Wario Land II

WARIO LAND II

Now, it's time to head on into Wario Land II, the sequel to the first Wario Land game, and the first game to drop the whole Super Mario Land thing entirely, making it entirely Wario's franchise now. I supposed he'd be happy about that. The game pits Wario once again against Captain Syrup and her crew, who are back from their defeat determined to undermine Wario at every turn.

Obviously, Wario and Captain Syrup are our main characters this time around, the game making a more concerted effort to create a rivalry between them in this game, with the pair squaring off several times over the course of the game, rather than her just sitting on top of her genie in one battle the way she did in the last game.

Wario comes with most of the same basics of his moveset from the last game, his abilities focusing much more heavily on brute strength than Mario's. His most common move is to charge forward and barrel through blocks. He can also jump, he can pick up and throw enemies, he can butt bash, and he can roll when going down an incline. Rather than using power-up items though, this game introduced the interesting mechanics of having his power-ups come from the effects certain enemies have on him. For instance, Flames with light him on fire until he burns up into a fireball and can burn through certain blocks. Cooks will feed Wario until he becomes fat, making him significantly heavier. D-Bats will flatten Wario, allowing him to get into tight spaces. Zombies and Ghosts will turn Wario into a zombie, making him invulnerable. Bees will make his head inflate and allow him to float. Yukimarus will freeze Wario in place. Wizards will shrink him. Apes will smack him with a hammer and make him bounce around. The boss Dunk will turn him into a ball. And finally, Penguins will make him drunk and useless.

As for Captain Syrup, we see her in several cutscenes running around, generally accompanied by three Pirate Gooms. Over the course of her many boss battles, she makes use of several high tech flying machines, throwing Bomb Gooms at Wario, shooting up pillars of fire, controlling a giant robotic Goom, shooting a beam of electricity, and later shooting a ball of electricity, blasting fire from the bottom of her craft, and throwing regular non-living bombs. Definitely more to go on than we had before. I'm going to miss her in the next two games.

As far as bosses go, we have several: a giant snake that bites Wario and turns him into an egg; Bobo returns, guarding the S.S. Teacup once more, flying and swooping and whipping up strong winds; a giant bee that will try to impale Wario on its stinger and send other bees after him; Dunk, a basketball-playing rabbit that will jump on Wario, turn him into a ball, and, well, dunk him; Cave Master, a bull that will try to knock Wario off the platform; Big Kamukamu, a giant fish that will try to eat Wario; Awabo, a living bubble that captures Captain Syrup, inflates, bounces around, and splits into two; and a ghost that will swoop down and try to grab you.

Now, for our enemies! Those that return include the Pirate Gooms, D.D.'s, Gaugaus, Pecans, and White Puffs. Gooms still walk around and carry spears, though they now come in giant versions. D.D.'s still throw boomerangs. Gaugaus now lean out of windows and throw beer bottles at you. Pecans spit fish at you. And White Puffs still inflate. For our new enemies, we have: Grunts, monkeys who throw maces; Punches, little football helmets with fists; Chutas, mice that run from their holes when scared; Tobis and Sawfish who swim; Eels that pull Wario under the water; Birds; Tsuriuos, fisherman who lure you in with fake coins; Inamazu, who shoot electricity from their heads; Togemen, spiky little bouncy balls; Gugis, who go into a frenzy when touched; Kotsuheri, basically Gordos but pinker; all alongside an alarm clock that rings endlessly, a rooster and hen that Wario owns, albatrosses that Wario can use as platforms, and a helpful Owl and Turtle that can get Wario where he's going.

The story takes place across several story-based chapters, though each chapter generally has a theme to it. The first is in Wario's Castle, naturally. The second traverses Syrup's pirate ship, the S.S. Teacup. The third travels through a forest area called the Maze Woods; the fourth is simply titled "In Town," and has a city theme. And the final chapter sees Wario invading Syrup's castle. The game also has a sizeable post-game featuring another trip into Wario's Castle, his underground Cellar, some ruins at the bottom of the sea; a haunted Uncanny Mansion; and a Mysterious Factory. All of these open up stage possibilities.

The game doesn't have much in the way of items apart from the coins and treasures Wario collects, as most of his power-ups come from the effects enemies have on him.

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
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

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

Items:
Super Ball Flower
Mushroom
Fire Flower
Carrot
Heart
Treasure
Coins
Bull Helmet
Dragon Helmet
Jet Helmet

Thanks for reading! Next up, Wario takes on Rudy the Clown in Wario Land 3!