Really Ilini
#2 Captain Syrup Apologist
As indicated by the thread title, this issue of Wario Land Oddities does not start with Wario Land: rather, it starts with the series' precursor. The Super Mario Land duology is known for being a little different than the classic Super Mario Bros. games, and that mainly comes from being developed by R&D1 rather than EAD. While the first Super Mario Land is closer to the original SMB most people know and love, with its one-way sidescrolling and simpler level design, its sequel is where some stranger design choices are included, one of which is the topic of discussion here: for some reason, holding up on the D-pad causes Mario to jump higher, at the same height he jumps while running! What makes this odd is that there are no moments in the game where a high jump from a standstill are required, and the levels are still designed around running through and getting to the exit quickly, so most players may not even notice this ability.
However, once Wario took on the Land's mantle of handheld platforming, this feature not only remained, but was also improved. Due to Wario not being able to run and the up key on the D-pad having more uses (mainly using it to create 10-coins), it is much more likely for a player to stumble on this trick. Notably, holding up and jumping not only causes Wario to jump higher, but also causes him to move faster horizontally through the air, an improvement over his walking speed. This makes it a useful trick for speedrunning the game, as well as for simply making longer jumps.
This feature then took a break from Virtual Boy Wario Land, likely because that game includes running. So leave it to the other sequel to bring it back, and in much fuller force! Wario Land II once again includes this feature, and even dedicates a Wario sprite for when the player holds up on the ground:
Notably, some of Wario's different forms in this game can also jump higher while holding up: examples include Fat, Flat, and Flaming (my report card is shuddering!). The level design is also much more focused around environment traversal, with lots of levels revolving around climbing rather than running, so the high jump gets much more use during gameplay. The high jump gets as much height as a jump while shoulder charging, but due to some particularly tight corridors of platforms, you may find it easier to simply hold up and jump instead.
Wario Land 3 brings the high jump to its logical conclusion: it is an upgrade Wario must unlock during the game, due to some treasures only being accessible after clearing an elevated ledge. The upgrade is also generally useful for getting around that more elevated level design, unlocking shortcuts during regular play. However, most of the different forms lose this feature completely, even with the upgrade unlocked... barring one exception: Flat Wario! Strangely, this form can do a high jump before and after unlocking the upgrade that lets regular Wario perform it. Also strange is that unlike in II, there is no sprite for holding up on the ground, though this may be due to resources. This is the game that added even more forms on top of including most of what II had, after all!
Sadly, our high-jumping journey must come to an end, as Wario Land 4 completely ditched this feature, and it has yet to return. Still, it is an interesting quirk of the Wario Land series, stemming from such an overlooked feature of its prequel. Would you like to see it return in a potential Wario Land sequel, or even make its break back in the Mario platformers?
However, once Wario took on the Land's mantle of handheld platforming, this feature not only remained, but was also improved. Due to Wario not being able to run and the up key on the D-pad having more uses (mainly using it to create 10-coins), it is much more likely for a player to stumble on this trick. Notably, holding up and jumping not only causes Wario to jump higher, but also causes him to move faster horizontally through the air, an improvement over his walking speed. This makes it a useful trick for speedrunning the game, as well as for simply making longer jumps.
This feature then took a break from Virtual Boy Wario Land, likely because that game includes running. So leave it to the other sequel to bring it back, and in much fuller force! Wario Land II once again includes this feature, and even dedicates a Wario sprite for when the player holds up on the ground:
Notably, some of Wario's different forms in this game can also jump higher while holding up: examples include Fat, Flat, and Flaming (my report card is shuddering!). The level design is also much more focused around environment traversal, with lots of levels revolving around climbing rather than running, so the high jump gets much more use during gameplay. The high jump gets as much height as a jump while shoulder charging, but due to some particularly tight corridors of platforms, you may find it easier to simply hold up and jump instead.
Wario Land 3 brings the high jump to its logical conclusion: it is an upgrade Wario must unlock during the game, due to some treasures only being accessible after clearing an elevated ledge. The upgrade is also generally useful for getting around that more elevated level design, unlocking shortcuts during regular play. However, most of the different forms lose this feature completely, even with the upgrade unlocked... barring one exception: Flat Wario! Strangely, this form can do a high jump before and after unlocking the upgrade that lets regular Wario perform it. Also strange is that unlike in II, there is no sprite for holding up on the ground, though this may be due to resources. This is the game that added even more forms on top of including most of what II had, after all!
Sadly, our high-jumping journey must come to an end, as Wario Land 4 completely ditched this feature, and it has yet to return. Still, it is an interesting quirk of the Wario Land series, stemming from such an overlooked feature of its prequel. Would you like to see it return in a potential Wario Land sequel, or even make its break back in the Mario platformers?
