New DYKG video has Wario Land 4 design details

[CM30]

It's mostly about other GBA games, but there's some details about Wario Land 4 too.



Basically:

• The game was designed to be played in short bursts
• Abe thought Wario Land 2 and 3's invincibility was a design flaw, since nothing except 3's final boss could defeat Wario
• "If Wario can't die, the game has no stakes or sense of urgency"
• Countdown was added to 3 to add that urgency as a test
• That's why the Frog Switch exists in Wario Land 4
• Originally the counter appeared as soon as you entered the level, like in Golden Pyramid and S-Hard mode Palm Tree Paradise in the final game
• Wanted as many levels as possible, but reeled in expectations to hit deadlines
• Team was surprised at how much detail and colour the graphics could hold
• Wario has nearly twice as many frames of animation as in 3
• Idle animations were thrown in for the fun of it by the game's animators
• Lots of extra content was planned and cut
• Bosses have grotesque designs to capitalise on American popularity of the series, to make game seem more 'American'
• The Wario Car is similarly American looking in design as a result
• Wanted to give Wario series more mass appeal to make it more popular with Westerners in general, rather than just dedicated fans
• Lots of English voice samples were also included to make it feel more 'American'
• Worries that Wario Land 2 and 3 veterans might find the music weird
• Japanese manual for the game is a tad more crude/risque than the English one

So yeah, definitely some interesting details there, wouldn't you say?

 

[GreenToxic]

• I think the invincibility as a flaw thing is interesting, because of course games with "game over"s can be seen kinda redundant anyways, which is why Super Mario Odyssey's thing with getting rid of coins instead is an interesting idea. In 2 and 3, you can get kicked out of the boss if you mess up which makes a lot of sense to me, I don't think it detracts from it too much. Rudy the Clown I think only has that game over screen because there is nowhere else for Wario to go.
• I think having the Frog Switch at the end was the right decision, because then it changes everything completely halfway, which to me creates the urgency needed and provides for an effective gimmick.
• It's a shame they had constraints for time... it's incredible to think of what else they could have added. Never saw the game as more American looking but I guess it makes sense.
• I've heard that the Japanese manual has that one character being a pervert and looking at porn right?

 

[CM30]

• I think the invincibility as a flaw thing is interesting, because of course games with "game over"s can be seen kinda redundant anyways, which is why Super Mario Odyssey's thing with getting rid of coins instead is an interesting idea. In 2 and 3, you can get kicked out of the boss if you mess up which makes a lot of sense to me, I don't think it detracts from it too much. Rudy the Clown I think only has that game over screen because there is nowhere else for Wario to go.
• I think having the Frog Switch at the end was the right decision, because then it changes everything completely halfway, which to me creates the urgency needed and provides for an effective gimmick.
• It's a shame they had constraints for time... it's incredible to think of what else they could have added. Never saw the game as more American looking but I guess it makes sense.
• I've heard that the Japanese manual has that one character being a pervert and looking at porn right?

Yeah. I agree that game over screens are pretty much pointless now. There's no real reason to have them in modern games, especially Wario Land ones.

And yeah I definitely wonder what would have happened with more time under their belt. Wario Land 4 is amazing as it is with tons of awesome levels and bosses and mini games, so the idea of even more of that is just amazing to me.