Really Ilini
Gamer
With Nintendo recently announcing, of all things, adding the Virtual Boy's entire library to the Nintendo Classics collection, I thought this would be a good time to discuss a topic that's been on my mind. It definitely seems like Nintendo has been acknowledging the entire Wario Land series more, and even though no new game is in sight, it is nice to see compared to how barren the respect well used to run.
However, what I've noticed in their acknowledgements so far is a strangly specific omittance of one particular game in the franchise... Wario Land II. Obviously, Captain Syrup has received multiple mentions, but since she's a recurring villain, I wouldn't count them as referencing Wario Land II. I've kept tabs on any of the Wario Land references Nintendo makes I can find, and none of them directly point towards this game! Here they are, for reference...
Wario Land 1: Rice Beach remix in Mario Kart World, Captain Syrup's spirit battle in Smash Ultimate being based on the final battle, the ? block being acknowledged in a lineup of ? blocks in the Nintendo Museum. Additionally, despite Wario Shipyard in MKW being redesigned to remove the Bull Wario cameo, it still has the main motif from this game.
Virtual Boy Wario Land: Part of the lineup of the Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics collection. This is more than I thought that game would ever get!
Wario Land II: ...
Wario Land 3: Unique microgame in WarioWare Gold, featured in the initial lineup of the Game Boy - Nintendo Clasics collection for Switch, with user icons also made available featuring the game's art. Dr. Mario 64 was also available in the Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Classics collection to begin with, which features Wario Land 3 characters; it is up to you to count this as a reference or not.
Wario Land 4: Shokora spirit in Smash Ultimate, Wario's car featured in artwork from WarioWare Get It Together, Cractus appearing in WarioWare Move It, game added to the Game Boy Advance - Nintendo Clasics collection on Switch, with user icons also made available featuring the game's art.
Wario Land Shake It: Shake King spirit in Smash Ultimate, with Captain Syrup's spirit using artwork from this game. Additionally, her mention in Animal Crossing New Horizons, while a more isolated referral of her, seems to be inspired by her role in this game due to highlighting her being a double-crosser.
It irks me that Wario Land II has almost no mentions to its name, especially since over a decade ago it got a Virtual Console release on the 3DS along with the other handheld titles! Now of course, another Wario platforming game that I've found no acknowledgement of is Wario World, but I think there's a more reasonable answer for that: it was developed by Treasure, so maybe Nintendo would need their permission to bring it up. Though this doesn't explain how Count Cannoli also got a Smash Ultimate spirit...
However, I wanted to make this topic a thread because maybe I've overlooked a Wario Land II reference that a more passionate fan has documented... or more likely, I missed some from the other games. Either way, why do you think Wario Land II is seemingly Nintendo's personal black sheep? I suspect it's because they think the players will get confused upon discovering it isn't actually the second game.
However, what I've noticed in their acknowledgements so far is a strangly specific omittance of one particular game in the franchise... Wario Land II. Obviously, Captain Syrup has received multiple mentions, but since she's a recurring villain, I wouldn't count them as referencing Wario Land II. I've kept tabs on any of the Wario Land references Nintendo makes I can find, and none of them directly point towards this game! Here they are, for reference...
Wario Land 1: Rice Beach remix in Mario Kart World, Captain Syrup's spirit battle in Smash Ultimate being based on the final battle, the ? block being acknowledged in a lineup of ? blocks in the Nintendo Museum. Additionally, despite Wario Shipyard in MKW being redesigned to remove the Bull Wario cameo, it still has the main motif from this game.
Virtual Boy Wario Land: Part of the lineup of the Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics collection. This is more than I thought that game would ever get!
Wario Land II: ...
Wario Land 3: Unique microgame in WarioWare Gold, featured in the initial lineup of the Game Boy - Nintendo Clasics collection for Switch, with user icons also made available featuring the game's art. Dr. Mario 64 was also available in the Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Classics collection to begin with, which features Wario Land 3 characters; it is up to you to count this as a reference or not.
Wario Land 4: Shokora spirit in Smash Ultimate, Wario's car featured in artwork from WarioWare Get It Together, Cractus appearing in WarioWare Move It, game added to the Game Boy Advance - Nintendo Clasics collection on Switch, with user icons also made available featuring the game's art.
Wario Land Shake It: Shake King spirit in Smash Ultimate, with Captain Syrup's spirit using artwork from this game. Additionally, her mention in Animal Crossing New Horizons, while a more isolated referral of her, seems to be inspired by her role in this game due to highlighting her being a double-crosser.
It irks me that Wario Land II has almost no mentions to its name, especially since over a decade ago it got a Virtual Console release on the 3DS along with the other handheld titles! Now of course, another Wario platforming game that I've found no acknowledgement of is Wario World, but I think there's a more reasonable answer for that: it was developed by Treasure, so maybe Nintendo would need their permission to bring it up. Though this doesn't explain how Count Cannoli also got a Smash Ultimate spirit...
However, I wanted to make this topic a thread because maybe I've overlooked a Wario Land II reference that a more passionate fan has documented... or more likely, I missed some from the other games. Either way, why do you think Wario Land II is seemingly Nintendo's personal black sheep? I suspect it's because they think the players will get confused upon discovering it isn't actually the second game.
