After a couple years of absence, WarioWare is finally returning to Nintendo's lineup. WarioWare: Get It Together! was announced at E3 2021, marking the beloved minigame anthology series' revival on the Switch. WarioWare is very different from Nintendo's other products, but that just means it'll stand out among Switch games. It's good to see Wario get to stand in the spotlight again. Mario's off-and-on rival used to be a major player in a lot of Nintendo games, but he fell out of focus as Nintendo shifted the Super Mario IP back into being more Mario-centric, introducing new worlds and characters through Mario's perspective.

Still, previous games starring Wario did a lot for Nintendo. In fact, he had his own platformer series, which was a worthy alternative to Mario's own games. During the age of the Game Boy and the Game Boy Advance, Wario Land reigned supreme and gathered quite a few fans. Wario proved to be a great character to star in some wacky and experimental platformer games that broke conventions and offered types of challenges Super Mario games didn't aim to provide. Wario Land is a unique franchise that's been on hiatus for much longer than WarioWare; Nintendo ought to bring back this Wario franchise too.

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What Makes Wario Land Special?

There's quite a few things that set Wario Land apart from Super Mario games and most other platformers in general. For example, one standard trope of platformers is that the player will take damage if they touch enemies, making players manage their life as they traverse levels. Wario Land broke that convention starting in Wario Land 2 by making Wario functionally invincible. He has no life total to keep track of, and as a general rule, getting a Game Over is next to impossible. Nintendo made Wario Land challenging by means of puzzles and impassable obstacles rather than putting Wario in danger.

Wario's invincibility led to a few other great game mechanics. For instance, the environment impacts Wario in lots of other unique ways. In Wario Land, if an enemy's attack or an environmental hazard catches Wario on fire, then he can actually might use it to his advantage, burning up an obstacle while he runs around to put the fire out. Another unique example comes from Wario Land's zombie enemies. When they attack Wario, he'll be turned into a zombie, which slows him down but allows him to drop through certain platforms until he touches light and reverts to his normal form. It's a compelling take on damage and environmental puzzles that makes players think differently about the enemies around them.

Wario Land also puts an emphasis on Wario's brawn, which is different from Mario's platforming talents. Super Mario games constantly innovate how Mario jumps around and navigates his environment, something that Super Mario Odyssey showcased particularly well. Wario Land, meanwhile, focused largely on his signature shoulder-bash attack and throwing enemies around to complete objectives. Wario Land 3 even featured items that Wario could find to empower his abilities and teach him new attacks, adding skill progression that Super Mario doesn't use.

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Room for More Wario Land

wario land 4 palm tree paradise

Wario Land really seems like the franchise that Nintendo ought to be setting up for a big comeback right now rather than WarioWare. The last Wario Land game that Nintendo made was Wario Land: Shake It!, a 2008 title that made use of the Wii's motion controls so Wario could shake enemies around, using them as weapons or literally shaking them down for coins. Although Nintendo put Wario Land: Shake It! on the Wii U's virtual console in 2016, that's not the same as releasing a new Wario Land game for the Wii U.

In contrast, WarioWare actually got a new game relatively recently. WarioWare Gold took the franchise to the Nintendo 3DS in 2018 after being announced earlier that year, not unlike WarioWare: Get It Together! getting announced shortly before release this year. Nintendo might be returning to WarioWare so quickly to make up for WarioWare Gold's middling sales, which admittedly didn't live up to its favorable reviews. The Nintendo Switch continues to sell extremely well, so maybe Nintendo likes WarioWare's odds at bouncing back on the Switch.

Even so, that doesn't address the question of where Wario Land has gone. It's a unique series that introduced a lot of clever ideas to the genre. What's more, it made good use of Wario as a character, establishing him as an anti-heroic and greedy troublemaker who'll do the right thing for the wrong reasons. A new Wario Land game has plenty of potential. Nintendo could make a two-player Wario Land game for the Nintendo Switch where Waluigi can get in on the action and help Wario in his schemes. It'd be great to see Waluigi play an important role in something other than a party game, so why not have him support the return of Wario Land.

Nintendo Should Keep Reviving Ideas

Wario Coins

If there's anything that gives hope for a Wario Land revival, it's that Nintendo keeps bringing back IPs and characters. WarioWare isn't the only unexpected addition to the Switch's library. Metroid Dread's reveal rocked E3 2021, confirming Nintendo's return to the 2D platforming franchise where Samus Aran's adventures began. A few other old Nintendo characters are seeing some more acknowledgement recently too. For instance, Pauline came back in Super Mario Odyssey, and her latest appearance in Mario Golf: Super Rush suggests she's here to stay. Similarly, Donkey Kong Country's beloved antagonist King K. Rool got invited to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate against all odds. Nintendo seems to be feeling nostalgic.

Maybe it could be thinking about trying its hand at Wario Land again. It'd be great to see the kind of production quality brought to Super Mario Odyssey in a fellow platformer, namely a new Wario Land title. Nintendo could overhaul the powerup mechanics, introducing totally new enemies that influence Wario in unique ways. It could also unite WarioWare and Wario Land by making Wario's wide supporting cast of wacky WarioWare characters into important NPCs in a new Wario Land title. Hopefully WarioWare's new game suggests that Nintendo is thinking about Wario's potential more broadly.

WarioWare: Get It Together! releases for Nintendo Switch on September 10.

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