Similarities between Metroid and Wario Land

The Metroid and Wario series are tied for my second favorite Nintendo franchise (with Donkey Kong being number 1, of course). It took me a while to realize that both were developed by the same Nintendo team, R&D1. And then I noticed that there a couple of similarities between the two series.

*A blend of arcade-style platforming and exploration* - This was the hook of the original Metroid. That, and the fact that the game was one giant maze. As for the Wario series, you see this most prevalently in Super Mario Land 3, where you can die 2 hits and there are lots of treasures to find.

*Acquisition of Power-ups Leads to Backtracking* This was most prevalent in Wario Land 3 of course. While you don't acquire power-ups in the other Wario games, you do get transformations. The transformations actually work much like the items in Metroid, because they usually facilitate puzzles where you need the transformation to get somewhere or unlock something.

*Puzzles. And a lot of damn wall-bashing/bombing* For some reason, the guys at R&D1 really like masked walls. In Wario Land 2 and 3, there are a lot of puzzles where you have to bash walls to find secret areas. In Metroid games, you have to morphball and bomb a lot of walls to find secret areas. Oh well.

To conclude, I will say that the level design of both series can be very similar at times. Especially if you play Wario Land 4 and Metroid Fusion back to back. The two games use the same engine, Dash Attack and Speed Booster are very reminiscent of each other, and some areas look almost identical to each other (40 Below Fridge and Sector 5, respectively). At times, Metroid Fusion feels like a spiritual successor to WL4.
 
Let's not forget this; Wario Land 4 and Metroid Fusion were made based off the same engine.



This also explains their very similar art styles.


They used to be originally based off the same engine while in development. However, they aren't anymore but there still remains some similarity.

I honestly forget the source of which confirms this.
 
They used to be originally based off the same engine while in development. However, they aren't anymore but there still remains some similarity.

I honestly forget the source of which confirms this.

The closest I found was this:

Regarding the programming, did you consult previous games in the series?

Katsuya Yamano: No, we didn't do that. Instead, since we'd made Wario Land Advance [Wario Land 4] before Fusion, we referenced that program. Since this time there were major changes, we had to make it easy for players who were playing Metroid for the first time while maintaining what was good about the series. Rather than individual programs, to assemble the game, it was difficult working to check the degree of difficulty. In response to hopes of existing fans, it is difficult but easy to play.
 
i asked her and this is what she responded

anyway, looking through the paragraph, he just says the two games can be compared, since they were done back to back, by the looks of it, so it seems more superficial, due to pick-up-and-play qualities both have, rather than specific shared software stuff

参照しています that's the verb in question - it can be translated as "refer to", 'see" or "compare" (conjugated in the present continuous form)

otoh, I think I remember reading an interview where someone (I think it was Yoshio Sakamoto) more directly states the game shared codes or something...
 
I was thinking about this the other day and it made me wonder: Could there have been an SNES Wario Land? Metroid 2 and Wario Land 1 were developed closely together, same with Metroid Fusion and WL4. Think there might've been a possibility that they could've worked on a Wario Land game before or after Super Metroid? Or at least that they considered the idea?
I wonder what an SNES Wario Land would've played like.
 
I'd imagine that it would have been pretty similar to the first Wario Land game, like VB Wario Land was. The style established by Wario Land 2 wasn't in place yet, and there was a tendency for the Game Boy installments of series to be very similar in formula to their console counterparts, like the Super Mario Land games, Metroid 2, and Kid Icarus: of Myths and Monsters (if anyone even remembers that game; Sakurai sure doesn't seem to in Uprising). If they were to make one for SNES to coincide with Super Metroid, I'd put my money on the old formula.
 
I guess that could be right. But now I wonder what it would've looked like. VB Wario Land's sprites were looking very neat so I wonder what they could've done with color. and a higher resolution.
 
I'd imagine something similar to VB Wario Land, with its really high-quality sprites, but obviously with colors besides red. It would also probably try to expand upon the classic formula, similar to how VB Wario Land did or how Super Mario World does, while still sticking to its core elements.
 
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