And I personally think 3 is still the best game in the series despite it not having Captain Syrup and her pirates. It still has plenty of character even without them.
Mario Tennis is not the only Mario spinoff with Wario Land representation. The main villain and some of the baddies from 3 return in Dr. Mario 64, the only time Wario Land characters appear in a Mario game.
And I just noticed Wolfenboss looks very similar to Hakusanbo from the Gegege no Kitaro series, specifically the Manga, 1968, 1985 and 1996 anime versions of him. The 1985 anime incarnation of Hakusanbo in particular looks almost exactly like Wolfenboss except for the robe being brown instead of...
A Hat in Time also references Wario Land II with the giant faucets in Heating Up Mafia Town and Wario Land 4 with the Collapsing Time Rifts in Death Wish mode (which have similar music and color changing and distorting effects to the level escapes).
Now I want to see someone do a Wario Land 3 fanart referencing the Death Wish title card from A Hat in Time for this, as that mode is for that game essentially what the Master Quest mod for Wario Land 3 will be like:
It would fit perfectly thematically, as well. You could have Rudy in the back...
I'm curious as to what the changes to the boss battles are (as I assume you made them harder, too). I saw in the first page that you said Octo and Jamano now kick you back to the title screen if they get you, and Doll Boy is now in Out of the Woods in place of Anonster (so I assume some of the...