Wario seems to have put away his plat-forming days for mini-games and weird characters. Gladly, his old plat-forming games are still fun. Good news though, we have a new side-scrolling game from Wario in the form of Wario Land: Shake it! Or The Shake Dimension for the Wii. So, is this game as good as the games on the Gameboy? Or is it just a failed attempt to put on Wario’s plat-forming shoes?
The story is kind of simple, but it fits the Wario series. Basically, there is this other world called the Shake Dimension. The evil Shake king has taken the princess and their prized possession, a bag that has unlimited amount of money in it. Sadly, this world is only found in this ancient globe inside a museum. Thankfully, you get Wario’s old rival, Captain Syrup, to give the globe to none other than Wario. After Wario gets introduced to one of the Shake Dimension’s residents, he then sets off on another adventure for money and to kick some bad guy butt. I always liked how the old Wario games would put in a sort of challenge so you can get the best out of the specific Wario Land game you have. For example, most of the Wario Land games gives you a challenge to get the best ending or the best castle or whatever and such.
The game play is in a side-scrolling plat-former where you control Wario as you go across multiple levels, getting money and treasure, and fighting the boss at the end of each map. You have your basic Wario moves in the form of his shoulder ram, jumping on top of enemies, and shaking the Wii remote makes Wario hit the ground to cause a small shake. You can also use vehicles like a submarine, a one-wheeled bucket, a rocket bucket, and a racecar with a punching glove. Sadly, you don’t get the cool hat power-ups, like in previous games, but I’m glad that Wario still looks like himself and not how he looks in his Warioware games.
The graphics are in a cartoonish cel-shaded look, which really fits Wario’s art style. It really doesn’t match the Mario series, but it does fit Wario and his quirky world. I also like the music, which fits in a lot of the stages. Wario’s music has always had some kind of charm where it’s really quirky and odd. The boss fights are also fun to play through, and each fight will throw you a different challenge. One of the more interesting facts about Wario Land: Shake it! isn’t its cool look, but who developed it. The developers are a company by the name of Good-Feel. They are more known for making educational games for the Nintendo DS. I was amazed, since this makes this their first actually fun video game. I think they did a good job though, and I personally love this game.
Okay, let’s put on our Wario hats and find out the bad parts of the game. The game is on the easy side. I mean, yeah, the boss fights will bring on the pain, but you can maybe get through the levels in about 5 minutes or so. Another thing is that since the game is pretty easy, it makes it short. Yeah, there are secret maps and such, but you can get through this game in about a dedicated weekend, maybe.
All and all, this is a truly fun game. I have always loved the Wario games, and this one is maybe almost as good as the old ones. I would say if you’re looking for a fun plat-former for the Wii, then Wario Land: Shake it! is the one for you. So, yeah, go out and buy it. I wish for another Wario game though. They just don’t make enough of them.
This game gets a 9 out of 10.
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