Wario Land 4

WARIO LAND 4

Today, let's check out the final game in this series: Wario Land 4 for the Game Boy Advanced. This game once again changes up the main villain and setup, with Wario setting out to explore a lost golden temple full of treasure. The game features four characters who could really be considered the main cast, those being Wario himself, a black cat revealed to be the transformed state of a princess named Shokora, the Golden Diva, who acts as the main villain of the game, and Arewo Shitain-Hakase, a researcher exploring the pyramid.

Wario himself is the only one to give us much in the way of moveset. In the game, he performs most of the more physical moves performed by Wario previously, with his running, jumping, charging with his elbow, picking up and throwing enemies, rolling, and butt bashing, with a belly bash and a headbutt thrown into the mix. His abilities based on enemy effects also return with his fat, puffy, bouncy, fiery, snowball, frozen, vampire, and zomie forms all returning from previous games. He also drives a familiar purple car and lifts weights in his idle animations.

The Golden Diva's boss fight is very similar to Rudy the Clown's, as she is mostly a giant floating figure with a plethora of attacks that doesn't really offer itself much for an actual playable character. In the fight, she covers her face with a fan for the first phase, with several more faces floating around her. Then in the second faces, she will toss out random items at Wario that he then throws back at her, her face shifting every time. Princess Shokora in her cat form doesn't do much, but does attack the Diva when first encountered. After she transforms back into a human, she simply floats up to heaven. Finally we have Arewo, who simply finds himself being picked up and used as a projectile by Wario on numerous occasions.

The games bosses include Spoiled Rotten, a giant baby eggplant who walks around with two guards and throws a tantrum after a while of being hit. Cractus is a giant plant with spiky leaves that will charge or creep forward, with drool coming out of its mouth. Cuckoo Condor is a giant ghostly condor hiding inside a cuckoo clock with a grabber, mace, and electric rod attached, and will drop eggs with rubber ducks inside once the clock is destroyed. Aerodent is a mouse piloting a giant inflatable teddy bear that will drop needle-like enemies that Wario can use to pop the bear. Finally, Catbat is a ghostly mutated creature that can summon and control tidal waves and spawn mini-bats.

As far as enemies go, they are almost all new, though most serve similar purposes as before. These include: Marumen and Spear-Masks who mostly act like Gooms and Pirate Gooms; Ringosuki, who throw apples to make Wario fat; Beezleys and Bow Balloons, bees and archers who can make Wario puffy; Menhanma, who smack with a hammer to make Wario bouncy; Kaentsubos and Pig Head Statues, who can light Wario on fire; Yetis, who can sneeze ice and turn into Iwao who throw rocks; Minicula, who make Wario a vampire; the Skeleton Bird, who can make him a zombie; Imomushi, who crawl around; Moguramen who drill; Goggly-Blades, who swim; Totsumen, with knives strapped to their faces; Shieragucchi, who bite up in the water; Utsuboanko, who emerge from holes; Togenobi, a twerking octopus with four spiky tentacles; Tobawani, who are basically Klaptraps; Togerobos, who launch spike balls, Robo Birds, who fly forward; Toy Cars and PET Bottoms, that drive around with spikes on their fronts; Dice, who carry spears; Hoggus, an artistic pig spirit that creates enemies with its drawings and functions like a Lakitu; Deburina, who pop out of paintings and dance; Men'onos, who carry axes; Mayu Birds, really just birds; and Yurei, a ghost that tries to steal coins before you can.

Now, we have the stages! Most of the Pyramid is divided into four sections, each section having four levels that all follow a similar theme. The Emerald Passage features Palm Tree Paradise, Wildflower Fields, Mystic Lake, and Monsoon Jungle, all following a nature theme. The Ruby Passage features the Curious Factory, the Toxic Landfill, Below Fridge, and Pinball Zone, each having a technological theme. The Topaz Passage is made up of Toy Block Tower, the Big Board, Doodle Woods, and Domino Row, each with a toy theme. And finally we have the Sapphire Passage, with Crescent Moon Village, Arabian Night, Fiery Cavern, and Hotel Horror under a ghost theme. We also have a brief tutorial level at the beginning listed as Hall of Hieroglyphs.

Across the game, there are numerous treasures to collect, though there doesn't seem to be as much of a focus on collecting things this time around.

Let's see what we've got:

Characters:
Mario: run, jump, super balls, submarine, plane, downward spin, grow, fireballs, fly with bunny ears, helicopter
Wario: get bigger, bunny ears, fireballs, slam down, knock down globes, booby traps, Wario balls, throw shoe, elbow, charge forward, stick in ceiling, dragon fire, jet propulsion, pick up and throw, roll into a ball, fireball, fat, flatten, zombie, inflated head, frozen, bounce around, become a ball, get drunk, electric, vampire, snowball, string ball, fly a plane, various treasure given abilities, headbutt, belly bash
Tatanga: fly ship, three energy balls, swoop, crescent, ball
Captain Syrup: army of pirates, Bobo, Genie, throw bombs, genie's lamp, fireballs, mini-genies, flying machines, Bomb Gooms, bombs, pillar of fire, steal treasure, electric beam, electric ball, mechakuri, fire blast, electricity.
Daisy: not much, unless reference character
Koopa: explode, walk forward, spikes, float, spin, burrow
Goomba: walk forward, ghost, Paragoomba, scuba helmet, maybe Gooms
Piranha Plant: bite, nippers
Boo: hide, float

Bosses:
King Totomesu
Dragonzamasu
Hiyoihoi
Biokinton
Big Bird
Sewer Rat
Witch
Three Little Pigs
Octopus
Spiked Koopa
Bifun
Hinyari
Funfun
Bobo
Zenisuki
Genie
Rudy the Clown
Dollboy
Wormwould
Wolfenboss
Shoot
Muddee
Scowler
Helio
Jamano
Pesce
Anonster
The Golden Diva
Spoiled Rotten
Cractus
Cuckoo Condor
Aerodent
Catbat

Stages:
Birabuto Kingdom
Muda Kingdom
Easton Kingdom
Chai Kingdom
Tree Zone
Space Zone
Macro Zone
Pumpkin Zone
Mario Zone
Turtle Zone
Mario Castle
Rice Beach
Mt. Teapot
Sherbet Land
Stove Canyon
S.S. Teacup
Parsley Woods
Syrup Castle
Wario's Castle
Maze Woods
In Town
The Cellar
Ruins at the Bottom of the Sea
Uncanny Mansion
Mysterious Factory
Out of the Woods
The Peaceful Village
The Vast Plain
Bank of the Wild River
The Tidal Coast
Sea Turtle Rocks
Desert Ruins
The Volcano's Base
The Pool of Rain
A Town in Chaos
Beneath the Waves
The West Crater
The Grasslands
The Big Bridge
Tower of Revival
The Steep Canyon
Cave of Flames
Above the Clouds
The Stagnant Swamp
The Frigid Sea
Castle of Illusions
The Colossal Hole
The Warped Void
The East Crater
Forest of Fear
Rudy the Clown
The Golden Pyramid
Hall of Hieroglyphs

Palm Tree Paradise

Wildflower Fields

Mystic Lake

Monsoon Jungle

The Curious Factory

The Toxic Landfill

Below Fridge

Pinball Zone

Toy Block Tower

The Big Board

Doodle Woods

Domino Row

Crescent Moon Village

Arabian Night

Fiery Cavern

Hotel Horror

Items:
Super Ball Flower
Mushroom
Fire Flower
Carrot
Heart
Treasure
Coins
Bull Helmet
Dragon Helmet
Jet Helmet
Music Boxes
Gloves
Overalls
Boots, Etc.
Treasures
Arewo Shitain-Hakase

Thanks for reading! Now, that we're finished, let's go over the characters, starting with Mario's third revision.