Wario Land 4 'Hot Take'

CaptainDrewBoy

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So... I'll just say it.
The mechanics of WL4 are amazing. Just like in DKCR, you feel the character's weight. Visual touches help lots here.
But... I dislike the level design. It's confusing. Sometimes I'm randomly guessing what to do. Some enemies are placed pretty obnoxiously.

Am I alone here?
 
It's more about remembering the levels in order to play them quickly and get all of the treasure than being good the first time through.
(Or at least that's how it comes off for me.)

I've had the same problem numerous times, and we can just blame that on the over-sized sprites not meshing well with the enviornments. Other people don't seem to have the same problem but they probably grew up with the game or didn't play many modern platformers before playing Wario Land 4. The game defintely shows age.

Also yeah the enemies are obnoxious, your bash attack does nothing to like 75% of them you have to stomp or ground pound then stomp. Idk why they'd place so much emphasis on a mechanic that serves as nothing more than "oh I can't use R-Bash hold on". I still love the game tho
 
My only complaint about Wario Land 4 is its length, it's too short. But the rest is pretty good, I don't see an issue with the level design, but that's me.
The point of the game is to explore the stages and find secrets. They're not just linear paths where you avoid obstacles, that's the point, they're big rooms you have to figure out the puzzle to and either escape or get the good in it.
 
I can relate to the frustration here. I have a love-dislike relationship with the actual game part of WL4
 
wariolandgoldpiramid said:
Not really sure where the confusion comes from.
Wario Land 3 is a lot more enigmatic.
Click to expand...
Example: In the first level of that factory place, there is a room with platforms. There are gaps that lead to a bottom floor.
Except, one gap leads to the frog but you can't see the frog so you just have to randomly jump around until you bump into it.
 
sorry for the bump, but one of the real issues I had with the level design was right here:

10882


In hard mode, the blue gem is replaced with a Jewel piece, so you have to get it. I had to replay the level 3 times, just for this piece!

then again, I might just be dumb lol
 
Never ever had an issue finding it, yet everyone complains about it. I guess Wario Land 2 tought me well to check every wall
 
Spearman said:
sorry for the bump, but one of the real issues I had with the level design was right here:
Y
View attachment 10882

In hard mode, the blue gem is replaced with a Jewel piece, so you have to get it. I had to replay the level 3 times, just for this piece!

then again, I might just be dumb lol
Click to expand...

Yeah, that one there, I do not remember finding it.
Wario Land 4 does a good job of always having some sort of indication.
But this is just one of those "hey, isn't this room weird and suspicous? look around and figure it out" scenarios... Doesn't work here...
 
Hm, I haven't recognised this. But I haven't played the game in a while, and when you're young you don't notice level design subtleties.
Spearman said:
sorry for the bump, but one of the real issues I had with the level design was right here:

View attachment 10882

In hard mode, the blue gem is replaced with a Jewel piece, so you have to get it. I had to replay the level 3 times, just for this piece!
Click to expand...
Yes, that's very hard. In fact, it might be one of the pieces I'm still missing on S. Hard mode. :P
Just a Wario Fan said:
But is there even data space left on the WL4 cartridge? There might not be many levels, but look at how elaborate each of them is. Those details are gonna take up a lot of the avaible space.
Click to expand...
Maybe, but they could've made it on a 16MB cartridge if they wanted more levels. That's not uncommon for Nintendo-developed GBA games. I guess it would've made it more expensive, but Wario Land 4 was a top title, so if they wanted more levels it would've been worth it. I think it's got enough, though. 16 levels isn't that many, but it feels like enough for the game. There's a lot of variety.
 
Spearman said:
sorry for the bump, but one of the real issues I had with the level design was right here:

View attachment 10882

In hard mode, the blue gem is replaced with a Jewel piece, so you have to get it. I had to replay the level 3 times, just for this piece!
Click to expand...
I am one of many who found this room confusing, but looking at it again, I unfortunately have to disagree. If you reeeeally look, there actually is a bit of a tell (though I would definitely still miss it like an idiot).
10887

You can actually see there's a bit of cut-off for that bit of wall, unlike other portions, and if you pay attention to where it blends with the rest of the wall, there's the faintest bit of an "outline" (though that's probably unintentional.
10888
here's a close-up

not to mention THIS
1562262765113.png

which happens literally nowhere else in the area.
Granted, you gotta have eyes like
spy kids.jpg
to even hope to see it, but even still...
 
Okay, I did not see that Wario outline in the brick there.

Damn, that's a really hard to see 'tell' for the wall being breakable.
 
When I first played Wario Land 4, I remember running straight past that stalagmite and didn't even bother to look inside it because I wanted to be back at the vortex ASAP. (I initially borrowed the game from a friend, who already completed the game, and I wanted to break his high score.)
Yeah, I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed back then...

tahutoa said:
not to mention THIS
1562262765113.png
Click to expand...

It must be a case of pareidolia: seeing images where there are none. I have never noticed this in the game, and can't even see it myself in the other images you provided.
 
I got a question, when you guys play Wario Land (any of them) do you check and bash every wall? And if so, do you get the impression something may be hidden there even if sometimes it isn't? Basically, do you actively look for treasure in those games?
 
Yeah, I used to do that, especially prior to me knowing where the various bits of treasure were in each level.

Quite a few rooms seem like they should have breakable walls/ceilings/floors/extra treasure, but don't have anything at all.
 
Eh, I wouldn't say looking for breakable stuff is bad design. i mean, we all know how the Legend of Zelda setup works, right? You constantly look for walls and objects with cracks and other hints that they're breakable to find secrets and puzzle solutions. Or in some cases, find hints that the wall simply doesn't exist to begin with, since fake walls are surprisingly common in Nintendo titles.
 
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