Gaming Target - GameCube: Wario World

Written by Kyle Williams on September 09, 2002

First Impressions: First was Luigi's Mansion. Then came Mario Sunshine. Now there's Wario World. What's next,

Nintendo has always been the leader of platform videogaming. Back in the day, they practically invented the genre with Donkey Kong. It is appropriate that they still wear the platform crown. An achievement that Super Mario Sunshine has illustrated since its release last month. So what do you do to follow a game like Mario Sunshine up? You release Wario World three months later, that's what.

Wario World is going to be Wario's first adventure in three-dimensions. Up to this point, he has spent his time romping around in 2D on the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. He's even had an adventure on the ill-fated Virtual Boy. Finally, this surly anti-hero is stepping into the limelight on the Gamecube and is going to be keeping both eyes on his castle full of loot.

As in some of his previous outings, Wario's treasure is looking to be his undoing in Wario World. Wario is a greedy little bugger, and has been stashing away anything that has value including coins, gems, and jewels. Unfortunately for Wario, one of those jewels that he has stashed away has the mysterious power to transform his treasure into monsters. Imagine waking up one morning and going downstairs to find that all of the pennies in your piggy bank have turned into zombies and rats. That's essentially what Wario is going to come across at the beginning of this game.

Of course, Wario is the king of his castle and won't be letting any treasure-morphing jewel ruin his morning. He is going to be taking off into the alternate world that now exists in his basement to get his treasure back. Don't expect Wario to be sporting some fancy gadget from Gadd Labs like Mario and Luigi have taken to doing. Wario is a real man and will be settling his scores by punching, jumping and grabbing anything and everything to fight back the monsters he faces. You silly zombies think that surrounding Wario is going to even the odds? Think again, as Wario has learned to spin heavy objects around himself in a whirlwind of headbreaking meyhem.

Since Wario World is taking place in and around Wario's castle, don't expect the levels to be as bright-and-shiny as the areas on Isle Delfino. Early screenshots are leading us to a brand new, grittier world than we have seen in a Mario game before. The castle walls, floors, and everything in every room is taking on a more realistic look, with lots of neutral colors being used. That ins't to say that colors won't be bounding around the screen. The characters are looking to come alive with designs that are straight out of the Nintendo handbook and will be both plentiful and a handful to deal with.