Ahh, Wario, everyone’s favourite garlic-loving, chaos-breeding antihero. A mirror to Mario — whom he frequently competes against — Wario has been gracing the Mario franchise since 1992 when he was the main villain in the game Boy classic Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Since then, Wario has gone from strength to strength, branching out to puzzlers, golf, tennis, soccer, parties, and even getting two of his own series: Wario Land, and WarioWare.
So, to celebrate the release of the fabulous Wario Land 4 on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack’s GBA app, we want to focus on the former, for the most part. Wario has a handful of excellent platformers to sink your teeth into, which range from the hazy Game Boy days all the way to the Wii. Maybe one day we’ll get a new Wario platformer.
Okay, with that out of the way, let’s go through the best Wario platformers of all time, ranked by you, dear readers.
Best Wario Platformers Ever
9. Wario: Master of Disguise (DS)
Developed by Suzak, Wario: Master of Disguise is a bit of an oddball. As you might have gleaned, disguises are the primary gameplay mechanic in this adventure. Each has different abilities and allows Wario to reach areas he could not before. This is in stark contrast to the Wario Land games, where you’re only able to transform by getting hit by specific enemies in specific locations.
While the concept of being able to transform at any time sounds good on paper, the execution leaves a lot to be desired due to over-reliance on the touchscreen. Switching to different disguises, as well as using most of the abilities, is done with the stylus. Drawing specific shapes to don disguises is a massive source of frustration, as you have to be extremely accurate for the game to recognise the one you want.
If you’re willing to slog through, you can catch occasional glimpses of brilliance, but they’re just too few and far between.
8. Virtual Boy Wario Land (VB)
The fantastic visual design and great audio enhance this top-notch platformer. It’s a game you will keep coming back to, either to try and get a different ending or just because it’s so much fun to play through.
It’s unfortunate that there aren’t more levels but Virtual Boy Wario Land is thoroughly deserving of its reputation and highly recommended. If you have a VB, then this is a must-have game.
7. Wario World (GCN)
There’s nothing particularly inventive within Wario World and its appealing visuals and fun boss encounters can only go so far to offset its short length, lack of challenge, and how incredibly tedious and repetitive it all is. Even though we know it has its fans!
Taking Nintendo’s other Gamecube platformers into account — along with Wario’s own rich heritage of handheld games — it’s tough to give Wario World a recommendation. Unless you’re able to find any appeal in the idea of wearing out your GameCube pad’s ‘B’ button while your eyes glaze over, you should really stick to Wario’s Game Boy and DS adventures.
6. Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
A cracking 2D platformer from the folks at Good-Feel, Wario Land: Shake It! (or Wario Land: The Shake Dimension if you prefer the European flavour) brought the antihero’s antics to Wii in fine fashion.
It’s hardly the longest 2D platformer you’ll ever play, but its gorgeous art style and Wario’s adorably greedy antics give us the warm fuzzies when we think back to 2008.
5. Wario Land II (GB)
Big fans of the first game (Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3) might lament Wario Land II‘s sudden significant change in gameplay, but if you give it a try, you’ll find that it’s actually rather brilliant. All the unique new gameplay features help flesh the series out and turn it into a wildly different, yet still equally entertaining time.
This game would quickly get a Game Boy Color version with backwards compatibility for the original Game Boy, but its standalone grey cart release makes it eligible for this list and a fine entry it is, too.
4. Wario Land II (GBC)
“Hold on”, you say, “Wario Land II on Game Boy is already here?” Yes, well, this is the Game Boy Color version. We’re keeping this on the list for completionist’s sake, as we do on our other lists, but we know the two games are similar.
Anyway, with that out of the way, no matter what version of Wario Land II you go for, you’ll be more than satisfied thanks to that varied platforming gameplay. The new colourful visuals also add a new layer of mayhem to an already excellent handheld platformer.
3. Wario Land 3 (GBC)
Like Wario Land II before it, Wario Land 3 is, in some ways, more of a puzzle game than an action game and it’s essential to know going in that this is very different from a standard Mario platformer.
The Wario concept was refined further in this third entry, with a ton of stages and different paths making it easily the biggest Wario Land in terms of scope. If you enjoyed the previous adventure, then this generously expanded outing is likely to please you even more. If this is your first Wario Land, you absolutely must try it.
And if the previous one wasn’t your cup of tea? Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!
2. Wario Land 4 (GBA)
Wario Land 4 is a testament to quality over quantity, with the clever nonlinear level structures that lend themselves to multiple playthroughs and further exploration to unlock all the extras.
It’s a platformer for platforming veterans, full of impeccable level design and a quirky audiovisual presentation that would go on to set the precedent for the WarioWare series.
If you’re a fan of platformers — which will probably be the majority of you if you’re Nintendo aficionados — Wario Land 4 is an absolute must-play.
1. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (GB)
With Wario Land, Nintendo completely reinvented its portable platformer and gave its greedy new character his own game, instead of merely plopping him down into the middle of another standard Super Mario Land presentation.
Indeed, anybody who might have picked up this ‘sequel’ expecting something similar was in for a shock. A wealth of new gameplay features combined with a unique visual and musical style make this title stand on its own and it gives fans of the previous Mario Land releases a fresh spin on the series.
If you want to experience some of the best platforming the Game Boy system has to offer, you needn’t look any further.
Time to take a breather after that glut of Wario chaos, right? There’s some good stuff there!
Best Wario Games FAQ
Garlic peeled? Ready to sauté? Well hold fire for a second — let’s go over some hot questions to keep things from boiling over.
What about other Wario games?
If this list seems a little slight, then don’t worry — we know Wario has starred in many other games. Most prominently, the WarioWare series, but also a few puzzle spin-offs.
But for this list, we’ve focused exclusively on platformers — the Lands, the… World. You get it. That means Mario & Wario, Wario’s Woods, and Wario Blast aren’t featured here.
For WarioWare, we have a separate list ranking all of Wario’s microgame-featuring misadventures, so have a look at that.
Ahh, Wario, everyone's favourite garlic-loving, chaos-breeding antihero. A mirror to Mario — whom he frequently competes against — Wario has been gracing the Mario franchise since 1992 when he was the main villain in the game Boy classic Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Since then, Wario has gone from strength to strength, branching out to puzzlers, golf, tennis, soccer, parties, and even getting two of his own series: Wario Land, and WarioWare.
So, to celebrate the release of the fabulous Wario Land 4 on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack's GBA app, we want to focus on the former, for the most part. Wario has a handful of excellent platformers to sink your teeth into, which range from the hazy Game Boy days all the way to the Wii. Maybe one day we'll get a new Wario platformer.
Okay, with that out of the way, let's go through the best Wario platformers of all time, ranked by you, dear readers.
Best Wario Platformers Ever
9. Wario: Master of Disguise (DS)
Developed by Suzak, Wario: Master of Disguise is a bit of an oddball. As you might have gleaned, disguises are the primary gameplay mechanic in this adventure. Each has different abilities and allows Wario to reach areas he could not before. This is in stark contrast to the Wario Land games, where you're only able to transform by getting hit by specific enemies in specific locations.
While the concept of being able to transform at any time sounds good on paper, the execution leaves a lot to be desired due to over-reliance on the touchscreen. Switching to different disguises, as well as using most of the abilities, is done with the stylus. Drawing specific shapes to don disguises is a massive source of frustration, as you have to be extremely accurate for the game to recognise the one you want.
If you're willing to slog through, you can catch occasional glimpses of brilliance, but they're just too few and far between.
8. Virtual Boy Wario Land (VB)
The fantastic visual design and great audio enhance this top-notch platformer. It’s a game you will keep coming back to, either to try and get a different ending or just because it’s so much fun to play through.
It’s unfortunate that there aren't more levels but Virtual Boy Wario Land is thoroughly deserving of its reputation and highly recommended. If you have a VB, then this is a must-have game.
7. Wario World (GCN)
There's nothing particularly inventive within Wario World and its appealing visuals and fun boss encounters can only go so far to offset its short length, lack of challenge, and how incredibly tedious and repetitive it all is. Even though we know it has its fans!
Taking Nintendo's other Gamecube platformers into account — along with Wario's own rich heritage of handheld games — it's tough to give Wario World a recommendation. Unless you're able to find any appeal in the idea of wearing out your GameCube pad's 'B' button while your eyes glaze over, you should really stick to Wario's Game Boy and DS adventures.
6. Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
A cracking 2D platformer from the folks at Good-Feel, Wario Land: Shake It! (or Wario Land: The Shake Dimension if you prefer the European flavour) brought the antihero's antics to Wii in fine fashion.
It's hardly the longest 2D platformer you'll ever play, but its gorgeous art style and Wario's adorably greedy antics give us the warm fuzzies when we think back to 2008.
5. Wario Land II (GB)
Big fans of the first game (Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3) might lament Wario Land II's sudden significant change in gameplay, but if you give it a try, you'll find that it's actually rather brilliant. All the unique new gameplay features help flesh the series out and turn it into a wildly different, yet still equally entertaining time.
This game would quickly get a Game Boy Color version with backwards compatibility for the original Game Boy, but its standalone grey cart release makes it eligible for this list and a fine entry it is, too.
4. Wario Land II (GBC)
"Hold on", you say, "Wario Land II on Game Boy is already here?" Yes, well, this is the Game Boy Color version. We're keeping this on the list for completionist's sake, as we do on our other lists, but we know the two games are similar.
Anyway, with that out of the way, no matter what version of Wario Land II you go for, you'll be more than satisfied thanks to that varied platforming gameplay. The new colourful visuals also add a new layer of mayhem to an already excellent handheld platformer.
3. Wario Land 3 (GBC)
Like Wario Land II before it, Wario Land 3 is, in some ways, more of a puzzle game than an action game and it's essential to know going in that this is very different from a standard Mario platformer.
The Wario concept was refined further in this third entry, with a ton of stages and different paths making it easily the biggest Wario Land in terms of scope. If you enjoyed the previous adventure, then this generously expanded outing is likely to please you even more. If this is your first Wario Land, you absolutely must try it.
And if the previous one wasn't your cup of tea? Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!
2. Wario Land 4 (GBA)
Wario Land 4 is a testament to quality over quantity, with the clever nonlinear level structures that lend themselves to multiple playthroughs and further exploration to unlock all the extras.
It's a platformer for platforming veterans, full of impeccable level design and a quirky audiovisual presentation that would go on to set the precedent for the WarioWare series.
If you're a fan of platformers — which will probably be the majority of you if you're Nintendo aficionados — Wario Land 4 is an absolute must-play.
1. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (GB)
With Wario Land, Nintendo completely reinvented its portable platformer and gave its greedy new character his own game, instead of merely plopping him down into the middle of another standard Super Mario Land presentation.
Indeed, anybody who might have picked up this ‘sequel’ expecting something similar was in for a shock. A wealth of new gameplay features combined with a unique visual and musical style make this title stand on its own and it gives fans of the previous Mario Land releases a fresh spin on the series.
If you want to experience some of the best platforming the Game Boy system has to offer, you needn't look any further.
Time to take a breather after that glut of Wario chaos, right? There's some good stuff there!
Best Wario Games FAQ
Garlic peeled? Ready to sauté? Well hold fire for a second — let's go over some hot questions to keep things from boiling over.
What about other Wario games?
If this list seems a little slight, then don't worry — we know Wario has starred in many other games. Most prominently, the WarioWare series, but also a few puzzle spin-offs.
But for this list, we've focused exclusively on platformers — the Lands, the... World. You get it. That means Mario & Wario, Wario's Woods, and Wario Blast aren't featured here.
For WarioWare, we have a separate list ranking all of Wario's microgame-featuring misadventures, so have a look at that.
