Is Wario Land 4 basically a 'perfect game'?

Sure, there's a certain... roughness and ...grit to it, even if you aren't looking at the intentionally freaky designs, but I don't see this as a flaw. It's just part of the style.
And I always thought this grit added to Wario's badassness in a good way.
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LesTheTimeSweeper said:
The previous 3 games were much more cartoony and colourful in their artstyle, particularly the third game.
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Virtual Boy Wario Land was just as 'dark' as WL4. In fact, WL4 takes most of its story and ideas from VBWL! Why do people here pretend it doesn't exist?

Wario Land 3 was sensational, but the baddies were a step down from the previous three games. Who else thought most of 'em looked less inspired, and a bit too cute for Wario standards? That is to say, some of 'em looked more like Kirby rejects than Wario enemies... Like the Para-Gooms, ice bears, silk worms, and those really cute fluffy guys that sit on your head/block your vision in The Vast Plain.

Paragoom.PNG
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Even the zombies looked worse. In WL2 they were slow, slimy, shambling freaks. Really creepy design. In WL3, they're all blocky and simplistic, and slide across the ground awkwardly at a fast pace. Still, there were some goodies... like the freaky robotic mouse that chases you in the sewers (credit to @ShyGuyXXL below).

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Angler of Lake Asparagus said:
Virtual Boy Wario Land was just as dark as WL4. In fact, WL4 takes most of its story and ideas from VBWL! Why do people here pretend it doesn't exist?
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I don't get it. How is WL4 a dark game? It's not that there's some exceptionally gross or violent content in it. It's still rated E. But you're right about the WL3 enemies. Many of them look as if they belong to Yoshi's Island.
 
Angler of Lake Asparagus said:
Virtual Boy Wario Land was just as dark as WL4. In fact, WL4 takes most of its story and ideas from VBWL! Why do people here pretend it doesn't exist?

Wario Land 3 was sensational, but the baddies were a step down from the previous three games. Who else thought most of 'em looked less inspired, and a bit too cute for Wario standards? That is to say, some of 'em looked more like Kirby rejects than Wario enemies... Like the Para-Gooms, ice bears, silk worms, and those really cute fluffy guys that sit on your head/block your vision in The Vast Plain.

Paragoom.PNG
Nobiiru.png
Ghostpest.PNG
Silky.png
Brrr_Bear.PNG


Even the zombies looked worse. In WL2 they were slow, slimy, shambling freaks. Really creepy design. In WL3, they're all blocky and simplistic, and slide across the ground awkwardly at a fast pace. Still, there were some goodies... like the freaky robotic mouse that chases you in the sewers (credit to @ShyGuyXXL below).

94906.png
Click to expand...
Another good one is Wolfenboss, who is one of the coolest looking bosses in the series:
Wolfenboss sprites.png
 
Honestly, I think the bosses were probably the best looking enemies in the whole game to be honest.

Always thought Shoot looked pretty good:

https://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_gbc/warioland3/sheet/12322/

Rudy the Clown is obviously menacing as hell:

https://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_gbc/warioland3/sheet/12321/

And I really liked the design of Jamano too. Reminds me of the ghost from Crescent Moon Village in 4:

https://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_gbc/warioland3/sheet/94836/
 
You betcha. WL3 had some great bosses, and a few of the enemies were in line with the rest of the series as well.

Just a Wario Fan said:
I don't get it. How is WL4 a dark game? It's not that there's some exceptionally gross or violent content in it. It's still rated E. But you're right about the WL3 enemies. Many of them look as if they belong to Yoshi's Island.
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Don't get me wrong, I don't think any Wario Land is 'dark', I was responding to Les' comment about the other games having a more cartoony/colourful artstyle than WL4.
As far as general mood goes, VBWL and WL4 have more sinister vibes and darker, gloomy settings than the others (that being the pyramid in WL4, and the underground world beneath the Awazon river basin in VBWL). Of course, WL4's levels don't stick to this theme.
 
Eh, I don't think I can see it myself. VB Wario Land is probably the closest the series comes to truly being dark, but you have to ask how much of that's due to the limited colour scheme and art style more than anything else. If it was on Game Boy Colour rather than Virtual Boy, I suspect it'd be no 'darker' than any other game.

And while the pyramid has its dark elements, again I don't see 4 being too dark either. Really, Wario Land is only ever 'dark' by comparison to other Nintendo platformers, since with the exception of Donkey Kong Country (prior to Returns) most of them are simply incredibly light in terms of art style.
 
CM30 said:
Eh, I don't think I can see it myself. VB Wario Land is probably the closest the series comes to truly being dark, but you have to ask how much of that's due to the limited colour scheme and art style more than anything else. If it was on Game Boy Colour rather than Virtual Boy, I suspect it'd be no 'darker' than any other game.

And while the pyramid has its dark elements, again I don't see 4 being too dark either. Really, Wario Land is only ever 'dark' by comparison to other Nintendo platformers, since with the exception of Donkey Kong Country (prior to Returns) most of them are simply incredibly light in terms of art style.
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Yeah, I reckon it comes down to the bizarre, twisted bosses in WL4, along with some of the demented music and sinister cues, like the Hurry Up!/Escape theme, or the main pyramid map and boss passage tracks. Very ominous and atmospheric. The entire Sound Room was a complete anomaly back in 2001, and you'd be forgiven for been freaked out by a lot of its deranged audio and visuals... ("Beyond the Headrush" was pretty creepy, with that dog tilting its head, and the peering doll...)

This audio cue sums up what I mean about the musical direction Ryoji took. It's a bit like some of his earlier work in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 or Metroid II. He loved the eerie, abstract approach... (click on the video title, as it won't play on foreign sites).


 
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CM30 said:
Eh, I don't think I can see it myself. VB Wario Land is probably the closest the series comes to truly being dark, but you have to ask how much of that's due to the limited colour scheme and art style more than anything else. If it was on Game Boy Colour rather than Virtual Boy, I suspect it'd be no 'darker' than any other game.

And while the pyramid has its dark elements, again I don't see 4 being too dark either. Really, Wario Land is only ever 'dark' by comparison to other Nintendo platformers, since with the exception of Donkey Kong Country (prior to Returns) most of them are simply incredibly light in terms of art style.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I reckon it comes down to the bizarre, twisted designs in WL4, along with some of the demented music and sinister cues, like the Hurry Up!/Escape theme, or the main pyramid map and boss passage. Very ominous and atmospheric. The entire Sound Room was a complete anomaly back in 2001 and a real departure from the previous games. You'd be forgiven for being freaked out by a lot of its deranged audio and visuals. ("Beyond the Headrush" was pretty creepy, with the weird dog and peering doll. It felt like a descent into insanity...)

This audio cue sums up what I mean about some of the musical direction Ryoji took. It's a bit like some of his earlier work in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 or Metroid II. He had this eerie, abstract/experimental tendency that I've always adored... (Metroid II had it in full force)


 
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I didn't care too much for the frog switch gimmick. I prefer to explore levels at my own leisure. Also the treasures were too easy to find compared to past Wario Land entries. Still, though, I think it has higher replay value than 1, 2 or 3, so it's up there along with VB for me. Definitely has the best style of any Wario Land game to date as well.
 
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