I never really noticed before.

It's 2023 and HotCyder has dropped a banger in a different aspect ratio

I always referred to games inspired by Wario Land as Wario-Likes, but Wariovania has a pretty cool ring to it

I had this game when I was between 4 and 6 and I had NO idea what to do in it.

Timely. Just yesterday was trying WL3, ML2 and Tetris on the Switch's gameboy emulator. Nice to see all these games mentioned here.

Currently working on a 2D game and we’re playing around with the idea of a Wariovainia. The original idea was to emulate the design of the 64 platformers, but I noticed that it was very similar to WL3. But nothing is set in stone at this point.

I’ve been waiting for a video like this for a long while

My personal gripe with Wario Land 3 is that unlike in Wario Land 1,2,4 and shake it, moments where you go off of the main path to explore, find secrets and collectibles, are really rare. The music coins are often easy to find and are found along the linear main path of the game. Otherwise, the level design in Wario Land 3 is outstanding. Probably the most perfect progression of game mechanics ever. But that first problem is a huge one. I need secrets in my Wario Land. 2 and 4 are my favorites in the franchise.

This vid is now relevant due to today direct.

For such a gooftastic game, the sprite work is exceptional.

Enemies giving you "statuses" which you can use to progress - rather than just hurting you - is a mechanic we should see implemented more often.

Warioland 3, pardon my boldness and quoting of the Lonely Goomba, is indeed the a Gameboy Color’s magnum opus/best title

Just started another playthrough of WL3, my favorite GBC game ever. Decide to search it up on RU-vid. Finding this so new is sick! Glad lots of people are still thinking about this game.

What great timing for this video with the rerelease on the Switch! One of the first video games I ever played as a young child and one of my all-time favorite video games!

I had a wario land 3 on my gameboy color as a kid. Born in 96. I don’t think I ever made it to level 3 Always wanted to see the story play out but wasn’t smart enough

Replaying on the switch after being a fav of mine as a kid- no rose colored glasses, it’s a certified banger. Great vid!

You gotta do a video on pizza tower now that it's out especially if you've got something extra to say about it compared to wario land

There was a randomizer for Wario Land 3 and it was great I don't know if it still exists. I highly recommend it if you want a different experience.

You are the only content creator who shares my genuine passion and love for Wario and his games. Thank you, hotcyder 😌

Congrats on the excellent timing on this!

Warioland 3 is one of my favourite games ever. And the music is really good!

Played this game at least 10x till the end when i was young

This is certainly my favourite GB/GBC game, perhaps tied with the Zelda titles.. Structurally it felt like a collect-a-thon like Banjo Kazooie, but with 4 main objectives per level instead of 4. I rememeber being impressed back then, with the massive amount of levels given that there was so much content in each of them.

Fantastic video! This was the one Wario Land game i missed out on as a kid so its nice that I'll be able to play it on the switch. Really great observations on the how R&D 1 evolved their games to make more sense for the limited hardware.

ive started binging the wario series after getting get it together a year or so ago, its such an oddly fascinating franchise that sprouted its own wings and became its own thing, wonder if the success of games like pizza tower will let the series thrive once again

I love how informative your video is

Wario Land 3 is the reason I like my games without HUD elements

I fucking LOVED this game when it was released. Cheers for the video and the trip down memory lane

I still need to beat Wario Land 3, while I do actually own the cartridge, the farthest I’ve gotten was actually on Switch during a family trip to Las Vegas. The game is an absolute joy to play that I most definitely need to play to the end.

I completely forgotten there was a third Wario Land. Yeah, knowing about the other ones was something to be there for. I really miss these Wario Land games, not to say the WarioWare games are bad at all. I just miss Wario's foray in platforming.

love seeing passion videos like this! this was great~

Im so happy it's now on Switch :D

I love Wario Land 4 but I treasure 3 and Shake it. One aside, Wario Land 3 may not have health but that doesn't mean it can't be hard, and I'm not talking about the puzzles. Getting hit in WL4 means losing one of 8 hearts you could lose before you have to restart a stage. Getting hit in Wario land 3 can mean re-traversing through 3-4 screens because you got whacked by a zombie and fell through the floor. I still remember the forest stage in the trees where getting hit would send you straight to the forest floor. In a way you could argue WL3 was a predecessor to Getting Over It (without being sent all the way to the start of the game).

Correction: symphony of the night was not inspired by Metroid, it was inspired by Zelda and 2D platformers as a whole just like Metroid was. It's why the Metroidvania genre isnt just called Metroid-like or Castlevania-like, its named after both series that were inspired by the same material that reached the same conclusions on sheer coincidence

Thanks for this; I wanted to really appreciate playing this game on my switch and your video did exactly that :)

In Wario Land 3 you can save in a level while playing. You don't need to complete a level to save your progress.

The thing I like most about the Wario Land games is actual pretty simple - It's not *just* a Mario game with a different character. Wario is not Mario (duh), and a different character calls for a different kind of game. Where Mario games challenge you to get to the end, Wario games really ask you to explore, as a treasure hunter would. And being that Wario was a new character at this point, characterization is pretty important. Also, man, the timing on this video is great - creating this right before they announced Wario Land 3 for Switch Online is pretty neat. Though- the RU-vid metadata for this mistakenly tags this video with Wario Land Shake It. Might want to check that out. Also a great game! Greetings from The Red Guy's discorb server!

Wario Land 3 was one of the first games I played on the Gameboy Color! I remember playing it at a friends house and thinking "Why can't Wario die?!?".

man i used to have this game my brother played the every loving FUCK out of it. i dont' think i ever played much of it though ): I MISSED OUT

Is it weird that I've always like WL3 more than WL4? I like the chill, take-your-time vibe WL3 has more than the frantic, hurry-your-ass vibe that WL4 has. Not that WL4 is bad (quite the opposite).

i used to play this game a lot when i was a kid and finished it a lot, although i did not collected all of the note coins.

When WL3 came out on the switch it actually became the only game I played for like a week. Great video!

The Wariovania concept was what made it fun. I loved how most treasures affected something in the world, always looked forward to seeing what the next one would do. Wario Land 2 still holds a special place with me too for its creative use of secret exits, encouraging exploration.

I finished this game so many times back in high school. I played it after WL4 and I believe this is the best game in the entire Wario Land series. The Metroidvania aspect and puzzle platforming via status effects is just as fun as I remember it!

This aged like a fine wine

I stumbled upon this beauty by chance, and I'd say it's the best game I've played. By no means the one I've played the most, but certainly the one that gave me the most satisfaction per minute.

Wario land 3 was my first wario land game, I liked it so much I bought wario land 1, 2, and 4.

How fun! I cant wait to play golf over and over

tbh i wished wario land 4 did more of the everchanging-world and interconnected levels that wario 3 did, but they did their own thing by letting the player jump around the worlds as they please and start/end with whatever they want, which is cool too.